# 30g Breeder



## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

Gorgeous, the tank and the stand! Looking forward to seeing this one scaped!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

germanblueramlover said:


> Gorgeous, the tank and the stand! Looking forward to seeing this one scaped!


Thanks! Don't hold your breath though. Still trying to figure it all out in my head. Hoping that I can gather most everything in the upcoming months.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

Very nice build!
how much did you spend on the glass? what silicone did you use? 

did you get the edges polished?


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

monkeyruler90 said:


> Very nice build!
> how much did you spend on the glass? what silicone did you use?
> 
> did you get the edges polished?


Hello. Here at my local glass shop its $6.95/sqft of 1/4" glass and they charge extra for seamed edges. So the bottom sheet(35.5x18) and the 2 braces(36x3) it came out to about $68. 

The 36x12 sheets I found on craigslist. So I used those for the front, back and sides. I cut one sheet of the 36x12 directly in half so I can get 2 sheets of 18x12s for the sides. I wet sanded the sharp edges under water with 400 grit sandpaper. I wrapped the sandpaper around a piece of wood so I don't accidentally cut myself.

I used GE Silicone 1. I did the silicone injection method. They have tutorials on Youtube.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

I waited about a week for the silicone to cure. So I decided to do an overnight water test on my tank. 










I kept water all night. I should probably test it some more, but I feel confident that it will be fine. Only time will tell. Here's the tank on the stand.










I'll move it to its new location most likely this weekend.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Went home for lunch to meet up with some insurance adjusters. Or so I thought. We had some hailstorms here in Central Illinois nearly 2 months ago. We were hit twice in the same week. 

Had the appointment setup for 10AM. Left work at 9:46 so I could make it on time. Arrived home and waited. I checked the time and looked outside, 10:20 and no one was there. So I contacted our adjuster only to find out they moved the inspection date to Sept 2nd. Good to know! Ah well. I did this since I had extra time.





































I hope the paint adhered properly. I cleaned the glass surface with Acetone, let it dry and then proceeded to paint. It was dry enough to handle the tank before I had to go back to work.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Looking good! I am jealous! I want a 30 breeder!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Blackheart said:


> Looking good! I am jealous! I want a 30 breeder!


Do it! We can journal 30's together haha.


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## That70sfishboy (Apr 2, 2013)

I just read up on your 22 Long! I'm looking forward to seeing this tank progress!


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

This looks great! I have a tank with a similar foot print and I’m really loving all the surface area! 

I’ll have to check out your other tank too! 

I’m glad to see you going with dirt, I feel like you get great results. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

That70sfishboy said:


> I just read up on your 22 Long! I'm looking forward to seeing this tank progress!


Thank you. I'll be updating the 22 journal probably next week.



xjasminex said:


> This looks great! I have a tank with a similar foot print and I’m really loving all the surface area!
> 
> I’ll have to check out your other tank too!
> 
> ...


Oh yes. I'm a firm believer in dirted tanks.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Econde said:


> Do it! We can journal 30's together haha.


First I need a house lol But I am working on that part!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Blackheart said:


> First I need a house lol But I am working on that part!


Very nice. Take your time doing that part for sure.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Any updates?


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Well I actually do have some updates! I sifted some dirt for the tank and then my wife joined me :laugh2:. Tedious at best but worth the effort IMO. My wife and I also moved the setup into its final location in our basement. 

I found a 2ft fluorescent t5ho on the side of the street! Bad news is one of the ballasts is shot but I found a suitable replacement through amazon. After seeing the bulbs combination thread, it solidified what I want for this setup. I was debating whether or not to get LED lighting or stick with this 4 bulb fixture.

So here's some pictures from last weekend.

Chunks galore.










My very precise sifter(JK it's an oil splash guard for frying pans)










Final sifted product.










Here's the grow light I found. Might paint it black eventually.










Tank's new home. Not too far from my 22 Gallon.



















I didn't take a photo of inside the tank yet. I've placed about 1" of dry sifted dirt in there so far. I think I will stick with that for now.


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## zer0signal (Jun 10, 2015)

I'm in for the ride! Sub'd!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

zer0signal said:


> I'm in for the ride! Sub'd!


Awesome. Buckle up cause it's gonna be slow!


