# roybot73. 4 Gallon Finnex #2.1



## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Muahahaha. Nice man! Good luck with the wifey, looks like it would make a nice christmas gift for her.:icon_twis Looking forward to seeing it come along as you're definitely honing in your aquascaping skills with each setup.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Got it scaped, filled, and half planted. CO2 hooch machine has been set up as well. Pics tomorrow...


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

niceee  cant wait to see it!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> niceee  cant wait to see it!


agreed


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

did i miss your finnex number 1 lol??


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

chris127 said:


> did i miss your finnex number 1 lol??


Yep!
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/64182-roybot73-four-gallon-finnex.html

It looks nothing like this now... It's a moss choked swamp! Maybe I'll dig into it later today:thumbsup:


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

please do  

are these the lily pipes you have? 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-Inflow...hash=item180294352944&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

chris127 said:


> please do
> 
> are these the lily pipes you have?
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-Inflow...hash=item180294352944&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177


That would be them!:thumbsup:


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

hows the quality? i might be getting a zoo med for the 45-P


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Quality is good -- a little short on the outflow, so you have to make sure the water level is topped off.

If I were you, I'd go with at least a 2213 on a 45-P. A ZooMed would quite cut it...


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

yeah im going to upgrade to a 2213 whenever i can but i have the zoo med so im going to use that for the time being. the good thing is winter time means snow birds in FL so i get more catering jobs  i wont have to wait too long for it

sorry to jack your thread!


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

No problem! Just use the stock in & out with the ZooMed until you can get the 2213 -- no sense in buying temporary glassware. Get the 13mm PowerMen in & out for your 2213! _That's_ planning ahead


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

true true  i totally forgot they have different hose sizes.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Sweet, where are the new pics:icon_evil.

Craig


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Craigthor said:


> Sweet, where are the new pics:icon_evil.
> 
> Craig


Soon...:thumbsup:


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

but not soon enough


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Well, here it is. Not much to look at right now, but I'm happy with the rock work:thumbsup: All of the HC was what was stuck in the other plants out of my 60-P. I'm going to pick up some more this week.

HC
HM
HU
HG

Looks like I've got the "H's" covered


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)




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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Hmm, why aren't the photo embedding codes working?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

There ya go


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

All fixed now... I'm working off of my MacBook Pro, which doesn't have PS on it, so I just had to juggle some stuff around...


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i think that the rock might be a _bit_ too big, but you'll probably be able to make it work. your scapes are always amazing!


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

any better pics of the rock?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Craigthor said:


> any better pics of the rock?


Like how?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

now that your pics are bigger I can see it better. looks sweet what kind is it?

Craig


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Thanks --
Flint. My backyard and neighborhood is chock full of the stuff! *FREE* is good!


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

I was subscribed to finnex #1 and you stopped updating your thread, dont do that with finnex #2. It constitancy!!!!!!

Looks good, I will be following. I really do like the lily pipes. I was thinking about those myself.


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

Looks good. Only complaint is the main rock is quite large for the tank. Other than that I like it. Keep puttin' together tanks man, the wife will deal lol

So that's 3 

lets make it 4 soon *cough* 90P *cough*


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Thanks guys!



CmLaracy said:


> Looks good. Only complaint is the main rock is quite large for the tank. Other than that I like it. Keep puttin' together tanks man, the wife will deal lol
> 
> So that's 3
> 
> lets make it 4 soon *cough* 90P *cough*


The wife saw it yesterday and was surprised a bit, but otherwise very pleasantly compliant! You see, the tank is in my attic, which is finished, but is also a general dumping ground for everything else in the house. I made sure to _clean_ (magic word here) the space first, before I set the tank up:thumbsup:

Oh, I've thought about the 90-P... Maybe someday, but the 20L would have to come down first...

I was a bit leery of using the giant rock myself, untill I saw these...


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Nice man! I know it would be a bit nasty to do now but I think it would mesh a lot better if you partially buried the big stone deeper in the back into the slope and some in the front to increase the angle a little bit. It might not poke out so much to my eye once you get ground cover surrounding it though. :thumbsup:


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Looks VERY nice. I like it. Tank looks bigger than it is!


