# zeldar's mini-m 'mist' - really sticking with Iwagumi this time...



## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Well this tank has been totally redone. I did get a great carpet of HC in the tank but the scape just bored me. Plus i have the urge to try again with CRS and could never get them to breed in a high tech co2 and ferts tank. So this tank will be low tech, but still Iwagumi. How you ask? I'm doing an entire mini pellia carpet! For the background, I'm hoping hairgrass. I just hope it grows tall without co2. I could never get hairgrass to grow over 3" with co2. Actually I may throw co2 in this tank at a very very low level, maybe 1 bubble every 3 seconds or something...

Anyway, below is the scape. Quick tank specs:
ADA mini-m 'mist'
AC20 filter (or similar)
Aquasoil 'multi'
26watt CF as high above water surface as it will go
mini pellia and hairgrass
ottos and CRS eventually

I am going to start the tank with DSM to get the mini pellia to attach itself to the substrate. It should only take a couple weeks max, then I'll flood the tank. Will be using 90% RO water.


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## doubleott05 (Mar 16, 2010)

thoes are awsome stones where did you get them?


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Nice dude! That main stone is a beast! Its going to be awesome with a shelf of mini pellia hanging off that side. 

I wasn't sold on the mist type tanks but now that I've seen a few they are growing on me a little. It closes everything in a bit but its also a good thing as it also blocks other things outside the tank that distract from the scape.


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## CLASSIC (Feb 25, 2009)

Nice scape! Are those barnacles on the side? If so clean the rock thoroughly. And test.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Thanks *double*, I got them from ADG here in Houston. Contact Francis Xavier here on the forum if you are interested in buying some.

Apprec *JG*! The mist tanks really are cool. No need to keep messing with the vinyl black backgrounds. It really feels like there is nothing else around but the scape, if that makes sense. haha

*classic*, they are barnacles. I didn't even really think about it, but the stones should be alright as I've seen several other people's tanks using the same stones and haven't heard of anyone mentioning big watar paramater problems. Thanks for the heads up though, its something to monitor for sure.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

If you're trying to do a dry start you should make sure there's absolutely no water above the substrate. Otherwise you'll get algae that will be very visible when you flood the tank. If you want water to reach the upper height of the slope, just raise the front of the tank by 1-2".


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

No dry start, I will be filling the tank soon. I am going out of town Friday so I'll probably fill it Sunday.


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## bsk (Aug 18, 2010)

wow that main stone is awesome! this should turn out very nice.


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## Loachutus (Aug 27, 2010)

Mr. Z, I love your go BIG philosophy! You've got an great eye for that. 

Now you got me hooked on 2 of your tank threads. Looking forward to the evolution.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

WOW the stones hasve amazing detail.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

A big thanks to *bsk*, *loach*, and *marimo*!!

I went ahead and filled the tank last Thursday night. I was going to wait until this week but I had gotten my paintball co2 filled and said why not. I've been out of town all weekend and just got back tonight. Everything looks pretty good with the tank, I've had some bad luck with aquasoil in the past, but for now the powder seems to be fine. I maybe should have waited to fill the tank to give the MP some time to attach itself to the stone because the majority of it is floating around. There is some still in the cracks so it should still eventually get the cascade look I was going for, just might take longer than I wanted. 

I did add some other plants since the last pics. In the background is Lilaeopsis brasiliensis and an extremely long type of hairgrass. Some of it that I received was over a foot long! However, I just added the rhizome so it will be growing from scratch. We will see how it works in this tank.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Just a growth update. The HC is really doing well. This is by far the fastest I've grown HC. Usually it takes forever to get set in my tanks. Not complaining. Other than that, just normal business. The rocks are getting some light green algae which I actually like. 









look at that hc go








this crazy hairgrass grows at an absurd rate. its almost to the water surface. im starting to think its gonna be to much for this small of a tank.


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

Lovely setup. Awesome rock. I'm waiting to get my mini m soon. I've been contemplating some type of hairgrass mixed with HC, but it looks like the hairgrass could really dominate the tank. Anyway, I''m looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

Best,

el g


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## beedee (Jul 1, 2010)

nice dude, that growth is off the hook!!


