# My Grass Land (56k)



## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

This is my current conversion of my previous tank.









I had to tear it down because hair algae is growing out of control on my moss.

AT the new tank, I want to create a simple grassland theme... I just planted the Eleocharis acicularis last night, the Anubias nana is from my last setting, so here are the pics :

Whole tank









Side view









Anubias nana









Some close ups


















DIY Fans


















Suggestions?


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Cant wait to see it grow out


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

Do you like it? I can't wait either, but i think it's going to be a long time to see the acicularis fill in, because I bought it in the emersed form so it will take time to adapt and grow new leaves. Sorry about the crappy picture quality. I only have my old digital camera which is like 5 years old.

Some specs of my aquarium :

10 gallon
45 watts of lighting
3 DIY DC fans
2 bottles of DIY CO2
No CO2 reactors yet, i'm still trying to find a good one, for temporary I used a wood air stone to break down the CO2 gas into tiny bubbles and place it under the filter output so the bubbles will spend more time inside the water.

One thing I always worry about is the lighting, is it too strong for the anubias? in the previous setting I placed my anubias under other plants shadow, but now it's receiving direct light and the leaves turns from dark green to light green. Is this situation ok? because i'm planning to put some Anubias nana petite at the wood in the middle which will receive the same direct light.


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

looks nice needs more of a hardscape
good effort and keep it up


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

well I'd love to add more woods, but haven't find any good one yet. just a little more fauna informations on my tank :

15 red cherry shrimps
4 rasbora harlequin
1 sae
10 snails, didn't add them but they appear out of nowhere, have them removed the other day because they like to dig the hairgrass clumps to the roots, dunno why.


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## Gerald the Mouse (Jun 19, 2006)

I would add some type of stem plants to the back corners.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

I'm planning to add something at the right corner behind the standing wood, probably something like red, any ideas?

Still looking for more Anubias nana to put under the right wood, good plant with the right shape is hard to find. Can't find a petite either to tie on the middle wood piece...


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

some update shots :

DIY CO2









close up









new leave or flower?









sae and RCS gathering


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

tanks looking nice be sure to give us lots of full tank shots, 
i tried a setup like this, but i dident know to cut the hairgrass really low, so it got really algaefyied


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

FelixAvery do you have your old setup pics? or maybe tell me the problems you dealt with this kind of setup, it will help much.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

Update :

new Anubias









full tank shot









what i worried about, came true, my old anubias got brown spots on it's leaves, how do you fix this problem? sae and cherry won't eat them...


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

rub off the algae with your fingers. should come right off. You could have "thinned" out the bunches of grass even more. It will grow and spread faster. Your going to be waiting a really long time for that to grow out and thicken to the density of what you have planted. The thinner you plant it, the quicker it will spread and fill in.

Love the hardscape! Some more anubias or java fern would be nice on there. Even some moss.


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## AnneRiceBowl (May 18, 2006)

How are your Harlequin rasboras and the shrimp getting along? I tried the same combination, but I caught one of my harlequins with a RCS hanging out of its mouth. The RCS were immediately moved to their own tank after that. Also, I tried an SAE in a 10 gallon, it was so cramped, that it would jump out every time I opened the hood--one time, it even landed in my hair!


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

this morning i tried to rub it a little and got some of it off, is there a way to prevent it? more water change maybe? i'm doing mine at about 50% weekly. 

i know i should go thinner. at first i did plant my hairgrass thinner, but it was a 11 pm to 1 am planting, i was tired and can't take it anymore. but i'm pretty happy about it. my friends call it rice field lol.

about the rasboras eating the cherries, well i have never heard or experience it. as far as i know, they're a peaceful fish and never bother my shrimps. for your information i only feed the fish once per 2 days.

sae can stress easily, i bought mine and it was stressed during the transport. when i put it in my tank, it was pale white, very jumpy, and hide behind the wood most of the time. now at about 2 weeks later it's doing okay, grazing here and there but still pretty shy.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

just keep rubbing it. You going to have to fight through it for a while. Are you dosing? whats your light duration? Just keep rubbing it off during your WC until it starts to subside. This is very normal for a new tank setup.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i use flora pride as a temporary ferts, but i'm gonna change that into something better next week, should i stop it for a while without endangering the other plants? my light duration is 10 hours/day, should i reduce it?

here's the pic, what kind of algae is this?


