# Peter's Low-Tech Mini-M - Work Distraction!



## xiaoxiy (Dec 18, 2012)

Jeeze, those rimless tanks look gorgeous. I should have gotten one (oh well, in the future...)


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

nice, keep us updated. Im curious to see how this goes.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Got around to plating the HC and glosso I got earlier this week. I made the mistake of leaving them in the sandwich bag they were in with their water this whole past week. When I opened the bag, it reeked like crap. I hope the plants are okay. 

I am spraying them with a 750 mL bottle of water from my 20H and a couple of drops of Excel and very tiny amount of KH2PO4 and KN03 mixed in. I'm keeping the lights on for 12 hours, with the moonlights on at all times. Is that an okay on-time for dry-starting? 









Shot from above - HC in foreground, glosso behind it.









Tank planted.









Left side shot.









Right side shot.









Front shot after spraying and wrapping up the top.


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

I like how the wood fits in there so nice.


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

yeah it looks good, nice start


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## pirayaman (Mar 30, 2008)

looks real good man setup is clean


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

very clean man, nice

that glosso will do fine as well, and I bet you it will carpet like mad. one thing though, is how are you going to keep the glosso out of the baby tears as it all grows?
glosso gets kinda invasive and will grow all over the place....I had mine grow across my driftwood and it started carpeting even that 

what fauna do you plan for in here?


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## hisxlency (Jan 26, 2013)

gorgeous. Watching this one

btw where can you get ADA tanks?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

@Hybrid: not sure how I will keep the glosso out of the HC. Honestly, this is the first time I'm growing glosso. I'll keep in mind how invasive it gets. Pretty crazy how it grew on your driftwood too. For fauna, I'm going to have RCS's (from my 20h) and still deliberating between neons/cardinals or rasboras or rummynoses. Also not sure if I want a betta with those fish either.

@hisxlency: I got my ADA tank from...ADA


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

*Peter's 5.5g ADA Mini-M Desk Tank*

I'd skip the Betta with shrimp tbh.

I say try the smallest fish you can find, and go invert crazy.

Shrimp are addicting, and its funny cause I'm a big fish kinda guy too


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

I was away from the office the past two days, so the tank had been completely wrapped up for 4 straight days with no air exchange or spraying. The plants looked good after all that, and I even noticed some new small growth for the glosso. Some patches of HC still looks kinda sad, but some of them look okay.

I also cut out clumps of java moss from my 20H and put them on the driftwood.









Java moss added to the wood.









View from above.









Tiny new glosso growth!









After misting and sealing.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Do you have any idea what your fert schedule will be like?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

No idea yet. I have the Excel, Flourish, KH2PO4 and KNO3 for EI dosing. I'll do some math and make a liquid mix that I would inject into the tank with a syringe like every other day maybe. But that's well down the line after I flood the tank, of course. I'm sure the plants will need the Excel after flooding since their CO2 source would be abruptly gone and since I am keeping it low tech.


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## Bennyboy (May 27, 2012)

Def gonna watch this. You planted yours a couple days before me. Wanna see the growth rate between the two.


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## fusiongt (Nov 7, 2011)

Looks nice. I like when the drift wood (or parts of it) are actually in the substrate and not just atop of it but you won't be able to tell once the plants grow in.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Small update after planting a week ago:









New root growth for that glosso!









More new glosso growth.









View from above.

I definitely see new glosso growth as some of them start to die off. Also, as you can see in the 3rd pic, some of the HC bunches look rotted and dead, while the rest look green and lively. There is definitely HC starting to runner out and new small leaves popping up. Should I leave the rotted looking parts there so that they can break down for the bacteria, or remove it so that they don't rot up the rest of the root system of the other HC bunches? 

I have not submerged the substrate in water at all; in fact, all I have been doing is spraying (Excel + tank water from my 20H + dry ferts in 750mL bottle) a good amount twice a day (when I get to work and before I leave work). I know the DSM method calls for submerging the substrate no more than 1" over it, but I think the heavy spraying I'm doing is working quite well.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Iv'e never read to go one inch over the substrate before. I try to keep mine with enough water that most of those air spaces in the substrate is gone. I'd add more water personally, but it looks good so far.


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## tommypham (Jul 10, 2012)

You will get HC growth full carpet about 1 month . don't miss excel with water . It will kill your plants . Very nice start .


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Just after I first planted:









After one week:









Update after two weeks:









I should probably break up some of the bigger HC clumps and replant them to fill up some of the empty spaces. Also, I am noticing HC growing more spread out than the glosso. The glosso has a good amount of new growth, but it seems to be a little bit upward instead of laterally. I'm also going to try and remove the dead looking clumps of HC. The java moss is doing its thing, sopping up the moisture.


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

The plants are beginning to fill, the flood is imminent?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Nah, no flooding for a bit. As much as I am tempted to flood it, I want to grow out the HC and glosso to cover as much of the bottom as I can. I think I will hold out for at least another month.


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## Adri. (Sep 6, 2012)

Looks good so far! I love nano tanks


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## Xalyx (Sep 26, 2010)

Isn't a dry start supposed to have the tank covered?


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## duy (Jan 24, 2013)

Wow, it looks great man! Only two weeks and your plants are picking up already, I'm green with envy haha.


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## TheRiverRat (Feb 13, 2013)

Very clean looking set-up. I just got a pico-tank, wish my LFS sold one of those ADA tanks as they look really great, and will be following yours to get some ideas. Can't wait to see it filled.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks guys for the props! Xalyx, I peeled back the cling wrap to take the above-tank pictures. I had to travel for work again this past week, so the tank was covered for 4 straight days without any misting. I think this is a good period to build up the moisture and let the substrate dry out a little bit. 

RiverRat, I ordered mine online from the ADG shop. It shipped perfectly fine. There are a lot of journals and set ups that I have looked through on here for inspiration. My initial inspiration was this awesome tank:

http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads/aquascape-of-the-month-september-2008-pinheiro-manso.1182/

But then I came across the piece of driftwood in my LFS and just had to go with it.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

duy said:


> Wow, it looks great man! Only two weeks and your plants are picking up already, I'm green with envy haha.


How is your tank coming along?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

This is week 3 of my DSM. The HC bunches have grown a great amount. This week I decided to break some of the clusters up and break them up into smaller pieces to fill in some gaps. I know a lot of you use aquasoil, but I think eco complete is fine too. When I was breaking up the clusters, the roots were clinging to the granules of ecocomplete, which is good; they were getting their nutrients from them and the roots were established well.

Week 3 Update:









After breaking up some clusters and replanting:









Hopefully the smaller pieces will bunch up on their own and spread out.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

After 3 weeks:









After 4 weeks:









I cheated a little and bought a small pot of HC for $6 at my LFS on Sunday. I broke it up in small clumps and planted the gaps so that it will carpet faster. I'm going to give it a week or two to set up its roots, then flood.









The glosso is sending out runners OVER my HC. I had to pick a couple of them out and move them to the side. I can see the this being an issue down the line, but for now I'm going to let it slide. 

When I flood, should I flood with tank water I siphon out of my 20g, or use straight up tap? I have the Aquaclear 20 running on my 20g for about 2 weeks now, so that should have established mulm and bacteria. Would that be enough? I also plan on adding some cabomba, anacharis, and sunset hygro as fast growing stem plants to suck up any initial nitrates and ammonia, and maybe even some floaters.