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Appreciate the kind words Fat guy and beedee. Fat guy, yea im sure the hairgrass will mingle with the HC but thats alright with me. I want it to look natural so a little mixing i can tolerate. That giant type hairgrass is really sprouting upwards. Its about an inch out of the water already. i was hoping it would lay down once it hit the water surface but its just goin straight up. Its very straight, hard grass not like normal hairgrass that is wavy and soft to the touch. If it doesnt start to get bushier, i am going to have to remove it becuase it just looks to awkward as straight as it is.

In other news, algae is coming on strong. Before taking the pictures, all four walls of the tank were solid green. Looks like I missed a spot up front when cleaning, lol. Now that the ammonia is almost gone (.25ppm), I added a couple amanos to try to keep the algae at bay. Its really makin the HC and HM look nasty. Almost looks like its melting, but thats just a thin layer of algae. Hopefully its just the new tank algae, and will go away with time. I also threw in an assassin snail just because. 

I am still planning on adding about 6 clown killies once the background plants really grow in so they have some cover. THen also might add a couple amanos to complete the stocking.









this is the hairgrass i was talking about.








all 3 residents


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Looks good so far.

If that hairgrass is _E. montevidensis_ (giant hairgrass), then it won't bend at the surface, it'll just grow vertically out of the water like you're experiencing atm. I had to rip all mine out because of this. It's not really intended for nano tanks. If you're looking for something that will, you'll have to get _E. vivapara_ (if you don't mind the slightly ugly offshoots at the tips), _Cyperus helferi_, or _Vallisneria nana_.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Hey thanks a bunch *TLE*. I bet i do have that montevidensis. I am going to go ahead and pull it. I was just wanting a hairgrass that reaches the water surface and kinda folds over, but this stuff is stiff as a board.

I am going to try to get some vivapara. Will this grow to the water surface? I would love to get the vall nana but I have never seen it for sale.


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## Damian (Jun 17, 2009)

The main rock is EPIC! Love the green algae on it. The scape is amazing and I am contemplating the mist mini-m. It looks great.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Damian, thanks for the props, and i fully recommend the mist tanks. It really completes the look so you don't see cords and other backgrounds monstrosities. 

Growth continues to be great with this tank. I removed that massive hairgrass and am just going to keep the HM and brazilian micro sword in the background. Everything else is the same and the hairgrass in the gap between the 3 stones is growing tall which is what i was wanting. That hairgrass is probably my favorite part of the scape for some reason.

About ready to get some clown killies for the tank. I just need to find a source for them now.


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

nice growth, looking good. your diffuser is wild.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Thanks *Fat Guy*, the diffuser is actually one of the new Fluval from their co2 kit. I find it does a much better job diffusing than the glass ebay diffusers. The bubbles are much smaller and it can go longer between bleachings. I've had it for a month and a half and it still chops it up to super small bubbles.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Zeldar, that tall hairgrass is pretty good about taking out the whole stem. Just poke your scissors below the substrate line and nip it off in the places you dont want it. It actually gives a cool effect when it gets tall. IMO you could use some more. Id send you some for free in the spring in a bubble mailer if it doesnt grow in good by then. If you want to see what it can do check out Jason Balibans tank on here. Its beautiful.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Here it is. Your tanks looking good BTW!!! http://www.projectaquarium.com/default.aspx


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

chad, i actually removed all of the hairgrass. I did like it as it grew like wildfire like you promised. ahha It had grown up past the water surface within a month. It just totally threw off the scale of this small of a tank. The blades of the hairgrass were as thick as the stems of HM so it almost looked like the HM had lost all its leaves haha. It would look amazing in a huge tank such as Jasons. It just didn't work in a 5 gallon tank. I put the rhizomes in a tub of aquasoil that has been outside for a while and it was growing great until we had a hard freeze a couple weeks ago. I have since salvaged a little bit and moved it inside. I may take you up on that offer next spring as i want to put together an outside emmersed setup.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

I keep it emmersed too. I grow it in my ponds and it may survive freezing, IDK, I bring them in during the winter to the basement. I was disappointed to find jBs tank because I had the idea them I saw his and it totally ruined my tank for me. So now I grow it both ways. 
Regular DHG is probably a good fit for this tank. Belem is probably too small but regular DHG gets about 6". Same deal tho, wild runners all over.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

I decided to make this my CRS/CBS tank since their 10 gallon has a bad bout of BBA and I needed to treat the tank with high amounts of Excel. 