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

MrJG said:


> Nice man! I know it would be a bit nasty to do now but I think it would mesh a lot better if you partially buried the big stone deeper in the back into the slope and some in the front to increase the angle a little bit. It might not poke out so much to my eye once you get ground cover surrounding it though. :thumbsup:


Thanks man:thumbsup:

The wide angle of the pics make the rock seem to pop out a bit more than it actually does. Thanks for the tip, but the thing is already just about resting on the bottom of the tank:icon_eek:

It's only the third day of setup, and I've already lost patience with the diy CO2. Ambient temp in the room is kinda low, so the hooch is not really chugging away like it should be.

CO2 System 74-YA has been ordered and will be here next week:thumbsup::icon_eek:


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

i like the idea your aiming for. the third tank of the pics you posted is my favorite. i think it will grow in great once the foreground is covered


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

This is a sweet little setup! I really like the big rock. Are you adding fish or shrimp? 

oh, and thanks for giving me sneaky ideas about hiding tanks from the spouse around the house!! It's always good to have so much stuff, that they never know whats new or old.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

fastfreddie said:


> This is a sweet little setup! I really like the big rock. Are you adding fish or shrimp?
> 
> oh, and thanks for giving me sneaky ideas about hiding tanks from the spouse around the house!! It's always good to have so much stuff, that they never know whats new or old.


Thanks:thumbsup:

It's always a good idea to have a somewhat steady supply of gear streaming in, that way they kind of become accustomed to it:hihi:


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Alright, I think it's about time for an update...

The little Marineland 10W heater just wasn't cutting it, so I replaced it with a 25W preset Tetra. Due to the low temps early on, the HM & MU weren't really growing all that well. In fact, they all died and had to be replaced. Also of note, the DIY CO2 ended up causing some kind of fuzz/yeast bloom in the tank -- the entire substrate and hardscape was covered with a 1/32" layer of gray fuzz. The DIY was replaced with pressurized and 3 RCS were added and within a week and a half all the fuzz was gone and everything really took off.

Ferts are 1 pump each of green Brighty 1, Brighty K and Brighty Shade 3X a week with 1 drop each ECA and Green Gain and 5 drops Green Bacter at 50%WC once a week.

Things are growing nice and steady -- I have to replant a bit of HC every now and again, but it's definitely spreading. The Hairgrass is doing very well -- that stuff just loves Aquisoil™. HM & MU aren't looking too shabby either. Only algae issues are a bit of gda and some diatoms, but I added a lone Oto this morning to help with that. I think that's going to be it for livestock, but the cherry population is about to explode as I noticed a berried one this afternoon. Nanos are fun!
_must... resist.. setting... up.. another... nano..._


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

its looking great, i envy you guys and hairgrass. i could never keep it clean  

but see if you catch a pic of a shrimp pulling a lion king pose on the mountain


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Nanos are very fun, I agree. So what are you going to use to cover the intake pipe up since you RCS are berried?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

chris127 said:


> its looking great, i envy you guys and hairgrass. i could never keep it clean
> 
> but see if you catch a pic of a shrimp pulling a lion king pose on the mountain


Thanks -- I just let the grass do it's thing. Some will brown out and die off, but you just gotta let it grow. 



rekles75 said:


> Nanos are very fun, I agree. So what are you going to use to cover the intake pipe up since you RCS are berried?


Nothing. Never have in either my 60-P or 20L and they're both _quite_ full of shrimplets:thumbsup:


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Can't wait to see it once the HC carpets up. Lookin' good. :thumbsup:

On the intake being uncovered... its just natural selection. Haha.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

MrJG said:


> Can't wait to see it once the HC carpets up. Lookin' good. :thumbsup:
> 
> On the intake being uncovered... its just natural selection. Haha.


Thanks man:thumbsup: I kinda feel the same way about the natural selection thing:hihi:


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

That rock is awesome! I'm always pleased to see someone who isn't affraid to put a large center piece in their nano!


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Phoenix-cry said:


> That rock is awesome! I'm always pleased to see someone who isn't affraid to put a large center piece in their nano!