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## zer0signal (Jun 10, 2015)

Econde said:


> Awesome. Buckle up cause it's gonna be slow!


:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:


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## Hector_Hinojosa (Apr 14, 2020)

Nice build! Following along for the ride![emoji41]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

I've been slowly progressing with this build. Added about 1" dry soil into the tank. Now its about a little over 1/2" wet. Capped it with Black blasting sand 1240 grade. Hung the lights. Received my bubble counter, Ista Reactor and bulbs should be coming in today. Metering valves should be arriving shortly this week. Planning to trim from my 22 gallon and plant into this tank by the end of the month.

Here's how it looks so far. Please don't mind the mess.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

I love the build so far! 

man, getting a free light is awesome if all you had to do was get the ballast but it would be even better if you could get a 3 ft fixture.

I actually have the same footprint 36x18 and when I had lights set up that didn't reach the ends then those plants would always grow weird trying to grow towards the center. 

I would definitely go for the DIY LED, it'll take the build to a new level!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

monkeyruler90 said:


> I love the build so far!
> 
> man, getting a free light is awesome if all you had to do was get the ballast but it would be even better if you could get a 3 ft fixture.
> 
> ...


DIY LED's will by my next thing to try out. For now I'll see how far I can get with these Fluorescent bulbs. I found some bulbs for decent(at least I think it was) pricing. I do wish it was a 3 foot fixture, but meh, beggars can't be choosers. :laugh2:

What tank was it? a 40 breeder?

Edit: I've seen your journal before, and finally took a look at your signature. Awesome build btw!


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## robmcd (Sep 8, 2020)

This is cool. I am having algae issues in my high tech tank right now and seeing the Walstad method done from the get go is giving me a lot of cool ideas.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Well, I was thoroughly surprised by the lights I ordered. I was expecting some off brand bulbs. 










Tested it out over the tank just for a bit. Was hoping for more of a purplish hue.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Looking good. I look forward to seeing this tank filled with plants. Should be interesting. Something unique/interesting about super shallow tanks. I don't know what it is.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Blackheart said:


> Looking good. I look forward to seeing this tank filled with plants. Should be interesting. Something unique/interesting about super shallow tanks. I don't know what it is.


The only thing I'm afraid of is..well the difference between 1080P TVs vs 4K TVs. If you look at other tanks that are bigger, everything fills out nice because the plants look smaller. This tank the plants will definitely look bigger. My tank is 1080P. I definitely want the tank to get lush and bushy in some areas. Hopefully it turns out well.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Same kind of issue with my 33 long. But so far, I haven't had a problem. I'm sure you won't either.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

Econde said:


> The only thing I'm afraid of is..well the difference between 1080P TVs vs 4K TVs. If you look at other tanks that are bigger, everything fills out nice because the plants look smaller. This tank the plants will definitely look bigger. My tank is 1080P. I definitely want the tank to get lush and bushy in some areas. Hopefully it turns out well.


I used some small leaf plants and that gave the perception that it was a larger tank


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

monkeyruler90 said:


> I used some small leaf plants and that gave the perception that it was a larger tank


I'm hoping Ill have enough from my other tank. I do want some rotalas like H'ra. I'll have a decent amount of real estate to play with.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

So something bothered me when I received my light bulbs yesterday. Honestly I was not expecting much from this. Like I said in my earlier post, I thought it would be some off brand bulbs. Anyway, where I ordered from, they sold them by 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 bulbs. You can choose all the same bulbs or do a custom order, where you choose what you want. The seller asks that you message them the color bulbs you'd like on their sale page and I remember choosing, 2x 6500k, 2x actinic purple and ultra growth (pink). And to my surprise, I received name brand bulbs. 2x x6500k bulbs(Tropical Wave), 2x purple(Reef Wave) and 2x pink(Color Wave). 

So I did some research at the Wave Point website. Come to find out they do have 'Ultra Growth Wave' bulbs. So I messaged the seller telling them they've sent the wrong ones. Seeing as I did ask for Ultra Growth(which was on their sale page btw) and they sent Color Wave(optimum color enhancer) instead. They replied back saying that that's what I asked for and it replaced the original 'Red Wave'. I attached this photo(from Wave Point)










to the message and told them that Color Wave and Ultra Growth Wave are separate bulbs. So I continue on with work for the day and I received a message stating that they're sending me the correct bulbs. And what appears to be 6 of them, like my previous order. I feel a little guilty about this. I wasn't messaging them to be a "Karen" per se. I was just stating the fact they sent the wrong ones. I was hoping that they'd have me ship the wrong ones back and they send me the correct ones. I'm waiting on instructions on my end. I was polite and was not demanding at all.