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## lamboozle (Dec 3, 2012)

I'm looking forward to seeing this tank flooded. I'm eyeing the same setup as you, but debating between the FugeRay or the Ray II.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

lamboozle said:


> I'm looking forward to seeing this tank flooded. I'm eyeing the same setup as you, but debating between the FugeRay or the Ray II.


I got a 24" Ray2 for my 20H non-CO2 tank and had to mount it up like 8" because I was getting algae issues. The Ray2 is definitely a lot of light, probably ideal if you are going to have CO2 to balance the light output with.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Wow never thought of a Fugeray to carpet HC. I always thought it was good for just low to moderate light plants. I have the Ray 2 over my GLA 6g (mini m size) with HC but light is suspended. I wonder if the HC will still thrive with the Fugeray after you flood the tank? Subscribed.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Week 5 update:



























I added cuttings of like 10 stems of sunset hygro, some cabomba, pennywort, and anacharis. Will flood tomorrow and add floaters and the AC20. Then I will let it run, maybe do small water changes before the weekend. I'm going home to NYC this weekend and hopefully the LFS in Chinatown has the Sundadaino Axelrodi that I want. Right now, I have a good amount of those tiny white nematoad looking things wiggling around the glass and eco.

I plan on dosing Excel and Flourish once a week, as well as tiny amounts of KNO3 and KH2PO4.


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## Fuze (Jul 26, 2012)

HC is looking great, nice tank!

If you're referring to Pacific in Chinatown, take a look at the Phoenix rasboras they have right now. They are tiny, and would look great in that tank.

Can't wait to see this flooded.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Fuze said:


> HC is looking great, nice tank!
> 
> If you're referring to Pacific in Chinatown, take a look at the Phoenix rasboras they have right now. They are tiny, and would look great in that tank.
> 
> Can't wait to see this flooded.


Yeah, I am referring to Pacific on Delancey. My first time there was during the last swapmeet a month ago. Were you there too that day? Phoenix rasboras def do look nice!


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

It's been a few weeks, how is it going?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

So it has indeed been a few weeks now. I flooded the tank on Friday the 8th. BUT, I had to travel ALL of the following week for work, and it was urgent so I did not anticipate being away from the tank for a full week after flooding. Unfortunately, my co-workers did not know to top off my tank, so my water level evaporated to maybe half. Plus, I did not have the extension tube on the Aquaclear filter; just a sponge at the top of the inlet, so the filter was not taking any water in and thus the water was stagnant for probably 3-4 days :icon_sad:. I got back in the office this past Monday the 18th to quite a mess. Lots of different types of algae. I went out and got two large snails, two otos, and managed to catch two RCS's from my 20g on Tuesday. They have been doing a great job so far clearing the algae. Not 100% yet, but definitely seeing a difference. The bellies of the otos look fat and round, which is great. One of the snails is very active, but the other one is a lazy p.o.s. I also started 1mL daily doses of Excel to combat the algae. Have not dosed any Flourish or KHsPO3 or KNO3 yet. I don't want to provide the algae with even more nutrients.

Also, my water is tea colored from the driftwood tannins. I have been changing out 1 gallon per day this week to hopefully eventually clear that out. I read the long thread by Frank W. about his Mini-M setup and he mentioned that bamboo charcoal would be the best thing to use, especially over carbon. There is a Container Store by me in Cherry Hill that sells these small bamboo charcoal packs  that I will cut up this weekend and put in some mesh or panty hose into my filter and clear up the water.









As you can see, the HC looks pretty beat up from the algae. Hopefully it recovers at least somewhat.









One of the shrimps, and you can see all of the nasty algae types. They are just small-ish patches that should be able to be kept under control by the shrimp/snails/otos.









Glosso is doing pretty okay; not much algae on any of them, and I think they are even still spreading out.









I put in some sunset hygro cuttings since they are fast growing stem plants and I wanted them to out-compete the algae from the start. Plus, the red looks really nice. They don't turn anywhere close to this red in my 20g, and that is with a Ray2 suspended 8" above the top. Remember, this is just a 14" Fugeray.









Full tank shot. You can see the floaters at the top looking kind of ugly. They are there to suck up any ammonia in the water that maybe has outgassed form the soil, without competing for CO2 with the HC or glosso.

So yeah, this is after 8 weeks. Trying to do little changes, nothing drastic and will adjust accordingly. I think it will look good eventually.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Wow that moss is awesome. This will look fantastic once that carpet grows in. You should get a glass lid. I've left my tank with an ADA lid for 2 weeks. It evaporated down only an inch or two.

keep up it, theres a lot of potential here.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

excellent progress here. nice work!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks for the comments guys 

Couse, I agree, the moss is awesome. It's real lush and the RCS's love it. The driftwood sticks up and like 2" higher than the top of the tank, so a regular rectangle glass lid won't work; I'd have to have it cut out to accommodate the driftwood. I might be curious to see if any glass mfr.in Queens or Chinatown can cut it for me, since I do have the 4 metal lid clips that came with the tank. Albert, do you know any places that could custom-cut glass?


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## kingjombeejoe (Feb 17, 2013)

The tank is looking real good, especially that moss. That is actually the first time I've ever seen or heard of sunset hygro. I'm definitely going to have to get my hands on some.

I don't know how set you are on glass for the lid but you can go to home depot and buy a piece of clear plastic and cut it yourself. Its pretty easy to do and cheaper than getting someone to cut a custom shaped hole in glass. If you would rather use glass you can also just use a diamond bit and drill a hole big enough for the wood to fit through.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Nothing much new here...just an overall picture of the tank on my desk. I put in a sack of bamboo charcoal yesterday. I plan on just leaving it in there for a couple months, then recharging it in sunlight, then putting it back in, instead of the tiny ceramic blocks that came with my AC20. I'll also put my Purigen back in after I recharge it.

Shrimp and snail(s) and otos are doing their thing. The algae is still there, but on some clumps of HC. Will hold off on the daily water changes for now, since I have the bamboo charcoal in place, and since I have started daily Excel and alternating-days Flourish and KNO3-KH2PO4 ferts. The HC and glosso leaves are yellow, and some of the sunset hygro leaves have small holes. I'll be keeping a close eye on the leaves to see the effects of my dosing.









My boss kept asking me when I would be getting fish and he printed out all those goldfish and put it behind my tank to prank me.

I know the water is still a little brown. Is it good to have at least some tannins in the water?


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## tropicalmackdaddy (Mar 7, 2012)

Wow! Very pretty! This is my favorite mini M yet
Im very surprised by how tidy you java is growing, especially in low tech! Or is it just because it is still in it's emersed form? Either way very beautiful!


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

Looks great!


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## sarazorz (Feb 11, 2013)

I love this tank! Nice job


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## Rbp917 (Dec 9, 2012)

Sounds like you have a great boss!


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## Jason K (Jan 3, 2009)

I tried both glosso and hc DSM in excel only tanks...they hung on pretty well for a few months after flooding, but didn't flourish, and slowly died out. Hoping you have better luck!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

tropicalmackdaddy said:


> Wow! Very pretty! This is my favorite mini M yet
> Im very surprised by how tidy you java is growing, especially in low tech! Or is it just because it is still in it's emersed form? Either way very beautiful!


Thanks for the comment! I'm glad it's your favorite Mini-M so far. There are a lot of Mini-M's out there that are gorgeous.

