# 2.9 Gallon Fantasy Tree Stump! *pics*



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

This is my second journal. As with my 12 gallon long, I started this journal late. This scape is only about a week or so old though, so it should be pretty well documented.. just missing some of the set-up pictures that I wish I had taken.

I'll be sure to update this with new pictures about once a week or so. Thanks for looking!!  



****Updated pictures on June 25 2011 at the last page of this thread.. (here is the tank as of May 21 2011)****













*Specs*

Tank: Mini-S 2.9 Gallon

Substrate: ADA AquaSoil

Lighting: Archaea 27watt

Ferts: YamatoGreen-N

C02: Mini Paintball System

Filtration: ZooMed 501



*Flora:*

Hemianthus Callitrichoides

Echinodorus Tenellus 'pink'

Fissiden Fontanus

Willow Moss

Süßwassertang

Rotala Indica

Marsilea Quadrifolia

Hydrocotyle Verticillata

Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides

Ammannia sp. 'bonsai' 


*Fauna:*

Three German Blue Rams

An A grade Crystal Red Shrimp

Three Snowball Shrimps

Two Wrestling Halfbeaks

One guppy

One Scarlet Badis


*Pics!*

This is right after I filled it up for the first time. The Aqua Soil, turned my scape to mud!! Hahah.












.. and after some cleaning up and rescaping, here's how it currently looks:






































Water level is above the tank sides  












This wood stump is from my previous tank, so it has a head start with some mosses, and the Süßwassertang is already well established.












And here are the tank inhabitants:


German Blue Ram, "Rammstein" 












Snowball Shrimp:











"Rammstein" again:











Wrestling Halfbeak:
These lil guys are super cute. I put a piece of food in the tweezers, and they chase it around the tank. Amazing personality for such a small fish. It's like you're playing with a dog! They look a lot like a micro Arrowana to me.





























My Scarlet Badis: He could be my favorite fish. Adorable.





















Another one of my Blue Rams: 






































I had this plant, (Eriocaulin Sp. "Australia" Blood Red) but it melted. I think it needs RO.. boo. 











So, that's about it for now. Thanks so much for looking! Please subscribe, or check back often, like I said, I'll be updating this every week or so.

Comments/suggestions welcome!


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## boon (Mar 29, 2006)

The stump looks amazing in there. I think you are a bit overstocked in there though. 2 rams alone need 20gal<.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

boon said:


> The stump looks amazing in there. I think you are a bit overstocked in there though. 2 rams alone need 20gal<.


Thanks!

I do 10% to 20% waterchange every day. The water is clean.. but I concur. I do wish they had more room to swim.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Yeah, pretty overstocked. Try using aqadvisor.com, it will give you a stocking percentage. Also, you really want to lower that water, because sooner or later, something's gonna decide to make a jump. Especially when it THAT high. I love the scarlet badis, have always been a fan of them. I've never actually seen a wrestling halfbeak before, but I agree, they do look like dwarf Arowana! So overall, the tank looks really good, as does the scape. But keep those rams well fed so they don't kill your shrimp. They may anyway though. And lower the water. Good luck!


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

That could be a nice setup, but you have all those fish in a 3g tank that is 1 week old or did I miss something?


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

houseofcards said:


> That could be a nice setup, but you have all those fish in a 3g tank that is 1 week old or did I miss something?


ditto
Hey where did you get the Archaea light? Seems to be sold out everywhere I see.


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## karatekid14 (Jan 16, 2011)

It looks very nice, but I wouldn't house those fish in anything less than 20gal. You should think about getting a bigger tank for some of them.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I love that stump. One of the coolest looking Nanos I have seen in some time. If the rams are happy let them be. You keep up on WC's so you should be fine. I am not all about cramming fish into a space they dont fit in but they are small and are displaying great colors so they must be happy. I would just worry about the halfbeaks and rams eating your shrimp. I had a few killies in my mini-m and my shrimp population dropped about half in the few days they were in there.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

That wood is awesome in there. Good Job on the tank, keep us updated.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

bsmith said:


> I love that stump. One of the coolest looking Nanos I have seen in some time. If the rams are happy let them be. You keep up on WC's so you should be fine. I am not all about cramming fish into a space they dont fit in but they are small and are displaying great colors so they must be happy. I would just worry about the halfbeaks and rams eating your shrimp. I had a few killies in my mini-m and my shrimp population dropped about half in the few days they were in there.


I'm sorry but that is just not a good way to go: 

You got sensitive fish in a tank within one week of setup with Aquasoil.
You got rams with shrimp in a small space.
You have the water filled up to the top (hopefully just for the pics).

If I can discourage newbies from doing this it's' worth the post.


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## oscarsx (Mar 15, 2011)

Awesome and beautiful set up man. That stump in there looks perfect...


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Thanks for the comments! 

Sorry to mislead some of you, only the current scape is about a week old and most of the plants were added about a week ago. The tank itself has been running for 8 months or so. I just did a 100% rescape about a week ago. I tested the water to make sure there were no toxic spikes before I added any livestock.

I'm watching the Rams closely to see if they display any aggression toward the shrimp, and there are plenty of places for them to hide. (The stump has a huge hollow area where the Rams can't get to. The Halfbeaks never leave the surface, so I doubt they will bother the shrimp, but that's a good point. They're so small that I didn't really think of that.. they are pretty aggressive at feeding time though, so given the chance, I bet they'd have a go at a shrimp at least.. but again, I don't think anything could get the shrimp in there. In any case, I wouldn't put any of my high grade CRS in there.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Yeah, pretty overstocked. Try using aqadvisor.com, it will give you a stocking percentage. Also, you really want to lower that water, because sooner or later, something's gonna decide to make a jump. Especially when it THAT high. I love the scarlet badis, have always been a fan of them. I've never actually seen a wrestling halfbeak before, but I agree, they do look like dwarf Arowana! So overall, the tank looks really good, as does the scape. But keep those rams well fed so they don't kill your shrimp. They may anyway though. And lower the water. Good luck!


I had the water topped off for the photo.. back to normal now. 

I love the Badis too. So much personality in such a small fish. He's been there from the beginning. Refuses any food I give him, but he looks fat and happy.. I have no idea what he's eating.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

While I don't agree with your choice of livestock, I do like the style of your scapes both this and the 12 long are inspiring.


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## youjettisonme (Dec 24, 2010)

As others have said, the choice of wood is key here. It makes for a natural, beautiful scape, very dimensional. I have a 90p that is heavy planted, and even I worry about my shrimp/fish interaction so I can't imagine trusting your rams and badis with your shrimp. Even with the wood, eventually something bad is bound to happen. 

Still, great scape.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

xmas_one said:


> While I don't agree with your choice of livestock, I do like the style of your scapes both this and the 12 long are inspiring.


Thanks.  I'm still not positive about my livestock choices either. I bought the rams because they were $1.99 each.. haha. I do really like them though. Probably what I'll end up doing, is remove the shrimp, and make this a plants/rams only tank.




youjettisonme said:


> As others have said, the choice of wood is key here. It makes for a natural, beautiful scape, very dimensional. I have a 90p that is heavy planted, and even I worry about my shrimp/fish interaction so I can't imagine trusting your rams and badis with your shrimp. Even with the wood, eventually something bad is bound to happen.
> 
> Still, great scape.


Thanks. The wood was a nice find. I actually found this piece (it was part of a much larger piece) when I was surfing off a small island, I went ashore and found this and some other pieces, tied them onto my leash and paddled back about a mile to shore. That was a LONG paddle, it was like dragging an anchor. Lol.


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## whizzle (May 12, 2010)

ADA said:


> I love the Badis too. So much personality in such a small fish. He's been there from the beginning. Refuses any food I give him, but he looks fat and happy.. I have no idea what he's eating.


shrimp lol

I have to agree tho this tank is way over stocked. Your rams don't fight? I have two in an 11g and I still get chasing. If I were you I would upgrade the fish to at least a 20 long and make this a shrimp tank. That's just my 2¢. On the other hand very nice scape. And gotta love Rammstein lol


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

Love the wood, so unique. Please think of a bigger tank for those fish in the future, they're small now, but, well you know. Where did you get such beautiful badis? So red. I can never find them and someday want them.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

whizzle said:


> shrimp lol
> 
> I have to agree tho this tank is way over stocked. Your rams don't fight? I have two in an 11g and I still get chasing. If I were you I would upgrade the fish to at least a 20 long and make this a shrimp tank. That's just my 2¢. On the other hand very nice scape. And gotta love Rammstein lol


I couldn't resist the name Rammstein.. They are German Blue Rams, after all haha.

