# 40 Gal Breeder (finally High-tech), My 'Collecteritis' tank..Updated: 08/28/2013



## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

So does anyone have any idea on what this mystery stem might be?? It is the one in the middle of the pic with the needle type leaves.










I believe that it is HYDROTRICHE HOTTONIIFLORA but not 100% sure..I bought it as unknown stem.


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## Dave6265 (Nov 18, 2011)

Looks like you can't settle on one look for a while! 


The tank looks great, no matter what stage it was in.


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## Assassynation (Dec 23, 2011)

Looks awesome, I'm currently working on my 40B high tech planted/riparium.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Dave6265 said:


> Looks like you can't settle on one look for a while!
> 
> 
> The tank looks great, no matter what stage it was in.


HAHA ya I used to have a problem with moving stuff around all the time, but I have stopped because things look so much better when you let them grow in ha..My friend broke me of that (well for the most part), I just get bored after a while of the same old thing heh..but thanks so much, I appreciate it! :icon_smil 

And thanks to Assassynation also! hell ya, I would like to do half underwater and half above, but I need a higher tank for that (least I do)..


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## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

It looks like hornwort, the last picture.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

10gallonplanted said:


> It looks like hornwort, the last picture.


Hmm, Nah I have that one also, and it is very wavy and soft, where this new plant is hard (least the stem is), and the leaves are errect. plus the leaf structure is different from hornwort..ha I pull that stuff out by the handful, and will eventually throw it out/give it to someone locally when i get some more plants..But thanks for the guess!:icon_sad:


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## Capsaicin_MFK (Nov 15, 2009)

This is my favorite out of the rescapes. Sometimes, driftwood just gets in the way. :flick:



sketch804 said:


>


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

HAHA thanks so much! ya I enjoyed that one also while it lasted..just wanted something besides a huge plant mass...but you are right driftwood does get in the way..taking up all my real estate haha!


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## Kworker (Oct 28, 2011)

tank looks great, really love the depth of the 40B because gives a lot of room to fill it in and you did that nicely.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

thanks much! Ya thats one reason i decided to get a 40b is because of the depth..i was used to 20gal longs and 33gal longs..so i needed a change because i try to stuff as many plants as i can into that small space ha..these days i am trying to do more groups as opposed to mass amount of plants..but i still have 20species in mine now..i dont know how people can jus choose 3 or so types of plants and stick with that haha!


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## Doc7 (Apr 7, 2011)

What was your original T5 NO Lighting?


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

What do you mean? brand or something else? Well, either way, my original t-5NO lighting was some 48" fixtures I got from Home Depot and Lowes..I like the 48" ones cause I can grow plants beside my tank in the winter..just DIY lights that I had sitting on my tank in a really ghetto way I would not rather not disclose haha!


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

I like that "style": lots of plants, textures, and colors. It's also painfully clear that you can run a good tank - you have the touch. I understand that the same scape for years can get boring, that's the reason I ended up with many tanks. When the time comes again, you are welcome to re-do my 75G.

And I will take that ugly, useless, space-taking piece of driftwood off your hands for a small hauling fee .


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

OVT said:


> I like that "style": lots of plants, textures, and colors. It's also painfully clear that you can run a good tank - you have the touch. I understand that the same scape for years can get boring, that's the reason I ended up with many tanks. When the time comes again, you are welcome to re-do my 75G.
> 
> And I will take that ugly, useless, space-taking piece of driftwood off your hands for a small hauling fee .


Haha you really made me laugh there! It took me FOREVER to find a piece of driftwood like that around my area and i wont give it up with out a fight ha! But thanks so much for your kind words i really apperciate them! Ya see thats my trouble, too many plants, not enough space...i need a 75 or 120gal but for now eh itll do. But i do try to use mr Amano's ideas and tanks as my inspiration for my tanks and aquascapes..its more than just plants and water..thanks!:hihi:

Edit: oh and if you didnt live across the country i would be much obliged to help you with all that!


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## Hawkian (Apr 14, 2010)

Good looking tank! In all of its many stages!


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## LetThereBeFish (Dec 7, 2011)

Incredible tank! Very vibrant. roud:


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Hawkian said:


> Good looking tank! In all of its many stages!





LetThereBeFish said:


> Incredible tank! Very vibrant. roud:


Thanks so much! both of you all, i appreciate it! :hihi:


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

I *demand* more pictures!


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

OVT said:


> I *demand* more pictures!


Haha well its only been a few days since i started this thread, but yesum i will post a few more..itll just be a few days cause weekends are usually busy for me..but after i get these couple of stems a member here sent me then i will post some more! Well that's given that they aren't all frozen, because i need a nice splash of color in my tank again! Green overload is killing me! Though i just hacked up my tank some because stuffs growing like crazy! And i mean crazy, i can actually watch my camoba green (or whatever) grow 2in in one day, its insane! :hihi:


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Well also here's one of my other tanks..just a small 10gal, low tech, planted tank..been running a couple years now..used to be for shrimps, but then..someone got me another leaf fish, and I can't put this little guy with my fully grown 6+" leaf fish..they didn't get along great together..haha










And my favorite crypt is in this tank..Cryptocoryne nurii var "Pahang Mutated" :biggrin:










And up close shot of my last aquascape before it all melted down ha..