The java moss I cut out of my 20g tank (been growing in there for ~1 year) then had it emersed ~6 weeks during the DSM, and as you see it now, it is submerged again. When it was emersed, I didn't tie it down at all; now its growth has made it latch on to the wood real good.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

So the bamboo charcoal I got from the Container Store was a dud. Had it in for a week and it didn't do anything. I got activated filter carbon and it cleared up the water significantly overnight, so stick to what's out there! I pulled out a lot of clumps of algae, and am seeing slow rebounding by the HC and glosso. Been dosing Excel every day, and dry ferts and Flourish on alternating days. I'm seeing some early signs of algae on the glass, but I'll be away from work all of next week (so no ferts or dosing). Curious to see what condition the plants are in after I get back on the 15th.

Up to this point, I have been taking pics with my cell phone. These photos below are now with my experimenting with my Canon PowerShot SD1000 from 2008. Was able to get some cool and interesting shots. Enjoy!



























One of the cooler pics I took.









Foreboding side view with that moss...









That moss looks very intimidating!


















So this is inside my AC20: activated carbon on left, Purigen on right. Plus you can see my heater covertly placed behind the driftwood on the lower left corner.









Cool view of the moss from the side.


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

That moss is awesome.


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## asuran (Oct 12, 2007)

nice thread. subscribed
I have the same issue with my HC.


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## tizzite (Mar 28, 2010)

+1 on the moss. I've never seen it that green. Where did you get that java moss? Does it look greener because of the blue light in the fugeray?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

tizzite said:


> +1 on the moss. I've never seen it that green. Where did you get that java moss? Does it look greener because of the blue light in the fugeray?


Story of my java moss:
*January 2012:* I got that moss from someone I bought RCS's from. It was a golf-ball sized clump. I stuck it on my driftwood in my 20H low-tech tank. I dosed Excel and dry ferts and bi-weekly water changes for the rest of 2012. 
*January 2013:* Cut some pieces of it out and laid it out on the driftwood at the very beginning of this DSM.
*March 2013:* Flooded the tank after ~6 weeks of DSM.

So the moss was dry-started with the glosso and HC. First two weeks it kind of spread out a little, but the next two weeks it just took off. It's still taking off now, after being submerged for weeks. I don't have any secrets as to why it's so lush and green. I will have to trim it very soon.

Also, I'm strongly considering just taking out the glosso and HC because they aren't growing and it's a losing battle to try and get them to grow; little by little, I see more small clumps of sad HC at the surface. I'm really leaning towards a spread of Cryptocoryne Parva and Marsilea Hirsuta for the foreground and Anubias Nana/Petite Nana with some rocks to fill up the middle triangular space in front of the wood. I know none of those plants will grow much at all, but that's fine, since it's a low-tech tank anyway.


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## assasin6547 (Feb 6, 2013)

That moss is totally suh-weet! I think it'd be OK if you took out the HC and glosso.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

So I pulled out the HC, it was slowly dying/straggling. I went back home this past weekend and got a good amount of Anubias and some RCS's and 7 Purple Rasboras. I also went to the park/trail nearby (Shuylkill River trail) and got some good rocks from there. Put the rocks in the middle with the Anubias and voile! Looks more natural now. 

I spread out some glosso to hopefully carpet out over the front. Might even get a pot or two of marsilea hirsuta to fill out the front, but I like the look of the bare black substrate. I think it contrasts well with the anubias and moss on the wood.


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## artresz (Aug 24, 2012)

Looks really great, the anubias is a nice addition. Any algae issues?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

artresz said:


> Looks really great, the anubias is a nice addition. Any algae issues?


Thanks! No algae issues, the snail and shrimp take care of any for the most part. There's a very faint layer of algae that I just manually removed from the front and side glass with an unused card. This algae was after flooding 5 weeks ago and it was barely noticeable. 

I'm slowly adjusting my dosing of dry ferts/Flourish/Excel to get the tank balanced. I'll be keeping a close watch on how my glosso grows for this.


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## Sakuras (Dec 10, 2012)

Really great tank. Did you place the java moss neatly with their fronds all facing the same direction?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Sakuras said:


> Really great tank. Did you place the java moss neatly with their fronds all facing the same direction?


This is how I laid down my java moss:


















So I basically just plopped it on the wood and spread it out. I did not even tie any of it up. Over the first 2-3 weeks of the DSM, it grew kind if slow and started to spread out, covering the wood. But the 4th week and on, it just exploded to what you see now, and that's after a trim 2 weeks ago. I did not anticipate all the fronds being in the same direction like that, which looks pretty cool. It's just a result of how the moss is growing and the direction of the water flow from the AC20 which is on the right side of the tank.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Just a minor update - added some marsilea minuta and Nymphoides sp. Taiwan from H4N. The minuta will grow slow, but that is fine. The glosso isn't spreading much, but the leaves on each plant look pretty green. I think they're done acclimating to being submerged, after ~2 months, so hopefully their growth will pick up in the next couple of weeks.

Been dosing 1mL Excel M-W-F, 1mL of Flourish on Tues, and 1/16 tsp KNO3 and a tiny tiny pinch of KH2PO4 on Mondays. I used this dosing calculator to figure out my dosing amounts for EI Low Light/Weekly. I do water changes on Fridays. I think the moss sops up most of the ferts I add, because it grows so quick and dense. The moss is also a large majority of the plant mass in the tank, so I'm not surprised if this was indeed the case. Kind of concerned that the glosso and MM would not get as much nutrients because of the moss. Maybe up my ferts more? Time will tell.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

While I like the anubius, I think it blocks some of my favorite parts of this tank, the moss. I don't think that is java moss, looks different. Hopefully that MM grows in for you.


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

I think that annibus add a lot to the tank. In fact, I think it really creates a nice focal point which leads to sweet moss pad you got rockin'. 

Nice work.

The only thing missing from your already amazing tank is some reds or orange plants and a carpet plants. Glosso doesn't seem to be getting very thick.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Couesfanatic said:


> While I like the anubius, I think it blocks some of my favorite parts of this tank, the moss. I don't think that is java moss, looks different. Hopefully that MM grows in for you.


Yeah, I agree. Less is more in this case I believe. I might cut down some of the anubias in the near future. Thanks for the feedback!



tylergvolk said:


> I think that annibus add a lot to the tank. In fact, I think it really creates a nice focal point which leads to sweet moss pad you got rockin'.
> 
> Nice work.
> 
> The only thing missing from your already amazing tank is some reds or orange plants and a carpet plants. Glosso doesn't seem to be getting very thick.


Thanks! I also think reds like Alternanthera reineckii would work great, but not sure where to put any of it. Only viable place for it would be in the back, but I like the empty background.

Good luck with you moss and set-up! I'll be keeping an eye on yours to see how it goes.


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## tropicalmackdaddy (Mar 7, 2012)

I agree thats not java moss. Definitely christmas or mini x-mas. Maybe, spiky?


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## starfire12 (Aug 13, 2009)

I really like the tank. Wish I could get moss to grow like that. I would have to agree on adding some red colored plants maybe planted behind the driftwood just to break up all the green. I like the placement of the anubias I do not think that it detracts from the moss.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

tropicalmackdaddy said:


> I agree thats not java moss. Definitely christmas or mini x-mas. Maybe, spiky?


