# ADA45P 9Gallon - Cave&Tree - 1st Tank



## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

I naturally wanted to the "Iwagumi" style because it is very calming and simple just like Japanese gardens that I really like. My wife liked the idea of having a small tree making it look like a scene from Tototro. So I'm mashing up these two influences into one. 

Then went to a local aquarium store and scouted for rocks and a "tree". Found a small drift wood to turn into a tree and randomly found a rock with a crater looking shape. I thought it was very unique. My cousin with me suggested it could be used as a cave. I went for the idea.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Sat down with the elements and brainstormed how it would go together. Had an image in my head and started pouring the sand and soil and putting the rocks together. I was about 85% accurate to what I imagined. Overall I wanted a balanced feel.

Cave: I had to build a hill to support the look of the cave.

Drift Wood: The shape looked like it was sweeping one direction like being shaped by the wind. Thought that was cool so I used it on one side of the tank pointing into the tank.

Rocks: Used it mainly as support for these mini hills I created. 

ADA Amazonia Soil: Went JDM again and went for the good stuff. Good foundation comes first. Only bought one bag so I went for a smaller ratio of planted space and larger ratio of open clean sand. I thought it would make a nice playground for the shrimps. 

 Decorative Sand: Cousin had left over white decorative sand. I used a lot of it to make majority volume of the hill. I had trouble making the hill steep so it looks round because the sand would fall.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Plants going in. Doing the dry start method. I didn't have the tweezers so I used a pen to make a hole and shove the stem of grass into it. Had more grass than I expected so I expanded my lawn coverage on the right side. I would turn the lights on for 12hrs/day and spray it down before work and after work. 

Grass: Eleocharis Sp. Mini - Dwarth Hair Grass tissue cup from Aquariumplants.com 

Bushes: Baby Tears


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## Goomie (Jul 21, 2015)

Oh wow. That's an impressive start (wish I could have gone that route to begin with!)


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Detail shot of the planting. Looking back, I would have planted them deeper and split the grass up more.

I used a bit of left over plants and soil to create a planted tank in a shot glass. This is just for experimentation on the side for me to help learn. The shot glass jar dry started with the tank.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Ok so gotta ask. How are you going to keep the soil from settling all over you sand area when you flood? Its a nice looking little cove you have setup I'm just afraid your going to experience disaster when you add water.


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## anfield (Dec 1, 2013)

Agree with mot. Keeping different substrates apart is a challenge. Even more so when you have a significant slope.

Still very nice for a first scape!


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

mot said:


> Ok so gotta ask. How are you going to keep the soil from settling all over you sand area when you flood? Its a nice looking little cove you have setup I'm just afraid your going to experience disaster when you add water.





anfield said:


> Agree with mot. Keeping different substrates apart is a challenge. Even more so when you have a significant slope.
> 
> Still very nice for a first scape!


I didn't think to think of that when I was building my hill. Everything ended sliding down and stopping a point it liked. It was like bargaining, I wanted the soil to be here, but laws of physics put it there. 

I also learned that keeping the black and white sand apart was an impossible task when they mixed. If anyone has any tips on how to keep sands separate it would be great.


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## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

If you have the dark and light substrates meet on a flatter plane and then start the sloping up using supports as you go you will have a lot more success.
Also depending on the length of time you wait until you flood the root system will be able to hold some of the slopes from falling (generally everyone floods too early to actually have a strong root system, or the DSM turns sour and they flood before total loss of plants).

I suggest trying to add some substrate supports, people use egg crate or I believe garden edging (someone correct me if im wrong, the black stuff that often gets placed next to a lawn to keep the edges neat?) basically is a cut and place system. 

Good luck with this mate, its still a great first scape! (so much ZUTUTU!)


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

2 weeks into the dry start. I noticed a gradient of yellow grass to full green grass from top to bottom. I'm assuming it could be from the light difference or if the bottom is getting more water than the top. I tried to spray more water on the top but didn't notice a change. I also added some plant food which are the yellow balls. 

Shot glass jar of soil and grass soup is still alive. 

Soil has started to fall downhill. I tried to push it back up but it would have taken too long. I'll push it back up later eventually.


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## bereninga (Mar 18, 2006)

It'll be a tough battle to keep the substrate from mixing at where they meet, especially without any rocks or some sort of barrier. The plants might be able to help prevent the mixing, but it'll be a while before they grow in. The more you mess around at the border, the more it'll mix. Plus, once you flood, there could be more settling of the substrate. I'd look into adding some substrate supports. You could try some currogated plastic sheets cut to size.


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## h22prelude2k (Feb 17, 2016)

nice! reminds me of the smaller version of mine!


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

The tank has now been flooded. No Ark. I added about 50% water from another fish tank and 50% treated tap water. Threw in some free fish to get cycling going. The soil and sand did get disturbed because I was lifting my tank up and down a shelf. I threw some brown sand on top. Tangled some java moss on the drift wood. CO2 running 1-2 bubbles per second and turns on when the lights turn on. Running the lights and CO2 about 5-6hrs a day for now to get them comfortable. The tank gets ambient late afternoon sunlight in our living room.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Taking it to the next level. Went to buy some guppies at the store over the weekend. Sadly I was only able to enjoy them for one evening because 6/8 of them jumped out over night. The two survivors have been chillin in tank ok. Sometimes peer pressure makes you do stupid things. 

I added some moss balls. One of them was floating. Got some shots of mother nature's magic trick. I ended up keeping three moss balls in front because I like them, they provide a focus on the foreground and it is to represent the Father the Son and Holy Ghost.

