# CL's High Tech 20 Gallon *last update*



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ok, i have had a 20 gallon up and running for a while with plain glazed gravel (which i decided to keep), and the java moss started to take over, so i decided it was time for a change. here is a picture of the tank before redoing it....
View attachment 6849

so i trimmed the moss, moved the java fern to the other side, moved and added wood to the corner where the java fern was, added some cryptocorne wendtii (sp?) two pots of dwarf hairgrass, a red lilly of some sort, (i forgot what it was called, it has red, arrow shaped leaves), two anubias nana and some giant hairgrass (Eleocharis montevidensis) I also added diy co2 with a bamboo skewer diffuser then the bubbles go up into a water pump on the side, which chops up the bubbles eveen further. After 3 hours, i have already noticed pearling (although i can get any good pictures of it. 
View attachment 6850

View attachment 6851

View attachment 6852

View attachment 6853

thanks for reading, comments and criticisms welcome


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

*co2*

this is my co2, it is sideways, but hopefully you can tell what is going on
View attachment 6854


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

actually that is a horrible picture lol


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## Spiritwind (Feb 2, 2008)

Not seeing any pictures.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

dang, ill fix the pics, and it is at 2 wpg


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

yeah it gives me a message: invalid attachment.
sounds good though.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

You may have trouble with the hairgrass; from what I've read it usually needs med to high light? (more like 3-4wpg) Let us know if it works out under 2wpg, though!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> You may have trouble with the hairgrass; from what I've read it usually needs med to high light? (more like 3-4wpg) Let us know if it works out under 2wpg, though!


ya, im planning on upgrading the light soon, thanks


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

Hairgrass, and most plants, can grow under 2wpg, it will just be slower growth than with higher light setups. Some plants do tend to grow differently (height, spread, etc) under different intensities, though


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## StereoKills (Mar 1, 2008)

Very nice setup. I agree that you'll probably want to up your lighting a bit for the plants you have. You'll love the results, I know I did


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

*light*

ok, i made a new light fixture today and added 10w of light, which gives me 2.5 wpg with good reflectors. all of the plants are pearling, especially the java fern and anubias nana. also, some hc that im experimenting with that is on the driftwood is starting to pearl, it is in the bottom 3rd of the tankroud:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

oh, and i was wondering


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

can a moderator move this to the photo album section?
thanks


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ok, i made this a low tech tank and moved the hairgrass to another tank, pics up soon


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

*low tech*







i also trimmed the java moss


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I like that layout!

What are your plans for the back? IMO either a black background or a tall background plant (or both) would really help add a sense of depth, and distract from the equipment.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

i was going to put a black background on it a long time ago (like when i first set the tank up) but never got around to it


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

I prefer to paint the backs of my tanks as background look horrible after awhile IMO. I use rustoleum oil base gloss black in a quart size container and roll it on. I use about 5 coats. Once dried resists any water nicely.

Craig


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ok, update, angels are in there until my 55 is ready for them and so are the fire rasboras, really lucked out getting both


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

do you like the reflection of my messy desk? the other angel is marbeled, you can only see its bottom fins at the top of the picture


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I don't see any fire rasboras? Nice angels, though :icon_mrgr


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

there are only 5 fire rasboras, and they are kinda dark in the photo


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

so, i changed this tank a lot and is now my anubias garden
substrate is eco complete now... wooot
pics:
when first redone:








now:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

update, added pressurized co2:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

the above photo was taken mid- rescape. I'm still workin' on it, but this is what it looked like prior to the rescape-










































And after a 10 day vacation -







and after a trim-








I am in the process of upgrading this tank (pressurized co2, lighting, filter, etc, etc.) I now need to know a good place to buy dry ferts. Got any Ideas? (sorry for the amount of pics, had to get you guys up to date)


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i liked the 7/21 scape, it would have looked great, imagine if u had a bamboo like plant on the corner of each 'island' and white sand between them.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> i liked the 7/21 scape, it would have looked great, imagine if u had a bamboo like plant on the corner of each 'island' and white sand between them.


Thats the way it looks now, except I took out the wisteria, it was pushing its way through my rotala, dividing it into two bunches. I'm gonna add some more rotala and some blyxa, so It should look better soon


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

add sumthin like 'purple bamboo" (look it up on APC plantfinder). looks awesome


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

got my eheim 2213 friday, but didnt get to set it up till today. I found some fissidens fontanus growing emersed. here is a pic of some of it -


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Im not sure If I should do a hairgrass foreground or glosso.... What do you guys think?


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## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

i'd say hairgass to kinda of contrast with the big broad leaves of anubias.

it might block the smaller anubias though.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

CobraGuppy said:


> i'd say hairgass to kinda of contrast with the big broad leaves of anubias.
> 
> it might block the smaller anubias though.


I might take out most of the anubias....


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## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

yeah, i think you should go with glosso now 

Edit: Did you use twist ties to get down the anubias?
That is such a GREAT IDEA!

i was always trying to wedge the anubias down in my old tank and covering it with a rock made it look weird.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> got my eheim 2213 friday, but didnt get to set it up till today. I found some fissidens fontanus growing emersed. here is a pic of some of it -


That's gorgeous! Did you put any in your tank?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> That's gorgeous! Did you put any in your tank?


Yeah, Ive got 2 3 inch round potions quarantine-ing in a tank and another 3 inch round portion in my nano terrarium


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I am probably going to upgrade the lights. I want t5's. How many watts should I get to keep this tank "high light" as I am not too sure when it comes to t5's. Right not I have 105 watts of compact florescent screw ins (not very efficient)


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

get 72 watts of t5 

get 2 of these and ur set:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...5/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight30

i have 2 on my 20 long and i love them, they are too strong, so with a regular 20 gallon, it'll be jsut perfect


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I was actually considering getting that, but how about these: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...4/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight24
They are 24 inches instead of 30, but the bulbs are only 14 watts each instead of 18....?


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## jackh (Jul 2, 2008)

whered you find the fissidens?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

jackh said:


> whered you find the fissidens?


Near a lake


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## jackh (Jul 2, 2008)

so it was growing on a rock near the water or what? id really like to find some of this stuff and put it in my tank.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

jackh said:


> so it was growing on a rock near the water or what? id really like to find some of this stuff and put it in my tank.


I doubt you'll find any in tx. It was on the dirt next to a tree about 15 ft from the water


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> I was actually considering getting that, but how about these: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...4/cl0/coralifefwt5aqualightdoublestriplight24
> They are 24 inches instead of 30, but the bulbs are only 14 watts each instead of 18....?


56 watts should be good on a 20 reg, its still almost 2 wpg, thats good :icon_wink


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I'm still not sure.... maybe a nova extreme would work...


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

yea, but most agree, the coralife fixtures are more worth the money and are actually cheaper


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

hey, I found a coralife 24 inch on ebay for $27 buy it now  hummm....


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

hey, I found a coralife 24 inch on ebay for $27 buy it now  hummm....
edit:  shipping is over $20


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

lol, just buy a whole bunch of stuff u need from bigals, i thik the free shipping for over 75 buck items is still on, go check it out


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## bill|408 (Mar 27, 2007)

you know what? im jealous haha. That angle fish !! .. its beautiful, i love the setup, keep the updates coming =]


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

yeah, bigals does have free shipping. What do you think of this : http://cgi.ebay.com/New-T5ho-t5-ho-...hash=item110274106322&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318
I understand its no-name, and its for reef, but it says it has 4 10,000k bulbs


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## bill|408 (Mar 27, 2007)

and what ever happened to all your mosses?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

bill|408 said:


> and what ever happened to all your mosses?


before I only had java moss, and I took it out. Too unruly


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## bill|408 (Mar 27, 2007)

i liked it in the first post. Just wondering .. how did you get it to grow so lush? like fertilzing and such. Im waiting for mines to grow like that , but zzzzzz


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The first picture shows it in its neglected state. ie- no ferts, and 1 wpg


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## purplecity (Jul 28, 2008)

hey watkins is it possible that u can send me some of that spiky hairgrass plant
i dont mind paying shipping
if u have extra that is


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

purplecity said:


> hey watkins is it possible that u can send me some of that spiky hairgrass plant
> i dont mind paying shipping
> if u have extra that is


I no longer have that plant


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

tank right now:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ok, I made a diy power head for extra circulation (out of a pump from a pet water filter thing), the pump had an opening that fish could get in, so I super glued an intake thing from an extra hob filter and it works great 








"under the hood"








my co2 reactor


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

The layout looks very nice, but I'm not so sure about your "reactor"...



clwatkins10 said:


> my co2 reactor


It kind of has that "tank-draining-disaster-waiting-to-happen" look to it. Have you thought about a homemade PVC type reactor, or (_Gasp!_) a diffuser?


