# First ADA Tank



## ddtran46

Oh yeah here is a picture of my inspiration. I will be receiving manzanita driftwood soon.
http://www.adana-usa.com/images/gallery02/24.jpg


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## chase127

nicee!!  congrats on the ADA!


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## CL

That is an awesome stand. How tall is it? If you don't mind me asking, how much was it?


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## MARIMOBALL

Christmas all over again lol. congrats and do you have more pics and price of the stand.


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## Craigthor

Looking good...


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## ddtran46

I think the stand is 29-30 inches tall? I bought it for 44 dollars including tax.


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## ddtran46

Oh yeah I almost forgot..I bought the Ada drop checkers at my lfs


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## ddtran46

Here is another picture of the stand


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## CL

Awesome! :thumbsup:


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## Kayen

Sweet, can't wait to see more progress on this !


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## MARIMOBALL

Oh yeah that is a nice stand. If your going with a 501 filter just get a background for the tank and place the filter behind the tank.


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## ddtran46

Viettxboii said:


> Sweet, can't wait to see more progress on this !


Thanks. I might be getting my driftwood tomorrow in the mail. I might try out couple of hardscapes until I find one that I like. For the plants,...I am not sure when they are coming.


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## ddtran46

MARIMOBALL said:


> Oh yeah that is a nice stand. If your going with a 501 filter just get a background for the tank and place the filter behind the tank.


I bought longer tubing for the zoomed so it can go right next to the co2.


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## SearunSimpson

I've never used a Zoomed, but I've heard it has a hard time pumping/returning water if it is placed too low and that it performs better if it sits next to or behind the tank. 
If it does and you place it too low, you might burn out the motor quicker than what the warranty states it is good for.
Anyone with Zoomed experience should chime in

Nice stand and tank though...I'm sorta jealoussssss...


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## ddtran46

SearunSimpson said:


> I've never used a Zoomed, but I've heard it has a hard time pumping/returning water if it is placed too low and that it performs better if it sits next to or behind the tank.
> If it does and you place it too low, you might burn out the motor quicker than what the warranty states it is good for.
> Anyone with Zoomed experience should chime in
> 
> Nice stand and tank though...I'm sorta jealoussssss...


I have used this filter for my 10 gallon for couple months now, and it was placed couple inches under the tank. With this setup it will be placed about 1-2ft under the tank, so I don't know if this will be good or not. I don't like the zoomed behind the tank, I am getting tired of backgrounds on my tanks.:icon_roll


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## jinx©

The Zoomed 501 is designed to be used at tank level and not below. They even sell an add on which allows the filter to be hung from the rim of the tank.

I've always felt this canister kind of defeated one of the main perks of canister filters, the ability to hide them away under the stand.

You can try it under your stand but you're going to loose flow, and as already stated, you may burn the motor out.

Congrats on the new tank, and good idea on that stand.roud:


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## bill|408

when did u started playen the guitar huh .. looking good so far, cant wait


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## ddtran46

bill|408 said:


> when did u started playen the guitar huh .. looking good so far, cant wait


I just started playing, I am taking a guitar lab at my school so girls will fall in love with me. jk.

For the zoomed, I will see if I can move it somewhere that will be hidden.


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## ddtran46

I made a little stand out of some speakers for the zoomed canister filter. It is somewhat level with the tank now.


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## Kayen

Nice one, but still not that well hidden.


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## chase127

haha thats like what i did with my lamp. stuck it in top of two PSU's im not using any more. smart thinking


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## ddtran46

Yeah I know its not hidden, but hey at least it isn't behind my tank. I had to screw the two speakers together so it will be kinda sturdy.


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## ddtran46

Just got the driftwood in the mail today. Currently I am soaking it in a bucket of hot water before i place these in my tank. Ill take a picture later today or tomorrow.


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## ddtran46

Here is my hardscape so far. I still need to buy some rocks. What do you guys think?


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## CL

It's great! Where did ya get that wood?


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## ddtran46

I bought it from Spunjin? On aquariacentral for only 20 shipped.


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## CL

Awesome, Thanks!


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## danakin

Screams "Doc Oc" to me  I like the wood heading in all directions from a central location.


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## ddtran46

Here is my diy light hanger thingy. Costs about 15 bucks to make it. Comments?


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## Phoenix-cry

looking good, I love when the scape comes out of the tank


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## CL

Cool. What light are you going to use?


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## ddtran46

clwatkins10 said:


> Cool. What light are you going to use?


I'm going to be using the coralife 9" 2x 9 watts lighting. 18 watts is enough, I think. The only med-high lighting plant is going to be blyxa. The rest will be low light plants like ferns and mosses.
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...3410/cl0/coralifefreshwater9miniaqualight2x9w


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## ddtran46

Phoenix-cry said:


> looking good, I love when the scape comes out of the tank


Thanks alot Phoenix-cry.


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## catfishbi

you can make background black and put the filer behind the tank


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## MARIMOBALL

the light bar looks great . what is it? thin steel cable will look cleaner than those chains it will prob. cost you $4 at home depot. When you order your light get an extra 10k bulb and use a 67k/10k combo it may make the water look clearer. I still don't understand why you want the filter on the side an not hidden in the back. Sure would clean things up. The wood is nice, but too centered for my taste. I would have more wood facing foreground. When you get your stones, you will have more options on wood placement. All these ADA nanos are really tempting.


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## ddtran46

MARIMOBALL said:


> the light bar looks great . what is it? thin steel cable will look cleaner than those chains it will prob. cost you $4 at home depot. When you order your light get an extra 10k bulb and use a 67k/10k combo it may make the water look clearer. I still don't understand why you want the filter on the side an not hidden in the back. Sure would clean things up. The wood is nice, but too centered for my taste. I would have more wood facing foreground. When you get your stones, you will have more options on wood placement. All these ADA nanos are really tempting.


I am not sure what kinda of pipe it is but the size is 1/2" if you are wondering. I wasn't sure what to buy with the steal cable to secure it, so i just bought this. So i should take out one 67k and replace it with a 10k? Is this the bulb you are talking about?
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...ralife9watt10000kminiaqualightreplacementlamp

I do not want to put the filter behind my tank because I don't like using backgrounds anymore. I've grown out of it. I tried looking at lowes or home depot for some slates but they dont have any. Does anyone know where to buy slates?


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## MARIMOBALL

Yes that is the bulb. Its just a matter of personal aesthetic taste the plants will grow with either bulb. I prefer a pink colomax bulb with the 10K but coralife does not make a 9watt pink, but I get mine here http://www.commodityaxis.com/ProductData.aspx?id=75
the 71k/8k combo bulb.


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## ddtran46

Just got some plants today, I received some blyxa and ferns. I will start planting after i get my other order of needle leaf ferns.


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## ddtran46

Do you guys think that the zoomed filter will be strong enough to use a lily pipe? If so, what lily pipes do you guys recommend? (besides ada)


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## Craigthor

ddtran46 said:


> Do you guys think that the zoomed filter will be strong enough to use a lily pipe? If so, what lily pipes do you guys recommend? (besides ada)


What size is the tubing? If it is 3/8" return ADA is teh only one with a 10mm return pipe. 1/2" input could use Cal aqua Nano set.

