# Fat Guy's ADA Mini M Driftwood over Seiryu Stone



## Zareth

Very nice! The Solar Mini M was sold out when I tried to order it a few weeks ago, did you have anything to do with this?!


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## boostfed

beautiful! cant wait to see it all filled in


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## Option

Sorry if I missed it, but what kind of light is that you're using over the aquarium?


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## Fat Guy

thanks Zareth and boostfed. 

Zareth, that's funny. When I ordered this light it was out of stock as well. The extra time I waited, seemed to be just enough for me to refill my CO2 tank, acclimate a new filter, plan a layout and just get things ready. I'm eager to put the fish in the tank. Waiting for the first signs of algae to set in. I need to snag a nitrite test kit to figure out what stage the tank is at. I just bought a 1.5" drill bit and drilled a hole in the ikea cabinet. Everything is looking pretty peachy now.


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## Robotguy

That's really nice! I like the stones.


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## DANIELSON

Really nice setup. Its going to look great!!


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## shoteh

Nice set up. I see, ADA has a new dropchecker design


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## Francis Xavier

Yeah, Fat Guy ordered the very last Solar Mini M that we had on the container order . Every single one that came in was sold the day they arrived!

In any event, this hardscape looks like it's going to be a fun one to follow!


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## FlSHRFun

Looks beautiful! I was also looking to get my hands on a Mini Solar. Sold out. 



shoteh said:


> Nice set up. I see, ADA has a new dropchecker design


ADA didn't develop a new dropchecker. Check the link in FatGuy's signature.
He made it himself. DIY.


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## lasutaku

Awesome! You got it started! Looking forward to updates~


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## shoteh

FlSHRFun said:


> ADA didn't develop a new dropchecker. Check the link in FatGuy's signature.
> He made it himself. DIY.


Lol I know hence the smily face


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## decoman

the water look murky


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## FlSHRFun

shoteh said:


> Lol I know hence the smily face


My mistake. :icon_lol:


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## Fat Guy

Thanks for all the positive comments. I'm really excited about this tank and am very happy to finally have it up and running. My nitrites are around .2, but I'm glad that I've had the eheim running on another tank before setting this one up. I'm going to keep doing the 50% water change each day until Friday (1 week after planning). The water is still a little cloudy before each water change from the Aquasoil. I added some more clear super to the water column after a water change today. I can't imagine that it hurt. I'm looking forward to getting the tank cycled and then adding the white clouds. I could probably add them sooner because they are such a hardy fish, but I'd rather stay patient and stay the course. Still no signs of any algae, but I know that it is right around the corner. The HC and Glosso are doing well so far. And I feel quite happy with my daily dose of 1ml potassium and .5ml of seachem comprehensive. I wonder if anybody out there is using these products for their minis. I'm also very happy with the solar mini m light. I had been contemplating a clip on light or hampton before this purchase, but decided to stick with the solar mainly for quality and overall coherency with these tanks. I couldn't be happier. Reading the above posts, it sounds like ADG needs to get more of these lights. They're awesome and I dig it! (I'm currently watching my cat stare down into the tank for the first time. It's making me a little nervous, but I'm glad that I have a glass top that I put on when I'm away or asleep. He seems more interested in knocking over my test tubes and dosing syringes more than getting a face full of water). By the way, I'm happy to read that some have spotted the drop checker. It works like a charm. If you are contemplating one for a tank and have some aroma therapy oils laying around, I say go for it and make one!! 

Thanks again for the nice comments. I am really looking forward to posting updates of this tanks progress. much love, el g.


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## Fat Guy

Anyone have any thoughts about pulling the glosso out from the back left corner of the tank. It's really starting to grow (also growing rather tall) and may not be the right plant for the scape.


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## Francis Xavier

Hey Fat Guy,

Just ruthlessly trim the glosso down to the very base of the stem and it will carpet out as opposed to trying to go out - it's a stem plant, so it's natural craving is to grow up. Keeping co2 levels up will also encourage horizontal growth.


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## Fat Guy

Thanks Frank. I was gonna take some scissors to it today. That's good to know. Do you think it will look good with the HC and the scape if I can control it, or will it overtake?


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## Francis Xavier

You need to give HC a good head start - initially it's slower to grow and will lose to glosso, but in the long run it outpaces glosso due to growth patterns.


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## Fat Guy

Thanks Frank. I learned a lot today doing this trim. It's been awhile since I've grown plants other than moss. Everything seems to be doing really well though. New root sprouts on both the glosso and HC. I think that I'm gonna keep the glosso in the background for now and not let it get to the front. I also planted some HC in between the glosso on Friday, so we'll see. Everything is pearling and still no algae in the system. I'm thinking about turning the co2 completely off at night. Doesn't make any sense to keep it on when the lights are off. I usually don't turn it off at night because I'm lazy, but will probably have to when I put the fish in.

When amano talks about aerating with his lily pipes for 14 hours when the lights are off, is that essentially done by raising the lily pipe to break the surface tension? I'm also wondering when to add the fish. So far, 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite. I'm wondering if I should wait for the HC and glosso to kick off before adding fish to avoid excessive nitrates in the water column and algae blooms. any thoughts?


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## lasutaku

I wait for at least one month to add fish. That way, everything gets a chance to grow in with absolutely no disturbances. Also, you can up the CO2 as much as you want to give the plants a head start for growth.

As for the aeration by Amano, yea, he just raises the pipes so it breaks the surface (too much work for me to do daily). 

You should definitely turn the CO2 off at night, as it's simply just a waste of CO2. Just get a solenoid. You can even get an inline one if you are up for it.


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## Fat Guy

Hey lasutaku,

Thanks for the input. I'm definitely going to wait a month before I put any fish in there. I've also been turning the co2 off at night and raising the lily pipes. today i noticed that the output flow of the lily pipe seemed a little weak. I took the top off the filter and cleaned off the filter floss type stuff that came with it and hooked it back up. The flow increased dramatically. Amazing how dirty that section of the filter got. I'm thinking about getting a solenoid and hooking it up to a timer. I don't mind adjusting things manually, but in the long run, it seems like just an all around smart purchase. Everything has been growing very well. My nitrites are high as expected and noticed some copepods on the glass today. The first week I was doing 50% water changes. Now I'm doing water changes every other day. I've also been trimming the stems of glosso in the back that were starting to grow tall. It's amazing how quickly that plant sends out runners. I'll probably end up pulling it out and just making the tank HC, but for now, I enjoy monitoring its growth and trimming it short. The water in the tank is almost 100& clear now, after a couple days of aquasoil cloudiness. I really really enjoy this tank. Best, el g

end of week 1 photos


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## Fat Guy

did a little bit of a rescape today. the glosso and the hc are growing so well. Felt a little trepidation when I stirred up the aquasoil, but I wasn't satisfied with my original rock arrangement so I made a sacrifice. a strand of glosso came loose and the roots were over two inches long. pretty wild. so I rescaped and did a fulll water change. If any of you have followed my edge thread, you can see there how often I move things around. But I think I have made a step in the right direction. I added some more height and depth to the aquascape by manipulating the larger rock. I added a little aquasoil powder to connect the new arrangement and just a little bit of clear super. Got a little nervous moving the rocks after spending so much time before on the original arrangement. But I think that was my issue. I thought about it too much. So this time I just let it rip and didn't spend more than 5 minutes on it. I'm not gonna mess with the main rock arrangement anymore. I'm gonna let the plants grow and add the fish in a week or two. I think it's going to look pretty cool once the white clouds move in. I may add some cherry shrimp just for good measure too. I'll post some photos once the water clears again.

Best, el g


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## Fat Guy

here's the new rescape

best,

el g


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## Fat Guy

Added 1 Cardinal Japonica today that I got from Pacific Aquarium on Delancey Street, and purchased a Burkert Brass Solenoid Valve Type 6011 from aquariumplants.com










Learned today that I can shutoff my CO2 by 7:45p and it will continue to diffuse into the aquarium steadily until 10:30p at roughly 1.5 bps because of the pressure still in the line. Now I just have to time it with my photoperiod to ensure proper co2 efficiency and control before I add fish in the next week or two. 

My nitrites have been at 0ppm for the past three days. The past week or two, I was experiencing nitrite spikes from 2.5 to 5ppm. Now they are gone. I am still not decided on whether or not the extra addition of clear super during the last huge water change is having anything to do with that. I've started changing the water every other day now, but not at 50%. I'm removing roughly 1/3 of it now (basically, as much as I can remove before it reaches the nano intake. Still loving my DIY drop checker. 

Today I pulled all of the glosso from the back corner and added a little more aquasoil powder type to fill in the small depression in the substrate. I planted more HC that I propagated in the section where the glosso was. I really liked the plant, but I knew it was going to really set in and dominate. Some of the roots were over five inches after 3.5 weeks (hard to believe it's already been that long). But I'm very happy with the rock setup and think that the HC alone will compliment the overall impression of the rocks. 

Maybe I'll make a glosso wabi kusa with the chunk I pulled out.

Any tips on trimming the HC. It's starting to grow low and over itself. Should I aggressively give it a buzz cut to get thicker growth or should I just let it grow wild for a week before I take the scissors to it. Any thoughts?

Thanks for Looking,

El G

ps I just dig this 
http://issuu.com/neti/docs/iwagumi


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## lasutaku

That's interesting about shutting off the co2 at 7:45 and it still diffuses for 3 hours. I gotta test it on my tanks to see if i can cut off the co2 earlier as well. saving 3 hours of co2 per day sounds pretty good to me.

As for the HC, I just trim it once a week~ But I think others may recommend to aggressively trim it...


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## TJ_Burton

That is very simplistic, which in itself is attractive.

Great work!


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## IntrepidAquarist

I've read every post in order to get some ideas for my own mini L ADA. I've done some long-term planning and cost anaylsis. The tank and the stand I had to buy are on the way. Unfortunately, I won't be able to afford the solar lights, but I think the Archaea clamp-on lights are fairly attractive. What do you think?

Also, if you have any new updates and photo's I'd like to see.


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## SkyTop

I like the new scape, keep up the good work!


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## Fat Guy

thanks all for the nice comments. Lasutaku, pretty gnarly right? I guess it makes sense that there would be some co2 built up in the line when the system is shut off, but yeah, who knew it would diffuse that long after being turned off. Thanks for the HC tip by the way. I'm glad I didn't dry start it. Intrepidaquarist, I think that the archaea clip light will work great on your mini l. I'll post some new photos of the tank soon. I've got a solenoid coming in the mail and just made a diy bubble counter using a dosing syringe, check valve, and wetsuit glue. Here's a photo of that DIY project:
19inches of snow in NYC today, -el g


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## lasutaku

haha, you are really the diy master.

I was in NYC two weeks ago for work. Had a mini snow storm while I was there, not as bad as it was said to be. Going back there on the 20th of next month. 

You think it'll still be snowing then?... Hope not~


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## zeldar

I really like the new way you have arranged the stones. One of the better Iwagumis i've seen in a while. It looks so simple and elegant. I haven't read through the whole thead, but what plant is in the back left?


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## Fat Guy

Hey Lasutaku...I'm currently watching the pipeline masters. I wish I was in Hawaii right now. We've got one more big snowstorm on the way next week.

Hey Zeldar, thanks for the nice comment. I'm really enjoying this tank. The plant in the back was glosso that I was growing, kind of like a bush, but I decided to pull it because it was really starting to take over the tank and replanted with HC that I had propagated.

The bubble counter is working like a charm. I hooked it up and hid it behind the cabinet. 









Action shot of a water change.


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## IntrepidAquarist

Very nice Fat Guy. I've taken a lot of inspiration from you so far, although the aquascaping design that I have in mine will be a bit different from yours. I do like your Iwagumi set up though. Thanks for all the help, and keep rocking that tank.


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## Fat Guy

Thanks IntrepidAquarist, totally looking forward to your setup. 

This morning I noticed some browning on some of the HC leaves near the diffuser and near the glass. Everything is growing very well and I'm not sure if the browning is from:

a. too long of a photoperiod 
-yesterday I accidentally had my lights on for 12 hours rather than the 9 hours that I usually run them.

b. nutrient deficiency.
-for the past five days, my nitrite and ammonia levels have been zero so my tank has been showing signs of being cycled. Then it dawned on me that because I've only been dosing potassium and trace elements for the first three weeks, all of the nitrogen was really being supplied by the higher levels of nitrite. So today I tested my nitrate, and my levels were zero. I don't have any inhabitants in the tank. I took the cardinal japonica out and placed him temporarily in my shrimp tank until my solenoid arrives. I know that there are nutrients being supplied via the aquasoil, but having zero nitrates in the water column got me thinking. 

So I used the seachem formula to determine dosing of nitrate:

.05(v)=m instead of on the bottle where it reads .25(v)=m

where "v" is volume in gallons, "n" is desired amount of nitrogen in ppm.

I think if my target nitrate levels were 25ppm then I would use the latter equation and change "n" to 25. Would that be correct. The first equation I discovered through researching a post on APC here

so I plugged in the following:

.05(5.5gallons)(5nitrogen)=1.375ml

So I decided to dose 1.5ml of seachem nitrogen in my tank today which should give me just a little bit more than 5ppm nitrogen and is easier for me to measure. Which is not a huge amount, but I'd rather adjust slowly and monitor it than shoot for the moon to get the nitrate levels up to 25ppm. I plan on adding the white clouds by the end of next week which should supply more nitrates to the tank and maybe an otto or two to control the diatoms. Which brings me to:

c. diatoms
-is the browning on the hc leaves actually diatoms. on closer inspection, the browning on the leaves appears slightly fuzzy and on the surface of the leaf. It looks like a topical problem, and not from within. But then again, I'm not 100% sure. 

I'm just using deductive reasoning to find the answer to the browning. There were two major changes in the tank. 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates (leading to a nutrient deficiency in the water column) and an accidental prolonged photoperiod. Each probably having something to do with the small change on some of the leaves. I know that the aquasoil is rich in nutrients, but I think that will really become evident once all of the HC starts to deep root into the soil. Right now, I think that some of the HC are benefiting from the substrate, and some haven't gotten to that stage yet. So the addition of nitrate may not be a bad idea now, especially before I put the fish in the tank. 

Any thoughts?

best,

el g


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## lasutaku

When I started my mini-m out, i had it inhabitant-less for over a month. So I did dose nitrates once a week. Don't know if nitrate deficiency would be your answer to your browning, but what your saying makes complete sense to me.


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## Fat Guy

Hey Lasutaku,

I think your right, I don't think what I'm seeing is from nitrogen deficiency. I'm pretty sure now that the browning is from diatoms. when I look closely at the leaves, it looks like a brown topical dusting. So I'm gonna pick up an otto next week. There is, though, a definite need for nitrate in the tank now, which makes sense that it is currently inhabitant-less. After dosing yesterday, this morning I did notice a lot of new roots shooting through the substrate on the side of the tank. I don't think it's directly related to the dosing the day before, but I take it as a good sign. I remeasured the levels this morning and my nitrates were at zero. Increased them to 20ppm today and will measure it again. The HC that I propagated and replanted where the glosso was is lookin good. Diggin the tank. 

best, el g


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## Fat Guy

My burkert solenoid arrived today that I purchased from AquariumPlants.com Very excited as now I can prepare the setup for fish. Unfortunately, my regulator didn't have the proper fittings for the device, so I had to make a trip to home depot. Picked up the Watts A-738 Pipe Hex Bushing 1/4" MIP x 1/8" FIP to hook up directly to the regulator. I also got the Watts A-715 Brass pipe nipple 1/8" MIP x Close. Spent about $3.65 total. Unfortunately, Home Depot did not carry a swagelock male 1/8" to metering valve fitting to connect the solenoid to the needle valve. But when I got home I was able to salvage this fitting from the original setup that I had attached to the regulator. I was lucky to discover the following link to a post here on TPT that diagram said pieces above. It's important to note that the 1/4" to 1/8" fitting that connects the regulator connects at P on the Solenoid. You can better see in the picture what I'm talking about. 

Plugged the solenoid and light into a power strip that is connected to a wall timer. This device works like a charm and so far no leaks. Before I received this solenoid, I realized that I had been experiencing a lot of additional co2 being diffused into the aquarium after I turned the co2 tank off. In fact, after shutting the tank off, co2 would continue to diffuse for nearly 3 hours. Which meant bad news if you were a fish or invertebrate. I think it would be safe to deduce that the the additional co2 diffusing into the aquarium after the tank was shut off was a bleed off from the co2 stored in the regulator. Now, however, with the solenoid, once the valve closes, the co2 diffusing into the tank ceases almost immediately. Once I can stabilize my co2 levels I think it'll be safe to add the white clouds. I added an otocinclus today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he will make a good dent in the developing diatoms. Kept the light off for a while when I first introduced the fish to lower its stress level. He seems to have adapted very well to the new environment. Nitrates were zero this morning. Did a 50% water change before adding the otto. Didn't add any additional nitrogen. I will measure tomorrow morning to see what affect that oto is having on the levels. Probably not that much of a change at first. But once the white clouds get in there I'm sure the nitrate level will change. All in all, two nice additions to the tank today. 

New equipment shot:


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## lasutaku

Nice solenoid. Yea, I think what your saying is right, about the excess CO2 being in the regulator, and not in the line. I watched my co2 after the solenoid switched off, and my diffuser stopped bubbling within a minute. I was so excited about shutting my co2 off a few hours before lights out too lol.

looking forward to pics of your white clouds. I went with 5 CPDs.


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## thief

I have to say the repositioning of your main stone makes the scape stick out a lot better! Almost looks like mr. amano created the scape himself!


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## Dollface

This is probably the best iwagumi I've ever seen on the forums. Also one of the better threads. Awesome.


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## Fat Guy

Thank you for all of the nice comments. I'm still battling diatoms, the otocinclus is doing a wonderful job removing it from the glass. It is mainly on the HC now and a little on the rocks. My pipes are starting to get a little dirty (as if they were going to stay crystal clear forever). Added the white clouds yesterday. Really pretty swimming in the current. They are a lovely fish. The dominate males get aggressive during feeding, but calm dow a couple hours afterwards. They spend a lot of time low in the water, I imagine looking for a good spot to lay eggs as they are substrate spawners (as I've just read). Lost my amano shrimp yesterday morning. he had climbed out of the tank (even with the glass top on) and found one of my cats batting it around the apartment.

lasutaku, cpds sound like an awesome addition. My bonehead move today was not adding teflon tape to the brass fittings for the regulator. Realized I had a serious leak near the solenoid (applied a little soap and water to check for bubbles) and low and behold, definite leaks. My gauge read that the tank was almost empty. Part of me didn't want to believe it, but it was true. Need to go get a refill on Monday. Purchased yellow gas line ptfe thread seal tape and redid the connections. Taa Daa!! no leaks. also flipped the burkert solenoid as suggested. Now I need to take a trip out to awisco gas and welding supply in Maspeth on monday to get a refill. Once I get a chance, I'll see if I can get some pics up with the white clouds doing their thing. best, el g

Here's the tape that I bought:


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## Fat Guy

Took a trip to Maspeth and went to Awisco welding supply today. Spent $16 to refill the 5lb co2 tank after the leaks that I had been experiencing from the improperly installed brass fittings I connected to the solenoid. A while ago I had traded the aluminum tank that I used to own for one of their steel ones. I'm glad I did. The entire process is very easy and simply cost effective for a tank that will last me a long time (if installed correctly). I go there and swap out their empty tank with one of their filled ones. No bother having to get the tank tested and I like the weight of the steel tanks. I was having some difficulty getting a tight seal when attaching the regulator to the tank today and opted to take a risk and add a little Teflon tape to the fitting. Not necessary as the tank and regulator should have a tight seal with the rubber gasket, but I was still getting leaks when I did the soap test. So I made a trip to the hardware store and picked up a 12" adjustable wrench, which really gave me some nice leverage attaching the regulator. This is the style of wrench I purchased:








Really cranked the regulator on tight. And ta-da, no leaks from the regulator connection. 

I reduced the water flow in the tank yesterday. After observing the white clouds for some time, I noticed that the increase in current seamed to create more aggression from the dominate male in the group. I'm not sure if more current encourages spawning behavior, but with the current full blast, the fish seemed very agitated with each other. Just a quick note, it's not that they appeared stressed from the fast current before, it was mainly their tempo in the small tank that was stressing me out. Decreasing the current has really made a difference. I still have enough flow to spread the co2 around, and it also seems like just enough flow to encourage some nice schooling. 

With my DIY bubble counter, I've reduced the co2 bps to 1 every 5 seconds (inside the larger cylinder). The DIY counter is great, however, the way that I built mine, you actually get two very different rates of bubbles: one from the check valve cylinder (as the starting point), and another from the main cylinder where the bubbles from the check valve cylinder release into the water column in the larger syringe cylinder before they make their way to the diffuser. 

The otolincus is doing a wonderful job on the glass, and just started cleaning the rock. I am missing one white cloud (a jumper even with the glass lid on) however, I have no idea where it is in my apartment. I imagine that one of my cats ate it. So I currently have 6 white clouds and three cherry shrimp and one otocinclus. I am still battling diatoms on the plants, which has seemed to stunt the initial rapid growth of the HC, however, the majority of the HC is deeply rooted and many many new, tinier shoots are appearing. I dosed 2ml seachem nitrogen during a 30% water change yesterday and am feeding the white clouds 3 small flakes of food a day. When I test nitrates, they are still at zero, but hopefully the nitrate levels will increase with the recent addition of the white clouds. Thanks to all who have been following this thread. I get a lot of enjoyment from this nano tank and enjoy looking at scapes that others here have made. Once the diatoms clear I'll snap some photos of the fish...maybe even take a video. best, el g


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## lasutaku

Looking forward to the updated tank pics!


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## Fat Guy

So here's the story. I really enjoy white clouds, and was quite fond of the fish that I had been keeping. Unfortunately, I decided today to pull the white clouds from the tank. For the setup that I am trying to create, I want an active yet peaceful fish. And the white clouds (which are incredibly beautiful under good lighting) were making the environment too chaotic. I thought, as I wrote before, that they had calmed after I slowed the current down in the tank, but I was very mistaken. I had 3 males (one of them being an extremely dominate male in the tank) with 3 females. From lights on till lights off, the dominate male was bullish. I think the mini m is just too small for white clouds. If I had more space, I think the breeding aggression would have been diluted. So I made an executive decision and removed them and went on a journey to Pacific Aquarium on Delancey and made a trade. 

