# How the mighty have fallen (my 10g)



## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

Ugghh, you poor thing, 
I almost don't want to see it (cover my eyes)
it was beautiful before.


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Such a shame. It's a double-slap because you look so forward to seeing the tanks again. Not only do you not get to see them; you have to clean up the "death" as well. My sympathies.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

here is the after shots.

These were taken about 2 hours after the tanks were set up, hence the cloudyness, the substrate is river sand from our area (very lateritic) and so it dusts ever so well.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

Even after having the teeth kicked out of it, the tank is starting to get back on it's feet.

The budget it a bit tight at the moment, caring for two sick tanks and many other hobbies, and setting up a house so I can't add a heap of plants, but what is in there is going beserker.

This is after 5 days.









horrific shot, if only for the reflections in the glass.

this is where the tank lives in my office 









...and the watersprite suprised it's seeing light and getting fed


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

here's another one I found on my home poota of her in her glory days...


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## BSS (Sep 24, 2004)

Nice office setup you got there. Looks like the tank will be back to reasonable shape soon. So, even though someone kicked you off your horse and left the thing for dead, way to get back on and start ridin' again!


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## CutieWitBooty (Feb 15, 2006)

do you have a pic of the saltwater? I'm sorry sorry, i know how much that sucks.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

yeah, this is it when we got it back, it's basically just live rock, everything else has either carked or is hiding.

It's getting better, it has an army of grazers preening it as we speak.











Well, as for the 10g, things are looking better but worse. I had a massive outbreak of GW, and I've been combatting that for the past while, I'm putting it down to the tnak cycling and just too much light, not enough biomass.

So, more biomass did you say?

well being poor it happens slowly, I managed to steal some java moss, and bought some water hedge as it's pretty good for what I need to to at the moment, and the rainbows love it (eat your greens!!!) I'll wait for the tank to clear a little and then I'll post some more pics up.


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

Curare - I just saw this, and wanted to chime in just to say how sorry I am this happened! I know you must be bummed.

But at the same time, you have given _me _enough encouragement in the past that I _know _you are going to get past this, and things will be better in the end.

Even still, I know it's a bummer. But I know you've got your chin up, and we all know you will come out of this shining! Looking forward to the pics!


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

At the moment Scolley, I'm looking forward to being able to see through my tank!

HAHAHA

As for the other ones, I'm waiting to get enough cash together for a big splurge on my 55 gal and my 2 gal nano is waiting in the wings for the right resident.

this 10 gal is keeping me sane tho.


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## Wezsh0T (Jan 14, 2004)

I left on a vacation for 7 weeks and my guppy breeding project was no more...I know exactly how you feel. 

looks like your tanks are making good recoveries though...


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

I'm trying something really odd to fix the GW..

Magic Almond Leaves. Well, to be honest I don't think they're that magical.

..yet..

We'll see

Pics up soon.


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

OK, I know it's early for you Curare, and I _know _this is off topic. Sorry.

But I gotta ask... what the heck is that "my dark tufty nemesis" stuff about? I'm clueless.


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## Stealthy Ninja (Feb 16, 2006)

You know, this could be a business idea...how about (like in some film I saw once) you get paid to go and look after peoples tanks while they are away...then become a gigolo after you smash some rich jerks tank. 

Anyway, it sucks, but now you have an excuse to start again. Most art is better if you have to start again. I'm sure it will look even better this time around and you can have fun creating a new aquascape.

Next time, leave CLEAR instructions to Duce Bigalow before you leave the tank in his charge.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

Haaaw... T shirt ninja, the tea party is over!

*Scolley:* My dark tufty nemesis is, and seems always will be BBA. It's the baine of my existence. I've resolved myself to life long battle of good and evil with it.

*Stealthy Ninja* Funnily enough, Deuce came over today to check out our new house, and remarked that the tanks looked good, oh dear god. Make it stop. I love the boy but dammit he's worry.

Thanks for the encouragment guys.
It's not been easy, especially on a *we need to eat not play with fish* budget.

The green water is slowly abating, and I'm thinking of hitting hard with a better regime of ferts. The magic almond leaves don't really hit the mark for me.

Here's my new recipe for thai green fish soup


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

thats horrible... i feel your pain. also if you green water is only that bad ur not bad... i had gw in my 55g for around 2 months... then it vanished and i couldnt see 1 inch into my tank after 2 50% water changes in 1 hour....

good luck!

-=- fish newb -=-


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## Pseud (Oct 2, 2005)

I hope he's not your friend anymore!


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

He is.

How can you blame someone for trying their hardest but just not understanding whats' going on? what a healthy tank should be?

He asked for the responsibilty, and he was our last hope of seeing our fish again, and well, it just didn't work out.

I wouldn't do it again tho.


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## Stealthy Ninja (Feb 16, 2006)

At least he can buy you a UV steriliser to clean up that GW


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

The first solution that comes to mind may not always be the best danielsan...


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## Stealthy Ninja (Feb 16, 2006)

Curare said:


> The first solution that comes to mind may not always be the best danielsan...



Stealthy: Maybe you should rub some wax on...wax off...wax on...wax off...

Curare: But when will I learn to fight?!

Stealthy: Fight later, first clean tank...wax on...wax off...

