# micr0's Fluval Edge



## micr0 (Aug 27, 2011)

Hello everyone - I wanted to start a journal for my Fluval Edge. It's my first real attempt at a planted setup. I've been keeping aquariums for almost my whole life (I'm 27), working mostly with Tanganyikan cichlids, but now my interest has shifted to aquatic plants. I've spent more time lurking around this forum the past few months than I'd care to admit!

I get a lot of enjoyment tinkering with this tank. It has totally served as a gateway drug to aquatic gardening and I plan to start a true high-tech/rimless aquarium in due time.

*Specs:*
Fluval Edge 6 gallon aquarium
Established 7/1/11
MR11 LEDs + lots of natural light - The tank receives around two hours of direct sunlight in the afternoon that is dappled through the branches of trees outside my window. I stopped using the Edge's lid, because it reduces light spread, and I just prefer the look without it.
Eco-complete substrate - One bag provided 3"+.
Fluval 88g disposable co2 kit - I would much prefer a real rig but I got this kit for next to nothing plus 9 cartridges so it will suffice for the time being.
I run 1 bps during the day and turn it off at night.
Ferts - I dose Seachem Flourish, and Trace twice a week, and Potassium thrice. Also have some Flourish tabs here and there. I still have much to learn about approaches to dosing. I will be moving to dry ferts once I run out of the seachem line.

*Flora:*
Bacopa caroliniana
Rotala rotundifolia
Rotala indica
Lindernia sp. "India"
Sagittaria subulata
Staurogyne repens
Fissidens fontanus

*Fauna:*
11 Boraras brigittae (Chili/Mosquito rasbora)
6 Cherry shrimp
1 Amano shrimp

Here's the tank as of this morning 9/30/11.









Here is the tank as it was on 9/19/11 before a big trim and some reorganizing.









Here's a rather bad photo of the tank from 7/13/11 when I introduced my first plants.









It's almost due for another trim, at least the Rotala. I would like to get it nice and thick and even. At this point I'm just continuing to refine the aesthetics of the tank. 

I plan on updating this thread as the tank evolves, as well as expanding on the individual species of plants and animals with more pics to come. I appreciate any comments. Thanks for looking!


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Stunning! That staurogyne on the left is beautiful!


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Wow. That's a nice looking edge very lush.


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

Subscribed! I love this tank, keep us posted on its progress


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## micr0 (Aug 27, 2011)

Thank you all for the comments. Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been dealing with some challenges in this tank over the last few weeks. 

First, and most tragically, after nearly two months of growth my Staurogyne yellowed and dropped all its leaves in two days!:icon_cry: I admit I wasn't sure how it would do to begin with in this lower light setup, but it seemed to be flourishing until this happened out of nowhere. I removed most of the now leafless plants, but they had such healthy root systems that I was compelled to leave a few in to see if they bounce back. I do see some new growth on them so we shall see...

Second issue has been an algae outbreak mainly on my rotala and in my fissidens. I did some H2O2 spot treatments and a large trim to remove as much as I could and it seems to have mostly cleared up. I've also started dosing a little Excel to help fight it off (being watchful of the fissidens' reaction).

On the bright side, my cherry shrimp have started breeding. I know they're the convicts of the invert world but it's my first experience breeding shrimp.:thumbsup: I'm amazed at how quickly these guys grow. I have around 20 shrimplets at the moment. 

So here's the tank as of 10/17. I just did a large trim so things are low right now. I started a couple new fissidens rocks and spread my dwarf sag around to account for the missing foreground. The Lindernia and Rotala indica are doing well. I'll post another pic once things have grown in.


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## micr0 (Aug 27, 2011)

Here's a couple of my shrimp. At the LFS they were labeled only as "Cherry shrimp", but they seem to be one of the higher grades. Whether they're sakura, fire, painted fire, I don't know. Any ideas? The color in this iphone shot is a bit saturated, but they are truly a deep and solid red.


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## mcqueenesq (Aug 29, 2011)

I love your Edge! Sorry about the losses, but it still looks great.


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## micr0 (Aug 27, 2011)

The staurogyne stems I left in the tank seem to be bouncing back. Maybe it was rash to take so much out after it collapsed...I'd still like to know what caused it to deteriorate overnight.