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

added some Rotala wallichii last night, i hope it will survive..


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## Casty (Sep 28, 2006)

I think that's green spot algae... but whatever it is, do something before its too late. Same thing happened to my Anubias, and now its COVERED in algae! Bleach dip or excel treatment would probably be good, or move it out of direct light (might be impossible in your setup though).


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

alright i bleached the anubias and decided to move it to a low light tank i'm currently working on. but there will be an empty spot there right under the big wood. what plant should i put there? is bunches of riccia a good choice?


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## medicineman (Sep 28, 2005)

Is that black substrate "pasir malang"?

I hope you have clear idea of what kind of substrate you are using. 

Pasir malang or volcanic sand particle might originate from any volcanic region, and I found out the hard way that some are not suitable at all for planted aquaria (seriously disasterous result). Not trying to scare you, because some have had good luck with the stuff.

Lets see.... some low growing crypts would do nice in the place of the anubias, surrounding that wood. Want to create wilder look? then try saggitaria subulata.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

it is vulcanic substrate, i like it because it's black, round, and porous so that it will be great for root plants but pretty bad for stem ones because it doesn't hold that good.

thanks for the plants suggestions, i haven't decide yet, but i agree that saggitaria subulata is a nice choice.


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## Dr.Nick (Jan 8, 2006)

Nice tank mate, hairgrass should look great when filled out, i did mine the same as yours and now i have a huge lawn after 2months (still little bares patchs)


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

2 months? wow, that's fast, i'm expecting mine in about 3 months or so to fill in. what did you do to make it fill in faster?


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

I put my zebra nerite snail from my other tank here this morning (07.30), which the back section of the tank is covered with green spot algae, and this is what i found (17.30) :









and here's the little dude


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## Roc (Mar 16, 2007)

Just a word of cation, I just had my whole tank basic fail and killed every plant and fish in my 20 gal, the local plant guru told me that one piece of my driftwood had bark that slowly released "posion" into the water, I say this becuase I noticed some bark on your driftwood in one of the 1st pictures


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

the snail missed a bit ;P
can we get a fts?


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## Beancurd (Apr 25, 2007)

lol! Need to set up a 'snail-cam' lol every 5 min take a snapshot to show lil guy's progress! 

^^


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

iroc
i really hope not, but this piece of wood isn't new. it has been a part of my previous tank setting for about a year.

FelixAvery
crappy camera can't show the detail if i took a full tank shot.

Beancurd
it would be fun, i check the little guy this morning, he's still hanging around at the back. i'm gonna check again after work, maybe take a shot of it see how it clean up.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

ok a little update after i put this snail in my tank for about 36 hours :









now he's attacking the wood









by request, this is the full tank shot :









hairgrass close up


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

after wondering for awhile about why my riccia haven't grown out of the mesh, here's what i found out. my SAE is pulling them out from the mesh one by one and eating them!!!









so i decided to remove the riccia and replace them with some pelia. i know the rock and wood media are ugly but i can't find anything good in a short time.









see what happen when anubias nana is exposed to direct light. i removed it and place it in my other tank.









windelov taking the place of the removed anubias









here's my ugly DIY CO2 reactor.


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## Got Fish? (Apr 25, 2007)

It definatly has potential, i'm sure it look awsome once everyhting starts to grow out a bit more.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

thanks, but it seems to take forever for the hairgrass to fill in. here's my other ugly DIY CO2 reactor, the upper part that connect to a powerhead. the CO2 line goes into the powerhead's intake.









this is the bottom part, i put it in the tank's front to test it for a full day to see if it works or not.









and the final installment at the back of the tank.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

removed SAE because it was digging hairgrass and caused a mess. i added a pleco, what kind of ancistrus is this?


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## vibes_jedi99 (Jun 20, 2007)

I hope that pleco will not eat all your plants. good luck...