Thanks:thumbsup: I almost used that rock in my 60-P when I rescaped it a while back, but also had been thinking about using in this tank (when I eventually got around to it :hihi I think it fill the space in a cool way, and when it's finally surrounded by HC I think the tank will take on a whole new feel


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Fantastic! Where did you find the light?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

waterfaller1 said:


> Fantastic! Where did you find the light?


Thank you! -- The light came from Aqua Forest, $70 shipped. It's an Archaea 27W 10000K CF -- awesome little light! Shoot George or Steven an email, and they should be able to hook you up:thumbsup:


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

This is not on their website, right? I can't find it.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

roybot73 said:


> The wife doesn't know about this one yet:icon_eek:


 Hehe..just noticed this. Where are you hiding it? How is it doing btw? Any new pics?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

:hihi:

It was up in my attic/music studio. She found out about it a while back -- everything's A-OK! Maybe some new pics up later today...

The light is _not_ listed on their site, I had to send them an email, and they were very quick to respond:thumbsup:


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thank you. I did get a quick response and they are available. How do you like it now that you've used it a bit? I would consider this for my finnex. I have two 13 wt fixtures over it now. I ran some erythromycin to kill bga the other week, after that the plants just took off and are doing well. What I don't like about them is the bulbs don't last long, two fixtures looks kind of stupid, and the yellow appearance. This would look cleaner.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

I hear you about the 13W bulb life -- it seems like it's only a few months at best. I would definitely recommend the 27W Archaea fixture. It uses the same bulb as the ridiculously overpriced ADA Solar Mini fixtures, and there are a few forum members that are using these lights on their nano setups.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...bum/60856-ada-mini-s-iwagumi-rescape-3-a.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/79748-ada-mini-s-tree-more-pics.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/77770-go-go-gadget-nano.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/p...ini-s-tank-general-opinions-2.html#post764761
I say go for it!


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thank you again, those all look great! I am toying with the idea of CO2 in this tank. Any suggestions where to look at something small and affordable? No DIY.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

No problem! I'm using the ADA System 74 CO2 with an Aqualine/Buschke inline solenoid on this tank, and while it _is_ nice and compact, I wouldn't really say it's the most affordable option out there. I know Orlando has a new paintball regulator that might be worth looking in to.


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## NO3 (Dec 24, 2008)

I like your set up. I only wish my Finnex 4 is done cycling so I can start planting. I got a 2x13w linght from Catalina to replace the Finnex light, can't wait to test it out.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

I guess it's about time for an update...

This tank hasn't had a water change in at least 2 weeks. I just top it off every few days (which I'd probably have to do less if it weren't for a thirsty cat). I dose every other day with my leftover ADA ferts -- Brighty 1, K & Brighty "Shade". They seem to be doing the trick. Algae exists in Green Spot and Staghorn varieties, so I've upped the CO2 bubble rate a little bit -- Not too concerned.

The cherries have multiplied, I'm not even sure of the current number. I started with 3. I kind of feel bad for the Lone Oto in the tank, but hey -- someone's gotta scrub those rocks, and I'd rather it not be me!




























Thanks for looking!


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice!

How long does the CO2 cartridge last you?


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

How much are the 27W Archaea light fixtures and where do you get them?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Nice!
> 
> How long does the CO2 cartridge last you?


Thanks:thumbsup:
The cartridges last about 2 months @ 1BPS and solenoid shutoff with lights out.

BradH -- dude, I'm glad to help people out here, but look around a little bit before you ask questions. There's a lot of info around if you just look for it (like at the top of the page...).


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> BradH -- dude, I'm glad to help people out here, but look around a little bit before you ask questions. There's a lot of info around if you just look for it (like at the top of the page...).


You know what... I think I'm losing my mind. I just read that and realized I already read that about the price and what not.... I even had it saved in my bookmarks for future reference. I think I'm getting Alzheimer's way too early in life! :icon_redf


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

BradH said:


> You know what... I think I'm losing my mind. I just read that and realized I already read that about the price and what not.... I even had it saved in my bookmarks for future reference. I think I'm getting Alzheimer's way too early in life! :icon_redf


:thumbsup::thumbsup:

No problem, and I'm sorry if I came across as 'harsh' -- not my intention.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> Thanks:thumbsup:
> The cartridges last about 2 months @ 1BPS and solenoid shutoff with lights out.