Moved my hang on back filter to the side so that the intake pipe isn't in the view. It also helped with my water circulation causing a swirl in my tank. CO2 bubbles get blow around the tank now instead of puddling in a corner. The guppies would play in the current. Zebra snail hangs out in the back most of the time. 

I threw in 8 Amano shrimps and they messed up my soil and sand overnight. I gave 5 away now only got 3 to represent the Father the Son and Holy Spirit. I did find a way to separate the soil and sand under water using a moss ball and tweezers and water pressure. Pics to prove later.

$25 black metal rack at target also support on its second shelf
-mini planted tank w/hairgrass, shot glass jar
-jar of java moss, growing slowly
-java fern 
-moss balls
-one giant moss ball


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## Julie7778 (Apr 21, 2015)

I really like the scape of this! Great job. I was wondering what co2 system you have set up?


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## Mikeygmzmg (Mar 19, 2015)

When the speaker is bumping music, it's going to be like the jellyfish party on the episode of Spongebob : )


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## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Is the tank cycled?
Guppies are jumpers regardless, but fish will also jump to escape toxic conditions, ammonia and nitrites for example.


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## anfield (Dec 1, 2013)

Have to wonder if the guppies jumped because of an ammonia spike or was it the music from the sound system lol. Nice tank though.


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## sfshrimp (May 24, 2016)

The back bass from the speakers will stress out your entire habitat, as if there was a predator in the tank making currents. I would recommend moving the tank or the speaker, it's not going to be a healthy setup.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Don't think I have ever had guppies jump.... Although my cats liked to fish guppies, as they are always close to the surface.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Julie7778 said:


> I really like the scape of this! Great job. I was wondering what co2 system you have set up?


20oz Paintball CO2 Canister + Aquatek CO2 regulator Mini + Spiral Bubble Counter + Sprial Diffuser
1 bubble per second for about 6 hours a day

Parts were ordered on Amazon
The tubing I got it from Orchard Supply Hardware

**Edit**
Added some pics of the bubble counter that wasn't on the previous pics.


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## Julie7778 (Apr 21, 2015)

IntotheWRX said:


> 20oz Paintball CO2 Canister + Aquatek CO2 regulator Mini


Is it growing the dwarf Hairgrass and other plants well so far?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

The landslide has reached its equilibrium. I made up a technique to separate the black soil and white decorative sand. I would pinch a moss ball on my tweezers and do a brush stroke movement directly above the soil. The water pressure will lift and throw the lighter ADA soil and the heavier decorative sand will float up but fall back in place. Earlier I had black soil all over my front because the shrimps and 2x Cory fish messed everything up. 

Moss: The tangled java moss had some darkened browning on top. But I saw little nubs of light green fingers growing in all direction. The tree is getting more dense as the moss is growing in the inside. 

Grass: Got some melting here and there. Despite that, they are shooting new runners and budding off in all areas. Sometimes the growth of the grass will be floating so I would break it off and try to replant them in new spots to recycle them. The last pic shows the contrast of healthy grass and melting grass. I am putting about 200% liquid fertilizer and they turn really green within 24hr I dose the tank. Juice it up. 

Baby Tears: They are growing on crack. I didn't plant them that well and they are floating horizontal above the dirt tangled with the grass and yet still shooting roots downwards and growing half an inch a day. 

CO2 and LED Light 6hrs a day

I added a tiger snail to hang with my zebra snail
I don't use my speakers much, but when I do, the fishes are just gonna have to deal with it cause I'm their master.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Java Moss is growing real quick. Touched its sky. 

The Zebra and Tiger is cleaning up the algae I didn't magnet scrub off.

My grass is continuing to melt. The color is turning to yellow, to brown, to clear noodles and then floating away. I since have turned on my CO2 all day everyday. 1 bubble per second. Growth for the grass is still spreading all over.


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

I love the look of this tank...very natural looking.


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## anfield (Dec 1, 2013)

Nice work. Turned out pretty good.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Here is a shot of the CO2 tank with the mini regulator. 

The shot glass grass is still going. It had a new bud shot off. Growth is steady but not as quick as the ones in the tank.

My tank is placed near a sunny living room window. Grass has started to grow on the edge of the glass reaching for the light. It's fun to watch the individual grass blades grow taller each day. 

Questions:
My 3 amano shrimps have disappeared one by one every couple days. I checked the ground for if they jumped, but didn't find any. I have two guppies but never seen them bother them. There aren't any hiding spots. Would you guys know of any explanations?

Do you know how I can clean algae off the CO2 bubbler?


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## bereninga (Mar 18, 2006)

IntotheWRX said:


> Questions:
> My 3 amano shrimps have disappeared one by one every couple days. I checked the ground for if they jumped, but didn't find any. I have two guppies but never seen them bother them. There aren't any hiding spots. Would you guys know of any explanations?
> 
> Do you know how I can clean algae off the CO2 bubbler?


Have you checked the filter? Maybe the cave?

I would take the diffuser out of the water and put a bit of H2O2 on there. At least that's how I clean mine.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Cleaned up my sandy beach and added some smaller pebbles in between the big rocks that I found in random parking lots. Free rocks. I also downsized my moss balls.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Amanos could be anywhere. I found one in a bathroom a good 40ft from my tank.


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## seanski21 (Mar 4, 2012)

Amano shrimp can run around like cockroaches when out of the water so they could be anywhere unfortunately.


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## Geoff-PA (Jun 5, 2016)

How long can they survive out of the water?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Most of the melting has passed. Almost all the grass went through the transition. Now they are growing greener than ever. 

Trimming Java Moss gets debris all over. If I don't clean it up, the moss will root to the dirt. I would use my tweezers and move the little moss pieces next to the filter intake to hold it there by suction until I build up a collection of moss and move it out all at once. 