My rams don't fight because I have enough of them. I used to keep cichlids for a long time, and have pretty good experience with caring for them, and with how to deal with aggression. Most of the time, tank size is not a factor with fish fighting each other. It's caused mainly by a social imbalance. For example, your 2 rams are chasing each other around, in an 11 gallon. My 3 rams in a much smaller tank are peaceful, because a. I have three, which, with the right individual fish, can be a good triangle balance.

There are not really any hard and fast rules to keeping fish. I just do what works. These three particular rams work in this particular tank.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

psalm18.2 said:


> Love the wood, so unique. Please think of a bigger tank for those fish in the future, they're small now, but, well you know. Where did you get such beautiful badis? So red. I can never find them and someday want them.


Thanks.. the wood really makes the tank what it is.

They're small now, but "well you know" what?  Are you saying they will get bigger? They won't They're all adults.

The Badis I got from a friend here on the forums. He's a cute little guy, and yeah, I don't think I have seen one this colorful before either.


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## palufreak (Mar 1, 2011)

Very nice tank!!! I would take out just the rams and leave:
Shrimp
Scarlet Badis
Mini Arrowana?? Is that the name?

Anyways, beautiful scape though!


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## boon (Mar 29, 2006)

Mini arrowana. Lol. Shoot that would be nice. I believe it is a metallic halfbeak. They are very nice fish for tanks with alot of floaters.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

boon said:


> Mini arrowana. Lol. Shoot that would be nice. I believe it is a metallic halfbeak. They are very nice fish for tanks with alot of floaters.



Halfbeaks, yep. They are really cute. If you put a finger in the tank, they will chase it around tirelessly, and fearlessly.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

palufreak said:


> Very nice tank!!! I would take out just the rams and leave:
> Shrimp
> Scarlet Badis
> Mini Arrowana?? Is that the name?
> ...


Thanks!

I actually ended up removing two rams (leaving just one) and now it's "Rammstein", Badis, Shrimp, Mini Arowana (Halfbeak)


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## zenche (Feb 9, 2011)

1.99 rams? where? i'm jealous!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Pic updates! 

FTS












Side angle












The Badis found a new spot to hide.. cute.


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## JamesHockey (Nov 10, 2010)

cute!



people,stop commenting on his overstockedness


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## thewaterbird (Apr 16, 2011)

that stump fits the tank so well! Lovely job!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

JamesHockey said:


> cute!
> 
> people,stop commenting on his overstockedness



Haha, phew! Thanks. I was getting beaten up there for a while. 
I'm aware of the common guidelines, but every tank is different. With the right care and set up, the options are limitless.




thewaterbird said:


> that stump fits the tank so well! Lovely job!


It does.. I actually cut it from a much larger piece, specifically for this tank.
Lots of people seem to really like it, so here's some info on it.

I've done wood in my aquariums before, but never seen any quite as nice as these pieces I have. Aside from the nice twisted wood grain and such, one of the things about it that unique, is it's SOOO dense, and really heavy. The (iron wood) tree that I found was dwarfed because it was growing on lava, in a spot where the roots were constricted, and eventually it must have become rootbound and died. These trees are usually very large, but this particular tree was no more than 4 or 5 feet high.. I guess it was a natural bonsai of sorts.

I would say, judging by the density of the wood, that the tree must have been old, ancient even, before it died. I found it almost ten years ago, and at that time I reckon it had been already dead for decades. Another thing that must have helped, was that it was on an island, with hardly any soil.. just lava. So when it died, it was preserved really well and didn't rot, like lots of dead trees do.


Anyways, I kept it all these years because it's so unusual to find something like this. I've looked since, but never found more. I still have the rest in my back garden.

Maybe I could cut pieces off to give/trade with some people on here, if you're interested? Measure your tank, I'll take pictures of the wood for you, you can choose a piece you like and I'll cut it to your tank size and ship! 

I'd be willing to trade for any kind of aquarium stuff.. other driftwood even, to diversify my collection. Let me know what you have


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

I have one low grade CRS in this tank (C grade?)

She must be the lowest grade they come in, but I think she looks beautiful, and unusual.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Updates!

I finished work today and decided to snap a few pics, because I scraped the stump (it's looking pretty bare now, but the algae will come back, I hope!)

Also, the HC carpet in the foreground is thriving, and filling in so fast!

I moved the rams.. less stocked now.

Enjoy.



My HC carpet is growing really nice. I put some Osmocote Plus pellets into the substrate a week ago, and the plants love it.












Front Shot.












"Eye see you"












Snowball grazing, with CRS in the background












My fav low grade CRS ever!












CRS with Fissidens












Snowball grazing on the HC lawn





















This might be my favorite shot of the night.










Thanks for looking!


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Tank looks really good and your pics are ver nice.


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## GDP (Mar 12, 2011)

Im starting to like shrimp


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

This is a great tank. Sorry we all gave you a hard time at the beginning LOL. But in all seriousness, that's a great looking tank. Also, I think I forgot to ask; What are you using for CO2? Also, in the first picture, is the white thing on the DW a Snowball shrimp? And in the second pic at the lower left, is that fish an Endler? I love endlers! I have over 35 of them! I'll be selling them soon $$$ YAY!!! And the carpet is coming out nicely! I'll keep checking in on this! Good luck!


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## manikmunky (Mar 24, 2011)

Tank looks great, fantastic piece of wood too


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Quentin said:


> Tank looks really good and your pics are ver nice.


Thanks!





GDP said:


> Im starting to like shrimp


It won't take long, and once you do there's no turning back!





Geniusdudekiran said:


> This is a great tank. Sorry we all gave you a hard time at the beginning LOL. But in all seriousness, that's a great looking tank. Also, I think I forgot to ask; What are you using for CO2? Also, in the first picture, is the white thing on the DW a Snowball shrimp? And in the second pic at the lower left, is that fish an Endler? I love endlers! I have over 35 of them! I'll be selling them soon $$$ YAY!!! And the carpet is coming out nicely! I'll keep checking in on this! Good luck!


Oh, no worries at all!  You had a very valid point, for sure. Certainly much less work at least, to stock lighter. 
I use a Fluval mini Co2 regulator, with a paintball adapter.
Yep, snowball shrimp.. and that is an endler too! They're really pretty little guys, for sure. 
Yeah, I really love the HC carpet. This is the first time I've been able to successfully grow it well. Hopefully it keeps up. It's looking better every day. I'll try to post a pic or two at least once a week.





manikmunky said:


> Tank looks great, fantastic piece of wood too


Thanks.. I wasn't sure about the stump when I first put it in, but as soon as I had the scape right, it came alive. Literally! haha.. I love the way all the moss and stuff grows on it.
When I first set it up, I just sat it on top of a flat substrate bed, and it never looked right, but I couldn't figure out why.
Now as you can see, there are three main levels of substrate, which really gave the whole thing some depth. (the top level on the left is flush with the the wood, then it slopes down to the "shady part" midground-right, then slopes right to left at the front kind of like a spiraling stair case). I specifically sloped the substrate to flow with the wood's angles. 

The substrate levels/slopes are more apparent in this shot :


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## Zerocon (Apr 14, 2011)

Insanely jealous! Your tank is B-E-A-UTIFUL in the words of Bruce Almighty.
I can't believe you got your rams for $1.99 each, so jealous. They're £12 (like $14 usd) where I live. I can't buy online as i haven't got a card !


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## manikmunky (Mar 24, 2011)

Zerocon said:


> Insanely jealous! Your tank is B-E-A-UTIFUL in the words of Bruce Almighty.
> I can't believe you got your rams for $1.99 each, so jealous. They're £12 (like $14 usd) where I live. I can't buy online as i haven't got a card !


If you can set up a Paypal account, don't they issue Paypal credit cards? You can get 5 for £10 on ebay (plus postage) or around £4 each... Where abouts in the UK are you?


