# CL's "XL Nano"



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

heres some planted shots


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

one more


----------



## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

Can't wait to see it fill in! I'd suggest looking into dry ferts. You'll need good ferts and co2 to prevent a big algae bloom with that much lighting. Honestly, it might be a good idea to add a bunch of fast growing stems to start with, to help prevent algae from taking over. You can read more about ferts/cycling/planted tank stuff at Rex's site rexgrigg.com Just a thought. Good luck!

PS Is that HC? You have it labelled as mc, but it looks like Hemianthus Callitrichoides from the pics


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

haha my bad will change it from mc to hc, haha hammertime... bad joke i know


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

oh, and when the hairgrass gets well rooted and established, i will trim it to get better horizontal growth, though im not sure i need it as it is in most of the spots i want it, just needs to be a little thicker


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

mpodolan said:


> Can't wait to see it fill in! I'd suggest looking into dry ferts. You'll need good ferts and co2 to prevent a big algae bloom with that much lighting. Honestly, it might be a good idea to add a bunch of fast growing stems to start with, to help prevent algae from taking over. You can read more about ferts/cycling/planted tank stuff at Rex's site rexgrigg.com Just a thought. Good luck!
> 
> PS Is that HC? You have it labelled as mc, but it looks like Hemianthus Callitrichoides from the pics


oh, and in about a week ill add a few cherries, i have a ton and the filter was already "half mature" and when i cleaned the tank out before i set it up like this, i left all of the poop/ sludge in it, i just took out the rocks, so cycling should be ok in a week:thumbsup:


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

i wanted to try embedding from photobucket, so heres another angle


----------



## FrostyNYC (Nov 5, 2007)

It looks great. Really digging that rock, too.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

good to know the rock is good, i have had it for a long time and i didnt know if it would work or not


----------



## phanizzle (Jun 28, 2007)

Tanks looks great, can't wait to see it filled in!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ok, i added 5 cherries today, i know algae is inevitable so i figured why not get a head start on it, hopefully they wont pull up any hc, they havent so far and its been about 6 hours. im kinda thinking that i should have turned my rock some counter clockwise to give it more depth, but is half burried in sand and i dont wanna mess up my plants, maybe later when they have more rootmass and will stay planted better


----------



## gentledental4u (Feb 28, 2008)

Cool Tank!!!


----------



## reybie (Jun 7, 2007)

Be careful with that hair grass invading your HC patches.


----------



## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

reybie said:


> Be careful with that hair grass invading your HC patches.


Good advise reybie. 



> im kinda thinking that i should have turned my rock some counter clockwise to give it more depth, but is half burried in sand and i dont wanna mess up my plants, maybe later when they have more rootmass and will stay planted better


God idea, did you mention how many gallons the tank is?


----------



## ununknown (Mar 26, 2008)

hey what kind of substrate did you use in the bottom layer? And the top?


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

oh, yes sorry, it is a 10 gallon, which is a big nano in my mind, hence the name, i just use play sand that i had in my 29 gallon, so it is cycled already, i have noticed the hairgrass already growing towards my hc, but i dont mind, im just glad its growing, today i started dosing excel, so hopefully algae will be kept to a minimum, i changed 2 of the 10 watt lights to 14 watt lights, the glass has been getting this translucent white "film" on it (which makes the water look cloudy), and i have been wiping it off, any ideas on what it might be? i can see where a snail has eaten some of it (i can see zig-zags of cleans glass)


----------



## Dave in the basement (Feb 22, 2008)

I just gotta say it- that is one good looking rock.  Any idea what kind it is?

And the tank looks great, too. Good work!

Dave


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

um, what is the rock..... black something.... maybe black granite...


----------



## gentledental4u (Feb 28, 2008)

I've seen it in my lfs marked as "Obsidian Delight"


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

oh, and does anyone know if coco bedding or coco fiber would work as a bottom layer of substrate for my 2.5 gallon im setting up? i would put sand on top of it


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

could i just put in some mud from my backyard if i know it doesnt have chems in it?


----------



## gentledental4u (Feb 28, 2008)

yes, both would work very well. soil is really good at growing plants because it's chock full of nutrients!