Craig


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## ddtran46

Craigthor said:


> What size is the tubing? If it is 3/8" return ADA is teh only one with a 10mm return pipe. 1/2" input could use Cal aqua Nano set.
> 
> Craig


It is 3/8"...If i upgrade the zoomed to an eheim 2213 would that fit the Cal Aqua Nano sets?


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## ddtran46

Has anyone bought these before or ever heard of these pipes?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-Inflow...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262


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## Craigthor

ddtran46 said:


> It is 3/8"...If i upgrade the zoomed to an eheim 2213 would that fit the Cal Aqua Nano sets?


Yep, 2213 works with the cal set.


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## Craigthor

ddtran46 said:


> Has anyone bought these before or ever heard of these pipes?
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-Inflow...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262


Intake may be too long depending on depth of your sustrate the intake extends 7" into the tank. By their dimensions

Craig


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## ddtran46

hmmm..I have alot of thinking to do..


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## ddtran46

I was bored so I filled the tank with a little water and I also clamped on my extra light to the bar. Don't worry, this isn't the light that I will be using. I think my light should come this Thursday. Here are some pictures.


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## aquaphish

Great start!!! I like the setup you have for the substrate. And the wood looks nice with the exception of the center piece of wood that sticks straight up. Maybe you should see what it looks like if you lean it to either side a bit instead of straight up.

Waiting to see it filled with water, plants and fish.

BTW what plants and fish are you planning on? I love my ember tetras in my mini m.


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## ddtran46

aquaphish said:


> Great start!!! I like the setup you have for the substrate. And the wood looks nice with the exception of the center piece of wood that sticks straight up. Maybe you should see what it looks like if you lean it to either side a bit instead of straight up.
> 
> Waiting to see it filled with water, plants and fish.
> 
> BTW what plants and fish are you planning on? I love my ember tetras in my mini m.


I will move the piece that is in the middle after i get my plants first. The plants i will have in this tank is blyxa, needle leaf fern, and xmas moss. I am not sure what other plants to put in this tank. I don't think i will be putting fish into this tank, maybe just shrimps


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## Kayen

That light you have up seems to do a decent job though ...


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## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> That light you have up seems to do a decent job though ...


Do you think it will be enough for blyxa?


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## guppy

ddtran46 said:


> Do you think it will be enough for blyxa?


You should be fine, I had 18 watts 67k/10k over a 2.5 gallon and it grew everything from blyxa to toninas.


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## MARIMOBALL

What light is that?


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## ddtran46

MARIMOBALL said:


> What light is that?


Who are you asking?


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## ddtran46

Just got the plants from Bk! Finished planting the blyxa and tying up the ferns. Here are some pictures so far. Keep in mind that the light has not came yet, so it may seem kinda dark. The lights i ordered should come tomorrow. Comments anyone?


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## amano101

i'm liking where this is headed. it already looks great


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## chase127

very nice layout ! i have something similar with the java exploding from the wood in my mini m. java fern looks great this way


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## Ugly Genius

I really like this 'scape. It's really well done.

With some Glosso at the base of the rock, it'd be a 'scape I'd break in a steal.


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## ddtran46

Would you guys think that HM would look nice behind the rocks?


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## Kayen

Water quality looks a bit murky imo, but HM would look alright, but personally i like it how it is .


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## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> Water quality looks a bit murky imo, but HM would look alright, but personally i like it how it is .


The water is like that because I took the pic about 15 minutes after planting everything. It will clear up soon.:thumbsup:


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## ddtran46

Just received the christmas moss I ordered today. I will tie these to the rocks and the driftwood later. Hopefully the ups brings me my light today.


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## ddtran46

Just hung the lights and tied the xmas moss to the driftwoods. What do you think? Comments anyone??


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## Craigthor

Looking good


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## windfish

Sweet tank. Let that baby grow and it'll be a beauty.


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## CobraGuppy

Awesome tank. Can't wait until the moss grows in.

Although the light looks off center and it kinda irks me, although you probably just put that on and hadn't had time to fix it


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## ddtran46

Thanks for the comments guys!! I just moved the light towards the center...it was bothering me also.


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## ddtran46

I put on the steel cables like you guys recommended. How does it look?

















Did a 30% w/c and changed the carbon in the zoomed. The water is getting kinda clear.


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## chase127

the light looks great hung like that. the scape looks great too. awesome job on everything! my only regret when i set up my M was that i didnt go for some sand in the foreground...


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## ddtran46

Was bored and took more pics. Here ya go..








I added 2 more stones covered with xmas moss.


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## Austinv

that light gets hooooooooooooooooooooooooottttttttttttttt


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## ddtran46

Yeah it does get really hot. 

I just received some 4dKH solution for my drop checker today. The ADA drop checker looks so much better than the ebay ones I bought.


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## Craigthor

ddtran46 said:


> The ADA drop checker looks so much better than the ebay ones I bought.


 
:icon_mrgr Agreed


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## ddtran46

Heres a picture of my drop checker..


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## ZooTycoonMaster

ddtran46 said:


>


Isn't that basically the same as the Cal Aqua Lab Oracle, except with a different logo on it and without the white thing in the middle?


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## epicfish

Nice setup.

Maybe I can come over to check it out one day.


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## ddtran46

epicfish said:


> Nice setup.
> 
> Maybe I can come over to check it out one day.


Haha. Sure


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## ddtran46

Will these be good with the zoomed filter? 
http://www.fish-street.com/inflow_outflow_lilyp_pipe_9mm_s_size


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## garuf

Very nice the only thing that stops me giving it the old 5 star is that the gravel is too course and _really_ spoils the sense of scale. I almost thought this was a 20 gallon when I was first looking.


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## ddtran46

EWWWW!!! I have snails in my tank!!! Is there a way to kill the snails without harming the plant? I guess I got them from the plants I ordered.


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## BradH

ddtran46 said:


> EWWWW!!! I have snails in my tank!!! Is there a way to kill the snails without harming the plant? I guess I got them from the plants I ordered.


I would just crush them every time you see one. Eventually you'll get rid of them. Unless they are MTS snails... that's a whole other story.


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## ZooTycoonMaster

I'm not sure if you have any other shrimp/fish in the tank, but a Dwarf Puffer will eat the snails (except for MTS).

an Assassin Snail or 2 will also take care of the snails.


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## bsmith

Is that an ADA DC? It looks like the Oracle has a larger bulb (I want one really bad but other things are more ahead of it in line.


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## ddtran46

bsmith782 said:


> Is that an ADA DC? It looks like the Oracle has a larger bulb (I want one really bad but other things are more ahead of it in line.


haha yeah its the ADA drop checkers.:thumbsup:


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## ddtran46

I looked up green spotted puffers on youtube and found out that they eat snails. I just came back from walmart and bought a Green Spotted puffer and a pot of hairgrass.