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Zerocon said:


> Insanely jealous! Your tank is B-E-A-UTIFUL in the words of Bruce Almighty.
> I can't believe you got your rams for $1.99 each, so jealous. They're £12 (like $14 usd) where I live. I can't buy online as i haven't got a card !


Thanks!


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## Bree (Dec 17, 2010)

I must say that you have some of the nicely planted aquariums i have yet to come across. Wonderful work, i would love to see these when they are at there full life!


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## alexem (Apr 12, 2011)

Nice setup!! Well done!


Natural Aquascaping - Planted Aquarium Blog

Http://naturalaquascaping.blogspot.com


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Bree said:


> I must say that you have some of the nicely planted aquariums i have yet to come across. Wonderful work, i would love to see these when they are at there full life!


Hey Thanks! They are all new still.. (oldest is about 8 weeks I think, which is the long one. This one is about 5 weeks I think and then there's the one I built yesterday..) All of them have lots of filling in to do 



alexem said:


> Nice setup!! Well done!


Thanks


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

.. just snapped a couple of pics to update. Plants are growing well.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Wow that's a sweet looking nano. Looks like that wood separates the tank into sections probably breaking the line of sight keeping the peace. Hide shrimps hide! I hope your CRS survives.


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

Okay, so I have to ask how you keep your surface pristine and free of film..


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Did you make that lily pipe too? How are you liking the 501? I think I am going to get it for my Ebi. Is it super quiet? Like whisper quiet? My tank is in my bedroom; the filter from my Ebi is too loud so I'm getting a new one. I will run them both side by side for about a month before completely getting rid of the Ebi's filter. But the lily pipes seem cool.


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## BlueJack (Apr 15, 2011)

That may be the nicest piece of driftwood I've ever seen


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## teah (Jul 25, 2010)

I LOVE your Scarlet Badis... awesome color and the guy shine in front of the camera  BTW, are u raising rams together with shrimps? They will eat all your shrimps later...


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Awesome job, things are growing in very nice. I like that low grade crs. I'm not a big fan of CRS but that one is awesome.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

ADA said:


> I had the water topped off for the photo.. back to normal now.
> 
> I love the Badis too. So much personality in such a small fish. He's been there from the beginning. Refuses any food I give him, but he looks fat and happy.. I have no idea what he's eating.


Could he be eating baby shrimp? lol I know they are fearless, and will eat anything they can catch that is living. I have thought about grabbing about 7 of these for my 36 gal tank. There are tons of planaria in that tank for them to snack on lol.

I call it the "Chihuahua" fish with a bull dog personality.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Wow that's a sweet looking nano. Looks like that wood separates the tank into sections probably breaking the line of sight keeping the peace. Hide shrimps hide! I hope your CRS survives.


Thanks  There's not much in there now that would harm my shrimp.. I have moved most to another tank.





demonr6 said:


> Okay, so I have to ask how you keep your surface pristine and free of film..


I raise the lily pipe so that it creates surface enough agitation to keep it clean once in a while.





Geniusdudekiran said:


> Did you make that lily pipe too? How are you liking the 501? I think I am going to get it for my Ebi. Is it super quiet? Like whisper quiet? My tank is in my bedroom; the filter from my Ebi is too loud so I'm getting a new one. I will run them both side by side for about a month before completely getting rid of the Ebi's filter. But the lily pipes seem cool.


Thanks! Yup, I made all my lily pipes. The 501 is really nice and quiet.. I have it in my bedroom too, if I didn't see the water moving, I'd think it had stopped! It's a great little filter imho, but I wouldn't use it on anything bigger than 3 or 4 gallons. Some people do use it on larger tanks, but I reckon I'm a bit excessive 





BlueJack said:


> That may be the nicest piece of driftwood I've ever seen


It's a fantastic piece huh  I can't believe how perfect it is for my tank. I have a bunch more, from the same piece of wood, waiting to be cut and featured in new tanks to come hahahah.





teah said:


> I LOVE your Scarlet Badis... awesome color and the guy shine in front of the camera BTW, are u raising rams together with shrimps? They will eat all your shrimps later...


Hey, thanks.. yeah I love my lil Badis.. Nope, I moved my rams, and even the Badis to another tank. Shrimpys are safe.





Couesfanatic said:


> Awesome job, things are growing in very nice. I like that low grade crs. I'm not a big fan of CRS but that one is awesome.


Thanks, I like that CRS a lot too.. I saw him in a tank with a bunch of other higher grades, all for the same price, and chose him, because he looks so unusual.





Noahma said:


> Could he be eating baby shrimp? lol I know they are fearless, and will eat anything they can catch that is living. I have thought about grabbing about 7 of these for my 36 gal tank. There are tons of planaria in that tank for them to snack on lol.
> 
> I call it the "Chihuahua" fish with a bull dog personality.


hahah! I moved him to another tank.. I'd say he was snacking on baby snowballs, because they kept getting berried, but I never saw babies .. hopefully now they'll be happier.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

I have some updates, and pics 

As I mentioned in the above post, I moved most of the inhabitants to another tank, to make this mainly shrimp/plants. 

As of now, I have 3 Snowball Shrimp, one B grade CRS, some little halfbeaks (cutest personalities EVER) and my new Zebra Nerite, who I just got today, thanks to a RAOK from one very cool member here 

Here are some pics my wifey took for me tonight! 



My new critter.. I heart her!












Another pic of Snowball.












See? This is why they are called "Snowballs"












My Rotala caught some bubbles from the Co2 diffuser. 












The coolest "low" grade CRS I have seen












I love these.. coolest clean up crew ever.












Pennywort is pearling!












CRS: "uh, what is THAT? Can I haz it? It's so purty!"












Here's a full shot. Lots of new growth.












This crypt kind of popped up from nowhere. I love the pattern on the leaves.. can anyone tell me what kind it is?


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Really nice photos. *good job wifey* You make me want to drop a halfbeak in my nano too. What do they eat? You're not heating this tank right?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

It really is nearly impossible to Id a crypt with out a flower.


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

Oh my gosh this scape is gorgeous!

You really do it justice with the pictures. I especially love the hanging archaea light. Such a good idea, I don't like how they clip onto the side of the tank.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Really nice photos. *good job wifey* You make me want to drop a halfbeak in my nano too. What do they eat? You're not heating this tank right?


Thanks! (from the wifey!)

No heating.. I'm in Hawaii! I wish I could get a chiller actually. The halfbeaks really are awesome little fish, huh. Tiny, but loads of personality. They actually chase my finger around the tank. Completely fearless and curious. Puppydog personality. They eat flake, or just about anything. They also seem pretty much peaceful, and harmless to my shrimp. (Maybe they would eat shrimplets though.. )





bsmith said:


> It really is nearly impossible to Id a crypt with out a flower.


Ohh.. I thought the tiger stripes would be an id.. 





Senior Shrimpo said:


> Oh my gosh this scape is gorgeous!
> 
> You really do it justice with the pictures. I especially love the hanging archaea light. Such a good idea, I don't like how they clip onto the side of the tank.


Thanks! (My wife takes the pictures.. I suck at photography) 

Yeah, I didn't really trust the clip on part.. Plus, I like it hanging aesthetically better. I actually just suspended the light fixture I made on my 12g long as well: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...-gallon-panoramic-mountain-plains-pics-7.html


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Okay, update time!

The HC has grown in beautifully in the foreground, just how I had imagined it. No algae problems, somehow I lucked out and seem to have it balanced nicely.. This is my favorite tank for sure right now, because my other one is just a struggle.. (algae issues)














































Thanks for looking


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Very nice!!

I think some red ludwiga on the right would be nice. Also would like to see a dwarf lilly in front of the wood.


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## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

I love the way the moss and algae grew on the stump, it looks straight from the woods. roud:


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Hilde said:


> Very nice!!
> 
> I think some red ludwiga on the right would be nice. Also would like to see a dwarf lilly in front of the wood.


Thanks for those suggestions! I'll try. What kind of dwarf lily would work? (I wasn't aware that there IS a lily that can live in an aquarium...)





10gallonplanted said:


> I love the way the moss and algae grew on the stump, it looks straight from the woods. roud:


Thanks.. I got lucky with that..