But before I jump to what I purchased, I found this great .pdf file that provides wonderful information regarding the burkert solenoid valve and the technical principles of their valves. I stumbled upon it after researching the temperature that the burkert solenoid valves operate at. I touched the metal nut on top of the valve today and found that it was incredibly hot. But after further research, did I come to understand that they operate under a high temperature during use. Wanted to post that link just in case anyone out there is using a similar solenoid. May as well understand what you are purchasing.

So....back to the white clouds. I returned them to pacific aquarium, which is the one lfs that I have come to trust and one that treats their livestock well here in nyc. In a trade exchange, I picked up 4 neon tetras (for my fluval edge cherry shrimp farm). I had called around to different stores trying to find ember tetras, as I really liked the way that they looked. But my hunt came up empty as not one store in my vicinity had them in stock. Regardless, I was determined to pick up some fish today for the m. I had been considering celestial pearl danios, and found some at Pacific, and was a couple of heartbeats away from purchasing them. But took a couple careful walks around the tanks and observed the tetras and rasboras et al and watched how they behaved and tried to imagine them in my tank and the aquascape that I have created. And then I came across a tank labeled "Chilli Rasboras 'rare'" 
_<quick note, this boraras brigittae photo is not from my tank.> _








- which were a tank full of lovely boraras brigittae that were going for $6.98 for 3. Regardless of the price, I really enjoyed watching the shoal and the handful that were really pushing into the current in the tank. So I picked up 12 of them (and got one free by accident...which balances the purchase out because I noticed a short while ago that one of them was missing an eyeball). I noticed two spots of ich on one of them so am expecting an outbreak that I can only keep my finger crossed to avoid because I did not quarantine them. Brought them home and added the rasboras to the mini and yahtzee, a lovely lovely fit. They mesh extremely well with the scape I have created. I also pulled out a large female cherry shrimp from my edge breeding tank and added her to the setup. The cherry shrimp are bigger than the boraras brigittae. Awesome. The otocinclus now looks out of place, but a wonderful inhabitant nonetheless. I decreased the current even more in the tank to a nice gentle flow. Now I will have to see how the balance of co2 I have been maintaing is affected by the reduction of water flow. I snapped a few photos of the tank to keep up with this journal/thread. Definitely still battling diatoms on the HC as you can see, but new growth is really pushing through and a lot of the roots are close to the powersand which makes me a happy planted aquarist.

Here's a photo of the tank with just two cherry shrimp and an otocinclus. 










this shot is from a little farther away. I'm fortunate that Ikea makes such great stands and containers (and meatballs) 









the boraras brigittae getting acclimated in a deli cup.









Here they are in the tank. It's nice to see the otocinclus cleaning the diffuser in this shot. Now I need to find a way to get him to clean the diatoms off of the lily pipes. The otocinclus is such a great fish for a nano like this. I was moments away from accidentally gassing him with too much co2 when I first added him to the tank. I'm very glad that I did not. Looking forward to the diatoms clearing and snapping a photo of a tight school of the brigittae.









as always, thanks to all who have been following this thread.

best, el g


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## Dollface

I know I just commented but man, this tank keeps getting more and more amazing. I love my some boraras.


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## lasutaku

Great choice for fish. I was really debating on either those or the CPD's. I'm sure you'd enjoy those better though, the CPD's are quite skittish, and are continually squirming around the tank.


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## Fat Guy

thanks dollface and lasutaku. I'm really stoked about the setup. looking forward to snapping a picture with all of them schooling together. I'd love to get 12 more of these guys. 

best, el g


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## A Hill

Great fish, I'm considering getting around two dozen of them for my tank. 

First I need to get algae under control.

-Andrew


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## forrestp38829

I love those little guys. They compliment your scape nicely.


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## MissGreen08

Love the Boraras!! The red will contrast nicely with the green of the plants and the minimal color of the hardscape. Very nice!


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## Fat Guy

even though the ICH is not on every boraras, I decided to treat all the fish regardless. I temporarily relocated the boraras to my 3.5gallon (which I've kept running with the cycled filter media in case I had to use it as a treatment tank) put a heater set to 86F and a small powerhead for aeration. Added 2 teaspoons of salt which I diluted before hand. Threw in some driftwood and java moss. The boraras seem at ease and not stressed. I know from experience in the hobby what a disaster ICH can be. and experience should've told me to quarrantine the fish before I put them in the mini. another lesson on being patient- reminding me there's no need to rush in this hobby.


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## amphirion

i hope your fish recover quickly! you've got a great looking tank! i wish i could afford an ADA tank and equipment. super nice!


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## cervantesmx

Fat Guy, I love your HC carpet, I am growing HC myself and would like to know what steps you recommend to ensure growth and health, thanks!


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## Fat Guy

cervantesmx said:


> Fat Guy, I love your HC carpet, I am growing HC myself and would like to know what steps you recommend to ensure growth and health, thanks!


thanks cervantesmx,

HC needs ample light, nutrients and co2 and maintenance. It does well in a nutrient rich soil. I had contemplated doing the dry start method with the HC, but didn't have the patience. 

For this tank I started with two portions of HC that I picked up from my lfs and separated the plants from the wool and planted in three to four stem clumps. I didn't have any occupants in the tank for about a month so I blasted the co2 and started the first week to week and a half with nearly 50% water changes each day. I dose seachem potassium and comprehensive daily and now dose seachem nitrogen after each water change. 

But once you start getting good growth with the HC, I think that the real trick is trimming. Once I started to see the HC rooting in the soil, I very carefully trimmed it back. And as it filled in more I started trimming more. Now that the entire tank is carpeted and there is a substantial root system that has developed, I am more aggressive with my trimming. Every week to week and a half, I cut it (almost down to the substrate) and have found luck encouraging smaller, more compact leaf growth. And the plant seems to respond very well. I've had a little green filament hair algae every now and then, which I remove with the bristles of a tooth brush. And in the beginning had experienced the normal occurrence of diatoms but stayed the course. I spend around an hour a week trimming the HC (believe it or not). 40 minutes or so trimming and 20 minutes removing the clippings from the water. If I had a better set of curved scissors, I think the process would go a lot faster. I really enjoy this plant. 

Hope that helps. Thanks for the inquiry. best, el g


----------



## Betta Maniac

lasutaku said:


> Great choice for fish. I was really debating on either those or the CPD's. I'm sure you'd enjoy those better though, the CPD's are quite skittish, and are continually squirming around the tank.


My CPDs aren't at all skittish. They check me out and come right up to be fed (esp once they figured out that I = bloodworms, LOL!).


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## Zareth

I'm probably gonna get CPDs for my Mini M, have yours ever jumped? I'm fine with a glass top, but its just one more thing I have to buy to delay my build. 
How many do you think would be comfortable in a Mini M? I'm thinking 5-6. Sorry for the thread hijack!!


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## Fat Guy

Yeah. I don't have cpds in mine. I think however, glass tops are a good to have for lots of fish in these tanks. If they get spooked, you very well may find them on the floor days later even if they aren't known jumpers. The other day I was about to clean the glass on my tank (and I have a glass top that I had made) and set down a small towel in front of the tank, turned around to pull up a chair and went to pick up the towel and discovered that my otocinclus was laying on it. I spooked him when I moved the chair I figure. And I also had a top on the tank, but he made the leap through a small small opening. Lucky that he landed on the white towel. If not, he would have been food for my cats.

best, el g


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## beedee

loving it dude!

sounds like you are doing the right treatment for ich. i did the same thing, minus the hospital tank (since i didnt have one). it cleared up in a week, but i slowly discontinued the treatment over another week.


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## Fat Guy

Just an update. I've been aggressively cutting the HC and it has really paid off (although very time consuming). My nano diffuser from aqmagic broke today when I was adjusting its position so I had to purchase one here in NYC. I think the quality of glass and pressure had a lot to do with the break, as the diffuser seemed to burst from the bottom curve after I bumped it on the glass. The only downside with the diffuser I purchased today is that it is not as small as the aqmagic one. Unfortunately I lost the boraras brigittae from a severe ich outbreak. But I picked up 6 emerald eye rasboras yesterday from New World Aquarium on 38th street. I'm very happy with these fish, and they are also super healthy. I also snagged an amano shrimp for some maintenance. The shrimp is a monster. Here's a new picture of the setup. To clean the rocks, I've been using an old head from an Oral B Sonicare brush that I hook up to the sonicare base. High tech cleaning device. here's an updated picture (right before I broke the nano diffuser). 

Best,

-el g


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## Zareth

I wanna see the fish!


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## IntrepidAquarist

Absolutely beautiful. Great job Fat Guy.


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## dj2005

Very pretty.


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## Fat Guy

As requested, here's a shot with the fish visible. I do like them, mainly cause they are very peaceful and school all the time. I really enjoy the emerald eye that really sparkles. There is one that is suspect that has a little fin rot from the lfs. I'm considering sticking him in a hospital tank with some melafix. I'm a little reserved about adding any melefix to the water column in this tank. Although I have used it on other planted tanks in the past. I've just put too much time and effort in this tank to mess things up by adding outside medications (even if natural). I wish my diffuser (the emergency one I bought) was much smaller. I pulled it before I took the picture. I saw online that someone in brooklyn, ny is selling nano diffusers on ebay for $5.99. The one I purchased cost $19.95. In the photo you can see how red my female cherry shrimp is. You can spot her in the bottom left of the picture. Next to my otocinclus. There are many little shrimp babies hidden in the HC. I spotted a couple today. I imagine they will become food for the filter and rasboras once they start free swimming. I don't want to stick a sponge or guard over the intake because it would just look too ugly...although, I've got to admit, my intake pipe is lookin very gnarly. My fluval edge is currently my shrimp tank. I have over a 100 cherry shrimp breeding in that tank which is just moss and sticks. I dig the amano shrimp, but man is it ugly. I should get around to cleaning my lily pipes, but don't want to struggle removing the lily's from the tubing. I don't mind the gunk. It would look great without the biofilm on the pipes, but it doesn't bother me to much. Thanks for looking. Best, el g


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## youjettisonme

Great tank FG. I have a 90p that is a little over two months old, and I'm fighting with the brown diatom on my HC just like you were. Seems you completely eradicated it from this last pic. What was the secret in the end? Trimming? Ferts? Patience? Every day I'm praying for the green lushness I see your pic, and the green that my glosso has no problem showing.

Also, I almost pulled the trigger on some chili rasoboras many times, but ended up going with some green rasboras and galaxy rasboras instead in the end. Beautiful fish you have. I have 9 ottos and 3 zebra ottos as well.

For anyone considering, I highly recommend the zebra ottos. Magnificent creatures. They are slightly larger then the normal otto, and they don't work as hard either, but they are terrific to watch. 

Love your little nano! I have a mini-M that I just planted two weeks ago. Hoping it comes out almost as nice as yours.


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## Fat Guy

youjettisonme said:


> Great tank FG. I have a 90p that is a little over two months old, and I'm fighting with the brown diatom on my HC just like you were. Seems you completely eradicated it from this last pic. What was the secret in the end? Trimming? Ferts? Patience? Every day I'm praying for the green lushness I see your pic, and the green that my glosso has no problem showing.
> 
> Also, I almost pulled the trigger on some chili rasoboras many times, but ended up going with some green rasboras and galaxy rasboras instead in the end. Beautiful fish you have. I have 9 ottos and 3 zebra ottos as well.
> 
> For anyone considering, I highly recommend the zebra ottos. Magnificent creatures. They are slightly larger then the normal otto, and they don't work as hard either, but they are terrific to watch.
> 
> Love your little nano! I have a mini-M that I just planted two weeks ago. Hoping it comes out almost as nice as yours.


Hey youjettisonme,

Thanks for the nice comments!! For me, I got rid of the diatoms through patience. I removed what I could from the glass, but the rest was simply just staying the course and knowing that it would eventually go away. Everything else has been has been careful monitoring, trimming, fertilizing, adequate co2, and more and more patience.

I love the rasboras, unfortunately, I've already had two jump. I have a glass top on my tank, but two have some how been able to find the little space between the glass top and the side of the tank and have jettisoned themselves out. Maybe I should get a very precise piece of glass cut (one that will wrap around the lily pipes to curtail any inkling to flee. I came home from work last night and saw my cat staring at what I thought was a bug on the ground. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was the rasbora. I quickly scooped it up and through it back in the tank. It was swimming a lttle cockeyed, and this morning when I woke up, I found him upside down and floating. Sucks because these fish were not easy to find. 

Here are a few random shots. I always find it interesting when I see how people do their tank maintenance. I love the solar mini m light and how maneuverable it is.

Best, el g
























view from the couch


----------



## Francis Xavier

Hey Fat guy,

If you ever get a chance to shoot a quick video of this layout, I'd love to put it in the ADG Vibe: Spotlight!


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## TLE041

Microrasboras are very prone to jumping, as I've recently learned. I put in a school of 16 _Boraras merah_ into my Mini-L and had five suicides overnight. I had to get the matching ADA top for it and the jumping hasn't been a problem since. 

I loved the open top look of these tanks, but not many fishes can be successfully kept in them.


----------



## Fat Guy

Francis Xavier said:


> Hey Fat guy,
> 
> If you ever get a chance to shoot a quick video of this layout, I'd love to put it in the ADG Vibe: Spotlight!


Hey Frank,

Sounds really cool. I'll try to get a video of it soon. Before I do, I should probably clean the lily pipes and spruce it up a little. I wish I had more rasboras to showcase. Let me see if I can get around to it today. I've really enjoyed this tank. All the best, w


----------



## talontsiawd

Tank looks awesome, as I would expect from your Edge. Good choice wither the Emerald Eye Rasboras. I bought some a while back, not ever seeing them before and I feel in love with them. Great fish with a peaceful personality.


----------



## Fat Guy

talontsiawd said:


> Tank looks awesome, as I would expect from your Edge. Good choice wither the Emerald Eye Rasboras. I bought some a while back, not ever seeing them before and I feel in love with them. Great fish with a peaceful personality.


thanks! I dig them too. If only I can keep them from trying to fly. They are by far the best nano schoolers I've ever kept. I think I will try to find/order more. But before I do, I may have to invest in a better custom top.


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## talontsiawd

Mine don't jump at all. Well, one did the first day I haven't lost one after. I didn't even know they were prone to jumping.


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## Fat Guy

Cleaned the lily pipes yesterday. Made a simple bleach solution with 1 parts bleach to 4 parts water and used some ornament wire that I twisted together to scrape the tubes with. Also used a little piece of paper towel to push through the pipes. All in all, not as painstaking as I thought it would be. But definitely a delicate task. Fortunately nothing broke and the pipes look super clean. Also backwashed the filter and swapped out some filter floss. I noticed that the eheim runs super quiet when clean (of course) and makes a little more noise when dirty. I'm still working on putting a video together of the tank. I'm trying to figure out the best lighting to shoot a quick video with my flipvideo. Below is the tank with the clean pipes. I also threw in a picture of one of my female cherry shrimps for good measure. She's is super red in this tank and has already produced some offspring that are hiding in the HC. I've been removing with a toothbrush a little bit of filamentous hair algae. Hasn't been a problem, I've just noticed that it appears in certain spots. But I've stayed the course and haven't had any significant outbreaks. I'm looking to get a shorter pair of curved scissors to cut the HC on the right side of the rock. Really hard to trim in that area with the 10" curved scissors I have. Best, el g


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## Fat Guy

Picked up some great rasbora dorsiocellatas from Frank in Coney Island. Really wonderful schooling fish and compliment the scape very nicely I think. Plants are growing great. Occasional green spot algae and hair algae but nothing too crazy. I've been keeping the Lily Pipe outflow raised to agitate the surface more. Some serious scum tends to build up when it's submerged well below the water line. Best, el g


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## roybot73

This looks amazing, man. Perfect fish choice too. Have you trimmed the HC much or at all?
Very well done!!


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## akdmks

This tank is pure bliss! I too did not have much luck with chili rasboras, i had gotten 12 of them, had an ich outbreak, ended up with 6, than had 5 suicides, so i have one loner in my 2.5 with some RCS and pygmy cories. But, enough of me rambling, the tank looks wonderful! Keep it up! Can't wait for the video!


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## Fat Guy

roybot73 said:


> This looks amazing, man. Perfect fish choice too. Have you trimmed the HC much or at all?
> Very well done!!


Thanks for the compliments!! I really dig these fish too. I trim the HC pretty aggressively every week to every other week depending on the growth that I'm seeing. Trimming can take up a lot of time, especially considering the tools that you have available. I'm currently using a long set of curved scissors and a pair of haircutting scissors to maintain the growth. You just need to be aggressive with HC once it starts to take hold. And then patience patience patience. 

akdms,

sadly my chili rasboras all kicked the bucket after the ich outbreak. There is a legitimate problem with the fish jumping from the tank when spooked (even with a glass top insert). I've been contemplating purchasing a piece of plexiglass to shape myself for the top that will cover more area and reduce the amount of jumpers. I have one very curious cat that is more in to the tank than I am (which is really saying something). But his obsession with watching the fish some times spooks them into making the "leap of faith," which leavs me to find the dried up fishes in some very obscure locations. best, el g


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## Bree

Those ADA tanks just can't not look good! And yours in no exception! Looking amazing, great job!!


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## GDP

awsome tank man. I love ADA stuff. I found this thread by searching on tips for using lily pipes to aerate. I hope my HC will grow as nice as yours, but I kinda doubt it though. Pretty sure I need more light.

But anyway this tank also inspires me.


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## Fat Guy

Did a major cleaning today. The worst part was that I broke my outflow lily pipe. I knew it was going to happen eventually after trying to separate it from the tubing. But it shattered in my hand and gave me a lovely gash across the palm. So I used some extra tubing I had around to make my own lily pipe. Sucks that it broke. I'm hoping that ADA will make a metallic nano lily pipe. that would be awesome. One of the coolest things that I've discovered in this tank is that the female cherry shrimp that was berried months ago had one surviving offspring that appeared a couple of days ago. I lost her, but noticed an adolescent cherry shrimp thriving in my aquarium that I did not add. ahh mother nature!! I've posted my first clipping auction in the swap n shop here for a handful of sprigs and a ton of stray leaves. The HC is doing great. I've found a lot of success trimming it once nearly every other week. The emerald eye rasboras are just awesome. I'm switching to an acrylic top so that I can refuse any jumpers. I'm gonna purchase some 1/4" plexiglass from estreetplastics.com and cut it specifically to my desired dimensions. Here are today's photos:


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## shrimpnmoss

I love how clean your tank looks.


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## dubvstudent

Nice tank. That is a heck of alot of HC trimmings for a tank that small and only a few weeks of growth.

I would advise against an acrylic top though. They start to bow and deform in no time.


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## Fat Guy

This is going to be a very pic heavy post. After breaking my outflow lily pipe in the palm of my hand, I decided that I was going to make my own. But first, let's just start with my new top. I've had a problem (always have) with "jumpers." I've credited this mainly to my one very curious cat who spooks the fish with his surprise attacks and paw batting. So the glass top cutaway that I had made for the tank had a few too many open spaces for the daring. I had picked up a piece of plexiglass from home depot two weeks ago and cut it custom to accommodate my hardware, but was very disappointed with how quickly the plexiglass began to bow. So I did some research and found two great stores in NYC: 

one of them being ttplasticland who cut a 1/4" thick piece of plexiglass 

and another store right on the corner on canal where I purchased a 1/2" in diameter 6' acrylic tube and 1/4" acrylic dowel rod about a foot in length. 

I cut the plexiglass to fit the top of the tank and cut sections to fit the lily pipes and co2 diffuser. Later, I purchased a heat gun from home depot to use for the lily pipe project. I used some solarez (surfboard resin) to glue small sections of the acrylic dowel rod to the 6 (twelve inch acrylic) tubes I cut to make the lily pipes with. I used the dowel rod slices and solarez glue to plug the end of the tubes that I cut, essentially prepping them for the lily pipe creation. I couldn't have been happier with the outcome. I made a batch of lily pipe outflows that I custom shaped that work and look just as good if not better than the glass pipes I was using before. Here are the pictures to follow. I could go into extreme detail, but I'm running out of wind. If anyone is interested, I'd be more than happy to make them an acrylic outflow pipe. I've gotten quite good at it. pm me if interested. Thanks to those who have been following this thread. For me, it is so much more satisfying when you can create your own stuff.

best, el g

PLEXIGLASS TOP









































LILY PIPE CREATION
















CUT THE TUBE INTO SIX PIECES AND THEN SLICED SEGMENTS OF THE ACRYLIC ROD TO PLUG THE TUBES USING THE SURFBOARD RESIN TO CURE IT IN THE SUN








PREPPED TUBES CURING IN THE SUNLIGHT

















GLOVES ARE ESSENTIAL WHEN WORKING WITH ACRYLIC AND HEAT. GOT THESE FROM HOME DEPOT FOR $1.97 








SO THE HEATING BEGINS. THE WHITE IN FILLER IS SALT. EASY TO WORK WITH, AND MAINTAINED THE TUBE SHAPE FAIRLY WELL. I'M SURE THERE IS A BETTER INGREDIENT TO REPLACE SALT IN THIS LILY PIPE RECIPE.

First attempt was not so good...









But then I got much better at it...
































































AND FINALLY, MY NEW DIY EXTERNAL DROP CHECKER. WORKS LIKE A CHARM, AND NOT VISIBLE IN THE SCAPE









Much love, -el g


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## pomby27

haha i see why in all your pictures your fish hide in that one corner.


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## dtum

Unbelievable! That's some serious craftsmanship. You should start selling those pipes online to pay for your hobby.


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## RWalleyTX

very nice tank.


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## Fat Guy

Thanks all. I really like working with the acrylic. And that's a funny observation about the fish in the corner. My one cat is a menace and likes the tank almost as much as I do. When the big kitty is near, the fish school in that section of the tank.


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## Fat Guy

Decided to make some adjustments to the tank this week. I got rid of the glass diffuser and built my own external inline co2 reactor, and I have to say- I'm very glad that I did. The project was a complete success and cost not even $20. I also got rid of my bubble counter because it is now made obsolete with this new reactor design. 

