# Ddtran46's 60p



## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Hi guys. I got a Ada 60p, a t5ho light fixture, and some aquasoil for my birthday today. I will be picking up a used eheim 2215 soon. I am not sure whether I want a rock scape or a scape with driftwoods. I have some petrified wood lying around and might be using it.

Here is a list of my equipments:
ADA 60p
Eheim 2215
Aquasoil Amazonia normal 9L
Oddysea 2x24watt t5ho
[STRIKE]Single gauge co2 regulator w/24oz paintball tank[/STRIKE]A Diy paintball regulator
Ada thermomter
Ada drop checker
Powermen 13mm lily pipes(soon)

Here are some pictures of my tank:
























Leak test:


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Here are some pictures of some scapes
scape 1:
























scape 2:

















Well that's it for now..


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

i wish someone would give me ada stuff for my birthday. 

i like scape #2


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Do you have a general plan concerning plant placement?


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## teah (Jul 25, 2010)

Hi, scape 2 much better IMO =) It would be even better if you can find more "pointed" rocks


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That's looking great so far! That tank is such a nice shape.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

These scapes were just for fun..I don't think I will use these rocks. I want to get some seiryu stones for this tank...or some driftwoods.

Here are some pics of the eheim I just bought:

















I will change the green tubing to some clear ones and will buy some lily pipes soon.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

I think I might use scape 2 now if I cant find any nice rocks locally. I want to make this tank simple so maybe I will use hc, glosso and a little dwarf hairgrass.

Here is a picture of how my tank is looking now. I added a little more aquasoil to make the slope a little higher.

















I am hoping the slope will stay like that after it is filled up..

Suggestions and critiques are welcome.:icon_smil


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

I think I will use the petrified rocks I have in here. I just bought couple more pieces of rocks and came up with this scape:

























What do you guys think? Suggestions or comments?


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## taniner (Aug 10, 2010)

I'm liking the petrified wood rock look! Interesting shades of color.


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

The new layout looks good but I liked #1 better. Anyways, cool tools, play around a bit with placement. Show us some more options :icon_wink


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Here are 2 more scapes I just came up with. 
























I like this one alot..


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

The last (last picture) scape is the best out of all em. Stick with that and it'll be a winner.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

I also like the one that you like... a lot.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Yeah. I think I will stick with the last one I did.

I just bought some power men lily pipes off of eBay so I should be expecting it in a few weeks. I might start planting whenever the pipes arrive. I want to make a perfect start.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

A small update, I added some more aquasoil to the tank..

























I think the amount of substrate is perfect now.


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

nice job! can't wait to see it planted.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

antbug said:


> nice job! can't wait to see it planted.


Thanks I was going to buy some hc at Jojo's today but they just sold the last ones..:icon_cry:


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Bought a pot of hc yesterday and planted it. My lfs only had one pot of hc..I was looking forward to buy 2 yesterday but owell.. It took couple hours to finish planting everything. I filled it up less than half way last night and drained it this morning(so there wont be any dry spots in the aquasoil). 
Here are some pics of my dsm tank: 10/11/10


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

Hell yeah! This is going to looked great once it's filled in. I'm sure you already know this, but you need more HC :hihi:. You should check with Tom Barr. I know he was selling some.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

antbug said:


> Hell yeah! This is going to looked great once it's filled in. I'm sure you already know this, but you need more HC :hihi:. You should check with Tom Barr. I know he was selling some.


Yeah. I know I need more lol. I pm'ed him for some but I think he might be too busy or something. I waited for a few days, but no response. I got a little tired of waiting so I just bought some at Jojos.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Ok so today I went to my local petsmart and guess what I found? 2 pots of hc!! It was only 4.99 each so I just bought 1. I would have bought the other but it was too much. If anyone that is looking for hc in Sac, go to the petsmart in Elk Grove. They also had some dwarf hairgrass and some stems.


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## FlSHRFun (Jun 26, 2010)

Your Petsmart carries HC? My Petsmart doesn't carry any good true aquatic plants, lol.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

FlSHRFun said:


> Your Petsmart carries HC? My Petsmart doesn't carry any good true aquatic plants, lol.