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

After looking at it I would have to say that crypt is a Kota Tingii.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

ADA said:


> Yup, I made all my lily pipes.
> 
> The 501 is really nice and quiet.. It's a great little filter imho, but I wouldn't use it on anything bigger than 3 or 4 gallons.


How do you make your lily pipes?

I am planning to put the 501 in a 10g which will only have plants.



ADA said:


> Thanks for those suggestions! I'll try. What kind of dwarf lily would work? (I wasn't aware that there IS a lily that can live in an aquarium...)


There a dwarf lily bulbs sold in Wal-mart in aquarium section for aprox. $3.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

ADA said:


> Thanks for those suggestions! I'll try. What kind of dwarf lily would work? (I wasn't aware that there IS a lily that can live in an aquarium...)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


if you are able to find one in your area,
Nymphaea zenkeri is a beautiful one. It is also known as Red Tiger Lotus. Easy red plant to grow in low and med light. The bulbs you can find at walmart are beautiful as well, they keep a copper hue to them. the bulb may not grow for 30 days, but just keep faith that it will.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

ADA said:


> .. just snapped a couple of pics to update. Plants are growing well.


I suddenly must know what the feathery plant in the back left is. It filled in so quickly!


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

Beautiful tank!!!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

bsmith said:


> After looking at it I would have to say that crypt is a Kota Tingii.


Thanks for the id. I love it, it's one of my fav plants for sure.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Noahma said:


> Beautiful tank!!!


Thanks!


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

That _Ammannia sp. 'bonsai'_ looks HUGE in your tank, lol!
Looks great. roud:


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Hilde said:


> How do you make your lily pipes?
> 
> I am planning to put the 501 in a 10g which will only have plants.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I think I found a tiger lotus in my pond (recall throwing some in a while ago).. it's growing out well now. Pics soon.

I use acrylic tubing, and bend it with heat. Still have not found the right size spring to assist in bending, so it's really hard to get a nice clean bend without the walls caving. Anyone have suggestions? (I tried the fill it up with table salt, messy and fairly ineffective.. )

For the bulb part of the lily pipe, just slowly turn it over a hotplate in the kitchen, block one end and blow it like a glassblower.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Noahma said:


> if you are able to find one in your area,
> Nymphaea zenkeri is a beautiful one. It is also known as Red Tiger Lotus. Easy red plant to grow in low and med light. The bulbs you can find at walmart are beautiful as well, they keep a copper hue to them. the bulb may not grow for 30 days, but just keep faith that it will.


I think that's the kind I found.. Red Tiger.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

AzFishKid said:


> That _Ammannia sp. 'bonsai'_ looks HUGE in your tank, lol!
> Looks great. roud:


LOL!! Thanks for identifying this plant for me!! Actually, it grows a bit larger than usual in this tank for some reason.. in my other tank, cuttings of the same plant grows smaller, but still looks the same. I threw a bunch of this stuff into my pond a while ago and now I have a lot of it out there.. it looks amazing when I first bring it inside, because when it grows out in my (shaded) pond, it gets this amazing red coloration. As it starts to adapt to the aquarium, it turns almost fluorescent green. No die offs though.. it's one of my fav plants ever.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Update?


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## Kazuya (Apr 4, 2011)

This tank is looking great.
Like the FTS.


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## roni (Aug 28, 2006)

Really like the halfbeak...how has he/she been with other tankmates? My wife has always wanted an arowana...I wonder if I could add that and make her happy


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

ADA said:


> I use acrylic tubing, and bend it with heat. Still have not found the right size spring to assist in bending


Here one just used PCV tube and connectors


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

That wood fits perfectly! Wow! The penny wort looks like shelf fungi on the wood. If the back left hand corner was filled in more it'd be perfect.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Update?


Hi, sorry I haven't updated this in a while. It was a jungle in there, so I just did a major trim, as you can see. I'm going to plant HC on the back level (above the stump on the left) where I just removed a bunch of Rotala and other things from.

I trimmed back/pulled off most of the moss from the right side, and the Sub in the middle on the stump was getting chewed on by something so I trimmed it too. I left it al through the cracks there so it should come back strong. 

Main reason for the trim is that it looked a mess, and I'm now going to limit the species of plants in there for a neater look, but still want it to look somewhat natural.

One pic here.. I did a bunch of work today on it, will take new pics and post tomorrow.











Thanks for looking!!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

roni said:


> Really like the halfbeak...how has he/she been with other tankmates? My wife has always wanted an arowana...I wonder if I could add that and make her happy


Halfbeak jumped out


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Kazuya said:


> This tank is looking great.
> Like the FTS.


Thanks!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> That wood fits perfectly! Wow! The penny wort looks like shelf fungi on the wood. If the back left hand corner was filled in more it'd be perfect.


Hey, yeah I love the pennywort. It's all kind of changed now as you can see by the pics, because I let it overgrow.. it'll be back to a jungle soon, but hopefully a more organized one!


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## advanaw11 (Jun 22, 2011)

wow.. just wow!:thumbsup:


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Hey Coffee Model....you little tank is looking HOT!!!...starting to look mature and like a snapshot out of a jungle....love it bro.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Hey Coffee Model....you little tank is looking HOT!!!...starting to look mature and like a snapshot out of a jungle....love it bro.


Thanks! It should look better when the second carpet of HC has grown on the second level above the left side of the stump.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Hey Coffee Model....you little tank is looking HOT!!!...starting to look mature and like a snapshot out of a jungle....love it bro.


Hahah "Coffee Model".. I just got it.. lol


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Okay.. did a bunch of work on it this afternoon! I planted the second level with HC, and just pruned and organized. Now, time to let it all grow in.

Pics.




































































































Thanks for lookin!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

So, my lovely lady was inspired to take pics of my 2.9 Gallon.. She makes it look so nice!











Love the Downoi.. I want more.






































This one kind of shows how small the tank is.. sitting on our dresser. 





















I can't remember the name of this grass, but it's supposed to be pink, and it's finally getting some nice pink coloring. 





























FTS











Rotala Macro.. <3



















Fissidens (kind of got some other green algae stuff, I scape off most but I like to leave some.. 











Rotala











Thanks for looking.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Get an amano or two and they'll clean up the algae 
Very nice tank! Small and simple.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

jkan0228 said:


> Get an amano or two and they'll clean up the algae
> Very nice tank! Small and simple.


Thanks! 

I kind of like the algae though. I keep most of the tank clean but there are just a few spots I let the green algae grow. It makes the tank look more mature..?


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

ADA said:


> Thanks!
> 
> I kind of like the algae though. I keep most of the tank clean but there are just a few spots I let the green algae grow. It makes the tank look more mature..?


Very true, a tank is not complete without algae


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

hey nice tats man, got both my sleeves now! anyway your tank is awsome, how have you supended the light?!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

luke20037 said:


> hey nice tats man, got both my sleeves now! anyway your tank is awsome, how have you supended the light?!


Thanks! Do you have a flickr link or something to your tats? I'd like to see. 

I had the light suspended with chains, but had to move it, so it's now sitting on my dresser with the telescoping clip-on that came with it, which I think is pretty ugly. I may re hang the light over the new location.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

jkan0228 said:


> Very true, a tank is not complete without algae


It's the brown algae that I hate, and am having a lot of trouble with in my other tank. This tank has never given me any issues, (touch wood!).. for some reason, plants grow so well in there, and the only algae that I really get is that nice bright green kind that grows on the wood.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

hey, link to tattoos--->http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lounge-introductions/142219-lukes-tattoo-pics.html#post1444321


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

luke20037 said:


> hey, link to tattoos--->http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lounge-introductions/142219-lukes-tattoo-pics.html#post1444321


Brah, that's awesome! I love the Japanese sleeve.. other one is cool too.


----------



## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

thanks! took long enough, wish I had time/money to get my back covered!


----------



## sampster5000 (Oct 30, 2010)

Very nice tank! Awesome job working with the small area.


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## Fuzz (Mar 13, 2011)

I love how you laid that tank out, it makes it look way larger than it really is. The driftwood is perfect in there.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Fuzz said:


> I love how you laid that tank out, it makes it look way larger than it really is. The driftwood is perfect in there.


Thanks! I do love that stump.. have a bunch more from the same piece, waiting for new tanks to put it in 





sampster5000 said:


> Very nice tank! Awesome job working with the small area.