I decided to change up the background. Now there is just HM in the back left corner. In the back right is now Rotala Mini. Next to it is a couple stems of Wallichii, and next to that is some Butterfly. I am hoping the Wallichii and Butterfly bring a dash of color to the scape. Its to hard to tell much now, as they have only been planted for a week or so.
















the new plant additions


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

zeldar said:


> I decided to make this my CRS/CBS tank since their 10 gallon has a bad bout of BBA and I needed to treat the [STRIKE]tank[/STRIKE] *Algae spots* with high amounts of [STRIKE]Excel[/STRIKE] *Peroxide*.


Fixed.
Also this tank is looking great, good job =)


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Dude! That rock is awesome. It almost looks like it has cave paintings/carvings on the front there.


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## temple (Sep 7, 2010)

wow, this tank looks great! Did your shrimp eat all the algae off the rocks? If so, they've been keepin busy!


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Thanks for the comments guys!

Well, its not looking so good in here. My old nemesis, BBA is here in full effect. Seems like every one of my tanks go through a bad phase of BBA somewhere around its 4 month birthday. Since I have CRS in here I really can't do the ol' Excel treatment. So, I'm goin all natural. I put one of my young SAE's in here to see if he is hungry. It seems like he is because hes only been in the tank for a couple weeks and I've noticed quite a bit of BBA is gone from the big rock. But there is still PLENTY left. haha BBA just makes the tank look awful. The nice hairgrass is now black fuzz stalks. The HC just has a light black look to it. Hopefully it will run its course and take a hike in a couple months.

I put a 2213 on the tank for more flow since BBA is supposed to be cause from low flow, among other things. The rotala butterfly is weird. Look at the pics below. There are just crazy side shoots on every leaf. I've never seen that before. Is that common for new plants? The color on the butterfly and wallichii doesn't seem to be as bright as before for some reason. The tank has 27watts from a Archaea fixture, 1 bubble per second of co2, and daily ferts so I don't know why their color is so drab. Maybe the water chemistry is off?

The CRS are the true mind boggler in this tank though. After starting with 30 over 6 months ago, not one has even berried, let alone had babies. The colony has slowly decreased to about 8-10 due to suicide jumps and mysterious deaths. I just don't know why they won't breed. I have a computer fan blowing on the water now 24/7 to keep the water temp around 74. Someone give me some CRS breeding pointers!










the darnest thing ive ever seen


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

this tank has a weird feel to it. the rock and the placement of it seem almost lonely. its quite striking.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

lol is that good or bad?

I agree, my tanks are a kinda weird when I browse the other journals. I think most people have an idea of what they want to do as far as planting. I think I do but then after a month or so, I see another plant I like and just add it to the scape, even if it has no business being there. For instance, the butterfly and wallichii shouldn't be in this tank. But I want those plants so I just add it, regardless the consequences of the terrible look lol.

Someone needs to write me a rulebook for scaping and planting. haha Amano would have a heart attack seeing my tanks.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

slight rescape. i somehow got some copper in the tank (from dog shampoo i believe) and it killed several crs, some amanos, and some assassin snails. The two ottos were fine which made me think it had to be copper. So i pulled all the plants and washed the rocks and did the rescape. I plan on moving the remaining crs back in the tank in a month or so. 

So I used the same rocks plus a couple extra. I realize they are diff types or rock but they will blend together once algae covers them. Plants are just a little HC on the left, mini microsword up front, and hairgrass in the back with a little "river" of hairgrass on the left between the rocks.