Certainly not java moss like several people have said. I think it's either Spiky moss or Anchor moss. Seems like this moss isn't too common. I've sent clumps of this to three people the past 2 months, so lucky them!

Spiky Moss:










Anchor Moss:


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## Vermino (Jun 14, 2012)

PeterN1986 said:


>


wow that moss is intense! looks great


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

Whats the latest on this tank peter?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Not much new; growth is slow for the marsilea minuta, so carpeting will take forever. The moss is freakin dense as heck! Since I am Asian and I can't grow a beard, I am living vicariously through the moss  I will let it grow out a bit more, I think it adds some depth to the tank and it just looks like a moss mountain. 

The CPD's like to swim down along the moss, which looks really cool. Also, my berried RCS popped, and I now have ~20 little juvies. They look really cool crawling through the moss all day. 









The moss is pretty dense!


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## plecostomouse (Jun 9, 2011)

that moss is SIIIICCCCKK


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## rwong2k (Dec 24, 2004)

great looking tank!

love the layout!


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

peter, excellent taiwan moss you have there! Stunning growth!

To maintain HC, CO2 is needed otherwise it will be a battle with algae and yellowing... the shift to glosso was the right choice. another consideration would be dwarf hair grass.


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

I love this setup. Keep us updated.

Thanks.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks all for the props! Next time I do a moss trim, I will let you guys know in case you guys would want some. Thanks Al for correctly identifying the moss!


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## Vermino (Jun 14, 2012)

Hey peter, what's your usual temps on the tank? Also what is the size/label of the ADA tank?


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

Peter — your tank looks fantastic!


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## kingjombeejoe (Feb 17, 2013)

Every time I come back to this, I can't get over that moss. Can't wait for the next update.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

hows this going?


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## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

lol @ moss/facial hair comment.

Nice looking tank! Hope those babies are doing well


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Hey guys, I must thank you guys for the ongoing interest. All your comments are great, and I am glad I've been able to inspire some with this tank. 

Don't have much to update right now; I trimmed the moss a couple weeks ago and sent them out to a handful of people. My moss now is I think in like 6 different states now lol. Marsilea Minuta is growing slowly; I am seeing new stems poking out of the substrate and some runners. The tiny amount of glosso I have remaining on the right side is staying the same. That Nymphoides sp. Taiwan is growing a new leaf every week, and I have been propagating it to fill out the right side more. 

I got these gro soil tabs from Hydrophyte's RAOK today that I will cut in half and put them in the substrate, to see if it boosts the marsilea and glosso into spreading a bit faster. I'm cutting them in half because they are ~1.5" OD and it would be easier in halves since my tank is so small. There's a pic of it below, with my car keys as an approximate scale. In the link, there's good testimonials about it so I am excited to see how it turns out for me. If it doesn't work out, I won 50 O+ tabs in a RAOK last week that I will try.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

how about a picture update?


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

Sakuras said:


> Really great tank. Did you place the java moss neatly with their fronds all facing the same direction?


Hey Peter, how did you attach the Anubias to the rocks?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

tylergvolk said:


> Hey Peter, how did you attach the Anubias to the rocks?


I actually did not attach the anubias to the rocks; I just wedged them in between each rock and they stayed in place. Their roots eventually clung on to the rocks.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Okay, big picture update. The moss has been growing up and out like crazy, and the RCS's love it. But it was getting out of hand. The last several trims I did, I noticed that whatever moss that attached to the wood in the beginning was now rotted away, so it's just one huge floating mass of moss. 90% of it isn't clung on the wood anymore. In hindsight, I should have trimmed the moss more often early on to keep it short and compact. Since it got all crazy and dense, it was also making the tank look cramped, especially for the fish. They had very little swimming space. The nymphoides sp. Taiwan taking off didn't help either. I don't think it looked too good in this tank. 

Here is the tank last week:



















I did a major re-scape after work for just one hour, so it was a little rushed. It can definitely be improved. Any input from you guys would be much appreciated! I think a lot of crypts or s. repens would be good to fill out the back. This layout I feel definitely opens up the tank a lot more. I ended up pulling out the moss since it was just floating anyway. I have like 5-7 softball sized clumps I can RAOK to you guys, just PM me!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Got some L. Aromatica and Hygro sp. Japan via RAOK to fill in the back and fore-mid grounds. Tank still looks ehh...I need to be patient and let stuff grow in! I painstakingly separated and planted individual nodes of the hygro to encourage it to carpet. Hopefully it will. I don't think the L. Aromatica will survive; it's been starting to rot at the bottom of the stem where I pushed it in to the substrate, and I see more and more loose leaves every day.


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

It's always fun trying something new by changing things up!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks Tyler! This layout is certainly more open for the fish and shrimp. It doesn't look all that great in pictures, but in person, it looks natural and nice. I look at my tank alot in between emails and when I'm zoning out at my desk :hihi:

Moss is slowly growing back in. Hopefully the swords in the back start to grow taller and fill up that space. I'm also considering red myrio for the background as well. I should have more pics this week.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Weekly update. Still need something to fill in the left side and the background a bit more. Hydro sp. Japan is growing very well, which I am excited about! Been getting at least 1 new node a week and trimming that off and re-planting. Hopefully eventually it will carpet pretty well. The cherry shrimps are getting a little bigger too. I have a couple that are super red. I'm not sure if they are the high-grade fire red.

FTS during water change









High Grade Fire Red?


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

well done peter! loving those fish as well!


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## rininger85 (Jun 30, 2013)

nice tank! did the HC change / lose leaves from going dry start to flooding the tank? It seems like it filled in nicely, just debating if that gives it a better start to root and doesn't end up losing all the leaves when you flood it then maybe I'll try that... of course my HC is already in my 55 so maybe that's not a good idea since it might lose leaves going from under water to dry... but its been in my 55 for a while and hasn't been spreading at all... I figured due to fish messing with it though, and because I didn't plant individual plants I did pieces of the pot it came in spread around in a few areas bunched together to hold it together better...


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

rininger85 said:


> nice tank! did the HC change / lose leaves from going dry start to flooding the tank? It seems like it filled in nicely, just debating if that gives it a better start to root and doesn't end up losing all the leaves when you flood it


In hindsight, I should have waited a bit longer to see if it would recover from the initial algae bloom that was my own fault. I noticed that the leaves did get a bit smaller and the patches I had did not look as "full" when flooded compared to during the DSM period. But I did not lose leaves, at least not many at all. Doing the DSM definitely allowed the HC to send down roots and get them established. 



rininger85 said:


> then maybe I'll try that... of course my HC is already in my 55 so maybe that's not a good idea since it might lose leaves going from under water to dry...


I don't think that is true. You will probably lose some leaves or have some dead looking patches initially going from submerged to DSM, but they should bounce back even stronger while the DSM is going on. 



rininger85 said:


> but its been in my 55 for a while and hasn't been spreading at all... I figured due to fish messing with it though, and because I didn't plant individual plants I did pieces of the pot it came in spread around in a few areas bunched together to hold it together better...


The more patience you have to plant as individual as possible, the better. More chance for them to spread out. This is probably true for most carpeting/foreground plants.


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## rininger85 (Jun 30, 2013)

OK thanks for the tips, I will probably drain the tank when I get ready to plant it that way just the soil is wet so I don't make such a big mess with the potting soil floating all over the place... not sure if I'll go DSM or not, but may keep the water level pretty low still until I get ready to move it to work / add fish in...