The soil seems to be getting mushy over the weeks. I noticed my landscape is starting to sink in and the rocks are moving. I took the opportunity to use my fingers and grip the rock on the right like a rock climbing pinch and lift it up at a angle and soil will slide underneath and when I release, the ground is a little bit higher. These pics were taken before I moved the rock.

Still figuring out my CO2 levels. I would have it 1/2 bubbles/second and noticed that there was no pearling in my grasses. About 1 pearling bubble/second. The grass isn't growing, figured my CO2 is about as low as it should be.

I then wanted to test my "high CO2" range and cranked it to like 10 bubbles/second and fizzed it up to sparkling water. The grass started to pearl and even pearl big bubbles. After couple minutes the CO2 didn't seem to be dissolving into the water as much almost making the water cloudy with bubbles. Figured my CO2 is about as high as it should be. 

My updated schedule is 5 hours of light and 5 hours of CO2 at 1.5 buubles/second. 

I've been using my water change water to water my potted plants on my balcony and the plants are doing super. Must be the fish poop and dosing in the water. 

A cherry red shrimp got stuck in my filter for about a week. Threw it back into the tank alive. Woot.

The corners of my tank doesn't seem to be growing as well. Maybe it has to do something with water flow? Tips? I'm planning to go with the sexy glass inflow/outflow pipes one day.


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## jmach (May 6, 2016)

Nice tank. It looks like a hobbit house to me. I think an axolotl would love that tank with the cave and everything.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Grass growth is going strong. Added some red plants for contrast. Family picture. The momma shrimp hangs out in the back corner pumping baby shrimps out.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Not the greatest pics but wanted to post for updates.

added 4 new type of plants. two red. They should be popping out in couple weeks.

mowed the front rocks area. Look at the roots growing in decorative sand. 

added a heater. my fishes were jumping out for unknown reasons. now ill make it super comfortable for them. 

had a BBA algae outbreak. Cycled some hydrogen peroxide in the tank for 30 min (with filter media pulled out) and most of it is now pink and going away. 

moved the lighting to the front to balance out the growth around the tank. 

Duckweed floating to help stabilize the tank. Will remove it for looks once I get the hang of the water balance. 

a squirt of fertz every couple days. LED light and 3bubbles/sec CO2 for 4 hours a day.


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Looking good my friend!


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## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Looking great! Good work, seems you're definitely getting the hang of it!


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

just some close ups of my shrimps hanging out and bumble bee goby


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Looks like the shrimp population is growing despite the bumblebee goby and the puffer! Nice!!! Love to see a tank like this.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

https://youtu.be/yl40tIHr3xU

Heres a video of me catching the community of fishes playing in the water stream. They seem to have fun dancing with the duckweed.

And some recent shots. The lighting is hovering towards the back to focus growth back there.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

I took out the tree for now to let the back left corner get some light to grown in the carpet some more.

I'm also pausing the trimming for a little bit and see how nature goes. Each plant grows differently and I'm learning a lot how they work.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

I added yellow horned snails. I like that they are small to fit to scale of my tank. Also added some mischlings shrimps. I have some panda shrimps I will get a pic of next time.

I icreased my light hour from4 hours to 5 hours a day now. Started to get some BBC algae. So I checked my co2, ::looks at fishes gasping for air at surface of water" check. I then looked at the color of my blades of grass. They seemed a little pale. Double dosage of two fertz, 400% increase. Cmon plants. I know you can handle the pressure of 5 hour lights. I will load them up with co2 and fertz to fight off the algae. The BBC then started to fade. I then added a second wave of duckweed, the smaller kind. It helps soften light to the tank. I believe my light is too harsh for my tank right now and I can't adjust the height or dim it. Overall I have no algae problem anymore except the green haze on the glass to rub off every week.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Here's one of my panda shrimp. The plants are mixing in together. I trimmed that red recki on the right and it went bonsai and stayed short. My other recki did too. Are they adapting? 

My ember tetra spawned 5 babies. only 2 survived. they are living in my "bushes" that im letting it grow now for their protection. weird thing is that there are no other ember tetras in the tank besides a month ago that jumped out. Will be cool to see this baby fish from the start grow up to a big fish and swim with the community.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

My HOB filter broke. Realized days after that I was putting too much strain on the motor and it overheated. I added a sponge filter so my shrimps wouldn't get sucked up and ran the filter on low setting which restricted it even more. The filter eventually stopped with the motor area warm/hot.

I upgraded to a Eheim 2211. The flow is very strong for my 9 gallon and my fishes are being blown. Do you have any tips on how to reduce the flow to make it work better for my small tank? 

Been trimming the front and growing out the back. Waiting for everything to settle in then I will do a good trim and add my tree back in. Couple more months until I'll do a photoshoot with a tripod+camera+computer editing for some pro pics. Until then, stayed tuned with my random Nexus phone pics. 

Duckweed is gonna get pulled out. Water seems like its doing ok. I stopped doing water changes. I haven't changed it in months. I read on the forums people are changing it every week? Do planted tanks need water changes?


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Use the outflow ball valve on the hose connector and close it a quarter of the way or so...it will cut down the flow.


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## Al3x (Sep 3, 2016)

That first floating plant is salvinia minima, not duckweed. 

I really like the look of this tank. I'd love to see a shot of the fry. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Did a trim and took out the duckweed. I only have one baby fish still alive. I'm assuming my bubble bee goby ate the other 5 babies. Thanks Scubasteve, I was able to figure out how to use the extra connectors with my filter and was able to turn down the outflow. 