So for now there's a couple other pix..I will update some time soon..


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

If you ever get tired of that C. nurii var "Pahang Mutated" I claim first dibs. I might be even willing to pay for it.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

OVT said:


> If you ever get tired of that C. nurii var "Pahang Mutated" I claim first dibs. I might be even willing to pay for it.


HAHA LMAO, well yes once I get some good runners I don't mind you WILL have first dibs no doubt...but to tell you the truth, I have had it for like 6+months maybe longer, and it has only given me ONE runner from it..I got it off Ghazanfar Ghori (GG) on his last yearly sale of these, paid like 30$ +/- or so for it, now a days they don't demand as high of a price, but still my favorite crypt by FAR...

So I just planted that runner in my high tech tank so hopefully it will give me some more here soon..the low tech one only has 2" of soil so things only grow but so fast in there ha..I have had issues with the plant before due to my own crappy mistakes, and it has just recently flourished ha...SO with time comes all good things.. 

Everyone should check this dudes site out, he hasn't posted on it recently, but it has a bunch of crazy things he has done like tissue cultures and what not... Ghazanfar Ghori cryptocoryne website


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## thefisherman (Oct 15, 2011)

love your tank and that crypt is totally pimpin! 


Sent from my iPhone


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

sketch804 said:


> Everyone should check this dudes site out, he hasn't posted on it recently, but it has a bunch of crazy things he has done like tissue cultures and what not... Ghazanfar Ghori cryptocoryne website


TY for the link, I got it bookmarked


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Nothing constructive to say but I love this! I like jungle tanks..and I don't mean its messy and overgrown, but its put-together and full...natural looking. Beautiful


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Any time OVT..glad you liked the link, I have looked at it for many years, still amazes me! haha..



thefisherman said:


> love your tank and that crypt is totally pimpin!


Thanks so much ! yes it is my favorite crypt even with all the different ones I see out there, it still looks the best IMO..



Heatherdersh said:


> Nothing constructive to say but I love this! I like jungle tanks..and I don't mean its messy and overgrown, but its put-together and full...natural looking. Beautiful


Thanks much also! Yes I am with you on that, I love the jungle looking tanks when things come together nicely but dont look too pruned all nice and neat like some Dutch tanks do..Its nice to look at but not my style ha! 

Well I don't mind and criticism be it constructive or what have you..I enjoy getting peoples input on my tank either way, but I appreciate the kind words! In fact I got a new plant yesterday, but I waited to plant it til my friend (another planted tank guy) came over so he could help me place it to make it look good...


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Okay, little update, for now, probably be the last one til stuff decides to fill in a bit nicer..but here we go..So I just received some GREAT LOOKING Rotala macrandra, from a seller on here, plus another plant..Well I just hope it stays looking somewhere near this good and actually grows for me, as this will be the first difficult plant I have really ever kept..so fingers crossed! 

FTS:









Right side:









Center:









Left side:










Random C. Nurii shot..hope this one fills in nicely!










And ANY one got pearls huh?










Okay so that's it for me..maybe in a couple weeks or something I might take some more..but for now this is how it stands..just gota shape it and keep things from getting to outa control! Ha can anyone tell that I love crypts to say the least..

Thanks for looking!


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Not too shabby  Looking good. A touch of color does not hurt either, imho. I see no problem with R. macrandra overtaking your tank, given the apparent health of other plants in there. Keep on going ....


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

OVT said:


> Not too shabby  Looking good. A touch of color does not hurt either, imho. I see no problem with R. macrandra overtaking your tank, given the apparent health of other plants in there. Keep on going ....


Hey ovt thanks once again! Ya that little touch of color is EXCATLY what i had been looking for, for quite some time now! And thanks to you i have that balance i had been looking for..so alls done now, just let it grow and i should be happy for a while now..but ha i can only hope that this stuff takes over! Its a beautiful red so i dont mind! Seems to be oranging up a little so far, so i uped the iron dosing we will see if that helps but if not i dont mind the array of colors it can be..thanks!


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

WOW that R. macrandra is actually growing good for me! I can't believe it! Doesn't look as great as it did when I originally received it, but still has good redish color and is pushing up nicely 

THANKS again OVT!

Hmm, but maintenance is no fun to trim stuff every week or so, gets kinda out of control...So I might end up cutting back the light duration for my 4xbulb blast to 4hrs or so, or CO2 back, or both...we will see..