Hey, thanks  It took a ot of trial and error, but feels just right now. Just waitin for the HC to fill in on the second level at the back left side now...


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Hey man, are you using a solenoid for your CO2? If you are running CO2 24/7 you should consider ditching the drop checker. Looks huge in your tank. My eyes keep on pulling towards the big drop checker in your tank. If you go slow and stead with the CO2 you probably don't need that drop checker anyways.


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Hey man, are you using a solenoid for your CO2? If you are running CO2 24/7 you should consider ditching the drop checker. Looks huge in your tank. My eyes keep on pulling towards the big drop checker in your tank. If you go slow and stead with the CO2 you probably don't need that drop checker anyways.


Actually I just leave the Co2 on 24/7. I don't have a solenoid. I agree with you though about the drop checker. I am thinking about making one out of acrylic that hangs over the side (just a tiny one).. other than that, I may try to buy a small attractive one. Does anyone know what the smallest drop checker available is?
Thanks


----------



## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

I see that cal aqua makes those cool hang over the tank ones...you can probably do a mini version...if you do make two....one for me...hahah...

See the sponsorship section.


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> I see that cal aqua makes those cool hang over the tank ones...you can probably do a mini version...if you do make two....one for me...hahah...
> 
> See the sponsorship section.


K, pm me your address and I'll send you one.


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## Fuzz (Mar 13, 2011)

Not sure if that's a nano drop checker that you have or not but the smallest one I've seen is the CAL AQUA nano:
http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/co2-drop-checkers/cal-nano-checker.html

I tried to make an acrylic one that hangs over the side but it turned out pretty crappy.

Did you make your inflow and outflow out of acrylic yourself? I've tried to do that and it was pretty difficult and I couldn't get good bends. I just ordered some more for my new tank and was wondering how you got those tight bends like that without crushing it. If you didn't make them then ignore this part :flick:


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Fuzz said:


> Not sure if that's a nano drop checker that you have or not but the smallest one I've seen is the CAL AQUA nano:
> http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/co2-drop-checkers/cal-nano-checker.html
> 
> I tried to make an acrylic one that hangs over the side but it turned out pretty crappy.
> ...


Why was your drop checker attempt no good? Maybe I can learn from your mistakes? 

I did make my own lily pipes.. just careful heat (stovetop) and SLOW bending.. have to kind of "massage" the tube as you bend it, to avoid kinks etc.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

I actually made this diffuser myself too.. 










it's really small, way smaller than any I've seen for sale, and for some reason, it's the best one I've ever used, as far as dissolving the gas. I have the bbps set at about 1 bubble every 5 seconds, and the drop checker stays green. I used to use a glass one I got from ebay, and I had to do about 1 bps to get the same amount of Co2 in the tank.


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## Fuzz (Mar 13, 2011)

Well with my drop checker I tried to bend it too much and it got a nasty kink in it. It works but it just looks kind of ugly. I may try again with my extra tubing that I ordered.

I've been using a heat gun for my pipes and it seems to be more controllable than a stove top so you might want to try that. I also did the slow bend while trying to keep it from kinking but I didn't feel like I could get as tight of bends as I wanted. I got these too to possibly help with that.










Normally they go on the outside of the tube and are for more rigid things like copper but I'm gonna try a smaller one on the inside for the soft acrylic so it can't kink up and for more flexibility. The tubes come in in a few days so I'll let you know how it goes.

Nice job on the diffuser that is really small. I just went with a reactor for mine. What is that that you use to make it diffuse the bubbles?


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

So, I just found out that the log in this tank is actually from a VERY old Koa tree.. anyone familiar with Koa? It's one of Hawaii's most treasured woods. Pretty happy to find this out.. still doing some investigating to find out for sure though. It explains why it's SOOO heavy!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

So, I have some new inhabitants!! (Thanks BSK!!)

3 CBS and 3 CRS

Pics... They were all hiding so I wasn't able to get a pic of all of them.. 
































































Thanks for looking!


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## bsk (Aug 18, 2010)

Nice pictures! what kind of lens are you using? The shrimp seem to all be missing color in there cheeks lmk if it they dont improve and I'll get you some better ones.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

bsk said:


> Nice pictures! what kind of lens are you using? The shrimp seem to all be missing color in there cheeks lmk if it they dont improve and I'll get you some better ones.


Thanks! My wife took these with her Canon 7D and I think it's a Sigma DG 70-300 lens.

I'll keep you posted on how they do. Thanks again, but you've been too kind already! Hopefully they'll color up nicely.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Anyone know what this red plant is? (I think it's some type of Ludwigia, but never seen on this color red before.. it's solid red and beautiful!)

I found a tiny piece floating in a lfs, and it was green at the time with just a bit of red at the tips, but as it's growing in my tank, the color has recently become extremely bright. (The green/reddish plant behind it is from the exact stalk I found, just cut into 2 pieces, but that part never turned red.. )


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

ADA,

How about some more FTS?


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> ADA,
> 
> How about some more FTS?


Yep, was just taking some, and the camera ran outa batteries.. will post tonight or tomorrow


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

FTS (pls excuse the bad photography.. wifey is not here to do it.. she's the pro.)

I also just changed the drop checker fluid, so it's not green like it should be.











This baby is feeding Co2 in at a nice steady 10bpm.. 











Wider shot of the tank's location on my dresser


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Update time.. I removed all of the HC because it was starting to look shabby and brown around the bottoms. Also, I wanted to try UG instead, I've always loved the look of UG, so I hope it works. I planted the new UG on the front bottom level, and also on the level behind the stump.. hopefully it forms a nice thick carpet.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Don't be so hard on yourself, the pics look great! The tank looks great too. 

Are the shots photoshopped? I know that half of a good pic is in editing and am just on the fence about getting some software to do it.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

bsmith said:


> Don't be so hard on yourself, the pics look great! The tank looks great too.
> 
> Are the shots photoshopped? I know that half of a good pic is in editing and am just on the fence about getting some software to do it.


Thanks for that 

No photoshop. I usually tweak the pics a little in iPhoto, but nothing much.


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

what co2 regulator is that? and how do you like it so far? 
i want your tank... thanks


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

gnod said:


> what co2 regulator is that? and how do you like it so far?
> i want your tank... thanks


Hahah!

It's a cheap chinese brand. Works great! I'm getting a VERY steady 11 bpm, (11 bubbles per minute)


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Beautiful tank and shots, great looking selection of plants


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

2in10 said:


> Beautiful tank and shots, great looking selection of plants


Thanks!


Update time.. 

Thanks to a very generous member here, I am now attempting to grow Eriocaulon Parkeri and Eriocaulon Cinereum in this tank. I have switched to bottled water to get the KH and GH down, and now have a nice 6.4 PH as well. Fingers crossed!


They came in a little bit battered, but not too bad.











The Parkeri started to come apart while I was cleaning it up, so I went ahead and split it into 3 plants.











Here are a couple of them next to a penny, so you can see the size.











This is the Cinereum, as cleaned up as I dare..











Here's a Parkeri in it's new home.. sorry about the poor quality pic.











The Cinereum is looking beautiful! (there is a flower shooting up.. should I cut it off?)











Here's another Parkeri











And another of the Cinereum. You can see the Parkeris behind, on the upper level. I wanted to feature the Cinereum so I put it right in the front, and also it's a smaller sp. so I figured it would do better there.

If these do well, I plan to set up a new tank for them specifically, because I feel like this tank will be too small if they thrive. Especially the Parkeri. Does anyone else grow these in a 3 gallon?

Thanks!


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Just wanted to add my water condition test results here, in case anyone's interested, as well as for my own records.

I'm feeling a bit defeated right now, because that horrid brown algae from my other tank seems to have found it's way into this tank. I was so careful to avoid cross contamination for a long time, and this tank stayed very nice and clean, but I got slack, and that stuff spread into here now. I don't even know what it is. It's not diatoms, because it's an established tank, and Otos don't touch it. It's a horrible brown color, and covers everything very quickly. When you take some out and leave it to dry, it turns green. Anyone have any idea what it could be?

I have struggled with this stuff in my 12 gallon since I first set it up. I'm pretty certain it originated from some shou stone that I got from my lfs. Tried pumping up the Co2, adding Excel, doing blackouts, reducing lighting, scooping as much out as possible, large, frequent water changes and some other things. It's the worst thing that ever happened to my tanks.