----------



## gentledental4u (Feb 28, 2008)

You should buy this book called "Ecology of the Planted Tank" 

It talks all about using soil as the substrate, how to, and what to avoid


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ok, thanks i looked on google and ive already got a pot of mud, i added some water and boiled it to remove any bacteria (hopefully this wont affect the nutrients) and it is now cooling, waiting to be put in my tank! , i will then add .75" of sand on top


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

another thing off topic to this tank, but what wood would you recommend for my other nano, i have pin oak, maple and peach wood, im thinking oak (i will be removing the bark)


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ok, i changed the filter and the water is a lot more clear! i scraped the film off of the glass and the tank looks great, both hc and hairgrass are growing like crazy! this is the first time that i have successfully grown hairgrass! third times the charm  ill post an update at the end of the week


----------



## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

I read a good article on "How to Mineralize Soil Substrates" in this months issue of AquaScaping World magazine.

It's a cool online mag that also allows you to download the issues in PDF format. They've only had two issues so far but I've liked both so far, and it's hard to beat free.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

cool, thank 4 the tip


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

update:
the white film stuff came back when i remixed a new co2 batch








the hc is growing!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

in those pictures, you might be able to see the film on some of the hairgrass which is invading my hc! lol


----------



## htn86 (Sep 30, 2007)

I like the rock a lot, but the tank looks kind of bland you think? Maybe more rocks or more texture to the scenery


----------



## gentledental4u (Feb 28, 2008)

htn86 said:


> I like the rock a lot, but the tank looks kind of bland you think? Maybe more rocks or more texture to the scenery


 
i like to see no rocks

i think the rock is not forceful enough


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

update
















gonna add red dwarf lily to the tank, should i add it to the back right corner or behind the rock, thanks


----------



## Sticky230 (Mar 30, 2008)

wow the HG is taking over. tank looks nice. i wanted to do somethign similar with only glosso... but the HG is awesome


----------



## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

are you gonna let the HG take over?


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

What is that stuck to your filter intake? Is it some HC, or is it something else? It kind of looks like Riccia to me


----------



## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

It looks like HC to me.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

it is hc in my filter, its been growin there and it doesnt bother me and im just too lazy to remove it


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ikuzo said:


> are you gonna let the HG take over?


i dont have hg, i have the smaller version, hc


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

gentledental4u said:


> i like to see no rocks
> 
> i think the rock is not forceful enough


so you dont like to see rocks, but mine is not forceful enough? if that is what you mean, then i agree, its just an extra rock i had


----------



## python (Mar 21, 2007)

clwatkins10 said:


> i dont have hg, i have the smaller version, hc


HG = hair grass

you're thinking of HM

I swear there are too many freaking 2 letter plants!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

haha ya my bad


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

well, i took out the rock, not sure if that is good or bad, and added some stem plants where the bald spot was


----------



## Bk828 (Mar 11, 2008)

how about some update photos.. Really wanna see how the hc is coming along. 
Do you trim the hairgrass??


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Bk828 said:


> how about some update photos.. Really wanna see how the hc is coming along.
> Do you trim the hairgrass??


ok, i recently did trim the hairgrass that was invading the hc and i traded some of the hc in to my lfs because i needed some amano shrimp , pics coming soon


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ok, for the 3rd time trying to type this...
i traded in some of the hc for 5 amano shrimp and some pennywort.
i had so much in such a little space it was amazing, i planted the extra back in the tank and used some in my nano side by side terrarium (check my sig)
i took out the rock to add different ones, but never got around to it. my lfs gave me some free green hygro since it is now illegal to buy or sell so i put it in the bald spot with the pennywort.
pics:


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

in the last pic is a small piece of dw that i tied some fissidens moss to, i got the moss from neon shrimp, it was a little brown when i got it (took 4 or 5 days to get to my house, bc of the weekend) but its starting to grow great! thanks man!


----------



## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

You welcome Your tank is looking good and I really like how everything is looking healthy, fish and plants!


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

ikuzo said:


> are you gonna let the HG take over?


lol, i just saw this question, i hope the hg doesnt take over, i put a plastic divider in the front left corner of the tank, and i have started trimming the hairgrass where it is growing in the hc to let the hc get more light:thumbsup: 
maybe when the hc grows thick enough, the hairgrass will stop growing in it:thumbsup:


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)




----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

sold a buch of the hg, not sure what my next move is, tank as of now:


----------



## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

The tank really has gone thru some changes, but always looks interesting and great potential.

Noticed that you have the tank setting on some wood blocks on either end of the tank but do not see wodd blocks along the length of the tank. This can be a potential hazard waiting to happen. You can be adding extra stress to the center of the tank with out any support below it which can cause failure to the bottom. It might not happen very soon but may crack and brake the glass bottom later. And maybe not at all. But don't take that chance. Put some woood supports all around the bottom of the tank and not just the ends.