The hardest part about building this reactor was finding the right place to get the parts for it in New York City. Home Depot was not the store to go to. I went back to Chinatown and the plastic store on Canal and picked up some 1.5" acrylic tube for $3 and then went to 200 Supply Corporation on Elizabeth street to pick up the fitting for the tube. The acrylic tube I purchased does not match up to a standard PVC pipe so outside the box thinking needed to be done. I ended up with two 1.5" x .5" bushing that I fit onto a threaded coupling reducer which I modified with a knife and sheer will power and silicone glue to fit the acrylic tube. I wanted a clear reactor and was determined to make it work. I did. I was going to use brass fitting and a tap for the tube but decided otherwise because of possible copper leaching into the aquarium. Better safe than sorry. I ended up using two .5'' x .5" nylon barbs for the inflow and outflow connection for the reactor. It took a little tweaking for the tubes to fit from the eheim 2211. That filter has an outflow of 3/8 and an inflow tubing of 1/2". Luckily I had a nylon reducer to connect the different size tubings to accommodate the reactor's inflow connection. I just had to reconfigure the lengths of my inflow and outflow hose for my lily pipe connections. I tapped the co2 directly into the reactor using the just the airline tube and some silicone to be on the safe side. But enough rambling, here are some pics:

THE PARTS








THE FITTINGS








CUT THE 12" ACRYLIC TUBING TO 10"








SILICONED THE FITTINGS (AFTER GLUING THEM TOGETHER WITH PVC CEMENT) TO THE ACRYLIC TUBE, HAD A BEER AND WAITED 24HRS FOR THE SILICONE TO FULLY CURE. *also be sure to use teflon tape when connecting the barbs to the bushings.








THE NEXT DAY, TOOK OUT THE TOOLS AND GOT TO WORK CONNECTING IT.
















LOOPED THE AIRLINE TUBING AND INSTALLED TWO CHECK VALVES JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE 








THIS CHECK VALVE WAS FROM MY DIY BUBBLE COUNTER THAT I HAD GLUED WITH SOLAREZ TO A SYRINGE. THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE TO THE REGULATOR AND POSSIBLE FLOODING








SECURED IT TO MY WALL USING SCREWS AND A HEAVY GAUGE METAL WIRE TO HOLD IT IN PLACE ON TOP AND TWO SCREWS ON THE BOTTOM TO KEEP IT PERPENDICULAR TO THE FLOOR








PUT THE BOARD GAMES BACK ON THE SHELF TO MASK THE FILTER, AND FIT EVERYTHING SNUGGLY IN THE CORNER AND OUT OF SIGHT








MOVED THE DROP CHECKER TO THE OPENING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TANK WHERE THE DIFFUSER AND AIRLINE TUBING USED TO BE. LOVE THIS DROP CHECKER THAT I MADE BY THE WAY. WORKS SO GOOD, VERY CLEAN AND DOES NOT OBSTRUCT YOUR VIEW WHEN LOOKING INTO THE AQUARIUM








TANK SHOT WITH THE EXTERNAL DROP CHECKER. 

IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED, I CAN MAKE YOU A DROP CHECKER FOR YOUR TANK. JUST SEND ME A PM

















AND THE PARTING SHOT OF MY DIY ACRYLIC PIPES THAT I MADE WORKING BETTER THAN THE GLASS ONES I PURCHASED. VORTEX IN ACTION

























I have to say that this project was a success. No leaks, no noise, no bubbles, excellent co2 diffusion and happy fish and plants and hobbyist. Making your own stuff is so much more rewarding than anything else in this hobby. I highly recommend you make one of your own for those that are interested. I'm currently running mine at 1 bubble every 2 seconds but may increase it slowly seeing how the fauna adapt. Very efficient and a very satisfying addition.

best,

el g


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## RWalleyTX

how long does that 5 lb co2 last?


----------



## chiefroastbeef

Awesome work, and thank you for all the photos, they were a joy to view along with your journal.


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## Fat Guy

the co2 tank lasts me almost 4-5 months. 

thanks chiefroastbeef!! 

today I noticed that my fish were breathing a little heavily and initially thought there was a co2 spike. but then ran a nitrite test and found that my tank is going through a mini cycle. I think I had my filter unplugged longer that I would've liked when I was installing the reactor. I also changed out some filter floss media that was in it and I'm sure messed up the bacteria. lost a couple emerald eyes. The remainder have been put in the edge tank. bonehead mistake on my part. I was worried at first that maybe the fumes from the silicone in the reactor was messing with the fish, but only after testing the water did I understand my error. I'm just keeping the cherry shrimp in tank right now. All the other fauna I pulled and put in a more stable environment for the time being.


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## A Hill

Your tank looks excellent! 

I hear you on the metal pipes, I bought the ada ones but they are too large. I'm thinking about getting some custom made by the same place that makes my tools and see how those are. The initial ones will probably be pricey but worth it.

-Andrew


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## theguppyman

very cool, never used ADA but every one that I know that has used these glass say it didn't last very long. Very nice DIY, would love to make some, its a shame Im not that handy with melting plastic.


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## MARIMOBALL

Your Iwagumi is very strong. I love it and all the extra upgrades to make it as clean and asthetically beautiful is very impressive.


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## Couesfanatic

theguppyman said:


> very cool, never used ADA but every one that I know that has used these glass say it didn't last very long. Very nice DIY, would love to make some, its a shame Im not that handy with melting plastic.


Wasn't he using the Cal Aqua lily pipes?


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## bl4nket

Nice tank. How many water changes do you do a week?


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## genetao

You definitely have some mad DIY skills!

I love your in-line reactor, drop checker and lily pipes!

It's amazing what you can do with acrylic these days!


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## Fat Guy

pulled all of the HC and sold the giant carpet (save for a few sprigs that I saved to replant). Moved some rocks around and added a different one. Planted some dwarf hairgrass in the back left corner and a few sprigs in front of the rocks. Looking forward to the hairgrass filling in with the HC and taking over. Current inhabitants are roughly over 80 cherry shrimp and about 11 neons I got for cheap (plus 1 otto). This tank has been quite an epic adventure. The external co2 reactor is flawless and a great addition. I've covered the intake pipe with some filter sponges to prevent the cherries from being pulled into the eheim. A few months back I was backwashing the eheim and about 30 shrimp (babies and adults) were discharged from the filter (still living). Aesthetically speaking, I would pull the sponge but my wife loves the shrimp and wants me to do my best to protect them. This option over the filter intake seems to work the best. Maybe I'll come up with a better modification for the intake, but for now, the sponge will do. Very happy with this tank. My next step is to purchase another pc bulb as I am still running the one from my original purchase. everything is growing wonderfully. I've been dosing not as regularly as I used to. Maybe once or twice a week, but things seem to be settling in very well. tank maintenance is very rewarding (when you stay on top of it). The best tool I've found for removing any algae from the glass has been a plain toothbrush purchased from Duane Reade. Any scraping product I've purchased from any lfs has been undoubtedly disappointing. the toothbrush is the best tool I've used for maintenance. and for the rocks, my sonicare. I've been eyeing some 12" tweezers and maybe a better set of pruning scissors for the HC. I wouldn't mind a trimming tool that can attack the HC without getting my hands wet, or contorting my arm Harry Huidini style to trim in the corners or near the rocks. 

To those who have been following this journal, it has been a while since my last post. Thank you for your comments. I hope you dig this tank. Come January, it will be about a year from the purchase of this setup. I really really enjoy this tank. Looking forward to the new scape and plant growth development. Looking forward to posting more progress. Here's the most recent photo (the HC and dwarf hairgrass shown were planted 10 days ago....go HC go):


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## rikardob

They have metal mesh covers on fleabay for those intake pipes. Beautiful job with this tank!

You're DIY pipes and checker are inspiration for sure!


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## shoteh

Nice DIY acrylic projects. I might have to hit you up for an external drop checker in the future. Also, lovely tank. I would be very happy if I was one of your fish.


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## frrok

Great tank and great diy skills! being in ny and having soft water, do you do anything to keep kh/gh up? or do you not bother? curious because I'm here in queens(rockaway) and I am thinking for my next project to keep a soft water tank since we already have it on tap. may be easier then having to dose ca/mg and baking soda to keep it up. I've just started in this hobby this year and hope to to make it to your level one day.


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## Fat Guy

thanks for the comments rikardob, shoteh, and frrok.

rikardbob, I'll have to check out fleabay to take a look at the mesh covers for the intake pipes.

I really have a lot of fun tinkering with the DIY part of the hobby. the acrylic pipes I've made and drop checker work like a charm. and the reactor was well worth the time and energy. If I were to make another one, I think I could get away with a smaller cylinder. 

frrok, i don't do anything to adjust the gh of the water or the kh. I haven't had any issues with the tap water here in nyc being too soft for my liking and haven't worried about it too much. I think you should be fine with the tap water as is, although I'm not sure what it is like down at the beach where you are. Looks like there were some fun waves this past week at 90th street. not sure if you surf, but I would've loved to have been out there. 

thanks again all.

best, el g


----------



## frrok

Fat Guy said:


> thanks for the comments rikardob, shoteh, and frrok.
> 
> rikardbob, I'll have to check out fleabay to take a look at the mesh covers for the intake pipes.
> 
> I really have a lot of fun tinkering with the DIY part of the hobby. the acrylic pipes I've made and drop checker work like a charm. and the reactor was well worth the time and energy. If I were to make another one, I think I could get away with a smaller cylinder.
> 
> frrok, i don't do anything to adjust the gh of the water or the kh. I haven't had any issues with the tap water here in nyc being too soft for my liking and haven't worried about it too much. I think you should be fine with the tap water as is, although I'm not sure what it is like down at the beach where you are. Looks like there were some fun waves this past week at 90th street. not sure if you surf, but I would've loved to have been out there.
> 
> thanks again all.
> 
> best, el g


Oh yea! I do and did. I've surfed the last 5 days in row...
Been living out here for almost 6 years. Best move I ever made...

Anyway, thanks for the advice. The water here is def soft, 2 kh/2gh. I bumped it up a bit cuz I have some Val's and ferns that I think like a little more hardness. Also have Endler's that appreciate it


----------



## Fat Guy

did my first trim after letting the plants settle in for the first two weeks. also messed a little with the smaller rock. the HC is off to the races and the DHG is filling in but not too fast. had some bba on top of the main rock for the first time since keeping this tank. I think some of the additional decaying plant matter introduced through the dhg had something to do with it (as well as not doing a water change for two weeks). trimmed it back a little. brushed the rocks and the glass. and presto. looking good again. I keep the sponge over the intake for the filter for the sake of the shrimp. looking forward to the next couple of months. going to try to keep at it (trimming and removing dead material). I've got two tops on this tank. a glass piece that I had cut and an acrylic one that I used to use. the acrylic bows a bit, but at least with the extra covering, I'm not losing any fish from late night jumpings. As always, best to those who are following this thread.


----------



## zchauvin

Looking very nice, I wish I would have read this before pulling up my hc. The diatoms got to me and I ripped it out, when it was pearling


----------



## talontsiawd

Looking great. How are your pipes holding up? Thinking about trying to make some if I can afford a canister for one of my tanks.


----------



## Francis Xavier

BBA is from lack of co2 - increase the amount of co2 you add to the tank (and supplement excel is good too), aside from that, looks great!


----------



## Fat Guy

talontsiawd said:


> Looking great. How are your pipes holding up? Thinking about trying to make some if I can afford a canister for one of my tanks.


the pipes are holding up great. if you are thinking about making some, I suggest you do. very very happy with mine.


----------



## Fat Guy

Francis Xavier said:


> BBA is from lack of co2 - increase the amount of co2 you add to the tank (and supplement excel is good too), aside from that, looks great!


Hey Frank,

I'll keep an eye on the CO2. Maybe it is the culprit. I've got pretty excellent diffusion happening in the tank right now. however, I may be completely wrong. this is the first time I've seen this algae in this tank. Part of me is also thinking it's time to change the light bulb. co2 and light and the plant detritus could all be the culprit. thanks for the info. My drop checker solution may need to be renewed. I'm gonna take a look at it manana. much love. -el g


----------



## Fat Guy

I decided to change it up all together. It will be about a year since I set this tank up. So I pulled everything and replanted and rescaped. It's funny because I rescaped for quite some time one night. Filled it with water, went to bed, and was very unhappy with the outcome when I awoke the next morning. So I drained the tank et al and went to work. I never planned a scape like this, it just kind of happened in a matter of a few minutes. really digging it. Got the heat gun out and reshaped one of my outflow pipes into a more custom style jet shape and am very happy with the outcome. Placed the DHG in the back right corner and filled the rest in with HC. what's hard to tell in the photo is the slope. It's amazing how without water, the slope is so prevalent, then when the water is added, your depth perception gets distorted. Regardless, I'm very excited with the new layout. I'm looking forward to the plants filling in. The HC grows so fast in here it's quite amazing. I think it's going to look really great in front of the main rock. It'll be a huge HC field with the DHG in the background. The sponge over the intake in the photo is to save the shrimps from the eheim. much love to all viewing. -el g


----------



## karatekid14

Really, really nice. I love how it pulls your eye down and to the "field" of HC. I had the same problem with slope, it disappeared even though it hasn't moved unlike how sand sometime does. For the intake you should get a stainless steel prefilter thing, it would look much better. I really love the new scape.


----------



## Fat Guy

karatekid14 said:


> Really, really nice. I love how it pulls your eye down and to the "field" of HC. I had the same problem with slope, it disappeared even though it hasn't moved unlike how sand sometime does. For the intake you should get a stainless steel prefilter thing, it would look much better. I really love the new scape.


thanks!! by the way, what is this stainless steel prefilter thing you speak of? I've seen the all metal lily pipes (not for this size tank though)....wait...I think I just found it on the shrimp lab. I need to get one of these.


----------



## ClintonParsons

I like this. It reminds me of Pride Rock.


----------



## karatekid14

Fat Guy said:


> thanks!! by the way, what is this stainless steel prefilter thing you speak of? I've seen the all metal lily pipes (not for this size tank though)....wait...I think I just found it on the shrimp lab. I need to get one of these.


Yeah they look way better.


----------



## Couesfanatic

Looks good, gunna looks sweet when that hc fills in.


----------



## Fat Guy

Adding an update. It's been over a year now with this setup. I started to get some brush algae and even some staghorn. I realized that something was up. My CO2 reactor for one did not seem to be working as efficiently as I would've liked it too. I went back to the glass diffuser. I also pulled all the rocks out. Drained the tank and sifted the substrate, which had become anaerobic. I had way too much substrate in there which had been packed so tight in some sections that it was near impenetrable. I mixed some power sand with the aquasoil and really like the outcome. I've decided to grow more than just HC. I in fact got rid of the HC all together and am going to do an emersed wabi kusa with some of it. I've planted an echinoderus as well as some rotala and a plant which I believe to be nasaea pedicellata (but I'm not sure). The foreground is solely dwarf hair grass. which I think will look really cool with the focal plant grouping. I have noticed a serious change in the behavior of the fish. They seem to be happier. I'm excited. It was time for change. Here it is after planting and rescaping. best, el g


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## zchauvin

Did you see the Ada tanks setup like that?!  they do look great once grown.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk


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## Fat Guy

zchauvin said:


> Did you see the Ada tanks setup like that?!  they do look great once grown.
> 
> Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk


I've seen some of those tanks. definitely an inspiration.


----------



## zchauvin

Yeah, they do look really good for a mini

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk


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## vvDO

Fat Guy said:


> I have noticed a serious change in the behavior of the fish. They seem to be happier. I'm excited. It was time for change. Here it is after planting and rescaping. best, el g


When I first saw the new scape I thought... I bet the fish are more at ease with potential hiding places, then I read your comment.

Look forward to seeing your progress.


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## Fat Guy

After 5 days, things are looking good and the plants seem to be adjusting well. the water has cleared and the environment in the tank is a healthy one. I've been doing small water changes daily before the light goes on and am seeing some great results. dosing 1ml seachem potassium and .5ml seachem comprehensive after each water change. Thinking of getting some new fertilizers. Maybe try my hand at making some new outflow lily pipes. thanks for those that have been watching the progress of this tank. much love. el g


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## talontsiawd

I loved your old tank but the new setup looks promising. As much as I enjoy scapes with hardscape early on, half the setups I have had didn't have any real hardscape and in the long run, they were more enjoyable from an day to day standpoint over a long period of time. Hopefully you feel the same as it progresses. I have been following your tanks size your Edge journal so I think this will be good


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## Fat Guy

thanks matt. I totally dig what you are saying. I'm looking forward to the progress of this tank. and it's a nice break from the hardscapes I've done in the past. my edge right now is completely void of plants and has a pleasing river rock scape that I'm very happy with. I should snap a photo and update my edge journal. thanks for the comments. very excited to see how this one pans out.


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## Fat Guy

I like this shot.


----------



## Fat Guy

just an update. I've been narrowing down a better dosing regime. I'm dosing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and seachem comprehensive. Dosing seachem nitrate at water change but not throughout the week (unless my levels drop too low). I've been routinely eyeing the nitrate and phosphate levels. I've been dosing at lights up: 4ml phosphorus, 2ml potassium, and 1ml comprehensive (for now...I've been honing in on a good daily routine). I broke out the test kits one day because I realized I was getting a good dose of green spot algae on some of my plant leaves and have been battling the occasional bba (I believe). And wouldn't you know it, but my nitrates were virtually zilch as well as my phoshate levels. cleaned the filter and the diffusor. installed the drop checker and what I thought was a good rate of 1bps actually had to be increased to around 1.75 bps to get the levels in the aquarium to balance out better. I've been paying more attention each morning to the tank and really feel like I've been benefiting from the dosing regime and have a better control on the algae. I've been trying my best to make the adjustments slowly and things seem to be working well. Here are some photos. The algae on the blade of hairgrass (which I cut) I believe is BBA. Would you agree? I've been raising the lily pipes at night to get a better gas exchange in the water with some o2 and feel like it's having a positive affect. by morning the drop checker is back to blue. Here are some photos. Good growth in the past month. Haven't cut the hairgrass at all yet. going to wait until I can control what I think is BBA before I give it a good trim. I should also be pruning the rotala soon. Any recommendations? Should I snip and replant the propogated pieces or snip and discard the taller stems? any thoughts on trimming. A good sign with the addition of phosphorus is that there has not been any new GSA emerging on the leaves (especially on the echinodorus). I've been enjoying the change of pace with this tank and think that the plant combination is really pretty. Best to all for looking. -el g


BBA?








hard working pond snail








drop checker with fresh solution








finally nitrates (around 40ppm)








my new bubble counter 








and some of the tank...








pearling plants and some happy fish 
I made my own custom top of this tank. The glass I had purchased from across the street was of poor quality. this is a 3/4" piece of plexiglass that I had cut in SOHO. Hasn't bowed one bit. I wonder if it reduces any of the light on the tank. regardless, keeps fish jumping to a minimum and "cat-paw-fishing" a thing of the past. It may also be bullet proof...yahtzee


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## Fat Guy

updated trim. staghorn seems to only exist on the sections of hairgrass that are not flourishing. Dialing in a better dosing regime. Getting closer to an EI dosing regime. the most limiting nutrient seems to be phosphate in this tank. I've upped the co2 to 2bps and am keeping a close eye on the fauna. But I've been making gradual increases in co2 and fertilizer so as to not shock the current system. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that after the hairgrass trim the staghorn does not get out of control. I've been waiting to trim the hairgrass for awhile and finally pulled the trigger today. giving the tank about a .5" bed of hairgrass. I'm considering getting an ada outflow lily pipe or tinkering again at the acrylic bending with the heat gun. My water flow seems to be primarily at the upper level of the tank and I want it to be a little deeper. I clean the diffusor every three weeks or so with bleach to keep it functioning properly. seems to be working well. 

Dosing regime after water change: 
2ml seachem nitrogen
8ml seachem phosphorus
3ml seachem potassium
3ml seachem comprehensive.

Then daily dosage of:
4ml phosphorus
2ml potassium
2ml comprehensive
0ml nitrogen (levels are around 40ppm throughout the week so I haven't been dosing as often)

I know the API tests are the not the most accurate, but they are giving me a better, albeit rough understanding of what's happening in the water column. Here are the photo updates:

before trim (a very focused observer)








drop checker success after 4.5/5 hours








nitrate, phosphate, ammonia (tap water, tank water, distilled water...I was getting a slight ammonia reading last week from my tap water). currently 0 ammonia in the tank...so I think








late afternoon sunlight. good hairgrass growth on this end of the tank near the diffusor. strange enough, this is where the staghorn is the most present...near the diffusor.








side angle








trim trim trim








lookin good and growin'










BEFORE









AFTER (ONE MONTH)









thanks for looking. -el g


----------



## radioman

I love simple tank like this.


----------



## DanW11

Looking great man, that hairgrass carpet is going like gangbusters! Are you planning on continuing with this kind are pruing to keep lots of open space? I love the contrast of a dense carpet with a lot of open space above.


----------



## Chlorophile

Really nice, I like this style!


----------



## dtum

BEFORE









AFTER (ONE MONTH)









thanks for looking. -el g[/QUOTE]

Very nice progress, I've been following your thread for the longest time. Have you considered an in-line diffuser, what are your thoughts on that? One less piece of equipment in a tank should be a good thing.


----------



## Fat Guy

Thanks for all the comments!! I really like the simplicity of the layout and this kind of style too. Ideally I'd like for the echinodorus to get much bigger so that it can balance out the look of the dhg when the dhg gets longer. only time will tell though. I would very much like to find a cool stone to put in there too, but my wife enjoys the different types of plants and so do I for the time being. just need to get an upper hand on the staghorn. 

dtum, I at one point had built an inline diffusor for this tank, roughly based off of the rex grigg reactor. But I don't think it was diffusing the co2 as well as I thought it was. My HC at the time started to pull up in some sections and seemed to lose its deep roots. I am thinking about giving it another shot though. Maybe purchase one online that's a little more compact. That may be an investment I'd be willing to make. Thanks again all. Looking forward to where this layout goes next. On a side note. The echinodorus that I have in the tank (not exactly sure which specific echinodorus it is) but it's leaves have changed to a deep maroon. They were all green when I purchased it. It's a pretty contrast. Again, best to all and thanks for the comments. -el g


----------



## radioman

Does natural sunlight hit your tank? That was causing some staghorn in my tank and it was all growing on the sides of the plants that faced my window.


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## Fat Guy

radioman said:


> Does natural sunlight hit your tank? That was causing some staghorn in my tank and it was all growing on the sides of the plants that faced my window.


there is some direct sunlight that hits the tank right after the lights go out. It's for about 40minutes at sundown. I hadn't thought about that but you may be on to something. I've had the tank in the same spot for over a year, but maybe due to the poor water conditions I was experiencing, the additional sunlight may be making the staghorn more prevalent. I'll keep an eye on it. thanks!!