Anyway, that's why I did the tests.. just want to check my water quality.

Here they are.

PH: 6.4
GH: 89.5 (5 drops)
KH: 71.6 (4 drops)
Nitrate: 1.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0.0 ppm
Ammonia: 0.0ppm

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Hi, update time.

Algae is almost gone.. it did some damage, but everything is looking better now. I cranked the Co2, and started dosing hertz every day, along with Excel and Iron. Everything is looking much better, and best of all, the Erios are all doing great! 

I even split the cinereum (it was flowering, and there were 4 plants clumped together) and each one is recovering.

Here are some pics.











... a couple of the Erio Parkeri, looking good.











Artistic "night shot".. playing with camera settings.











Rotala











Rotala again.. on of my favorite plants.











FTS (Erio Parkeri in the back, Erio Cinereum in the front, with some UG). See the yellow drop checker? 











Another shot of the Parkeri.











Thanks for looking


----------



## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Beautiful plants. I would let the flower shoot go, it should do no harm and might turn out special.


----------



## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Nice, I think we got our erios from the same person...;P...and you are suppose to cut the flower stalks if you want them to keep on splitting...

That algae problem....its either when you move your plants from tank to tank....or the spores could be in your tap...what a good reason to start another virgin tank...lol...don't share any plants...start fresh...and if it comes back then it's probably in your tap...if it is a spore type algae...


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Ohhh I never thought of that.. spores from the tap water. Actually, I don't think it could be that, now that I think of it.. Because I managed to go a year or so without this tank getting infected. It happened after I shared plants, with the other tank. Careless.. stupid 

I am SOOO going to start a new tank.. haha.. Anyone have any left over AquaSoil I can buy? Can't afford another whole bag.. so expensive.. boo. Is here anything else that works/looks as good?



shrimpnmoss said:


> Nice, I think we got our erios from the same person...;P...and you are suppose to cut the flower stalks if you want them to keep on splitting...
> 
> That algae problem....its either when you move your plants from tank to tank....or the spores could be in your tap...what a good reason to start another virgin tank...lol...don't share any plants...start fresh...and if it comes back then it's probably in your tap...if it is a spore type algae...


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

2in10 said:


> Beautiful plants. I would let the flower shoot go, it should do no harm and might turn out special.


Thanks! Like Shrimpnmoss said, with Erios, you really have to cut the flowers off. I heard the plant actually dies if you let it go to full flower.


----------



## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

ADA said:


> Ohhh I never thought of that.. spores from the tap water. Actually, I don't think it could be that, now that I think of it.. Because I managed to go a year or so without this tank getting infected. It happened after I shared plants, with the other tank. Careless.. stupid
> 
> I am SOOO going to start a new tank.. haha.. Anyone have any left over AquaSoil I can buy? Can't afford another whole bag.. so expensive.. boo. Is here anything else that works/looks as good?



Akadama bonsai soil from the bonsai store...~$30.00 for a BIG bag...that'll last you a few shrimp tanks...lots of people on shrimpnow use Akadama


----------



## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

wait a minute...can't afford AS?....start trading/selling your shrimpies...they are as good as cold hard cash here on TPT........especially nice ones like yours....

Once you have babies....it's pretty much a self sustaining hobby....YAY for shrimps..!!!


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> wait a minute...can't afford AS?....start trading/selling your shrimpies...they are as good as cold hard cash here on TPT........especially nice ones like yours....
> 
> Once you have babies....it's pretty much a self sustaining hobby....YAY for shrimps..!!!


But... but.. but I love every single one of them. I don't want to send any away. I love them. You can't make me. *Stomps feet*


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Akadama bonsai soil from the bonsai store...~$30.00 for a BIG bag...that'll last you a few shrimp tanks...lots of people on shrimpnow use Akadama


I'm gonna find some. Sounds PERFECT!


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

ADA said:


> But... but.. but I love every single one of them. I don't want to send any away. I love them. You can't make me. *Stomps feet*


You can leave some with me!!! Haha jkjk

Great erios btw.


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

jkan0228 said:


> You can leave some with me!!! Haha jkjk
> 
> Great erios btw.


Thanks haha. I hope they don't die. I had some before, and they got all melty. This time though, I'm armed with RO water. :thumbsup:


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

I'm actually about to go give a couple of my shrimps to a fellow member (just about to net them now!). It's hard to part with them, but he's a very cool guy.


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

ADA said:


> I'm actually about to go give a couple of my shrimps to a fellow member (just about to net them now!). It's hard to part with them, but he's a very cool guy.


Thats probably how I'll feel once I get my S grades breeding!


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

ADA said:


> But... but.. but I love every single one of them. I don't want to send any away. I love them. You can't make me. *Stomps feet*



lol...i feel ya...but look at it this way...the more you cull out the more they'll breed....you're just making room for even NICER ones that are yet to be born...less density = bigger clutches and survival...IME....


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

jkan0228 said:


> Thats probably how I'll feel once I get my S grades breeding!


Your S grades should give you a few S+ and SS.. then those might give you a bit higher and so on.. But, actually, I love S grades. If their color is solid, I might like them the same as higher grades, because the bands are pretty.. 

I was lucky enough to start with a group of SSS.. they did give me some really nice S and S+ too.


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

shrimpnmoss said:


> lol...i feel ya...but look at it this way...the more you cull out the more they'll breed....you're just making room for even NICER ones that are yet to be born...less density = bigger clutches and survival...IME....


That is true.. the thing is, I wouldn't want to give my lower grades away, I'd rather give really nice ones to ppl I like. Does that make sense? I suppose ppl would be happy even for the lower grades though, huh.


----------



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Things have changed quite a bit in this tank. After I removed the HC in the foreground, I still haven't been able to get anything nice to cover the ground as nicely again. I do have some nice Erios in there now, and am still trying to get some UG to grow as a carpet.

I have a new addition in there now though.. a rescued beta! Seems really happy, (his last home was barely big enough for him to turn around. I acclimated him slowly, and am hoping he'll be okay with the Co2.


----------



## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Tank looks great and that is a beautiful Betta. Since it is a labyrinth fish I think it should be fine with CO2.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

2in10 said:


> Tank looks great and that is a beautiful Betta. Since it is a labyrinth fish I think it should be fine with CO2.


Thank you!

Yeah, I was hoping he'd be okay. I'm keeping a close eye on him. If he starts to look uncomfortable, I'll get him out of there.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

ADA said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Yeah, I was hoping he'd be okay. I'm keeping a close eye on him. If he starts to look uncomfortable, I'll get him out of there.


While I would like to think that it would be fine I think that is a good plan since they do respire so different than other fish.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

2in10 said:


> While I would like to think that it would be fine I think that is a good plan since they do respire so different than other fish.


Yep.. he's looking happier than ever right now.. swimming all over the place (not in a crazy way, but rather a curious, explorative way) and picking things off the driftwood and plants.. shooting up for air, and going back down. He looks really happy.


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## indigo (Aug 1, 2011)

looks really good in there


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Thanks.. I actually just added a Scarlet Badis too. Will post pics soon.


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## indigo (Aug 1, 2011)

ooh exciting. I just got a tank and it has no fish in it yet but i was considering badis, can't wait for the photos


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

indigo said:


> ooh exciting. I just got a tank and it has no fish in it yet but i was considering badis, can't wait for the photos


Badis are one of my favorite fish EVER!.. They are really fussy eaters tho.. most won't touch flake or pellets. I think people feed them bloodworm or something, but I can't stand killing things. Mine always seems to have enough to eat from critters he finds in my tank. I never feed.
My tank is very mature though, well established, and has lots of tiny "bugs".. I would not want to encourage starving these beautiful lil guys.. I have only one other fish, so there's plenty of food for them. If you are more heavily stocked, or if your aquarium is fairly new, without colonies of bugs, I'd say you would need to feed.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Very nice pics as usual. 

I would think with the climate in HI being what it is you would be able to find plenty of stagnant puddles with mosquito larvae in them. Badis will go wild for some of that if you can get some.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

bsmith said:


> Very nice pics as usual.
> 
> I would think with the climate in HI being what it is you would be able to find plenty of stagnant puddles with mosquito larvae in them. Badis will go wild for some of that if you can get some.


