# freph's 20L



## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Good looking start


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Thank ya.  Can't wait to get the soil and start doing cool stuff with the rocks.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

I know what you mean. I get like a kid at Christmas waiting for my supplies to arrive.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Noticed my water temp was a little high (which is unusual because ceiling fan + window AC unit = cold water)...and reached my hand up to the light bulb. Holy freaking hot. This thing runs hotter than the florescents at the grocery store I work at, lol. I wish my new fixture would hurry up and ship...


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

Holy crap I live in fayetteville, NC lol. Hey I also happen to be selling off my HC if you need some. Since your local you can have some of it for free if you come pick it up. I didnt think anyone in the faytteville area were into shrimp or fish tanks like ours lol.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Yay locals.  And yeah, I get weird looks when I tell people that I keep plants, fish and shrimp lol. "You keep what....? Can you eat them.....? Doesn't your room always smell like a fish market....?" Hah.

Update! I got my light today. Just hooked it up. Looks great.  Light is a 24" (the arms extend to be quite long) 2x24W T5HO Fixture by Odyssea. I also got 2 100mL packs of Purigen today via Amazon. Gotta love that free 2 days shipping with Prime via a student account.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

Man I hate the, "can you eat them" line. Its like hurr hurr yeah lets go grill em up right now. Of course its to be expected from people who dont know any better. I would say sometime down the line we could exchange a few fire reds to keep the stock genetically diverse ....... but since we got them from the same souce and all. lol. Although if my CRS ever breed id be happy to sell you a few cheap.

Anyways that light looks good, reminds me of the marineland LED systems. I also not sure how I feel about that heater. I mean hydor is a good brand, at least from what I know about their inline heaters. But for a shrimp tank I dont think its needed, personally. But if it works for you then thats all that matters.

Also for the HC do you plan on getting co2? It will really NEED it to grow at all. It wont die without it, it just wont grow. A homemade yeast co2 setup will do just fine.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Yay cheapo shrimpies.  And eh, rather be safe than sorry. I have a hydor eth 200w coming with Monday's shipment (eheim 2215, aquasoil). My room gets pretty chilly at night with my window AC unit and door closed...don't want chilled shrimp even though they like it a little cooler. Also yes, it will have CO2. I have a paintball CO2 setup on my main tank but it's just got crypts, moneywort and java fern in it so it'll be fine going low tech.

Edit: Expect an update Tuesday afternoon since I have class and work on Monday...which = 8-2 then 3-9. It's gonna suck having everything here but not being able to set anything up...grr.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

Hah tell me about it. I get very antsy the day of a delivery.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Indeed. The only thing that sucks is that I won't be able to be here when the packages arrive since I have class. Ah well.

Future fauna plans include Neon/Cardinal Tetras/Espei/Harlequinn Rasboras and Pygmy Cories! Undecided on otos...my 20g tall has no algae except for a couple of very small patches of bba (I think?) on the tips of my java fern. Knock on wood, though.

Hardscape plans include the addition of a few oak twigs that will be wrapped with java moss.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Shrimp are doing well and getting redder every day it seems.  Me gusta. Had a little scare this morning...all is well though. You can read about it here. Gonna take Monday off from work just because I never take days off and well..., I can darn it. :tongue: Classes last until 1pm on Monday and tank will be setup with new soil, scape (HC whoo!), CO2 and filtration + heating system.

Additions coming Monday:
-Power Sand Special S 2L + 9L Aqua Soil Amazonia NEW Normal type
-Eheim 2215 with Lily Pipes and Hydor ETH 200W
-_Hemianthus callitrichoides_ :icon_cool
-Java Moss if it gets here in time
-Twigs!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Turns out the shrimp from this morning did end up dying.  Hopefully that'll be the only one for now....I'd hate to see my stock take too much of a hit. 

Also, wasn't able to get Monday off but I do get Tuesday off....which means an entire day dedicated to scaping and other tank matters. 

Ah well. Moving on to the good times...a couple of new pics.

King Shrimp so far it seems. Colorful little bugger. 










They really love dining on the java moss and fissidens. Thanks Jimmy!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Stuff arrived!

Inventory:
Eheim 2215
Hydor ETH 200w in-line heater
9L of ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia NEW (they were out of 9L bags so they shipped me 3 3L bags at no additional charge )
3L of ADA Power Sand Special-S
2 100mL pre-bagged pouches of Purigen (already owned....sitting off to the side for now)

Tomorrow will be fun.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

Hey seen your text last night but didnt want to respond because it was like 10pm by time I seen it. Looks pretty awsome.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I'm usually up until about 3am most nights, lol. No worries.

Update: Tank is setup....probably gonna do dry start method for this HC and see how it does for a while. got a HUGE bunch of java moss (thanks Vesh!) today for the shrimp to live in in the tupperware container while the tank is stabilizing itself. Managed to cut myself twice pretty good while derimming the tank...nothing requiring stitches though. The only issue I found with that tank was that there was a small piece of glass broken out at the top...oh well. I'll fill it with silicone or something. The tupperware container is 13"x7.25"x4.25" filled about 3/4 with water. Shrimp are doing fine in it and my room temperature doesn't fluctuate that much. Yes, I'm moving it off the ground....I have cats y'know. 

Anyway, pics!


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

That'll look really nice when it fills in. If you break up your HC it'll fill in twice as quick.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

I wouldnt dry start the HC I gave you. Its already in its submerged form and will probably do very poorly in a dry start. People only do dry starts with HC because 99% of the time the HC you buy is in its emersed form for farming reasons. There is even a possibility you could completely kill it off.