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## MrAL (May 14, 2008)

Looks awesome. Love that moss lawn. I'm going to do that with mine if the HC doesn't work out. Good luck with that.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> The layout looks very nice, but I'm not so sure about your "reactor"...
> 
> 
> 
> It kind of has that "tank-draining-disaster-waiting-to-happen" look to it. Have you thought about a homemade PVC type reactor, or (_Gasp!_) a diffuser?


Ive got it sealed off really well and super glued in place all around the "needle" I did several coats  I made a pvc reactor, but it reduced the flow too much


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I need some recommendations on t5 lighting...


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Ive got it sealed off really well and super glued in place all around the "needle" I did several coats  I made a pvc reactor, but it reduced the flow too much


The needle is hollow?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Its one of those needles you use to pump up basketballs


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

snapped some pics:


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Those are some seriously cool pictures!
That last one kind of caught me off guard though.. haha :hihi:


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Woah how big is that Amano


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

yeah how big is your amano? i need some but idk if my fish will eat em :|


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ahh... shes only 2 inches


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

bigger than most of my fish


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

yeah, theyre the jerks of the aquarium


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

Have you ever thought about downoi for your foreground?, or at least in your plant mix. I think it would look great. 

Your tank is really looking good! I like it! I love all your plant textures and shapes! I think with a little more plant mass it will be top notch!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I still need to fill the whole right side in with r. rotun. Ive always wanted to try downoi...


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

So I have a question about the spraybar. Should I Have it attached to the right side or the tank instead of the back? The intake is in the back right corner....


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Well, I went ahead and moved it. I figured, lily pipes are set up that way, spraybars arent too different. Plus, I understand how I would get better flow this way.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The light came! Super fast shipping via priority mail .







It came with a 10000k bulb and a 6500k bulb just like I wanted 














It has two switches 







And they upgraded me to the two plug model for free 







FTS before I added some plants I got today


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

yeaah! you got the rotala?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Yep. Sure sure did send enough


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

now imagine that bunch in a 5.5... and times it by 2. scary huh?

glad you like it!

That light looks great, cant wait to see some real growth! gona try a foreground? you got the watts


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)




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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Your tank looks so great! I have a 20 high sitting around gathering dust. This really makes me want to go and set it up.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

mizu-chan said:


> Your tank looks so great! I have a 20 high sitting around gathering dust. This really makes me want to go and set it up.


Thanks, It's still a work in progress. Later this year, maybe Christmas, I will get a 60p and AS amazonia I and replace this tank with it, but use the same filter/lights and the co2 I have on this tank.


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## NstyN8 (May 9, 2008)

I like the moss! 
The C02 infusion is an interesting approach. It looks kind of fragile though. Maybe you could put it in at a 15 degree angle so the catheter can be threaded a little deeper into the Eheim hose. You could also tape the Co2 tubing down. Kind of like an IV.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Yeah, When I get the money, Im gonna get a glass diffuser


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> now imagine that bunch in a 5.5... and times it by 2. scary huh?
> 
> glad you like it!
> 
> That light looks great, cant wait to see some real growth! gona try a foreground? you got the watts


Im going to add some hairgrass to the back middle up to about halfway, then probably add a moss carpet in front of that 
Oh, and on the site, the light was labeled as 2x55 watt... Turns out its 2x65 watt, which adds another watt per gallon. Might as well be a reef tank


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Guys, check out the growth on the rotala (the green on the right) In just 8 hours after I unpacked it from the box that I got in the mail today! My rotala that I have had for a while (red on the right) Isnt growing anywhere near as fast. The new rotala pearls more than the stuff Ive had for a while (maybe the plans "pores" opened during shipping?) 
BEFORE:








AFTER:


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Holy crap. Are you kidding me?
Thats some serious growth. :hihi:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

mizu-chan said:


> Holy crap. Are you kidding me?
> Thats some serious growth. :hihi:


Yeah I know! Its CRAZY!!:red_mouth


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

thats good stuff lmao  it pearled so much for me, it was like have an air pump hooked up. in no time you'll be trimming! 

is the stuff on the right r. rotun as well?


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Yeah I know! Its CRAZY!!:red_mouth


Man, if you get a foreground plant, and it grows way faster than mine I might have to kidnap you and make you do magic on may tank. :icon_lol:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> thats good stuff lmao  it pearled so much for me, it was like have an air pump hooked up. in no time you'll be trimming!


Yeah, I had a lot of it a while ago, but I made the mistake of selling it because I didnt need as much as I do now


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

is the plant on the right r rotun as well?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> is the plant on the right r rotun as well?


Yes, It just got red because of my high light


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

ive got some in my pond that looks like that, same color but with shorter leaves. dont ask why its in my pond  

what light did you have before you upgraded?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> what light did you have before you upgraded?


A home built one with comp. flor. screw ins, not very good  Now I have the catalina 2x65 watt fixture


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

ive got a ghetto DIY hood for my 20H. grows algae well  HOPEFULLY i'll be getting a larger tank... my dad used to be a discus and angel breeder so things are looking good  :thumbsup:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> ive got a ghetto DIY hood for my 20H. grows algae well  HOPEFULLY i'll be getting a larger tank... my dad used to be a discus and angel breeder so things are looking good  :thumbsup:


Thats cool  My next tank is a 60p and after that.... maybe a 125 gallon:icon_twis


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

lol i just bought my mom a 5.5 so she'd start to catch the bug  

my next tank is ada too.. want a nice cube cause 5.5 dimensions dont cut it, so lame!


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## Bk828 (Mar 11, 2008)

tank is looking top notch!!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Bk828 said:


> tank is looking top notch!!


Heeeeyyyy! lol, I do like the way it looks. I really like the color light the new light puts out


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

so how bout an FTS? did the rotala grow out of the tank yet?


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

I second that. Lets see your super natural growth from today.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Didnt grow as much today, I turned down the co2 for my new killie fish just in case  Got some downoi for free!!! It was an extra with some plants.
The downio:








Some kind of rotala:


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

what kind of killies?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

This is the type of killie I got. I got a male and a female. I couldnt get a pic because they are really shy right now  (I didnt take the pic. above )


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Okay, lol, the plants I added today were: Rotala sp. Goias, Pogostemon Helferi, Limnophila Aromatica


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

thats a colorful fish. any other plans for fish?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Oh yeah, the killie is a somethin' somethin' clown killie


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

So I just saw the male killie pick one of my cherry shrimp and swim around with it until the shrimp got free  Ehh, oh well, got plent of babies in another tank, and maybe only 15 in this one


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## MrAL (May 14, 2008)

:icon_eek: shrimps with killies :icon_eek:



clwatkins10 said:


> So I just saw the male killie pick one of my cherry shrimp and swim around with it until the shrimp got free  Ehh, oh well, got plent of babies in another tank, and maybe only 15 in this one


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


>


I love that Taiwan Moss slate! How'd you do it, tie Taiwan Moss over thin slate and let it grow?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> I love that Taiwan Moss slate! How'd you do it, tie Taiwan Moss over thin slate and let it grow?


yep
Here it is when it first started:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I know people are going to say "Quarantine your fish!!" But, considering I have like two fish, Im not too worried about it. The two killies I got the other day looked like they had some fungus or something, so I took them back to the store, and the guy gladly took the back and replaced them with a very healthy trio from a different tank (giving me an extra female for free) That had a slightly different color varient (more pretty if you ask me) So here are the pictures (hard to get a decent pic because they move so fast )














Hiding:




























The best one IMO:







FTS (I know youre thinking "The rotala shrunk" But it has started growing laterally (I guess due to the kight light and open space)


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Nice Killies! You've got a lid, right?

Time to give them Rotalas a trim!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

macclellan said:


> Nice Killies! You've got a lid, right?
> 
> Time to give them Rotalas a trim!


Yep, as much as I hate having a top, its on there. I'm going to let the rotalas grow to the top and then trim and replant them. Heres another killie pic of the male and one of the females hanigin' out:


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Hiding:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What are the 2 species of Rotalas? Rotala sp. Green and Indica from the looks of it?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The low bush on the left is rotala sp. goias and all of the rotala on the right is rotundifolia


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

So you just cut the tops off in a straight line when you trim them? loll...


