# 40 Gal Crypt Utopia & DIY Light Rig - New Video Post #67



## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

This is my journal for a 40 gallon acrylic sea clear tank (36x15x16)
My goal is for a asian/pacific realm tank, although not all the plants are from those regions. The fish will be from those regions and most of the plants.

I got the tank used off Craigslist, came with stand, filter, and lots of other random stuff. Oh yeh and fish (most of the fish that came with it I traded for store credit)

This is a low tech setup. 
Basic Specs:
40 gallon (36x15x16)
1 heater (I need to get a better one)
1 Marine Land Magnum 220 canister filter
3 5" clip on work lights with 3 23 Watt Sylvania 6500K CFLS.
1 Marine Land Maxi-Jet 900 in Power Head mode with filter sponge on intake. (Giving me tons more flow, almost too much and a little extra filtration
Substrate is pool filter sand in front, 1 to 1.5 inches of Miracle Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix capped with very small grain pea gravel in back. 

I dose according to Tom Barr's "EI Dosing Light for Less Techy Folks" combined with daily doses of Excel.

Hard Scape:
1 large piece of purchased wood, lots of holes for plants
Several small pieces of wood for java ferns
numerous collected rocks for border between sand and dirt/gravel

Fish:
6 Harlequin Rasboras
10 Cherry Barbs
5 Zebra Loaches
Numerous red cherry shrimp
Future plans include boosting numbers of harlequins.

Plants:
Blyxa
Java Fern
2 types of Crypts
Anubais
Dwarf Hairgrass
1 Tiger Lotus
Pothos (in bowl on top of tank now, April 17, 2012)
Salvania
Duckweed
Azola
Peace lilly and a couple other riparium plants

The wood and dirt have released tannins in the water, at first I didn't like, but it has grown on me and now I do. This tank has been setup and running for about a year.
Picture quality could be better, but they are from a cell phone. 
May 2012








Oct 2011








July 2011


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

I forgot to add 56K warning to the title, not sure how to change that...sorry


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

kamikazi said:


> I forgot to add 56K warning to the title, not sure how to change that...sorry


You can change the title by clicking "Edit" and then "Advanced". roud:
Nice tank!


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

AzFishKid said:


> You can change the title by clicking "Edit" and then "Advanced". roud:
> Nice tank!


awesome, thanks!


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## stupidface (Jun 20, 2011)

Nice tank!!! I hope to make mine look like that. What are the plants lined along the back? Also, what is 56k warning? I've seen it a few times before


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

stupidface said:


> Nice tank!!! I hope to make mine look like that. What are the plants lined along the back? Also, what is 56k warning? I've seen it a few times before


The plants along the back are the Blyxa Japicona (my spelling may be off) I got them from a fellow fish keeper club member.

56K warning is for those still in the dark ages of slow dial up internet. The forum rules request that threads with lots of pictures have this warning.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

Plants look good here too! I love the big driftwood. 

The rasboras are great too. I have always wanted to keep a school of them.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Wingsdlc said:


> Plants look good here too! I love the big driftwood.
> 
> The rasboras are great too. I have always wanted to keep a school of them.


I trimmed the wood down a little and expanded a few small holes to fit plants a little better. I love rasboras!


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

That driftwood was huge when you got it. It still looks like it is above the water even with a cutting.

This tank reminds me of my first planted tank. I used the same type of wood. Here it is just after getting started. I think I was running DIY CO2 at this point with a ladder system behind the driftwood.








Here is the tank a few months in. This was after getting rid of the DIY CO2 and buying pressurized. 









What are your plans for the left side of the tank?


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

I actually didn't trim the height of the wood, I trimmed left side and left rear of it. And yeh it does stick out which I kinda like, I thought about trying to grow some terrestrial moss on it. 

My plans for the left side is a light over that section, then plant lotus zenriki, and a carpet plant that I can't remember the name my list is on my other computer. 

That tank looks awesome. My only concern is having too much light and having bba problems in this tank as well. Would 3, 13 Watt, 6500K CFLs over a 30x15x16 be low, medium or high light? I'm shooting for low to medium.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

It was cool seeing your tanks the other day in person.