Anyway what do you guys think about this?


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I've used those wave point bulbs a ton and if you want to subdue the ultra cola red look swap the 6500k for the sun wave 10000k white. It's a super crisp white that will tone down that red.









Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

gus6464 said:


> I've used those wave point bulbs a ton and if you want to subdue the ultra cola red look swap the 6500k for the sun wave 10000k white. It's a super crisp white that will tone down that red.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you. I'll have to keep that in mind.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

So a little update on the bulbs. The seller sent me the correct set of light bulbs at no charge. I feel better about it now and have to give the seller credit for awesome customer service. I made sure to give them a proper seller rating.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

that's good customer service!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

monkeyruler90 said:


> that's good customer service!


I was so relieved when they made things right. My wife was semi scammed from some FB sales ad. They show you a picture of a pretty cool looking hair curler that spins on its own. When you read the description it vaguely says anything about the 'curling' aspect of it. 3-4 weeks later, the package arrived and...it looked nothing like the picture advertised. She emailed them discussing how it looks nothing like the photo. Even did what I did, showed them screenshots/photos of the ad. No dice. They offered a 20% refund in which she took since she felt like there were no other options.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Some updates.

I started to get impatient. So when I started to cap the soil, I started to put some of my extra plants in the tank emersed.



















Then my brother had asked us to visit him and his family up in Bolingbrook IL. I remembered there was a petland there. Soo then this happened..



















Ended up with some Nesaea Pedicellata Golden, Rotala Indica, Rotala Wallichii, mermaid weed, Narrow leaf Ludwigia and Alternanthera reineckii green. Also added some Lobelia Cardinalis from my 22 gallon, Monte Carlo, staurogyne sp purple and I forget the other two.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Looking good! The 30 breeder is definitely a unique sized tank!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Blackheart said:


> Looking good! The 30 breeder is definitely a unique sized tank!


Thank you. I'm quite enjoying the footprint. I still have at least 40% of the tank floor open. Now it's just a matter of keeping the BB alive in my filter. Already started injecting co2 and dosing fertilizers in hopes that the plants transition quickly. I think most of the plants I got from Petland were grown emersed.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Isn't that 12 inch height awesome to work with?


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Blackheart said:


> Isn't that 12 inch height awesome to work with?


Of course! Though the next tank, if I ever make another, will be in the 16" height range and probably 24" wide and 48" length. 

The eurobrace job I did is starting to become a hindrance though. Nothing major, just a little inconvenient. It is nice that the front barely bows, if any at all.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Econde said:


> Of course! Though the next tank, if I ever make another, will be in the 16" height range and probably 24" wide and 48" length.
> 
> The eurobrace job I did is starting to become a hindrance though. Nothing major, just a little inconvenient. It is nice that the front barely bows, if any at all.


That tank would be ridiculous. I still wish tanks that were 48x18x12 or 48x18x16 were more common. I could get one custom built though.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

oh man, let me know how the Nesaea Pedicellata Golden does in your tank. I've had pretty bad luck keeping it alive. the bottom leaves turn black after a while and the tops are all curly


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

monkeyruler90 said:


> oh man, let me know how the Nesaea Pedicellata Golden does in your tank. I've had pretty bad luck keeping it alive. the bottom leaves turn black after a while and the tops are all curly


Will do. It's looking okay so far. Then again it's my first time using T5HO's and having Nesaea Pedicellata Golden. They look like they've started to acclimate already but then again it's only day 2 :| I'll post some update pics later this week.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Another small update. I've received what I believe to be all of my orders from the bays of E. Last thing I was waiting on was my surface skimmer/lily pipes from China. Ordered it on Sept 5th,2020 and to my surprise, it arrived yesterday! The box was fairly flattened on one side and made me anxious what I would find inside. I opened the box and there really wasn't much padding inside. They wired tied the inlet and outlet onto its own foam padding and the skimmer itself was free floating. Nothing was broken thankfully. I didn't take any photos of the pieces itself but here's a FTS of it installed where my Eheim inlet/outlet used to be.