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

No, I havent done a trim yet....


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Your fish are so pretty! Beautiful coloration, and good choice for this tank. You thinking of breeding these guys?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

mizu-chan said:


> Your fish are so pretty! Beautiful coloration, and good choice for this tank. You thinking of breeding these guys?


Im thinking I might. But im not sure. The male has already coupled up with one of the females. He follows her around, and rests right next to/ on top of her  lol I kinda feel bad for the other female becuase she is always swimming on the opposite end of the tank


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Im thinking I might. But im not sure. The male has already coupled up with one of the females. He follows her around, and rests right next to/ on top of her  lol I kinda feel bad for the other female becuase she is always swimming on the opposite end of the tank


Yet another victim of not being picked by the man of the tank. :hihi:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

le pearling:








Female killie: 








Male killie:


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## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

Beautiful killies!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

CobraGuppy said:


> Beautiful killies!


Thanks. I really like them. They were hidden in the store


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Im thinking I might. But im not sure. The male has already coupled up with one of the females. He follows her around, and rests right next to/ on top of her  lol I kinda feel bad for the other female becuase she is always swimming on the opposite end of the tank


That sounds like me and the person I like:hihi:

How are you diffusing the pressurized CO2?


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Thanks. I really like them. They were hidden in the store


of course they were lol. i found some threadfins tucked away in the plant tank at my lfs but my 20H is close to overstocked :icon_roll

beautiful killies btw


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> How are you diffusing the pressurized CO2?


I am getting a rhinox 5000 in the mail tomorrow  Right now the co2 is going into the filter intake


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## nugzboltz (May 20, 2008)

Nice tank! Those are some really cool fish too - they look like just like gobies!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

look what I got  :








and some crazy pearling:


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

awesome pearling  did it grow any??


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Yeah, Its spreading outward, turning reddish, and a couple of inches from the top


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Crazy pearling you got going on. Cool. :thumbsup:


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

I don't get it, is pearling when the CO2 bubbles get caught underneath the leaves?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Pearling is O2 (oxygen bubbles) produced by the plants that stay on the leaves


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

How can we tell the difference between that and CO2 bubbles getting stuck under the leaves?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

You cant really...


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

just watch where your co2 is going. if its not getting blown around chances are your plants are pearling


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ok, So, I am going through a bacterial bloom  I'm not sure what could have caused it (almost all of my tanks go through this every once in a while??) It started a few days after I changed the light... I have only added three fish, so I doubt it is that. Can someone give me some Ideas?
Could it be my water source? I'm going to test the water...


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ok, My water testing is confusing...

GH- 180... this cant be right.... could it be the limestone here in KY???
KH-between 80 and 120.... same question as above
pH- 6.5
NO2- 0
NO3-0.... I know I need more nitrogen in the tank, I just ordered some ferts today
Any Ideas?


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

Why couldn't your GH be ~10? I'm assuming your measurements are in ppm. Divide by 17.86 to get degrees. Same goes for KH, so it's probably 5-6. These are both fine for the vast majority of plants


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ahh, ok, I didnt know to do the conversion lol, but why am I having a bacteria bloom?


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

Are you positive it's not green water? Have you recently done any big changes (cleaning, uprooting, etc)?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Only moderate changes. Sure I upped the light, but the water isnt green, it's pale, I'll take pics later. In the morning, it isnt so milky, but as the day goes on, it gets worse...


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

Did you put some in a white container to check? I had something similar and it never looked green, but when I put it in a white cup, it clearly was. I'm just trying to marrow things down. If we can rule things out, we can get closer to a proper diagnosis.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

nope, its not green, I put a white piece of plastic in, and it wasnt green tinged, but it sure did look like it was glowing lol


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Im going to do a trim tonight, and hopefully a large-ish wc


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Here the before picture:








I pulled out the rotala:








Which scared a rainbow shrimp that was sold to me as a blue mole shrimp out of hiding (I hardly see him, and he has acquired an orange color, before that he was blue, brown then red)








After 45 minutes of seperating, cutting, then planting, and stirring up the substrate, then doing a big water change (Im guessing close to 70-75%) the water is still a little cloudy, but due to sediment in the water, and is no longer the milky white (but it may come back tomorrow ):








And the shrimp is still out of hiding (and in clearer water ):


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i love the moss that smoothes along the ground, its awsome


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

btw, why did the rotala go bye bye?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

It didnt, I just trimmed the bottoms off of some of the longer stems because they had a mess of roots, then cut them in half, and replanted it in bunches of 3 or so instead of how I had it in two huge bunches. It Will grow back much thicker, healthier, and probably faster!  I also ordered some dry ferts today


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

its looking great  

how are you liking the catalina light?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Thanks, the catalina light is Great!


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

wen you buy the fixture, at checkout do they give you the bulb temp options?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

No, but you send them an email, and they can change the bulbs at no cost


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Thanks, the catalina light is Great!


good to hear :thumbsup: i never heard of them before your thread


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> No, but you send them an email, and they can change the bulbs at no cost


thats silly, they should give u that option.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The water has cleared and I got my dry ferts today


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## crudnugget (Feb 5, 2008)

The trim you did on the rotala looks great. I think I'm going to have to trim mine into a bushy shape like that. A whole corner of my 40 breeder is full of tall stems so hopefully I'll have enough to work with


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

crudnugget said:


> The trim you did on the rotala looks great. I think I'm going to have to trim mine into a bushy shape like that. A whole corner of my 40 breeder is full of tall stems so hopefully I'll have enough to work with


Thanks!


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

how u like catalina?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Like I said, the Catalina pc fixture is great! It does get a little hot, but its all good. Wish they came with splash guards thought


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

you should make one with an acrylic sheet!!! i think im going to. so how did u get them to give u the bulb change free? did you order the fixture and then call to change?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I ordered the fixture, then emailed them asking for them to change the bulbs


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i emailed them like 50 times, still not even a response to the 1st one, oh well, dont wnat to disrupt the journal, so hwos the downoi?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The downoi was looking shabby, then all of the sudden, its branching off from everywhere! 
I found that with catilina, they didnt redspond until after I ordered the fixture lol :/


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

lol, i think they jsut want money 

my downoi is tiny, and you have high light, so shouldnt it be small? mabe im mixing things up 

i must say, it looks great, is it just me or is it cloudy a little still? maybe pics?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The pictures are blurry, I was in a rush lol


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Downoi stays copact with high light, not tiny . I also have some GDA on the front glass which makes it look blurry, I'll get better pics later


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

cant wait


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ok








Downoi








Some pellia Im tryin








Love this stuff:


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

that be some pretty downoi!!!! how do you get pelia to stay down like that? i tried to tie my SuBwassertang down to a rock, and it kinda just fell apart.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

My pellia is just starting to grow, its not big enough yet to tell if it really is pellia though lol


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

holy crap that stuff can grow!!! its looking great


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

you should send me some of that downoi


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> holy crap that stuff can grow!!! its looking great


It has grown noticeably since the last pic. I always knew my tank had a nitrate deficiency, but man, two days of fert dosing has shown amazing results!!!


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

so its been a week, hows the tank?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Its growin' great, I ran out of co2, so Im dosing plenty of excel daily. hmm, spend $20 out of my 60 to fill up the co2, or buy my 30c, then save 20bucks for the co2.... I guess I'll get the 30c first, hopefully I wont run out of excel lol. Ive noticed that the bba on my anubias has been going away since I ran out of co2...


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

in your words, pics?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I'll take pics tomorrow...maybe...


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)




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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

I'm really jealous. D:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Well, I moved the blyxa that was hidden by the rotala into the empty spots on the left. I also trimmed one of the...gah, I cant remember the name of the stem plant in the back left...tall, stray stems and put it in the last empy spot. The tall thin stem is pot. gayi that just sprouted up there and I dont know what to do with it. You can see how the downoi has grown (sorry the water is a little cloudy from the replanting)















I started out with just four crowns 
I also moved the pellia that was just in there because to the left some and trimmed and replanted a couple of the stray rotala stems


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Oh, and should I move my intake from behind that mass of rotala?