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

the seller said it only eats algae, espescially on the glass, wood, and on large leaves. it's only like 2 inch long.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

I arranged the old corner to a new one. with 2 new driftwood, windelov, java moss, and some left over pelia.









here's a closer look









suggestions are really apreciated.

i'm planning to upgrade my old lighting hood, bought a single 42 watts compact fluorescent. i'm still figuring out how to hang this lamp so that finaly my tank become a real open top tank. this is the lighting house i bought.









side view.









any ideas on how to hang this? for information, the distance from the wall to the center of the tank is about 30 cm.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

hanged the lighting, where should i put the fans...


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## almostaskater62 (Jul 7, 2007)

ikuzo said:


> This is my current conversion of my previous tank.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


2 questions: what's that plant at the far right? the green one?
and what is the driftwood covered in?

thanks


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

the far right, tall one is cabomba caroliana. driftwood is covered with java moss. the thing is that picture is not the latest one before i tear the tank down, so java moss haven't grow dense yet.


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## almostaskater62 (Jul 7, 2007)

i have a type of cabamba, not that kind, and it died pretty good, so i'm looking to replace it, it's also a very messy plant


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

probably not enough light, mine was growing like crazy i have to trim it every 2 days or so to prevent it rreaching the top (my tank wasn't open top). they get messy because the leaves are falling due to lack of light.


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## frozenbarb (Dec 16, 2006)

why does your Hairgrass looks strange, Looks like the leaves or very big.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i just found out a few days ago that my hairgrass is not Eleocharis acicularis, but instead it's Eleocharis parvula. it does grow that way. for refference, look at this tank by Oliver Knott.
http://www.pbase.com/plantella/wsstgt05


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## medicineman (Sep 28, 2005)

LOL... ingenuity :icon_smil 
Good effort.

Screw in power compact and downlight reflector. Sure to be good non aquarium combo, especially when you stay in the middle of nowhere. It creates a spot effect on close range, but for this case the spread is balanced enough.

Now if only you can find anything fancier for the downlight fixture, sure it would look better on the outside.


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## mickey85 (Nov 6, 2005)

I kinda like the light. Could you raise it to get the corners of the tank, or would that create too much spillage? Also, do you think you really need a fan? What is the difference in temperature between day/night?


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## almostaskater62 (Jul 7, 2007)

can cabambas regenerate themselves after almost dying...hah
i ask because i recently upgraded from 15W plant fluorscent lighting to 20W compact fluorescent, which is no doubt better.
i had a 13W CF lamp going too but it died


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i don't know, but probably not. how big is your tank compared to that lighting you have?


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## almostaskater62 (Jul 7, 2007)

i have 20W of light in a 10 gallon tank, 2WPG. however this is only as of like 4 days ago. before that i had 15W, with a 13W CF lamp, but that blew, so only 15W Fluorescent (albeit a plant bulb) lighting
i got rid of the cabomba anyway and moved some shards into my betta tank, i replaced it with this (un-ID'd, if you know what it is, do tell)









(it's the one at the back-left)


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

not enough light to provide cabomba IMO. my tank has 40 watts fluorescent and DIY CO2, which probably explain why it was growing like crazy while yours died. picture is blurry but i think that's hornwort.


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## almostaskater62 (Jul 7, 2007)

yeah i got it ID'd on a different forum, apparently this is easier and grows quickly, so it should fill up nicely

thanks


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i got some bolbitis, looks too massive isn't it.









took out some, gave it to a friend and here's what i kept. looks so beautiful when pearling.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i'm considering heavily to change from hairgrass to hemianthus cuba, so i'm gonna need lots of advice.

my current setting is 10 gallon tank, 42 watts CF lighting, temp about 27 celcius (80 F). for substrate i'm planning to use lokal sand/gravel with grain size about 1 mm diametre. can these grow cuba correctly? and what about base fertilizer, is laterite only sufficient?


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Great lookin' tank so far! 

Could you give me alittle insight on you diy co2 reactor/diffuser? I have a very similar setup but instead i have microsword


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

it's just a simple system, using powerhead to pump water downward to a clear pipe. the pipe then turns 90 degrees along the substrate surface, create small holes to distribute flow evenly. CO2 goes to the powerhead intake to create small bubbles. these bubbles are blocked with some sponges inside the pipe.

bump on HC questions, anyone?