Really? How many ounces is it (or do you know)? Because I'm debating on spending ~$250 on the ADA setup or buying everything individually...


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> :thumbsup::thumbsup:
> 
> No problem, and I'm sorry if I came across as 'harsh' -- not my intention.


No, I didn't take it that way. Besides even if you were it would be warranted, considering it was right at the top of the page.  haha


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Really? How many ounces is it (or do you know)? Because I'm debating on spending ~$250 on the ADA setup or buying everything individually...


ADA Cartiridges are 74 gram I believe. I can go look. I run right at 1 bps on my Mini M. The Advacned CO2 kit is sweet. I prefer the metal base instead of the plastic one but that is personal preference.

Craig


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I have to say that due to the cool personalities involved, the exchange between Brad and roy was funny and great.
I can relate to both sides. I don't know how many times I've answered the same question about that same Archaea light (or my long Hairgrass) and I don't know how many times I've forgotten something that's right in front of my face. _Where are my glasses?_

Tank's looking great, roy. I'm glad you stood by your guns when people were commenting that the rock seemed too large. I think once the HC fills in completely, the rock will look like it was meant to be there and no where else.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Thanks Ugly G! Like you stated -- once that HC sorrounds the rocks... Bammo! I think it will look pretty sweet (if I do say so myself).

ZooTycoon -- The cartridges are in fact, 74 grams. It _is_ a sweet little CO2 rig, _but..._ The cost of the cartridges themselves makes the upkeep kinda spendy. For the same initial outlay of ca$h, a paintball setup would be quite a bit less expensive to maintain.

Craig -- $8 plastic base vs *$42* metal one... $42 for a piece of metal whose only function is to keep a 74 gram CO2 cartridge standing upright...

I'm a sucker for some of the ADA bling, but you got it _bad_, my friend:hihi:


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

Ugly Genius said:


> I have to say that due to the cool personalities involved, the exchange between Brad and roy was funny and great.
> I can relate to both sides. I don't know how many times I've answered the same question about that same Archaea light (or my long Hairgrass) and I don't know how many times I've forgotten something that's right in front of my face. _Where are my glasses?_
> 
> Tank's looking great, roy. I'm glad you stood by your guns when people were commenting that the rock seemed too large. I think once the HC fills in completely, the rock will look like it was meant to be there and no where else.


haha I think my problem is that I bookmark so many things on the internet to go back to, that I forget what I've read before. Either that or I am seriously losing my mind. I'm starting to forget everything lately. No short term memory at all. You would think I was sitting around smoking weed all day or something, but I don't smoke. Well, cigarettes, but that's it. :hihi:


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

This little setup fell to the same fate that my other tanks did - Summeritis.
_But..._

It's been resurrected and brought into work to be added to the office tank collection (I've also got a non planted 30 gallon housing one very ornery turquoise Severum and a few Buenos Aires tetras).

Nothing special, just a nice little distraction.

Same specs as before, but the plant list has obviously changed. 

Crypt parva
Crypt petchii
Creeping Jenny
Alternantherna reineckii
Eleocharis 'belem'
Anubias 'petite' (currently recovering from a bleach dip)
Narrow leaf Java fern

Inhabitants include 4 White Cloud minnows and one Amano shrimp.

Sorry for the crappy iPhone pics, the filthy pipes and the water surface scum...


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

What are the lighting specs on this thing? ....


muahahaha. 

It looks great as usual dude, I really wish I could set up a small tank here at the office. Don't you just love that newly set up tank surface scum?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

HaHa! Thanks man!
27W 10K Archaea from Aqua Forest. Awesome l'il light!

This has been running for about a month and a half.


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Wohoo! Love them Finnex tanks. Nice to see another person who can keep one at the office too.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Just a quick update... Still chugging along. Belem is really starting to take off and the alternantherna is unstoppable. All of this is branched out of one very small stem originally planted! 
The white clouds like to shimmy through the belem. Spawning behavior?