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Okay, been half a month or so..So I decided to post a few pix I had taken. I added a Wild Green Oto (Epactionotus aky) from Uruguay and a Sumo Loach to my tank here recently, hopefully they will both survive. Everything seems to be growing nicely except for R. Macrandra, it is growing up great but the colors are less than impressive. So I am changing my fert dosing, because I believe I have too much KNO3 right now, I over dosed because I measured out my liquid additive wrong when I made the batch, so scratched it and started over with a new bottle and did it right this time, since my last batch started to grow mold in the water, no good. So I had probably about 80ppm or so in NO3, so I stopped dosing last week and did a tank change and it is still at 30ppm about..UGH! So, new plan will hopefully work. Also recieved a green tiger lotus from a local guy (Thanks VeeSe!!)..

ANYWAYS, here we go:









Tank starting to fill in nicely, just gave it a BIG trim and gave a bunch of plants away to a local person who's tank had crashed while he was in India for 2mo..hopefully they will work for him.









Definitely not looking as good, but it will come around..









L. Aromatica finally shooting up nicely..









Cant remember the name Hydrocoyle or something, but finally pushing off nicely.









Suspect "C. Nurii" giving me lots of runners, so I will throw this in an emersed setup to flower it and get it's real ID..









New Green Tiger Lotus, all the leaves melted, but its coming back slowly but surely. 









Here's my new Green Oto, though he isn't very green right now because I believe he didn't get much algae in the tank he came from, but used to be green as the underside of a leaf 5mo ago. keeping my fingers crossed.









A plant from my 10gal, looking great!

Also Finally got a few shots of my fish up close:



























And up close of the green oto, Epactionotus aky (I believe).


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## knuggs (Mar 5, 2007)

Nice looking tank sketch! Lots of beautiful scapes!


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## thefisherman (Oct 15, 2011)

beautiful fish sketch... btw i got your crypt nurii's phone number, i'ma see if she wants to have a drink sometime... she's soo hot! lol 


- thefisherman


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## FreshtoSalt (Dec 1, 2011)

Wow, just found this thread... great looking plants!
Love the variety.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Thank you everyone for all your kind words..i do what i can. My goal is ADA style but i have a long way to go til i get there. Right now i am just trying dail down this EI dosing and proper CO2 use. But yes i love to have a vast array of variety in my tank, thats one reason it is so hard to stick with a specific type of scape..it's ever changing! Thanks you all!



thefisherman said:


> beautiful fish sketch... btw i got your crypt nurii's phone number, i'ma see if she wants to have a drink sometime... she's soo hot! lol
> 
> 
> - thefisherman


Haha lmao, well just give here some nice drinx and she'll give you a great time I promise! Thanks so much for all that, fish used to be number 2 in my tank but now I am trying to strike a balance between fish and plants..I just found a new importer so my fish are bound to change once i can figure out what schooling fish i want to keep now hmmm..


Anyone have any suggestions on a great schooling fish for my tank?? I am thinking i want rummynose fish (the true form) but I want something more than the average fish! But seems rummynose might end up being the one if dude can get in nice looking ones, so far the ones I see are drab in color..Any suggestions? Thanks!


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## thefisherman (Oct 15, 2011)

schooling/hovering fish, perfect scale for your tank imo... 18-24 pygmy cories or cory hasboras ftw! 


- thefisherman


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

thefisherman said:


> schooling/hovering fish, perfect scale for your tank imo... 18-24 pygmy cories or cory hasboras ftw!
> 
> 
> - thefisherman


Ya i actually have some cory hasboras and i plan on getting like 10 more here soon. But i need some other mid-level schooler. Thanks for the suggestion!


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## thefisherman (Oct 15, 2011)

sketch804 said:


> Ya i actually have some cory hasboras and i plan on getting like 10 more here soon. But i need some other mid-level schooler. Thanks for the suggestion!


a crew of dwarf neon rainbows or furcatas rainbow (crazy little buggers)... or micro rasboras like 50 chilis 


- thefisherman


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

micro rasboras i havent heard of them before..hmm ill have to check that out...is that the common name?? Ya i was also thinking of the chili ones also..the really small red with a green line through there body fish i believe..a school of 20+ of those would be awesome!

Ya I would love this little guy..


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## aXio (May 29, 2011)

Very beautiful tank


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## thefisherman (Oct 15, 2011)

sketch804 said:


> micro rasboras i havent heard of them before..hmm ill have to check that out...is that the common name?? Ya i was also thinking of the chili ones also..the really small green with red line through there body fish i believe..a school of 20+ of those would be awesome!
> 
> Ya I would love this little guy..


i might of made "micro rasbora" up sketch, i'm a noob still  bit i swear i rea or heard of them before... perhaps it was in the NYC LFS thread where they were selling them at Winn... i know they also had little green neons which would be equally pleasing 

as far as chilis and strawberry rasboras... msjinkzd might have a ton tin stock for a good price :O i'm excited for you sketch, i can't wait to see what you decide! 


- thefisherman


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

Borara brigittae


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

kwheeler91 said:


> Borara brigittae


Ya Borara brigittae, thats the name i was looking for, thanks so much kwheeler91, i just cant remember the names and i dont have my book next to me ha.




thefisherman said:


> i might of made "micro rasbora" up sketch, i'm a noob still  bit i swear i rea or heard of them before... perhaps it was in the NYC LFS thread where they were selling them at Winn... i know they also had little green neons which would be equally pleasing
> 
> as far as chilis and strawberry rasboras... msjinkzd might have a ton tin stock for a good price :O i'm excited for you sketch, i can't wait to see what you decide!
> 
> ...