Below are couple of detail pics. My shrimps are growing up and easier to spot. I should have about 30 shrimps in there. I kept some "bushes" in the back right for the baby fish to hide.


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## IntotheWRX2 (Sep 13, 2016)

My original account maxed out its 10mb upload size. So this is still me. I have attached a pic of my shrimp molting out of her shell. Got my stainless steel pipes this morning. Pics to come.

Sad news that the last baby fish is gone. Probably got eaten up by the gobby. I attached the last pic I had of it. It was getting bigger too.


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## IntotheWRX2 (Sep 13, 2016)

Got my $40 stainless steel pipes from China. Ni Hao 

Any suggestions or tips on how I should position my CO2, inflow, outflow and heater pieces in my tank? I have my outflow pointing from the corner and it inflow right below it. It creates a swirl like a toilet bowl in my tank. What is ideal for water flow? I don't have any rippling on the water surface anymore. Is that good or bad? Any words of advice would be grateful. Thank you.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

i guess my account got banned. sorry no more pics. I hope you may still enjoy my journal.

The white LED light is lit up on the side of my living room wall. You expect to hear the hum of a canister filter, but only see the little ripple at the water surface with some guppies dancing under the stream. The spotlight is on them as the sun has already set for the outside world beyond the living room window. As you move closer to the tank, the little red dots take shape of a shrimp and all seem to be doing a similar dance in the grass dance floor on their own.


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

What do you mean, banned? Also, how are the CRS shrimp doing with the fish?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

ScubaSteve said:


> What do you mean, banned? Also, how are the CRS shrimp doing with the fish?


my 2nd account called intothewrx2 got banned. I opened up that account so I can keep posting pictures to you guys because my 1st account (this account) has reached its limit of space for pictures. 

I can continue to update with words. I really wanted to use my DSLR and snap a really good and clean picture once my tank has fully grown in for you guys to see. I'm 5 months in and I just need 2-3 more months till I expect to reach my vision. I will be putting the tree back in next week. Grass runners are weaving in and the ADA soil pebbles are not sliding around anymore. I have been trimming and planting the red rotala and baby tear "bushes" in the back and they are now getting dense. I am now letting them grow tall and use that to scape the final shape of my hill. 

The shrimps are doing great! All 20 of the CRS shrimps are growing up and getting bigger. They used to be little shrimps hanging between blades of grass with their fluttering feeding arms. The bumble bee goby doesn't mess with them. My rocks are super clean. I have 3 amanos and 5 pandas and 5 red/white shrimps. 3 nerite snails. I found one of the nirite snail outsdie of my tank. I crawled out and I'm not sure if it knew the way back home. It was on it's side and not sucking on anything and it's door was closed. I was about to throw it out but I figured it would still be alive. I plopped it back in my tank right side up. Next day later, I found it perfectly center on my CO2 diffuser eating a jackpot of algae. 

I've been watching for pearling on my plants as a sign of how well the plants are doing. My fishes have been gasping at the top of my water at about 1.75 bubbles per second. I turned it down to about 1.2 bubbles per second. A week later I noticed some melting but the fishes were fine. As much as my wife likes to treat the fishes like a cast of character in a story, I have to remember to keep my priorities straight and eyes on the prize. Both plants and fishes don't have a soul. So which is better for the fish to suffer or plants to suffer? Plants are more important to me so I turned my CO2 back up to 1.75 bps and watch my guppies gasp every night. They must be trippin because the tetras are doing ok and the bumble goby just sits on the rock watching me. I don't have any tools to measure my CO2 except the bubble counter and observation. 

Lets say I have my brother's friend's cousin's co-worker open up a INTOTHEWRX3 account and take pictures for me and post on this thread, would they still ban them?:wink2:


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

IntotheWRX said:


> my 2nd account called intothewrx2 got banned. I opened up that account so I can keep posting pictures to you guys because my 1st account (this account) has reached its limit of space for pictures.
> 
> I can continue to update with words. I really wanted to use my DSLR and snap a really good and clean picture once my tank has fully grown in for you guys to see. I'm 5 months in and I just need 2-3 more months till I expect to reach my vision. I will be putting the tree back in next week. Grass runners are weaving in and the ADA soil pebbles are not sliding around anymore. I have been trimming and planting the red rotala and baby tear "bushes" in the back and they are now getting dense. I am now letting them grow tall and use that to scape the final shape of my hill.
> 
> ...




Haha...not sure about that....I'm not sure how to do it, but I think you can post more pics...I know other journals have way more pics than yours. I think you have to host them through another website. Maybe somebody else can chime in and let us know.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Create a flickr account or use dropbox or many other file hosting services to host the images then use the image take to embed them into your posts.


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## Al3x (Sep 3, 2016)

Photobucket is super easy also. First, upload pictures there. Then click on the picture you want to upload. Then find the "Share this photo" line on the right of the picture. Click on the "IMG" link and paste it into your TPT post where you want the picture to go. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

really pretty tank, looks like a clover garden or something, very natural looking for ground cover. keep us nice an updated  subbed


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Feeding time for the fishes have been cut in half. Their poop clogged up my new Eheim canister filter. This isn't punishment to them, more like a conscious effort to reach the greater plan for the tank. Their days of swollen bellies and blood worms hanging out of their mouths because their internals are so stuffed are gone. They now get feed every other day or whenever I'm feeling generous. 

I found a red cherry shrimp on my stainless steel filter intake pipe. It wasn't fluttering any of its legs or whiskers so I walked closer to find half of it's body stuck through the hole. Standard procedure is to take the dead man out. I lowered my tweezers into the water and brushed against him. He started kicking again. He's alive. I had to pull him out while he still had life in him. I grabbed his body and pulled him out and dropped him on the grass below. He was alive and wiggling but not walking. It did a little jump when a amano shrimp came over to play. But by the time the amano shrimp came on top of him again, it was good game. The amano shrimp started eating him alive. I didn't try to fight against nature and watched the nutrients return back to the eco system. 