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## Fatality (Oct 21, 2009)

Very nice tank! Question for you on the CO2 System 74-YA, what size tanks can then be used up to?


Can't wait to see more updates!


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Fatality said:


> Very nice tank! Question for you on the CO2 System 74-YA, what size tanks can then be used up to?
> 
> 
> Can't wait to see more updates!



Thanks!
Not sure of the actual specs, but I wouldn't use this system on anything bigger than 10 gallons - and that's even kind of pushing it IMHO.
Honestly, it's not the most practical co2 system out there. You're locked in to buying ADA cartidges forever. Almost wish I'd gone with a paintball system, but it is pretty neat


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Sweet tank dude! +1 Finnex out there


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## CmLaracy (Jan 7, 2007)

anything going on with this tank?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

CmLaracy said:


> anything going on with this tank?


Yeah - a near disaster 

I received 12 very nice tiger shrimp from a forum member and added them to this tank last Wednesday. All were doing great on Thursday, and I took the day off of work on Friday. I figured there was enough detritus and tiny bits of hair algae for them to subside on over my 3 day weekend.

Mid afternoon Friday I got a text message from my brother (whom I work with) that the white clouds were all gasping at the surface and all of the shrimp were upside down on the bottom of the tank. I advised him to raise the outflow to aerate the water. Luckily I only live a few minutes away, so I raced on over. The only thing I can think of that happened, is that the Thursday night cleaning ladies moved or bumped the regulator/needle valve (which is usually _super_ stable), because that bubble counter was emitting a constant stream of CO2 just pouring into the tank. 

I did 3 half tank water changes and readjusted the needle valve.

3 shrimp jumped ship before I got there, but the rest seemed to have pulled through. The white clouds looked a bit groggy and CO2 drunk when I got there, but after the water changes I could tell they'd make it.

Fast forward to Monday morning - All fish alive, and quite a few shrimp still happily foraging away :thumbsup:

The A. reineckiii was crazy overgrown, so I hacked it back pretty good yesterday. Creeping Jenny got a good trim as well. That stuff stays nice and tight in this tank, and forms a pretty nice bush with a minimum of upkeep. Parva is finally sending out a few runners and the belem is exhibiting some explosive growth - the two plants form a really nice carpet together. I might eventually take out the A. reineckii to give the underlying crypts a chance to really do their thing. Maybe I can snap a few non-iPhone pics sometime soon


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Woooah. Close call dude. Awesome that you were able to get there so fast to perform an emergency tankectomy. 

Tank looks good!


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## NO3 (Dec 24, 2008)

How high does the light hang above the tank? Any problem with light related algae issue?

I have a Finnex 4 also and I use a Catalina 26 W light which is only 3 inches above tank. I am constantly fighting with hair algae problem and want to see if raising the light might help.



roybot73 said:


> HaHa! Thanks man!
> 27W 10K Archaea from Aqua Forest. Awesome l'il light!
> 
> This has been running for about a month and a half.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Thanks Outlawboss!

NO3 - The light is telescopically adjustable. I've got it ~4" above the tank.
What are you dosing? Photoperiod? CO2 & circulation good?

FWIW, I've mixed up a liter of DIY TPN+ found here: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/allinone.htm

DIY TPN+ (3)
48g Potassium Nitrate
2.2g Potassium Phosphate (monobasic)
17g Magnesium Sulphate Heptahydrate (Epsom Salts)
0.5g E300 Ascorbic Acid
0.2g E202 Potassium Sorbate
5g EDTA Chelated Trace Elements Mix
500ml distilled water

I'll test it out on this tank and depending on results, more than likely adopt this dosing schedule for my 60-P.


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## NO3 (Dec 24, 2008)

Reason why I suspect the light is too close is because my cubes are complete algae free and the light is good 6" above the tank.

I've been experimenting all sorts of things to combat the algae problem. I stopped dosing lately to see if it makes a difference, but it doesn't.