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i'm so jealous of your tank lol, growth is crazy and it looks great roud:


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i need only 1 smilie for this:

:icon_eek:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Thanks guys. And keep in mind, I have been out of co2 for maybe a week now lol. All of this with excel


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

yeah just keep rubbing it in :hihi:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The water isnt really cloudy, thats algae on the front glass.
Im going to refill my co2 tomorrow, the 30c will have to wait :'(


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

it's beautiful. what are you going to do with the foreground?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Im still not sure. The left side is done, but the rotala just looks like blah. I might to hairgrass in the back with hc or glosso in the front. Well see. I dint have a chance to fill up my co2 today, so hopefully I'll do that tomorrow


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

dude, if you get rid of that rotala what are we gona watch grow?  

shoot me a pm if you do, i might need some back for my 20L LOL.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Im not going to get rid of it, just trim it haha. Oh, the killies laid eggs lol


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Wow! That's awesome!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I finally got my co2 filled up today  Got it cranked up and plants are starting to pearl already


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Oh, the killies laid eggs lol


sweet! are you gona try and hatch them?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

crappy cellphone before pic







I did a trim and got 4 otos out of it. And I only trimmed the rotala haha


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)




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## Saraja87 (Jul 18, 2007)

I love the thickness of the bunches and the contrasting stem textures!


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

daaaang that is quite the forest  its looking great. i love coming back to see plants on roids


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I bet between your new light and CO2 you'll start getting some reds in no time. :thumbsup: 

Looks great!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> I bet between your new light and CO2 you'll start getting some reds in no time. :thumbsup:
> 
> Looks great!


I know, but I have a really short photoperiod of 6 hours because Im battling string algae. 15 mins of I bulb on, 5:30 with both bulbs, then 15 mins of one bulb. I might lengthen the time with less time having both bulbs on...any suggestions? Thanks for the compliment btw


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

i like it. its very lush and green. its one of those really nice scapes that remind me of a rainforest pool.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Anybody know of ways to get rid of string algae? My amanos arent eating it. I cranked my co2 up about 10 days ago, but the algae is only a little better.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Spot treatment with Excel. Do you have any?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Spot treatment with Excel. Do you have any?


Ive tried that as well as H202 with no success


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## crudnugget (Feb 5, 2008)

From everything I have read and experienced, string algae is one of the hardest to eradicate. Many people recommend a blackout for a couple days, but I was without power for about 5 days after Hurricane Ike and I *still* have string algae in my tank (all the BBA died off though).

I'd say just stick with the manual removal while keeping your CO2 and ferts steady, and eventually it'll stop growing and you'll see no more of it.

Your plants are looking really nice, what species of rotala is that on the right?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The rotala on the right is rotundifolia. Thanks for the tips


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

trimmed a few things, added a few others


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

okay, i cant figure out what you added lol. do tell


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i think he added more moss


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> okay, i cant figure out what you added lol. do tell


I added l. repens to the back


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

gess i was wrong, lol


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

gotcha  its looking great btw


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ugh, I was cleaning my filter, and I noticed my diffuser was going crazy, I checked my bps, and it was through the roof, half of my co2 tank got drained


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

My rotala is really shaping up  
















Trying to get a pic of my new additions:








Oh, and yes, I did take the moss out. I didnt want it to get infested with algae


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

dayummmmmm fine 

ready to sell some of that downoi yet?

u should put in some HC or glosso as carpet, very healthy plants, love it.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> dayummmmmm fine
> 
> ready to sell some of that downoi yet?
> 
> u should put in some HC or glosso as carpet, very healthy plants, love it.


Yeah, I want to put in some glosso, but when I see a good piece for sale at a good price, somebody has already bought it  I also want to do hairgrass again. I just love the way it looks


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Doing a trim today, updates soon


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

for your tank, i would actually like to see how it would look with a HM carpet. i suggest you think about it. it can be shaped to grow like glosso, but with a slightly different leaf texture and shape, but similar size (also less invasive since HM doesnt have root runners).


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

It was very overgrown:








I trimmed the rotala down a lot. I didnt want it to die off too much from lack of light and wanted better flow. Some of the leaves had died, but they'll grow back and it will bush up:








I have been trimming and replanting the downoi (going for a foreground maybe) And using root tabs with great success. I found and extra stem of it in my lim. aro. jungle when I trimmed it back:


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Will you accept a trade for that Downoi? It's looking great:eek5:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Thanks. I'm getting tired of how green my tank is. Its so green because my nitrates were high, I haven't dosed it in a long time and I've been doing big water changes, so new growth is getting more and more red


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## Black Hills Tj (Jul 19, 2008)

Sharp tank. I have a 20H and I'm looking for a new light for it. What are you running on this tank?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

A catalina 130W compact florescent fixture (way overkill )


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## Black Hills Tj (Jul 19, 2008)

130w...holy smokes! I was thinking of going from stock t-8 lighting to ~40-65w.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Some random shots:
I added some hc that I had and didnt know what to do with:
















Some of my blyxa:


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## Black Hills Tj (Jul 19, 2008)

That blyxa is lookin' sharp!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Black Hills Tj said:


> That blyxa is lookin' sharp!


Thanks!  I got it from texgal a while ago


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I noticed I was getting some bba, so I moved the powerhead to just above the diffuser, so the bubbles dissolve a lot better.








I moved some blyxa from the back where you couldn't see it to in front of the rotala








I am impatient, so I moved my mystery fern to this tank, and it is already pearling 








As you can see, I am starting to get some color in my rotala








FTS, no the water is not cloudy, those are just co2 micro bubbles ​


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I *FINALLY* figured out the right white balance with my crappy 3.2 mp camera lol


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## Black Hills Tj (Jul 19, 2008)

I like it, but something to break up the substrate in the foreground would be nice. A really, really, really short carpet would be nice. On the other hand, some real short individual plants may be a little more unique.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Black Hills Tj said:


> I like it, but something to break up the substrate in the foreground would be nice. A really, really, really short carpet would be nice. On the other hand, some real short individual plants may be a little more unique.


yes, I know. I'm workin' on it, k? 
I'm trying to grow out my downoi to make a foreground out of it.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i think you should try UG


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> i think you should try UG


not in this tank, but I WANT to try it in my 2.5 that I'm setting up again, if I can get my hands on some, it would be awesome!


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## Black Hills Tj (Jul 19, 2008)

Pardon my ignorance...but what exactly is UG?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

how do you get your stems to be so bushy? Do you have to plant it in groups or something?


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

What is the grassy plant that separates your downoi from your stems? It's directly to the right of an anubias. It works very well there!


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

Your downoi is looking great! I sure wish I could grow that! It gives me fits. I finally had it growing in my 10g shrimp and when I cut back my lights it began melting. It's such a hard plant for me. 

I just got "The 101 bets Aquarium Plants" book. Great book. It has the NERVE to include downoi as the top 10 easiest growers!! Insult to inury!!!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Black Hills Tj said:


> Pardon my ignorance...but what exactly is UG?


ug



ddtran46 said:


> how do you get your stems to be so bushy? Do you have to plant it in groups or something?


I plant each stem individually and when I trim them, they grow more shoots, thus becoming bushier



forddna said:


> What is the grassy plant that separates your downoi from your stems? It's directly to the right of an anubias. It works very well there!


I dont know if you are talking about the subwassertang or the blyxa...



Tex Gal said:


> Your downoi is looking great! I sure wish I could grow that! It gives me fits. I finally had it growing in my 10g shrimp and when I cut back my lights it began melting. It's such a hard plant for me.
> 
> I just got "The 101 best Aquarium Plants" book. Great book. It has the NERVE to include downoi as the top 10 easiest growers!! Insult to injury!!!


Thanks  Sorry that you cant grow it . I just stick half a root tab in the substrate, then plant a stem of it above/ next to where the root tab is, and it grows like mad , this is what it looked like when I first got it:


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

clwatkins10 said:


> ug
> I dont know if you are talking about the subwassertang or the blyxa...


Neither. It's on the far left in this picture, separating the background stems and the downoi:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

forddna said:


> Neither. It's on the far left in this picture, separating the background stems and the downoi:


Oh! That is crypt. parva


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Whoa. Your downoi is awesomeness.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Chrisinator said:


> Whoa. Your downoi is awesomeness.


Thanks ya! I almost didn't want to try it, I got 4 stems as a freebie, and they worked out great


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

I thought Crypt Parva grows like...small


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> I thought Crypt Parva grows like...small


The crypt parva I have is TINY! Nothing like what is in that px. It's the smallest crypt. I have crypt willissi X lucens 'bronze' and even that is much smaller than this. Confuses me too! :icon_ques

crypt willissi X lucens 'bronze'


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> The crypt parva I have is TINY! Nothing like what is in that px. It's the smallest crypt. I have crypt lucens X lucens 'bronze' and even that is much smaller than this. Confuses me too! :icon_ques


lol, I guess I was wrong. When I got it, it was tiny, but now that I look at it, its gotten a lot bigger


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Your lighting is 6700K and 10K right?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Your lighting is 6700K and 10K right?