Hmmm, thanx I might have to ask her about them! Appreciate it! Well If I can get them through her or my local importer I think that might be the direction I am going to go! I have been looking into the Blue Keeri also, seems like a nice addition, but the chili's are smaller so I can get a big school, so I don't know right now, but I am sure I will figure something out here soon! I will keep ya posted one way or another!


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

aXio said:


> Very beautiful tank


Thanks so much! I appreciate it! I try, sometimes i just dont know though..


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

wow great looking tank.. I also am in richmond just moved here a few months ago. We should trade some plants sometime.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Rockhoe14er said:


> wow great looking tank.. I also am in richmond just moved here a few months ago. We should trade some plants sometime.



Thanks so much!! Sounds good to me! Always looking for new plants ha!


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## BlueJack (Apr 15, 2011)

I really like this tank! Good job!


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

BlueJack said:


> I really like this tank! Good job!



Thank you very much BlueJack! oh and you have one of the greatest quotes as your signature! so true!


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I read that you once had a T5HO light strip just sitting on top of it. Were you injecting Co2 then?


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Well it was the T-5 NO that was sitting on top of the glass on the tank, my current T-5HO is sitting on legs 3" above the tank. I only started to inject CO2 when I got my new lights, at least pressurized CO2..I had run a little DIY CO2 before that but never consistant. It would run and when it was done I would forget about it til a month later ha! I never did like DIY CO2 thought because its levels were never constant, even when I put a heating pad for reptiles under it, just never liked it..and only did that stuff for like 8+ months..


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Updates..So I did just a little re-scaping and got rid of one plant, but added three more. R. "sunset", Hygrophila lancea and Erio Aussie I. Thanks to _Rockhoe14er_ for the plants, they seem to be growing nicely. Thanks to Speedie for the Erio Aussie I!! Also took out 10 bigger crypts, and a few good stems in the tank and moved them to this experimental emersed set up, and you cant even tell I took anything out. Everything seems to be growing nicely except I think I am putting too much Flourish Comprehensive in the tank so I am going to cut back on that. I seen that some of the plants were melting a little on the tops, but not to bad.

FTS:









R. "Sunset":









Erio Aussie I:









And lastly Hygrophila lancea:









So until later..


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

wow how did you get my rotala sunset to look even better in your tank?!?!?!?! Great job tank look amazing.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Rockhoe14er said:


> wow how did you get my rotala sunset to look even better in your tank?!?!?!?! Great job tank look amazing.



Thanx so much guy! I really appreciate it esp. After seeing your tank and all the great things you are doing..well after looking at that pic, you should see it now! It is even redder than it is in that pic..cause that pic was a bit ago so its finally rooted down and pushing off nicely..but its also is right under my lights.. 
Oh and ill try to post one or send ya a pic here in a day or so, when i get a chance..
Thanx for the plants once again!


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

I like the Erio Aussie I. Also nice tank.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

GMYukonon24s said:


> I like the Erio Aussie I. Also nice tank.


thanks so much! Ya Erio. Aussie I has got to be one of my favorite plants and YEAH its finally starting to grow for me! So only time will tell on this one. All thanks to speedie for finding me one even when he wasn't selling them, he has some AWESOME and quality plants!


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Okay, so random update here today. Thanks to Tom Barr I received 2 Erio Cinereum today in the mail. He sent four but Rockhoe14er bought the other two. So I went out on a ledge and split one four different ways and just planted the other one. This is the first time I have ever split one of these so I REALLY hope that everything LIVES! They were both HUGE and I assumed ready to split. Also they were both flowering so I went ahead and pulled them all out.

_Now is it true from the couple articles that I have read that for this Erio I need to remove the flowers or they will melt and die??_

Not much else has changed in the tank besides getting those in the mail today. I will most likely be rearranging my tank here this next week or so, well that is if I can get around to it. So here we go...









Here's the two Erio Cinereum, one split, and one whole.









Just planted them here a bit ago, added some peat and root tabs to help them out. Erio Aussie I is behind these few and it seems to be finally growing decent right now since I gave it a bit more light.









Here's my most recent full tank shot.

So that's it for me right now, hope everyone likes it!

I will take some better pictures later on, did these real quick..deal ha..


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

How dare you grow my plants better than me.... lol Tank looks even better in person. Also I split both erios i got too. Excellent tank.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Rockhoe14er said:


> How dare you grow my plants better than me.... lol Tank looks even better in person. Also I split both erios i got too. Excellent tank.


HaHa! thanks very much, I really appreciate it!! ya looks better than my crappy pix huh? I just gota take the time and figure out my camera settings ha..Oh nice, well I hope that our erio's will grow great! can't wait to see what happens! if you didn't see my txt, I have read on some sites that it is a good idea to take off the flowers, and eventually it will revert back and start growing great again..dunno if that stuff is true so we will see.