I know..This was the first time I saw a nice plant there. Hopefully they will have more in the future when I need em. My lfs sells them for 4 bucks more than Petsmart.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Got my lily pipes today!!


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

When do you plan on filling the tank?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Umm maybe in 3 weeks or so.. Depending on how much Hc growth I have.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

I just took some pictures of how it currently looks.

























I bought new mounting legs also:


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Here are some pictures for who is interested:


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

I got tired of waiting so I just filled up my tank today. I will post some pics later.


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## mattycakesclark (Jun 11, 2010)

ddtran46 said:


> I just took some pictures of how it currently looks.
> 
> I bought new mounting legs also:


Where did you get these legs, I have the same light and noticed that I had my legs with the screws on the inside (doh). I like these.


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## chilled_fire (Jun 4, 2010)

^^^ i believe they are from catalinaaquarium .
@ddtran46 : lovely setup, and i see the HC covering nicely. I know its hard to wait for them to coverup its been a week already for me and am plnning to wait atleast for 2 more weeks 

Waiting to see the filled up pics


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

mattycakesclark said:


> Where did you get these legs, I have the same light and noticed that I had my legs with the screws on the inside (doh). I like these.


I got these legs from my lfs but petco sometimes have these legs. Several online sites sell these. Just google Coralife mounting legs or you can go on Catalina Aquariums website and search for "Legs". I hope this is helpful


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

chilled_fire said:


> ^^^ i believe they are from catalinaaquarium .
> @ddtran46 : lovely setup, and i see the HC covering nicely. I know its hard to wait for them to coverup its been a week already for me and am plnning to wait atleast for 2 more weeks
> 
> Waiting to see the filled up pics


Thanks

I will post some pictures after my tank is clear or after I do a big waterchange.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

I thought this picture looks pretty cool


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Nice looking picture. Can we have a FTS now?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

When the time is right, when the time is right..Or after the tannins are gone:tongue: Jk I will post some pics at the end of the week whenever the tank is super clear.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Well most of the tannins are gone now after daily water changes.. There are a some growths here and there but not alot. I also have some algae on the rocks and some on the substrate from when I had this tank emeresed. Here are some pictures I just took for those who are interested.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Very nice.


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## Xalyx (Sep 26, 2010)

How come your intake and outtake are on the same side of the tank? Your newly filtered water is going right back out into the filter again, that's a really bad tank circulation.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Xalyx said:


> How come your intake and outtake are on the same side of the tank? Your newly filtered water is going right back out into the filter again, that's a really bad tank circulation.


I have seen many pictures with both lily pipes on the same side, so I am guessing if many people are doing it..it shouldn't be bad.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

dj2005 said:


> Very nice.


Thanks


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## Xalyx (Sep 26, 2010)

ddtran46 said:


> I have seen many pictures with both lily pipes on the same side, so I am guessing if many people are doing it..it shouldn't be bad.


I guess it doesn't matter too much. I don't use lily pipes because they stand out so much. People are really only worried about how it looks rather than how it's effecting the tanks filtration.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.c...ubref=AA&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=0012815000000

The installation stets look way better than that green crap that comes with the filters. The spraybar is very stealth when you put it on a side wall.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Xalyx said:


> I guess it doesn't matter too much. I don't use lily pipes because they stand out so much. People are really only worried about how it looks rather than how it's effecting the tanks filtration.
> 
> http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.c...ubref=AA&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=0012815000000
> 
> The installation stets look way better than that green crap that comes with the filters. The spraybar is very stealth when you put it on a side wall.


Those look pretty nice. I might switch my lily pipe out put for a spray bar in the future. The lily pipe makes very little surface movement.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Here are some updates of the tank..

The hc is covered with algae and looks super ugly. lol. I also switched out the output lily pipe for the stock eheim spray bar.

What do you think about this tank with all dwarf hairgrass? Currently, the dwarf hairgrass is spreading towards the front of the tank and the dwarf hairgrass is the only thing that is growing healthy. I have seen some tanks with only grass and it looks pretty nice. I might give it another couple weeks to see if the hc will get better. If not, I will rip out all of the hc and plant dwarf hairgrass.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)




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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

gloso is much better than hc in the algae magnetism respect...