Yep


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

Thanks for the ID, I think! LOL


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

crypt lucens maybe?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> crypt lucens maybe?


yeah, thats what I suspect it is.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

when crypts dont get light, their stems grow bigger. i think the leaves are small, just that the stems grew big.
you should see what my wendtiis did when the got shaded by my stems.


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

Here is a px of my Crypt. parva. Notice the size of the granuals. It's Amazonia. The leaves are about 3/4" maybe. It's a tiny tiny plant.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)




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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> Here is a px of my Crypt. parva. Notice the size of the granuals. It's Amazonia. The leaves are about 3/4" maybe. It's a tiny tiny plant.


Hey! Just saw this. Thanks for the pic  That really is tiny lol


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

I can't believe your downoi! It's beautiful. That plant is very hard for me. I do keep trying!:redface:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> I can't believe your downoi! It's beautiful. That plant is very hard for me. I do keep trying!:redface:


Thanks! There are around 30-35 stems in there, you just can't see the shorter ones that are hiding behind the taller front ones


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

I love this tank.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

mizu-chan said:


> I love this tank.


Thank you! It has come a long way, but still has a long way to go:icon_roll


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

what are you planning with that HC?
i would have it grow in a strip in front of the plants to the right of the downoi all the way to the glass, or in a full carpet (but i see a shrimp, so i dont know if you want some bare gravel for a feeding groung).


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

@[email protected] said:


> what are you planning with that HC?
> i would have it grow in a strip in front of the plants to the right of the downoi all the way to the glass, or in a full carpet (but i see a shrimp, so i dont know if you want some bare gravel for a feeding groung).


I was just growing it out for my nano:icon_roll If I add a foreground plant, it'll be hairgrass, but I still want to fill the entire foreground with downoi:icon_roll


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

dude sweet colors! whats the plant coming out of the rotala bush?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> dude sweet colors! whats the plant coming out of the rotala bush?


Thanks, it's pot. gayi


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Some pics of my downoi just for you texgal lol


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## MikeP_123 (Aug 31, 2008)

DUDE!!! This your tank is SEXY! Great job! Love that foreground. I wish my tank would be this green. Also. what bulbs are you running?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

MikeP_123 said:


> DUDE!!! This your tank is SEXY! Great job! Love that foreground. I wish my tank would be this green. Also. what bulbs are you running?


one 65 watt 6500k
one 65 watt 10000k
Thanks 
I propagated the downoi some more, I'll post another pic in a minute


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I'd say I'm at least 1/3 done with my foreground


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

why not separate them and spread em out so they can fill in?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> why not separate them and spread em out so they can fill in?


Yes, I have thought about that. I've just been lopping the tops off and planting them close together for some reason. I will do that Eventually:icon_roll


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

last pic for the night, promise
I heeded fishmans advice:


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

I think the reason I can't grow downoi is because you are hogging it all!!!!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> I think the reason I can't grow downoi is because you are hogging it all!!!!


LOL! All of this came from 4 stems that I got as freebies. When my foreground grows in completely, I will definitely be sure to let you know 
The pot. gayi that I have in this tank started from one stem that I got from you over the summer, as did the bacopa. I had one stem of each


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

holy jeebers, that came from 4?!?!?!?


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

So is that how you proprogate Downoi? Just cut the top off and re-plant that?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> holy jeebers, that came from 4?!?!?!?


Yep, 8-07-08


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> So is that how you proprogate Downoi? Just cut the top off and re-plant that?


Yes, and leave the rooted portion where it is


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> LOL! All of this came from 4 stems that I got as freebies. When my foreground grows in completely, I will definitely be sure to let you know
> The pot. gayi that I have in this tank started from one stem that I got from you over the summer, as did the bacopa. I had one stem of each


Glad I could help! Sure hope your kids don't do what your plants do! :hihi: I like P. Gayi. I love the water movement through it and the color shading. I don't see any bacopa. (Why in the world did I only send one stem? That's not my style? Can't remember.)


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> I don't see any bacopa. (Why in the world did I only send one stem? That's not my style? Can't remember.)


Oh my bad, I meant ludwigia. This was over the summer when you sent some free trimmings, but a lot of them melted because they had to wait over the weekend at the PO. Only one stem of the gayi and one stem of the ludwigia survived. Too bad the stargrass didn't make it though


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Did a trim to the left side:


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Will you consider a trade for any of your plants? I have a bunch that would look _great_ in your tank:hihi:

You should move that Blyxa to the right to cover up that powerhead:confused1:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I just identified my algae as spirogyra....


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I just ordered a 2217  I might have to reduce the flow a lil, but I might not :hihi: Oh, and the algae is residing


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

umm, i suggest you try and hide that powerhead or something. no offence, its just while the pic was loading, the white thing around it and the fact that it is centered really makes it stand out more then you probably want it to.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

@[email protected] said:


> umm, i suggest you try and hide that powerhead or something. no offence, its just while the pic was loading, the white thing around it and the fact that it is centered really makes it stand out more then you probably want it to.


I understand. It was only a temporary thing. It's out now, promise


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

hows the downoi carpet going?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> hows the downoi carpet going?











I'm not sure if you can tell much difference in the pics...


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

sweeeeet


----------



## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

WOW!!! Wait, and you started with 3 stems? That's insane! When yours fills in, my tank might be ready to be filled and downoi is in my plant list. If you'd be willing to sell some once it fills in, please PM me!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> WOW!!! Wait, and you started with 3 stems? That's insane! When yours fills in, my tank might be ready to be filled and downoi is in my plant list. If you'd be willing to sell some once it fills in, please PM me!


It started from 4 actually  I already have a couple of big orders waiting, so if I have any extra, I'll start a for sale thread


----------



## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I wouldn't be needing very many. . .just enough to start me off. Great tank and keep it up!! :thumbsdow


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

wow, how do you propagate your downoi?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

@[email protected] said:


> wow, how do you propagate your downoi?


I cut the tops of and replant the tops. The rooted portions grow new shoots


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> I wouldn't be needing very many. . .just enough to start me off. Great tank and keep it up!!


If I can remember:icon_roll


fishboy87 said:


> :thumbsdow


 lol,


----------



## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

My bad. . .I meant to do the thumbs up and I saw a thumb and posted it. . .my bad! Oh, and I just read your whole thread and it seems like you mentioned you had 4 downoi stems a bajillion times and I just had to say 3! LOL. . .Thanks again


----------



## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

lol what a mistake 
that's a lot of downois. it's beautiful.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> My bad. . .I meant to do the thumbs up and I saw a thumb and posted it. . .my bad! Oh, and I just read your whole thread and it seems like you mentioned you had 4 downoi stems a bajillion times and I just had to say 3! LOL. . .Thanks again


no worries 


ikuzo said:


> lol what a mistake
> that's a lot of downois. it's beautiful.


Thanks man!


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

how the eff do you get the tops to stay in the substrate? do you bury the whole top halfway? i have a hard enough time replanting the whole stem :icon_neut


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

idk how he does it, but did you try using plant weights?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> how the eff do you get the tops to stay in the substrate? do you bury the whole top halfway? i have a hard enough time replanting the whole stem :icon_neut


I use tweezers and make sure it's pretty deep in there


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I made an inline reactor today and got that ugly diffuser out of there


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

can you get us a pic of the reactor?


----------



## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Man you and your crazy moss skills


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> can you get us a pic of the reactor?











Nothin' special


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Down_Shift said:


> Man you and your crazy moss skills


moss? :hihi:


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

niceee dude roud: why does it look like you have rotala sp. green (tallest) and rotundifolia (under tallest)?


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

thats a nice reacotr, lol, mines just a piece of acrylic with a hole drilled in and a check valve glued in. put it on intake 

looks very nice.

any new sprouts on the downoi?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> niceee dude roud: why does it look like you have rotala sp. green (tallest) and rotundifolia (under tallest)?


Thanks That's just the way I have my rotala trimmed, it's all rotundifolia. I really wish it would redden up  I think that my nitrates are a tad high, because my limno is green too 


fishman9809 said:


> thats a nice reacotr, lol, mines just a piece of acrylic with a hole drilled in and a check valve glued in. put it on intake
> 
> looks very nice.
> 
> any new sprouts on the downoi?