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## Mike Hawk (Mar 9, 2012)

great looking tank


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Mike Hawk said:


> great looking tank


Thanks so much! I really appreciate! 


So I think some time this week it is time for a revamp on my tank if I can get a chance to do so. I have a lot of plans this week as I am off work all week and have a bunch of plans in mind but nothing set in stone. Anyone have any idea's on what might look good for this tank here? I am getting a 75 gallon soon, so I need to re-scape this tank until I can get a new one up and running, because I am sort of bored with this scape and it doesn't seem to flow as it once did. I am thinking of either changing the position of my driftwood, and/or tearing up all my crypts and other foreground and flipping them so the lower growing things will be on the side where I don't have a lot of background plants growing. What do you all think? any idea's would be appreciated. 

Also I think I will be doing a build on a reactor here soon, does anyone have any feedback on how they like or don't like the ones they have used. I seem to ONLY hear good things about them, so I think I will give it a try and do a Cerges' Reactor.

Thanks for checking it out!


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## Miles (Sep 9, 2011)

What is the beautiful red plant the aquascape without driftwood?


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Miles said:


> What is the beautiful red plant the aquascape without driftwood?


If I am correct with the scape you are talking about with all the red plants in the middle than the plant is called Red Temple - Alternathera reinekii. there are several different varieties of this one sp. but I am not sure exactly which one it was, just the normal form I believe. If that isn't the one you're talking about let me know and I'll figure it out..


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

*Update time!*

Well okay I decided to pull out all of my C. (retro)Spirals because they were just getting to thick and blocking off light to my Erio's and a few other plants when I moved my filter outflow. I created a Cerges Reactor also and it is AWESOME! I will never go back to a glass diffuser except for a small 10gal tank or something like that. So I got a little time and I rescaped the left side of my tank, well part of it..I am trying to wait til I can set up my 75Gal tank before I do anything drastic. 

Wow, here's all my* C. (retro)spirals*. I think I counted like 30 different plants from this one. Once I can do another sale thread I am going to sell some of these, or at least half of them because I don't have much room left in any tank I have now.









*FTS*









*Right side* My crypts are going crazy! I am going to have to pull some up soon, they are blocking my driftwood too much I believe.









*Middle*









*Left side*









*My erio's are doing alright*









*Erio Aussie I looking great now*









*C. Nurii *is starting to give me some runners but the mother plant looks like crap ugh..









*My Cerges' Reactor setup...*..ignore the money pants 









So, I got a few other plants here a few days ago but haven't taken any pix because I am too lazy to and have been working a lot..I think I am going to take out the R. Macradra (sp?), it grows like a weed and I have to cut it every few days it seems ha..

What does everyone think of the sort of revamp? Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

Looks great! Idk how you had all that retrospiralis in there too but looks good without it.


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## thefisherman (Oct 15, 2011)

i love your tank sketch! i'm totally inspired to substitute my weedy stems for larger rooted crypts  i love to read about crypt growth explosions like yours lol, hits a sweet chord ya know  i'm also very impressed you managed to maintain a nice little clearing at the front right of your tank for the sexy erio and nurii... truly an inspiration for my 20L


- thefisherman


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

kwheeler91 said:


> Looks great! Idk how you had all that retrospiralis in there too but looks good without it.


Thanks much, I appreciate! Ya I have had it for a while bit once I went pressurized CO2 it blew up and just kinda took over that side, so time for a change..I was just blown away with how much it propagated! It will return once I get this 75 gal up and running most likely, i really enjoyed how it swayed because the filter output was behind it.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

thefisherman said:


> i love your tank sketch! i'm totally inspired to substitute my weedy stems for larger rooted crypts  i love to read about crypt growth explosions like yours lol, hits a sweet chord ya know  i'm also very impressed you managed to maintain a nice little clearing at the front right of your tank for the sexy erio and nurii... truly an inspiration for my 20L
> 
> 
> - thefisherman


Wow that's awesome means a lot to know I have inspired you to do something different! Ya crypts have always and will always be my favorite type of plant, with so many variegation out there it seems to never end. I was prety surprised by how fast those crypts are growing now that I am doing stuff right. Though recently I have been getting into the hygro sp. like hygro lancea and a few others, due to there great look and how they grow..thnx for the other comment also, but I will tell ya that was just recently done and it seems every trim I do I also have to pull as many dwarf sag runners up as I can, that stuff grows like a straight weed! I am thinking of changing my foreground grass to something different here soon, but I just dont know right now..if this hair grass grows that I got then I would love to have a field of that! Good luck with you 20L!! that was my first planted tank I got a while back..ugh now I have 4 different tanks and a 55gal emersed set up ha! 

Also, I gota say I like your tank a lot! I was actually checking this one out here a few weeks ago and was enjoying it..You have some very nice sp. in your tank, if you ever wanna trade some plants LMK


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## Miles (Sep 9, 2011)

*Red plant in this photo?*



Capsaicin_MFK said:


> This is my favorite out of the rescapes. Sometimes, driftwood just gets in the way. :flick:


I love this plant, what is it?