Yeah I was going to say too, break up the HC some more then that. You should break each one of those into 5 smaller pieces. Each strand in an individual plant. It will grow 'faster' and look better. I say 'faster' because growth rate is the same, just it seems to grow faster because it will cover faster.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I figured if it can transition from dry to wet fairly easily with the right amount of CO2, why can't it go from wet to dry with all the CO2 in the air? Hmm...I really have no idea how I'd go about planting the HC, though. I just kinda laid it on the aquasoil and pushed it down a little bit. I figured the roots would just grow into the soil.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Plant it DEEP with thin tweezers. I like to plant mine with 3/4 of the stem in the sub 1/4 out.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Plant it DEEP with thin tweezers. I like to plant mine with 3/4 of the stem in the sub 1/4 out.


So when doing a dry start you can't just put the roots on the soil? Sigh. This is gonna take longer than I thought, lol. Might as well just fill the tank up today if I'm going to plant it that way.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

if it has roots already then as long as the roots are covered you should be fine...I was talking about planting stems that needs to reestablish a root system...you should still break it up though..


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Alright. I already broke it up into double what I had before.....do I need to break it up more? Also, since it's submerged form HC should I really just plant it and fill it, or will it be fine immersed? :help:


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

did you de-rim your 20long tank???


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I did.


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

did you check to make sure the tank still holds water without the black trims?




freph said:


> I did.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Yessir. No leaks and barely any bowing at all. I did leave most of the silicone, though...so that's probably helping.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Just go submerged, you'll need to cycle anyways...it came submerged stay with submerged...


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Will do.....definitely not looking forward to that much individual planting though....the root system on this stuff is so bunched up it's ridiculous. THANKS GDP


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

it'll be worth it...each one of those bunches in the pics can be broken up into 5 to 10 bunches..


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I never want to do this again, lol. I'm floating the HC in a container (bucket) so I can have easy access to it and the roots and leaves are getting so jumbled that I'm just going to have to chunk most of it. I'm pretty much picking out stem by stem and making tiny bundles with it....this is extremely annoying.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Finally done. I didn't plant all the HC that I had but it's whatever....what I did plant will fill in eventually. I'll post pics when the water clears up.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

A pic for you folks before I go to bed. Purigen is pretty amazing stuff...so is adding water very slowly. Also, planting HC is the devil! The devil I tell you! *shakes fist angrily* And yes, I know my HC planting sucks. Deal with it.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

If it makes you feel better, I have found HC to grow faster planted and filled than dry start. I make sure I give myself a few hours to plant though. I am talking with or without CO2 as well so once it takes off, you will probably be ahead of the game. Dry starting is just a convince thing for me.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

That's great news. I'm not really concerned about the growth right now...I just want the plants to get their roots grown in so they'll be healthier when the growth does start. Also, wondering if I need to dose yet lol. Fresh aqua soil = nutrientssss.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

i know this comment is too late because you have your hardscape done already but i think it would have looked very nice if you had piled more of the stones in the middle and left a void on both sides. Kind of an island effect. The way you have it layed out just seems too symmetrical. i hope you don't take it the wrong way, it looks great but i just wanted to add my 2 cents


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

A mountain type thing was my original thought....but in the end I just decided to scatter the rocks. I kinda wanted to recreate a random assortment of rocks underwater and give it the disorganized look, but I guess I failed on that part lol.


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

I like the mountaining of rocks but only when in a large tank with aggressive cichlids =p, I like how you set it up, though I love stacking rocks in a 20 long, my 20 long had that before the rescape but it was a grow out for a jack dempsey =p, looks good I will be following to see how it grows in.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Could still critique it a bit. More rock, less rock...placement etc. Don't really want to do a mountain though. Needs some critiquing though...I know. I just kinda threw it together yesterday. I'm thinking i might want to do like a rock mound with a center "tree" comprised of a twig and a bunch of Java Moss. The HC would be like a meadow of sorts. The rocks could have sprigs of hairgrass growing up between them as well. Thoughts?


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Mountains? Mountains. I like it. I'm also tired of stirring up my tank and HC, lol. I did enough planting yesterday.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Any tips for the lighting? You can see that the fixture isn't that far off the water....which I plan to fix once I take that huge piece off the top of the dresser (yes, it comes off...it's literally just sitting on top of the dresser right now lol) and get a legit light suspension system. What should the photo period be like? I'm currently running CO2 on the tank and my ferts won't get here til Friday....so nothing but Aquasoil nutrients until then.


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

Alright so this is what I did with my odyssea, granted mine is a 4 bulb fixture, but the tank is the same, I raised mine 7 inches from tank top, I would recommend doing the same, also less rock would be nice. if you add would go to pc1, he has great manzanita for cheap the wood in my tank came from him also for only $25.








the rock closest to the glass and on the left has been removed and a powerhead has been added even though the filter is ridiculously powerful

the plant at the front and right has been removed also, it is a nice plant but didn't fit, still havent added more plants. however im curious to see if you go with all rock and plants


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

Good job on planting the HC thats perfect. And yes HC is a PAIN IN THE ASS to plant lol. But its worth it, once it grows in. 10 hours a day light should be plenty. You can also start dosing if you wish, HC takes in a lot of nutrients from the water as well from what Ive heard.

Oh and a hint to making rocks look natural is to always use odd numbers, never even. Thats a trick ive learned from iwugami style.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

New scape looks good


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Did a temporary ******* hanging light fixture today....lol. Turned out alright. The only issue I Have right now is getting my pipes to line up properly since that wooden shelf it's hanging from is part of the whole dresser. It moves off, but eh I don't feel like arguing that much with my dad....I'll probably just take it off one day and replace the fixture with pipe or something when he's not home. Yes I know the water level is low....I'm about to do a water change anyway. All of my shrimp are still alive, btw. 

Pics!


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

That does look better. Where are the shrimp? Did the ammonia leaching from the AS kill them?