I am thinking that you are in the low range with 3 - 13W bulbs. That gives you about 1 wpg. I think med. lighting is more around 2 wpg.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Wingsdlc said:


> It was cool seeing your tanks the other day in person.
> 
> I am thinking that you are in the low range with 3 - 13W bulbs. That gives you about 1 wpg. I think med. lighting is more around 2 wpg.


thanks man, happy sharing. I moved the 3rd worklight from the bowls to the tank. It made a huge difference in the brightness of the tank. I want to try to find 15 watt 6500K bulbs. 

The South American plant that looked like it was dying did die. I pulled it out last night and put the tiger lotus in its place. They are directly under the 3rd light so hopefully they will grow ok. 

We went to fintastic for the first time yesterday after church. I didn't realize how close they were to our church, just a couple exits down 485. I got 2 tiger lotus plants for $8.70 might be a little high compared to online but at least I got to see them first. I was really impressed with their fish and plant selection. Didn't see really any sick fish and they had plants I never see at any other stores. So maybe if there is ever anything I can't get from Scott i can get there.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Youtube video of the tank. Check it out!
http://youtu.be/GH0y9ujAdyo


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

New pictures with a better camera. Still everything has a yellow/orange tint in this tank due to tannins from wood and potting mix.

I finally got another work light and I upgraded the two bulbs on the ends from 13 Watts to 23 watts. So I now have 59 watts of 6500K light over the tank. 








I bought a couple tiger lotus plants, one is very short atm in the back on the left side of this picture, the other the store thru in b/c it only had the one leaf.








view from right








view from left








Full tank shot


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

edited the OP to reflect current setup and plans


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

More pictures, these are the best I've been able to manage so far...
















































the tiger lilies I got seem to be doing well so far.


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## .Mko. (Sep 23, 2010)

love the gourami brilliant color patterns =)


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

thanks! his/her name is lucy and I've had her over a year now. Scared of the camera so its hard to get good shots.


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## Studman0143 (Mar 20, 2011)

I love the fish you have in there. Plus your layout is nice and clean.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Studman0143 said:


> I love the fish you have in there. Plus your layout is nice and clean.


thanks, I'll be adding zebra loaches and either cherry or odessa barbs when I get some extra money. I'm also considering doing away with the sand area at the front and doing more dirt and gravel. then planting some sort of foreground plant.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

That last set of pictures really look nice. Upgrading your lighting made a huge difference. 

Once I get my tank back into shape (needs another big trim), I should have you come over and snap some shots of my tank.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Wingsdlc said:


> That last set of pictures really look nice. Upgrading your lighting made a huge difference.
> 
> Once I get my tank back into shape (needs another big trim), I should have you come over and snap some shots of my tank.


I can give it a shot.


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

nice tank, has it only been set up for a month?


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

*Update 8/10/11*

Got 5 Zebra Loaches added them to the tank last night. Cherry or Odessa barbs will be the only other fish species added to this tank. Which I get will depend on my wallet. Odessa's are around 5.25-5.50 and Cherrys are around 1.50-1.99 so big difference when you are talking about a school of 7-9

Monday night I built an adjustable stand for my lights. I still need to paint it but I will go ahead and share pictures of it. All the pieces I had on hand so this DIY project was free and it only took me a couple hours.

I plan on replacing the ugly clips with some silver chain at some point, but for now it works as is. 


















This shows the construction I used to provide stability to the stand.









I drilled holes through the wood using a paddle bit at 2 inch intervals. The lights can be adjusted to sit almost directly on the tank up to 1 foot above the top of the tank.
I used an old adjustable curtain rod as cross bar to hold the lights. Adjusting is as simple as pushing the two pieces of the bar together so the ends come out of the holes and then extending the rod back out when in the next desire position.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

nonconductive said:


> nice tank, has it only been set up for a month?