Another thing you can do if the blocks of wood are because you have an uneven surface to place the tank on is to get some firm foam sheet and place the tank on that. The foam will conform to the uneven surface and give the tank a flat surfact to set on.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

aquaphish said:


> The tank really has gone thru some changes, but always looks interesting and great potential.
> 
> Noticed that you have the tank setting on some wood blocks on either end of the tank but do not see wodd blocks along the length of the tank. This can be a potential hazard waiting to happen. You can be adding extra stress to the center of the tank with out any support below it which can cause failure to the bottom. It might not happen very soon but may crack and brake the glass bottom later. And maybe not at all. But don't take that chance. Put some woood supports all around the bottom of the tank and not just the ends.
> 
> Another thing you can do if the blocks of wood are because you have an uneven surface to place the tank on is to get some firm foam sheet and place the tank on that. The foam will conform to the uneven surface and give the tank a flat surfact to set on.


I normally wouldnt use the wood under the tank but I had it like that a while ago and never changed it, they have been like that for almost a year now. I am going to be breaking this tank down sometime soon and setting up a different one. If anyone is interested in the hc that is in my tank, pm me, it does have hairgrass in it, but the hairgrass has been dying back since I have started trimming it and the hc is starting to choke it out, but the hairgrass is still there. If anybody wants the hc/hairgrass mix, I'm sure we could work something out, thanks


----------



## jasa73 (Jun 3, 2007)

What a lucky betta to live in such a nice home. Too bad all bettas cant have such a place to live. Well done!

Looks like you have DIY C02? I hope i can get my HC and Hairgrass to grow as well when i get my nano started.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Okay, I broke down my 10 gallon "XL Nano" and removed the rims. This took FOREVER! Getting the silicone residue off took a very long time. I am going to have a variety of mosses in here and maybe some anubias nana petite. I will probably keep some crystal red shrimp or snowball shrimp or something like that. Light will probably be 20 watts of compact florescent with two bags off $3 a bag black sand as substrate and minimal fert dosing, I wanna keep this a low budget tank, using things that I already have so I can save up my money to start a 24 gallon aquapod reef tank with 150 watt metal halide lighting and sweet moonlights! Cant wait!
tank waiting to be tested:








testing:








and while looking at this view:








The tank BROKE!:angryfire:


haha, jk, jk, it didnt break :hihi: 
tank full of water:








I will finally get the sand on monday. I was going to get it Thursday, but didnt have time, Saturday, I went to get the sand, and the store was closed. So hopefully monday, I can get this thing cycling!
More to come later.


----------



## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

The tank looks so much better with a rim, cant wait to see the finished product 

You really had me going there when you said the tank "broke" though D:


----------



## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

clwatkins10 said:


> Okay,
> The tank BROKE!
> 
> 
> haha, jk, jk, it didnt break:heh:


OMG I hope you just didn't jinx yourself:icon_eek: :icon_eek: :icon_eek: 

what is the plant list for the new setup?

I have a mini-m that used to have a HG and HC mix until just recently I pulled the HG due to invasion of the HC and algae.
Boy was that a PITA, I still find new sections of HG popping up


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

mott said:


> OMG I hope you just didn't jinx yourself:icon_eek: :icon_eek: :icon_eek:
> 
> what is the plant list for the new setup?
> 
> ...


lol, after I wrote that, I was hoping I didnt jinx myself also, but I'm sure I didnt.
Anyway, aside from superstition, I will be using Taiwan moss, willow moss, weeping moss, us fissiden and flame moss and probably anubias petite


----------



## Breakerboy0 (Mar 8, 2008)

I love tanks minus rims, cant wait to see what you do with it this time.


----------



## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

clwatkins10 said:


> lol, after I wrote that, I was hoping I didnt jinx myself also, but I'm sure I didnt.
> Anyway, aside from superstition, I will be using Taiwan moss, willow moss, weeping moss, us fissiden and flame moss and probably anubias petite


Sounds interesting, I can't wait to see how you incorporate everything


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

you can follow my new tank here:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/p...-rimless-10-gallon-moss-scape.html#post619172


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I've been tempted to set another tank like this tank up for a while now. It was so nice. I really want some hairgrass again...  But I'm starting up a reef. Maybe I'll change my 30C to a grass scape. What do you guys think?


----------



## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

[STRIKE]you'll go broke[/STRIKE] you'll go in debt


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

chris127 said:


> [STRIKE]you'll go broke[/STRIKE] you'll go in debt


haha, I'm already broke. all I need is the hg, I've already got scaping materials


----------