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

rountreesj said:


> gloso is much better than hc in the algae magnetism respect...


Oh is it? I tried glosso not long ago, and I didn't have that much luck with it. Maybe I will try it again one day. I just replaced all the hc with dwarf hairgrass, but wished I had e. belem instead.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Got some new goodies today from a friend:

First 2 pieces of ada horn wood(a Large and medium size):









I also got the archae co2 diffuser(all of the white blurry things is the co2 mist):


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## imdanny (Feb 23, 2009)

that co2 diffuser rocks huh! lol


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

imdanny said:


> that co2 diffuser rocks huh! lol


Yeah haha. Its really good for the price.


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## imdanny (Feb 23, 2009)

Yeah i know, i thought it was gonna be really crappy at first and then i looked behind me at the tanks in the store and it was putting out the exact same bubbles as the glass diffusers.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

That's a good looking piece of wood. I can't wait to see it in the tank.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

dj2005 said:


> That's a good looking piece of wood. I can't wait to see it in the tank.


Yeah its pretty nice, but I think I might need to get couple small pieces. It looks a little plain with just 2 pieces.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Here are some updates..I got some mini pelia yesterday from a member locally and attached it to the wood today. After all these months, I finally got some yellow shrimps!!
Please ignore all the algae and dust..


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Here is another picture of my newly berried yellow shrimp:









Here is a picture of my s grade crs:









I have about 21 yellow shrimps and 10 crystals in this tank so far.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Good looking shrimp. Have you made any accommodations for the CRS or are you still using tap water to fill the tank?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

dj2005 said:


> Good looking shrimp. Have you made any accommodations for the CRS or are you still using tap water to fill the tank?


I just add prime to the bucket of water before adding it to my tank. They are doing fine so far, so far..lol


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

ddtran46 said:


> I just add prime to the bucket of water before adding it to my tank. They are doing fine so far, so far..lol


If they live and breed, then I'll be buying some from you when you have some to sell. How much did you pay per CRS?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

dj2005 said:


> If they live and breed, then I'll be buying some from you when you have some to sell. How much did you pay per CRS?


I actually got all 10 for a pretty sweet deal..I don't want to post it on here. lol. If my crystals live and breed, I want to buy some higher grade crystals.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

What grade are your current ones? A grade?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

The guy I bought them from said they are s grade shrimps.


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## slicebo123 (Jan 4, 2010)

day late and a dollar short--but i think the HC just needed time to adjust to being submersed. could you tell me about those yellow shrimp? It looks amazing--nice change from RCS and CRS. I'll be in the market for some in a couple more weeks (once my dry start is finished!!!)


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

slicebo123 said:


> day late and a dollar short--but i think the HC just needed time to adjust to being submersed. could you tell me about those yellow shrimp? It looks amazing--nice change from RCS and CRS. I'll be in the market for some in a couple more weeks (once my dry start is finished!!!)


I bought my yellows from 2 different sources locally. I think yellow shrimps are just like rcs but its just yellow. This is my first time with crs so hopefully everything will be alright. Do you have a picture of your tank?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

I got tired of how slow the dwarf hairgrass is growing so I replaced all of the dwarf hairgrass with marsilea minuta:









My shrimps are getting bigger!!









I planted a clump of UG a week ago to see how well it'll do and so far its doing fine:


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## youjettisonme (Dec 24, 2010)

slicebo123 said:


> day late and a dollar short--but i think the HC just needed time to adjust to being submersed. could you tell me about those yellow shrimp? It looks amazing--nice change from RCS and CRS. I'll be in the market for some in a couple more weeks (once my dry start is finished!!!)


I agree. There's a breaking in period, and the CO2 should be increased to 5 or 6 bpm until the plants have adjusted to the drastic decrease in CO2. Then you slowly level off the CO2, and your HC should survive.