Um, not sure about the downoi, but thanks


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i hear those pink bulbs bring out the red in plants... are you running a 6700K and 10000K?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> i hear those pink bulbs bring out the red in plants... are you running a 6700K and 10000K?


Yes. I should still see some red, or at least pink. I know my iron isn't low.


----------



## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> moss? :hihi:



Refering to the first pic. Your moss always looks good.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Down_Shift said:


> Refering to the first pic. Your moss always looks good.


Ahh, yes. I see  Thanks


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Yes. I should still see some red, or at least pink. I know my iron isn't low.


true. i remember using just a 6700K on mine and getting a really nice pink. but thats when the tips were like 2 inches from the bulb lmao...


----------



## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

chris127 said:


> true. i remember using just a 6700K on mine and getting a really nice pink. but thats when the tips were like 2 inches from the bulb lmao...


Well... What deductions can we make from this? Light intensity has a _lot_ to do with a plant's coloring up :thumbsup:

Tank looks good clw!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> Well... What deductions can we make from this? Light intensity has a _lot_ to do with a plant's coloring up :thumbsup:
> 
> Tank looks good clw!


I have 130 watts LOL!:icon_roll
But I did lower my photoperiod to around 6 hours when the algae outbreak occurred... would a longer photoperiod do it?


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Are you using a lilly pipe for the filter output return?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Are you using a lilly pipe for the filter output return?


I wish:icon_roll I'm basically just using the output hose:icon_roll


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Really? Where do you put it so it doesn't blow the plants around?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Really? Where do you put it so it doesn't blow the plants around?


Back right corner


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

are you serious man?

im running 18 watts on the 30c 

30c = 7,5 gallons
your tank = 20 gallons

18 x 3 (7.5 gallons x 3) = 54 watts

your tank has more wattage than mine, and mines even more gallonage 

your crazy!!!


dosign lots of iron?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> are you serious man?


duh


fishman9809 said:


> dosign lots of iron?


well, 1/8 tsp every other day


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Back right corner


Is there more room in the back than what it looks like?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Is there more room in the back than what it looks like?


umm, I don't thing so...?


----------



## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

clwatkins10 said:


> I have 130 watts LOL!:icon_roll
> But I did lower my photoperiod to around 6 hours when the algae outbreak occurred... would a longer photoperiod do it?


Yes, it will. Rotala shows the red color when it's growing very quickly. Increasing the length of time the lights are on will increase growth rate, and therefore you'll see more red. This can also lead to algae if you don't have enough CO2 or nutrients. Don't skimp on nitrates to try to "bring out the reds", all you'll get is lots of blue-green 

Just so you know, the past two weeks, I started dosing 2x EI, and the plants have never been healthier looking.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

eyebeatbadgers said:


> Yes, it will. Rotala shows the red color when it's growing very quickly. Increasing the length of time the lights are on will increase growth rate, and therefore you'll see more red. This can also lead to algae if you don't have enough CO2 or nutrients. Don't skimp on nitrates to try to "bring out the reds", all you'll get is lots of blue-green
> 
> Just so you know, the past two weeks, I started dosing 2x EI, and the plants have never been healthier looking.


Thanks! I'll be sure to bump the ferts up some when I bump up the lights. (Doing that right now) and the inline reactor is working great, there is more pearling than with the diffuser and the water looks clearer that it did with all of the micro bublles floating around.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I got home and there was a huge box outside my door  It was the same size box that my 30c came in (almost a 2x2x2 ft box) And MAN! This 2217 is HUGE! It moves a ton water! I have it on my 55 gallon tank until it gets some bacteria started up in it


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

dude and i thought my 2215 was huge lol  the 2217 holds like 1 and a half gallons right?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> dude and i thought my 2215 was huge lol  the 2217 holds like 1 and a half gallons right?


Something like that. It's like a gallon milk jug in diameter, but quite a bit taller than the jug would be


----------



## SeaSerpant (Feb 20, 2008)

Just a question. How do you get such lush growth like that?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

SeaSerpant said:


> Just a question. How do you get such lush growth like that?


practice lol



high co2, ferts and light


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Something like that. It's like a gallon milk jug in diameter, but quite a bit taller than the jug would be


ahaha what a monster


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> ahaha what a monster


looking at my 2.5 gallon tank, it might be closer to 2 gallons


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Just messing around
























I put the 2217 on the tank when I got home today. The plants are pearling more. Maybe the co2 is dissolving faster with a higher flow rate through the reactor?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I changed a couple of things


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

duuuuude that is nice!! so much downoi!! thats like 100 bucks worth :icon_eek: and i see some red coming out of the rotala!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> duuuuude that is nice!! so much downoi!! thats like 100 bucks worth :icon_eek:


I know, and it's killing me not to sell it.


chris127 said:


> i see some red coming out of the rotala!


I know  Finally lol


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

once you get the foreground filled, sell half and make a fortune!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> once you get the foreground filled, sell half and make a fortune!


I'm planning on it  Epic has dibs on a bunch of it :flick:


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

lol! and then you can afford your UG


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> lol! and then you can afford your UG


That's exactly what I was thinking  If I can find a good local tank builder, I'm gonna get one drilled so that I can have bulkheads and change the substrate to amazonia and get some nice wood and rocks and do an actual scape with a full ug foreground


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i wanna find a local builder to build me a 14 x 14 x 13 "cube"... ill probably have to propagate some downoi to afford that


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> i wanna find a local builder to build me a 14 x 14 x 13 "cube"... ill probably have to propagate some downoi to afford that


Why not just go for a 24 inch cube :hihi:


----------



## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Epic has dibs on a bunch of it :flick:


*cough cough-ahem. . .* fishboy gots 2nd dibs:tongue:


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> *cough cough-ahem. . .* fishboy gots 2nd dibs:tongue:


If epic doesn't take it all, I'll post a for sale thread  It's too confusing trying to remember more than one person


----------



## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Just joking. . .I'm in no rush and I'll just keep an eye out on the sns


----------



## joejoe123 (Aug 22, 2006)

What is UG ???
Forgot to add that this has to be one of my fav planted tanks. Love it :smile:
Joey


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

joejoe123 said:


> What is UG ???
> Forgot to add that this has to be one of my fav planted tanks. Love it :smile:
> Joey


Utricularia graminifolia
And thanks!


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow it looks awesome!!!










Is the red circle your filter output?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Wow it looks awesome!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)




----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Well, currently the tank is being rescaped. Well, not really rescaped, more like replanted, as in im moving some of the stem plants. I was getting kinda bored with it, so I hope that the 'replant' works out for the better


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ok, I'm going for a wall of rotala with the corners having lim. aro. and a row of blxa with a foreground of downoi and hc. The wood is oak that I whittled and boiled etc. myself The water is cloudy because I stirred the substrate. I'm going to do a big water change and hope that everything starts growing.


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

DUDE, YOU KILLED IT! but it looks good nonetheless  

i love the plant layout. im not a huge fan of the wood though... maybe some manzanita twisting out of the bushes would look better? or just go dutch again and find some sweet accent plants for the middle. but whatever you do, im sure youll make it look great


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> DUDE, YOU KILLED IT! but it looks good nonetheless
> 
> i love the plant layout. im not a huge fan of the wood though... maybe some manzanita twisting out of the bushes would look better? or just go dutch again and find some sweet accent plants for the middle. but whatever you do, im sure youll make it look great


Yeah, the rotala is going to grow, the stems are only like 2 inches right now. The wood will be poking out of a huge bush of rotala like what is on the right side. No need to worry, I've got a plan


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i cant wait to see it grow in then


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow the wood puts a nice little accent on the tank.

How bout you cut off a piece and make one poke out of the Rotala?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> i cant wait to see it grow in then


Me too


ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Wow the wood puts a nice little accent on the tank.
> 
> How bout you cut off a piece and make one poke out of the Rotala?


Thanks. I might just go out and whittle some more to do that. The wood *will* darken up to a nice mazantia color, which will be much more pleasing to the eyes. Right now the sae is grazing all over the wood looking for little things to eat. The cherries are climbing all over it as well. This tank needed some king of hardscape, so hopefully the wood will work out


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Just so that you know that there *is* some rotala back there


----------



## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Looks good 
Your foreground looks amazing!


----------



## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

wow.. that kicks ass..








great job! yes.. that smell is jealousy


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

mizu-chan said:


> Looks good
> Your foreground looks amazing!


Thanks 


Torpedobarb said:


> wow.. that kicks ass..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Barbara :hihi:


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Looks awesome!