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

er, which one? Haha, theres like 15 different ones in that partictular setup..

Okay edit: the plant is called Alternathera reinekii. I didnt see your post title..so this plant is suppose to be easy to grow under lower lights but i say med light would be the min. You could grow it regaurdless, but when I had it, under higher low light or so it would get thick but the lower leaves would die off due to not getting much light..its a very easy plant and gets great red color unsurpassed only by a few plants IMO..


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## Miles (Sep 9, 2011)

Whoops haha I meant to post the picture, and the red plant, is that the red temple one you told me about earlier?


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Miles said:


> Whoops haha I meant to post the picture, and the red plant, is that the red temple one you told me about earlier?


Yesum you got that right, its common name is red temple..very nice plant, i wish I still had it..oh but also this plant is prone to melt in a lower light, low tech setting when given to many ferts, mainly Seachem Flourish, at least for me it did..fyi..ya mine all melted away and i never did get that plant again...hmmm maybe soon Ill give it another try!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Beautiful planting in there.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

hydrophyte said:


> Beautiful planting in there.


Thank you much! Aquatic plants are my favortie! Well..those and Japanese Maples but they only grow in the Spring which is no fun...

Almost time for a change..as I looked into my tank last nite I just seen chaos where once before there was decently placed plants..that is the one thing I guess you could say I am slightly OCD about, just because I don't want one plant shading out another plant and it dies..So guess I'm gonna pull a Tom Barr and redo some of my scape, again...
my Hygro Lancea is going crazy now, I don't know why people say this plant grows slow(ish), mine is actually growing quite fast..it's not R Mac or L Repens but it reproduces quickly! Also in the past few weeks I have received a few new erio's and I ended up splitting one of my other ones..I got in Erio Aussie I and another mini erio. My Aussie II is ready to split but i like how looks too much to split it right now ha! it's like the only one that doesn't look like crap cause it was split..but the ones I split are giving me littke plantletts off the side before the main plant will recover, which is kinda odd but oh well..so I will post some pix here again some time soon..I am also pondering the use of some ASA..but I don't know if I will take the plunge...maybe if I can find some, as all places are sold out..


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## Assassynation (Dec 23, 2011)

Looks great, one thing I would do is cut your intake tube to get rid of the loop. It restricts flow and will burn out the motor faster.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Assassynation said:


> Looks great, one thing I would do is cut your intake tube to get rid of the loop. It restricts flow and will burn out the motor faster.


What do you mean?...i dont think i have a loop in my tube that I know of, the only place it bends for the most part is where the outflow goes into my tank..or do you mean where my intake dips below the top of my filter? If so I might do that soon since i have a backup tube now, but i left them at length because I am planning on transfering my hardware to my 75 gal soon when I set it up...sometime soon, ha...

And thanks so much!


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## Assassynation (Dec 23, 2011)

The intake tube is fighting gravity, making the filter work harder, although not much. if you have extra tube might as well replace that ribbed tubing. It's the next thing on my filter list too.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Yes, Will do here soon..thanks so much!


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

beautiful tank
we have like 80% of the same plants and same set up
too funny!


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

monkeyruler90 said:


> beautiful tank
> we have like 80% of the same plants and same set up
> too funny!


Thanks so much! ha nice, ya just the plants that seem to be growing for me right now, but I really want to take a few sp. out because it is just getting way to crowded..


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

*Changing it up, a little..*

So I decided to move a few thing around because some of them just weren't growing like I wanted them to, so time to switch it out..I really didn't do too much but it took me a while..I moved some of my crypts, hydrocotyle, and a couple others so I could clean up some and open up the floor of the tank. I am just waiting for the left side to fill in some more. I was unable to really grow Ammania gracilis that well, it grew but just never looked that great so I moved it until I get rid of it (unless it likes the new location more). 
Thanks to Hoppi I added a few new sp., Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba' and Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal'. Both of these seem to be growing for me, Cuba I have no problem with it grows great and is starting to color up. I have only had one stem of Pantanal stunt on me but it recovered when I discovered that my lean NO3 dosing had lead to some plants not looking so great. I might have got some more plants but I can't remember right now..I sold a bunch of stuff and hacked this one up pretty good because it seemed like a jungle. 