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Couldn't possibly throw my shrimps into a tank with high ammonia levels...I'd hate to know they're slowly dying in there.  Shrimps are currently in their little home away from home....which is probably more suited to their needs since it's just a huge mass of java moss in a container that gets water changes bi-weekly. That's a patch of fissidens fontanus in the corner. Everyone is accounted for.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Ahh. Much better! I was like, whoa, that's not good. But I see. I bet some noobs would just throw some shrimp in an uncycled tank and add some AS, getting some unexpected results...


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Yeah...my ammonia is actually sitting at 8ppm+ right now, lol. I'm doing EI dosing currently (probably should've waited a bit...eh?) so I'm not really doing as frequent water changes as I should be with new AS. However, I'm actually seeing some visible growth with the HC so I can't complain. Besides, I'm not killing anything in there...so who cares if it takes a little while longer to cycle.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Lost another shrimp today...a female too.  Total death count so far is 2....hopefully I won't lose anyone else in the next few weeks...seriously debating picking up a 2.5g from PetsMart now.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Sorry to hear, the 2.5 sounds like a good plan.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Assuming they have any in stock tomorrow. I checked every stock day this past week and they never got any in. An employee I talked to said that their Monday shipments are usually HUGE so I should check in then. Of course, I always have a break from 8:50am til 10am so I pretty much get there about an hour after they open.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Good luck on getting one Monday.


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

wow thats alot of ammonia =p


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Agreed. The HC is taking off though, lol. It looks great. I'll snap a picture tomorrow when I get home after it gets a good night of growth in and about halfway through tomorrow's photo period.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

No tanks...again. The guy I normally deal with finally checked the inventory and found that they were improperly stocked (said they had some but they never shipped but still show up on the inventory) and that's why they weren't coming in. He cleared the inventory slot for me and said they might have some Friday...hoping and praying.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Ugh someone needs a talking to.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Indeed. Found another shrimp today....*sigh* I'm noticing that I find them in heaps of moss so maybe it's too dense....ugh I really need that 2.5g. On a lighter note, the females are turning EXTREMELY red. Me likey.  Also, having issues with a film on top of the water....what to do? I do believed I promised you folks pics of the tank....here goes!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Just found 3 more and decided to do an emergency water change...found out the hard way that java moss like to harbor lots of leftovers and smelled funky. My guess is that the waste levels were through the roof. :/ I feel terrible for subjecting my shrimp to this....ugh. Darn you ill planning.  I will now perform daily small water changes to get up all excess waste and refresh the water a bit until I get the 2.5g. Time to make amends.


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

water changes would have been nice in the first place =p i'm sorry i didn't suggest it sooner, skip on small do 25% daily with 50/50 ro/tap for a while, will help alot =p if you can't get a hold of ro no big deal tap is fine for rcs


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I was doing water changes twice weekly before but I guess I wasn't getting enough gunk off of the bottom/out of the java moss...25% you say? 25% it will be. My well water is pretty harmless stuff though. I can add it direct and never had any issues with it whatsoever.


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

if you have well water that is great you could do larger changes if you wanted with well water but that is if you want to do the extra work, wont hurt can only do good as aquatic life loves fresh water


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Hm, alright. I just thought I'd not change the water TOO much at one time but I guess since the parameters are pretty much the same day-to-day that it won't hurt to do more.


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

nope it can only help =p


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

sorry to hear about your shrimp. Although hopefully the rest will be fine.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanks. Getting ready to do a water change after I post this. Also, my measuring spoons (1/32tsp, 1/16tsp, 1/8tsp) came in. Yes, I ordered them since they only come in a $20 set at Bed, Bath and Beyond and neither Target, Walmart, Food Lion nor Dollar General carry them...at least the ones I've been to. Yes, I even asked associates. $8 on Amazon gets the job done just fine. :hihi:

10:27pm: Fresh water for shrimp tub.


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

=] i hope they do better with the fresh water daily =]


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I do as well. Hopefully they'll only have to wait until Friday.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Found *5* more today, bringing the current count to 9 surviving.....pH about 6.2, 0 Ammonia...Nitrates are through the roof overnight.....what in the world is going on? I did a water change last night.....how on earth are shrimp producing upwards of 10ppm of Nitrates (unless my test kit is wrong...API master freshwater, liquid) *OVERNIGHT*?The only thing I can think I did differently last night was run the window AC in my room but it shouldn't have cooled the room THAT fast or THAT much.....my door was partially open. I thought shrimp also liked cooler waters? I know they have food because there's a mass of java moss in there.....what's going on? :help:


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

freph said:


> Found *5* more today, bringing the current count to 9 surviving.....pH about 6.2, 0 Ammonia...Nitrates are through the roof overnight.....what in the world is going on? I did a water change last night.....how on earth are shrimp producing upwards of 10ppm of Nitrates (unless my test kit is wrong...API master freshwater, liquid) *OVERNIGHT*?The only thing I can think I did differently last night was run the window AC in my room but it shouldn't have cooled the room THAT fast or THAT much.....my door was partially open. I thought shrimp also liked cooler waters? I know they have food because there's a mass of java moss in there.....what's going on? :help:


Hard to say. What did nitrites look like? It could be the moss decaying.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

About 5ppm when I check it last night. Maybe it was the yellowish lightbulb in my room....not sure. Also, I don't believe the moss is decaying...it's still pretty green. No yellow/brown patches that I can see. I'll post a picture of the suspension system I'll be using temporarily after I do a WC on both 20gs.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Alright, here's how this contraption works. It's a tupperware container with holes drilled in the bottom to allow for water interaction between the water in the container and the water in my aquarium. It works on the principles of diffusion. Particles in higher concentration will move to lower concentrations until they reach equilibrium. So, the excess nitrates/ammonia/whatever will move into the main aquarium and be filtered out by its filtration system. In case you're wondering why I don't just drop the shrimp in there, here's the reasoning: I have a 3" striped raphael catfish that eats pretty much anything. :hihi:

Anyway, pics:


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Setup is working as intended and I had no shrimp deaths overnight. They even act a little bit livelier...which is a great relief for me. Nitrates are 0-5ppm and ammonia/nitrites are 0.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Very good solution, I am wondering if it was an O2 issue.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Doubt it....the moss would generate O2 and so would surface exchange, wouldn't it? Even if there wasn't any agitation it's still a pretty good surface area compared to the depth of the tank imo...I'm thinking the tremendous amounts of nitrate was what killed them off. They're doing GREAT now. I see them moving around a lot more. Picking at the moss, picking at the algae wafer I drop in there, etc. It's relieving.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Great to know they are doing better.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Agreed. Still kicking as well. Hopefully there's plenty of O2 transfer from the main water through the holes in the tub to keep them healthy since there's a film developing on the surface of the tub. I had planned to run my hob filter so that the outflow would be going into the tub and the intake would be in the main tank, but it was producing too much flow and blowing my java moss all over the place so it wasn't really practical since I don't have any mesh or bindings for the moss.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Note to self, don't try to pick bits of aquasoil out of the top portions of HC no matter how tempting it might be....I managed to uproot two nicely growing sections due to shallow roots.  Well, at least they got replanted with no issues. Not going to touch this stuff ever except to trim I suppose, lol. Ammonia levels still sky high before water change....hopefully it'll die down some when the bacteria starts to get established.

Edit: Pics? Yeah, pics. Very noticeable growth at least, especially on the bush in the second picture.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Cool beans!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I suppose lol. Switching back to EI dosing now that the ammonia levels aren't ridiculously high anymore. Hoping to see some nice new growth in the coming week or two.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

I looks great, I love the mountain of rocks.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

freph said:


> Doubt it....the moss would generate O2 and so would surface exchange, wouldn't it? Even if there wasn't any agitation it's still a pretty good surface area compared to the depth of the tank imo...I'm thinking the tremendous amounts of nitrate was what killed them off. They're doing GREAT now. I see them moving around a lot more. Picking at the moss, picking at the algae wafer I drop in there, etc. It's relieving.


I really hate the aqaurium hobby sometimes as it seems almost impossible to determine anything lol. We all need to be certified PHDs lol. Anyway exchange would still happen but I dont think it would be a whole lot. I think its possible that was the issue. It just slowly killed them instead of fast. Thats my guess anyway.

But thats a really good idea and glad they are doing better. Whats the ammonia looking like on the tank? I just bought a lot of aquasoil and want to see how long it will be before I can put it into my 20L.

Oh also the HC is looking good except some yellowing. I would deffinately start dosing again. If I remember right yellow means it needs more potassium? Or was it iron? I forget but it means something lol.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Most likely iron, and there's mainly only yellowing on one piece in the back...and that's from where I didn't pick the leaves off the lower part of the stem before planting it. Also, the aqua soil is still showing 4ppm of ammonia after....3 50% water changes I think. The tank was fully setup on 8/23. I'm just gonna let it sit there and let the HC and bacteria enjoy it while I dose ferts. No reason not to since there's no livestock in there yet. I'm also dosing Seachem Stability just to give it a try...read nothing but good things about it so I figured why not. All shrimps still accounted for!


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I would guess more water changes would help the ammonia drop, that seem like a long time to wait but with a light plant load the conversion will be slow. The tank looks great and I can't wait to see shrimp crawling and swiming about.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

EI dosing requires a 50% WC weekly anyhow, so I'm not too concerned. And tell me about it haha. I'm so ready for this carpet to grow in, the tank to cycle and to see my shrimp having a blast and maybe making some babies! 

EDIT: Also going to pick up some shims today and level the dresser since it's bugging me that it's not level.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Love the look and the growth seems good for HC.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

freph said:


> EI dosing requires a 50% WC weekly anyhow, so I'm not too concerned. And tell me about it haha. I'm so ready for this carpet to grow in, the tank to cycle and to see my shrimp having a blast and maybe making some babies!
> 
> EDIT: Also going to pick up some shims today and level the dresser since it's bugging me that it's not level.


 
Guess ill be waiting a while then lol. Oh well no biggie. I still cant decide if I want to just use the 10g with aquasoil to breed high grade CRS then use the 20L for everything else. But negates the purchase of the 20L lol.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Either would probably be fine for the CRS, but I'm not a shrimp expert so don't quote me on it haha.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Behold....the power of ******* technology. I bring you a budget light fixture that also functions as a shelf. I spent 10 bucks on the brackets, wire and wire fasteners. Had the wood laying around and dad sanded + stained it. Spruce pine.  Added 2 shrimp and a fish to the tank as well today. One shrimp wound up on the filter intake and the other is slowly figuring out that the powerhead is too strong a slide to be practical....and I really need to take that powerhead out of there to give it more of that ada style appeal. Natural white wall background? Uh, win.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Looking good, nice work on the shelf light hanger.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanks! My dad did most of the handyman work behind the operation though. Treated the wood, mounted the brackets and screwed the wood down. All I did was draw the leveling lines where I wanted the bracket, screwed in the hanging hooks and did the wire work. Fun project overall.  HC is growing like a weed, lol. It's amazing what switching back to EI will do over the course of a week. Holy cow. I'm almost tempted to put all of my shrimp in there since they'd enjoy it much more than the cramped container they're currently in but I don't want anymore filter intake mishaps....I think now that I removed the powerhead the flow isn't so river rapid-y. A lot more peaceful on ground level.

Edit: Adding the shrimps tonight. Note to self...fishing line can be used for pretty much everything...even tying a sponge prefilter that's slightly bigger than my intake tubes to my intake tube.


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## SteveMcQueen (Apr 29, 2009)

Your light mounting looks fine. Nice job.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

so the tank fiinished cycling? I noticed even with 2ppm ammonia in mine I have 1 fire red and 2 crs and they are doing fine. Im always finding something in this hobby that amazes me.