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Thanks, i was just wondering if it would be any easier to set up than the one im working on now:icon_smil 

As for the hc, i don't see why it wouldn't work, the smaller the grain size the easier the hc will be able to grow and spread. just be sure you dose some flourish excel. I don't know really anything about laterite though:icon_frow 

If i were you, I wouldn't go with hc, everyone does it:hihi: , i really like the look of the "grass land"

rodney


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

flourish excel is not available at where i live. i got this urge to try HC as i never grew this plant succesfully, i just don't have the requirement back then and my hairgrass is somehow dying a bit, just don't know why. as i mentioned back then, i was planning to get a hairgrass lawn with eleocharis acicularis and end up getting parvula instead which do not grow as my expectation (straight up). this parvula bends to the ground too much and won't spread beautifully.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

made this yesterday, now waiting for the varnish to dry. it's a hood for my DIY fans, what do you think.









the inside









BBA problem when the CO2 reactor got clogged up


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Nice Job on the fan cover!

cant offer any help on the BBA though, still have some myself...


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

thanks rodney
here's the fan system itself









fit nicely insie the hood, i'm glad my measurement was correct this time 









FTS with fan hood on place, really helps to cover the lighting brightness so i can enjoy the tank without hurting my eyes.









the right corner of the tank, hygrophila verticlata growing like crazy. the wood is tied with windelov here. there's a stone covered with riccia and a small piece of wood with pellia. i know it's weird, but they're there just to satisfy my curiosity on how well will they grow in my tank's condition.









recently added the left corner with java fern covered driftwood. i know that there's some part of the wood seems naked. it's because i'm expecting fissidens sp singapore which will grow vertically to put in the long horizontal branch. also there's some bolbitis with about 4 leaves at the back. under this massive looking driftwood i will put some other small wood tied with fissidens sp singapore too.









as you notice, there's a long wood there tied with new windelov as my last one got BBA. if you really look just next to the windelov, there's a short rhizome of bolbitis with no leave i put there as an experiment. the result is as you can see that the rhizome has a small sprout that will become a new branch of leave. i don't know how this happen, maybe the rhizome stored some energy left to grow one leave and will take off nicely from there. as before this, to my knowledge is that no leaves = no photosynthesis. can someone explain this better?

oh and this will be the last photo of the grassland as this sunday i will convert the foreground to hemianthus cuba.

maybe i will regret this, but currently my hairgrass is dying because i made a really bad mistake. I ONLY PUT 2 CM DEEP OF SUBSTRATE. don't make the same mistake as i did. the hairgrass aren't growing greatly because they can't develop their roots well.

again, switching to HC is my process to learn about this plant. read about them so much, but the real learning is by doing and have experience about things.

like always, comments and suggestions are well appreciated. thank you all.


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## cleekdafish (Jun 13, 2007)

fantastic dude like ur driftwood and the ferns:icon_smil


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

bought a moonlight clip









moonlight photo before breaking down the setting tomorrow, it's actually looks a lot more beautiful than this picture. the water riple from the filter output makes the light shooting down looks amazing.


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## ianmason (Sep 19, 2006)

I really like you tank, I agree with changing to HC, I love it, although it takes a long while to fill in. (prob not if you do plant lots of little bits, DOHH)


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

ianmason thanks a lot for your comment.

i wake up 7 am in the morning to start the work of re-setting my tank. taking all driftwood pieces out. take all fish, shrimps, pleco, and snails out in a bucket. after cleaning everything up, here's the process of the new setting.

laying laterite









base fertilizer in









black sand 1-2 mm substrate









planting HC is the most time consuming and frustrating.









driftwood pieces and other plants in. i'm glad that i don't need to tie everything again. i just re-use them all and added some.









HC









fissidens sp singapore, tied them with fishing line.









on driftwood branch









FTS. haven't install the CO2 reactor yet. need to re-glue some part.









everything is finished at 2 pm. i'm tired and i really need a nap now


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Nice job! The hc looks alot better than I thought it would in your tank. 
That wood looks great too, was it sold to you by an aquarium store or did you collect it? 