I also did some rearranging of my plants and also added a couple more trimmings from my 22 gallon. Everything looks like its growing well. I'm currently dosing some ammonia to keep the Bacteria fed. Ammonia stayed at around 1ppm for the past 2 days but my Nitrates are well over 80ppm and no Nitrites. According to the PH/KH co2 graph, I'm injecting about 35ppm of co2. My base PH is high at 8.55~ and I drop it down to 6.95~. Mind you my KH is at 10-11~. Drop checker is Lime green though.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

It's been a little while since I've cycled a tank. A dirted tank for that matter anyway. I didn't realize how much tannins leached into my water column. My TDS was fairly high, at around 380~ and I also wanted to drop the Nitrates down a bit as well. I changed out roughly 50% (3 x 5 gallon buckets worth). Water was almost urine color! I should have taken a picture of the bucket of water. You can see from these 2 FTS the difference. I've been wondering what the greenish hue in the water column was.


This is before the water change.










This is right after.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

Oh yeah, definitely tons of tannins 

I wonder if putting a bunch of purigen would help with that


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

monkeyruler90 said:


> Oh yeah, definitely tons of tannins
> 
> I wonder if putting a bunch of purigen would help with that


It probably would. I've quit using filter media such as activated charcoal and purigen. I'm on the boat of 'water changes will fix that'. I just did another water change last Sunday and there were still tannins for sure, but not as bad as the first water change. I'll keep up with the twice weekly routine for the time being just to be safe.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

It's been about a couple weeks since I've filled this tank. I've noticed some plants melting. Star grass leaves started to die off, but the stems were still healthy, so I replanted the tops. Rotala wallichii tops are turning pink but the bottom half of the stems melted, so I cut them took the tops and replanted. Ludwigia arcuata surprised me. The new growth looked like it started to get stunted. To my surprise it was growing to it's actual form with needle like leaves. Everything else appears to be doing decently well. Been keeping up with water changes every 4-5 days at least 15 gallons at a time.

I ordered some plants from King Koi Goldfish... all I can say is meh. Everything was packaged well, styrofoam, individually bagged and sealed. Rotala Macrandra, AR Rosanverig, Limnophila Aromatica,
Hygrophila Pinnatifida and Hygrophila Araguaia. 2/3's of the plants were in really bad shape, broken stems, lots of missing and melting leaves. Anyway I can't recommend them at all. They did refund me for 4 of the plants( 2x AR Rosanverig and 2x Hygrophila Araguaia. Rotala Macrandra is recovering nicely, Hygrophila Pinnatifada is as well. Hygrophila Araguaia seems to be doing okay so far, can't say the same about the rest of the plants. Ah well, lesson learned.

Here's a FTS from 10/06/2020 :


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## Boostr (Dec 8, 2016)

Tank looks good. Ya can give Aquarium Co-Op a shot. They package Their plant shipments very well. I don't know if they have all the plants that you are looking for, but ya can try them out.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Boostr said:


> Tank looks good. Ya can give Aquarium Co-Op a shot. They package Their plant shipments very well. I don't know if they have all the plants that you are looking for, but ya can try them out.


Thank you! I'll check them out sometime. A lot of my plants have come from members of this forum.


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## Boostr (Dec 8, 2016)

Econde said:


> Thank you! I'll check them out sometime. A lot of my plants have come from members of this forum.


Oh, gotcha


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

It's been nearly a month since I've filled this tank. Most of the plants that had problems are bouncing back. Cycle finished last week and I've since then added some guppy fry to keep the BB going. Still continuing 4-5 day 50-75% water changes, averaging out about 66%. Been keeping tabs on my fertilizing regime thanks to @Greggz . Front loading Macros. Targeting 12-8-22 and also adding a little bit more Mg (about 2ppm) to the mix. Daily dosing micro's every morning. Changed my light and CO2 schedule on both my 30 and my 22 gallon. Will add more time to my 30 gallon every week at about 30 minute increments.

Lights :5:30AM-6:30AM (just for viewing) 4:00PM - 9:00PM. 
CO2 : 3:00AM - 8:00PM

Also would like to thank @fablau , @burr740 , @monkeyruler90 , @Doogy262 and @SpringHalo . I think I got everyone that I've received plants from, sorry If I missed one of you. Anyway here is a full tank shot.