Also that shelf/light system looks good. I have thought about doing something similar. Also the de-rimmed look, looks awsome.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

freph said:


> Behold....the power of ******* technology. I bring you a budget light fixture that also functions as a shelf. I spent 10 bucks on the brackets, wire and wire fasteners. Had the wood laying around and dad sanded + stained it. Spruce pine.  Added 2 shrimp and a fish to the tank as well today. One shrimp wound up on the filter intake and the other is slowly figuring out that the powerhead is too strong a slide to be practical....and I really need to take that powerhead out of there to give it more of that ada style appeal. Natural white wall background? Uh, win.


That's looking really clean.roud:


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanks for the kind words folks.  GDP: I don't know if the tank has finished cycling or not, but the water parameters are stable enough that the shrimp are loving it. I think the HC growing as well as it is is helping keep the water in decent shape. Also it would seem that having a lower pH reduces ammonia toxicity drastically. Shrimp are a lot more active now. It's pretty entertaining watching them swim around the tank and go from HC patch to HC patch, haha. Seems there's always one or two that enjoy playing in the lily pipe outflow as well. :hihi:


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Houston....we have saddles....I think at least lol (I see a little bit of yellow behind the heads of some shrimps). Also all shrimp survived the transfer (except the one I mentioned previously) and are thriving. roud:

Edit/Update: Also ordered some _Trigonostigma espei_ and _Corydoras pygmaeus_ from msjinkzd today.  They are to arrive Thursday. So excited!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Got the fish today. Will post pictures later when my lights come on.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

It looks really nice and is a good tank for shrimp. Can't wait to see your fish in there.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Sorry for the delay folks. It's been a long day, lol. Here are the pics I promised! Darn fish are too healthy Rachel....they move too fast to take good pictures. :hihi: TinyPic really needs a bulk uploader.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

wow man this tank is turning out to be awsome.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Thank you kindly. I actually cranked the CO2 up a bit today since it was running REALLY low and I just now got around to adjusting the needle valve to 1~1.5bps. Good ol beating it with a wrench. Looking into ordering a legitimate reguator+solenoid+needle valve+adapter for the paintball tanks to make it a lot more consistent....beating a needle valve with a wrench isn't my idea of precision, consistency or safe, lol. It's been 6.5hrs now and both the fish and shrimp are still living the life so I think I'm in the clear. Noticed a very small patch of gda and hair algae on the glass today...CO2 being dialed to the appropriate level and lighting reduced to 9 hrs should do the trick on that one. If not, I may very well purchase some otos.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Plants still growing in and such. Added 5 Amano Shrimp from Rachel today. These things are workhorses...holy cow. Lost 2 more cherries...both females. Down to 7 now I believe the count is. *sigh* I was hoping to have them last to adulthood and get a colony going but at this rate I might have to buy another shipment of shrimp.  Added a drop checker also. Regulator/bubble counter should be in sometime early next week. Added some pygmy chain swords to the 20g tall as well in an attempt to get some ground cover since the tank was looking pretty bad. Anyone know the general time from birth to breeding for cherries? The wait is killing me.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

freph said:


> Plants still growing in and such. Added 5 Amano Shrimp from Rachel today. These things are workhorses...holy cow. Lost 2 more cherries...both females. Down to 7 now I believe the count is. *sigh* I was hoping to have them last to adulthood and get a colony going but at this rate I might have to buy another shipment of shrimp.  Added a drop checker also. Regulator/bubble counter should be in sometime early next week. Added some pygmy chain swords to the 20g tall as well in an attempt to get some ground cover since the tank was looking pretty bad. Anyone know the general time from birth to breeding for cherries? The wait is killing me.


Let me know my fire red colony is starting to take off and wouldnt mind selling a few in about a month or so. I lost another CRS myself a few days ago, luckily it was not one of the SSS. Probably a S/S+ though.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Sure thing. Think I'll just stick to cherries for a while....crystals seem too fragile.  Sorry for your loss bro.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

I think you misunderstood lol. I said my FIRE RED (Cherry shrimp but redder) colony is taking off lol. They are breeding like rabbits. Also got your text, its looks good. Cant believe how fast that HC is growing. It didnt grow nearly that fast for me when I first got it.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Ah, yeah. Misread. Time for a long overdue update!

Hot mama to be!


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

your HC is really taking off....looking sweet man!


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Hey man. Not sure if it's been mentioned, but what are your livestock in there?

I'm a teen too!!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh, sorry. 4 Amano Shrimp, 7-8 Fire Red Cherry Shrimp, 9 (I think....last time I counted at least) Pygmy Corys, 5 Otos, 5 Harlequinn Rasboras (had 2 jumpers ). Join the teen party haha. Aquarist for life. 



shrimpnmoss said:


> your HC is really taking off....looking sweet man!


Thanks!  I can't wait for it to fill all the way in.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

How many cories do you have? Trying to stock my 11.4g.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I currently have 9 Pygmy Corys.  I didn't order that many but I got extras.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Thanks!  I can't wait for it to fill all the way in.[/QUOTE]


You can always help it along by trimming the long HC and replanting the bare spots.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

True! I'm just letting it do its own thing though. I'm already seeing new growth come from under the substrate and it's quite nice. Massive root network makes me a happy person and my HC a happy system.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

It's really looking good, I got some Chili Rasboras from Rachael and 30 RCS and they were al very nice the Rasboras are tiny, really about the size of the shrimp. I need some foam like that for my filter intakes but all I could find was a block O' foam, I tried 4 times to hollow it out for my filter intake only to be met with failure.

Keep up the good work, I love the Fissedens and I betting the shrimp will too!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Indeed they do.  It's in there just for them to pick at (and cover some dead space in the rockscape.... :hihi. It's actually growing quite well! Lost another cherry though....dunno what's killing them this time around since it was right after a WC. Maybe he/she got blown around too much....who knows.  Hopefully in a week or two I'll have a couple of berries.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Where did you get the foam over your filter intake?