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## youjettisonme (Dec 24, 2010)

ddtran46 said:


> I got tired of how slow the dwarf hairgrass is growing so I replaced all of the dwarf hairgrass with marsilea minuta:
> 
> 
> My shrimps are getting bigger!!
> ...


Ha! I love the story in this thread. Whatever plant isn't behaving... rip it out! It's like the authoritarian guide to growing aquatic plants. Love it.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

youjettisonme said:


> Ha! I love the story in this thread. Whatever plant isn't behaving... rip it out! It's like the authoritarian guide to growing aquatic plants. Love it.



That's how I roll. hahaah


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

I got traded my driftwood yesterday that was covered with weeping moss for 9 crystals yesterday. I think it was a pretty good trade since crs goes for around 5 bucks each.
Here is a picture of 1 of my new s+ grade shrimp:









Feeding time(the darn yellow shrimps are hogging all of the food):


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Looks lovely! Keep up the good work!


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

That yellow female on the right looks like she is going to burst.  After owning RCS and yellows, which do you prefer?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

I prefer yellows for now because I am tired of rcs now. lol. I just wish most of my yellows were super yellow, not transparent...:icon_frow


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## slicebo123 (Jan 4, 2010)

so those yellows are fresh-water breeders!?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Yeah, these are freshwater breeders. They should be the same as rcs but yellow.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

A crs jumped out of my tank yesterday and I found it all dried up..Another crs jumped out and luckily it landed in a cup of water on the side of my tank that I use to top off my tank.

I finally got a nice shot of my favorite crs in my tank.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

CRS still alive? If so, are any berried or are they too young?


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

2 out of the 16 died a couple weeks ago, but not at the same time. None of my crs is berried yet...


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## urples (Nov 15, 2010)

Where did you get the yellow shrimp? and how much were they? i want to pick some up.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

urples said:


> Where did you get the yellow shrimp? and how much were they? i want to pick some up.


I got the yellow shrimps locally for a dollar each. I don't think that he has any left to sell..


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)




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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Finally, 2 of my crystals are berried! 

Right when I was losing hope on breeding crs, I found not 1 but 2 berried crystals. I saw the first berried crystal on friday and noticed the second berried crs 2 days later. 
Here are some pics for those who are interested:


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Congrats.


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## slicebo123 (Jan 4, 2010)

how's the light situation treating you? i got an identical tank/light setup and i'm starting to get algae trouble. i'm thinking about installing a hanging fixture so i can put more distance between my light/substrate.


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

Is that Marsilea? What species?


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

David: you just use tap water + Prime in your tank, right?



SearunSimpson said:


> Is that Marsilea? What species?


It's Marsilea minuta.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

*slicebo123 *, I have pretty bad hair algae from this lighting. I have to remove about half a golfball size of it every week or two.

Here is a little picture update:


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Did a water change today and noticed I have a deformed Marimo Moss Ball.:icon_bigg










Nah I'm just kidding, It is a ball of thread algae.:angryfire


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## slicebo123 (Jan 4, 2010)

how long is your photoperiod? I've been tinkering with mine for the past few weeks. I think i started at 3 hours and worked my way up to 5. Algae growth has been non-existent except for some stubborn BBA (won't have time to deal w/ this till finals are over). Of course, it has also really slowed down the plant growth w/ such a short photoperiod. I really need to make that darn light stand...


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

My photo period is 9 hours. I haven't really cared about the algae lately due to midterms and papers.

I am running only 1 t5ho bulb but I am still growing a ton of hair algae. I need to raise my lights somehow.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

wow lol I thought I was having algae issues lol.


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Here is a little update:
I sold all of the Marsilea Minuta, trashed all the moss, and took out a bucket full of Aquasoil.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

woah...nice...i see shrimpys! 

Dude, thread/hair green algae is the bane of my shrimp tank's existence. I'm down to 6 hour photoperiods in one tank.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

That's one good looking scape you got there.


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## ADAtank (Jul 26, 2011)

i notice you change out your scape every month or so lol but i did like the first scape


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Yeah lol. I get bored of things pretty fast...


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## tuanhd9 (Aug 3, 2011)

ohh man such good deals.


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