----------



## Fat Guy

Went back to the rocks after giving the echinodorus a run for it's money. I need to get my hands on some more aquasoil. The last setup really gave me a better understanding of my water quality. I find this setup much easier to maintain. purchased a brine shrimp net which makes cleaning after trimming much easier. snapped the below photo today with an iphone. Best, el g


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## FlyingGiraffes

New rock looks nice! Looks like you're due for a trim soon.


----------



## frrok

have you considered the gla inline diffusors?
Anyway, I totally missed this thread. I liked your previous idea of a plant/stem focal point but the new stone iwagumi seems interesting as well. I love hairgrass setups anyway. do you have shrimp in this tank? why the steel intake? just curious. one more question, did you make that drop checker? if so, i want one! hahaha


----------



## Fat Guy

FlyingGiraffes said:


> New rock looks nice! Looks like you're due for a trim soon.



thanks flyinggiraffes....funny you should mention that....check out the photos below.

hey frrok, I have considered the gla inline diffusors. I'll admit, I don't like seeing the diffusor in the setup. at one point I had an external diy diffusor. wasn't as happy with it as I thought I was going to be. I may invest in the gla one though. do you have any experience with it? I have a ton of cherry shrimp in this tank and felt bad how many would get sucked into the intake. the steel filter cap has done a great job since I installed it. I also don't mind the way it looks. I did make that drop checker too. Works very well. 

Here are some more photos. from echinodorus to the brainstorm to the the rock placement and trim. Thanks all for looking!! best, el g

wabi wabi wabi








brainstorming with rocks to the right and left of the tank. 








adios old/plant scape and back to the rocks








the big trim








a few steps back


----------



## frrok

I dont have experience with that diffusor, they look really well made though. Im sure someone can chime in... I actually dont mind the look of the glass diffusors myself. 

I see why you have that intake. I have sakura grade cherries also, but I don't have anything on my intake at the moment. was looking to get one of those as well. I probably will at some point. right now i don't have many tiny babies and none of my shrimps are berried so I'm hoping its ok for now.


----------



## Couesfanatic

I have a GLA inline atomic diffuser. Works really well actually. Its nice to have one more thing out of the tank. I did have a slight mist in the tank though. I've heard that can be overcome by having more tubing between the diffuser and the tank. You would have to look close to see the micro bubbles. I'll sell you mine if you want. Just broke the tank down a week ago.


----------



## FlyingGiraffes

Fat Guy said:


> thanks flyinggiraffes....funny you should mention that....check out the photos below.


Well I'll be darned!  Looks great after the trim.


----------



## Fat Guy

same rocks. new scape. different plant. glosso


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## frrok

Very cool. Can't wait to see it grow out.


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## Fat Guy

frrok said:


> Very cool. Can't wait to see it grow out.


thanks man. I'm enjoying the glosso. Looking forward to it growing out and filling in.

just watched your tank video. Looks awesome. Really think there is a cool balance in your tank with the driftwood and placement of your plants. good work!! very natural and serene scape.


----------



## frrok

Fat Guy said:


> thanks man. I'm enjoying the glosso. Looking forward to it growing out and filling in.
> 
> just watched your tank video. Looks awesome. Really think there is a cool balance in your tank with the driftwood and placement of your plants. good work!! very natural and serene scape.


Thanks! , there were some bumps along the way...But for my second scape, I really liked how it turned out.

I take inspiration from all the great tanks I see on TPT. Yours included.


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## Fat Guy

quick update:
Added 10 crs shrimp (s grade) from speedie here at TPT. They are really great. Also added a gla inline diffuser which I have to say is awesome. Without a doubt, one of the better purchases I've made for this tank. did a quick trim to keep the glosso low and transplanted the rest form the trim. Moved the filter down to the floor and added new eheim quick disconnects that I got from Pacific Aquarium on Delancey. I broke the original disconnects on my intake a while back. 


















Have to say I'm super happy about the new additions. the crs and the gla inline seutp are great. looking forward to the tank filling in.

If you look closely in the below photo, you can spot some of the crs as well as the rcs and amanos. shimp and snail only as for now.


----------



## Fat Guy

Things are looking good. Loving the gla inline diffuser. Thinking about investing in some wave type scissors. Getting a little green spot algae. 
Trying to narrow down a dosing regiment. Thinking about just doing twice a week dosing after water changes. 

right now: 
4.1ml seachem phosphorus
2.75ml seachem nitrogen
5ml seachem potssium
1ml seachem comprehensive
CO2 is at about 1 to 1.25 bps inline


























Plants are happy and growing. Shrimp are doing well and behaving like they should. razor blade and toothbrush are now the best cleaning devices I've found. 
Hoping to get a better grasp on ferts and trying to get the glosso to grow low low low...


----------



## Fat Guy

The glosso is growing well and I'm learning a lot about the tank with it. Noticed a tiny bit of staghorn on one leaf which I removed and then the testing began. I learned that seachem nitrogen will give a reading of ammonia on an API ammonia test kit because of the ammonium contained in the fertilizer. This was actually great news because I started to think that I was having filter issues which completely perplexed me. 

Here's a photo of the test I did with ammonia free water and then the same water with seachem nitrogen added to it. You can see the color change.









So I've ruled out my filter being the issue. But now wonder if the ammonium present in the seachem nitrogen fertilizer is somehow promoting some staghorn growth. 

So I've dialed in the co2. I've upped my dosing of phosphorus and potassium and have cut off dosing seachem nitrogen into the tank. I have nitrates present in the tank according to my tests each day and am changing the water twice a week (more or less depending on the condition). I'm also going to wait a little longer before I trim my glosso again. I've been pretty aggressive with it and I think that may have something to do with staghorn appearing. We shall see what happens. Considering adding pfertz to my arsenal now that there is a sale, and also because I'm running low on my seachem products. I'd like to do dry ferts but with a baby on the way and a small new york apt, the convenience and visual appeal of those bottles will go a long way. 

he likes the tank as much as I do...and the crs on the rock...but really he's just waiting for an algae wafer snack...because that acrylic top is near bullet proof!!


----------



## GMYukonon24s

Nice looking tank


----------



## sunyang730

Did you ever make extra drop checker? LOL


----------



## Fat Guy

GMYukonon24s said:


> Nice looking tank


thanks!! go tigers!!!!!! 



sunyang730 said:


> Did you ever make extra drop checker? LOL


I never did. I have all the stuff to do it though, just haven't gotten around to it. maybe one of these days i will...


----------



## sunyang730

LOL I will be interested in getting one. LOL I hope it is cheaper than the one they have outside. LOLOL


----------



## bluestems

Fat Guy said:


> he likes the tank as much as I do...and the crs on the rock...but really he's just waiting for an algae wafer snack...because that acrylic top is near bullet proof!!



he looks like my kitty... I'm loving the acrylic top too. 

Nice setup! :smile:


----------



## Fat Guy

bluestems said:


> he looks like my kitty... I'm loving the acrylic top too.
> 
> Nice setup! :smile:


thanks!! just checked out your journal. bummer about your pipes. great setup too!!


----------



## bluestems

Fat Guy said:


> thanks!! just checked out your journal. bummer about your pipes. great setup too!!


oy, that was a costly learning experience... :icon_redf


----------



## Fat Guy

Not much to report here save for Hurricane Sandy here in NYC. Weather the storm and working on the tank. Had some CRS deaths which at first I attributed to improper water changes and overdosing of micros (possibly). But I think the main culprit was too much co2. so i cranked it down a little and am dosing phophorus and potassium daily and nitrate (when needed after testing). I really think that my co2 was the issue though. my amanos and rcs were fine, but I think the ph swing may have been too great for the crs. so now I'm adjusting the co2 accordingly and keeping an eye on the plants and crs. So far so good. 

I'm also going to change the water in the tank with aged water instead of straight from the tap. I feel like this will minimize temperature swings and give the crs more of a fighting chance. I'm also going to reduce the feedings to twice a week for them. The CRS do seem to be an excellent indicator of tank conditions. Hope to see them reproduce soon and thrive.

Today I accidentally crushed a bladder snail when I cleaned my top. It was a larger one and it fell to the bottom of the tank. Within a minute an amano ran over and grabbed it like a madman and began munching away. Quite remarkable how quickly those shrimp will go after a dying fish (or snail). I have some glosso growing low and some growing tall. I'm going to let it root more before I get at the larger stems. I think I trimmed it prematurely before and that attributed to a brief stint of staghorn which now seems to have gone away after I balanced out my water parameters. 

Here's the amano with the bladder snail in his grasp. Not the best photo, it in his pinchers right above the grain of power sand.









A full tank shot. plants are bubbling o2 into the water column every second which I see as a good sign. That and the minimal algae on the rock (which in the past had been an issue). Just trying to keep the water balanced. EI dosing potassium and phosphorus and spot dosing nitrates.


----------



## oliver77

Fat Guy said:


> Not much to report here save for Hurricane Sandy here in NYC. Weather the storm and working on the tank. Had some CRS deaths which at first I attributed to improper water changes and overdosing of micros (possibly). But I think the main culprit was too much co2. so i cranked it down a little and am dosing phophorus and potassium daily and nitrate (when needed after testing). I really think that my co2 was the issue though. my amanos and rcs were fine, but I think the ph swing may have been too great for the crs. so now I'm adjusting the co2 accordingly and keeping an eye on the plants and crs. So far so good.
> 
> I'm also going to change the water in the tank with aged water instead of straight from the tap. I feel like this will minimize temperature swings and give the crs more of a fighting chance. I'm also going to reduce the feedings to twice a week for them. The CRS do seem to be an excellent indicator of tank conditions. Hope to see them reproduce soon and thrive.
> 
> Today I accidentally crushed a bladder snail when I cleaned my top. It was a larger one and it fell to the bottom of the tank. Within a minute an amano ran over and grabbed it like a madman and began munching away. Quite remarkable how quickly those shrimp will go after a dying fish (or snail). I have some glosso growing low and some growing tall. I'm going to let it root more before I get at the larger stems. I think I trimmed it prematurely before and that attributed to a brief stint of staghorn which now seems to have gone away after I balanced out my water parameters.
> 
> Here's the amano with the bladder snail in his grasp. Not the best photo, it in his pinchers right above the grain of power sand.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A full tank shot. plants are bubbling o2 into the water column every second which I see as a good sign. That and the minimal algae on the rock (which in the past had been an issue). Just trying to keep the water balanced. EI dosing potassium and phosphorus and spot dosing nitrates.


Nice setup. The glosso seems to be going very well! I love glosso too bad it's a high tech plant.


----------



## Fat Guy

Good news this week is that the glosso is finally starting to plane out in certain sections and grow low instead of up. I've learned a lot about my tank from this plant. I'm going to start mixing my own ferts for this tank. Been having some trouble getting things shipped out here to nyc after sandy. I've upgraded my needle valve to the Fabco NV-55-18 (but am still waiting for it to be delivered).
I'm going to have to make another run to home depot to get some couplings and a 1/8" barb for the valve. Looking forward to it though. Just purchased an aws scale for measuring the dry ferts I'm gonna mix for the EI dosing.
got the scale off of amazon along with a 100g calibration weight.

gonna be on the hunt for some nice bottles to mix my solutions in. any suggestions where one may find some quality 500ml containers?
So the big news this week is the change in growth for the glosso and the pending shipments that are one the way. A big shout out to greenleafaquariums.com for their excellent customer service. I had a package of dry ferts get lost at the post office here in the city and they reshipped me the package via ups immediately after I notified them. Very happy with their company.

parting shots: fabco nv-55-18; aws scale; callibration weight; glosso; full tank


----------



## @[email protected]

looks like things are progressing well.
glosso is a nice plant, but very high maintenance, IME. good luck.


----------



## Fat Guy

enough typing. just pictures-

NOV 26, 2012
new co2 build. swapped a new tank NOV 26, 2012

































DRY FERTS FROM GREENLEAFAQUARIUM.COM








making a fertilizer soluition

















































full tank


----------



## plantbrain

FYI, smaller tanks need topped off for evaporation, CO2 changes are much larger and big issues for smaller tanks.

Ferts: just make a DIY liquid and dose richer.

You have a lot of light and a small tank.....CO2 demand is going to be quite high, adjust the light up to reduce intensity.

CRS adults are somewhat tolerant of CO2, but not the breeding and fry.
You will always get better growth, breeding/brood production with non CO2 methods and shrimp.

I would suggest a better valve than the fabco, you spent a wad on the tank, the light and the soil, even the hardscape, but the single MOST LETHAL thing........you went cheaper on???? 

You cannot kill shrimp with light or ferts(unless you really go nuts).
CO2? People do it every week on forums and kill fish which are even tougher.

Less light= less CO2 demand.

I have 1.2 W/gal of T5 lighting on this 350 Gal tank and the Gloss grows nice and tight:


----------



## freph

plantbrain said:


> FYI, smaller tanks need topped off for evaporation, CO2 changes are much larger and big issues for smaller tanks.
> 
> Ferts: just make a DIY liquid and dose richer.
> 
> You have a lot of light and a small tank.....CO2 demand is going to be quite high, adjust the light up to reduce intensity.
> 
> CRS adults are somewhat tolerant of CO2, but not the breeding and fry.
> You will always get better growth, breeding/brood production with non CO2 methods and shrimp.
> 
> I would suggest a better valve than the fabco, you spent a wad on the tank, the light and the soil, even the hardscape, but the single MOST LETHAL thing........you went cheaper on????
> 
> You cannot kill shrimp with light or ferts(unless you really go nuts).
> CO2? People do it every week on forums and kill fish which are even tougher.
> 
> Less light= less CO2 demand.
> 
> I have 1.2 W/gal of T5 lighting on this 350 Gal tank and the Gloss grows nice and tight:


How much richer do you mean when you say dose richer? Just per EI?

Also, the evaporation thing is very much true. I top off every morning and evening to keep things as steady as I can.


----------



## plantbrain

As far as ferts, standard EI (this web site's version, my own is very different and there is no set ppm target). I have SSS grades and SS grades for a couple of years without issues. CO2? Far far worse. Removed that and still dose relatively the same EI on my 60p, they do excellent/far more brood production.
Ferts are independent.


----------



## Fat Guy

plantbrain said:


> FYI, smaller tanks need topped off for evaporation, CO2 changes are much larger and big issues for smaller tanks.
> 
> Ferts: just make a DIY liquid and dose richer.
> 
> You have a lot of light and a small tank.....CO2 demand is going to be quite high, adjust the light up to reduce intensity.
> 
> CRS adults are somewhat tolerant of CO2, but not the breeding and fry.
> You will always get better growth, breeding/brood production with non CO2 methods and shrimp.
> 
> I would suggest a better valve than the fabco, you spent a wad on the tank, the light and the soil, even the hardscape, but the single MOST LETHAL thing........you went cheaper on????
> 
> You cannot kill shrimp with light or ferts(unless you really go nuts).
> CO2? People do it every week on forums and kill fish which are even tougher.
> 
> Less light= less CO2 demand.
> 
> I have 1.2 W/gal of T5 lighting on this 350 Gal tank and the Gloss grows nice and tight:


Hi Tom,

Thanks for the response. I think I've already employed some of your suggestions (specifically ferts) before. And then there were some suggestions you made above where I started to wonder whether or not they were specific to me or general swatches of wisdom you were passing on. ie: raising the light on an ADA solar mini lighting unit; etc. 

Regardless, I really enjoy your site. So suggest away.

here goes:
I top off my tank as needed. I have a top which limits the evaporation. I keep my outflow pipe a little higher to get better gas exchange at the surface.

ferts: 
I've gleaned a lot of how I dose after reading your site. I am using the EI method and the nutrient calculator in order to make the solution as endorsed on your website. Do you suggest I make a richer solution, other than the one I am using? Do you think, because of the high lighting, and assuming that I have dialed in my co2, that I should provide more ferts then what I am using??

lighting: 
the most I've spent on the tank was on the light (2 years ago). How would you suggest I raise the light over a mini M with the solar mini lighting unit? That suggestion (which I understand in theory) really confuses me because the height of this tank light is fixed. Do you think maybe switching out a lower wattage bulb would be a good idea if I can't raise the light itself? 
What do you think about this bulb: https://www.interlight.biz/light-bulb/FPL18EX-N or maybe this one (not sure if the dual 6500K and 10000K would be ideal: http://www.marineandreef.com/18W_Dual_Daylight_Current_USA_p/rcu02018.htm http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...=525409435&catargetid=1570176755&cagpspn=pla?

I haven't had any real CRS issues except when they first arrived. I lost a couple after doing a poor water change. I now use water that has aged overnight and with the same temperature. I'm not trying to breed these shrimp. I just want them to coexist with the plants.

Man oh man, do I understand the danger with CO2. 

So, here's the kicker for me-
It's ironic that you think my FABCO purchase was a bad one. The reason I purchased it was because I was swayed by a lot of enthusiasm for the product after reading your site. For example, this thread: 
http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/8407-Fabco-Air-NV-55-18-with-1-8-NPT-ports-now-available
I'm not as tech savvy when it comes to valves, but I have to admit I think it was a nicer upgrade from the Clippard I was using before. Not having a lot of experience in this department and trying to sift through the myriad of information good and bad out there online, I thought I was moving in the right direction. I may be wrong to assume that it's a good valve. However, I did build a lot of my assumptions on this product after reading its endorsement off of the forum from your website. You think my decision for the FABCO was lethal...can you imagine the horror that used to be my tank when I had the CLIPPARD??? I had no idea I was being cheap.

I'm not sure why you are assuming that I have been murdering my fauna. But I am taking these assumptions with a grain of salt. After all, I've learned a great deal from you. Maybe you are just fishing for compliments :smile:

I used to grow HC in this tank no problem. 
Here's a pic







.
But you are right. Your glosso looks a lot better than mine in your attached photo. There's the rub! 
I thought for a while that it was because I purchased it emersed. Just now it has started shooting out a good amount of runners. But I'd be lying if I told you that it happened overnight. It took a lot of time and patience. And looks like it will take a lot more. 

I think you are dead on regarding the light. The light intensity is too great for this small tank. I've probably tweaked every little thing on this tank but haven't touched the light. I think reducing the wattage may be a step in the right direction because I can't raise the light any higher than where it is. Less light = less co2 = happier shrimp = more balanced environment. 

There are a lot of hobbyists out there with all different levels of experience. I think I am somewhere in the middle. I have gleaned a ton of useful information off your website. some of it now appears to be conflicting, but, nonetheless- thank you. I wasn't expecting your response. I'm looking forward to more. The more specific the better. 

best, walter


----------



## Green_Flash

that was a nice HC carpet, just curious why you switched to glosso?


----------



## Fat Guy

Green_Flash said:


> that was a nice HC carpet, just curious why you switched to glosso?


had it going for almost a year and just wanted to try something different. (The glosso is a lot easier to net after trimming too...)


----------



## Francis Xavier

Did you reuse your aqua soil from your last HC layout?


----------



## Fat Guy

Francis Xavier said:


> Did you reuse your aqua soil from your last HC layout?


hey frank,

A while back I had gutted the tank. Removed more than half the aquasoil and replaced it with some new aquasoil. Unearthed a few sections of powersand in the process, so you can see some of the powersand on the top of the substrate towards the front. But there is a mixture of old soil and new. The new soil is probably three months old. I have some substrate root fertilizers I could add.

I think Tom is right about the light. It has a high intensity. And I don't think I've been able to catch up with it. I've always had an imbalance with this tank. The interesting thing is that when my HC was growing the best, and when my tank really looked the best was when I was pretty much doing nothing. And that was in the very beginning. I wasn't really fertilizing the water column at all. And I had poor co2 distribution. This tank was thriving for about the first 4 months. But I was getting a lot of green spot algae. Especially on the rock and top of glass. But once I started tinkering with the tank- improving co2 distribution by creating an external reactor, then I started having problems. BUT- I don't' think this was what caused the issue. It was rather a benchmark in my progress when I started to notice things were going south. 

I think things are turning around again. I think that I have more control over the tank then I ever did before and have a better understanding of the environment inside the aquarium a lot better. Those first four months with this tank in the beginning (almost 2 years ago), I was blind. Yet the tank was super forgiving...Maybe there is something in the aquasoil.:smile:

But algae has been one of my greatest learning tools with this tank. On the day I decided to first re-aquascape the tank I had naively disturbed a ton of substrate in the process. And what followed (probably a week later) was staghorn. I believe it was from an ammonia spike that I had created in the process. 

But now, even after cleaning the filters; revamping the scape; adding new aquasoil (basically starting from scratch) do I find the same staghorn issue reappearing. I've tested the water. No Ammonia. I've tested the tap water- no ammonia. I have not disturbed any of the substrate, but yet it appears (not rampant) but on some of the glosso leaves. Very easy for me to remove, but a sign that there is an imbalance. I've got the co2 dialed fairly high (not so high that I am killing my shrimp) but about (1 - 1.2 bps). About as high as I am comfortable with. I have started fertilizing more aggressively using EI. The plants pearl within an hour of lights up. And everything looks good. The glosso has started to send out runners instead of growing vertical. But still, there is an occasional strand of staghorn on a handful of leaves each day. It grows on the older ones. And there is still a good amount of green spot algae on certain sections of the glass. I really think I am having the most issues because of the light intensity and my trying to find a way to catch up to it. 

I'm going to use a lower wattage bulb and see where that takes me. After addressing all the issues with this tank, I've never addressed the lighting. I'm going to start from there and see what happens. 

best, walter


----------



## Francis Xavier

I'd say that first thing with this aquarium is that part of the slower growth is probably due to having re-used some of the old aqua soil - Aqua soil is great going over the long-term in a single layout, since it naturally starts to stabilize growth versus sustaining a grown in layout, but there's nothing quite like that burst of awesome growth from 100% fresh stuff. 

Usually when a layout is redone it's best to get 100% new soil and use that for the punch that it gives. That's not a specific Aqua Soil trait, just with any nutrient rich substrate you'll encounter that. Kind of like how when a farm goes through a cycle process of crops during seasons, they leave one field fallow with a new top layer of soil to rejuvenate it. 

I wouldn't mess with using a light other than the 27w ADA bulb in the Solar Mini fixture, since that's basically optimal for all the plants you want to use. I'd say your recurring staghorn issue is from an infection that took place at one point and it's just seeded in the aquarium now. That'll happen with those more pesky algae's - once you get them, they're in the system, and you can keep it under control once you balance the tank out, but it's still going to pop up from time to time. 

Sometimes it's just really, really difficult to turn a tank around that's struggled from the start. Great learning experience, and you can pull it around with enough experience and get better and better at it, which is the ultimate goal there, but sometimes the best solution is to start with a clean slate and sanitize everything. 