Thank you sir  Yes, we have lots of mosquitos. I can and I will! 

Just about to post more pics.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Update time! 

FTS












I must be finally doing something right, because my Ludwigia is looking amazing, and BRIGHT red.

































Betta, flirting with the pretty red plant..


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Beautiful, nice growth and color


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## oldbonehead (Jul 18, 2011)

Absolutely beautiful 2.9G scape! I like it. Excellent job and vision.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Thanks! Hoping to get a thick UG carpet happening in all of the bare spots.. The Erios will look a lot better when they have established too.. they're still acclimating after being split.


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## smellslikefish (Oct 8, 2011)

nice journal! I see your tank has come a long way. Just curious, do you know why your hc turned brown? I have HC in my 2 gallon too and I'm worried this might happen to mine too.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Hi there!

Thanks!

I think you have to keep it trimmed, if it grows too high, the bottom layers can die from lack of light.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

So... unfortunately this tank got completely destroyed by a HUGE algae outbreak. There must have been 5 different types, all competing to kill everything in there. So, after putting up a half hearted fight, I just took the light away, left it in a bright room, so SOME light would get to it, and forgot about it. 

It's been 2 months now. Most of the algae has died off, so I think I'm going to revive it.

Here's how it looks now, after two months. The Anubias Petite looks happy.. all of that brown stuff coating EVERYTHING is dead algae.. need to vacuum it all out.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

That sucks. Did the algae start to appear then you got worried that cutting the light some would ki your plants do in the end nothing was really done and this is the result? I know how you feel having that same experience in a couple tanks before. 

With algae issues it is always a must to determine the cause. 99/100 times it's a co2/light problem. 

But I can't remember if you even have co2 on this tank or not.


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## merkexpress (Sep 1, 2011)

do you have problems with your halfbeaks eatting your shrimp?


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

bsmith said:


> That sucks. Did the algae start to appear then you got worried that cutting the light some would ki your plants do in the end nothing was really done and this is the result? I know how you feel having that same experience in a couple tanks before.
> 
> With algae issues it is always a must to determine the cause. 99/100 times it's a co2/light problem.
> 
> But I can't remember if you even have co2 on this tank or not.


Man.. this was a weird one.. the tank was amazing, for the longest time. I didn't change a thing! Light, Co2, ferts, plant volume, water quality... ALL was never changed. I had that horrible brown algae in my other tank, and I was always careful not to contaminate this little tank with anything from out of there.. BUT.. I got sloppy, and I think I put a plant in there from the other tank or something.. within days, this tank was over run by that exact same horrible brown algae. I tried everything to get rid of it, and it ended up killing most of the plants,, then I just left it alone in dismay. That's how it ended up. 
Fortunately, it seems to have all died.. Some plants have survived too, so I will just clean it gradually, and slowly introduce light and ferts again.. but I'll do it all very slowly and gradually.




merkexpress said:


> do you have problems with your halfbeaks eatting your shrimp?


The halfbeaks ended up jumping out


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## merkexpress (Sep 1, 2011)

That sucks! But they didnt touch your shrimp?! that surprises me a little bit and now im considering getting 2:hihi:


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## TexasCichlid (Jul 12, 2011)

That's terrifying. So sorry to hear about the random algae implosion. My tank is not even 1/4 as nice and I think it's a recurring nightmare for me.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Haha.. nah, it's okay. I does suck, but I was due for a reshape anyway. The tank is actually bouncing back nicely. I'll post more pics soon.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Okay, it's starting to slowly bounce back.. here are some pics I took today.




























Thanks for looking!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

K, I have another update for this tank. 

I was seriously on the verge of calling it quits not only with this tank, but with the hobby itself. 

I don't quit easily, and I have been struggling, pulling my hair out for well over a year because I just never could get rid of this hideous "algae" issue.

I had a lot of advice saying that you'll never fix an algae problem by killing the algae somehow, because it would just come back if the root cause was not corrected. That totally makes sense in MOST cases..

All of my efforts went to trying to adjust the lighting, adding more Co2, balancing ferts etc etc. Nothing worked. It just got worse and worse, so I even tried dosing way too much Excel, tried blackouts, turned up the Co2, put WAY too many plants in there in the hopes of eating up the excess nutrients.. just tried so much. All the while I was losing some really expensive plants.

Finally, FINALLY, I found out that it was not algae at all, but a type of bacteria. In my last attempt (I had decided to throw in the towel if this didn't work) I dosed the tank with some antibiotic used to treat sick fish.

Now, after all this time, it it truly gone. I am finally free of this nightmare, and my passion for the hobby has returned!!! So happy.

I'll take pics and post tomorrow.


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## iwagumikun (May 16, 2012)

*Blue Rams & Badis*

Where did you buy the blue rams and Badis?
I 'm looking for some colorful peaceful fish
For my planted scape.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

iwagumikun said:


> Where did you buy the blue rams and Badis?
> I 'm looking for some colorful peaceful fish
> For my planted scape.


I got them from Coral Fish Hawaii


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

Congrats on getting rid of the bacteria. Were you using E.M. Erythromycin? How did you do the dosage? I'm using it on a 1.8g tank and pretty much just guessing the dosage. Take care!

P.S. where did the Kamaka go?


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

ADA said:


> I got them from Coral Fish Hawaii


I haven't seen Badis Badis at Coral Fish for awhile... I know Aquascapes put out some new ones a week or 2 ago.


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## FlyingGiraffes (Jan 30, 2011)

Congratulations!  That's good news. I hate to see people who run into a large wall and get stuck.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Kai808 said:


> Congrats on getting rid of the bacteria. Were you using E.M. Erythromycin? How did you do the dosage? I'm using it on a 1.8g tank and pretty much just guessing the dosage. Take care!
> 
> P.S. where did the Kamaka go?


Thanks  Yeah I just guessed the dose too. I got something called Maracyn, (pretty sure its the same thing as Erythomycin) which came in little packets. I think I used way more than necessary, I was pretty desperate. I also had no fish or livestock.. just plants. So I wasn't worried about overdosing. The first dose I mixed one little package of the powder with water, and then added it. Then after 2 days I just grabbed another packet and sprinkled the powder into the tank. 

I traded the Kamaka for the most gorgeous 1995 Taylor 512 guitar I've ever seen. :icon_lol:




Kai808 said:


> I haven't seen Badis Badis at Coral Fish for awhile... I know Aquascapes put out some new ones a week or 2 ago.


Oh, I should go check it out. I'd like to get some more. Any idea what the price is?




FlyingGiraffes said:


> Congratulations!  That's good news. I hate to see people who run into a large wall and get stuck.


Thank you.. yeah it was so discouraging. Im really glad it's finally over.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Congrats on kicking the issue's tail.


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

ADA said:


> Thanks  Yeah I just guessed the dose too. I got something called Maracyn, (pretty sure its the same thing as Erythomycin) which came in little packets. I think I used way more than necessary, I was pretty desperate. I also had no fish or livestock.. just plants. So I wasn't worried about overdosing. The first dose I mixed one little package of the powder with water, and then added it. Then after 2 days I just grabbed another packet and sprinkled the powder into the tank.
> 
> I traded the Kamaka for the most gorgeous 1995 Taylor 512 guitar I've ever seen. :icon_lol:


Yeah, I'm just sprinkling the powder into the tank too. I don't think I would trade any of my Kamaka's, but a Taylor is definitely worth it. 



ADA said:


> Oh, I should go check it out. I'd like to get some more. Any idea what the price is?


They usually go for $3.99 if I remember correctly but I would call first just to make sure.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Another update.. I thought all of my troubles were over, and it does seem that my BGA problem has gone for good, but I have another frustrating issue. If anyone has any experience in this I'd really appreciate the help.

Since my BGA is all gone, I have had this brown "dust" stuff everywhere.. all over everything. The best way to describe it would be like volcanic ash.. it doesn't seem to be sticking to anything, just seems like debris. I though that it must be dead algae, and that once it was all vacuumed up, it would be gone. I got rid of all of it (or so I thought) and the next day it's back again. Just as bad, maybe even worse.. repeated this a few times until it's clear that this stuff is actually reproducing itself every day.