Came back after making some hashbrowns and saw the community swimming in a active pattern near the bottom of the tank. The neon tetras were playing rugby with the head of the dead shrimp. Everyone's trying to take a bite. I took a closer look at the hangry crowd and remembered that in life people come and go. Dispite the violence below, the guppy continue to swim in the water stream reminding us to just go with the flow.


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## assasin6547 (Feb 6, 2013)

Haha, sounds like quite the experience you had there with the shrimp! I'm guessing he got injured earlier from something and so was barely hanging on (literally and) for dear life at the filter.

As for the pics, yes, you should do what others have said. I personally enjoy the site "imgur" for hosting of pictures as it's much faster, more efficient, and user friendly than any other I have used. Tank is looking great btw!


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Good news and Bad news

The good first: The tree has made its return back to the tank. The area where the tree sits has been filled in by the grass good enough to weave all the substrate secure together. I used gorilla glue to glue a half broken chopstick to the trunk. I want to be able to take the tree in and out of the water for trimming because trimming java moss in the tank will cause java weed to grow all over my tank. I inserted back the tree by penetrating the chopstick stake on the top of the hill and the shrimps rejoices by climbing on it. I wish I can show you how it looks now with the tree on top of the hill and lush garden underneath. 

The bad next: My guppy got sick. It hung around the top corners of my tank with its tail and fins droopy. It didn't look so hot. The second guppy got sick too. color is pale, no swimming patterns, droopy fins. The third day, the second guppy was a dead white fish swirling in my tank. The first guppy is being tossed upside down in the swirl also. It was still alive because a fin or tail would move here and there. Should I end it's life? The shrimps are jumping on them to eat them anyways. 

I think my CO2 levels have been too high for the past 1-2 weeks and the guppies couldn't take it anymore. They have been gasping at the top of water everytime the CO2 is on. The other fishes weren't trippin so maybe the guppies are just trippin. I guessed they tripped and now they have fallen.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

MacDre2016 said:


> yoooooooooooo wwwwwwwwwhat it do. Mac Dre reporting in from the yay area home to the thizz nation. Getting my boi intothewrx's back like a chiropract with some pics. Supporting my homie's aquascape game reppin it hard from the bay. her tank gives me the feels. im in the club and im feeling myself. yadidamean. Everyone on this forum, enjoy.


Thanks for the support mac daddy!


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

I would highly recommend dosing Excel for any planted tank out there. even if you run co2. i noticed that excel helps with two functions.

1. allows plants to grow better
2. reduces algae

I dosed excel for 1 month. then stopped for 1 month and then started again. I definitely noticed some differences. With excel dosing, the plants have a cleaner color to them. a lighter and brighter green. almost like its glowing under the LED light. without excel, i started to get black brush algae all areas of the tank. lightly sprinkled on my blades of grass. after dosing excel again, the big black brush started to fade within days. the plants also pearl harder with excel dosing. just my observations.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Any new pics?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

houseofcards said:


> Any new pics?


Sorry I can't post anymore pics because my 10mb limit has been reached. I will have to wait for my friend Mac Dre to have time to post some pictures for me. In the meantime, I can update everyone with words of growing wisdom.

The java moss tree recovered from its weeks of sitting in a mixing bowl of water. It was a brownish color when I finally put it back into the tank. Now it is swelling into a large green puff like a butterfly shrimp piece. The moss is about to poke out the water. I will need to take it out and give it a good trim. The shrimps and platty frys like to hang out and hide in the moss sometimes. 

Some of my grass are finishing up their melting. I turned my bubbles per second from 1.5 to about 1.2. I turned it down to about 1bps when the melting hit and turned it back up slightly. I do not know my OPPMCO2 levels, no drop checker. Never planning to get one. I don't know if my Co2 is too high or not because my platty is at the top edge of the water gasping for air, but the rest of the snails, shrimps and fishes are fine. The platty will swim to greet me at the glass when I walk over. 

Heater is set to 80degrees. Although everytime I dip my finger in the water, its a different temp. 

My japan bushes are getting thicker/bushier. They can reach when growing. But after trimming they stay low and compact. My red reckis are staying put, but grow when they feel like it. I noticed holes that appeared overnight yesterday on couple leaves. I dosed macro and micro. no measurements. 

Ordered a razor blade scraper on a stick to scrape off the the green dust/spot algae on the glass. using the magnetic scrubber was hard to maneuver around the small tank so I hope this will be a better solution to clean the glass.

Besides the green dust algae that build up on the glass, the plants are algae free. some residue of Big Black algae are in some corners, but they have diminishing from what I believe is from the excel. I dose 1 cap a day. 

My light is still running at 4 hours/day for me to see when I get back from work and light turns off at 9PM when it's time for me to go back to my bedroom. 

Last water change I did was a 25% change 3 months ago.


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## jumpzakjump (Jun 15, 2015)

Nice! The cave-looking rock reminds me of a hobbit house in the shire xD
Looks awesome!


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Why don't you use photobucket or another outside photo site?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

houseofcards said:


> Why don't you use photobucket or another outside photo site?


cuz my buddy mac daddy got my back! thats how we do it in the bay. just tell me when to go. yadidamean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmS5jnf0o54


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## KayakJimW (Aug 12, 2016)

No matter how a Neon handle his bizz, Best believe a Neon keepin it thizz, Fish.