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## ddtran46

Darn...I was so disturbed by the snails that i just dumped in the puffer fish and in the morning i found it dead. It was because of the snails that I forgot that my tank isn't cycled yet. I also took out the giant hairgrass I planted last night because I didn't want it to invade the other plants like how dwarf hairgrass does. I wasted 10 bucks on nothing, I could have used that money for some nice plants.


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## chase127

moral of the story is, dont buy anything from wal mart


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## ZooTycoonMaster

Plus GSP's grow waaay too big for a Mini M:icon_eek:


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## ddtran46

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Plus GSP's grow waaay too big for a Mini M:icon_eek:


Yeah..I was just planning on letting the gsp getting rid of most of the snails then I would donate it to my lfs or flush it:icon_evil.


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## ddtran46

chris127 said:


> moral of the story is, dont buy anything from wal mart


Not true..I bought my first 10 gallon setup there. Walmart is where my hobby started. lol


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## chase127

hahaha back in the good ol days when they had 30 cent sodas? yeah, bye bye fun sunday visits hello corrupt small business slaughtering corporation. id rather pay 10% more at my LFS and support them over a cheap chain product.


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## ddtran46

Here are some new pictures of my tank. All I did to it so far was a 40% water change. The moss is turning brown for some reason, and there are gsa(I believe) on some of the ferns.


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## chase127

YOU! have been recruited. Join the Mini M force roud:


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## CL

Your tank looks great! It make me want to redo my m that I just planted yesterday  Check your water temps, I had moss turn brown one time when the tank got too hot


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## ddtran46

I'm not sure that it is the temperature that is causing my moss to turn brown. My tank is currently at 69 degrees and I think that this is the highest it goes.


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## ddtran46

What do you guys consider the lighting to be? Low-high? Just wondering, is the co2 really needed in my tank?


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## timme278

how long are you leaving the light on for? they may not be getting enough light and not photosynthesising enough :/


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## epicfish

ddtran46 said:


> I'm not sure that it is the temperature that is causing my moss to turn brown. My tank is currently at 69 degrees and I think that this is the highest it goes.


Moss thrives in cooler waters. How much light are you getting, like the previous poster asked?


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## ddtran46

The lights are on about 10 hours a day.


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## mizu-chan

Beautiful tank. I really love the layout. :thumbsup:


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## ch3fb0yrdee

I say, you shouldn't be too worried about the moss. When I first did my 10 gal shrimp tank, my Singapore moss was turing all brown, even dying, but after a couple weeks, it sprang back to life. 

On a side note, I saw that link you post for the glass intake and outtake lily pipes. Those looks sick man. Anyone else have input on them? For $22 dollars per set, its a freaking steal!


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## ddtran46

mizu-chan said:


> Beautiful tank. I really love the layout. :thumbsup:


Thanks mizu-chan!!! That means alot coming from you.


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## ddtran46

Here is a little update of the tank.


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## ddtran46

Just bought a 10k bulb to replace the 67k. Comments anyone?


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## nadavnl

very nice!!

u can add more red plants


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## chase127

if behind the DW and ferns you put something like rotala green with some rotala colorata mixed in it would look amazing


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## ddtran46

I was thinking about putting some stems in there, but they are kinda too messy to handle. I just took out my rotala indica out of my other tank because i didnt like the look of it.


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## Dollface

Do nothing and just wait for the moss to grow in, it'll look Fantastic.


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## juleeh

Wow nice tank. Im so jealous.


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## juleeh

Dollface said:


> Do nothing and just wait for the moss to grow in, *it'll look Fantastic*.


Yeah i hope this tank turns out nice.


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## CL

I like the 10000k better. When the fern fills out it will be great.


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## juleeh

clwatkins10 said:


> I like the 10000k better. When the fern fills out it will be great.


JW, is the 10k bulb suppose to be placed on the front or back?(currently the 67k is on the front and i replaced the back bulbs with the 10k). Does it even matter where it is placed?


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## CL

juleeh said:


> JW, is the 10k bulb suppose to be placed on the front or back?(currently the 67k is on the front and i replaced the back bulbs with the 10k). Does it even matter where it is placed?


nope, doesn't matter at all


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## mahoro

y not just paint the bg black so that way you won't see the wall, plus you can hide the 501 behind it.. thats what i did with both my 10g...


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## ddtran46

mahoro said:


> y not just paint the bg black so that way you won't see the wall, plus you can hide the 501 behind it.. thats what i did with both my 10g...


lol. Who would paint their ADA tank??:icon_roll I like the look of the wall for some reason. I like white backgrounds, makes everything seem larger to me.


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## ddtran46

There is something in my tank...it looks like small worms just floating and wiggling around the tank. Dont know what it is....Here are some pictures of my tank, just did a water change.








The blyxa is growing well..


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## mizu-chan

I love your set up. It looks _really _nice.


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## ddtran46

Ok. Just sold my Left 4 dead game for the xbox 360 and bought some lily pipes with the money. It was only 31 bucks...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=180283178924


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## Craigthor

How long about 2-3 weeks for delivery? You know the saying Once you go glass you never go back...

Craig


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## ddtran46

Craigthor said:


> How long about 2-3 weeks for delivery? You know the saying Once you go glass you never go back...
> 
> Craig


Yeah its about 2-3 weeks, I dont mind waiting. Next thing on my list...ADA therm. lol


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## bill|408

Craigthor said:


> How long about 2-3 weeks for delivery? You know the saying Once you go glass you never go back...
> 
> Craig


hahahaha


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## ddtran46

I went to my lfs today and guess what they had in stock??? Anubias Petite!!! They were 3.99 each and I just bought 2(that's all I could have afforded:icon_redf). Here are the pic of the petite..

















Any suggestions on where to place this??


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## ddtran46

Just bought 3 otos to help with the algae in my tank. I took some pictures of my tank today, hope you guys like it.
The oto's
















The petite that i bought yetserday.








The blyxa is growing well...








The moss is growing!!!


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## ddtran46

I just took some pictures of my tank with my phone yesterday, and I didnt realize how good it is till now.


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## ddtran46

Here is a picture I took of an oto behind my tank.(I know, its at a weird angle)


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## Gatekeeper

Tank looks good. Healthy growth. Plants are in good groupings and arrangements.

Some critique? 

Scape is a bit on the symmetrical side. The line of the rocks does not look natural, and looks very "placed". So do the diving branch limbs into the substrate, very "on purpose". The hardscape in general is just very "organized" and "equally proportioned" in all directions and loses the natural feel IMO.

Interesting choice of foreground substrate. Very large particle size for such a delicate planting arrangement. Its a bit "eye grabbing" and very contradicting to the rock hardscape IMO.

The Blyxa placement is a bit odd. Somehow it seems to work, but I think once the moss fills in, it may not work anymore. The hardscape really "cuts" the corners of this tank off making that area very strange and awkward to plant it seems. Perhaps if the Blyxa really bushes up it could be a long term fixture, but I am not sold on the longevity of this choice. However, I am not quite sure what would be good replacement either. This will be interesting to see develop.

I hope this didn't come off harsh.