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## RWalleyTX (Apr 17, 2011)

sux about the re-scape..that center rock is just big for that size tank it needs more shape but it does have cool little details in it. Save up for the ada glass intake and out for filtration I think that would help clean it up as well. This is just my 2 cents


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Yea the big rock looks awkward right now. I think its cause there arent any plants that cover up the fact thats its just laying on the substrate. I didn't want to bury it because I wanted as steep a slope as possibe. But once I filled the tank with water, the slope is almost non-existent. Once the plants cover the base of the rock, I think it will look 100x better, at least i hope.

As for the pipes, no way in hell i would pay that much for pipes. Besides, I would break them the first time I try to clean them. lol I had these acryllic pipes custom made for a standard 10 gallon with a rim. Thats why I have to use the suction cups since this tank is rimless. It would be nice if i could find some clear suction cups bc i agree, the black is kinda an eyesore.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Heres the classic 6month update! haha sorry but my tanks have taken a bit of a backseat lately. I have cut them down and only have 3 tanks now. I am not wild about this current scape but it has been great in that alage hasn't been a factor. I think that is my new measuring bar. If the tank doesnt have algae then its my new favorite ahha. The HC has carpeted great and the hairgrass and microsword has helped give the tank a little more natural feel (although the scape still seems to forced to me).

I am still astonished as I have never gotten hairgrass to grow over 3inches long! I want it so badly to grow towards the water surface and act as a background plant but it just doesn't do that for me. So i had to add some HM recently to give it some height (also needed some cover for endler young). I need to make the first trim on the HM so it can grow back bushier. I would like for it to develop into a nice thicket behind the main rock.

Everything else is just kinda truckin along in this tank. Some fissidens magically appeared on the front, right rock. It has never been in this tank and the plants came from tanks that never had fissidens in them. But I can't complain as its a great plant and seems to have found itself a nice home on that rock. Some is now growing on the back left rock as well. I'll just let nature run its course...

I did add some more livestock. There are 8 green kubotai and a trio of chili endler. I really like teh kubotai as they are gorgeous green espeically since they are always darting around which cause you to see their colors change. They also don't mind swimming out in front and are very active. The chili trio are wasting no time doing what they do best, breed! I have seen a couple different size fry in there so I guess there have been 2 births so far. Although there are not very many fry that i can see. Maybe 5 total, which is fine since this is a small tank and will have to move most of them over to my 40g once they mature.



















sold as a chili endler, although i do not think he is. Can anyone confirm?









kubotai


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## lushlife (Feb 27, 2008)

The tank looks pretty nice. This is the first Ive seen your thread. I like the detail in the rock but I feel its too big for the tank. I like the background plants and smaller rocks. Your carpet is beautiful.


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

I don't think the rock is too big. I think its because the perception of the frosted glass makes the space more constricted...

anyway I like how you slip in some fissidens fontanus between those rocks on the right side.


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## crazydog64 (Jul 25, 2011)

I really like the large rock on the right side. The first picture in your update reminds me of a cliff on the right side and the rocky shores down below on the left. Keep it up!


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Looks more like a Peacock Endler to me. But still a solid strain.



zeldar said:


> sold as a chili endler, although i do not think he is. Can anyone confirm?


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## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

I love that rock!


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

*lushlife*- thanks, and i tend to agree with you about the rock. Actually i dont think that its to big, maybe the other rocks are a little to small? But yea, something doesn't look quite right with the rock scale. Like I said, no algae means my favorite tank ahah.

thanks *sayur*, but I didnt put that fissidens in the rock! it just showed up!

*crazydog*, thats actually exactly what i was going for when i started this scape. Unfortunatly the entire slope fell down from the weight of the main rock. I wanted the slope to be very severe from the right to left but now its basically flat except for the front part.

*somewhatshocked*, i didnt know much about endlers but after looking at pics online, i think ur def right. He def looks like a peacock. I am hoping the females were chili endlers and i get some nice fry from them.

thanks *radioman*.


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## YellowDawg (Nov 1, 2011)

I'm sorry if I missed it, but what type of canister filter are you using now?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

zeldar said:


> *somewhatshocked*, i didnt know much about endlers but after looking at pics online, i think ur def right. He def looks like a peacock. I am hoping the females were chili endlers and i get some nice fry from them.