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## Sykith (Dec 6, 2015)

Nice progress!


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

What it do everybody. First I want to thank Mac Dre for posting pics to keep the tree and cave dream alive. I have great news for the planted tank family here. I did a water change. 

It's been about 2 months since I took out water in this tank. I did a 10% water change yesterday. I do believe water change is good for the tank don't get me twisted. I understand why it works and why we should do it often. I'm testing to do my water changes all the way to the minimum because I am lazy and trying to find the threshold on my tank. I take things to the limit. Up and down, maximum and minimum. I changed my water because I was afraid of a build up. The fear in my head told me that if I don't change the water, there's going to be a build up in minerals because I haven't dosed fertz as much in the past week but my plants haven't faded from their rich green color in a while. Perhaps I have a build up of fertz? I tend to juice them on the more rich side.

RIP to all the guppies I had before because they are 100% all dead. I apologize to them and everyone here for my ignorance. My wife and I thought they were jumping out because we didn't have a lid, they weren't familiar with the tank's perimeters, saw the sunlight, turned off the light on them, they were playing too much and accidentally jumped out. My shrimps were jumping out too! I had no idea that my water was probably too high on ammonia because of the ADA soil until one of you guys pointed it out. I only did about 3 25% water changes during the beginning cycle. 

First mistake is not a mistake. First mistake is a lesson and I sure learned my lesson. 

I thank the forum for giving me as much of their patience they have dealing with my crazy methods. Mad Scientist. But before you judge me, try hard to love me. 

Here are some reports of my methods:

-4 hour light period: This is the maximum time I look at my tank after I get home from work and before I go to sleep. If it is the weekend and im chillin at home, I will give my tank a 8 hour period. My light period is not based on a formula, it is based on my lifestyle. I am the tank master, the lights come on when I want to look at them. The lights turn off when I don't need to see them.

-1 bubbles per second: I don't know my co2 levels but I see my plants pearling, my 1 platty is not gasping as much at the top. Algae is non existent.

-1 cap of excel daily: I see the benefits of excel so I dose the recommended dosage on the label of the bottle. I do not have big black algae anymore. 

-finger dip: I dip my finger in my tank randomly to check the temperature. If it feels comfortable for my finger, my fishes should be comfortable too. Before I had a heater, the water would be ice cold. Surprised the fishes can survive that. 

-sniff test: I will do a big sniff 5 inches above my tank to check the smell. Sometimes it smells worse, sometimes there is no smell. so far I think when I have more fertz, it smells more fish poopy and when I am running on lean fertz, there is less smell. 

-waterfall technique: I see my 1 platty gasping so sometimes I would raise my outflow filter pipe and let water fall and hit the water surface creating oxygen bubbles into the water. I'm sure my fishes and bacteria will like it. 

More learning to come but the tank is about 85% done to my vision. I waiting for the front and some corners to fill in thicker and my back right bushes to be thicker trimmed to a sloping shape.


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## Brian Rodgers (Oct 15, 2016)

Looks great. I like their sound system too.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

IntotheWRX said:


> Thanks for the support mac daddy!


well im dead xD

Bump:


MacDre2016 said:


> thanks for sharing some love. big love from the bay back at you. Mac Dre back at it again here representing for my homie's tank. got some shots locked and loaded on disk drive and firing it out all over this thread. peep the details. imma let my boy do all the talk. as always everybody, enjoy.


im sure you have listed them before but
What plants do you have in the tank? they all go together so well! gives me an irish feeling lol


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Guppies! I swear, I felt like the only one with a rimless tank that liked guppies. I don't have any at the moment but I will have to have some in my 60P, if not mostly guppies, yet to be determined. Are the speakers Yamaha HS8's?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

https://youtu.be/M0w9-zXaLkg

Here is a quick video tour of the tank. The video was taken at a random time and tank isn't in full presentation mode. trimmings stuck in the java moss tree etc. 

After 2-3 months, I finally hit my water change threshold. I noticed slight negative changes in many factors and decided to be safe than sorry and do a water change. It's weird because I went from dosing every 2 days to not dosing for almost 2 weeks. The plants were growing healthy with good color without dosing so I waited for them to show signs of pale color but the green remained stable for weeks and weeks. I assuming that they are fully feeding from the soil and fish poop. I'm going to keep pushing the threshold of how long I can go without a water change and average it out over the next year. 

The two baby platties are growing up as you can see in the video. I did get some protein film build up on the surface of the tank a week ago. I moved my outflow pipe from under the water to above the water. I now have surface agitation as you can see in the video and a little bit of a bubbling sound pushing air into the water and now the protein film is all gone. This was the first time happening ever so it pushed me to do a water change. 

Thank you guys about your comments on my plants and arrangement. I was shooting for a realistic, natural look. my plants are the following:

Tree: Java moss
Grass: Dwarf hairgrass - the short version (all over), Cryptocoryne nevillii (right under the tree)
Stems: Rotala Macrandra & baby tears (back right), and Ludwigia "Super red Mini" in (front left)
Bushes: Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba" (front corners and next to rocks), Micranthemum "Monte Carlo" (the left hill) and Hydrocotyle tripartita "Japan"(random spots with clover shaped leaves) and Alternanthera Reineckii (front right corner)


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## DennisSingh (Nov 8, 2004)

I really like what you did with the hair grass here. Especially the path. Very natural feel indeed. I personally do not like the marimo moss balls additions.