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

PeterN1986 said:


> Okay, big picture update. The moss has been growing up and out like crazy, and the RCS's love it. But it was getting out of hand. The last several trims I did, I noticed that whatever moss that attached to the wood in the beginning was now rotted away, so it's just one huge floating mass of moss. 90% of it isn't clung on the wood anymore. In hindsight, I should have trimmed the moss more often early on to keep it short and compact. Since it got all crazy and dense, it was also making the tank look cramped, especially for the fish. They had very little swimming space. The nymphoides sp. Taiwan taking off didn't help either. I don't think it looked too good in this tank.
> 
> Here is the tank last week:



What is the name of the large-leafed-lily-like-plant in the far right corner? And how big did those leaves gets?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

AquaAurora said:


> What is the name of the large-leafed-lily-like-plant in the far right corner? And how big did those leaves gets?


The large lily-like plant is Nymphoides sp. Taiwan:

http://www.tropica.com/en/plants/plantdescription.aspx?pid=041B

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showpost.php?p=1971369&postcount=3

What you see in the pictures is as big as the leaves got. They only grew taller from that point on. I had about 1 new leaf per week. Started off with just one plant, but it propagated to two more little plantlets that also got big.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

PeterN1986 said:


> The large lily-like plant is Nymphoides sp. Taiwan:
> 
> http://www.tropica.com/en/plants/plantdescription.aspx?pid=041B
> 
> ...


Ah thank you for the informative answer ^^ I may look into getting that if I can around here, it seems like a lovely plants!
Where did you buy yours at?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

AquaAurora said:


> Ah thank you for the informative answer ^^ I may look into getting that if I can around here, it seems like a lovely plants!
> Where did you buy yours at?


Actually, a guy on here, H4n, threw it in as part of some random extra goodies when I ordered something from him. He may have some. I don't have any to spare right now :/


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

PeterN1986 said:


> Actually, a guy on here, H4n, threw it in as part of some random extra goodies when I ordered something from him. He may have some. I don't have any to spare right now :/


Ok thank you ^^ will have to decide if I still want to try small sword plants or switch some out for this cool one, won't be enough room for all in my nano sadly.


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## TonyK (Aug 29, 2012)

You have a great eye for scaping a tank. The first version was great then the rescape looks even better. How do you get any work done with that to look at?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

TonyK said:


> You have a great eye for scaping a tank. The first version was great then the rescape looks even better. How do you get any work done with that to look at?


Thanks Tony!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Usual Friday update...added a SS mesh at the filter intake because I got tired of clogged sponges and cleaning it weekly. I just superglued it to the AC20 intake. I also added a couple of bunches of green myrio that I got from my LFS in Brooklyn. It is a wonderful, frilly, versatile plant that does NOT need CO2 to thrive. I'm not sure why I don't see it more often. Sometimes this same LFS has red myrio, but they only had green at the time, so I went with it. I think it is perfect to fill in the dead space in the tank. And the shrimp love grazing in it too! Eventually, it will grow taller and fill in a lot more, especially in the background. That SS mesh is sort of an eyesore.

I also read Jake's review of the Aquatop Nano Type-P LED light and pulled the trigger and got it. It is going to be delivered Monday, so I will mount it on Tuesday. With it, the light can be uniformly over the whole tank, instead of my 16" Fugeray lighting only the front 1/3 of the tank due to my AC20 hanging on the side. I am excited to try it out, and will update on what I think.

Tank partially drained (I really like this look):









Tank full:


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

PeterN1986 said:


> Usual Friday update...added a SS mesh at the filter intake because I got tired of clogged sponges and cleaning it weekly. I just superglued it to the AC20 intake. I also added a couple of bunches of green myrio that I got from my LFS in Brooklyn. It is a wonderful, frilly, versatile plant that does NOT need CO2 to thrive. I'm not sure why I don't see it more often. Sometimes this same LFS has red myrio, but they only had green at the time, so I went with it. I think it is perfect to fill in the dead space in the tank. And the shrimp love grazing in it too! Eventually, it will grow taller and fill in a lot more, especially in the background. That SS mesh is sort of an eyesore.
> 
> I also read Jake's review of the Aquatop Nano Type-P LED light and pulled the trigger and got it. It is going to be delivered Monday, so I will mount it on Tuesday. With it, the light can be uniformly over the whole tank, instead of my 16" Fugeray lighting only the front 1/3 of the tank due to my AC20 hanging on the side. I am excited to try it out, and will update on what I think.
> 
> ...


Awesome! Be nice to see with the new light!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

So I got the Aquatop in yesterday and mounted it on the tank. Initial impression is that it is pretty bright, but not as much light coverage as my 16" Fugeray, especially on the sides of the tank. Then again, the Aquatop is a much smaller, shorter footprint. It is definitely a sleek fixture. The tank definitely looks a lot more open now, so I am pretty pleased with it. Now for some pics!


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Green Myrio is a nice plant. The downfall is that it breaks easily when planting and it makes a mess in the tank. Little parts come off easily and make a mess.

I do like the extra green in there.


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

PeterN1986 said:


> So I got the Aquatop in yesterday and mounted it on the tank. Initial impression is that it is pretty bright, but not as much light coverage as my 16" Fugeray, especially on the sides of the tank. Then again, the Aquatop is a much smaller, shorter footprint. It is definitely a sleek fixture. The tank definitely looks a lot more open now, so I am pretty pleased with it. Now for some pics!


Loving the new light!

Does your desk have overhead cabinets?

Based off of what Jake said in his review thread, could you suspend the light from there with something? Would look neat as a hanging pendant


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

How do your CPDs do with the shrimp? Do you ever see them prey on the adults or babies?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Psiorian said:


> Loving the new light!
> 
> Does your desk have overhead cabinets?
> 
> Based off of what Jake said in his review thread, could you suspend the light from there with something? Would look neat as a hanging pendant


My desk does have overhead cabinets, but I do not want to hang anything. If I hang anything, it would be the Fugeray, but I would want to DIY a stand and base to do so. I don't mind too much the lack of spread from the Aquatop; I got the light so that I can mount it the way it is and have the top of the tank open. I do agree though, it would look cool hanging, but doing that is excessive for my preference.



volatile said:


> How do your CPDs do with the shrimp? Do you ever see them prey on the adults or babies?


The CPD's are fine with the shrimp. When it is feeding time, I throw in Hikari semi-sinking pellets and Hikari shrimp cuisine pellets. I'll have to take a picture of them sometime. The CPD's go after the shrimp pellets more aggressively and try to eat whatever they can catch as they sink, then go for the semi-sinking pellets. I've watched the CPD's closely, and they sometimes swim right next to the shrimps or right above them, especially just after feeding, but they never bite at them fortunately. I think the CPD's are just showing their curious side when they do that, or looking to steal some food from them!

I have only 5 CPD's in there right now. One jumped out last week and another just disappeared, probably eaten by the shrimps. The only time I see all 5 at once is feeding time. I intend on getting 2 or 4 more of them; maybe the increased number of them will make them less shy than they already are now.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Some more pictures of the same ol' stuff. The Aquatop Nano Type-P light is working pretty good. It's so much better and convenient to have the top of the tank open up. 

Here's some pics of my desk overall. I'm the first cubicle facing a hallway, so I have a lot of foot traffic go by my cube. A lot of interested co-workers who like to stop by and take a look at the tank, but that also means I can't space out without getting caught!  