Just the nature of the game - we're dealing with a live ecosystem here, and if anything, the nature aquarium should teach us first hand how delicate these things are out in the real world - where it's not as easy as sanitize and restart. 

On the upside - when you get an aquarium established to a certain point, the aquarium basically takes care of itself (now, this might take years and require a larger water volume for stabilization) but there is a median point that the system reaches that requires very, very little maintenance on your behalf. 

Let's use Amano's tank at home for example. I had the opportunity to ask him questions first hand about the maintenance of the aquarium - and when asked about the maintenance and trimming routine, he basically said that at this stage of the aquariums life, all it requires is a water change and basic service about once a month. The rest just takes care of itself and the water stays crystal clear. No algae occuring on the glass, no major outbreaks of problems, just clean and stable. 

Bear in mind though that that took some years to pull off and get to that point.


----------



## Fat Guy

Thanks for your input Frank. I bet it was quite a treat to pick Amano's brain. 

I have to disagree about replacing 100% of the aquasoil before rescaping. Aquasoil is a great substrate, but I think with a healthy dosing of macro and micros ferts in the water column, the nutrients that may have been depleted in the aquasoil over time, can be replenished, or rather replaced through this method. Also, it has started to make complete sense to me why my hc in the initial months of this aquarium took off, then staggered. The aquasoil combined with the powersand, along with a heavy handed dose of co2 gave this tank a kickstart. But after 3 to 4 months, the HC depleted a good amount of nutrients in the soil after its rapid growth, and my dosing routine at that time was sub sub par. I wasn't adding adequate nutrients, and my plant growth stunted, and being still way too green behind the ears, thought the problem elsewhere. But really, it was my ignorance that got in the way. My knowledge of lighting and soils and co2 diffusion was rough to say the least, and only when I started to dig deeper into the hobby, trying to get a better grip of what goes on behind the scenes...the science...the tests that those have done on soils and light output and algae and macrophytes et al., did I begin to really unearth and dissect my "aquatic dilemmas."

I am going in the other direction in regards to the lighting. I strongly believe that light intensity is the driving force of energy into the aquarium. The 27w pc is a little too much muscle for me. I feel that reducing the intensity will have a positive effect. It will decrease the high demand of co2 and ferts and create a more placative and forgiving environment, especially for fauna.

As of today, I've removed all of the shrimp to another tank (low light and no co2). I tinkered a little with the scape, cleaned the filter, and added some more substrate to get a better sense of slope/depth. Bleached the pipes; cleaned the tubes; scrubbed the rocks. I am going to be doing a few more water changes than usual because of the additional soil and possible NH3 leaching. Getting the 18w bulb sometime this week. 18watts over 5.5 (more like < 5g with the rocks and dirt) tank sounds about right to me. I have to say, delving deeper and asking the magic question "why?" has given me a greater reach into the hobby. And I want to keep reaching for a better understanding on a factual level, rather than building on blind faith as I have done in the past.

all the best, walter


----------



## fishyjoe24

it's looks real good. can't wait to read more of the journal.


----------



## Fat Guy

thanks fishyjoe. looking forward to it as well. 

photo after remodeling. only inhabitants are pond snails. I'm playing it safe with my fauna for now. picked up a 32oz plastic nalgene from the container store today. Am going to make a richer macro solution instead of dosing from three separate bottles. Any suggestions out there for what levels to target for EI dosing. This calculator is awesome: http://calc.petalphile.com/ Should I make the daily dose 5ml total or 15ml when combining these macros into one solution KNO3, K2SO4 and KH2PO4? Chemistry is not my strong suit. best, walter
ps. It is way way easier to maintain a slope when you take the shrimp out. The amanos were pure excavators and steam rollers all smashed into one. I enjoy this scape so much more. Hoping to get my act together.


----------



## freph

What's your source water like? That's what I base my normal dosing on since my tap has a good amount of NO3 in it already (I double up on K2SO4, extra potassium never hurt anything anyway).


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## Fat Guy

hi freph,

my source water only had trace amounts of phosphates...and occasionally some nitrates. Just trace amounts, and not very reliable. I'm using distilled water for my solution.

w


----------



## Fat Guy

*new macro mix*

Decided to consolidate my macro nutrients into a 32oz widemouth container I picked up from the Container Store

I used this online fert calculator http://calc.petalphile.com/

Plugged the following in: 

tank size 5g 
diy mix
solution container 970 ml
each dose being 5ml
for estimative index:

KNO3 
To reach the target of 7.5 ppm NO3 I added 44.90 g KNO3 to the 970.0 mL dosing container.
KH2PO4
To reach the target of 1.3 ppm PO4 I added 6.84 g KH2PO4 to the 970.0 mL dosing container.
KNO3
To reach the target of 7.5 ppm K I added 61.37 g K2SO4 to the 970.0 mL dosing container.

mixed it all together in the nalgene and dose 5ml every other day with the macro solution and dose roughly 2-3ml seachem flourish on the off days.

much thanks to the barrreport for helping me tackle fertilizing in aquaria. 










new bulb comes tomorrow. 
parting shot.










best, walter


----------



## freph

I'm really liking your dosing solutions. I'm definitely going to have to try this out myself. The ADA fert bottles dispense 1mL per pump anyway...perfect for reusing. :icon_idea

Tank is looking better already with the fert change. The lower light is probably a good idea since you aren't using CO2. Did you put any Excel in the fert bottles? Some of the stuff is prone to mold.


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## Fat Guy

Thanks Freph. I actually am running co2. I'm running it inline with a gla diffuser so it's not in view.


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## oliver77

I agree on the swap to glosso. looks great in small tank when it fills in.


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## Fat Guy

*day 1 new light 18w*

New bulb came today. 18w dual 6700k and 10000K pc. Looks good. To be honest, I do not notice any significant difference in brightness. Even though I know there is a reduction in output. The color looks nice. Purchased it from drFosterandSmith online. $15. Less expensive than the 27 watt panasonia bulb I had purchased before for a replacement which was $25. All plants are pearling after 30minutes of lights up. Trimmed any leaflet where I noticed staghorn. Only the older leaves had it. I assume the older leaves had some sort of nutrient deficiency which attributed to the growth. Hope to eradicate this algae now that I've made a change with the light intensity and have started to hone in on a good EI dosing regiment. 

Stumbled upon this article/site today which I think is a must read for anyone in the hobby. 

http://aquariumalgae.blogspot.nl/

Here are some pics. Am I correct to assume that the whiter bulb would be the 10,000K?

best, walter
































surface agitation for better gas exchange. Keeping the top open now that I have nothing in the tank that will jump.








parting shot. Full tank photos seem to come out clearer now with my iphone.
I'm not sure if that is attributed to the new bulb or a less shaky hand this morning.


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## talontsiawd

Looking good. Hopefully you get a reduction in light. It will make life easier. I know the fixture was designed for the tank but it seems like it's at the upper point of lighting as many people seem to have tanks that with a minor slip up, it becomes a major problem. I know for myself that reducing light output, even just a little bit, makes life so much easier. 

Good luck and looking good.


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## sunyang730

That surface agitation was from the lily pipe itself? wow


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## ad3hybrid

Is 15W enough for the plants? I've been aiming that bulb for my Archae 27W replacement bulb.


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## Fat Guy

ad3hybrid said:


> Is 15W enough for the plants? I've been aiming that bulb for my Archae 27W replacement bulb.


the bulb I'm using is 18w and for a 5.5gallon I think it's just right. my plants seem to be responding positively. And if you are a believe in wpg rule of thumb, that's about 3.27wpg compared to the former which was 4.9wpg. I think the reduction in intensity also provides a little more room for error. We shall see.


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## Fat Guy

glosso seems to be growing well. Changed the bulb to the 18w 6 days ago. Am noticing a difference. picked up some excel for my low tech tank. I am spot dosing any signs of staghorn on the older leaves this tank. The leaves that are hard to remove with scissors. I've increased the co2 as well. my only inhabitants are snails so I'm not concerned too much about gassing my fauna as I was before. But with the 18w light, the less co2 and nutrient demand. I imagine that the changes in staghorn growth will be more noticeable after two weeks. Once things start to settle in with the lower light intensity. 

I've been manually removing any powersand that I had mixed up with the top substrate when rescaping the tank. I noticed what looks to be fertilizer balls mixed in with the powersand. not quite sure what they are. When I apply moderate pressure to them they burst. Any thoughts on what they are. I can only imagine they are part of the powersand. I hope. And not something to be worried about that has been growing in my tank. 

Little bit of gda appearing. I had this algae before. Hopefully when the system balances out I will see a change in growth. I've been dosing richer than usual and run my photoperiod for 7 hours. Plants pearl within the first hour. They pearl much more quickly on Macro days and not as rapidly on micro days. 

thinking about adding some dhg behind the rock. any thoughts? 

best 

walter


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## Fat Guy

*dhg*

picked up some dhg from Pacific Aquarium on Delancey. $5. They are no doubt my favorite lfs in nyc. Planted some behind the rock. Hopefully this will enhance the perspective of the tank. Looking forward to taking another shot at this plant. The first time I used it I did so exclusively. And man did it take off. But I had planted it in individual clumps throughout the entire aquarium. This time I planted in bunches and only in a limited section behind the rock. I thnk with more strategic trimming I can keep it away from the front of the tank. We shall see. 

I also changed up the solution in my drop checker. (I haven't done that in months, so I don't think the reading I was getting was accurate). Still spot treating with excel. Haven't seen any new signs of staghorn. I'd like to say that it is nonexistent, but I'm not going to jump to any conclusions yet. I know the battle is a process and does not happen overnight. We shall see with the DHG. The first time I really noticed staghorn was a long time ago on a strand of DHG. The cause was no doubt my own. But now I feel like I have a better grasp on this little ecosystem. But I don't want to jinx myself. 

It's silly, but I'm also including a picture of my DIY razor scraper. It's my alternative to the ADA one (which is way too much to pay for such a simple tool). So I just used a pair of hemostats and a razor blade. To be honest, the best glass cleaning tools have been a generic toothbrush, a paper towel and a razor blade. Never been happy with any of the algae scrapers out there. I also may venture off this week to a restaurant supply store to get a pair of 10" forceps for tank maintenance. Or go online and get some better quality planting tweezers. I'd like to keep the cost low though. But, now that everything is planted, this may be a poorly timed puchase. 

All in all, the glosso seems to be growing well. The glosso that's newly planted grows tall at first. Then once it starts to root, I clip the top chute and discard it. By the next day it starts to shoot out a runner. It's getting there... Keeping the fingers crossed for the DHG. The next upgrade may be a new timer to have the CO2 turn on 1 hour before lights up. Any thoughts?

walter























DHG and Glosso from above shot





























parting shot


----------



## Fat Guy

The new bulb seems to be having a positive effect on the system. I've upped my co2 this week and spot treated some staghorn zones with excel as well as removed any leaf with any sign of it. Haven't seen any sign of this algae now in two days. I've been very meticulous trying to tackle this issue. I think I've finally made some serious ground. The DHG and glosso are growing nicely. The glosso is growing much slower now with the new bulb which is great! The leaves are a little smaller and it is sending out more runners. The plants pearl after about three to four hours into the photo period. Definitely not pearling like before with the 27wt light, but they look much much healthier all around. I think they have started to adjust to the reduced light intensity and are growing at a more manageable rate. The only other algae issue now is GDA. I'm going to get at it by shutting off the inlfow when wiping/scraping away, followed by a 30% maybe 50% water change after cleaning every three days. Gonna start from there and see what happens. 

best, walter


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## ADAtank

I like it! Great job


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## PeterN1986

Just use the edge of an old credit card to scrape algae. I'm using an old Dave & Buster's card I got one time. You'll cover more area with an old card than the razor


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## Fat Guy

ADAtank said:


> I like it! Great job


Thanks!! it's a continuous work in progress.



PeterN1986 said:


> Just use the edge of an old credit card to scrape algae. I'm using an old Dave & Buster's card I got one time. You'll cover more area with an old card than the razor


thanks for the suggestion. I've used the ol' credit card before. It works pretty well.


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## IWANNAGOFAST

looks great as always! what are those little white thingies at the front of the substrate?


----------



## Fat Guy

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> looks great as always! what are those little white thingies at the front of the substrate?


thanks!!  those little white things are small pieces of powersand that I mixed up when rescaping. it's quite the task trying to pick them all up.


----------



## Fat Guy

*staghorn update*

The staghorn is completely gone. The best method for me was spot treating it with excel. Actually, the smartest thing I've done to treat it was to first remove the tank of its occupants. Tinkering with c02 and excel can be tough on the fauna...(and flora). I treated the tank for about a week. Half an hour before lights up I closed the valve for my filter so there was no current and treated the glosso with a dosing syringe of excel. After about 20-30 minutes, I reopened the filter valve and brought the current back in. I overdosed excel for three days then did a major water change and repeated for the first week. stahorn eventually turned grey then virtually transparent. I dosed more than the recommended amount which I know can be issue. There are zero inhabitants in the tank except for pond snails. My pond snail population did diminish significantly after dosing. I dosed between 5-10ml. after a week I did a 75% water change and resumed daily maintenance without excel. I have to say that excel did the trick, however I noticed a difference in the growth of my glosso after the first couple of days. The plants were not pearling and to me the new growth seemed thin. After the last major water change and ferts plants have bounced back. I read that there is a risk of damaging your plants by overdosing excel. I felt like I was walking a very fine line. Finally, though, the staghorn is gone. I've tried very hard to be patient. With such a small tank there is ver little room for error. 

Got some 12" tweezers today from Southern Oak aquatics. $20 and free shipping. They work very well. If I were to purchase such a product again, I would go with 10" ones. These are great, just take some getting used to. 

Redid my 4dkh recipe for my drop checker. After 4 hours the drop checker is green. Big thanks to the barrreport.com and its members for the recipe:

I used Billionzz recipe found here: http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/8617-Dkh-4-Recipe

and followed it to the T.

I weighed every element instead of measuring on my graduated cylinder. The graduated cylinder I have is inaccurate.

Have to say, this recipe make me feel much more confident in getting a general estimate of co2. 

All plants are pearling. Again. glad I switched to the 18w bulb. Hairgrass is shooting out multiple runners too. Going to do a tank trim tomorrow. some glosso is still growing high while others are growing horizontally. 

All the best, 

Walter


----------



## Fat Guy

did a large trim of the glosso today. just mowed it down instead of clipping at individual leaflets. I was inspired by this method: http://www.youtube.com/adgvibe#p/a/u/1/nbZqDPmuWFA the hairgrass is really starting to perk up. cleaned the filter and added some new floss. a lot of snails living in the filter now that I removed the metal shrimp guard. trying to narrow in on 30ppm co2 (using the drop checker method)...rather...shooting for green. this morning the drop checker was yellow. too much co2. not a real concern for me right now because there isn't anything in the tank. that reading was with roughly 2bps. I'm hoping that going back to 1bps will get me within a more manageable range. also hoping for better results now that the staghorn is gone and my scape methods are leaning towards being more patient. keeping my fingers crossed for the glosso to bounce back after such a heavy buzz cut. I think that may encourage more shoots to grow horizontal. best, walter


----------



## Fat Guy

messing around with a new container for my 4dkh solution. just an old contact solution container. this one works well and is a lot easier to add to my drop checkers because of the dropper. I broke out the old diy drop checker I made a while back and felt like putting it in the tank in the back right corner. top drop checker is a good solid green after changing the co2 to about 1 bubble every 1.5 seconds. the back drop checker is blue in the picture because...well...I just put it in a couple minutes ago. as for the glosso, new little leaflets are sprouting after the trim (two days ago). noticed a little bit more green algae on the rock after the trim. I imagine the major trim had something to do with its appearance. it's a mild algae outbreak after the trim. but nothing on the plants. best, walter


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## Fat Guy

having a lot less algae issues. the gda has seemed to have significantly reduced. staghorn is still gone. I had some green algae on the rock 4 days ago. when I changed the water in the tank I exposed the section of the rock and spot treated it with prime and let the rock sit exposed in the air for about ten minutes before filling the tank up. four days later that algae has vanished. I attribute it's appearance to the major trim I did. I've reduced my dosing to the recommended EI levels. I was dosing richer initially and I think that attributed to some gda algae issues as well. I was dosing too much for the plant mass in the tank. Once everything fills in more, I may dose richer, but depending on what I see from the plants (or algae). 30-40% water changes every 3 to 4 days. co2 now runs an hour before lights up and shuts off an hour before lights off at roughly 1-1.2 bps. The glosso is now sprouting tiny leaflets where trimmed. I think there are some sections of it that were shocked by the glutaraldehyde in the excel treatment, but they are bouncing back. The dhg is really thriving. it's sending out multiple runners and filling in the gaps between the rocks very nicely. My goal is to contain it to the back section of the tank. I will remove any runners that make their way past the rock arrangement. So far so good. hoping for the glosso to stay low now that I've trimmed it like a hedge and pushed it deeper in the substrate. we shall see. best, walter


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## talontsiawd

Looking great. Take some closer pics though.  I would love to see the texture of the rock more.


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## Fat Guy

talontsiawd said:


> Looking great. Take some closer pics though. I would love to see the texture of the rock more.


thanks. :icon_bigg will do, once the glosso thickens up a little more. from three feet away it looks awesome. but up close it's still a little too thin after the trim even for rock photos.


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## Fat Guy

here's my current update. two endlers, an otto, and some snails.


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## Green_Flash

very nice!


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## vvDO

What happened to the glosso carpet? Looking good, I think we need to get even closer.


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## Kinection

I really like that scape you have there! I bet it would look awesome, when the carpet thickens.


----------



## Fat Guy

thanks all. the glosso carpet has been confined to the back corner. the hc is spreading out nicely and works better for me as a carpet plant in a tank this size.


----------



## Fat Guy




----------



## talontsiawd

Looking good. Going back to HC was a good choice. I actually find HC less demanding than glosso for a great looking carpet. Glosso is easy for me to get something going but I can't get it to look as good.


----------



## Fat Guy

talontsiawd said:


> Looking good. Going back to HC was a good choice. I actually find HC less demanding than glosso for a great looking carpet. Glosso is easy for me to get something going but I can't get it to look as good.


yeah. I like it much better too. I'm still using the glosso, but am mixing it in with the rotala and dhg in the back. the hc works better for me in a tank this size with the rock as well. it fits better proportionately I think.


----------



## Jarek Strzechowski

Wow! Still coming along very nicely. I like the rock placement! It gives a real unique viewing aspect.


----------



## Fat Guy

thanks jarek, I'm enjoying this tank more and more every day. 

I need to bend some acrylic to make a new outflow pipe. happy with the changes I've made. especially opting for a less wattage bulb. I just need the endlers to get cookin now.


----------



## A.D.D.i.c.t.

Simply beautiful. I love what you've done with this layout.


----------



## Fat Guy

A.D.D.i.c.t. said:


> Simply beautiful. I love what you've done with this layout.


thanks addict 

Did the first major trim. let the rotala creep along the top for a week or so before cutting it back. replanted two tops and some glosso sprigs in the back to thicken it up. Things have been settling in nicely. water has been very clear and gda is nonexistent now.


----------



## Fat Guy

decided to stay money conscious and not buy any new glass wear. made my own acrylic outflow instead. I have made these in the past but it's been a while. got the heat gun out and couldn't have been more pleased. took me about a half hour (setup, bending, sanding, polishing). The best thing about making your own acrylic pipes is that you can customize the outflow to suit your needs, specifically the outflow angle. I used to own a gla glass pipe (which I broke a long while back) and that pipe used to blow the soil all over the place and the suction cup on it really didn't help keep the outflow elevated. Acrylic is much much much cheaper and I feel more durable then the glass ones. It's also crazy how much money ADA and other companies charge when they mark up there glass wear. I think it is silly to pay so much for a water spout when there are much simpler and affordable alternatives. today, all it took was patience during the bending process....and a work glove to protect my digits.


----------



## frrok

*Fat Guy's ADA HC ENDLERS*



Fat Guy said:


> decided to stay money conscious and not buy any new glass wear. made my own acrylic outflow instead. I have made these in the past but it's been a while. got the heat gun out and couldn't have been more pleased. took me about a half hour (setup, bending, sanding, polishing). The best thing about making your own acrylic pipes is that you can customize the outflow to suit your needs, specifically the outflow angle. I used to own a gla glass pipe (which I broke a long while back) and that pipe used to blow the soil all over the place and the suction cup on it really didn't help keep the outflow elevated. Acrylic is much much much cheaper and I feel more durable then the glass ones. It's also crazy how much money ADA and other companies charge when they mark up there glass wear. I think it is silly to pay so much for a water spout when there are much simpler and affordable alternatives. today, all it took was patience during the bending process....and a work glove to protect my digits.


Duuuude... Please make me one!!


----------



## assasin6547

That is one heck of a nice HC carpet! Are you running C02? Cuz I can't see a diffuser.

Nice work! I like it.


----------



## Fat Guy

hey frrok,

how goes it? how's it going on the rock? I have to get some more plastic for the pipes. not sure when that'll be but if I get around to it, maybe I'll make an extra one and send it to you.

assasin,

thanks. I'm using an external reactor and am running a 5lbs pressurized tank.


----------



## frrok

*Fat Guy's ADA with hand made lily pipe*



Fat Guy said:


> hey frrok,
> 
> how goes it? how's it going on the rock? I have to get some more plastic for the pipes. not sure when that'll be but if I get around to it, maybe I'll make an extra one and send it to you.
> 
> assasin,
> 
> thanks. I'm using an external reactor and am running a 5lbs pressurized tank.


Rock is coming back to normal slowly but surely. Went out for a surf today after work... 
That would be epic. I would love to have a Fat Guy lily pipe!


----------



## Zorfox

Just finished reading your thread. Quite a progression you've had with this tank! I love the simplicity and cleanliness of them all. Very nice!

Have you ever considered plugging the end of your suction line and drilling small holes rather than using the screen? I think it would look much better for this type of setup. Similar to the standard ADA glass tubes. You seem to have an affinity to making your own lily pipes.


----------



## beedee

Nice job on the lilys and the tank is a beauty! 

Were you able to find the acrylic at your local hardware store, or did you have to order it from TAP Plastic?


----------



## Fat Guy

Zorfox said:


> Just finished reading your thread. Quite a progression you've had with this tank! I love the simplicity and cleanliness of them all. Very nice!
> 
> Have you ever considered plugging the end of your suction line and drilling small holes rather than using the screen? I think it would look much better for this type of setup. Similar to the standard ADA glass tubes. You seem to have an affinity to making your own lily pipes.