Anyways here's a few pix..
*

Full tank shot as of 5.1.2012*










*Left side*









*Right side, The Hygro araguaia is starting to fill in a little(bottom right)!*









*Erio's are growing less than desired though I was able to split E. Aussie I:*









*Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal with great color and polygonum kawagoeanum (the color is so much more pink than this picture shows!)*








_

*Also, here is my Green Oto looking great and he is HUGE and FAT*










*So, does anyone have any suggestions for my spot algae?? I have increased my PO4 and some of it went away and was eaten, but I still can't kick this stuff...Thanks!
*_ 
Also starting to really get into the setup of the 75gal tank finally!! Started to build the stand since the one I have for it doesn't look great and was going to need re-enforcement anyway, so I figured why not just build a stand that is custom for my needs. Now on to re-enforcing my floor joist to make sure this will be stable. It just sucks when I only get one day a week to do anything on this, and sometimes don't have time all together. I cannot wait to break this 40 gal down, and plant again (well kinda as it is going to take forever, ha)! This 40 gal tank will turn into my fish tank for larger fish that have been cooped up in a smaller tank since my last 33Gal long tank caught on fire (because of a certain filter..ugh). It will house my 5yr old African Leaf fish in a lightly planted tank.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Time for a little update. My tank has pretty much stayed the same just grown and gone through a few different plants since last post, but I am getting rid of some of my sp. so I can have bigger bushes of stems. Got rid of the dwarf sag for the most part and replaced it with glosso which has taken over. I had to trim it down because it keeps growing up instead of staying low like I want due to the fact I need more light down low, but that is another task all together. I also added some rummynose's so I can have another school in there, but I am down to 9. Also found a nice black sailfin molly and bushynose pleco and added them for a bit of algae control. I will say one thing I have noticed in multiple tanks is molly/sailfins/etc.. do not like CO2 very much and have a much lower tolerance than most other fish. I am thinking about getting some LED's to attach to my current fixture to help give me just a boost of light, but we will see how that goes. But either way here's what we have.

Full Tank shot:









Sides: My crypts are bushing out very nicely finally. 









I need more flow from my filter or a more direct way to get CO2 over to this side of the tank it seems, stuff just grows a little slower over here, but oh well. I might abandon my spray bar and return to a nozzle. 









And here's the pleco I picked up at my work, though I am still looking for more rarer species.









So that's it from me for now.


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## WestHaven (Jun 30, 2012)

Can you show us any pics of your plant-growing setup next to the tank?


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## Mattymo92 (Feb 3, 2013)

sketch804 said:


> So does anyone have any idea on what this mystery stem might be?? It is the one in the middle of the pic with the needle type leaves.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My friend just bought something that looks like this yesterday from Petsmart. It was called Frill Plant.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

WestHaven said:


> Can you show us any pics of your plant-growing setup next to the tank?


Well I cannot produce those pix. I didn't set up my plants beside my tank this year as my living room changed and I didn't have room for my tropical's and others. But I do like having plants spread through out the house normally. I have a separate plant growing setup in another room with emersed stems, HC, Java, crypts and others. That setup I am actually going to shut down soon and just keep the 10 gal emersed grow-out tank with dirt. I just haven't the time for most of this now, plus I do aquarium stuff as a job now so too much of anything is a bad thing whether it be good or not to start with. I still have 3 other tanks...:icon_mrgr



Mattymo92 said:


> My friend just bought something that looks like this yesterday from Petsmart. It was called Frill Plant.


Ah, now I actually have that plant as well, not one in the same unfortunately. The stem of the 'frill' plant is very flimsy and the leaves are multi-branced, as the plant in question's stem is erect and each leaf comes from the stem rather than from another leaf connected to the stem. I could just push the stem in the ground by itself with out actually planting it. Now since then I have found out the stem's ID is Hydrotriche Hottoniiflora. I appreciate though, I no longer have that plant but do still keep 'Frill'.


Crap I didn't realize it had been so long since I updated my journal so in good time I will take some more pix.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Just some random pictures! been way too long since I have updated, I will say more later, but pix say 1000 words! everything has grown in so much!

My tank as of today! 









My creeping ludwigia that is starting to take my ground cover over!









Time has flown by but not too much has changed.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

sketch804 said:


> Time has flown by but not too much has changed.


Indeed but the tank us looking great, still one if my favorite.

Some if the plants you sent me are overtaking my tank. I can feel your revenge now lol. Some others got homesick and, I suspect, escaped back to you.

I am looking forward to your updates, and our more frequent interactions which I sorely miss on TPT.


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## Scottyhorse (Mar 13, 2013)

Very nice


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## Black Hills Tj (Jul 19, 2008)

Looks great. I like the scape...lots of depth!


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Scottyhorse said:


> Very nice





Black Hills Tj said:


> Looks great. I like the scape...lots of depth!


Thanks so much guys! Depth/layers is one of my main things I go for since my tank is only but so wide and I just never seem to have enough room for all of these plants, curse I guess.



OVT said:


> Indeed but the tank us looking great, still one if my favorite.
> 
> Some if the plants you sent me are overtaking my tank. I can feel your revenge now lol. Some others got homesick and, I suspect, escaped back to you.
> 
> I am looking forward to your updates, and our more frequent interactions which I sorely miss on TPT.


HAHA good, I am glad that some of those plants are doing great in your tank as I knew they would! What ones gave ya problems? From the looks of your tanks I cannot imagine why they didn't make it. Ya I miss old Tpt, but you get what you can I guess..Thanks so much OVT as always! So when r you going to start up that journal eh?? ha..