Curare: Aw man!

etc.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

here's a new development to the tank


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

*we're winning! Slowly!*

Slowly slowly catchy monkey...

Well after fitting the new addtions to the tank, and genreally getting the green water under control with a smarter fert regime and just generally increasing the biomass we're starting to get underway.

I haven't bothered aquascaping too much at all at the moment as I'm just trying to get all my water hedge cuttings to start growing.

the one big addtion to the tank is the twisted peice of banksia (a local native plant) and some java moss to soften it off

But things are happening, if albeit slowly.










the view from my keyboard


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

uncghgghhh!!!


FJJJJZTZTT!!!!!


*twitches*

BGA, and BBA. at the same time.

The GW has gone completely but in the last couple of days, BGA has appeared, and I've started to attack that, and the BBA with gusto.

I don't beleive it.

will post pics soon.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

might i say gl again? i have yet another gw outbreak =( its not too bad more or less like yours. so im halfing the light. also another note are those austrailian rainbows wild caught? and do you have any usefull info on them? i just got 8 at the lfs since i liked them and they where on sale for $1.75 each do you know how to sex them? are the males the ones with the more red and more distinguished fins? im really curious i like them alot one has parasites so i think im gonna exchange him. 

good luck with the tank. gw is nothing =9 i get it all the time.

-=- fish newb -=-


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

They're M, Splendida, and they're not wild caught, they're in fact the prodginy of the fish that you see in the tank in the "before photos", they're realtively easy and spritely fish, they can be a bit territorial at times but apart from that they're very good fish.

The males differ from the females as having longer ventral fins that nearly touch the tailfin, and usually blackened edges to the fins. They also end up much deeper looking. My personal experience is to have more males to females, but whatever takes your fancy really.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

This is what was nearly making me cry just before I did a black out.










you can see some BGA forming around the water hedge. I couldn't beleive it, I'm dosing KNO3 like crazy, but I think that freakin' Water sprite is soaking up so much I have no N03 left, and the BGA is making an appearance.

Still after a 2 day blackout it's all gone funny coloured and I've just sucked it out with a gravel vac.

Fish Newb, this one's for you, here's a perfect example of the differences betweeen males and females.

I'm sure you can figure it out.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

Okay, this is something I've NEVER seen before...









white fungus or something or just slimey looking bacteria on my driftwood.

Weird, very weird, but doesn't take much to suck up with a siphon... Anyone ever seen this before?


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## deeplove (Dec 27, 2005)

I had that when my MTSs died. Everyone told me it was fungus. I took them out and *poof* it was all gone.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

my rainbows have a new tank mate.










He's barely an inch long!


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

Things are definetely looking up.

I think it might be a good call to say that untill a peice of driftwood has been 
"cured" it can cause all manner of problems in your tank,

Like this scumm for example I've never seen anything like it before!










you can clearly see that it's been "producing" the scumm and the flow in the tank is slowly spreading it around.

merky eh!

Anyway, the tank is looking better, and the additon of some red rotala made the colour balance a little more palatable.

Some shots of the tank from last week.




















You'll notice that in every end shot, the rainbows are always out, and hovering around, greedy guts!!!

hehehe

I just love the color of these sunset hygros, and you can see the rotala starting to come up nicely in the background.










stay tuned for more silliness.

We're about to embark on our next tank build log, which will be a 55 gal, but a few extra dollars and a few hours will need to be spent first!


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

Over the last month I've let the tank grow out considerably as it was to be starter plants for my 50 gal, but recently I've cut it all back and there's a decent amount of biomass gone into the larger tank, I suprised me the amount of plantlife that came out of the tank,

Anyway, here's how it looks at the moment, Much better now that most of the watersprite is gone, man I can't stand that stuff, but it does serve a purpose!


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

This may well be the last time you'll see this tank.

I'm thinking about tearing it down.

Once the Rainbows go into the billabong, the GF and i have decided to start on a peculiar project, and we're thinking of taking most of the running gear for this tank to do it.

It's amazing to think that this tank has supplied enough biomass to get the 50 gal looking good, and it's only teeny tiny.

and this one has really come along in leaps and bounds.

My friend still comes over and looks glumly at the tanks.

Poor lad


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

WELL.......what is the project???


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

Hahaha!

It's over here!

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/equipment/31059-have-i-totally-lost-time.html#post266016


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

oops, double post.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

WELL!

Just as I was getting ready to start to take the plants out of the tank (the fish are now in the billabong with their kin) I take a closer look at the tank and what do I see?

fry.



again.



why is it whenever I'm ready to strip a tank, someone comes along and BREEDS IN IT!


DAMN YOU FISH!


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Lol. I love your tank. I still can't seem to get my 10 gallon tank to look so damn cool like everyones. It looks so tiny when I look into mine. And I also wish that I would someday be good at making planted tanks that I can actually learn to tear down VERY NICE looking tanks. I would never do that right now if I had a tank like yours! Also another question. How much lighting do you have or had on it?


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

Mine is a simple "pet store special" 24 x 10 x 12" tank that I've had for as long as I can remember.

The lighting is simply a twin batten 24" shop light gibing me roughly 36w of light. All of this (yes the ENTIRE shoplight) is hidden in a rather crusty old hood. But hey, the proof is in the pudding.


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