Lately, great Peacocks have been difficult to come by. So you'll likely be lucky either way. If they're solidly Peacock, you'll be able to sell the fry off if you want.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

*Yellowdawg*- there is a 2213 on this tank. Its puts out quite a flow but its solid.

thanks for the info *somewhatshocked*, how old do the fry need to be before gender is apparent?


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## spyke (Oct 14, 2010)

if i were you i would trim that hm you have in the back...it looks way too leggy, especially since you have only like 10 stems, just trim them in half and replant the rest, soon your tank will become over run with the stuff, so keep it in check and don't be scared to just cut it up. in about a year my 20l went from about 10 1" stems to a 30"x8" section that is eaasily 3inches tall ...and that is after i trim it...it is crazy.

just a thought.


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## fusiongt (Nov 7, 2011)

Looks good! Just curious, after you changed things up I noticed you changed out the power filter for a cansiter one. What filter did you go with? It looks really nice with the glass intake/outtakes


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

spyke- already have trimmed it...

fusiongt- 2213...


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## Chlorophile (Aug 2, 2011)

How do you think the fish like the flow from the 2213, I just swapped to one from a 2211 on my Mini-M but I dont have any livestock yet.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Well this tank has been totally redone. I did get a great carpet of HC in the tank but the scape just bored me. Plus i have the urge to try again with CRS and could never get them to breed in a high tech co2 and ferts tank. So this tank will be low tech, but still Iwagumi. How you ask? I'm doing an entire mini pellia carpet! For the background, I'm hoping hairgrass. I just hope it grows tall without co2. I could never get hairgrass to grow over 3" with co2. Actually I may throw co2 in this tank at a very very low level, maybe 1 bubble every 3 seconds or something...

Anyway, below is the scape. Quick tank specs:
ADA mini-m 'mist'
AC20 filter (or similar)
Aquasoil 'multi'
26watt CF as high above water surface as it will go
mini pellia and hairgrass
ottos and CRS eventually

I am going to start the tank with DSM to get the mini pellia to attach itself to the substrate. It should only take a couple weeks max, then I'll flood the tank. Will be using 90% RO water.

























with MP added. I will add the hairgrass in the next couple days...


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## Drink_soy_sauce (Sep 15, 2009)

I really like that scape. Can't wait to see how this carpet turn out!


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Thank you soy sauce. I am hoping the carpet turns out alright, but i know it will take a while to finish since MP is a fairly slow grower. 

I am going to plant the hairgrass tonight and seriously considering adding some mini microsword, although not sure how well it will do without co2...


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Added hairgrass and the mini microsword. Now that i look at the scape, i think i need to add some hairgrass in between the rocks on the left side to break it up and make everything look separate.










hairgrass in the back, microsword in front


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## larcat (Jul 27, 2011)

That is a profoundly awesome scape. The big rock is magnificent.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Are you keeping your water level that high? I am just asking because I tried to grow MP in stagnant water and all I got was algae. The stuff thats up out of the water will do fine if you keep the humidity up.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

thank you so much for the kind words larcat!

chad - i need to bring the water level down. I was out of town last weekend so i wanted to make sure the plants up top stayed moist. I will definitly be bringing the water level down today now that I can mist them a couple times a day. Thanks for the heads up.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

From the looks of it, the MP is already spreading! It is starting to perk up and getting that bright green color back instead of the washed out darker color. I think the scape is coming together nicely. I did add some of the hairgrass to the left side in between the stones. I have some dwarf riccia coming in this weekend so need to decide where to put it. I was thinking maybe on tiny rocks and place them either on the far right or far left side, up against the outside of the rock. Anyone have a suggestion where to place it?

I am doing the same thing with the 2213 filter. Its on the 10g getting seeded. Of course this tank has new Aquasoil so I will be dealing with the ammonia spike for a while. No worries. I want the hairgrass to spread a little before flooding the tank. I'm thinking another week or two before I fill it.

I haven't really decided what to do with this tank in terms of fauna. It will probably shrimp only with a couple ottos. I don't know what this stone will do to the water hardness. I will just have to wait and see once I fill it with RO. If it turns out ok, I might do Super Tigers...