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## ddtran46

gmccreedy said:


> Tank looks good. Healthy growth. Plants are in good groupings and arrangements.
> 
> Some critique?
> 
> Scape is a bit on the symmetrical side. The line of the rocks does not look natural, and looks very "placed". So do the diving branch limbs into the substrate, very "on purpose". The hardscape in general is just very "organized" and "equally proportioned" in all directions and loses the natural feel IMO.
> 
> Interesting choice of foreground substrate. Very large particle size for such a delicate planting arrangement. Its a bit "eye grabbing" and very contradicting to the rock hardscape IMO.
> 
> The Blyxa placement is a bit odd. Somehow it seems to work, but I think once the moss fills in, it may not work anymore. The hardscape really "cuts" the corners of this tank off making that area very strange and awkward to plant it seems. Perhaps if the Blyxa really bushes up it could be a long term fixture, but I am not sold on the longevity of this choice. However, I am not quite sure what would be good replacement either. This will be interesting to see develop.
> 
> I hope this didn't come off harsh.


You didnt come off harsh. lol. The rocks are the only ones that I had back when I was doing the scape. I went to some lfs and tried to look for some nice rocks, but no luck. I am hoping that the Blyxa will end up bushy like in most tanks(ex: Mizu-chan's 20L tank). When i bought the sand off the AFA site, I thought that it was suppose to be the size of playsand. I made a mistake of buying the sand online because a week later I found out that my lfs had some nice ADA bags of fine sand. Thanks for the critique:icon_smil


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## ddtran46

My lily pipes came today from Hong Kong!! It is much smaller than I expected it to be.


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## CL

Very nice


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## Craigthor

Nice!


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## ddtran46

Got some new fishes in my tank.








A pic of one of the smaller ones.








Rcs..








And some algae


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## lookin_around

Your tank is looking awesome! Definitely a cool plant selection. Your Blyxa is looking great, I hope that mine will look that good once it decides to stop melting haha.


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## aquaphish

I have not been on PT since you started your setup. I need to say it does look great! How ever the blyxa will continue to grow very fairly large for the mini-M. I suggest you get some tennulus for a replacement for the blyxa. But the overall setup nice and waiting for it to mature and the moss to grow in really good.

Good luck and the small amount of algae on the diffuser is really nothing to worry about just clean it off with some diluted bleach.


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## ddtran46

aquaphish said:


> I have not been on PT since you started your setup. I need to say it does look great! How ever the blyxa will continue to grow very fairly large for the mini-M. I suggest you get some tennulus for a replacement for the blyxa. But the overall setup nice and waiting for it to mature and the moss to grow in really good.
> 
> Good luck and the small amount of algae on the diffuser is really nothing to worry about just clean it off with some diluted bleach.


I actually want my blyxa to get big. lol. Yeah..the diffuser was dirty. Couldn't take it anymore so I cleaned it 2 days ago.


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## ddtran46

Do you guys think my ph is too low?? The co2 is at 1 bubbles per 2.5 seconds and the ph is at like 6.2:icon_eek:. What should I do??


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## ddtran46

darnit!! My threadfin rainbows just died.:icon_cry:


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## lookin_around

According to that drop checker, your Co2 levels look to be kinda high

Taken from Barrreport.com


> It will be green if you have 30 (actually 25 to 40) ppm of CO2 in the water. If it is yellow-green, you have too much CO2, about 50 ppm. If it is blue green, you have too little CO2, about 20 ppm.


If your fish died because of that, I'd look for signs of stress in the other fish and possibly do a water change to get those levels down before you have more die off.


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## ddtran46

I just did a water change yesterday...dont know how people have their co2 pushing out at 3bps and have a green drop checker. If i lower the co2 levels, whats the point on having it in?


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## chase127

ddtran46 said:


> If i lower the co2 levels, whats the point on having it in?


to maintain a stable level where both fish and plants can thrive in homeostasis....


----------



## lookin_around

ddtran46 said:


> I just did a water change yesterday...dont know how people have their co2 pushing out at 3bps and have a green drop checker. If i lower the co2 levels, whats the point on having it in?


I guess you just have a much more efficient way of diffusing it into your tank . Hopefully you'll get it all worked out soon, I've enjoyed seeing your tank develop.



chris127 said:


> to maintain a stable level where both fish and plants can thrive in homeostasis....


Haha the first thing that comes to mind when I read this is: Duh!

Couldn't help myself


----------



## chase127

and you cant really judge by BPS. some regs/bubble counters let out different sized bubbles so the amount of co2 is always going to be different. BPS is as arbitrary as WPG. judge co2 by your drop checker with 4dkh soln only. light green is what i keep mine at and the fish are fine and my plants are happy!


----------



## ddtran46

I only use 4dkh solution with the drop checker. haha. I have tried lowering the bbs before and the bubbles come out pretty big. The bubbles just go straight up the surface, don't think that it diffuses well. Would it be cool for the plants/fish if i take out the co2 and just dose excel?


----------



## chase127

dont take it out. co2 is 10000x better than excel. try putting the diffuser under your filter intake so it can dice up some bubbles


----------



## ddtran46

Lol. ok...I just lowered the bps to 1 for every 3-4 seconds or so. Hopefully the drop checker turns greenish on me.


----------



## chase127

if theres no fish in there now go ahead and crank that co2. it'll keep the algae at bay.


----------



## ddtran46

There are 3 otos and 4 rcs in there now:icon_roll. They seem like they are doing fine.


----------



## ddtran46

Oh yeah..the algae seems like it is going away since I have been dosing excel. I guess that's the good news. lol


----------



## pga7602

ddtran46: The stand you are using, how was it sold at target? Was it in the pet aisle or in the furniture aisle. I'm looking for the exact same stand, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find it. Thanks in advance!


----------



## lookin_around

pga7602 said:


> ddtran46: The stand you are using, how was it sold at target? Was it in the pet aisle or in the furniture aisle. I'm looking for the exact same stand, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find it. Thanks in advance!


Should be in the furniture aisle. Maybe they don't carry that specific one at every store. I just bought a bookshelf from Target that I'm using to put my nano on top of. Seems pretty sturdy for $45


----------



## ddtran46

pga7602 said:


> ddtran46: The stand you are using, how was it sold at target? Was it in the pet aisle or in the furniture aisle. I'm looking for the exact same stand, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find it. Thanks in advance!


I bought mines in the bookshelf aisles. It is near where they sell their vacuums:thumbsup:


----------



## theeviltwin

ddtran46,

Nice tank!

I'm not sure if you're still looking but if you want slate, check out Silverados on the Jackson Highway just a couple of miles east of Watt Ave.

Also, which shop had the anubias petite for $3.99? I saw some at Exotic last week but they were asking $12.99 each!


----------



## ddtran46

theeviltwin said:


> ddtran46,
> 
> Nice tank!
> 
> I'm not sure if you're still looking but if you want slate, check out Silverados on the Jackson Highway just a couple of miles east of Watt Ave.
> 
> Also, which shop had the anubias petite for $3.99? I saw some at Exotic last week but they were asking $12.99 each!