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## al4n (Nov 18, 2008)

Nice tank, just read your full journal. you have come a long way. good job

the guppies poop alot so the plants would be loving the nutrients


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## Brian Rodgers (Oct 15, 2016)

What happened to IntotheWRX? It now says "Suspended" under his name. Inquiry minds need to know.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Brian Rodgers said:


> What happened to IntotheWRX? It now says "Suspended" under his name. Inquiry minds need to know.


hey man, I'm leaving this forum community. 

other members love to bash on me. moderators don't do justice and instead gives me the bans, warnings and delete my pictures. my thread got destroyed after page 3 or so. 

FYI my tank is doing great. 
50% water changes every 2-3 months
root tabs just inserted yesterday
pearling growth is crazy with a 3hr and then 4hr light period everyday. 4hr break in between


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## Brian Rodgers (Oct 15, 2016)

Sorry to hear this.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

rep where you're from


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

i got an update pic with the growth grown out. ready to see it puffed up?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

ready for a trim

20% water change + cleaning ONCE A MONTH. I don't know why people on this forum are telling people to do 50% water changes a week. That is a waste of effort if your water is balanced. Listen to your tank, not somebody else made up rule on the internet.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Some of us have more than 3 tiny fish.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Nordic said:


> Some of us have more than 3 tiny fish.


some of us understand the art of balance.


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## nel (Jan 23, 2016)

IntotheWRX said:


> ready for a trim
> 
> 20% water change + cleaning ONCE A MONTH. I don't know why people on this forum are telling people to do 50% water changes a week. That is a waste of effort if your water is balanced. Listen to your tank, not somebody else made up rule on the internet.


50% every week with HT/MT/whatever-tech is just caution. It's always safe, it always works. I am doing 20% every other week now and tank is going great, but you need to know your tank to do that. 50% every week is easier, that's why it's recommended. If you can do 20% once a month - good for you! Just don't tell everybody they should too ;-)


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

Welp it looks like we have a brand new X here, good job trying to start arguments!  I personally do 25% water changes on all my tanks. I figure 50% is to stressful, plus all my tanks are aged and very balanced so anymore isn't needed.


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## nel (Jan 23, 2016)

Yes! Let's start it again! We all love discussing how much water should be changed and if it really should :-> (and I probably should stop right there ;-))


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

nel said:


> Yes! Let's start it again! We all love discussing how much water should be changed and if it really should :-> (and I probably should stop right there ;-))


the past 2 fishes that died for this tank was because they jumped out a day or two after a 20% water change


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

nel said:


> 50% every week with HT/MT/whatever-tech is just caution. It's always safe, it always works. I am doing 20% every other week now and tank is going great, but you need to know your tank to do that. 50% every week is easier, that's why it's recommended. If you can do 20% once a month - good for you! Just don't tell everybody they should too ;-)


i agree, people shouldn't tell everybody to do a 50% water change like its a rule. it's way overkill. most people change their water every couple weeks or months. every tank is different.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

This tank is almost 1 year old. 

current set up:
1 bubbles per second
2 photo periods: 3hrs, 4hr rest, 4hrs, good night fishes
feed the fishes every 3 days
squirt of micro fertz every 2 weeks
excell 50% dose every 3 days
cleaning of glass tank and filter once a month 15% water change

Maintenance on this tank has stabilized. Maybe the fish poop is keeping everything going. I no longer add liquid fertz. Before I used to add couple times a week, but lately I have not seen my plants fade their color and when I do see their green starting to turn pale, I would add some fertz, but then my glass starts to slightly haze up from the algae by the day. I'm assuming all my plants have enough to eat. The fishes though, they are on a strict diet. I just need them for their poop, so I feed them every 3 days or so. How long can they last without food till they die? I think I've seen 2 weeks without food and skinny. The java moss bits that used to float around my tank from trimming that tree is starting to get out of control. I would try to pull out the java moss growing within my grass every month or so. It's a warzone on the carpet. The hair grass is being pushed out by the bushes. Waiting for my stem plants to grow back out and then maybe its time for the pro picture.


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## sfshrimp (May 24, 2016)

IntotheWRX said:


> This tank is almost 1 year old.
> 
> current set up:
> 1 bubbles per second
> ...


Bay Area reprazent! Looks good, congrats on one year!

Bump:


IntotheWRX said:


> This tank is almost 1 year old.
> 
> current set up:
> 1 bubbles per second
> ...


Bay Area reprazent! Looks good, congrats on one year!


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

sfshrimp said:


> bay area reprazent! Looks good, congrats on one year!
> 
> Bump:
> 
> Bay area reprazent! Looks good, congrats on one year!


yayyy arrrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


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## sfshrimp (May 24, 2016)

IntotheWRX said:


> yayyy arrrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


Celebrate with a bottle of carlo rossi.
Top of the line wine.


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Hey IntotheWRX....tank is looking good! What's your PH running at? Just wondering how the CRS and the RCS are doing together, because I want to do the same thing!


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

ScubaSteve said:


> Hey IntotheWRX....tank is looking good! What's your PH running at? Just wondering how the CRS and the RCS are doing together, because I want to do the same thing!


I never have done a water test. I no idea where my water parameters are at. I try not to use any technology to read for me. I rely on my understanding of how nature works and listen to the tank. Like a doctor reading symptoms. 

I got these shrimps off craigslist for $ 0.80 each. The red and white is not a CRS, its a michiling shrimp? a hybrid? a low-medium quality look a like to a CRS. They have been doing fine in my tank. They continue to molt as you can see in the latest pic above. I don't know what they eat. I don't feed them. I used to have more shrimps, 25+, but there was a time where my tank was overcrowded with fishes and I was starving them and they started eating up my shrimps!

Last 20% water change, my last platty jumped out. This is the 3rd water change in a row and that a fish would jump out after.