Rodney

EDIT: BTW did you ever find out what kind of pleco you have?


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## ianmason (Sep 19, 2006)

Its gonna look fantastic mate. can't wait to see it fill in!


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## Jamez (Jul 27, 2007)

Looks good. Lots of potential. Just a personal thing. I think the wood could go more towards the front of the tank.


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

you could put some blyxa in near the wood to give it more of a midground


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

thanks for the comments everyone!

rodney
i bought all of the driftwood. the left and right corner is actually a long ones. cut them in half and only use the good branched part. 

ianmason
i can't wait either. HC field is something i really want for a long time.

Jamez and FelixAvery
good suggestions! it's kinda look empty in the middle isn't it. if you look the top-down picture, i can move the thin long wood more to the front and put something there. maybe blyxa or some good small bushy plant if i can find some, but for now i think i'll leave my tank the way it is and wait for the HC to grow more.


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## benjadeed (Jul 30, 2007)

HI guys,

The best way for plants to grow well is to provide the exact lighting and sufficient amount of CO2..........for good lighting its better not to have a top......rather just leave it open ...........plant tend to grow faster. and metal halide lights are quiet powerful, and consume more electricity, when compared 2 others lights. The best lighting for any planted tan above a 100 gallons would be to go for metal halide lights, and leave the tank open, without any top. by having an open tank the water temperature is always stable.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

benjadeed, 1st post means welcome to the planted tank forums. my tank is an open top, a few weeks ago my lighting hood completely covers the tank surface. then i decided to change to hanged light fixture. i really like the result. if i want to correct things or add something i don't have to remove the hood first.

i agree with metal hallide being a powerful source of lighting. i've seen a 70 watts of MH on a 50 gallon tank. indeed the plants are growing crazy, which means more maintenance on pruning, adding more CO2, and more nutrients.


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## benjadeed (Jul 30, 2007)

hi ikozu,......thankz for ur warn welcome.

u r true about the plants growing fast, i took about 15 cuttings in the last 4 months.

cheers,!!!!


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Tank looks sweet...lov the HC. Will be exciting to watch this. SUBSCRIBED.

I got a suggestion if your willing....the small driftwood in the middle is to "centered". Move it to the right a bit. this should give a little more perception of depth.

i also like the suggestion for Blyxa Japonica....not sure where your going to put it though. Looks like you really worked yourself into the bak with the HC. If you think you can make some adjustments, I think that would be a great midground plant for you here. OR...a Anubia or two could help fill in as well (but you would have to tie those on to your driftwood...)

Looks great though...good luck with it.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

gmccreedy, thanks...
i'm actually looking for blyxa right now, tonight i'm gonna hunt in the flea market i mentioned way back for this plant. i've tried anubias with this kind of lighting before and i got diatom plus GSA on the leaves. need some shading which means almost imposible in the center of the tank. i'm gonna put some cabomba caroliana at the back center for background. i really like this stem plant.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

I would offer up a few bunches...but the shipping would be rediculous...lol. Cabomba is ok.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

yeah it's nice to have lots of people with the same hobby living nearby. the swap and shop forum is a nice one. how hard is it to grow blyxa? are my tank condition suitable for this plant as my water is not soft.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

some side shots i haven't upload last time, as you can see the water is still not clear yet

left side









right side









and these are the new photos i took today

notice the HC growth? i'm so happy...









one of my dark red RCS









clithon snails









and onto the bad news, added 3 amanos yesterday and look what happened. he found an RCS snack. anyone seen this happen before? i watch the amano chase my RCS if he get close.









and something really terrible. canibalism.


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## ColinAnderson (Jun 25, 2004)

Amanos aren't known for being aggressive. Of course I can't say for sure, but if I had to guess, I would say that something else killed one of your Cherrys. Amano shrimp will scavenge on leftovers, but very unlikely that they would kill anything, at least in my experience with them.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

hmm thanks for the info, i'm gonna watch them again today for sure.


