# 5.5 gallon rimless - Ti Jaden



## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Awesome layout. Very well proportioned for a 5.5 gallon. 

Honestly if it weren't for the dirty intake the sponge would blend right in with the back. It didn't really poke out at me until I read your last comments and went back to the images.
I think maybe the balance is a little thrown off on the left side with the larger leaved plants. Considered bringing the 'colorata' on around to create a bush in front of the sponge? 

Is this a de-rimmed tank?


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## Indignation (Mar 9, 2008)

MrJG - Thanks! and I agree, most of the left side plants are leftover cycling plants... the hygrophila is definitely coming out, but I wasn't sure on the pennywort. Thanks for the advice on the rotala, I'll give that a try. It gave me an idea - Rotala sp. Goias trimmed into a bush, with the Colorata coming out of it.

The tank was de-rimmed, standard AGA 5.5 gallon. 
Speaking of which, I meant to share a tip i found while i was de-rimming it: Instead of the endless scraping with a razor to get all of the silicone residue off, I tried very fine steel wool. Worked great, in about 10 minutes all of the residue was completely gone, without any fine chipping of the glass that normally comes with the razor.


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

'Goias' would be nice and in keeping with the other leaf sizes. As far as trimming the plant selections down otherwise it looks fine to my eye. Some good contrasting leaf types and textures. Looks pretty natural without looking too chaotic.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow, it looks much bigger than a 5.5 gallon!

Who'd you buy the wood from? Or did you get it locally?


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## jinsei888 (Apr 20, 2009)

Very nice scape!

Is the tank leaning to the right a little? hehe, I was noticing the water line on the surface tilting a bit...


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## Morainy (Feb 8, 2010)

That is a gorgeous tank! It looks crystal clear and lush. I don't think that it is overplanted, it's just pleasantly jungley. I really like the way you hung the light above it. 

Hope your shoulder recovers quickly.


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## Indignation (Mar 9, 2008)

Thanks for the nice words all, this feels like the first 'scape that came together almost exactly as I had envisioned it. A nice thing, that. :biggrin:

ZooTycoonMaster - I bought it from badcopnofishtank on the S&S here. If you're looking for driftwood, he's the man to go to. I've bought four packages now, and all are packed with awesome pieces.
Jinsei - Yep, there is a bit of a lean going on. the tank is on a shelf that is part of the desk, and the whole desk is a little off kilter. as soon as I get both arms back I'll lift it up and level it. It's been driving me crazy for weeks now.:icon_wink
Morainy - Thanks! I like to hang all my lights now, it makes it much easier to manage light levels.


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Awesomeness! I love natural looking scapes such as this!


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## chadly (May 17, 2005)

I like your tank. I looks very clean and for that size tank, a very nice filtration system. Thanks for the tip on the De-Rimming. I have a trashy 5.5 that I'm planning to de-rim and I'd like to try that out. 

A couple ideas though for if you wanna separate some stems and organize the scape a little more. Your tank will be high maintenance tank at first due to all the different stems and the low numbers of each. There will be a lot of trimming and replanting going on if you decide to maintain those stems. In such a small tank, that can get tedious working around that wood. 

I think the rotala and aromatica should be separated better. It may be a good thing to just keep the rotala where it is, and use the aromatica to fill in the left side or vice/versa. I think that may work nicely.

I'm a fan of viewing tanks top-down, so one thing about that lindernia is that it contrasts really well with the other needly shaped leaf plants. The Blyxa may end up being a little too much in the long run. I'm envisioning you having to rip that out periodically because it'll grow too fast. That may be a nice place to put a bush of that lindernia. The same might go for the leucocephala, it's a wild plant and may take over a little too much and be in your way. I'm curious to see what that hairgrass will do. I think it might be a really nice touch mixed in w/ those crypts.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

Your tank is gorgeous and I want it. I think I like MrJGs suggested solution of bringing some of the colorata around in front of the sponge. 

Any plans for fish?


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## EntoCraig (Jun 7, 2010)

stumbled across this tank pic on a Google search. AWESOME...


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## Option (Oct 2, 2010)

I like the tank...and your moss on the driftwood is subtle and fantastic looking. (is that the peacock moss you listed?)

As for the left side of the tank, I think if you planted something tall in that corner (like cyperus helferi) and allowed the tops of the thin leaves to float over the water surface it would look awesome.


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## blackace22 (Jan 27, 2010)

Awsome Tank!


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