*hi five* for "Barbara" :thumbsup:


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I took the wood out. Things would have been too hard to trim with it


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

soooo, update pic without it?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> soooo, update pic without it?


It's basically the same. I also move the lim. aro. that was in the back left. I'll take pics when things start to grow.


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

soo that should be tomorrow, right? :hihi:


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> soo that should be tomorrow, right? :hihi:


lol, I wish:icon_roll


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

what happened to the super rotala?? that stuff was like an inch a day.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> what happened to the super rotala?? that stuff was like an inch a day.


I have kept it trimmed. Believe me, Now that I have moved things around, I want the super rotala back, I'm scared of algae. Since moving the plants around the other day, the thread algae is back in my downoi:icon_cry:


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Oh, I have lowered my photoperiod down and I'm only using one bulb now. I have also been doing large excel doses
EDIT: I have also upped my co2


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ok, I took all of the downoi out (counted 75-80 stems total), picked as much algae out as I could and put it in a gallon of water and dosed 1 mL of excel in the water (10x recommended dose) and let it sit there for 20 minutes. Right now the downoi is in a bag floating in my 55 gallon tank. Hopefully that will kill the blasted algae. In the meantime I got a bunch of hm today (way more than my nano could handle) so I planted in the empty area where my downoi once was. I now have the thread algae about 95% gone. Hopefully it will go away completely. Thread algae is #1 on my algae hate list lol


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

are you gona put the downoi back? or is it going to fund your college?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> are you gona put the downoi back? or is it going to fund your college?


lol, I think epic wants it, but if he doesn't want it because of the algae, then I'll put it back I guess


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

word. lol. 

im battling thread algae right now too. what sucks is that i have no amanos or excel(lfs wont order it cause theyre lame) so i basically have to pull it out everyday and hope the amanos come in the mail soon. whats good is that you pull one part and thats usually attached to another part so it all comes up at once


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> word. lol.
> 
> im battling thread algae right now too. what sucks is that i have no amanos or excel(lfs wont order it cause theyre lame) so i basically have to pull it out everyday and hope the amanos come in the mail soon. whats good is that you pull one part and thats usually attached to another part so it all comes up at once


Well, not with mine. I might not have "thread" algae, I've actually ID'ed it as biospira I think, but I know what kind of algae you are talking about, which has branches unlike my algai, which is long long single strands, and is kinda slimy


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

yeah the algae in my tank looks more like a thing stringy version of clado. annoying. and i think i have some staghorn breaking out too.... uy, the pain of high light and crappy CO2....


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Ooooh can I take the Downoi


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

thread isnt slimy.

get a SAE. SAE eat all algea. they are amazing little fish, ok not so little. get a young SAE, and all your algae troubles will be gone.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

@[email protected] said:


> thread isnt slimy.
> 
> get a SAE. SAE eat all algea. they are amazing little fish, ok not so little. get a young SAE, and all your algae troubles will be gone.


I have one, but he is one lazy youknowwhat He wont eat algae. He has been on a "fast" for a week, and his stomach is still nice and round. Maybe he is secretly eating algae?


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

WHA-?
all my SAE ate algea like there was no tomorrow while they were young.
how big is he?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

@[email protected] said:


> WHA-?
> all my SAE ate algea like there was no tomorrow while they were young.
> how big is he?


maybe 1.5-2 inches. not too big...


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ok, Chris  
Now keep in mind, it is still a work in progress


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Woah what happened to the wood?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Woah what happened to the wood?


I ate it 

:hihi:
JK, I just took it out. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

All of my downoi melted over night with the exception of three stems  I lost around 80 stems of downoi, overnight. I had them floating in another tank, and they all melted. The stems are mush and the roots are mush where they are attached to the stems. This sucks because I was going to use the money to help set up a vivarium. So much for that


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry to hear that:icon_cry: 

But on the bright side, you can make those up with the 3 that survived:thumbsup:


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Sorry to hear that:icon_cry:
> 
> But on the bright side, you can make those up with the 3 that survived:thumbsup:


I don't know. I might end up breaking this tank down. It costs too much money that I don't have and I really wanted to set up a vivarium, and now I just lost a lot of money in that downoi, so IDK. It takes soo much time and everything.


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

stick them in the tank. you have room. let them grow while you make up your mind.

SAE is too young. he is too small to really make a difference. but thats fixed easily, just wait. in a few monthes he should start to make a dent in your algae.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

@[email protected] said:


> stick them in the tank. you have room. let them grow while you make up your mind.
> 
> SAE is too young. he is too small to really make a difference. but thats fixed easily, just wait. in a few monthes he should start to make a dent in your algae.


stick what in the tank?


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

downoi stems. the 3 live ones.


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

what do you mean by melted? downoi bounces back pretty quick after wilting. i had a stem floating in my tank for a week and i planted it and grew it back.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> what do you mean by melted? downoi bounces back pretty quick after wilting. i had a stem floating in my tank for a week and i planted it and grew it back.


It's complete mush. Like bad salad, it turned dark green and slimy. I took some of the firm roots that I could salvage and planted them in hopes of a miracle:icon_roll


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> It's complete mush. Like bad salad, it turned dark green and slimy. I took some of the firm roots that I could salvage and planted them in hopes of a miracle:icon_roll


oooh that sounds bad.... sorry about that


----------



## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

i don't want to sound rude or flip here, but---

It seems like you guys are rescaping your tanks every other week... Uprooting and replanting and uprooting and replanting causes quite a bit of stress on a plant. Maybe that's why your downoi died.

Spend some time planning out what you _really_ want and STICK WITH IT!!!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I haven't rescaped this tank in a long time, and when I did, I only added the wood then took it back out


----------



## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

The excel probably caused it to melt. It burns leaves whenever I squirt the algae on them with it. However I must say that your tank doesn't look any worse without the downoi


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

Cardinal Tetra said:


> The excel probably caused it to melt. It burns leaves whenever I squirt the algae on them with it. However I must say that your tank doesn't look any worse without the downoi


i agree. your scape looks great right now, and it will look amazing when the rotala on the left has grown in more :thumbsup:


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

It looks good but I lost a bunch of money. I had already gotten the payment and they were going to go out monday. I had to refund it all  I guess I'll have to wait for that exo terra that I want


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

soooo uppdate this man!!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> soooo uppdate this man!!


The plants are growing good. But an exposed root tab that I didn't see = green water. My money status (0) = no uv.







I may update tomorrow....

maybe....


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

C'mon pleeeeeease update this


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i bleached (i just dipped it in the solution for about 3 seconds) my downoi. the day of it looked fine, i planted it. today it all turned into mush. so its the bleach that killed it.


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

your turn


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

haha, the lights are out. I'll take a pic tomorrow


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

U LIE

u promised


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

yah i turned mine back on for a picture


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Here ya go you lil' whiners


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

hehehehe
you have green water.
lol

its ok. as far as im aware, it goes away on it own.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Yes, I am hoping it will go away soon and not be like ll's tank:icon_roll I have been running only one bulb for a couple of weeks now:icon_roll


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I did a decent trim today. Pics in a few.


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

since you dont have any fish (that im aware of ) you can put some daphnia in there and let them go at it.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> since you dont have any fish (that im aware of ) you can put some daphnia in there and let them go at it.


I have an sae, but he can be moved. Is this really a practical way to get rid of GW?


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> I have an sae, but he can be moved. Is this really a practical way to get rid of GW?


idk i havent tried it, someone suggested it to me  you can always freeze them for food if and when they eat all the algae.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> idk i havent tried it, someone suggested it to me  you can always freeze them for food if and when they eat all the algae.


I could get them at my lfs, right?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

If you can see through the GW:


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

wheres your limno aro?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishman9809 said:


> wheres your limno aro?


Back right lol. I took the stand of it out that I had towards the middle and replaced it with rotala. I might wind up doing the same to the other bunch of it that I have in the corner.


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

no change in the GW.
i think the blyxa will look good there, though. 

OMG! is that a little SAE!?


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

apparently...


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

shut up (jk)
i love SAE. they are the best fish there is.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Oh, and I haven't dosed this tank in ages (since the gw appeared)


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

i guess thats smart, just make sure you watch the plants for signs of deficiencies.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I did a 40% water change and took a pic. before the water clouded up again.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

New camera


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

"Update 12-2"

That's today and I don't see any new pics

EDIT: WOAH that was freaky...you must have clicked "Reply" like a second before me:hihi:

Too many floaters But the other plants look great!