CO2: pressurized, 85 bubbles/min, the most the 6 CPD's can tolarate. Had it higher before and killed two of them already

Photoperiod: 5 1/2 hrs

Filtration: Eheim 2211, full blast





roybot73 said:


> Thanks Outlawboss!
> 
> NO3 - The light is telescopically adjustable. I've got it ~4" above the tank.
> What are you dosing? Photoperiod? CO2 & circulation good?
> ...


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

This tank is by no means algae free. I don't believe that _any_ tank is 100% algae free - nature just doesn't work that way. There's a bit of GSA and very small amounts of some kind of hair algae in here. What can you do? Is the scape ruined because of it? IMO, hardly. The rocks look better, the wood looks a bit more natural with some green spots on it...

BTW - this bottle was broken, so I fixed it


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

So far so good with the TPN+. I dose about 3ml daily (3 pumps - I measured the volume of each pump), 2 liter water changes 3x a week, iron is being dosed in the form of ADA ECA - 3 drops after each wc. I put a drop of ECA on a Fischerscope xray XAN DPP that we use here in the office. ~96% Fe with a very small amount of Bi (bismuth) detected. 5ml Excel is dosed once a week.
The belem seems to like what's being dosed, as the foreground is almost filled in.
All of this growth has spread from one single belem plantlet that was tucked into the center of the tank amongst the manzanita branches.

Again, sorry for the quality of the iPhone pic.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Wow, been a while! This thing has changed a few times since the last update.
Shortly after this last pic, the A. reineckii and creeping jenny were taken out, a betta was added, he killed the white clouds, narrow leaf java took over the whole tank and was subsequently removed, the crypts then took over and were subsequently removed, the substrate was changed to Nile sand and we started fresh again 

This time I started with Eleocharis 'belem', one crypt 'Tropica', a few rhizomes of Anubias 'petite', a few plugs of E. tenellus 'micro' and a few sprigs of Hydrocortle.
Guess which plant is winning?
I dose with 5 pumps/ml of a premixed EI solution _daily_. It starts pearling about 20 minutes after the lights come on. I wipe a small amount of gda off the glass once a month.

Sorry about the iPhone pic quality...



























Sorry about the iPhone video quality 

http://vimeo.com/21814145


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## 2-Skinny (Feb 27, 2011)

What is the mixture/ratio you dose with? I have a 3 gallon with Java Moss and Ferns and want them to be a bit greener and I don't run CO2.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

2-Skinny said:


> What is the mixture/ratio you dose with? I have a 3 gallon with Java Moss and Ferns and want them to be a bit greener and I don't run CO2.


60 grams of KNO3
10 grams of KH2PO4
5 grams MgSO4
1 liter distilled water


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

I <3 this Finnex, but maybe I'm biased xD

Lookin' good!
*subbed*


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## Beijing08 (Oct 13, 2010)

awesome looking stuff!

may wanna clean the lily pipes a bit :icon_smil


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

sjuapseorn said:


> I <3 this Finnex, but maybe I'm biased xD
> 
> Lookin' good!
> *subbed*


Thanks :thumbsup:



Beijing08 said:


> awesome looking stuff!
> 
> may wanna clean the lily pipes a bit :icon_smil


Thanks -- it's an office tank. I'm lucky if I get to do a water change once a week! :hihi:


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

Looking nice.. the betta sure looks happy.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Here's a post hydrocortle trim update. I forgot that there were other plants in there, and they're actually doing quite well. Clean pipes too


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

looks cool


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Thanks, Newman.
Sweet shrimp bowl btw!


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## TwoStrokeKing (Mar 24, 2011)

You have inspired me to make my 5 gallon nice, I love this tank! Thanks for sharing.


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## thewaterbird (Apr 16, 2011)

The latest edition of this tank is beautiful! Great job!


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

TwoStrokeKing said:


> You have inspired me to make my 5 gallon nice, I love this tank! Thanks for sharing.


Sweet - get on it!!!



thewaterbird said:


> The latest edition of this tank is beautiful! Great job!


Thanks, thewaterbird roud:


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

The hydrocortle is starting to creep back in a cool way. I added some Malaysian trumpet snails to help with the sand compaction, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Grumpy Pants betta relieved them all of their living issues...


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

lol, looking good


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