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## Now3 (Sep 25, 2019)

Econde said:


> It's been nearly a month since I've filled this tank. Most of the plants that had problems are bouncing back. Cycle finished last week and I've since then added some guppy fry to keep the BB going. Still continuing 4-5 day 50-75% water changes, averaging out about 66%. Been keeping tabs on my fertilizing regime thanks to @*Greggz* . Front loading Macros. Targeting 12-8-22 and also adding a little bit more Mg (about 2ppm) to the mix. Daily dosing micro's every morning. Changed my light and CO2 schedule on both my 30 and my 22 gallon. Will add more time to my 30 gallon every week at about 30 minute increments.
> 
> Lights :5:30AM-6:30AM (just for viewing) 4:00PM - 9:00PM.
> CO2 : 3:00AM - 8:00PM
> ...


Wow those plants are really doing well! Water clearing up as well. Keep us updated!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Now3 said:


> Wow those plants are really doing well! Water clearing up as well. Keep us updated!


Thanks. This was yesterday right after a water change. There are still a ton of tannins leaching out from the soil. Always has a yellow/brown color.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

yeah, no problem, glad you got the plants 

interesting, so you're still pumping CO2 from 6:30am- 4:00pm without lights? 
with these size lights are you seeing pearling when they do come back up?


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

monkeyruler90 said:


> yeah, no problem, glad you got the plants
> 
> interesting, so you're still pumping CO2 from 6:30am- 4:00pm without lights?
> with these size lights are you seeing pearling when they do come back up?


You know what, they pearl but not as much as my other tank under the Fluval Plant 3.0. The reason I decided to just keep running it is I have 2 metering valves on one solenoid. Plus I figure if I can keep CO2 steady, on both tanks, it shouldn't be a problem(I hope). Later down the road, I plan on extending the duration of my lights on the 30 gallon.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

That looks really good. I see a few of my babies


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

burr740 said:


> That looks really good. I see a few of my babies


Very good babies at that. I've been propagating the heck out of them. Probably another few weeks, it'll look the way I want it.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Another month has gone by since I've last updated. Finally getting some algae in the tank. I've reduced my frequency of water changes to once per week at 75% minimum. I've also upped my fertilizers from 12-5-20 to 20-6-30. Also still daily dosing micros, but I've upped my iron to from 0.071 to 0.142. Noticed a lot of loose leaves, stunted growth and some bba. Plants are looking a lot better now with the added nitrogen and potassium.

Changed my photo period/co2 schedule. 

CO2 : 12:00 PM -8:00 PM
Lights : 1:00 PM - 8:30PM

Added a dozen Glowlight Tetras. 6 first, then did a water change a couple days later. Added another 6 then another water change a couple days later. Sadly one jumped our or was chased out. Also noticed some stray fish fry in the mix? I don't have a picture of it since it likes to hide in the foliage, but it looks like either some sort of pencil fish or maybe a baby siamese algae eater. 

Just did a trim and a little bit of rearranging. Nothing major other than that.










Full tank shot.










And 3 shots from left to right.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

Things are growing in really well! looks bushy  

nice that you end up with a new baby fish, those are always exciting 

how are you finding the plants are doing at the ends? still growing or are they all reaching towards the middle?


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

monkeyruler90 said:


> Things are growing in really well! looks bushy
> 
> nice that you end up with a new baby fish, those are always exciting
> 
> how are you finding the plants are doing at the ends? still growing or are they all reaching towards the middle?


Really not sure where that baby fish came from tbh. Anyway the plants are leaning more since the flow is heavier, I think? Some of the plants in the middle, that aren't directly under the flow are still leaning towards the middle like you've mentioned before. Probably trying to get more light. All in all still satisfied with how everything is growing. 

Nasaea pedicellata golden are very slow growers for me and I can now see why you've asked about them in the previous post. Also the Rotala Wallichii took a major turn for the worst and is taking a long time to bounce back. I think it was hit hard during my cycle. Limnophila aromatica is growing well and that one red plant you've sent me is noe brown/green instead of the previous red you've had them. I think its Red Myrio? Still growing though and I've noticed one of the side shoots is 'red' vs the rest of it. The Rotala H'ra is still green but growing well behind my Rotala Rotundifolia. Planning to let it reach higher in hopes the higher light will promote the 'red' color.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

I finally took a picture of the elusive fish fry. Anyone know what kind of fish this is?