Bump:


ScubaSteve said:


> Hey IntotheWRX....tank is looking good! What's your PH running at? Just wondering how the CRS and the RCS are doing together, because I want to do the same thing!


I never have done a water test. I no idea where my water parameters are at. I try not to use any technology to read for me. I rely on my understanding of how nature works and listen to the tank. Like a doctor reading symptoms. 

I got these shrimps off craigslist for $ 0.80 each. The red and white is not a CRS, its a michiling shrimp? a hybrid? a low-medium quality look a like to a CRS. They have been doing fine in my tank. They continue to molt as you can see in the latest pic above. I don't know what they eat. I don't feed them. I used to have more shrimps, 25+, but there was a time where my tank was overcrowded with fishes and I was starving them and they started eating up my shrimps!

Last 20% water change, my last platty jumped out. This is the 3rd water change in a row and that a fish would jump out after.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

Hello Intothewrx, I don't necessarily agree with the way you do some things, such as you stated not taking proper water care (sometimes), but I have so say as I have before. tank is looking nice. idk how no one has come onto here other than a few noobs claiming they like your scape, to comment on just how good it is. No one has mentioned how good of a first tank this is like wtf? This scape and its inhabitants are a crazy perfect dream scape in my opinion. Its kind of strange you haven't entered a contest lmao  enter one!!!
Also good job one the one year tank-ivers-ary


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## ed.junior (Feb 2, 2017)

The tank looks very good for a first tank. Congrats 

The water change is not a rule, it is based on some facts, and depending on your tank, you could end up avoiding it completely.

For all the high-tech EI crowd, I would really advise against skipping it.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

California has been going through a scary drought for the past couple years. We all have been praying for rain. God answers back that shows his good character. He overflows our cups. California had overflowing dams. Thank you God for the rain. 

I placed a pitcher on my balcony to collect rain water running off my roof. It filled up and I poured it all into my tank. Does anyone know what rain water is like for our tank? Good or bad?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

pretty much stopped maintaining this tank. been super lazy.

water change: been averaging about a 25% water change every 3 months.

fertz: i've stopped adding fertz. I will give couple of drops of micro/macro fertz once every two weeks. 

co2: I turned it down to .5 bubbles per second

light: 2x four hour periods a day

I turned down the co2 because I'm afraid of the fishes having a hard time breathing. Sometimes the guppy will swim near the top. So I turned it down to .5 bubbles per second. after about two weeks, I noticed 2-3 leaf of the japan clover plant melted. Turned all white and slowly dissolved. Some tips of the cuba also melted. But everything else was pretty much green.

I added some dry fertz a while back but not sure if i see any difference. I stopped adding liquid fertz months ago because all my plants were doing fine when I slacked off. I thought the fish poop kept everything fine. But I am finally noticing slower growth on my plants all around and my red plants aren't as brightly red. 

I even stopped feeding the fishes. Only my wife will feed them once every couple days because she likes the animals. I'm more plant>animals.

Overall the tank is doing ok. standing anywhere in the apartment, the tank is a pleasant thing to look at. only until i get up close, I can see the imperfections. Algae started to develop a fuzz around the stem plants. some peach fuzz on the leaves. I think I'm at a point of balancing minimal maintenance/laziness and tank appeal. I may take the limit a little further and see how bad the tank can go. Once I hit my rock bottom, I'm going to start upping my game and watch my tank in the words of Big Sean - Bounce Back. 

PS: RIP my shrimps. There are a few survivors.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

The tank is 1 year old now. 

I wanted to give my fishes more oxygen so i raised my outflow pipe higher than the water level so it will cause constant splashing of water and air into the tank. I also leaned out my co2 until I noticed melting across my tank. Just the tip. Then I cranked it back up again and noticed pearling again. I would put couple of drops of fertz every 4 days or so. I dose excel at 50% dosages every 3 days or so. I have been able to keep my tank fairly stable with no deaths and 20% water changes once a month. I haven't done any water tests or co2 level measurements. But everything seems ok.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Trimmed

There is not a lot that changes at this late stage of the tank. The plants maxed out their area to grow. The carpet just gets thicker and thicker. I trimmed about 2 inches off. I will be moving to a new home in the next month. I will see how I manage to transport this glass of water and consider doing a new scape. 

I'm planning to borrow a water test kit to test my water for the first time. It's like getting the answer key at the end of the test to see how I did. I will post up the results.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

This tank is coming to a close. 

I moved homes and with that, I will do a new aquascape.

I was finally able to get my water tested after doing this hobby in the blind for the past year. 

nitrates, nitrites, ammonia all at the lowest 
but PH was at 8.2. I think that's high. 

How would have it gotten that high? How do I balance it?

i upgraded my co2 diffuser for a stainless steel atomizer diffuser. i would high recommend it to errrbody.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

tank is on death row

i stopped maintenance and watching how the cuba is over taking all the hairgrass. 

java moss infection has gotten out of control. 

one of the tetra in the picture has died from sickness. 

the shrimps are surprisingly hardy. 

lights running 4hrs a day. few fertz and excel and food for fishes every couple days.

next time i swing by the fish store and pick up another bag of ADA, this scape is going to be in it's grave.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

This tank is about 2 years old now. It has been waiting to die for the past year. 

The java moss from the "tree" has infested my tank to a point where I didn't want to weed it out anymore. The plants were left untrimmed and competing with each other. 

I never knew to vacuum up the poop and you can see on the right corner the pile of brown. 

Striving for the lowest maintenance routine, I found myself water changing 30% once every month. dosed a capfull of fertz every two weeks. Light running 5hr photoperiods. Squirt of excel twice a week. Fish feeding twice a week. 

Been a great learning experience for first tank.


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