2-3 months now....correction it was 2-3 months at the first of July, so I guess its been 3-4 months now.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

The light stand looks nice. The lights are much higher than they were clipped on the back. You might want to move it down to get stronger light.


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## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

Hey, you have my favorite fish! Is he a powder blue dwarf gourami?


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Elliot said:


> Hey, you have my favorite fish! Is he a powder blue dwarf gourami?


no, i believe he is the flame dwarf gourami...I remember having trouble at the store picking between the type I have and the powder blue variety.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Wingsdlc said:


> The light stand looks nice. The lights are much higher than they were clipped on the back. You might want to move it down to get stronger light.


I've gotten way more BGA since I got 3 lights and upgraded the wattage. So I was hoping having them higher would reduce those outbreaks.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

I see... so when do you want to come over and take some nice shots of my tank for me?


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Wingsdlc said:


> I see... so when do you want to come over and take some nice shots of my tank for me?


I think I'm free pretty much any evening after work this week.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Very nice tank, beautiful male Dwarf Gourami, sweet DIY light bar.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

2in10 said:


> Very nice tank, beautiful male Dwarf Gourami, sweet DIY light bar.


thanks, your tank looks awesome


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey this is a nice setup.

I am working on a setup today with that same kind of clamp light.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

hydrophyte said:


> Hey this is a nice setup.
> 
> I am working on a setup today with that same kind of clamp light.


simple to build and cheap!


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

kamikazi said:


> thanks, your tank looks awesome


Thank you much


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Updated some of the info in the OP


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

*Update*

Took some pictures last night, should have cleaned the glass first but oh well.

Little update on the tank. I got rid of the BGA in the tank and began doing Tom Barr's EI dosing light for less techy folks and daily dosing Excel for a consistent CO2 source. I painted my light rig and got chain to hang them rather than the clips.

Plants all seem to be growing well and staying happy. I did get rid of a the enriga densa and moved the hairgrass to the sand area. Since my last post I added terrestrial moss to the top of the driftwood and an airplant is at the back. I have also added a wild collected plant that I think is ludwigia but I'm not sure, there isn't much in the tank, most of it went into one of my shrimp bowls.

All 5 zebra loaches, the dwarf gourami and 6 harlequin rasboras are doing fine as well. I still plan to eventually add oddessa barbs or cherry barbs and maybe some Red Cherry Shrimp (need to make sure they won't get eaten by the loaches or the gourami though)

Anyhow, pictures to follow...


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)




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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

looks cool. I like the emergent moss/plants


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Very nice design, IME your Rasbora will go after your Cherry Shrimp.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

2in10 said:


> Very nice design, IME your Rasbora will go after your Cherry Shrimp.


really, hmm I would think the shrimp would be too big for them. I guess I could try it and see what happens worst case the first get fresh live food.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

That slavina minima has really taken off for you! If you want me to sell off some at the auction let me know.

I like the moss on the driftwood also. Neat touch.

What ever happened with the oddessa barbs from the guy in Charlotte?

As for adding cherry shrimp, I think you would be fine. You have a good plant mass now so they should be able to hide. Your fish might pick off some of the young ones but that helps keep the population in check.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Wingsdlc said:


> That slavina minima has really taken off for you! If you want me to sell off some at the auction let me know.
> 
> I like the moss on the driftwood also. Neat touch.
> 
> ...


aaahhhh too bad you didn't post this before last night, I did a water change last night a threw away 50% of the salvania. I'll have to see how much it grows between now and next Saturday. 

Yeh I really love the moss, I'm trying to get the ludwigia repens to grow up around the top of the wood as well. I have to emergent shoots up there now, one seems to be doing very well, the other not so much. 

Haven't heard back from the Charlotte guy, he said someone was coming to look at them and if that fell through he would call me back, I guess whoever it was decide to get them.

I'll have to keep an eye out for Red Cherry Shrimp. If I don't make it to the auction do you think you could keep an eye out for RCS for me?