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

freph said:


> Indeed they do.  It's in there just for them to pick at (and cover some dead space in the rockscape.... :hihi. It's actually growing quite well! Lost another cherry though....dunno what's killing them this time around since it was right after a WC. Maybe he/she got blown around too much....who knows.  Hopefully in a week or two I'll have a couple of berries.


Could have been an ammonia spike if the water you were pouring in was disturbing the soil.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

It did disturb it a little bit (literally just an indentation and some very slight clouding) but I didn't expect it to do that much if that's the culprit...


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## Capsaicin_MFK (Nov 15, 2009)

HC is looking great. Keep trimming and replanting and you will have a full carpet in no time!


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## mcqueenesq (Aug 29, 2011)

This is really coming together. I really like the mountain effect. Lucky shrimp.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanks! I'll post a few updates/pictures after a slight trim and stem planting session along with the regular Monday maintenance when I get home in about 3 hours. New schedule starts soon for dosing since I have nitrates in my tap but no GH booster until it gets here later this week. 

Edit: Okay, pics when I get home. I'm a bit pressed for time.


mcqueenesq said:


> This is really coming together. I really like the mountain effect. Lucky shrimp.


​


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Alrighty! Placed an order for a Koralia Nano 240 and a GH/KH test kit. My GH booster shipped today as well.  Almost cried when I only saw 2 cherries out to play...lifted up the fissidens patch though and found 2 more, so I know I have at least 4 fire red cherries left....hopefully a male out of the bunch of colorful females.  2 amanos left. Still have 5 espeis, 9 pygmy corys and 5 otos. More coming Thursday.  Pics ahoy!

Work in progress/semi-neglected tank doing its own thing:









Pics!


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Lol...your neglected tank pales in comparison to your "show" tank....


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

I'll probably redo it eventually but it's fine as-is. Only deaths I've had from it are jumpers but everything else thrives in it...even the ghost shrimp I previously had terrible luck with....as long as my bluefin killifish isn't eating them. :hihi: Also, upon further inspection (unless their colors fade at night) I MAY have at least one male FRCS left. However, I have a localish member that bought from the same seller as I did so hopefully all will be well if I don't have any.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

Yo got your text sorry forgot to respond. Yeah I believe I have some I can sell to you for $1 a piece.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Verified a couple males and females.  May still hit you up to help the colony out if they don't make it, lol. Hopefully these will duke out the parameters.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

Yeah you should be fine then. May in the future want to add a few more for genetic reasons.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Maybe. Also, got the Koralia Nano 240 today. Works great.  If only I could get it to be parallel to the water surface.


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## Capsaicin_MFK (Nov 15, 2009)

Nice upgrade on the paintball setup. What are you using for a needle valve?

Almost a full lawn of HC!!!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Thank ya.  It's one of the clippard brass ones....an MNV-3 I believe. Unfortunately the HC got too thick in the front of the tank and I had to cut out a section that had died and was rotting underneath it. Also did a trim of the whole tank.... just bits here and there.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

You need some clear plastic clips that would go over the top edge and have a small tab toward the inside to rest your cover on, I would go with some thing thin, even a heavy screen can block quite a bit of light. 

It's really hard to say but floating plants might help by giving the fish some cover and defining the surface, everything is so clear they might think there more water on the other side of the glass and once they make the leap it's too late, I can't get into the fishes head and tell you why he jumped but I can say once he's laying on the floor I know for sure he's thinking "I wish I could go back" good luck.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Take a look here this may interest you


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Been a while, so I figured I'd post an update. I really hacked away at the left side HC a few weeks ago due to bad rooting and rotting bits from peroxide treatment, so it's recovering decently. Also got some new shrimp from Liam to jumpstart the colony. I've lost a few espeis to jumping and my amanos have all died (no clue why, everything else is fine) but the pygmys and otos are still doing quite well. So, without further adieu...pics!


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## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.....very nice. I love it. How long did it take to fill this GREEN up?


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

A few months because I didn't dry start it nor did I keep the lighting/CO2 stable. It's doing very well now, though.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Still looking good. Any babies yet?


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

None whatsoever.  I ended up moving the 5 I had left to the 10g I recently setup. I think the Espeis were attacking the shrimp or something, but they seem a lot happier in the 10. Nothing in there but them, 4 otos and some trumpet snails...and lots of plants!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Well, it's been a while so I figure it's time for an update. The HC is....getting back into shape. I'm working on it! Made a water changer (posted about it in the DIY section) that's similar to the one Tom Barr posted a while back (the hang-over-rim PVC and hose pipe one) and am now doing 2x WC a week, both on dosing days. CO2 is good to go...lights are lowered and no BBA. TONS OF PEARLING. Literally half of my tank is bubbles right now. It's quite nice. I turned the Koralia off as well while my HC is establishing itself.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

You know I almost wonder if aquasoil is the reason your cherries arnt breeding. I say that because I had a few cherries in my 20L that I was always too lazy to get out, and they never did breed either. However in my 10G and my previous setup of the 20G they breed like mad.

It could also be the co2 maybe? Thats what I hate about aquariums, its almost impossible to know what the cause of something is when its something bad lol. We need to all be PhDs in Biology, ecology, and biochemistry lol.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

GDP said:


> You know I almost wonder if aquasoil is the reason your cherries arnt breeding. I say that because I had a few cherries in my 20L that I was always too lazy to get out, and they never did breed either. However in my 10G and my previous setup of the 20G they breed like mad.
> 
> It could also be the co2 maybe? Thats what I hate about aquariums, its almost impossible to know what the cause of something is when its something bad lol. We need to all be PhDs in Biology, ecology, and biochemistry lol.