I think one day, when I have the courage (drunk Christmas party perhaps? lol), I will try and convince the CEO to let me set up a tank in our lobby. We have a nice, cozy lobby with modern chairs and tables, floor to ceiling glass windows to allow in plenty of natural light, and it would be a perfect place for a tank.


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

PeterN1986 said:


> Some more pictures of the same ol' stuff. The Aquatop Nano Type-P light is working pretty good. It's so much better and convenient to have the top of the tank open up.
> 
> Here's some pics of my desk overall. I'm the first cubicle facing a hallway, so I have a lot of foot traffic go by my cube. A lot of interested co-workers who like to stop by and take a look at the tank, but that also means I can't space out without getting caught!
> 
> I think one day, when I have the courage (drunk Christmas party perhaps? lol), I will try and convince the CEO to let me set up a tank in our lobby. We have a nice, cozy lobby with modern chairs and tables, floor to ceiling glass windows to allow in plenty of natural light, and it would be a perfect place for a tank.


That'd be awesome.

Man I'm jealous of your setup. I need to get an office tank going!


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## discoveringmypath (Oct 9, 2013)

Awesome tank... And I like the new light. Can the filter fit on the back now? 

Anyways, the driftwood and that moss looks amazing. Great scapes!

I also loved that Nymphoides earlier; I need to get me some of those...


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

discoveringmypath said:


> Awesome tank... And I like the new light. Can the filter fit on the back now?
> 
> Anyways, the driftwood and that moss looks amazing. Great scapes!
> 
> I also loved that Nymphoides earlier; I need to get me some of those...


Thanks! I'm leaving the filter on the side so that I can get flow across the length of the tank. Moss is growling in and I have been trimming and re-planting myrio. It's going to be pretty full soon. I have the Nymphoides in my 20g at home. If I get any offshoots from it, I can send some your way.


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## discoveringmypath (Oct 9, 2013)

PeterN1986 said:


> Thanks! I'm leaving the filter on the side so that I can get flow across the length of the tank. Moss is growling in and I have been trimming and re-planting myrio. It's going to be pretty full soon. I have the Nymphoides in my 20g at home. If I get any offshoots from it, I can send some your way.


I can't say no to that lol. Thanks! I think it is one of my favorite plants even though I have never seen it in person. 

I figured as much as far as the filter; either way the tank looks awesome. I've enjoyed reading through the changes it went through.


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## Aurie (Jun 3, 2013)

Peter, I've been reading planted tank journals for a couple of days now to see what people have been using, and what people had success and failure with. Just wanna say that your journal keeps popping up in my searches and I read it all the time. 

If you could go back to the beginning and use either light, which one would you get? I can't find many journals with people using the standard fugeray on a mini m or similar sized tank. I'd like to do some driftwood covered in moss (or fissidens) and anubias. Eco complete and light dosing, no co2. Which light of the 2 (aquatop or finnex) would you suggest? I'm doing a standard 16" 5.5 aqueon tank. Right now Its got a 2x14w coralife t5no fixture with a lot of overhang. If I went with the finnex it'd be the planted+ (might as well right?)

This is going to be a betta tank for now, once he passes on I'll do shrimp and cpd or micro rasboras. I'm gonna do a black background. 

I'd kill for a tank at work. I deliver pizzas though, so that ain't gonna happen LOL.


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Aurie said:


> I'd kill for a tank at work. I deliver pizzas though, so that ain't gonna happen LOL.


It's still possible. I saw an episode of Pimp My Ride where they put a small fish tank in someone's car :icon_mrgr


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## JohnEX (Jan 28, 2004)

Nice tank and location. wish I could set something up on my desk!


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## manzpants92 (Dec 6, 2012)

i really like the look of the anubias. nice job!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Aurie said:


> Peter, I've been reading planted tank journals for a couple of days now to see what people have been using, and what people had success and failure with. Just wanna say that your journal keeps popping up in my searches and I read it all the time.
> 
> If you could go back to the beginning and use either light, which one would you get? I can't find many journals with people using the standard fugeray on a mini m or similar sized tank. I'd like to do some driftwood covered in moss (or fissidens) and anubias. Eco complete and light dosing, no co2. Which light of the 2 (aquatop or finnex) would you suggest? I'm doing a standard 16" 5.5 aqueon tank. Right now Its got a 2x14w coralife t5no fixture with a lot of overhang. If I went with the finnex it'd be the planted+ (might as well right?)
> 
> ...


lol @ pizza delivery!

For the light, between the Fugeray and Aquatop, I myself would go with the Aquatop because it leaves the top of my tank open, and thus it looks more "open" or unobtrusive. Also, because of the placement of the AC20 on the side, I had to put the Fugeray in front of it, lighting only the front 1/3 of my tank. With the Aquatop, the light distribution is more centered and even. Don't get me wrong, the Fugeray is a great light and the 16" model is perfect PAR for the height of your tank (10") to grow anything. You wouldn't even need to suspend it. The Planted+ has a lot of positive hype about it recently, but it is too much PAR for a low-tech tank since it would be only ~10" above the substrate (PAR data for it is 
here

Also, if you are doing just eco for substrate, make sure you put root tabs under it since eco is inert, or use MGOPS. I think your plant selection and plan sounds good.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

JohnEX said:


> Nice tank and location. wish I could set something up on my desk!


It's definitely relaxing to glance at it or space out at it from time to time. Certainly helps to melt away the stress from everyday work bs!



manzpants92 said:


> i really like the look of the anubias. nice job!


Thanks! Hardscape nooks and anubias go hand in hand.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

That par data is for the 24 inch, unless I am missing something. I'm curious to see where my 12 inch Planted + ends up for par.


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## Aurie (Jun 3, 2013)

Me too coues. I'd like to put one on that mini m I just got from ya. Or on my regular 5.5. I'd be using the legs so I'd be up 1 or 2 more inches. I could always suspend too. The aquatop at 12 inches is only 35 (according to the box picture) (tank is 10 - 2 for substrate +4 for light height =12)

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## Aurie (Jun 3, 2013)

Double post


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## solBLACK (Oct 10, 2013)

I wish I could do something like this for my desk at work. They will only allow a 1 gallon tank here. I'll get one set up sometime.


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## drewsuf82 (May 27, 2012)

Man I just want to say this tank is beautiful!

Subbed!


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Gorgeous! I really need to find a nice piece of driftwood like that for my little Fluval Spec tank... and then a bigger one for the Fluval Edge I plan to pick up soon!

That moss looks amazing growing on the wood. Did you ever find another source for it? I'd like to add some to my tank and see how it does.


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## Jonnywhoop (May 30, 2012)

I am looking for alight on my mini M.... How would you say the fugeray did? Able to do carpet plants and high light? Thanks!

awesome tank btw!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Jonnywhoop said:


> I am looking for alight on my mini M.... How would you say the fugeray did? Able to do carpet plants and high light? Thanks!
> 
> awesome tank btw!


Thanks Jonny! The fugeray is a great light. All the plants did well with it. The marsilea minuta as my carpet crept slowly, but that's how it is in general. If the light was not as good, I think it would have not spread and just be stagnant. I would say the fugeray is on the high end of low light, or low end of medium light due to the height of the Mini-M (~10"). If you add inches to the substrate, making the carpet and plants closer to the light, then it would probably be medium light. Probably the sweet spot to start going with CO2. If you want really high light, consider the 16" Ray2 or Planted+ IMO.