Anyone have any idea?


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

ADA said:


> Another update.. I thought all of my troubles were over, and it does seem that my BGA problem has gone for good, but I have another frustrating issue. If anyone has any experience in this I'd really appreciate the help.
> 
> Since my BGA is all gone, I have had this brown "dust" stuff everywhere.. all over everything. The best way to describe it would be like volcanic ash.. it doesn't seem to be sticking to anything, just seems like debris. I though that it must be dead algae, and that once it was all vacuumed up, it would be gone. I got rid of all of it (or so I thought) and the next day it's back again. Just as bad, maybe even worse.. repeated this a few times until it's clear that this stuff is actually reproducing itself every day.
> 
> Anyone have any idea?


I think a lot of people really restart because of this. My advice would be to siphon out all the dust you can once or twice daily for as long as it takes (maybe a week).


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> I think a lot of people really restart because of this. My advice would be to siphon out all the dust you can once or twice daily for as long as it takes (maybe a week).


Thanks for your advice. That's what I did do, and it seems to be mostly gone now. It has been replaced by a very fine seen algae now, which is very easy to wipe off the glass, but it's frustrating because the water is not nice and clear. It's always a bit murky green. It's definitely not nearly as bad as the brown stuff, but still irritating. Should I do the same with this? Wipe off, vacuum, change water.. every day until it's gone?


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## thebuddha (Jul 16, 2012)

subbed.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

ADA said:


> Thanks for your advice. That's what I did do, and it seems to be mostly gone now. It has been replaced by a very fine seen algae now, which is very easy to wipe off the glass, but it's frustrating because the water is not nice and clear. It's always a bit murky green. It's definitely not nearly as bad as the brown stuff, but still irritating. Should I do the same with this? Wipe off, vacuum, change water.. every day until it's gone?


Yep, that's what I'd do.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Things are getting better.. slowly. Actually up and down a lot still.. latest is an outbreak of BBA, but I think that was caused by me accidentally increasing the photoperiod. 

Still, I'm getting more optimistic.

Here are a few iphone pics from today..






























And my favorite plant ever.. Buce. Kedagang: I had her all the way underwater doing just fine when the BBA hit and started to cover her small leaves so I decided to let her out.























































Thanks for looking.


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

ADA said:


> Thanks  Yeah
> 
> 
> I traded the Kamaka for the most gorgeous 1995 Taylor 512 guitar I've ever seen. :icon_lol:
> ...



You traded a Kamaka?

*lies down so she won't pass out*


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

Perhaps the brown stuff is diatoms?

Usually they cycle and eventually disappear.


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article85.html


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

SpecGrrl said:


> You traded a Kamaka?
> 
> *lies down so she won't pass out*


LOL!

Yes, but I got a Taylor out of it. ANNDDD I just got a Koaloha Concert, which (sorry Kamaka) is even nicer than the Kamaka. WINNING!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

SpecGrrl said:


> You traded a Kamaka?
> 
> *lies down so she won't pass out*





SpecGrrl said:


> Perhaps the brown stuff is diatoms?
> 
> Usually they cycle and eventually disappear.


I wish it were that simple. But, definitely not Diatoms. I'm getting on top of it, somehow.


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

ADA said:


> LOL!
> 
> Yes, but I got a Taylor out of it. ANNDDD I just got a Koaloha Concert, which (sorry Kamaka) is even nicer than the Kamaka. WINNING!


Sorry off topic but Koalohas have a tangy sound and too light of a body for my taste. I rather have the Kamaka... Probably because I play more traditional Hawaiian music and the sound blends more with the other instruments and voices. But when someone asks me what ukulele to get, Koaloha is usually my second choice. Good craftsmanship and sound for the price. 

Back to your tank. I've wanted to do a scape like this from when I first saw it over a year ago. Even with the algae/black stuff, It always looked good to me.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Kai808 said:


> Sorry off topic but Koalohas have a tangy sound and too light of a body for my taste. I rather have the Kamaka... Probably because I play more traditional Hawaiian music and the sound blends more with the other instruments and voices. But when someone asks me what ukulele to get, Koaloha is usually my second choice. Good craftsmanship and sound for the price.


I absolutely agree.. Koaloha are definitely lighter, more delicate sounding. I have a very light touch and a finger picking style, so they work really well for me, but don't get me wrong.. I absolutely LOVE Kamaka Ukuleles too. 




Kai808 said:


> Back to your tank. I've wanted to do a scape like this from when I first saw it over a year ago. Even with the algae/black stuff, It always looked good to me.


You know, I might even be selling this tank.. if you're interested let me know. I still haven't decided but if I do, it won't be expensive and it will come with the algae/black stuff LOL! It will come with the piece of wood and plants.


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## IggyEGuana (Jul 4, 2012)

i like how on the left side the stump is like a wall holding up the upper layer of supstrate. adds interest to the tank


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

IggyEGuana said:


> i like how on the left side the stump is like a wall holding up the upper layer of supstrate. adds interest to the tank


Thanks! Yeah, that was the idea.. It kind of helps a lot with the dimension too. Makes it actually look bigger than it is... When you have multiple levels, it can look more natural imho. I really love this tank, it just needs a new carpet of something. I liked the way the HC carpet looked the best, back in the beginning. Maybe I should get some again. I've been really wanting to try UG in there for a while.. Anyone on here have some they would be able to sell/RAOK to me?


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

ADA said:


> I absolutely agree.. Koaloha are definitely lighter, more delicate sounding. I have a very light touch and a finger picking style, so they work really well for me, but don't get me wrong.. I absolutely LOVE Kamaka Ukuleles too.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Let me know if you decide to sell it. I've been looking at the electric bill and want to convert some of my bigger tanks to an emersed set up or no artificial light at all.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

So.. I've pretty much ignored this tank, and let it do it's own thing 

decided to post some pics.. I kind of like the jungle look. lol!


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## CPDzeke (Jan 4, 2013)

Can you post a pic of the diffuser?


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

CPDzeke said:


> Can you post a pic of the diffuser?


This tank is low tech (no Co2.. no diffuser)


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

More trimming, more neglect.. tank is not looking good at all. 

I have no idea what to do...

Suggestions? Please!

Here's how it looks as of right now: (not a pretty sight) 





















I like this part still though:














No idea what to do with it from now.. any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thx for looking


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## tropicalmackdaddy (Mar 7, 2012)

Clean all the equipment and glass ware, take out all the plants, clean them, remove as much algea as possible from the tank, big water change, re plant, fertilize!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

tropicalmackdaddy said:


> Clean all the equipment and glass ware, take out all the plants, clean them, remove as much algea as possible from the tank, big water change, re plant, fertilize!


Sounds like a good plan, but won't the same algae attack again, if it's still present (in the substrate, even in small quantities)... 

What do you think?


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## Phougi (Jul 30, 2013)

Where did you get the Halfbeaks?


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

From Moanalua Pets by the Stadium

That was a long time ago.. They JUMP!! Gotta have a cover.


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## tropicalmackdaddy (Mar 7, 2012)

ADA said:


> Sounds like a good plan, but won't the same algae attack again, if it's still present (in the substrate, even in small quantities)...
> 
> What do you think?


Well it should not be a problem if you plan on doing normal maintenance, like water change, ferts etc the plants should out compete the little remaining algae, but if you plan on the tank just kind of doing its own thing I would start the tank over, or try and beat the algae by identifying what caused it and fixing it. but that, will probably be fixed with normal routine again. 
Based on the clean and algae free look of what it used to look like, my guess is its just a result of neglect! Good luck!


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

tropicalmackdaddy said:


> Well it should not be a problem if you plan on doing normal maintenance, like water change, ferts etc the plants should out compete the little remaining algae, but if you plan on the tank just kind of doing its own thing I would start the tank over, or try and beat the algae by identifying what caused it and fixing it. but that, will probably be fixed with normal routine again.
> Based on the clean and algae free look of what it used to look like, my guess is its just a result of neglect! Good luck!


Well, what happened was it got infected with this brown algae, (not diatoms) sort of just like, brown debris, more and more every day, every time I'd vacuum it out, it would be back twice as much the next day.. I struggled for months and months, then finally just gave up and let it go.

I wasn't caused by neglect.. it caused the neglect


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