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## inka4041 (Jul 27, 2008)

Awesome! Between the rockwork and the MP carpet, I am definitely looking forward to watching this tank mature. Really cool scape!


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Not much has changed here. I did add the dwarf riccia to the right side. And I put on the custom lily pipes. Can you beleive they are hand made? Best quality acrylic pipes I have ever seen... I will probably flood the tank this weekend. The pellia seems to be pretty well attached to the substrate.


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## Ozydego (Aug 29, 2011)

Where did you get those pipes, they look awesome!


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Ozy - The pipes were made by a friend, Paul (onefang on the forums). He used to be on TPT, but not sure if he still is. I know he is active over on APE if you would like to contact him. He will make the pipes to your exact requests. Hes a great guy to deal with also.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Added the Giant Hairgrass. I got what I asked for... The stuff came in and was 2 foot tall! Needless to say I chopped over half of it to get it to fit in the mini m. While separating it from the rockwool I noticed it doesn't have runners like DHG. Anyone thats grown Giant HG, how does it propagate?
























the mini riccia is starting to grow!


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

just curious but how did you set the mini riccia and the mp in the susbtrate? did you just flop them on top of the substrate?


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

The riccia is just tied onto steel mesh and I just half burried it to cover the metal. I did just lay the pellia on the substrate and let it attach itself. It seems to work fine and all the parts I've checked are completely attached.

I reallly think the giant hg doesn't work in this small of a scape, so im gonna pull it. Then its time to flood the tank tomorrow!


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

The tank is filled! I wasn't very careful with filling so some of the substrate and mini pellia go kicked up. So you see the weighted pieces on the parts that came up. Overall, I am happy with how the pellia stayed down. I have the co2 running at 1 bubble per second. I just love these Fluval diffusers! The bubbles are soooo much smaller than any ADA diffuser I've ever had, and a fraction the price!... They don't look the greatest, but oh well...

I obviously removed the giant hairgrass. I just wasn't feeling it in this scape. I will just cross my fingers and hope the normal hairgrass grows taller... I don't know if you can tell from the below picture, but the riccia is pearling like crazy! I know its a pain to maintain, but you just can't beat the color, shape and pearling of riccia!

I have 17 tiger shrimp on the way for this tank. I will probably start them out in my old 10g that is still running with nothing but substrate. I want this tank to be fully cycled first. I did seed the 2213 for a couple weeks so it is probably ready. I also added a bottle of SafeStart to give it a bacteria boost.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

tanks doing ok. Its getting a bit of algae on the MP but i think its from when it was emmersed because its along the glass where the water line was.

I'll be adding the tiger shrimp to this tank verys soon. Ammonia and Nitrite are gone now so its basically ready. Just need to raise the TDS.


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## kuro (May 21, 2010)

That look really nice. Is the mini pelia attach to something or is it attach to substrate from the emerse?


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

It just attaches itself while emmersed.


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## bacon5 (Jul 25, 2011)

Wow this looks really cool. Subscribing


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Nice. Love the MP carpet, very original.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

I appreciate it bacon and kiran.

I moved the tigers and CRS over to this tank to make way for the pure lines going in my other mini m. The tigers look pretty cool climbing the rocks. Can't help but think of the Lion King (the Tiger King in this case haha).


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

how's the mp carpet staying for you? I'm attempting to do the same thing, i'm worried it'll all float away as it grows


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## youjettisonme (Dec 24, 2010)

U


IWANNAGOFAST said:


> how's the mp carpet staying for you? I'm attempting to do the same thing, i'm worried it'll all float away as it grows


I have a mini pellia carpet right now in a 60f. You can see it here. What has happened is that the entire carpet has turned into a "canopy". If you cut a hole in the top, you can see down to the substrate about 2 inches down. The shrimp end up using this as a giant cave network. It looks silly cool from the side, but my camera phone can't represent the gist of it yet. As long as you have at least enough rocks making contact, it will likely all stick together and not float away. If it was really all soil though? There could be a problem over time.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

The carpet is doing pretty well for now. But before I even read youjettisonme's post, i was going to say that i could see the shrimp uprooting it someday. They already like going inbetween it and ive seen a couple go under the sides that are up.