I went to exotics to buy the petites. I guess the guy we talked to was cool, so he sold it cheap to us.


----------



## ddtran46

I was bored so why not update my thread??








The algae is almost all gone on the moss








Blyxas are super bright. lol








The drop checker is pretty yellow. 








some overhead shots(The needle fern seems like it grew since I first got it.)


----------



## bsmith

How much ph solution did you add to your 4dkh solution to get it that dark?


----------



## ddtran46

I used whatever the recommended drops is stated in the little booklet that came with the drop checker. I believe that it is just 1 drop of reagent into the drop checker.


----------



## ch3fb0yrdee

Hey much and what brand was your drop checker?


----------



## Craigthor

ch3fb0yrdee said:


> Hey much and what brand was your drop checker?


Drop checker looks to be an ADA one. I love the look of mine and it fits well in the small tank.

Craig


----------



## Craigthor

If its ADA they are $42.


----------



## ch3fb0yrdee

Ya I was thinking it was ADA but I wanna know for sure what brand it is. I didn't see the ADA label on the drop checker.


----------



## Craigthor

ch3fb0yrdee said:


> Ya I was thinking it was ADA but I wanna know for sure what brand it is. I didn't see the ADA label on the drop checker.


Label is by the suction cup so only way to see it would be from the side of the tank. Its shape is identical to my ADA one.

Craig


----------



## Craigthor

Also here is the link to the post on the first page refering to the ADA drop checker.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/81344-first-ada-tank.html#post776637


----------



## ddtran46

Yeah its the ADA drop checker. Thanks Craigthor for answering him for me:thumbsup:. I didn't buy mines on the ADA site's. I bought mines from my lfs for 48 including tax.


----------



## ch3fb0yrdee

Ah I see. It's so slick. I love the design. 10x better than those other drop checkers.


----------



## ch3fb0yrdee

How are the lily pipes for you. Is your filter still the zoo med 501?


----------



## ddtran46

The lily pipes arent that great. Does no surface movements at all. lol. I just like the look of glass pipes. Yeah i still have the zoomed hooked to my tank.


----------



## ch3fb0yrdee

Ya the powerman pipes have no movement. It just shoots out of the tube of the lily.


----------



## ddtran46

Yeah...Just took out the powerman output pipe and put my spray bar back on.


----------



## ddtran46

I think that I am getting a little bored with this hobby now....Currently, I am deciding if i should sell my tanks or not. 

Oh yeah, I went to the AFA store in sf yesterday. It is a pretty cool store, smaller than I thought it would be. I actually stopped myself from getting anything there. lol. 
Here is just a little update of my tank. The spray bar is back on, now my co2 levels are perfect to me now. What else is there?...Oh, one of the rcs is berried. Not much has changed except some growth. Here are some pictures..


----------



## CL

Hey It's really starting to look nice!


----------



## gaday

Clown loaches love snails and the don't harm plants. They do better with at leas three.


----------



## lookin_around

ddtran46 said:


> I think that I am getting a little bored with this hobby now....Currently, I am deciding if i should sell my tanks or not.


I would think long and hard before making any big decisions. I know that I often get these feelings. I've already felt it a few times with my 2.5 I just started a month ago. I think to myself "Why the heck am I spending all this time and money on these things?" and at times it just doesn't make sense. But I've learned to just wait it out, and soon enough I realize why I have a passion for this hobby, and many others that I question.

You have spent a lot of time researching all of this stuff, lots of money to purchase it, and lots of time to put it all together and maintain it.

I know what your going through. 3 years ago I joined this forum, and really got addicted to the hobby. I started my own planted tank and loved what I was doing. Between being hit with algae constantly and the constant maintenance that I had to do (which really wasn't that much, I was just in high school and was lazy), I got tired of everything. So the tank slowly drifted into neglect, and with a 3 week trip away from home, it finally got out of control. When I got back I couldn't see through to the back of the tank because there was so much algae. So I tore down the tank, took out all the plants, and went back to fake plants for a while. Eventually I completely tore the tank down and got out of the hobby completely. About a year after I tore down the tank, I am back into the hobby.

Maybe you should consider doing something a little different to liven things up. Maybe a paladrium or something similar. Just a suggestion.


----------



## ddtran46

gaday said:


> Clown loaches love snails and the don't harm plants. They do better with at leas three.


Haha. I got the snail controlled already. Thanks for looking out though!!:thumbsup:


----------



## ddtran46

clwatkins10 said:


> Hey It's really starting to look nice!


I guess...:icon_roll


----------



## ddtran46

lookin_around said:


> I would think long and hard before making any big decisions. I know that I often get these feelings. I've already felt it a few times with my 2.5 I just started a month ago. I think to myself "Why the heck am I spending all this time and money on these things?" and at times it just doesn't make sense. But I've learned to just wait it out, and soon enough I realize why I have a passion for this hobby, and many others that I question.
> 
> You have spent a lot of time researching all of this stuff, lots of money to purchase it, and lots of time to put it all together and maintain it.
> 
> I know what your going through. 3 years ago I joined this forum, and really got addicted to the hobby. I started my own planted tank and loved what I was doing. Between being hit with algae constantly and the constant maintenance that I had to do (which really wasn't that much, I was just in high school and was lazy), I got tired of everything. So the tank slowly drifted into neglect, and with a 3 week trip away from home, it finally got out of control. When I got back I couldn't see through to the back of the tank because there was so much algae. So I tore down the tank, took out all the plants, and went back to fake plants for a while. Eventually I completely tore the tank down and got out of the hobby completely. About a year after I tore down the tank, I am back into the hobby.
> 
> Maybe you should consider doing something a little different to liven things up. Maybe a paladrium or something similar. Just a suggestion.


Haha. Its just because I am too busy to maintain these tanks that I realized I can live without them. I am not making the decisions to quit this hobby this instant. I might just take a break or so until i get everything straight. Or i might sell my other tanks and just keep this one. lol


----------



## Kayen

The last idea sounds nice, try turning it lower tech too, low tech tanks can look great too if done properly, and with your selection of plants it shouldn't be too too hard, right ?


----------



## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> The last idea sounds nice, try turning it lower tech too, low tech tanks can look great too if done properly, and with your selection of plants it shouldn't be too too hard, right ?


Lower tech?? I am not too sure what low tech tanks are.:icon_redf


----------



## Kayen

Crank down the light, crank down the CO2, crank down the ferts lol.
Do it to a degree so that it works, and it's easy enough for you.


----------



## ddtran46

Yeah..I dont dose anything now besides excel. haha. How would i crank down my lighting without spending any money? Ill try lower the co2 levels soon.


----------



## Kayen

Crank down by raising your light lol.


----------



## thief

Hmmm... I've had similar feelings too. Even right now everything is a stand still. My tanks looks awesome with little or no effort. Wat I find exciting in this hobby is layouts. I love Natural Layouts, Now I have spent over a $500 on Scaping materials alone! I think you just need to find what you really like about this hobby. Growing plants and learning about them, Aqua Scaping with what you feel, or even breeding certain fish in a planted tank. I am interested in it all, But in my eyes I see scaping has no limits! New discover all the time, Plants will always be plants, and also for fish. But when combined it creates a harmonious blend of nature.