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## pyramid (Aug 2, 2007)

your snail very nice. 
where're you bought them? please let me know. thanks


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

local fish store here, thousands of miles from USA  sorry i can't help you providing info where to buy in USA or any internet shop.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

updates:
fts, i removed some plants









as you can see i have algae problem spreading on my HC, what are these? can H2O2 treatment solve this?



























planted some marsilea, now they start to spread


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

does some iron on the hc 
and sort out your light - co2 balance, imo its futuile trying to grow hc without co2


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i have 2 bottles of diy CO2, but indeed i need to fix the bps rate and perfecting the diffusion. do you mean that lack of iron cause this algae? it's weird because i'm using micro element dosing which i'm pretty sure it has iron ingredient.


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## Rufbabe (Sep 18, 2007)

I think u will need some more light to keep that plant!
Or something else (or bouth), as far i can see u have a new setting and slow growing plants and in adaptation period so u do have to much nutrients! Maybe u could add some fast growing plants for this first period and then u could take it of again!

Ruf


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

hello Ruf, yes my excess nutrients probably caused this algae. i treated the whole tank with H2O2 and reduced my dosing to half right now. 

i don't know why but after the H2O2 treatment my fish and shrimps are fine, but it killed 2 of my snails. i thought snails are hardier than shrimps


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Not sure if anyone's mentioned this yet, but that algae on your HC is likely from Co2 being too low. I honestly don't think that DIY will be enough, considering that you're using MH. Also, are you dosing dry ferts regularly? A good, consistant game plan is very necessary for any tank with intense lighting like that.
The excess nutrients would probably be used up if there were more Co2, as it would enable the plants to have more nutrient uptake.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

my lighting is not MH. it's just a 42 watt compact fluorescent with fancy hanging fixture. i agree with the lack of CO2 though. i'm counting at 1 bps with 2 bottles of DIY CO2.

one thing is bothering me. algae is attacking my Hc, but not my marsilea. what happened?


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## Johnny Relentless (Sep 2, 2007)

I have been reading and enjoying your threads. Really like your tanks. 
Where do you get the wood? Do you find it or buy it? I'm asking because my LFS has a pretty big selection of driftwood, but none of it looks like yours, and at least one of your pieces is much larger than any I've seen in stores.
I want to try an tank with a full HC carpet.
Where did you get that fixture/reflector for the CFL? I'm having a hard time finding a good reflector for a CFL, but that one looks really good. All shiny and reflectory-like.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

they're from a local flea market that i mentioned before. bought only the ones with good branches. even if it's a big one, i usually cut the part i need.

that fixture is a ceiling fixture that i can find in electrical stores here. i just bought the one with a good quality. the problem is that if your tank is wider than mine, you probably have a lighting distribution problem (the fixture's reflector is designed for straight down lighting).


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## Johnny Relentless (Sep 2, 2007)

Well I was thinking about starting a small tank, so a fixture like that might be good, but I was thinking that even for my 20G it might be ok if I used two. Or would I still have a light distribution problem?


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

two of them will be fine. just put the more demanding plants right below it. you can also adjust the fixture's height and wattage. try the bulbs with the fixture first as i have problems before (huge CF butt didn't fit the fixture).


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

blurry fts, bad camera sorry.
HC is recovering









new addition christmas moss about 2 weeks old.


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## JenThePlantGeek (Mar 27, 2006)

You're tank needs a new name  - looking great!


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

My HC Lawn? lol yeah.... thanks Jen.


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## nycsicktank (Sep 15, 2007)

ikuzo....can i just ask you one question? 

did you connect all those fan wires into one adapter? 

btw, loving your tank


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

nycsicktank
yes of course. just make sure they're paralel connected and the sum of those fans mili-ampere doesn't exceed the adapter's capacity.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

what is this? i suspect that my shrimps is digging laterite and pile it up like this. anyone has this kind of experience?









oh and i decided to give up on HC (DIY CO2 can't grow them) and replace them with marsilea.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

ikuzo said:


> what is this? i suspect that my shrimps is digging laterite and pile it up like this. anyone has this kind of experience?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


looks like a crumbled shrimp pellet.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i didn't feed my shrimps with pellet...