Thanks zorfox. I don't mind the screen. i like that it's easy to clean and keeps a lot of debris out of the filter.



beedee said:


> Nice job on the lilys and the tank is a beauty!
> 
> Were you able to find the acrylic at your local hardware store, or did you have to order it from TAP Plastic?


thanks beedee. I picked up the tubing at a plastic store in chinatown here in nyc. 

I just picked up some dry iron chelate form gla and made a mix to dose extra with my micros. the rotala seems to be responding very well and is showing some nice red coloration especially on the new growth. 

the next purchases are going to be some plantex (in the distant future) and some shorter curved scissors to make the carpet trimming a little more manageable. 

best, walt


----------



## Soup12

Fat Guy said:


> The staghorn is completely gone. The best method for me was spot treating it with excel. Actually, the smartest thing I've done to treat it was to first remove the tank of its occupants. Tinkering with c02 and excel can be tough on the fauna...(and flora). I treated the tank for about a week. Half an hour before lights up I closed the valve for my filter so there was no current and treated the glosso with a dosing syringe of excel. After about 20-30 minutes, I reopened the filter valve and brought the current back in. I overdosed excel for three days then did a major water change and repeated for the first week. stahorn eventually turned grey then virtually transparent. I dosed more than the recommended amount which I know can be issue. There are zero inhabitants in the tank except for pond snails. My pond snail population did diminish significantly after dosing. I dosed between 5-10ml. after a week I did a 75% water change and resumed daily maintenance without excel. I have to say that excel did the trick, however I noticed a difference in the growth of my glosso after the first couple of days. The plants were not pearling and to me the new growth seemed thin. After the last major water change and ferts plants have bounced back. I read that there is a risk of damaging your plants by overdosing excel. I felt like I was walking a very fine line. Finally, though, the staghorn is gone. I've tried very hard to be patient. With such a small tank there is ver little room for error.
> 
> Got some 12" tweezers today from Southern Oak aquatics. $20 and free shipping. They work very well. If I were to purchase such a product again, I would go with 10" ones. These are great, just take some getting used to.
> 
> Redid my 4dkh recipe for my drop checker. After 4 hours the drop checker is green. Big thanks to the barrreport.com and its members for the recipe:
> 
> I used Billionzz recipe found here: http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/8617-Dkh-4-Recipe
> 
> and followed it to the T.
> 
> I weighed every element instead of measuring on my graduated cylinder. The graduated cylinder I have is inaccurate.
> 
> Have to say, this recipe make me feel much more confident in getting a general estimate of co2.
> 
> All plants are pearling. Again. glad I switched to the 18w bulb. Hairgrass is shooting out multiple runners too. Going to do a tank trim tomorrow. some glosso is still growing high while others are growing horizontally.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> Walter


Are those tongs very thin at the ends? what is the measurement in mm?

I currently have the Fluval Flora Stainless Steel Planting Tongs and the ends are too thick at 3mm making it really hard to plant.


----------



## Fat Guy

Soup12 said:


> Are those tongs very thin at the ends? what is the measurement in mm?
> 
> I currently have the Fluval Flora Stainless Steel Planting Tongs and the ends are too thick at 3mm making it really hard to plant.


i don't know the measurement in mm, but I haven't had any trouble using them for planting. If I were to get another set I would choose ones that had more grip at the end. these ones are smooth and I just use them for planting/removing any random debris. sometimes they lose their grip of the plant. but for the price, they serve me very well.

not much to report for today, just letting the rotala get resettled after the trim. gonna get a shorter set of curved scissors. Have also cut my photo period down to about 6.5 hours. don't want to get ahead of myself. also, vinegar and water has proven to be the best glass cleaner when cleaning the outside glass of the tank.


----------



## Soup12

could you get the thickness of the ends on the planting tong for me please!

Also, if you could buy better ones, what planting tongs were you looking at?


----------



## Fat Guy

been away for some time. changed things up. 

dhg and mini glosso (elatine hydropiper- that I purchased from a member here). wish more came with the order but am excited to see it grow. this is a shoddy photo but I wanted to snap a pic of the new layout now in order to compare how the plants fill in later. can't kill dhg, that's for sure. or pond snails. the tank was empty for over a week. I pulled everything out after my hc carpet got out of control (neglect). so this is a fresh start. same old aquasoil, different rock work. you can only see the dhg in the background. the e. hydropiper is going to be the foreground when it settles in. thanks for looking. -el gordo


----------



## Couesfanatic

The new scape looks awesome.


----------



## talontsiawd

I liked the old scape but new one is a big improvement. Curious how the mini glosso carpet turns out. I have seen the plant before but I don't think I have seen a full carpet of it in a journal yet.


----------



## xmas_one

Just stumbled on to this thread. Really liking all the iterations the tank has gone through! Keep us posted on your success with the hydropiper please.


----------



## amphirion

New scape looks good! Hydropiper looks like a great compliment.


----------



## plantbrain

I have a lot of E hydropiper, but, as soon as I add it to the tanks, fish tend to pull it out or the shrimp. I grow it attached to some moss at the surface, even at 84F, it grows great. 

Fine ADA powder and few fish/shrimp messing with it, lots of light, it should do well.


----------



## Fat Guy

plantbrain said:


> I have a lot of E hydropiper, but, as soon as I add it to the tanks, fish tend to pull it out or the shrimp. I grow it attached to some moss at the surface, even at 84F, it grows great.
> 
> Fine ADA powder and few fish/shrimp messing with it, lots of light, it should do well.


cool beans. I have my hopes up for this plant. I have about 18w over it with the co2 cranked and am dosing potassium sulphate for now with water changes roughly every other day. I just setup the tank after having it out of commission for some time. The only tank inhabitants are a few pond snails so the plant has remained undisturbed and is now starting to show new growth. I was reading over some info on your site regarding liebig's law and feel enlightened with a new understanding and a way to look at ferts, light and co2 etc. I keep imagining the "barrel" example as I approach this new setup.

we just had a baby so the old scape was neglected. I was getting sick of the main rock after all these years with as the focus. I'm excited by this new setup and hope the e. hydropiper fills in well. the glosso I used to keep in the past was inconsistent and I struggled with it as an aquarist. some of my glosso shot out runners while the other half grew straight up. keeping my fingers crossed for the hydropiper. 

thanks all for your comments.


----------



## ThatGuyWithTheFish

Fat Guy said:


> cool beans. I have my hopes up for this plant. I have about 18w over it with the co2 cranked and am dosing potassium sulphate for now with water changes roughly every other day. I just setup the tank after having it out of commission for some time. The only tank inhabitants are a few pond snails so the plant has remained undisturbed and is now starting to show new growth. I was reading over some info on your site regarding liebig's law and feel enlightened with a new understanding and a way to look at ferts, light and co2 etc. I keep imagining the "barrel" example as I approach this new setup.
> 
> we just had a baby so the old scape was neglected. I was getting sick of the main rock after all these years with as the focus. I'm excited by this new setup and hope the e. hydropiper fills in well. the glosso I used to keep in the past was inconsistent and I struggled with it as an aquarist. some of my glosso shot out runners while the other half grew straight up. keeping my fingers crossed for the hydropiper.
> 
> thanks all for your comments.


18W? Isn't the mini Solar 27W?


----------



## Fat Guy

ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> 18W? Isn't the mini Solar 27W?


Yup. The Solar mini is setup with a 27W out of the box. I reduced the wattage by using 18watt bulbs instead of 27W. My 18w pc is a 6700K and 10000k bulb. I made the switch way back in December of last year and have been pleased with the results and light color. I find the tank to be more manageable with a little more wiggle room for error.


----------



## vvDO

New hardscape looks great, can't wait to see how it looks all grown in.


----------



## Fat Guy

vvDO said:


> New hardscape looks great, can't wait to see how it looks all grown in.


thanks! I'm looking forward to it growing in too. the hydropipers are starting to sprout new roots and leaflets...partial water changes every day/other day until then:smile:


----------



## Fat Guy

just purchased a new outflow pipe via adgshop in texas. looking forward to it. the lily I made developed a hairline crack in the top and has started to leak from the crack. looking forward to the ada glassware that I purchased. the mini p2 outflow. Now looking on their website it looks like I got the last one. 

I've started to notice tiny tiny little leaflets popping up in my aquasoil. not sure what they are. I snapped a picture. the sprouts are so tiny it looks as if they are from tiny seeds that I planted (which I didn't). any idea what they are? same leaf shape as the hydropiper, but the sprouts are growing where I did not plant.










hard to tell from this photo but you can see the little green dots. One, down and to the left (our left) of the plant in the center. and then another towards the left side of the photo. I don't have any photo editing software.


----------



## ThatGuyWithTheFish

Nah looks like just hydropiper.


----------



## Fat Guy

ThatGuyWithTheFish said:


> Nah looks like just hydropiper.


i'll have to try to snap a better photo. the closeup is hydropiper, but there are these little green sprouts growing where I did not plant the hydropiper. you have to look hard in the first photo. I'll try to get a better shot tomorrow.


----------



## vvDO

They look like runners of hydropiper.


----------



## ThatGuyWithTheFish

vvDO said:


> They look like runners of hydropiper.


+1 to this


----------



## Fat Guy

vvDO said:


> They look like runners of hydropiper.


alright cool. hope that they are.


----------



## Fat Guy

just picked up an ada 13mm lily pipe from adg shop that they had on sale. very excited and am going to try very very hard not to break it. the acrylic lily pipe I had made cracked so I repaired it with some suncure for my surfboard. actually, a lot of the lily's I made developed hairline cracks on top over time which caused a small leak. I have them all as backups in case I shatter this new one. 

old pipe with the suncure 









whoa fancy packaging









I love the deal









full scape. elatine hydropiper is doing well...really well. eleocharis acicularis going nuts in the background. eleocharis belem on the way from california. thanks iOS7 operating system for your instagram photo good looks. I'll post an update once I plant the belem. just picked up a 2"x2" patch from a member on barrreport.


----------



## FlyingHellFish

Very nice stone placement, it's leads my eyes in a loop from left - centre - right. Did you read ADA's articles on layouts? They have about 5 pages on where to place stones (I'm not kidding) and I couldn't stand the restrictions.

Anyways, the tank will look great once the carpet fills in.


----------



## Fat Guy

FlyingHellFish said:


> Very nice stone placement, it's leads my eyes in a loop from left - centre - right. Did you read ADA's articles on layouts? They have about 5 pages on where to place stones (I'm not kidding) and I couldn't stand the restrictions.
> 
> Anyways, the tank will look great once the carpet fills in.


Hey thanks!! I'm not sure if I've read those articles though, but I'll have to take a look at them. I've read a couple in the Aquatic Gardener publications. Looking forward to the hydropiper filling in as well as the e. belem once I get it. the e. acicularis may be quite the task to keep in the background. I'm wondering how it will look when the e. belem I am getting blends in with it. the plan is to plant the e. bellem in the midground between the rocks. thanks again flyinghellfish. more pics to come.


----------



## frrok

looks great...love the new filters in the photo app in iOS7. I never thought of using sun cure to fix pipes! I wonder if it would work on glass? did u get out there the last few days? ....waves were fun


----------



## ThatGuyWithTheFish

Yeah I got a 10 mm myself. Mice to have some ADA pipes!


----------



## talontsiawd

A tip for the lily pipes. If you use some petroleum jelly where the pipe meets, they are like 100,000,000x easier to get off. Just make sure that they are on because if you use a lot, they can pop off easily at first, after a few days they seem to seat better.


----------



## Fat Guy

talontsiawd said:


> A tip for the lily pipes. If you use some petroleum jelly where the pipe meets, they are like 100,000,000x easier to get off. Just make sure that they are on because if you use a lot, they can pop off easily at first, after a few days they seem to seat better.


Thanks for the tip. I'll have to give that a try next time. I find if I'm careful I have a lot more success. 

Just got the eleocharis belem today. Great portion. It had been grown emersed. But the 2"x2" portion I got in the mail was just awesome. Separated it and planted it between the rocks and in the midground and towards the ADA corner of the aquarium. Looking forward to watching it grow. the foreground is the hydropiper. the co2 is cranked. my substrate is a little hard in the front. I pushed the tweezers in it to "aerate" it a bit. Hopefully it doesn't pose a problem with the plants' root structure. It's not too hard packed, it's just noticeably firmer when planting in that area. I'm liking the eleocharis acicularis in the background. I like the depth it creates.


----------



## Fat Guy

clearer pic- day 2 belem


----------



## frrok

hey man, quick question. Are you using Aquasoil Powder only? or Aquasoil with powder as cap? just curious.... and did you re-use your aquasoil when you re-scaped...thx! 

I just added some belem to my scape as well. im mixing it with HC as an experiment.


----------



## Fat Guy

frrok said:


> hey man, quick question. Are you using Aquasoil Powder only? or Aquasoil with powder as cap? just curious.... and did you re-use your aquasoil when you re-scaped...thx!
> 
> I just added some belem to my scape as well. im mixing it with HC as an experiment.



Hey Frrok. How goes it? How are things at the Rock?

I've reused my aquasoil for the most part. The white specs that look like gravel in the photo are power sand that I used to have solely as a base layer of the substrate. But when I rescaped the tank a while back, I accidentally mixed a lot of the power sand with the soil and some of it you can see now is part of the surface. I have the powder soil but haven't used it in years. It was cool in the beginning when you first setup the scape, but over time and shrimp abuse, it lost its effect. The soil is pretty dense in the front now. I shoved some tweezers into it to try to "aerate" it to see if that would help at all. So far so good.


----------



## frrok

Fat Guy said:


> Hey Frrok. How goes it? How are things at the Rock?
> 
> I've reused my aquasoil for the most part. The white specs that look like gravel in the photo are power sand that I used to have solely as a base layer of the substrate. But when I rescaped the tank a while back, I accidentally mixed a lot of the power sand with the soil and some of it you can see now is part of the surface. I have the powder soil but haven't used it in years. It was cool in the beginning when you first setup the scape, but over time and shrimp abuse, it lost its effect. The soil is pretty dense in the front now. I shoved some tweezers into it to try to "aerate" it to see if that would help at all. So far so good.


Rock is good! it was a fun summer, different but fun. wish there were more waves :/

Well, I ask because... My aquasoil looks like yours but I used power sand base and powder type only. I didn't use the regular aquasoil. I am wondering it using the aquasoil powder only gave me issues with growing my HC. not sure if the roots are not being aerated enough. for some reason, I cant grow HC, High light(LED), EI , 30ppm co2, I got it all....


----------



## Fat Guy

frrok said:


> Rock is good! it was a fun summer, different but fun. wish there were more waves :/
> 
> Well, I ask because... My aquasoil looks like yours but I used power sand base and powder type only. I didn't use the regular aquasoil. I am wondering it using the aquasoil powder only gave me issues with growing my HC. not sure if the roots are not being aerated enough. for some reason, I cant grow HC, High light(LED), EI , 30ppm co2, I got it all....


I'm not sure if the aquasoil would be the main culprit hindering your HC. What happens to you hc when you plant it? does it yellow or just melt away? did you buy it emersed? what do you have for livestock in the tank? If you don't have fauna in there, maybe you can up the co2 and do water changes every day for a week and see if that stimulates some growth. HC for me is something I've never had an issue growing. My biggest problem was that if I was not on top of trimming it, it would get overgrown and lift up from the substrate. what's the light you have on it? same as before?


----------



## Fat Guy

everything is growing. the eleocharis belem has rebounded after being submerged and is sprouting new roots after some die off. and now it's blades are more acid green and curved. The hydropiper is growing as well. the plant is very delicate. a couple of the stems that have grown have broken where there is a strong current in the tank. I just replant them and they seem to flourish. we shall see. maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I think it is just from the current in the front right part of the tank that can weaken the branches of hydropiper. doing daily 35% water changes and ferts of macros and micros daily along with a little sodium bicarbonate to keep the kh in check with the increased co2 presence. also some seachem equilibrium, a sprinkle, on occasion every week or so.


----------



## Couesfanatic

lookin great, that foreground is gunna look nice when it fills in.

Got any closer up shots?


----------



## Fat Guy

Couesfanatic said:


> lookin great, that foreground is gunna look nice when it fills in.
> 
> Got any closer up shots?


thanks!
I'll snap a few once it fills in a little more.


----------



## talontsiawd

Looks great. For awhile, I thought the DHG in back was "played out". Then I did it myself and realized how great it looks. Your scape is more "dynamic" than the last, IMO, but having a background enhances it even more. I like where this is going.


----------



## Fat Guy

cleaned some filter media, bleached the pipes and scattered some aquasoil powder to smooth out the substrate. not much to report other than the belem has transitioned to being submerged and is starting to grow. the hydropiper on the right side of the tank (our right) started to brown around the stem and break off from the substrate. strange. the hydropiper on the left continues to sprout new growth and has a healthy looking stem. not sure what is happening to it on the right side. I think that it is a very sensitive plant. I switched out the 18w pc and put the 27w back in. now that I've got the co2 cranked and am dosing more consistently, I am hoping for better growth (especially near the outside edges of the tank). I think the 18w pc had a weak PAR levels on the corners of the tank. the 27w bulb is a couple inches longer than the 18w so I'm going to keep my eye on its efficiency. a year ago I had a staghorn problem so I had lowered the wattage over the tank considering that I wasn't able to raise the light unit because it's a fixed part of the solar mini m stand. I've since tackled that algae and have grown wiser (I hope). Below is a closer picture. It's still hard to see the hydropiper on the left, but it is there. There are about 7 bunches all with runners. There is still a little GDA issue on the sides of the tank near the substrate. hopefully by adding the ada powder over the older substrate, it will cap regular aquasoil and have some sort of positive effect on the tank. It also smooths out the layout and makes it look cleaner. best, w


----------



## frrok

Love the closeup shot, you can really see whats going on. My E. acicularis does not grow that tall. Must be my lighting def grows more compact and shorter but not as short as the belem. do u get any problems with cyano bacteria at all?


----------



## pianofish

I think that E. Hydropiper just takes a while to get settled in and transition to your tank. But once t does it will take off rather quick


----------



## Fat Guy

frrok said:


> Love the closeup shot, you can really see whats going on. My E. acicularis does not grow that tall. Must be my lighting def grows more compact and shorter but not as short as the belem. do u get any problems with cyano bacteria at all?


yeah, my e acicularis will grow all the way up to the surface and then some more. It also grows extremely fast. My goal with it is to contain it to the back and clip any runners that try to make their way forward. I haven't had any issues with cyano bacteria. Mainly gda on the glass now. over the summer the tank can get some direct sunlight at the end of the day if I forget to close the blinds in my apartment. I feel like this was the driving culprit for my gda issues which doesn't seem to ever go away. but yeah, no cyano bacteria in this tank (yet). 

I am pleased with the powder on the aqua soil. I wonder if the old aquasoil and the detritus that was present on the surface of the soil had anything to do with algae issues in the tank. Having a 3mm or so layer on top with the powder soil...will that have an effect on the substrate overall and the way that the plants grow as well as algae? I'm definitely a noob when it comes to substrate conditioning/longevity...I've never siphoned any detritus from the top of the substrate before (mainly because I never saw it until recently with the old aqua soil). What are the benefits of "capping" your substrate? And is that what I have done with the aquasoil powder? this may be a question for the experts.


----------



## frrok

Fat Guy said:


> yeah, my e acicularis will grow all the way up to the surface and then some more. It also grows extremely fast. My goal with it is to contain it to the back and clip any runners that try to make their way forward. I haven't had any issues with cyano bacteria. Mainly gda on the glass now. over the summer the tank can get some direct sunlight at the end of the day if I forget to close the blinds in my apartment. I feel like this was the driving culprit for my gda issues which doesn't seem to ever go away. but yeah, no cyano bacteria in this tank (yet).
> 
> I am pleased with the powder on the aqua soil. I wonder if the old aquasoil and the detritus that was present on the surface of the soil had anything to do with algae issues in the tank. Having a 3mm or so layer on top with the powder soil...will that have an effect on the substrate overall and the way that the plants grow as well as algae? I'm definitely a noob when it comes to substrate conditioning/longevity...I've never siphoned any detritus from the top of the substrate before (mainly because I never saw it until recently with the old aqua soil). What are the benefits of "capping" your substrate? And is that what I have done with the aquasoil powder? this may be a question for the experts.


I have the same detritus problem and my tank is next to a window as well. I can say for sure that my GDA is due to the tank being close to the window. Last week when it was cloudy had much less of it after my weekly maintenance water change. our tanks are very similar... thanks for the replies.


----------



## Fat Guy

Hey frrok,

I totally missed your new journal ADA MINI-M Redux. I kept picturing the older setup before the storm. Your tank looks great!! I really like your rock layout. What's the airstone in your tank for. Do you run that at night when the lights go out for the co2 to degas?

updated pic now that the bubbles have cleared-


----------



## Fat Guy

pianofish said:


> I think that E. Hydropiper just takes a while to get settled in and transition to your tank. But once t does it will take off rather quick


hey pioanofish. the hydropiper has been growing for over a month now. I can't quite explain why the stems on the right started to brown around the stalk and detach. the sprouts on the left are doing great and spreading. 

In other news, the e. acicularis looks awesome in the current. It waves back and forth like wild grass in the wind. digging it.


----------



## Fat Guy

still growing


----------



## talontsiawd

I am loving the layout, patiently waiting for it to grow in.


----------



## frrok

Fat Guy said:


> Hey frrok,
> 
> I totally missed your new journal ADA MINI-M Redux. I kept picturing the older setup before the storm. Your tank looks great!! I really like your rock layout. What's the airstone in your tank for. Do you run that at night when the lights go out for the co2 to degas?


hey man, Thanks! I saw your post…been meaning to reply. thanks for checking it out. Yea the airstone is for night time aeration/degassing. goes on when the c02 shuts off.


----------



## Fat Guy

cleaned out the filter yesterday. upped the co2 a bit. just the occasional gda that gets on the glass that I wipe away after each wc. still no gda on the rock. hope for it to stay that way. snipping the e. acicularis runners when they appear. hydropiper and e. belem are growing well.


----------



## xmas_one

Looking good man, congrats on the spreading hydropiper!


----------



## Fat Guy

xmas_one said:


> Looking good man, congrats on the spreading hydropiper!


thanks. It seems to really grow well on the left side. I like the pace at which the hydropiper and the belem grow. the acicularis keeps you on your toes.