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

Let me know on the salvania. I will keep my eyes out for shrimp and barbs if you want. Just let me know your price range. RCS generally go for pretty cheep at this auction.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Nice tank. I skimmed the thread, but I will go back and check out the specs. Like the light bar too.:icon_smil


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Been a while since I have been on this site. The wife and I welcomed a baby girl into our lives on Oct 23 so things have been a little crazy. 

I need to make some changes to the OP to update the current status of the tank. 

Plants are growing great! My dwarf gourami died out of the blue  Pretty sure the 5 zebra loaches are still alive. 6 Harlequin rasboras alive and well. And least 1 of 8 red cherry shrimp I put in there is still alive as of a couple days ago, I also know at least 1 is dead found its rotted body against the filter intake.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kamikazi said:


> Been a while since I have been on this site. The wife and I welcomed a baby girl into our lives on Oct 23 so things have been a little crazy.
> 
> I need to make some changes to the OP to update the current status of the tank.
> 
> Plants are growing great! My dwarf gourami died out of the blue  Pretty sure the 5 zebra loaches are still alive. 6 Harlequin rasboras alive and well. And least 1 of 8 red cherry shrimp I put in there is still alive as of a couple days ago, I also know at least 1 is dead found its rotted body against the filter intake.


Congrats on the baby man. Sorry to hear about the shrimp and gourami though. Can't wait to see how this is going.roud:


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

I need to update the pictures. But I wanted to post real quick that last night I noticed baby shrimp! I counted at least 9 babies. Pretty dang excited about that, since I wasn't sure how many I had left alive. My filter intakes are all protected now, so hopefully I won't lose anymore shrimp that way. I still plan on adding more fish to this tank its just a matter of finding the money.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

*Picture Update*

These pictures are a month or so old now. They don't reflect the additions of the Cherry Barbs or the numerous red cherry shrimp babies or the growth of the air plant or pothos. This past weekend I added 5 Cherry Barbs (3 males 2 females) They seem to be doing well and getting about with everyone else. I would like to increase my school numbers of harlequins and cherry barbs in the next few months, but we shall see.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I like your tank it looks nice and it has some added possibilities being acrylic too. You could drill the top to add some type of plant pot to have more plants above the water line, if you could find something clear and interesting it would be even better, and you could raise the water level to make them less obvious.

Oh, Hydrophyte has some clear planters at Riparium Supply that might work among some other items.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

150EH said:


> I like your tank it looks nice and it has some added possibilities being acrylic too. You could drill the top to add some type of plant pot to have more plants above the water line, if you could find something clear and interesting it would be even better, and you could raise the water level to make them less obvious.
> 
> Oh, Hydrophyte has some clear planters at Riparium Supply that might work among some other items.


Good idea, if the top didn't have a crack in the corner where the air plant is I would have already drilled it out. The crack was there when I got it from its previous owner. I would be afraid to weaken the strength of the top any further by putting more holes in it. I do need to come up with a better solution for holding the air plant though.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

This tank looks amazing. I love the look of an indoor jungle.roud:


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

cableguy69846 said:


> This tank looks amazing. I love the look of an indoor jungle.roud:


its definitely starting to look like one in our sitting area where all my tanks are. That pothos branch in the first picture is about a foot and a half longer now and its only been a month or two since I took that picture. I'm actually getting kinda worried about how big its getting, I'm afraid its going to out compete my other plants and I'll be left with nothing but pothos roots in my tank.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kamikazi said:


> its definitely starting to look like one in our sitting area where all my tanks are. That pothos branch in the first picture is about a foot and a half longer now and its only been a month or two since I took that picture. I'm actually getting kinda worried about how big its getting, I'm afraid its going to out compete my other plants and I'll be left with nothing but pothos roots in my tank.


Is there any way to trim it and curtail the growth a bit, or is it an epic weed?


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

cableguy69846 said:


> Is there any way to trim it and curtail the growth a bit, or is it an epic weed?


I trimmed some of the roots, I probably should also trim the branch, that would help it make more branches rather than one branch thats like 6 feet long.