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## harismahmood89 (Dec 14, 2013)

Hey Peter, I have a quick question for ya.

First of all, your tank is absolutely stunning. Really like the way its progressed throughout the thread. 

I started up a emersed tank set up a week ago with HC Cuba. It started off really well for about 5 days with quite a bit of growth already, but then leaves started to go brown on some parts and now its starting to die.

So my question is, how long did you keep your light on during the emersed period? Mine is on from 8am to around 11pm. Is that too much? I know the light itself is good for it, because the aquascaping store I got it at used it for all their similar tanks for planting HC and other such plants. The substrate is also considered great and it came with a lot of nutrients with the water in its massive bag. I've attached two pictures for you to see. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Or are the plants just switching from submersed to emersed and going through the melting phase? So confused 

All plants









Plants area that's starting to 'die'









Other sections are still fine (this the plant in the back)









Cheers


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Hi Haris, thanks for the feedback! I left my lights on for I think 12 hours - 8am - 8pm. Fourteen hours seems a bit much. Maybe scale it back down to 10-12 hours. I am not sure why you are getting some brown patches. The HC that I got came from a CO2 tank also, so I don't think it is due to any transitioning. Maybe your photoperiod is too long; the brown patches look to be directly underneath the light. Also, look very closely and make sure you don't have any mold or fungus growing on the patches. You should also post your question in the Plants sub-forum for more input.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

So I scored a leaky 2211 with all media locally for *$15* and fixed the leak with some silicone and crazy glue. It is a big upgrade in terms of turnover rate and filter area over the AC20. Plus, I can stash it behind the tank and get rid of the HOB, which had begun to be an eyesore lately. And I know I am getting a Violet Lily Pipe for Christmas, so it is perfect! I might put the Fugeray back on after I get rid of the AC20 just to see how it looks for a while.

Also, I had not trimmed my tank or changed water or dosed any Excel or ferts since before Thanksgiving because work has been so busy (end of year is always hectic). I had just been doing topoffs with straight up tap water for the past 4 weeks. Even with my neglect, the plants grew along real well and it turned into a jungle. It is good to know that the plants are versatile and don't need too much micro-managing. 

2211 compared to Mini-M 









Got some plumbing to do! Anything is possible with enough barb fittings!









Pretty tight space for all the tubing and valves to fit:


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

Nice find! Did you run the filter with those fittings yet? 

I used those on my tank (well the plastic version). I found out those are for pex tubing and the barbs don't seal as well for the vinyl tubing we use. In turn some of my elbows leaked until I used hose clamps and zip ties. 

I don't know if you will have the same problems as I did as you are using brass. Just wanted to let you know, you don't want to be responsible for flooding the office


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Psiorian said:


> Nice find! Did you run the filter with those fittings yet?
> 
> I used those on my tank (well the plastic version). I found out those are for pex tubing and the barbs don't seal as well for the vinyl tubing we use. In turn some of my elbows leaked until I used hose clamps and zip ties.
> 
> I don't know if you will have the same problems as I did as you are using brass. Just wanted to let you know, you don't want to be responsible for flooding the office


These brass ones fit snugly around the stock Eheim tubing and don't leak any water. I am satisfied with them. But I went out and got some length of braided hose and these barbs do NOT fit them. I would have had to use zip ties, and even then it would still be leaky at best. I was disappointed because with the braided hose, it's more flxible and I could have had the filter under the tank, on the floor, which is safer (never want water above any electrical stuff!).


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

It's been almost one year with this tank! Got the 10mm Violet Lily Pipe for xmas and I must say - it is a lot smaller than I expected. Whenever I've seen pictures of lily pipes in people's tanks, the output looks wide and looks like a lot of water is coming out. But with this tiny pipe, you get more of a jet. I was hoping for a more wider mouth for increased surface agitation. Either way, it is a sleek looking piece. The flow coming out of it from the 2215 on full blast is pretty good. It makes its way across the whole tank, but does not make any ripple with the water surface. The lily pipe is in the upper right corner, and I have situated it so that the flow goes diagonally towards the front and center of the tank. I have the 2215 intake in the back left corner behind the wood. 

In addition to the lily pipe, I got a Nikon D3200 and am learning how to take good pics with them. This is my first attempt at shooting this tank with it.

Tiny pretty anubia.


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## annyann (Aug 31, 2013)

I love your tank!! =)


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## hobo717 (Apr 11, 2013)

love it. It makes me want to go rimless even more.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Gorgeous setup for sure! I hope to steal a bunch of your ideas for a future tank on my desk at work, too. 

(all of your early photo links seem dead, btw? Only December 2013 forward is showing, or is it just me?)


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

kman said:


> Gorgeous setup for sure! I hope to steal a bunch of your ideas for a future tank on my desk at work, too.
> 
> (all of your early photo links seem dead, btw? Only December 2013 forward is showing, or is it just me?)


Thanks Kman! The links have been dead for a while, been too lazy to update them. I think Google pictures changed the links on me somehow for some reason. I have now fixed all the links so you can look from the beginning. And thanks for looking too!


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Nice low tech tank. A quick question. How much greensand did you use when you started up your tank? I've been researching slow release sources of potassium and apparently your tank is one of the few on TPT that has it mixed with dirt.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Monster Fish said:


> Nice low tech tank. A quick question. How much greensand did you use when you started up your tank? I've been researching slow release sources of potassium and apparently your tank is one of the few on TPT that has it mixed with dirt.


I did not use much Greensand. I mixed in about 10% greensand and 90% straight up MGOPS. I read that greensand helps aerate the soil well by keeping it pretty loose. It sounds like it can be a very beneficial complement to MGOPS users, so I am surprised it is not used more. Here's some testimonials on it:

http://www.gardeners.com/Greensand-Tomato-Fertilizer/07-207,default,pd.html


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Thanks for the info. I'll pickup a bag and do some experimenting. Is there any harm if it's accidentally exposed to the water column?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Monster Fish said:


> Thanks for the info. I'll pickup a bag and do some experimenting. Is there any harm if it's accidentally exposed to the water column?


Not sure at all, add it to your experiment


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

It's been a while since the last update. I gotta work on getting some better tank shots with my camera. I think my focal length is too low and I need to stand back a bit further away from the tank to get more depth. Some changes to the tank: 


Lost all my shrimp somehow all of a sudden at once, and saw my fishes (2-3 juvie platys and then the CPD's following their example) nipping at the remaining ones so I removed ALL of the fish and re-homed them in my 20g

Ditched the Aquatop Nano Type-P and put back my 16" Fugeray with DIY suspension. The Type-P was lighting the front half of the tank and not much on the corners and sides. The Fugeray I think lights the tank more evenly.

Took out the green myrio and planted some various rotalas that I hope will grow in

Re-stocked with 12 Phoenix Rasboras (Boraras Merah) from Rachel - have had them in for about a week now and they are great and active and fun groupers to watch! They are certainly not shy, unlike the CPD's. And they are so tiny, they won't eat any shrimps 

 Ditched the 10mm Violet Lily Pipe and went back to the stock 2211 spraybar, cut down to length. The lily pipe was just not cutting it for surface agitation. I had surface scum building up that was visible and I did not like that. It was great for water circulation though. But with the spraybar, I get both.