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i do


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

What's the plant behind the Blyxa on the left side? Is that the Rotala sp. 'Green'?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> "Update 12-2"
> 
> That's today and I don't see any new pics
> 
> ...


The floaters were put in there when the gw broke out


ZooTycoonMaster said:


> What's the plant behind the Blyxa on the left side? Is that the Rotala sp. 'Green'?


rotundifolia.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> rotundifolia.


Really? My Rotundifolia gets red when it gets close to the light:icon_eek:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Really? My Rotundifolia gets red when it gets close to the light:icon_eek:


I know. It used to get red, but I haven't dosed in forever and I have only been running one bulb


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Oh, and a day after I did the big WC, the GW started going away


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

niceee  are you gona shape the left like the right side?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> niceee  are you gona shape the left like the right side?


Yep. And the middle  I'm goin' for a full wall


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Well, now the water is crystal clear


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

yay! pics!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> yay! pics!


ok, since I like playing with my camera :icon_roll


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

the ricca ball makes me laugh  it looks great. i see you put the spray bar back!


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

OMG I love that Riccia ball!!!! What's it attached to?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> OMG I love that Riccia ball!!!! What's it attached to?


Thread tied to plant weights


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i realized what it looks like... a brain :icon_eek:


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

your tank looks nice


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

chris127 said:


> i realized what it looks like... a brain :icon_eek:


It's a plaintbrain!! ...oh! ...sorry Tom!


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## erinrobinjade (Nov 20, 2008)

chris127 said:


> i realized what it looks like... a brain :icon_eek:


 
HAHAHAHA I agree !


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Thread tied to plant weights


Forgive me if I steal your idea in the future:hihi:


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

the tank looks great.
and thats a good idea with the riccia.
but i think the tank needs some more color. its all pretty much the same shade of green. all youd need is a touch of red or brown to break it up.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

@[email protected] said:


> the tank looks great.
> and thats a good idea with the riccia.
> but i think the tank needs some more color. its all pretty much the same shade of green. all youd need is a touch of red or brown to break it up.


If only I could get the rotala and the limno to color up. I have started dosing again today now that the tank has stabilized.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

what K bulbs are you running?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> what K bulbs are you running?


I've been running only the 6500 but I also have the 10000


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## Characins (Feb 4, 2008)

Wow, so much green in one place!

Tank looks great!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Care for an Update?:


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

When the hc fills in. it will be nothing but green. Great job. You also gave me an idea for an aquascape. . .hang tons of those riccia balls at diff. heights so it looks like one of those unexploded marine minefields that you see in movies or just look like puffy riccia clouds. *mumbles on some more about things completely off topic* Aaaanyway . . . Great tank!!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> When the hc fills in. it will be nothing but green. Great job. You also gave me an idea for an aquascape. . .hang tons of those riccia balls at diff. heights so it looks like one of those unexploded marine minefields that you see in movies or just look like puffy riccia clouds. *mumbles on some more about things completely off topic* Aaaanyway . . . Great tank!!


I was thinking about that, but letting the balls grow together to create a rolling hill effect.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)




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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

time for a trim?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fishboy87 said:


> time for a trim?


already done, new pics soon


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

the substrate looks different.... did you add aquasoil?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> the substrate looks different.... did you add aquasoil?


yes, I figured why let this stuff go to waste (because my cat destroyed my 2.5 tank) so I topped off the eco


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Here ya go. The growth has been great  I'll be trimming and selling after christmas because the PO will be closed on christmas. The petite is in there from my 30c. I had no Idea that I had the much


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ok, here is a much better picture. I also threw on the 2213 as it was not in use ATM, so I have both the 2217 and the 2213 on this tank in opposite corners, both pointing towards the middle. The plants seem to love it because they have gotten so thick that the CO2 rich water gets better circulated through the tank


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## SdJaCK&SaLLy (Dec 20, 2008)

Your tank looks nice and natural!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

wow the tank looks really lush.
id put in some branchy driftwood though. not a lot, just a couple of branches behind the blyxa to help add some line to the tank.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

OMG that Rotala looks much better than mine:icon_eek:

Is the _whole_ back side comprised of Rotala?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> OMG that Rotala looks much better than mine:icon_eek:
> 
> Is the _whole_ back side comprised of Rotala?


Yep. And if I could get it to color up, it would look much better


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Looks great.. 20H or Long?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Craigthor said:


> Looks great.. 20H or Long?


high, I wish it was a long though


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## agutt (Oct 28, 2008)

looks great!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

agutt said:


> looks great!


Thanks. I'm hoping that it won't crash again like it always seems to do :tongue:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Here it all is:


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

[axl rose]Welcome to the Jungle![/axl rose]

After pics are required sir kthx.


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Holy cow :icon_eek:

That's amazing.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

MrJG said:


> [axl rose]Welcome to the Jungle![/axl rose]
> 
> After pics are required sir kthx.





mizu-chan said:


> Holy cow :icon_eek:
> 
> That's amazing.


Thanks guys. I just can't figure out why it isn't very red  I dose iron all of the time. I haven't dosed kno3 in a while now...


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Wish i knew as well. I bought a package of Rotalas (colorata, green, rotundifolia) from *Overfloater* when I was cycling the 40. The Coloratas he sent were the reddest plants I think I have ever personally laid eyes on. In my tank they quickly outgrew that brilliance.  IIRC the tank he had them in had a MH fixture. Maybe its just pure lighting intensity that gets the job done.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

MrJG said:


> Wish i knew as well. I bought a package of Rotalas (colorata, green, rotundifolia) from *Overfloater* when I was cycling the 40. The Coloratas he sent were the reddest plants I think I have ever personally laid eyes on. In my tank they quickly outgrew that brilliance.  IIRC the tank he had them in had a MH fixture. Maybe its just pure lighting intensity that gets the job done.


Well, my rotala _used_ to be red before I upgraded the lighting


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## iantan05 (Aug 24, 2008)

hey nice tank... btw how many bps do u do on that tank? i know it is not accurate but i just need an estimate for my 30g.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

now how about that post trim update


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

lower the photoperiod. im dead serious. IME, plants are redder when the grow slower. by lowering the photoperiod you get them to grow slower, without making them deficient in a nutrient and causing algea. just shorten it for an hour or so and see how that works.


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## Sarge (Sep 29, 2008)

My uncle told me about the red myriophyllum that grows here, something that struck me was he said "right about this time it should look green"

So although it isn't myriophyllum, the temperature is what he meant about it. I'm not sure because I haven't had the experience of temperature problems, but if it isn't Iron, maybe it could be temp? *shrug* Only thing I can think of is the color of your bulbs maybe.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

This may be the last update for this tank.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Woah:icon_eek: Do you know what _caused_ the algae?

But at least the plants are healthy


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Woah:icon_eek: Do you know what _caused_ the algae?
> 
> But at least the plants are healthy


The only algae is the gda on the back glass


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

whats that white thing in the middle of the tank?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> whats that white thing in the middle of the tank?


A light reflection:icon_roll


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

now whats that plant behind the light reflection?


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> The only algae is the gda on the back glass


Well I know that:icon_roll


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> now whats that plant behind the light reflection?


I think that's najas roraima


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

nvm i figured it out its the nanjenshan i sent you


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> nvm i figured it out its the nanjenshan i sent you


there's also some roraima back there


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## nemosreef (Oct 19, 2007)

Fantastic looking tank.


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Last update? Noooo!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I lied, this is the last one with some of the stems removed for my 30c


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

nooooooooooooooooooooooo.... Have fun with the 30c!


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

so what will become of this?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> so what will become of this?


Well, I am selling all of that blyxa. I took it out, and man were the clumps huge. I'll be posting some packages in the sns. The co2 is on my 30c. The light will be on my new viv. The 2217 might go on my 55. I don't know about the tank.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Craigthor said:


> nooooooooooooooooooooooo.... Have fun with the 30c!


lol, I sure will. I get to try out some new plants that I always wanted to try


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i wonder why your rotala never turned red!?! its been in my tank for 3 days and the tips are starting to get some pink to them. i just dosed 1mL of iron today.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> i wonder why your rotala never turned red!?! its been in my tank for 3 days and the tips are starting to get some pink to them. i just dosed 1mL of iron today.


I don't know. I dosed plenty of iron. It really frustrated me


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## Coral Keeper (Sep 14, 2007)

WOW!! You have an amazing tank!! :eek5:You are my idol! :bowdown:


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