----------



## Fat Guy

still growing. saw some small tufts of what looked like bba however it was light green and would come detached from the rock with almost zero effort. This seems to happen after I dose micros. sometimes I dose some additional iron even though I don't think I need to. I wonder if iron has any relationship with this type of algae. I have a lot of co2 cranking because there are just snails in here. only seem to have algae issue after dosing seachem comprehensive, but I doubt that's the culprit. I'm pretty sure it's from upping the lighting wattage over the tank back to the 27w bulb that the tank comes with. Light and co2 increase, but I think I need to increase the nutrients now. the filter I cleaned a couple of days ago and the substrate hasn't been disturbed. I'm gonna approach the small issue with manual removal and nutrient increase. Now that the plants have settled in more and are growing well, I think the fert uptake must increase.


----------



## volatile

Fat Guy said:


> Yup. The Solar mini is setup with a 27W out of the box. I reduced the wattage by using 18watt bulbs instead of 27W. My 18w pc is a 6700K and 10000k bulb. I made the switch way back in December of last year and have been pleased with the results and light color. I find the tank to be more manageable with a little more wiggle room for error.


Hey Fat Guy, where do you get the 18W bulbs and how much do they cost? The $25 replacement bulbs from AFA are ridiculously overpriced.


----------



## carpalstunna

I think seachem comp has a decent amount of iron in it. So maybe thats why you are seeing this algae respond after you dose that or iron. Its responding to the excess. I dont think with the plants you have you need any additional iron.


----------



## Couesfanatic

I love this tank. The rock work makes the tank in my opinion. Probably my favorite mini m at the moment. 

I was sitting in class today reading this thread and a few people behind me commented on how great the tank looks. Congrats.


----------



## Fat Guy

volatile said:


> Hey Fat Guy, where do you get the 18W bulbs and how much do they cost? The $25 replacement bulbs from AFA are ridiculously overpriced.


I got the 18w bulb from marine depot (I think). In a perfect world I'd find a way to raise the light higher, but not with this setup though. I just replaced the 18w with a new bulb from AFA though.


----------



## Fat Guy

carpalstunna said:


> I think seachem comp has a decent amount of iron in it. So maybe thats why you are seeing this algae respond after you dose that or iron. Its responding to the excess. I dont think with the plants you have you need any additional iron.


totally agree that those plants do not need additional iron. I had mixed a concoction of iron from a previous setup and added some to the water to see what would happen. I'm not sure if that is what has caused the occasional bba but possibly. I think I need to clean my atomizer.


----------



## Fat Guy

Couesfanatic said:


> I love this tank. The rock work makes the tank in my opinion. Probably my favorite mini m at the moment.
> 
> I was sitting in class today reading this thread and a few people behind me commented on how great the tank looks. Congrats.


Thank you!! What an awesome compliment!!


----------



## Fat Guy

lots of belem runners popping up. big water change and glass cleaning. hence the bubbles on the glass. hydropiper is growing growing too. the e. acicularis is a beast but looks great in the current. snails' delight.


----------



## talontsiawd

Looking better and better in each update. Are you going to let the belem take over that much real estate or are you waiting for the hydropiper to grow in? Either will look good, just curious.


----------



## Fat Guy

talontsiawd said:


> Looking better and better in each update. Are you going to let the belem take over that much real estate or are you waiting for the hydropiper to grow in? Either will look good, just curious.


that's a great question. part of me wants the two to coexist, but the other part of me now sees that the belem is really starting to take off and is going to dominate the foreground. I think I'm going to let the two mix. The hydropiper is awesome. It is very delicate in the soil though. with any type of maintenance I find I need to be extra gentle. If I'm not gentile, I can uproot it very very easily. If I was more skilled at trimming the belem and hydropiper I think I'd be good to go. but I would also like less maintenance and think that the belem and hydropiper are growing slow enough that I don't have to be quick on the draw like I am with the e. acicularis. that plant is wild.


----------



## Down_Shift

Nice light man! I have one also for my mini M. Where are you finding the bulb replacements?


----------



## Fat Guy

Down_Shift said:


> Nice light man! I have one also for my mini M. Where are you finding the bulb replacements?


marine depot for the 18w and AFA in san francisco for the 27w


----------



## Fat Guy

grow growin growing


----------



## frrok

Very cool. PC or t5 lighting is the way to go... I'm starting to think.


----------



## talontsiawd

Filling in nicely.



frrok said:


> Very cool. PC or t5 lighting is the way to go... I'm starting to think.


Compared to what, just out of curiosity? I like T5/T5HO but I haven't had much luck with PC bulbs. They don't tend to last long and even if they do, seems like the light output diminishes faster than most other lights.


----------



## frrok

talontsiawd said:


> Filling in nicely.
> 
> 
> Compared to what, just out of curiosity? I like T5/T5HO but I haven't had much luck with PC bulbs. They don't tend to last long and even if they do, seems like the light output diminishes faster than most other lights.


Led. In my case anyway. Except for maybe finnex. In any case, fat guys growth looks great. But yes your right, the bulbs def die out. From my experience.


----------



## Fat Guy

frrok said:


> Led. In my case anyway. Except for maybe finnex. In any case, fat guys growth looks great. But yes your right, the bulbs def die out. From my experience.


would love to try leds one day. I just have a low tech led setup over my edge for the java ferns. this light (solar mini m) was too expensive to make a switch. But it looks great over the aquarium. the 27w pc bulb works well, you just have to crank up the co2 and ferts to match it because it's such a high output over a small space/amount of water. I didn't have any real issue growing hc with the 18w that I had on it before though. Lighting can make these mini setups difficult. If the output is too high, you can be playing a huge game of catch up. And with the small amount of water, the margin of error remains pretty large.


----------



## Fat Guy

time to trim the e. acicularis in the background. i sort of do not want to make the effort though because I like how it looks. I guess the real issue will be if it blocks the light from reaching the other two plants. it is getting crazy tall. e belem and hydropiper really taking off. my main time consuming effort is keeping the acicularis at bay and contained. the belem wants to make it's way into the hydropiper field as well. that's tricky because the hydropiper uproots very easily and I need to exercise a lot of patience and be extra delicate when I cut back the belem. everything is super green. my 5lb co2 tank has lasted over a year. my gauge may need replacing but it still reads at full capacity. we shall see. need to bleach the pipes again too.


----------



## talontsiawd

Wow, really filled in. Looking good.


----------



## xmas_one

Nice job man, I'm impressed with your hydropiper, it's far from the easiest plant.


----------



## frrok

Amazing! So lush.


----------



## Fat Guy

xmas_one said:


> Nice job man, I'm impressed with your hydropiper, it's far from the easiest plant.


thanks. I wasn't sure at first if it was going to settle in. I had planted it on the other side of the tank as well but it didn't take. however it has on the other. I like the plant a lot. it's uproots very easily. I'm trying to keep the belem out of it but I think it's gonna be an impossible task.



talontsiawd said:


> Wow, really filled in. Looking good.


yeah. It has changed a lot week to week. last week especially the belem and hydropiper really started to take off.



frrok said:


> Amazing! So lush.


thanks frrok. now I have to contemplate how to grim the acicularis. I like how long it is in the back but I think it's gonna be an issue with the light. maybe I'll wait a couple more days. it doesn't seem to be yellowing at all from any lack of light. 

i've really been enjoying this tank again. granted. all I have are snails in it but i'm ok with that.

thanks again all.
-w


----------



## Fat Guy

here's some more pics. pipes and glass could be cleaned of course. just enjoying how well things have been growing.


































some closeups










































parting shot


----------



## samee

That cat really shows how nano the setup is. Unless its a huge cat.


----------



## Fat Guy

samee said:


> That cat really shows how nano the setup is. Unless its a huge cat.


he's a big kitty :icon_bigg


----------



## Couesfanatic

looks nice and healthy. I like the pic of the grass sticking out of the water.


----------



## Fat Guy

Couesfanatic said:


> looks nice and healthy. I like the pic of the grass sticking out of the water.



me too.


----------



## Fat Guy

did the first major trim on the new scape. I trimmed everything except for the hdyropiper. kind of hoping that it thickens more and spreads more in the foreground before the belem takes over. 

I didn't want to trim at first. because of laziness. but I'm glad I did. the e. acicularis was going out of control in the back. any longer and I imagine that it would start browning close to the root because it was growing in so thick and tall.

I'm excited by the way the scape looks with the acicularis short in the background. it would be hard to keep it like that though. Even trimmed the belem a little in places. If I had a larger tank with bigger rocks I think it would all work with the correct perspective without having to trim so aggressively. 'm playing around with a little bit of color on the substrate too to the left of the big rock. I'm using bacter 100 (initially to treat a bga problem) but am digging the effect that it has. Of course I need to bleach the pipes soon. one thing at a time. I've been staring at this tank for hours after the trim. I have to admit. I'm diggin it. 

before:









after:


----------



## Fat Guy

this really doesn't have anything to do with my tank. I just like this video





I hope that Santa's Elves bring me some more micros, endlers, and an ada 60p.


----------



## HybridHerp

giant hairgrass in the back? tank looks really nice.


----------



## Fat Guy

thanks! 

yup. e. acicularis in the back. it is a growing machine.


----------



## Fat Guy

was away from the tank for 9 days. did a major dose of ferts before I left and shortened the photo period. everything looked great when I got back. Had to do a big trim of the hydropiper. It has really taken off. sold all of the clippings to a member here on the forum. I also did a deep clean of the lily pipes as well as the filter. This was the first time that I've cleaned the impeller. It was crazy dirty. I accidentally snapped the ceramic impeller shaft so had to order one on amazon. i've got the filter covered in pillows to muffle the whacked out impeller. It's still working well just a bonehead mistake on my part. I pulled all of the acicularis out from the background. I don't have as much time to tend to the tank anymore. That plant was by far the most demanding of my time. maybe i'll do a wabi-kusa with it. When I removed it large chunks of aquasoil came up as well. I added some more soil to replace what was removed. then pulled some e. belem from the foreground and transplanted it in the back. Everything is looking good and healthy.


----------



## Fat Guy

just ordered some plantex from Green Leaf Aquariums. They are hands down one of my favorite companies to deal with online in this hobby. Picked up some small measuring spoons via amazon recently. I think I'm going to stick with the dry dosing schedule and not make the mixture with h2o. it's way easier this way. I'm looking forward to the plantex +B and will be happy to get rid of the seachem comprehensive that I've been using. It has lasted quite some time but am eager to stick with just the dry dosing. New impeller shaft and bushings came for the eheim 2211 via amazon. perfect replacement. Glad that wasn't too much of a hassle. Everything is so far so good right now. Just waiting for the belem to fill in behind the main rock. the hydropiper seems to be rebounding nicely since the trim as well. hopefully I'll be able to continue to keep it separated from the belem without uprooting too much of it. 

I like this dry dosing schedule:

Day 1
after water change. 
Add Add 1/16 tsp KNO3, 1/64 tsp KH2PO4, 1/64 tsp K2SO4
Day 2
Monday - Add 1/64 tsp CSM+B
Day 3
Tuesday - Add 1/16 tsp KNO3, 1/64 tsp KH2PO4, 1/64 tsp K2SO4
Day 4
Wednesday - Add 1/64 tsp CSM+B
Day 5
Thursday - Add 1/16 tsp KNO3, 1/64 tsp KH2PO4, 1/64 tsp K2SO4
Day 6
Friday - Add 1/64 tsp CSM+B
Day 7
Add 1/16 tsp KNO3, 1/64 tsp KH2PO4 
(or take the day off)

*FYI*
TAD- 1/4 of a teaspoon*
DASH- 1/8
PINCH- 1/16
SMIDGEN- 1/32 
DROP- 1/64

Pinches and drops for the Mini M!!:icon_cool


----------



## rwong2k

wow looking great! nice and simple yet awesome looking design! can't wait for more updates!


----------



## parrottbay

Having problems with my tank and thought I could ask you how you clean or keep clean instead of green rocks...


----------



## Fat Guy

parrottbay said:


> Having problems with my tank and thought I could ask you how you clean or keep clean instead of green rocks...


elbow grease and lots of it!! :icon_bigg


----------



## FlyingHellFish

Have you grown normal Glosso before? How does it compare to this new mini glosso? I'm interested in trying it out but think it might be a bit "too" small for a 60P. 

I know you done HC Cuba carpets, how does the growth rate compare to HC or DHG?


----------



## parrottbay

So just removing the rocks and a toothbrush ha ha. Was really hoping there was an easy secret but thanks


----------



## Fat Guy

FlyingHellFish said:


> Have you grown normal Glosso before? How does it compare to this new mini glosso? I'm interested in trying it out but think it might be a bit "too" small for a 60P.
> 
> I know you done HC Cuba carpets, how does the growth rate compare to HC or DHG?


I've grown glosso before. I had success with it but am happier with the hydropiper. It's bigger than HC but I feel roots a lot better once it establishes. My problem with HC was that I couldn't keep up with the the way it would grow over itself. Then the bottom root system would die off as the upper layers smothered the bottom layers and the plant would uproot. Hydropiper is more difficult than HC (more expensive because it's not as prolific yet too). It's easier to trim and clean up in my opinion. But I wasn't sure at first if it was going to take off. My tank wasn't dialed in yet. I purchased some from a member here and it was a tiny tiny portion...like 10 small stems for $20. And I had some die off, but once I dialed in my co2 and fert regime as well as lighting and filter maintenance etc. the plant seemed to take off. The big issue is that it is very delicate at first. If you have amanos in the tank I think it would be a nightmare because they'd probably uproot a lot of it before it establishes. but it is a slower growing plant in my experience and is more fulfilling if you get it to grow. I think it also prefers colder temperatures so we shall see what happens in the summertime. but I dig it a lot and glad I made the change. I've been able to keep it and the belem apart for the most part even though I know the two are going to mingle. It's slower growing than HC and regular glosso, but the payoff is much better. It'd look great in your 60p. the hc carpet uprooting became too much of a hassle for me to deal with and not enough of a reward in the hobby at the end of the day.

btw thanks for your info on wabi-kusas.


----------



## Fat Guy

parrottbay said:


> So just removing the rocks and a toothbrush ha ha. Was really hoping there was an easy secret but thanks


the big secret is getting your parameters stable and balanced. co2, lighting, ferts, tank maintenance, water changes, filter cleaning etc. you can get on top of it, but having your rocks covered in green algae is a sign of an inbalance. have patience and keep at it. a temporary fix is to drain all the water out of your tank (or enough to get at the rocks and put a ml or so of excel on the rocks when they are airing out). but that's not going to solve the problem. It might make scrubbing them easier. at first I used to use an old sonicare to clean the rocks, then I realized that I was doing a lot of things wrong and that my tank was out of balance. I work hard to try to keep the tank balanced and have benefited from less algae issues in doing so. that's what makes the hobby fun.:smile: hope that helps. balance balance balance (and elbow grease of course).


----------



## parrottbay

Fat Guy said:


> the big secret is getting your parameters stable and balanced. co2, lighting, ferts, tank maintenance, water changes, filter cleaning etc. you can get on top of it, but having your rocks covered in green algae is a sign of an inbalance. have patience and keep at it. a temporary fix is to drain all the water out of your tank (or enough to get at the rocks and put a ml or so of excel on the rocks when they are airing out). but that's not going to solve the problem. It might make scrubbing them easier. at first I used to use an old sonicare to clean the rocks, then I realized that I was doing a lot of things wrong and that my tank was out of balance. I work hard to try to keep the tank balanced and have benefited from less algae issues in doing so. that's what makes the hobby fun.:smile: hope that helps. balance balance balance (and elbow grease of course).


Thanks, I appreciate the detailed info! As you can tell I'm subscribed lol


----------



## exv152

FlyingHellFish said:


> Have you grown normal Glosso before? How does it compare to this new mini glosso? I'm interested in trying it out but think it might be a bit "too" small for a 60P.
> 
> I know you done HC Cuba carpets, how does the growth rate compare to HC or DHG?


Good luck trying to find it in north america. It's a very rare find in the planted tank hobby.


----------



## parrottbay

exv152 said:


> Good luck trying to find it in north america. It's a very rare find in the planted tank hobby.


I've saw it being sold on here once every six months or so by a guy I'm Cali....


----------



## Fat Guy

I just sold a bunch of trimmings of it to a member here in California. I will have more in the future. not sure about any international sale. great plant if you can get your hands on it.


----------



## plantbrain

Fat Guy said:


> I've grown glosso before. I had success with it but am happier with the hydropiper. It's bigger than HC but I feel roots a lot better once it establishes. My problem with HC was that I couldn't keep up with the the way it would grow over itself. Then the bottom root system would die off as the upper layers smothered the bottom layers and the plant would uproot. Hydropiper is more difficult than HC (more expensive because it's not as prolific yet too). It's easier to trim and clean up in my opinion. But I wasn't sure at first if it was going to take off. My tank wasn't dialed in yet. I purchased some from a member here and it was a tiny tiny portion...like 10 small stems for $20. And I had some die off, but once I dialed in my co2 and fert regime as well as lighting and filter maintenance etc. the plant seemed to take off. The big issue is that it is very delicate at first. If you have amanos in the tank I think it would be a nightmare because they'd probably uproot a lot of it before it establishes. but it is a slower growing plant in my experience and is more fulfilling if you get it to grow. I think it also prefers colder temperatures so we shall see what happens in the summertime.


It does not care about the temps, I've shown this at 79C and at 82-84F. 
It grows very well in both cases.

Recently I also found it does well even if slightly shaded and in the lower light sections.

I agree with being patient and getting it rooted. Once that's done, it's well behaved and it is a lot thicker than you think it is if you pull some up. Perhaps the ADA powder type would help, not sure though.

Monte carlo will pile up and root real well also, but this is a tougher plant for most folks. Not with trimming though. It's the easiest type of plant beside maybe belem hairgrass.


----------



## Fat Guy

Hey Tom,
That's good to hear about what you discovered with the different temperatures for the hydropiper. I've been very happy with the way that it has grown in my tank. I enjoy keeping it a lot more than the HC I used to grow. I like the pace at which this plant grows too. and so far so good with keeping the belem at bay when it creeps into the hydropiper field. I actually spread some ADA powder on top after I planted the hydropiper initially. I felt like it did make a difference keeping it in place. I'm also fortunate that the tank doesn't have any inhabitants that would uproot it. the hydropiper and belem are keeping me happy.


----------



## plantbrain

Fat Guy said:


> Hey Tom,
> That's good to hear about what you discovered with the different temperatures for the hydropiper. I've been very happy with the way that it has grown in my tank. I enjoy keeping it a lot more than the HC I used to grow. I like the pace at which this plant grows too. and so far so good with keeping the belem at bay when it creeps into the hydropiper field. I actually spread some ADA powder on top after I planted the hydropiper initially. I felt like it did make a difference keeping it in place. I'm also fortunate that the tank doesn't have any inhabitants that would uproot it. the hydropiper and belem are keeping me happy.


The only way we really learn is to falsify hypothesis and which means dispelling myths that the speculators of the Aquarium world seem to rampant with :icon_roll 

But if you cannot grow it to begin with, then you cannot say much:thumbsup:
If you can, then you compare notes and observations. 

I made the cooler temp assumptions, I even designed my 70 Gallon Buce tank to have it as a main carpet at one point for 70-72F. But....a small piece started growing in my 180 which is warm for the cardinals and plecos 82~84F and it was right next to the hot lighting. When the light is on, it's well over 87F in the moss top layer. 

I would not have ever tried or tested this _a priori._ 
I was just happy it grew and I did not have to buy more from somewhere overseas and have 95% dead when I got it. 

I noticed the newer larger grain ADA AS did not root nearly as well as the older stuff with finer silt. The good current seems to correlate well in the 120 Gallon locations and the 180 which is up near the Vortech powerhead.

UG also behaves this same way.

I honestly thought it was a light demanding plant and would die and rot away little by little if shaded also.

So I buy into the myths myself, but I also know if I falsify a myth about a plant, I'm on that like a tick on a dog. then I'm not guessing/going along with the dogma/myths etc any more, I have some information that I _know_.
Thus I can really argue without fear of being wrong at about the issues I falsify. 

It's welcomed news for a nice little plant that's been troublesome for many, myself included. I can grow the snot out of it, the next question is the plant suitable for gardening and scaping? I have to say yes now.

HC and belem make a nice mix also, the grass keeps the HC and similar plants from getting disturbed or uprooted. I was going to do this at one point, I still may.

Folks should read the comments here about growing it, before buying it.
Once there's enough folks selling it, then a few plant killers are okay


----------



## Fat Guy

thanks for the feedback tom. I totally agree. 











plantex should be coming tomorrow. I'm going to be interested to see if there's a change in any growth or noticeable difference by switching from seachem comprehensive to plantex +b for micros. I don't think there will be anything substantial but I am looking forward to strictly dry dosing.


----------



## Fat Guy

plantex finally arrived today after getting lost through usps. big thanks to GLA for resending it. all dry dosing now. no more bottles...just spoons.


----------



## Fat Guy

got a new impeller for the eheim 2211. the last one I messed up when I broke the ceramic shaft. It's quieter but not whisper quiet...then again, I don't really remember if it ever was. i'll mess more with it tomorrow.

so far so good.


----------



## talontsiawd

I know my 2215 was never as quiet as it first was, after breaking one impeller shaft it got louder, then I had to replace the impeller and shaft again. It's not loud at all, just not silent like it once was. 

Scape is looking great. It's just been better and better since you resolved your issues. I commend your patience and it has really paid off.


----------



## Fat Guy

thanks Matt!! I think patience has been key and probably the hardest thing for me to give in to as well. I'm really liking how things have started to come together in the tank and I am enjoying it on a very different level now.

and thanks for the input on the eheim too. there's just a faint difference in the noise of mine that isn't very loud...it's just performing on a different frequency. I hope I don't snap the impeller shaft again...

all the best, walter


----------



## dj2005

Awesome to see that your Mini M is still going strong! It's fun to see the various scapes over the years.