*youjett*! Post the picture of your tank again! My work blocks pictures so I didn't get to see it. You aren't jacking my thread at all! PLEASE add it again, it could only help in my attempt to get it to stay put.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Just some updated pics if anyone is watching...

I removed the riccia as it turned out to not be mini riccia. I just don't think that stuff exists anymore. The shrimp were picking it all over the place so I removed it.

The tigers and Paul's CRS are doing great in here. They do like to dig under the pellia carpet. I hope it stays down, but i can see this ending badly haha...


































I am going to post this in both of my journals, because people need to try these things! Its perfect for nano tanks and can easily be converted to a paintball setup. It has 2 separate needle valves that are decent for the price and a gauge to tell how much co2 is remaining. Cost was only $65 shipped and it has a working 120v solenoid so it shuts off at night!!! So i have 1 paintball tank supplying both of my mini-m's...


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## eklikewhoa (Aug 29, 2006)

Looking good!

LMK when you wanna part with some of that mini-pellia!


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

where'd you get it?


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Not much change here. I did add a small portion of Hydropiper that I was FINALLY able to find! I am super excited to get this plant as I have been wanting it for over a year. Its supposed to be be kinda difficult to grow but we will see. I know it needs cooler temps and sense I have a fan blowing on the tank, the water stays around 72 so hopefully that will be ok.










carpet is getting pretty solid, but still not completely attached to the substrate in places...









some Hydropiper









climbing the mountain









berried tiger!!!


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Great looking tank. That's different looking tank walls.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Yukon - Thanks! The tank is a mini m "mist" from ADA. It has frosted back and side glass to give it that look. I absoultely love it. I wish they made every tank with the frosted glass but i think its just the mini m and maybe a couple other sizes... It hides the cords and other unsightly things behind tanks and gives the scape a natural brightness.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

How's the tank going? Moss staying down? Looks great! Good luck with that hydropiper, a lot of mine melted when I was doing a dry start


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

IWANNA- its goin... nothing to crazy. The MP is staying down just fine. Its really getting thick. I don't know how I am going to trim this stuff haha... Yea, the little bit of hydropiper I had dry starting totally melted. But the part I have in this tank is doing pretty well. Its growing. It is a very slow grower, but at least its alive. If I can get it to spread some more, I am even considering ditching the MP carpet and going for all Hydropiper. It would probably take a year hahah but I think it would look amazing.

There are a bunch of Tiger babies! There have been several batches with the oldest approaching 1/3". The stripes are visible at all yet, I guess they have to be more mature before they show? I will be overrun with Tigers in the next couple months...










biggest of the babies









hydropiper doing alright


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## iwagumikun (May 16, 2012)

*Brazilian Micro Sword Proper Name: Lilaeopsis brasiliensis*

Hi All,

Sorry to reply I wasn't sure where to open a new thread. I thought since I'm running an iwagumi style tank; I thought this would be a good place to start.

Its almost 4 weeks since I planted and I don't see the foreground looking too good. I also use the flourish excel from seachem and was looking for advice for anyone else who's already gone through this. 

Roughly how can I get the grass to look healthier and about how long in time will the foreground establish the carpet look?

I attached a close up picture of how my grass looks and need advice.

Set-Up:

144 watts of Life-Glo Bulbs
ADA 60-P
Eheim 2213
Fluval substrate
CO2 (3bubbles per second)
Seiryu Rock
Brasiliensis foreground
Inhabitants: neon tetras, sae's, otocinclus, apistogramma

Thank you all in advance.


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## iwagumikun (May 16, 2012)

*Brasiliensis foreground Update*

I forgot to mention I'm running CO2 9 hrs a day and 12 hrs of 144 watts daily.


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## aweeby (Oct 1, 2011)

You might want to start your own journal...
there's a button at the top of the Tank Journals subforum page, 'new thread'. Click that.


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## iwagumikun (May 16, 2012)

*Starting new journal*

Totally overlooked that button. Thanks.


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