I'm starting a high tech 12g long pretty soon. It's been fun seeing what's possible to achieve in the Edge (without heavy mods) but I look forward to working without so many limitations. This tank will remain as a lower tech shrimp/moss farm. 

Here's today's shot.


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

I think the Edge is cut out best as a shrimp/moss tank, although it looks like you had a good run for a while with stem plants. Love this tank, keep us updated!

PS.
Your shrimp are beautiful... no idea how exactly people grade Cherry Shrimp so its anybody's guess what strain they are. I do agree however that they are of a higher grade-their little legs are solid red and that is definitely something one sees one a more expensive shrimp.


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## micr0 (Aug 27, 2011)

Time for an update. 

I have been busy setting up a new 12 gallon long to serve as my main tank (journal forthcoming). As a result, I have moved the Edge to a different room, where it's been transitioning to a lower tech existence. CO2 privileges have been "reassigned" to the new tank, as have the stauro stems I was growing. It's on an Excel-based regimen now, and I added some green gecko crypts. I felt bad downgrading the Edge, as it was almost back to prime condition...but the new rimless had to take precedence. 

Without CO2, the Rotalas and Lindernia aren't as red as before, but they're still growing. I took a few stems of each for the new tank (except the rotundifolia).

The new scape is more "jungle", but I'm enjoying it.


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

hows the trimming on the fluval edge? I was going to get those but I imagined trimming and scapping would be so hard.


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## micr0 (Aug 27, 2011)

It's a challenge, but it comes with the form factor. Certain plants and scapes would obviously be easier than others. I must say the rimless feels downright luxurious after working with the edge.


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## st7870 (Nov 6, 2011)

Amen to that. I've got my 12g long being delivered next week and as much as I'm looking forward to setting it up, I really just can't wait to clean it without getting carpal tunnel syndrome. House guests always marvel at the Edge, but they have no idea what goes into keeping it! Nice tank BTW.


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Good looking tank.


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## sugarbyte (Apr 3, 2011)

Stunning tank. What kind of Mr11's are you using? Are they enough to keep your plants healthy or have you upgraded the lighting?


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## micr0 (Aug 27, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the comments! The Edge has settled nicely into it's new low tech status. I've begun a RootMedic One Step regimen thanks to a most generous RAOK contest I was lucky to win a few weeks ago, and everything is doing well. I added a couple stems of Ludwigia sp Red just to see how it would fare after removing it from my 12 gallon. To my surprise it stayed red and adds a nice splash of color to the tank. The pics below are from the 15th and the tops have reddened a good amount since then.



sugarbyte said:


> Stunning tank. What kind of Mr11's are you using? Are they enough to keep your plants healthy or have you upgraded the lighting?


These are just the standard MR11s from Amazon that everyone uses. Right now everything is doing great.

Here are the pics:


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

Looking great!

This is easily one of my favorite Edge setups!


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## sugarbyte (Apr 3, 2011)

Sorry to bug you again with this but were these the types of LED's you got? 
Brightest MR11 12 V 10 SMD LED Wide Angle


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## micr0 (Aug 27, 2011)

sugarbyte said:


> Sorry to bug you again with this but were these the types of LED's you got?
> Brightest MR11 12 V 10 SMD LED Wide Angle


No worries.roud: Yes, I believe that's the same light.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Not sure if anyone ever got back to you but those RCS are either painted fire reds (highest grade) or very close to it. They have extremely dense red coloring to the point you can't see anything underneath it, and their legs are red as well.

Great looking tank. I really like lush tanks with shrimp in them


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## crazydog64 (Jul 25, 2011)

This might help you out also for the grading
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/foru...-Grading-system-of-Cherry-to-Fire-Red-Shrimps


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## sugarbyte (Apr 3, 2011)

micr0 said:


> No worries.roud: Yes, I believe that's the same light.


Thanks so much for getting back to me  I've tried so many lighting options with this tank.. 2 compact fluorescent bulbs gets way too hot and the LED's i originally purchased weren't bright enough. I am going to buy these right away!


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