I don't know though, I've only been in the planted hobby for a year now.


----------



## Ugly Genius

I think that feeling comes over most of us from time to time. It does for me, anyway.
lookin', kayen, and thief all made really good points. Pretty much everything they said, I have thought about my own tanks.
For me, planted tanks are an art. There is no science in it -- it's not even about the nurturing of plants and animals. It's the creation of tanks that I feel are beautiful in design, health, and balance that keeps me here.
I have several hobbies that allow me to express myself in various ways, but planted tanks are unique in that because I live in the city, they're the only hobby that allows me to feel a direct and constant connection to nature. Through them I translate the beauty I see around me everyday and put it on my kitchen counter in glass boxes filled with water.
When I come home after a long day at work and they're there doing their thing and a feeling of calm and satisfaction washes over me, I'm glad I didn't quit.

I will say that you seem to have tremendous talent and it would be a shame to not see it developed further.
All the talent in the world, however, is worthless without passion, and if that's lacking, yes, it's time to take a break.

Remember, nothing in this world is forever. So there is no rule that says that if you take a break, you can't come back.

In the same breath, I'll say, don't tear this one down yet. It's a beautiful tank.


----------



## Kayen

I absolutely agree with Thief and UG here, after you spent all that money on your tank it would be a shame to take it down afterall.
I started the hobby two years ago myself, and i've spent quite a bit, but being the cheapass i am i've always found a way to cut costs, and keep the tank relatively low-mid tech, low maintenance due to combinations of me being super busy alot with going to an academic high school, and the fact that i'm just plain out lazy, also with the fact that i didn't have a job, and everything was bought on change i found around. 

As with tanks, i've always found a way to make it reach a point, where maintenance has been cut down (ex. my 2.5g over summer didn't see a water change or trim for 3 months, all the while sporting (relatively) healthy plant growth, and little algae growth).
So at first try experimenting until you can find a regime that works for you, cause this is a nice tank, and it's bummer that it'll be taken down.

Well hopefully whatever decision you make, you won't regret it .


----------



## ddtran46

I was planning on tearing my 10 gallon tank but don't know what to do with the plants and shrimps living in there. I think that keeping one tank is fine with me.


----------



## Kayen

Well that sounds like a plan, perhaps you could give the plants and shrimp to me ?


----------



## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> Well that sounds like a plan, perhaps you could give the plants and shrimp to me ?


Haha. I don't think that I am going to ship the plants and shrimps. I never shipped these types of stuffs before. I might just sell these locally. lol.


----------



## thief

Well Plants are actually really easy. Ziplock bag, paper towel, water and bubble envelope and your set! I was really nervous at first but I have had successful shipments go all the way to Cali. !


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster

I'm sort of local!!! Ship some to me


----------



## ddtran46

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> I'm sort of local!!! Ship some to me


hahaha


----------



## ddtran46

My ottos help determine my cell phone's signal. lol


----------



## rrrrramos

I see a new AT&T commercial in the works


----------



## cintamas

....raising the bar.


----------



## ddtran46

Just bought neon tetras. They actually look pretty cool to me.


----------



## ddtran46

I just sold my 10 gallon and my gf's 2.5 yesterday. The same guy also offered to buy this Mini M setup....this is my last tank. Should I get rid of this tank and stop this hobby??


----------



## rrrrramos

The general consensus is that we all think this tank looks great. If you are finding there isn't time to tend to it anymore, or just don't feel like having it anymore, then there isn't really reason to keep it around. If you do sell it then a few months later decide you want to jump back in you're going to be kicking yourself though. 
In the end it's up to you, I doubt any of us are going to say that you should get rid of it.


----------



## ch3fb0yrdee

What rrrrramos said. If you sell it now, and decide to come back to it later, you will end up really kicking yourself. I find myself always doing this, may it be a video game, or a hobby. After selling my accounts for diablo II, WOW, and runescape multiply times, I've learn to just keep it. I always come running back!


----------



## Francis Xavier

ddtran, man, stay in the game. You spent good money on this equipment and it's not like you're not growing plants. If you're bored with it, just rescape it. Worst case scenario keep the gear around so that when the craving bites you've got the materials on hand and don't have to spend the money again to restart.

Those feelings of "oh my god, I just hate this ****" comes over everyone. I mean, just in a single day I'll go through the swings of love/hate with this hobby just setting up a new tank. You're all confident about the tank you've got running and feel you can grow anything with little problems, so you enthusiastically start setting up the next one, or redoing one, and halfway through and to the end you're just like 'god, maybe i'm not so good at this and I just got lucky before...I hope I don't kill this ****...god...why did I invest in this...my back hurts...I've got soil and rock strewn about my carpet...that's gonna be a bitch to clean up...' etc!

Redoing the scape and setup can both be really revitalizing for the hobby and really ****ty all at the same time. But you still get to look forward to that moment where you can finally sit back, catch the golden moment of the tank and be like "yeah...yeah...I did that...I'm so cool" and then setup a new setup that brings back your sense of humility REALLY quick.


----------



## Francis Xavier

Actually, I just thought. Maybe you just need a goal to shoot for and when you reach it, set another goal. Like everytime I'm doing something I set my bar of standard higher and higher and higher, so that everytime I setup a new tank or do a new layout I still learn an extreme amount from something you'd think would be easy by now - lets face it, it's vastly more entertaining when you're actively learning more about what you're doing. If you weren't learning new stuff as you went, then it'd just become monotonous.


----------



## bsmith

Since you have to ask...

If times atre hard then get rid of it. There will always be tanks and equipment when the time is more oppertune. 



ddtran46 said:


> I just sold my 10 gallon and my gf's 2.5 yesterday. The same guy also offered to buy this Mini M setup....this is my last tank. Should I get rid of this tank and stop this hobby??


----------



## H82LOS3

Dont sell the tank, KEEP IT!!

Love it :thumbsup:


----------



## MARIMOBALL

NO NO NO keep it its looking freakin great. How do you like the 10k bulb. You asked if the bulbs placement mattered. Yes it does If you ever put red stem plants in there then the 6700k bulb goes were the red plants are because 10K washes out the red color. The 10K bulbs make the water look clean and crisp. Thanks for review the PM lily pipes I have a zoo med and have been wanting to buy some. All that money time you invested. I say keep it. One day you might have a terrible day at work and you come home and sit in front of your tank and you see those fish swimming in there natural and calming tank as if they have no worry in the world. You just sit there and relax and stare for a while. Then you will know why your in this hobby. Its happened to me :fish:. But if you decide to sell then send it my way LOL.


----------



## ddtran46

Decided I am going to keep the tank and will rescape soon. I took some pictures today..might as well update. Hope you guys like it

*2-06-09*

















*5-3-09*


----------



## jono

here is my tank as of last month. let me know if you;d like any of the names of the plants. I too havea co2 compressure and you will have to trim back your plants often with one> ONE piece of advice, never use live food to your fish< you risk bacteria to your fish.