The main branch goes up the left side of the lighting structure, all the way across the bar, part way down the right side turns around and goes about 1/3 of the way back across the bar.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kamikazi said:


> I trimmed some of the roots, I probably should also trim the branch, that would help it make more branches rather than one branch thats like 6 feet long.
> 
> The main branch goes up the left side of the lighting structure, all the way across the bar, part way down the right side turns around and goes about 1/3 of the way back across the bar.


Wow. That is one long plant. You should see if you can get more than one stem off it. It would be cool.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

Just take a second cutting and start over rooting the pothos. I am not so sure they will make more branches like aquarium stem plants. Will have to look at mine that is growing in a pot.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

*Time for an update 4/25/12*

1 of 5 elusive Zebra Loaches









This picture was taken about a month ago, haven't this massive shrimp in a while.


















Removed the pothos and spider plant from the tank and planted in hanging basket, need to get a bracket for the wall. 









I didnt want to unwrap all the pothos so I left part of it in place and used an old fish bowl to plant it into as opposed to the tank itself.









Should be at least one shrimp in there along with a couple snails


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

More....

foam raft I made from some electronic packaging. I bought suction cups from wally world and tied the foam to the suction cup. I have a couple more I plan to put in this tank, but I need to find plants that wont grow as tall since the tank's top is part of the tank itself. 









Terrestrial moss still doing well on the wood









Can't remember what this is but I like how its spreading out and staying low.









crappy full tank shot









I put some lucky bamboo at the back since its Asian themed, lots of new roots, got a feeling once those roots hit the dirt I'll see some massive growth. 









Wingsdlc was kind enough to give me a canister filter that needed some work. I replaced the valves and fashion my own spray bar, its not pretty, but its functional.


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

1. The plant in your raft with the yellow spots on the leaves will get tall. I have a potted one that is going on 20".

2. The crawling plant is staurogyne porto velho. Really nice plant. One of the easiest foreground plants I have grown.

3. Glad you got the filter up and going. Hope it works well for you.


General thought - It has been a while since I have seen this tank in person, but I think you would be really well off if you did a bunch of low light plants like anubias, cryps and ferns. I know you have some of them in there but I think it would look really sharp if you packed the tank with them and had them growing up on rocks and wood. Just my 2 cents. 

Thanks for posting. We will have to get together again soon.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Nice looking setup


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Wingsdlc said:


> 1. The plant in your raft with the yellow spots on the leaves will get tall. I have a potted one that is going on 20".
> 
> 2. The crawling plant is staurogyne porto velho. Really nice plant. One of the easiest foreground plants I have grown.
> 
> ...


I wasnt sure if the spotted plant would even root, but I noticed today there are roots growing out of where I made the cut. I'm not sure how it will work out, but I'm hoping to keep it low and bushy by trimming it, I may have to move it to a planter as opposed to a raft. 

Love the staurogyne porto velho!

Yeh, I would like to get more and various type of anubias and crypts. Not sure how I feel about the java fern. I would like to replace the blyxa with a bunch of crypts and put anubias on the wood and rock wall.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Made a youtube video of the tank. 
Check it out


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Full setup shot as of May 2012


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

More...








Ludwigia is gone now, I didn't like how it had come unrooted and was a huge floating mass. Pretty colors though.








There is more terrestrial growth now, I picked up a little bit more stuff on a recent walk, should see it in the video.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

New video of the tank.
Crypt Utopia


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

This tank has been torn down. 

My new project can be found here
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=198548

If you are a subscribed to this thread please start following this one instead.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

I just subbed to your YouTube channel. Looking forward to a video of the new one.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

DogFish said:


> I just subbed to your YouTube channel. Looking forward to a video of the new one.


Thanks Dogfish, the one of the shimmer light is the newest video. I need to do a couple new videos where I talk about changes and updates and my bowls, my office tank, this tank and my 10 gallon I just setup a couple weeks ago to grow out plants to sale later.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

As I said before this tank is no longer setup, but here is a video of what it looked like not long before I took it down.






My new project can be found here
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=198548

If you are a subscribed to this thread please start following this one instead.


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