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Here are some updates. I switched over to 48" T5HO's, built a new CO2 Regulator and switched some things around in the tank. Bought a spray bar for the Fluval 405 and took out the glass overflow intake. Had a long fight with hair algae, still have some to this day but the amount now is something that I can live with. 

According to RotalaButterfly, it estimates that I am running at about 203 par. A few things I've noticed running with higher par. Plants tend to color up a lot quicker even with leaner Micros. Not sure if it has to do with the capped soil or not. Macros deplete more quickly as well. I made the mistake of switching to once per week water change from twice weekly, with leaner macros 10-3-8. My plants did not appreciate it at all. I think that with the more frequent water changes, nutrients were being replenished mid week. Going to once per week depleted most of the macros, not that I test for it anymore. I've since switched back to twice weekly, Wednesday's and Saturday's. I've also bumped macros up, slowly every week, to 14-8-10. I think that's my sweet spot as of right now.

New T5 fixture(New to me, bought it used)









February 09, 2021









February 24, 2021









March 05, 2021









Here's some pictures from today.

Full front









Top right









Top left









And an overall shot.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Tank is looking very clean and plants look super healthy. Some plant close ups would be cool.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Tank is beautiful! I wish I had a 30 breeder! I will have to stick with my 33 long for now though.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Chizpa305 said:


> Tank is looking very clean and plants look super healthy. Some plant close ups would be cool.


Thanks. I will take note of that next update!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Blackheart said:


> Tank is beautiful! I wish I had a 30 breeder! I will have to stick with my 33 long for now though.


Hey man! Long time no talk. How's everything coming along??


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Hello! I am doing okay. We moved into our new house in October and I re-setup the 33 again in December. Other then that, not much else new!


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Blackheart said:


> Hello! I am doing okay. We moved into our new house in October and I re-setup the 33 again in December. Other then that, not much else new!


Awesome. Glad to hear you're all moved in now. I'll have to take a look at your journal for updates. I haven't been as active in the past several months.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

There hasn't been any lol


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## ElleDee (May 16, 2020)

So what did your fry end up being?


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

ElleDee said:


> So what did your fry end up being?


After some research, it appeared to be a blue finned killifish. Sadly it must've gotten spooked by the other fish, and was found on the floor. I don't have great luck with other fish aside from endlers apparently. Nearly bought a betta for my somewhat retired, but still going, 22 gallon.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Awe, sorry for your loss!! Betta are fun 😁👍 I might be a little biased though. Lol- do it...


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Plinkploop said:


> Awe, sorry for your loss!! Betta are fun 😁👍 I might be a little biased though. Lol- do it...


I really find the black and silver or black and blue striking. Koi style bettas are pretty nice also. How do you source your bettas? Imports or local breeders?


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## ElleDee (May 16, 2020)

Aw, sorry about the fry. I have heard killifish are dedicated jumpers, but I haven't kept them primarily for that reason.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

I usually ask around for local breeders. I'm considering ordering a nice show betta, though to create another "travel tank". I have found local sourcing of betta is very much a regional thing though. In my area there's quite a few, I used to be one of them lol. From what I've been told you're better off ordering a good quality betta than sourcing from _most_ pet stores, though.


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Plinkploop said:


> I usually ask around for local breeders. I'm considering ordering a nice show betta, though to create another "travel tank". I have found local sourcing of betta is very much a regional thing though. In my area there's quite a few, I used to be one of them lol. From what I've been told you're better off ordering a good quality betta than sourcing from _most_ pet stores, though.


Any places you'd recommend ordering from? I've seen a lot of nice ones on aquabid. Never been able to pull the trigger though.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Econde said:


> Any places you'd recommend ordering from? I've seen a lot of nice ones on aquabid. Never been able to pull the trigger though.


I've been eyeballing some from aquatic arts (I think that's what they're called), but they're kinda pricey. I have never ordered livestock, honestly, because I'm out in the boonies and it's super risky (no delivery to my house and average 5 days delay as of covid) right now for me. I know there's a couple really good sellers on aquabid- that's where most of the ones I've eyeballed have been found.


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