----------



## MedRed

awesome looking tank.


----------



## ddtran46

MedRed said:


> awesome looking tank.


Thanks *MedRed*:thumbsup:


----------



## ddtran46

Hey guys, I drew a scape I want for this tank. I did it during class so it is just a little sketch. What do you guys think??








http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p389/ddtran46/scan0001.jpg


----------



## MedRed

your sketch looks really nice. can't wait to see it implemented


----------



## ddtran46

Ok. Here is my hardscape that I have been planning for a while. Does it look ok?


----------



## ch3fb0yrdee

Is that new AS? I really like the new tank. The scape is slick, Blxya behind the main rock will work really well. What kind of rocks is it??

I feel that your old scape was really nice. If you'd just give it a bit more time to grow in, it would have looked wonderful!

Great new scapes, I cant wait to see what you decide to do with it.


----------



## ddtran46

Yeah its new AS. Its the normal Amazonia ones. I had to rescape the tank or I will get bored of this hobby. lol. I am not sure what kind of rock it is. For the plants, I plan of having dwarf hairgrass, hc, maybe glosso and maybe blyxa.


----------



## ddtran46

F*#K!! I stepped on the output of the lily pipes and it broke!!!!


----------



## FBG

ddtran46 said:


> F*#K!! I stepped on the output of the lily pipes and it broke!!!!


wow, bad luck...

I really like the layout you had, and the new layout should be really nice. 

Good luck!


----------



## ddtran46

I made the right side of the tank have a little slope to it. Does it look better?


----------



## nickcamp12345

i like that little valley. at first i was thinking it looks a little un-natural having the rocks go all around the sides of the tank except for the front but i personally think it looks a lot better now. good luck.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Sucks about the lily pipe. I broke my intake a week ago; dropped it in the tub when cleaning it.

Have fun with the new 'scape. Looking good so far. The rocks seem a tad short, but I know that often times what we see now versus what you see in your mind's eye when the tank is grown in is often very different. I'm sure it'll come out great.


----------



## ddtran46

Ugly Genius said:


> Sucks about the lily pipe. I broke my intake a week ago; dropped it in the tub when cleaning it.
> 
> Have fun with the new 'scape. Looking good so far. The rocks seem a tad short, but I know that often times what we see now versus what you see in your mind's eye when the tank is grown in is often very different. I'm sure it'll come out great.


Yeah the rocks does seem pretty short. I'm worried that the plants will hide most of the rocks.


----------



## Kayen

Perhaps try for more of an exaggerated sloping, that way plants up front won't cover as much of the rocks.


----------



## niptek

should make the front less than .5 inch of gravel makes the tank look more bigger/space. 

need some rocks? i have some for sale ryouh stones.


----------



## niptek

ddtran46 said:


> Yeah its new AS. Its the normal Amazonia ones. I had to rescape the tank or I will get bored of this hobby. lol. I am not sure what kind of rock it is. For the plants, I plan of having dwarf hairgrass, hc, maybe glosso and maybe blyxa.



i just sent some guy ROAK all my hair grass, some hc, micro swords, taiwan moss, fissidon and riccia. he lives near u in same city elk grove, CA. =/

dwarf hg would grow to cover ur rocks tho.


----------



## ddtran46

niptek said:


> should make the front less than .5 inch of gravel makes the tank look more bigger/space.
> 
> need some rocks? i have some for sale ryouh stones.


Would that be enough so that hc can grow?


----------



## ddtran46

I just moved some stuff around...I think this scape looks a little better.


----------



## Kayen

Is it me or you got a new lily out pipe.
And looks good, this tank - to me screams "DRY START ME".
Haha it's pretty easy to do, just spray whenever. I have a full HC carpet from barely any work, just spray spray and spray.
It would have gone faster if i had decent lights, which you do have  .


----------



## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> Is it me or you got a new lily out pipe.
> And looks good, this tank - to me screams "DRY START ME".
> Haha it's pretty easy to do, just spray whenever. I have a full HC carpet from barely any work, just spray spray and spray.
> It would have gone faster if i had decent lights, which you do have  .


I was planning to do a dry start when I receive my glosso. lol. Do you think that my lighting can grow hc and glosso? If not then I guess that I would have buy new lighting:icon_conf. The lily pipes are old. lol. I just attached a tube where the crack was on the lily pipe. The outlet of the lily pipes were only used for couple weeks when I first got them, then I switched it back to the spray bar.


----------



## Kayen

You're using that 9" 18 watt aqua light on a mini m right?
It should work, just lower it.
If your light can grow the stuff under water, it can grow it emersed.
If it's not enough put your old light there too.
And just spray every few days.
I'm lighting my tank with two 15w spirals - so you're 18w might be a bit lacking.


----------



## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> You're using that 9" 18 watt aqua light on a mini m right?
> It should work, just lower it.
> If your light can grow the stuff under water, it can grow it emersed.
> If it's not enough put your old light there too.
> And just spray every few days.
> I'm lighting my tank with two 15w spirals - so you're 18w might be a bit lacking.


Yeah I'm using those lights...I think that I will buy a 27 or 36 watt (forgot which one) light fixture that my lfs sells. It looks exactly like the coralife lighting. I believe it is 50 dollars...kinda pricey, but I want the "clean" look for my tank set up. lol.


----------



## ddtran46

Speaking of lights....









Before:









After:









The lights I just bought has 2 13 watt bulbs in it. 1 6700k and the other 10000k. Hopefully this is enough for hc and glosso.


----------



## Kayen

Not bad, it'll be adequate for HC and glosso on a Mini M.
So are you going to do a dry start? ;D
I got a phone call today that my LFS has HC and glosso, bigass pots for really cheap.
I'm tempted to buy another pot of glosso !
HC grows like a beast emersed, glosso apparently grows even faster if it's getting good light.
Light distribution is key, if you're not getting even light your plants won't grow that even, same thing goes for when it's underwater.


----------



## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> Not bad, it'll be adequate for HC and glosso on a Mini M.
> So are you going to do a dry start? ;D
> I got a phone call today that my LFS has HC and glosso, bigass pots for really cheap.
> I'm tempted to buy another pot of glosso !
> HC grows like a beast emersed, glosso apparently grows even faster if it's getting good light.
> Light distribution is key, if you're not getting even light your plants won't grow that even, same thing goes for when it's underwater.


I have never had glosso before, so I want it to be perfect for my first time. lol. What do you mean by even light?


----------



## Kayen

Even light distribution, so it's not beaming down on some spots more than others.
Glosso some people say is easier than HC.
I'm going to wait and see before i make my comment, but some of the glosso is growing vertically emersed for me - also my first time growing it.
Grrr i wannt it to stop growing up.
All in all just getting the light, and keeping the tank sealed is the essential thing for dry start tanks, and misting it often, i forgot to close the saran wrap a few times - that's a big nono, moisture all gone from your tank if left like that for too long.
Though my tank there's never enough moisture to 100% fog up the glass.