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

*Update time!!*

Alrighty then! UPDATE time..

So it has been a while since I have updated this place and it has been years since I have moved this huge piece of driftwood, for a few good reasons, but eh I guess change is inevitable and usually a good thing. So here we go, took that piece and flipped it back over again until I break this tank down (hopefully SOON, that is when I can move). I tried to hang it a bit different and have a nice place for the fish to congregate under/near, and it seems to be working so far. Looks kind of like it did years and years ago but I tried to give it a spin and add move hardscape (rocks). My L-052 butterfly pleco died randomly a few days ago for unknown reasons, and I am so pissed cause he had just started looking a lot better, better color, full stomach and all. So now back to the drawing board for another nice pleco, but who knows I might just replace him if this store in town still has them.

Well on to the pix:

This is my FTS before I ripped out plants and moved things.











Full tank shot after the reset and allowed to grow in for two or so weeks:



















Side shots:

Left:









Right:









Random plant shot:










Well that is it from me for now, so until next time! thanks for looking!


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

sketch804 said:


> So when r you going to start up that journal eh?? ha..


Look who showed up! What? Got a stunner of a tank and no longer need TPT? 

To date, all the crypts I get quickly turn into bio-fuel. The only exception being a 36" monster swallowing an 18" tall tank.

And yes, I do have 3 or 4 journals going, still awaiting your smug remarks, ha!

v2


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## peachii (Jun 1, 2013)

wow beautiful tank! Those crypts are amazing.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

peachii said:


> wow beautiful tank! Those crypts are amazing.


Thanks much! Been a long time coming that is for sure. Crypts have got to be my top 2 favorite families of plants, next to hygrophilia right now, so I try as many as I can afford. 



OVT said:


> Look who showed up! What? Got a stunner of a tank and no longer need TPT?
> 
> To date, all the crypts I get quickly turn into bio-fuel. The only exception being a 36" monster swallowing an 18" tall tank.
> 
> ...


Ah I cannot wait to check them all out! Well its been a while, I am always checking things out just I haven't the time to post as much. sorry to hear about the crypts, talk to me in a few weeks and we can fix that, I am just waiting for them to recover from the move/thinning out but I can throw you some, no charge. Good to see you are still around, seems a few good people have left.


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## JEFF9922 (May 8, 2013)

Looking awsome I wish I had the time and money for a tank like that


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

JEFF9922 said:


> Looking awesome I wish I had the time and money for a tank like that


I appreciate very much! time, yes, money, eh I really didn't spend as much on this tank/supplies as you might think, I more or less acquired it over the past few years + I am a very frugal person so to speak. But hey I figure if your hobby can help pay for itself then that's all the better, selling plants helps.


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## newbieplanter (Jan 13, 2013)

Great looken tank!


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

Man I love the improvements. The wood looks much better and has more impact. Your tank looked pretty awesome before, you did really well.


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

newbieplanter said:


> Great looken tank!





The Dude said:


> Man I love the improvements. The wood looks much better and has more impact. Your tank looked pretty awesome before, you did really well.


Thanks very much both of you all! The tank has actually gone through a few changes since then. Its time to do an update but it has seen better days, once i do a big reset and I'll take some more pix!


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

C'mon, get some pictures up already.
Good to see you on TPT!

v3


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Ha well gimme a week or 2 I just kicked the cyno/BGA algae. Stuffs recovering but fuzz algae is taking over like no other! But correct dosing should get me back on point, especially since I finally made up a batch of gets I've needed to do for like 2 months :confused1: I appreciate your enthusiasm as always ovt! Nice to be back, but other hobbies been getting to me! There just never enough time, and working for a aquarium business more or less demotivates me to work on my tanks after working on others. But eh there is light at the end of the tunnel for my tanks. 
As far as BGA is concerned, I dunno if anyone knows this but since I hear marycn product line is outa business you can actually use these 2 products I found at my store for treating the same problem but in saltwater aquariums. One is Red slime remover, eh works okay, and then there is ChemiClean, works better just take a few days to see anything. I am sure there is many more of the same type of product out there, these are just the 2 I have experience with.

I'm actually thinking about doing something a bit less maintenance, I have a 75 and some blue dolphin cichlids would look awesome in till they grow out and need something larger! It's so much to keep up with dosing ugh.. 

Ovt, would like to see some more pix of your tank soon also. Haven't seen much action over the recently. I'll post some pic soon I promise!


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## skoram (Aug 9, 2012)

beautiful tank and plants. subscribing to keep up with its evolution.


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## jmf3460 (Aug 21, 2013)

did anyone else read the title and think this was a clitoris tank???

in all seriousness this is a beautiful tank!


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## Sajeev (Mar 24, 2010)

looks beautiful. I have all the tools, light, co2, substrate but my tank never looks so good


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Mattymo92 said:


> My friend just bought something that looks like this yesterday from Petsmart. It was called Frill Plant.


 I'm not sure if your question was answered above, but I believe that plant is _Myriophyllum aquaticum_, commonly known as Parrot's Feather.


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