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

replaced HC with marsilea


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

rescaped, now i can still call this tank my grassland 









after 2 weeks (trimmed)


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Looks nice. I like the rasboras


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## medicineman (Sep 28, 2005)

Grass land indeed!

I see you got fondness and hands for hairgrass.
This one looks OK, only the rock baricade formation seems a bit too artificial.

What happened to the last setup?


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

sorry i forgot the plant list:
- eleocharis vivipara
- richardia chamedryfolia (mini pellia)
- hemianthus mincranthemoides
- marselia hirsuta


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

you may want to stick some anubias nana petite or batari petite between a few of those rocks, just to make it look more natural.


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Great thread Ikuzo! Thanks for sharing.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

hey nice idea. i do have 2 petites lying around unused...


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i can't take the maintenance of eleocharis vivipara. every other day trimming is too much 

i changed them with Cyperus helferi


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

personally i liked it before better, but it still looks good.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Awesome tank! I LOVE your CO2 vortex...did you make that plastic thing or buy it?


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

the plastic tube is cotton buds'

i spent like 3-4 tubes before succeed lol


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

can we have an update plz?


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i was doing experiments with my dosing. results are horrible.

i got brown algae and GSA on cyperus helferi's leaves, clado on substrates and marsilea hirsuta's base, brown algae on glass that i have to wipe every other day.

i gotta admitt, I GOT ALGAE PROBLEM 

i made a 1 liter solution with :
150 grams of KNO3
50 grams of KH2PO4
50 grams of K2SO4

i dose 2 ml of this solution 3 times a week, with 1 ml micro 3 times a week also. at water change i add about 8 ppm of K.

CO2 is 2 bottles of DIY.

help me if i did something wrong here...


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## resowner92 (Jul 23, 2007)

the first step is admitting it . no clue if you did anything hope someone else can


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

major rescape. bought a new wood that i cannot resist 









aponogeton madagascariensis narrow









marsilea and crypt parva









fissidens fontanus


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

its nice, but its never gonna grow in if you keep messing with it.


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## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

Nice tank, and awesome piece of driftwood


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

lol @[email protected], actually the scape before this grow out a bit out of hand. i think i'm gonna keep this one for some time 

CobraGuppy thanks.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

fts, look at how things grow 









top view


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

WOW I really love that fontanus moss! I think I've finally decided what kind of moss I want in my 5g! Great tank, as usual!


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

Looking good!


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

Church, i love the fissidens too. it's the easy thing to keep. i can keep it in low light, high light, CO2 or not and it's still doing good. once i took out a clump of them one night and forgot to place them back into water. it dryed up during the night. i tied them again and they grew back within a week, what a survival.

when there's hair algae grow between them, it's easy to remove manually or you can put SAE in your tank. surprisingly SAE won't eat them.

fshfanatic, thanks!


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Awesome tank!


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

my marsilea is getting too crowded here


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## phatpanduh (Feb 17, 2008)

Really nice, your pushing me towards a DIY CO2 setup


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

update


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

Wow, that is amazing work, ikuzo! You should be proud!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Oh wow!


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

thanks all..
my needle leaf fern is growing very slowly. i just trim all of the old leaves and hope it will gow faster. any advice on the aponogeton madagascar narrow?


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

moved the madagascar to the front right under the lighting. looks promising as i see new growth.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

WOW this is my favorite tank from you by far! you should be proudroud:

But you removed almost all of the Marselia


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## wug (Jun 6, 2007)

very nice !!


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## skabooya (Apr 15, 2005)

wow I love the moss. Me thinks im gonna get rid of my taiwan and replace it all with fissidan. So pretty


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

thanks all
i had problems with 90% of my marsilea yellowing. i suspect anaerob substrate caused this and had to replant what's left of them


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## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

Your fissidens on the driftwood look great! I makes the scape seem soft and tranquil. Good job!


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

New leaves of marselia are yellow, until they mature. I really doubt there is any anaerobic activity in your substrate, with a full carpet of a fast growing plant.

That moss looks great, I think I see some in the future of my tank now


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i wish i took some pictures of them. the yellow (and rot) happens to the old leaves. they just go that way in 1 week. spread like a plague.


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