More like a week-long course by Tom Barr about aquarium do's and don'ts. I setup a planted 10g for the cherries and moved them into that. My amanos even die in the 20L....I don't know what it is. The fish are acting perfectly fine and are very happy from what I can see.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Update time. Been trimming, replanting and generally messing around with this tank for a while. Still got some glass algae, but HC is growing well. I correct that later.

1/31


















2/11


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Got a new light fixture in today. 30" dual T5HO 2x24W Aquatic Life fixture. Love it so far. The 6k and roseate bulbs make a very nice color combo....have to say I'm in love. Also, the light is distributed MUCH better than the Odyssea fixture. I hope to see some substantial improvements in my HC and the single sprig of Myriophyllum tuberculatum that's sitting in the back. Maybe I'll get rid of some of the HC in the back and get some stem action going. Not sure yet, though. I'm aware I need to trim and scrape some algae. :hihi: All of that will be done tomorrow. Here's a couple of quick pictures of the light and tank.


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## synaethetic (Oct 4, 2011)

+1 on the Aquatic Life. I also use one of their T5HO fixtures and am very satisfied with it. 
Your tank is looking good, nice healthy hc. It'll definitely react to the new improved lighting. Good luck!


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

You tank looks good and the plants are growing good too but I would shave off a hour of photo period to slow the algae and try to bump the CO2 just a bit too.

How is the top working out for you? It's not dristracting at all and only noticed from above looking down.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Top works great. No jumpers so it's served it's purpose. I'll look into the CO2 now that I'm using the Koralia again since it's already an 8 hour photoperiod. The old reflector sucked for concentration so thinking it'll help.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Pearling with an Eheim 2215 and a Koralia Nano 240 running? You bet! Fissidens pearling too? Yep. Still haven't figured out how to get my surface agitation just right where it breaks up the surface film/prevents it without blowing my HC all around. You can see its current position in the previous pics and it's aimed up at around 30 degrees (can't go much higher as the cord is in a bad spot).


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Did a good clean, trim and WC today. I must say I'm pretty satisfied. I see why people buy expensive cameras now....sometimes iPhone 4 camera just doesn't do it justice.


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## Cason (Mar 4, 2012)

Your tank looks great! I think a nice blue or black background would make it absolutely pop! What do you think? The black would bring out all those pretty colors you got going on there.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanks!  Black....hmm, maybe. It's got frosted window tint on it right now but maybe going a bit darker would be nice...we'll see.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Blew a roughly 2"x1" patch of HC and soil out of the tank today....never going to use paintball CO2 with just an ASA on/off and the needle valve they're typically sold with on here again. Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too inaccurate and if you're not careful you end up blowing water and other goodies out of your tank like my genius self. Here's a quick shot of the tank. The fissidens needed cleaning and a good hacking as well so I decided just to mow it all the way down and let it regrow. There's also some stems in the back you can't see from the front yet but they're very nice plants and behaving well for me. _Myriophyllum tuberculatum_.

Insane how fast HC grows in a month under the right conditions.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

looks very nice now that it is fully carpeted. but you may want to clean the rocks, its the only thing that is distracting me from the HC. 

btw, your pics would come out better if you lowered the exposure (particularly on the HC closeups).


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanks! Yeah...I'll take the ones out that aren't partially buried and give them a good scrub and just clean the rest with excel. A quick Google search showed that you can adjust the exposure/focus by tapping instead of just letting it do autofocus. Here are some better pictures of the HC detail...and along with that copepods. Yum.


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## SJInverts (Apr 6, 2009)

The tank looks great . I love the full carpet.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

SJInverts said:


> The tank looks great . I love the full carpet.


I wouldn't call it full, but it's getting there. Thank you kindly.


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## Capsaicin_MFK (Nov 15, 2009)

Looks like the HC finally kicked into gear. I'll be filling up my tank in a few weeks, so I'm pretty excited to have a full carpet again. Great looking setup you got. Where did you get the metal clips for the DIY cover?


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Capsaicin_MFK said:


> Looks like the HC finally kicked into gear. I'll be filling up my tank in a few weeks, so I'm pretty excited to have a full carpet again. Great looking setup you got. Where did you get the metal clips for the DIY cover?


They were little (what I assume nickel and some other rustable metal) pegs for hanging shelves. I just bent them around something the thickness of my tank glass and used the nub that the shelf would normally sit on for the cover. I got them at Home Depot but I'll see if I can find them on the site. As far as I know, ADA are the only folks that sell those clips with their tanks and I haven't found any other source for something like what they supply.

Edit: Product #202639261 @ Home Depot.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

if you have the rim on you 20L you couldve just used the lip on the plastic. thats what i did with my finnex reef (same kind of lip) and with my betta tank (5.5 all glass).


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Yeah. I kinda regret taking the rim off for that purpose but oh well. No more jumpers so no need for the lid.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Ripped all the HC up today. I had a few sprigs of DHG Belem and struggling E. tenellus. The Belem was leftover from my 20g teardown and it's been growing like mad. One sprig shot off around 8 runners in the span of a couple weeks. Divided all that up and very sparsely planted the tank with that and a few leftover bits of HC. Very likely will just remove the HC sprigs and have a lush grassland, but we'll see!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Some of you may have read that I was planning on redoing this from other threads. It's current being filled. I'll post pictures after my spine stops hurting. :redface:


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Alright, good to go now. I recycled some plants from my past build and used some new ones. It's got a good jumbled up mix of stuff so bear with me.

Riccia fluitans
E. acicularis, parvula, belem
H. tenellum, tenellum 'micro'
D. diandra
M. tuberculatum 'red'
R. rotundifolia
Glossostigma elatinoides
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Various erios


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Oh man, this is going to be seriously BA!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Oh man, this is going to be seriously BA!


I sure hope so. :hihi: Can't wait for the first trim to get all the old growth squared away and get the new stuff going.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

freph said:


> I sure hope so. :hihi: Can't wait for the first trim to get all the old growth squared away and get the new stuff going.