Filled in the left side with a piece of driftwood with a rock wedged in. Filled the gaps with some anubias and NLJF and added some Hydro sp. Japan.

DIY Suspension: Two shelf brackets, double-sided tape, and adhesive-backed magnetic strips. The magnetic feature lets me adjust the light up during maintenance easily.


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## The Trigger (May 9, 2012)

Looks great Pete!!!


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Can we have a photo focused on your fortune cookie collection? I'm curious which ones you put up.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

AquaAurora said:


> Can we have a photo focused on your fortune cookie collection? I'm curious which ones you put up.


Haha good eye spotting them! Half of those fortunes are simply just bad grammar ("engrish") lol I will take pics of them next time!


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## The Trigger (May 9, 2012)

PeterN1986 said:


> Haha good eye spotting them! Half of those fortunes are simply just bad grammar ("engrish") lol I will take pics of them next time!


I got one a few months ago that just said "it tastes sweet".....needless to say I was pretty confused lol


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## Aurie (Jun 3, 2013)

Ugh I just got the nano p. I was torn between that or the fugeray. I can return it though. It s larger than I thought and the fugeray is cheaper. They increased the price and I wasn't happy with it. 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Aurie said:


> Ugh I just got the nano p. I was torn between that or the fugeray. I can return it though. It s larger than I thought and the fugeray is cheaper. They increased the price and I wasn't happy with it.
> 
> Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


Even now, I am considering trying out the 16" Planted+. You may want to consider it as well. There has been a recent string of people who have gone with it recently, at least it seems to me. I think I am on a multiple-light syndrome type thing lol

Keep in mind, the 16" Fugeray does NOT have 16" rows of LED's; it in fact has around 12" of LED's. I can do an exact measurement on Monday, but just know that the fixture body is 16", not the rows of LED's.


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## farmhand (Jun 25, 2009)

I have been watching this tank for awhile. Very nice


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## Aurie (Jun 3, 2013)

Well my friends came over and brought their dog and 5 minutes after arrival she found the 1 box I couldn't afford for her to find.. And she doesn't..... Like...... Boxes..... Guess I'll have to suspend the nano P so it lights that back half and not plant the corners

I like your tank now with that extra driftwood. What always gets me is the sporadic-ness of your carpet.. It is nice but yet isn't like *here I am, see see see see* and I like seeing gravel over a ton of plants pushed up against the sides and no where to grow. 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

AquaAurora said:


> Can we have a photo focused on your fortune cookie collection? I'm curious which ones you put up.


Here's a photo of the fortunes I have amassed lol


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## pelphrey (Feb 6, 2014)

Great looking setup!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Guess what arrived in the mail today...:bounce:


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## Charlieeex3 (Aug 18, 2013)

ahhhh yea i have one too. its a nice light


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## Aurie (Jun 3, 2013)

Hang it up and shoot a photo.  

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## jcgilmore2 (Jul 10, 2013)

Super cool little tank. Has come a long way! 

Gives me the desire to start playing with this fluval edge I de-rimmed. 

Keep up the good work!


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks guys! I'm pretty sick right now and not sure if I will go to work tomorrow. I usually do my tank maintenance on Fridays after work since no one is there, and I have a bowling league at 730. Pics will have to come Monday. After two days so far, no sign of any algae on the glass or anywhere. I kinda do want algae to grow since it will feed the RCS's.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Photos as promised! No algae issues after about a week now with the Planted+. Colors definitely look more vivid. I'm glancing at my tank more than ever now lol :smile:

Riccia is a real PITA to trim. It spreads EVERYWHERE in the water, as if hair was spilled in the tank! The bubbles are not actually from any pearling; the water level evaporated low enough over the weekend to put the riccia partially emersed.










Some red stuff:





































For this last one, I was messing around with one of the crazy filters you can apply in Google Photos. Just goes to show how much anything can be enhanced to seem much more than it is in reality.


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## The Trigger (May 9, 2012)

Photo filter or not, tank looks great Pete! You loving the new planted+?


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

The Trigger said:


> Photo filter or not, tank looks great Pete! You loving the new planted+?


Thanks dude, yeah, the light is pretty awesome. things look more vibrant and not as washed out as before. Extra brightness doesn't hurt either. Have not seen a noticeable increase in plant growth, but I'm not too worried about that.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

So it's been about a month now with the Planted+. I'm very pleased with it! No algae, if not, minimal at worst with it. Still dosing excel + comp and ferts. I now have 16x Boraras Merah, who can barely be seen in the tank until feeding time, when they all group up together. They also group together real well when me or someone comes close to the glass. Other than that, they are SO tiny that you don't notice them. Definitely a great fish to have for nano tanks. The boraras species is great, for that matter.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Sadly, it is the end of my tank at work...I had taken this past Tuesday and Wednesday off from work and my tank was not topped off by anyone, so much of the water had evaporated and my spraybar was at an angle up enough that, without the water there, it started spraying water out of the tank and ended up soaking the carpet in my cube and the cube next to me. Needless to say, when I got back on Thursday, our facilities folks were pretty ticked and I put the tank in the back of my car and took it home. It was already 2/3 empty of water anyway. All my fish survived, but ALL my RCS's are dead 

The tank is now set up in my apartment. The comeback begins! I really want to get an RCS colony going again, but need to find some shrimp locally.


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## Aurie (Jun 3, 2013)

Dude, that sucks! At least it wasn't as bad as it could have been. If you lived closer to me I'd throw shrimp at you lol. Luckily they breed like rabbits and you'll be back on track in no time. 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

sorry for the disaster, at least you didn't get fired for the mess >.>


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks guys, things, even crappy things, happen for a reason I think. Fortunately, firing me would open a huge hole in the department, so they sorta need me! Now that this tank is at home, it is much much easier to maintain and to stare at  Did a 20% wc last night and saw one rcs foraging out and about happily, which is what I did NOT see with my shrimps for the past month; they had all been hiding (I should have seen that as a sign of stress). So I think this one enthusiastic rcs is a step in the right direction.


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Decided to do an experiment by adding my 12" Fugeray in the front with the Planted+ in the back, partially to get better light coverage for pictures and partially for algae to grow for my grand total of 3 remaining RCS's to munch on. After a week and a half with the two lights, I somehow have no algae, but the tank is very bright and vibrant! Keep in mind I am not dosing any ferts or injecting CO2, so I don't know how I don't have an algae explosion on my hands right now. The tank is probably very balanced right now.


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## Aurie (Jun 3, 2013)

I have a planted plus in my mini m and when I did a 24 hour experiment where I didn't use my risers and I got green coating of algae (dust) on the rock holding down my driftwood. I use risers by fuze (3 inch) and I've only occasionally gotten hair algae (long single strands). I don't have the same plant mass you have though. 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## Aurie (Jun 3, 2013)

Btw I'm sure you've said this in a prior post, but what is the red plant on the right? 

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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

Aurie said:


> Btw I'm sure you've said this in a prior post, but what is the red plant on the right?
> 
> Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


I've totally forgotten the name of that plant. I don't think it's A. Reinecki (sp?). I got a break on it from my LFS since they were the last two bunches and didn't look great at all. 

I think the plant mass is allowing me to get away with this much light. Plus, I have a ton of snails.


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## loriinpd (Jun 30, 2014)

I love your set-up. How did you mount the brackets that are holding up your light?.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

Looks awesome Pete! Amazing no algae.


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