----------



## harilp

Awesome carpet..!! :thumbup:

Sent from my Blackberry Playbook using Tapatalk2


----------



## The Trigger

Great tank. Love the simplistic layout


----------



## lamiskool

hmmm all my eheims I have are silent...also ive broken my impeller shaft many times while cleaning so I know your pain haha


----------



## Fat Guy

lamiskool said:


> hmmm all my eheims I have are silent...also ive broken my impeller shaft many times while cleaning so I know your pain haha


figured it out!! it's silent now!! man that was a POA but I got to the bottom of it!! :red_mouth



The Trigger said:


> Great tank. Love the simplistic layout


thanks so much. I'm digging it too!!



harilp said:


> Awesome carpet..!! :thumbup:
> 
> Sent from my Blackberry Playbook using Tapatalk2


gracias :red_mouth



dj2005 said:


> Awesome to see that your Mini M is still going strong! It's fun to see the various scapes over the years.


thanks a lot dj2005. I was searching through some earlier photos of this tank and ones of this setup and I have learned a great great deal throughout its maturation. I'm liking this scape the most and plan to have it for some time...knock on wood

as for the eheim impeller issues... I have resolved them!! holy mackerel was that a process. I learned a lot about the eheim classic and the solution was extremely simple. when I got the replacement impeller the magnet and the plastic prop were detached. when I first put them together i think i used too much force joining the two so that when the prop spun, the bottom of the plastic prop was touching the housing. so I emptied all of the water out of the filter first....then took the impeller out. made sure that the bushings were seated flush and correctly and checked that there wasn't any random debris in the chamber. side note- I had watched a great little vid online of a kid putting petroleum jelly on the impeller to reduce friction. thought that was very clever, but I didn't go that route. Instead, I just took my time and put the pieces back together gently after I detached the magnet from the plastic prop. I made sure that I didn't use too much force this time when I reattached the magnet to the plastic prop. this gave/added a little bit of clearance...like a paper-thin amount of clearance between the plastic prop and the housing when it is seated on the ceramic rod in the motor. then I carefully hooked everything back up. primed the filter by opening the intake chamber valve first, then the outtake chamber valve which allowed the water to rush in and push any of the air out; crossed my fingers; plugged the power cord into the wall outlet and...VOILA!!

At long last!!! absolutely zero noise. no air bubbles. no random vibrations....didn't have to tip the filter or anything. just running seamlessly. so smooth. what I learned: I was the problem (as I often am). There was absolutely nothing wrong with the filter. who knew that I'd learn a valuable lesson after all. patience patience patience!! now if only I can ride that wave into tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. 

best to all,

w


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## Fat Guy

maybe I spoke too soon. my long winded excitement above aside. woke up and the buzz was back. took it apart again. this time added the petroleum jelly to anything moving with the impeller or on anything that would cause any friction. put it on the o-ring as well. and...too soon to say but....VOILA!! ....(hopefully for good). I noticed that one of the metal fasteners on the outside wasn't secure as well. for now...can't hear the filter but it is working great...fingers crossed.


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## Fat Guy

trimmed the dhg belem this morning. it's starting to really fill in in the back where I removed the e acicularis. didn't touch the hydropiper though. I'm letting it get much much thicker before I trim it again. Also had a little issue with some h202 that I used to treat a spot of bga a little while back. the section of hydropiper that was in contact with the h2o2 has been damaged, but the new hydropiper runners are moving in and are slowly replacing the treated bga section.. noticed a couple spots of floating petroleum jelly on the water surface from when I prepped the impeller. not a problem though. I also don't have any fish in this tank. just snails, worms and all the other substrate critters. haven't seen any new gda in a while either. just the usual small sections low to the substrate. still so far so good and all systems go.


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## Fat Guy

almost time to bleach the pipes.

filter is absolutely, 100% silent. I started to hear more noise develop later into the night and was wondering whether it was from the o2 from the plants or co2 bubbles getting trapped that was causing it. I tilted the filter a little and expelled a bunch of bubbles that had been trapped. after that...silence...we are golden.


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## plantbrain

E. hydropiper is touchy when it comes to any chemicals, avoid using them near the plant.


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## parrottbay

Still enjoying this tank but as for the Eheim, I read above about it having bubbles? My 2215 will randomly throw out a few seconds of bubbles with a grinding noise. It is not very old; roughly 6 months; and I have never broke or replaced anything. 

So to sum up fixing the problem the way you did would be to take out the magnet and gently replace it into the plastic housing with a final lubrication of everything with Vaseline?


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## The Trigger

That just means you have some air trapped in there. My 2215 does the same thing until I pick it up while it's running and shake it around until I get all of the air out. Usually only happens after I open it for some cleaning, or after I do a water change and the water level drops below the intake screen


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## Fat Guy

plantbrain said:


> E. hydropiper is touchy when it comes to any chemicals, avoid using them near the plant.


learned that lesson the hard way. a temporary fix that caused some die off but nothing too major. not the route I will take in the future though. laziness on my part.


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## Fat Guy

parrottbay said:


> Still enjoying this tank but as for the Eheim, I read above about it having bubbles? My 2215 will randomly throw out a few seconds of bubbles with a grinding noise. It is not very old; roughly 6 months; and I have never broke or replaced anything.
> 
> So to sum up fixing the problem the way you did would be to take out the magnet and gently replace it into the plastic housing with a final lubrication of everything with Vaseline?


my issue was a little different. I had filter issues because I had initially snapped the ceramic rod that the impeller spins on when I was cleaning the filter. I ended up replacing the impeller unit all together because my old impeller had more of an oval hole that the ceramic rod had created because of my neglect. 

I agree with trigger below. sounds like you just have air in yours as well. If you tilt your filter the bubbles should dislodge. make sure all of your connections are secure. You can always check your impeller, but if your filter is only 6 months old, probably best not to mess with it unless the noise coming from it is bothersome.



The Trigger said:


> That just means you have some air trapped in there. My 2215 does the same thing until I pick it up while it's running and shake it around until I get all of the air out. Usually only happens after I open it for some cleaning, or after I do a water change and the water level drops below the intake screen


+1


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## Fat Guy

pulled the hydropiper. (sadly). but the belem really started to fill in. I noticed that after my last major trim I was having some bga issues. I don't think that I was doing enough water changes or maybe I trimmed too much. everything bounced back however at very different rates. I should maybe have planned my trimming a little more economically. The belem that I trimmed, a lot of it died off then new growth set in. also the bio film on top of the tank became really thick when I went a week without water changes. When I pushed my finger through it, it separated like shards of glass. really wild. anyway, just belem in the tank now. am moving soon so I'm just going to let it grow. I purchased a bubble counter to replace my diy syringe one. that seemed to develop leaks over time. here's what I snagged. it's pretty awesome.









here's the tank in its current state. Almost daily water changes now, using the hose to suck off any bga remnants. manual removal has proven to be way more effective than any h202 treatment. also did a major filter cleaning etc. 

just belem, snails and rocks.


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## talontsiawd

The Belem looks good but I like the hydropiper mixed in better. Why did you remove it? Belem over took it? Anyway, it's nice looking. I don't think I will ever do any sort of DHG combined with something on a tank I cannot babysit every day. On my last tank, I ended up just yanking up the DHG and replanting some, such a hassle.


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## Fat Guy

making a big move soon. all the belem will be for sale. it's been a great ride with this tank. 

parting shots.





































-w


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## frrok

Tanks moving or are you moving-- good luck either way!


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## Fat Guy

frrok said:


> Tanks moving or are you moving-- good luck either way!


thanks man!! we are moving to the opposite coast.


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## frrok

Fat Guy said:


> thanks man!! we are moving to the opposite coast.



Sweet! More surfing!  good luck!


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## parrottbay

Good luck, let us see it when is set up again!


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## talontsiawd

Fat Guy said:


> thanks man!! we are moving to the opposite coast.


Good choice. Where if you don't mind me asking?


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## Fat Guy

talontsiawd said:


> Good choice. Where if you don't mind me asking?


to the city of angels


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## Fat Guy

selling the plants


-----------
Hi,

I'm selling all of my dhg belem. Making a move across the continent. This belem was originally purchased from Matt F. over at thebarrreport. It's the real deal. This belem is submersed and is coming directly from my mini m pictured below. There's a possibility of pond snails in each section but I will do my best to remove them from the package. a great and very easy plant to grow with co2. 

$20 shipping included for a section of it from the below photo. 
roughly 3 x 3 section from the aquarium in the pic. It's grown submerged so it's not going to be a clump like you would get when it is grown out of water. but it'll be good amount nonetheless. 










all the best, Walter

here's how I am doing it and what you will get more or less:









































-----


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## Fat Guy

only one portion of belem left to sell. then it's off to California!!


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## Fat Guy

S'been a while! Just got a 20 gallon here in LA. Excited to get back in after a break.


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## Fat Guy

Alright, I pulled the mini from a box in the garage and started it up as a hospital tank setup (but with every intention to get it planted again).

The light output on these Solar Minis is pretty intense so I cut a piece of window screening and used some magnets from Harbor Freight to fix it below the light to reduce the output. I ordered a backup bulb from eBay and should get it in a month. I’m very fond of the design elements that went in to the light for this tank. Just looks really cool...even after all these years. My kids dig it. Also I have a cheap LED customizable background light I purchased off of Amazon and cut out some privacy film for the background that helps utilize the background light.

I’m running a DIY CO2 setup here and have Pygmy Corys and Cherry Shrimp. I’ve got a little acrylic DIY drop checker that is a constant green. Air stone bubbler comes on at multiple intervals throughout the middle of the night and wee hours of the morning. I dose a few times a week with NPK dry ferts and a little bit of Iron. The water here where I live in LA is very hard and the water report in my area has .35 Copper on average. So I’ve been running my tank water through a Berkey Water Filter and to save the shrimps in the tank after experiencing some shrimp loss. It has made a world of difference. 

For this tank I have driftwood over seiryu stone. A foreground of dwarf hairgrass bunches planted between the rocks. I glued the Java Moss to the driftwood and attached some Anubias Gabon and some Red Bucephalandra. For the background I have some Cryptocoryne Wendtiii Green ‘Gecko.’ I”m also floating some red root floaters (Phyllanthus fluitans).

I upgraded the filter on this tank to a Delta 60 from UNS and used my old Eheim 2211 disconnects to help me reduce the flow. I really like this filter. I added some seeded biomedia to the middle chamber and cut a larger sponge to fit the mechanical filtration section. The only issue is a soft impeller rattle I’m hearing on day 2 of the filter. I already contacted the retailer and am looking forward to how they handle the issues. Reminds me a lot of when the impellers would rattle in the Fluval HOB filters. It’s not that big of an issue, but when it’s advertised as a quiet filter I don’t want to hear that impeller rattle. But I really like the UNS company and the LFS store that I purchased the filter from. Shout out to Bob’s Tropical Fish in East LA.

Looking forward to this filling in. Thanks to all that have kept their eyes on this thread. 

All the best!

Fat Guy


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## Fat Guy

Added needle leaf ferns, trident ferns, and have some baby leaf bolbitis and marsilea on the way. 🦐 s are loving it.


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## Skye.High

*Still looking Awesome*

This is my first post in years from a forum hiatus, you've moved 2,500 miles and yet somehow the tank looks the best its ever. Im really digging the background as well. Makes it feel just that much more mysterious.


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## Fat Guy

Skye.High said:


> This is my first post in years from a forum hiatus, you've moved 2,500 miles and yet somehow the tank looks the best its ever. Im really digging the background as well. Makes it feel just that much more mysterious.


Hey thanks so much for such an awesome comment. I took a long forum hiatus as well. I'm really enjoying how this tank is panning out. I just got some baby leaf bolbitis I'm going to add in there which I think will make it look really cool. The colors from this tank are awesome with the shrimp too. Anyway, appreciate your kind words. I'll post another pic in a month or so when things have settled in more.  Best, el g


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## Fat Guy

Just went pressurized on the mini M. I added an additional co2 manifold to my 20gallon pressurized setup. I drilled a small hole in the floor and crawled under the house and ran 50ft of co2 tubing from my 5lb cylinder under the 20g to another room in the house where the 5.5gallon mini m is. I added another Fabco needle valve with quick release connectors for the tubing in the other room. It’s awesome as now I can run pressurized co2 in two aquariums that are more than 50ft apart using the same co2 cylinder. Saved the hassle of having to buy another co2 tank and regulator. The Fabco needle valve is awesome. I’ve been running pressurized on the mini for the past three weeks and it has made a world of difference. 

In other news, my 6 super red cherry shrimp have multiplied to about 70. Got an insane colony in this tank. I’ve put some Indian Almond leaves and Alder Pine Cones in there which the shrimp love. The cryptocoryne green gecko has really started to settle in in the back. The Mariselia is the one plant that is slow going. It’s growing, but not rapidly. This tank is so small but has so much going on. I can spend so much time just looking at it. There are so many different varieties of plants. Over ten in this tank. Compared to my 20gallon tank that has ONLY THREE types of plants. 

Really glad I pulled this tank out of the garage. 50% RO water change once a week with Shrimp King GH/KH mineralizer and I’m good to go. 

Thanks to all that have followed this thread over the years. A lot has changed in the online world since I first started posting in this forum...going way back to 2003. What I love so much about the hobby is how much information there is out there to learn and the patience planted aquariums demand from its aquarists in order for their tanks to be successful.

Stay Safe!

Fat Guy


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## Fat Guy

Snipped off a bunch of needle leaf and trident plantlets and used hobby glue to attach them to some small river pebbles. Gonna drop them in the tank tomorrow in the back right. 


Also here are some shots of the CO2 manifold and the 50ft of tubing I ran from the 20g under the house to the mini m.


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## Fat Guy

Moved the green gecko to directly behind the wood. Added some leftover s. repens and trimmed then trident fern. 6 cherry shrimp have multiplied to 60.

Thanks for looking. This tank rocks. Can’t wait for the background crypts and ferns to grow in.


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## Jasoncor

Beautiful little tank. I’ve always wanted a mini m for a dedicated shrimp tank. How do you like the light on it?


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## Fat Guy

Jasoncor said:


> Beautiful little tank. I’ve always wanted a mini m for a dedicated shrimp tank. How do you like the light on it?


Hey Thanks! Really love this tank. It can be a challenge for sure but it’s perfect for shrimp and an Otto or Pygm Corys.

I really like the overall design of the solar mini light however it’s a PITA to work around when planting or doing tank maintenance because it swivels only 90 degrees. I constantly bump it when cleaning the tank with my hand, elbow or maintenance tools. Also it puts out a ton of light. If you look closely you can see that I have two pieces of window screen under it that I secured with magnets to reduce the light output...I may actually add another piece of screen if any unwanted algae start to show. Bulbs can be difficult to find for it. I got an extra one on eBay for whenever this one goes out. The 4 pin setup for the bulb isn’t as easy to find online so that can be a challenge down the road.

But overall I love the tank and the aesthetics of the lighting design. Perfect for 🦐 

Thanks again!


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## Reginald2

Fat Guy said:


> Also here are some shots of the CO2 manifold and the 50ft of tubing I ran from the 20g under the house to the mini m.


OK, so that's genius. 

I've been leafing through your journal, and it's a great looking tank, but when I saw this I just had to say: wow, what a tremendous idea. Do you think you loose much CO2 from it/creep a problem? I'm looking all over my house a bit differently lol.


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## Fat Guy

Reginald2 said:


> OK, so that's genius.
> 
> I've been leafing through your journal, and it's a great looking tank, but when I saw this I just had to say: wow, what a tremendous idea. Do you think you loose much CO2 from it/creep a problem? I'm looking all over my house a bit differently lol.


Hey thanks!! I’m so glad that I hooked it up this way. So much more cost effective and I’ve been using the same beer regulator since 2003 lol. But it works like a charm. When the co2 kicks on there is very little delay before you see the bubbles in the mini-m. Having the fabco needle valve in the room with the mini m makes dialing it in so much easier as well. I shut the co2 off around two hours before the lights go out. It takes a little time on both tanks for the co2 to eventually shut off but I’ve had no issues with it and have had zero back flow on either tanks. Feel like I’m always looking to make little improvements in this hobby. This one has been one of the better additions as of late. Thanks again!!


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## Jasoncor

Fat Guy said:


> Jasoncor said:
> 
> 
> 
> Beautiful little tank. I’ve always wanted a mini m for a dedicated shrimp tank. How do you like the light on it?
> 
> 
> 
> Hey Thanks! Really love this tank. It can be a challenge for sure but it’s perfect for shrimp and an Otto or Pygm Corys.
> 
> I really like the overall design of the solar mini light however it’s a PITA to work around when planting or doing tank maintenance because it swivels only 90 degrees. I constantly bump it when cleaning the tank with my hand, elbow or maintenance tools. Also it puts out a ton of light. If you look closely you can see that I have two pieces of window screen under it that I secured with magnets to reduce the light output...I may actually add another piece of screen if any unwanted algae start to show. Bulbs can be difficult to find for it. I got an extra one on eBay for whenever this one goes out. The 4 pin setup for the bulb isn’t as easy to find online so that can be a challenge down the road.
> 
> But overall I love the tank and the aesthetics of the lighting design. Perfect for 🦐
> 
> Thanks again!
Click to expand...

 The design of the light really sets the tank off! . If you ever decide to get rid upgrade the light keep me in mind lol. I’ll take it off your hands


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## Fat Guy

Jasoncor said:


> The design of the light really sets the tank off! . If you ever decide to get rid upgrade the light keep me in mind lol. I’ll take it off your hands


Hey Thanks! I like the look of the light too and how it shades the light spill in the room. It’d be great if it was dimmable, but my diy light-screens will have to do.

Im just letting this one grow crazy with low light and co2 and some ferts. They hydrocotyle is going crazy..so are they crypts...and everything else. Here’s a current pic. Artwork courtesy of my children.


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## Fat Guy

Overgrown and thriving. Cherry shrimp and pygmy cories (that i feed 2-3 times a week) anymore and the staghorn rears its ugly head. Artwork courtesy of my children. Filter cleaned every month and a half or so. Thanks to all those that follow and even those that don’t.


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## Plinkploop

Sloth is placed perfectly!! Love the artwork, tank looks great too 😉


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## Fat Guy

Plinkploop said:


> Sloth is placed perfectly!! Love the artwork, tank looks great too 😉


Hahaha!! Thanks!!


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## somewhatshocked

Great to see this little tank chugging along after all these years!


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## Fat Guy

somewhatshocked said:


> Great to see this little tank chugging along after all these years!


Thanks!! It’s been a journey for sure! Coast to coast and now a few kids later!! Glad to still be a part of the hobby. My favorite part is when I catch my children staring into these tanks... Im reminded of why I got into planted tanks in the first place watching them. Takes me way back. Thanks again  w


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## Fat Guy

Well! 10 years later and here is the latest look of this tank. It’s in my kid’s room so it takes a beating from all the drawer slamming where it sits on the bureau and falls victim to the occasional plastic crystal or lego that falls in.

I’ve got DHG parvula mixed in the back with some Juncus Repens and cyperus helferi. I‘ve got some cryptocoryne parva mixed in the left side as well. Some ADA Anubias Nana Petit along with some anubias minima dragon claw.

For this I’ve got an oto and a handful of Pygmy Corys as well as a small school of chili rasbora and super red cherry shrimp. It’s a fun little tank and the solar mini m still works. I’ve got three layers of window screening held in place with magnets from Harbor Freight that help to reduce and filter the light on the plants. Thanks for looking!


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## EmotionalFescue

Awesome, dramatic scape! Cool tank. I dig it.


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## ScrubbyDick

I'm still running an ADA Mini I got 3 years ago. It's a cool nano tank size. When did you refresh your aqua soil Fat Guy?


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## Fat Guy

EmotionalFescue said:


> Awesome, dramatic scape! Cool tank. I dig it.


thanks!! I’m digging it too!



ScrubbyDick said:


> I'm still running an ADA Mini I got 3 years ago. It's a cool nano tank size. When did you refresh your aqua soil Fat Guy?


Hey ScrubbyDick- yeah it’s totally a cool size tank. Kind of limiting to what types of fish you can keep in it but I’ve really enjoyed having it.

I‘ve never refreshed the aqua soil in it. I moved across the country a while back and put the leftover aqua soil in a bag to dry out and then added some fluval stratum to it about a year ago when i added it. But I usually just reuse my aquasoil over the years and adjust/ dose frets depending on what I am keeping.


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## Fat Guy

Well, decided to move the tank from my kid’s room and out into the main space. I swapped out the 60U that I had on my custom cabinet and put this thank in it’s place. The cabinet works great for this smaller tank. It also held up well for the 60U but will need some reinforcements. The 60U has moved to another dresser. Here’s the current setup. Cherry Shrimp, Pygmy Corys and chili rasboras. I am running a reactor now on my 60U and swapped out the inline diffuser and added it to the Mini M. I’m also running the steel outflow pipe. I don’t love the white pipes that come with the UNS filters. I don’t mind the little uns delta 60 that I’m running on this. Definitely room for improvement on that one…the priming for that filter is just silly. Anyway…Tank below. Best, el g.


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## Fat Guy

Well the tank moved again. The dresser for the 60p was starting to bow so swapped them. Added Sagittaria subulata to the midground and background. Pulled the chili rasboras and added three platinum rice fish. (The chilis went to the 60p.) The contrast the rice fish make with the scape is Exquisite. Have both tanks in the living room and am enjoying being able to see them both at the same time. Thanks for looking.


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## EmotionalFescue

Really clean and well proportioned nano scape. I bet your living room looks great with both tanks in view. Well done!


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## Fat Guy

EmotionalFescue said:


> Really clean and well proportioned nano scape. I bet your living room looks great with both tanks in view. Well done!


thank you!! I’m really enjoying seeing them all for sure. I’d love to get a third!


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## Fat Guy

Well, unfortunately the rice fish were returned. I had one super dominant male that was not very peaceful and chased the others all day long. Replaced with 6 ember tetras. Really like those fish. Peeled back a layer of window screening to increase the lighting a bit (but not by too much). Trimmed some helferi back. Interested to see what the sagitaria subulata does in the background. I also custom cut a piece of plywood…sanded it and used an oil based poly to protect it. I would build a custom plywood stand with natural tones next if I had the space for it. The canister filter for this is hidden in an old wine crate that I restored. Also upgraded the pipes to the plastic tubes from aquario. I like them for sure. Thanks for
Looking!


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## Fat Guy

Everything is coming together. This is turning into a kitchen sink iwagumi with a wide range of plants. All of my hydrocotoyle tripartia that I clip from the 60u ends up in the background here. Love that plant.


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## Fat Guy

Everything keeps growing well. The hydrocotoyle t. is loving this setup.


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## Fat Guy

Pulled all the tripartia, repens and helferia, Added a bunch of crypt lupens for mid ground and hemiantbus glomeratum (to the back) moved the sagitaria to middle background. Anubias are growing strong. No problem alagae. Same light bulb for years too…


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## Fat Guy

Three months later-


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## Fat Guy

Sag is taking off


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## Rob23

Plants are looking very healthy. I really like the iwagumi layout.


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## Fat Guy

Rob23 said:


> Plants are looking very healthy. I really like the iwagumi layout.


thanks a ton! I like this one a lot too!


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