Will take a while to grow but will be awesome! :drool:

Btw. What's with your Glosso love affair? :hihi:


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Will take a while to grow but will be awesome! :drool:
> 
> Btw. What's with your Glosso love affair? :hihi:


http://www.aquascapers.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/glossostigma-elatinoides11.jpg

That. Actually, it's a love affair between that, riccia, E. acicularis/belem and H. tenellum 'micro'....they're my favorite plants right now. I very much enjoy their growth patterns, appearance and use in a scape. The to-be carpet has a mix of HC, E. belem/parvula, H. tenellum 'micro and glosso in it....it'll grow together very nicely. 

Today, did a couple of things. Dropped the water level a bit to increase surface flow and swapped the media in my 2215. Now we're rolling with 750ml NA Carbon, 2L Bio Rio and the ceramic rings in the bottom with all their bacterial goodies.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Came home to a lovely sight today...every one of the M. tuberculatum stems that had lower growth on them had that growth melt hard. Emergency 20% water drain/vacuuming out bits of crap everywhere before I had to go to work and floating the uprooted stems. I'll do a complete replant of all the stems in the tank when I get home. 5.5 hours later..... :frown: No algae though! :biggrin:


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Resolved the mess and replanted all the stems except the D. diandra. Quite the back sore, but worth it. I feel the R. rotundifolia will grow better this way and hopefully the M. tuberculatum will as well. Also replaced the bulbs! Upgraded to Geisamann Midday and AquaFlora. I must say...I'm impressed with the color difference. Hopefully the plants will enjoy it as much as I do!

Before bulb swap:



















...and after!


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## habitat (Aug 19, 2012)

The bulb upgrade was a good choice, the plant colors are more brilliant now.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

habitat said:


> The bulb upgrade was a good choice, the plant colors are more brilliant now.


Thanks! I agree, it's really making the colors pop more. Looks even better in person.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Lovin' all those Erios!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Lovin' all those Erios!


I'll love them even more when they root and I can sleep soundly at night. They grew like mad even in the old setup...I'd split them every month or so. Always great growers for me. I'll give this tank another week of growth them trim all the stems down to nubs and let them grow in more naturally and eliminate any emersed growth and just promote health of the stems in general. Lower stems getting good light and CO2 and such. Everything is growing very well. I'll do a water change and post pictures tomorrow. This tank and the Mini M are still on my bi-weekly water change schedule (Thursday and Sunday). I may just make this a permanent thing.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Update? Update. Water change, dosing, etc. Nothing to trim yet. Next week I'll trim stems down to the base so they can grow in all nice and stuff. Amanos and otos next Thursday and the Thursday after that I'll put fish in. I'm thinking 35 chili rasboras. The new lights should bring out their coloring very well and there's plenty of green int he tank for them to contrast with.

Healthy stems!









Obligatory fts.









Closer.









What's that?









Obligatory riccia pearling, of course. The riccia in this tank seems finer than in the Mini. Same source, though. Just goes to show that different conditions make a world of difference.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Moar photos!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Moar photos!


I'll put some up after water change tomorrow. I didn't do one Thursday because I got fish in and I didn't want to freak them out too much. Surprisingly though, no amanos have jumped. I'm...confused. I almost always wake up the next morning to 3-4 on the floor lol. I guess it means this tank is right on the money this time around.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

... tomorrow never comes? :hihi:


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> ... tomorrow never comes? :hihi:


Silence. JUST FOR YOU:


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Gahh, you're making me [STRIKE]want[/STRIKE] need to have a tank with glosso!


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Gahh, you're making me [STRIKE]want[/STRIKE] need to have a tank with glosso!


WK patties...chop chop. The sooner you get ours made the sooner you can.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Well, I put together the new CO2 regulator rig for this tank. I'll pick up a 10lb tank from Airgas eventually....just don't really feel like it right now. I like having a bit more money in the pocket than I really need and plus some crazy lady hit me today. Likely to be determined she was at fault, but for now it's up to the insurance companies (even the crash scene lady said it was her fault).

I must say, I don't really like Swagelok Tube Fittings. They bend....very easily. Hopefully there aren't any leaks in this rig otherwise I'll have to buy new tube fittings.


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## fishboy199413 (Jan 20, 2010)

Hey you have the same regulator as me!  The tank is coming along great it looks like. How many Chili Rasboras are in there now?


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

fishboy199413 said:


> Hey you have the same regulator as me!  The tank is coming along great it looks like. How many Chili Rasboras are in there now?


Probably about 18 or so....I lose track of jumpers. They have a bad habit of getting into my Vuppa and jumping from there.

3104C is a solid reg. I love its aesthetics...let's hope this one isn't an eBay dud.


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Sexy new rig today. Nothing major to report for this tank....except the fact that I forgot to take a stem picture. Bah. I'll do it tomorrow on lunch.


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## Mumford (Nov 12, 2012)

What happened to this?


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Mumford said:


> What happened to this?


It's currently in recovery stages from a CO2 issue. Somehow accidentally had it wayyyyyyyy too low. BBA everywhere and most of my plants stopped growing. To put into perspective how important CO2 is in a high light tank....I've gotten around 6" of plant growth on each of my stems since I fixed the CO2 issue earlier this week. :icon_roll

I'll post pictures near the end of the month when the tank is in better shape. HC carpet hasn't filled in yet, either and I'm using it for growout for moss rocks and moss squares until it does so.

Strangely, I don't have any pictures of when this tank was in its prime with the old mixed carpet. Weird.


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## Takeshi (Aug 24, 2013)

Update?????


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## freph (Apr 4, 2011)

Sure. I'm lazy and these are from my for sale thread. :hihi: The D. diandra, and L. inclinata varities got hacked shortly after those pictures, though. For sale and needed pruning badly.


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