----------



## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> Even light distribution, so it's not beaming down on some spots more than others.
> Glosso some people say is easier than HC.
> I'm going to wait and see before i make my comment, but some of the glosso is growing vertically emersed for me - also my first time growing it.
> Grrr i wannt it to stop growing up.
> All in all just getting the light, and keeping the tank sealed is the essential thing for dry start tanks, and misting it often, i forgot to close the saran wrap a few times - that's a big nono, moisture all gone from your tank if left like that for too long.
> Though my tank there's never enough moisture to 100% fog up the glass.


Hopefully glosso is easier than hc. Hc has never failed on me before. I might just grow hc and glosso emersed for about a week or so until it establishes itself or something.


----------



## Kayen

haha, i find with most emersed threads i go through people are filling up their tanks too soon, the key to a ncie quick full carpet quick is to leave it, mines running on 2 months, but i've had bad lighting so that's going to cause some delays in growth speed, but the carpet is absolutely healthy, and some spots have it really thick already.
Plus you mentioned about being somewhat busy, so this way you just have to spray every now and then, and when you're ready to fill it'll be established for the most part.
(;
Also i forgot what filter you're using - the rapids / zoomed 501 still right ?
How's that working for you ?


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## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> haha, i find with most emersed threads i go through people are filling up their tanks too soon, the key to a ncie quick full carpet quick is to leave it, mines running on 2 months, but i've had bad lighting so that's going to cause some delays in growth speed, but the carpet is absolutely healthy, and some spots have it really thick already.
> Plus you mentioned about being somewhat busy, so this way you just have to spray every now and then, and when you're ready to fill it'll be established for the most part.
> (;
> Also i forgot what filter you're using - the rapids / zoomed 501 still right ?
> How's that working for you ?


I'm scared that if it becomes a carpet when emersed...then when i dump in the water its going to melt. lol. I have a small emersed tank full of hc that I am planning to use for this tank. Yeah. It's summer vacation now...I have all the time for this hobby now. The zoomed is pretty good;I think it gives the perfect flow for the mini m.


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## Kayen

Ah summer vacay for you.
I've got another 3 weeks of classes + 2 weeks of exams. It's going to be a pain.
Anyways in terms of melting i regularly flood my entire carpet with about half an inch of water above the top of the plants, and they stay like that for a week and then i drain it and resume sprays that or i just let it all evaporate over time, so far 0 melting, so i'm confident that my HC won't be melting - so hopefully the same case for you.
It's all trial and error - and my glosso hasn't melted as of yet. The only plant i have that's not growing super fast in there is the e tenellus micro, and the dwarf hairgrass, in case you wanted to use those plants. 
E tenellus micro is really nice IMO it's like a mini blyxa sort of plant.


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## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> Ah summer vacay for you.
> I've got another 3 weeks of classes + 2 weeks of exams. It's going to be a pain.
> Anyways in terms of melting i regularly flood my entire carpet with about half an inch of water above the top of the plants, and they stay like that for a week and then i drain it and resume sprays that or i just let it all evaporate over time, so far 0 melting, so i'm confident that my HC won't be melting - so hopefully the same case for you.
> It's all trial and error - and my glosso hasn't melted as of yet. The only plant i have that's not growing super fast in there is the e tenellus micro, and the dwarf hairgrass, in case you wanted to use those plants.
> E tenellus micro is really nice IMO it's like a mini blyxa sort of plant.


when are you going to fill up your custom tank? haha. Yeah..my friend was telling me to get e tenellus, but I'm not sure if i should get it or not.


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## Kayen

ddtran46 said:


> when are you going to fill up your custom tank? haha. Yeah..my friend was telling me to get e tenellus, but I'm not sure if i should get it or not.


Get it.
It looks spectacular when under water, has a nice red colour when happy i believe, the ones i have in my 33g aren't doing well but have a beautifil bronze / red colour .
I fill my custom whenever i get the stand, CO2, lighting sorted out, i might go bend some acrylic pipes too to replace the currently included equipment, or i might make an acrylic spray bar, and acrylic intake.
I'll fill it up in all due time.
So how long do you think you'll take with your tank?


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## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> Get it.
> It looks spectacular when under water, has a nice red colour when happy i believe, the ones i have in my 33g aren't doing well but have a beautifil bronze / red colour .
> I fill my custom whenever i get the stand, CO2, lighting sorted out, i might go bend some acrylic pipes too to replace the currently included equipment, or i might make an acrylic spray bar, and acrylic intake.
> I'll fill it up in all due time.
> So how long do you think you'll take with your tank?


I want this tank to be all green, cause I am not really a fan of red plants anymore. haha. Can't wait for you to fill up the tank:thumbsup: I am getting my glosso hopefully on tuesday, and I already have the hc/dwhg. So by tuesday i will start my emersed setup. I will post pictures on tuesday or wednesday, so tell me if I am doing it right. lol.


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## ddtran46

Ok..decided to go with the emersed setup until everything starts filling in. Received some glosso today, so hopefully it grows and fills in nicely. Here are some pictures I just took.
Day 1:


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## Kayen

Going for that mixed look?
My Glosso is really small for some reason, the leaves are slightly larger than HC o_0.

Nice start, just spray daily, and wait.
Should fill in for you around a month or so with your lights.
Also if you want you can stick some ferts in your spray mix ... not sure if it helps any or not but i haven't been paying attention much so yeah...
Your lower areas to the right may develop some algae, but otehrwise should be fine, i've had pockets of water but no algae happen so i suppose i'm lucky.


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## ddtran46

Kayen said:


> Going for that mixed look?
> My Glosso is really small for some reason, the leaves are slightly larger than HC o_0.
> 
> Nice start, just spray daily, and wait.
> Should fill in for you around a month or so with your lights.
> Also if you want you can stick some ferts in your spray mix ... not sure if it helps any or not but i haven't been paying attention much so yeah...
> Your lower areas to the right may develop some algae, but otehrwise should be fine, i've had pockets of water but no algae happen so i suppose i'm lucky.


would it be cool if i add some excel to the spray bottle?


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## CL

ddtran46 said:


> would it be cool if i add some excel to the spray bottle?


I've tried this. The thing is that excel breaks down in light 
supposedly...


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## Kayen

ddtran46 said:


> would it be cool if i add some excel to the spray bottle?


Adding excel had no noticable effect to me.


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## CL

I think that the plants get enough carbon from the co2 in the air.


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## ddtran46

Yeah..Don't think that I will add anything to the spray bottle. Just plain tap water should do fine. lol


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## malaybiswas

I have grown glosso in 2 of my tanks and submerged in both cases. They take 2-3 weeks to take off sending runners but once they start they take over quickly. 

Most carpet plants spread faster emersed because they have abundant co2 to photosynthesize. Underwater it is limited so keeping the co2 level above 20 ppm would help them spread faster. Once they catch up you can reset co2 to between 10-20 ppm. Good and even light on the substrate level is also key, or else they will tend to grow vertically than along the substrate.


I had bad results with submersed HC as well. They are extremely slow to spread runners but again I found that with increased CO2, they do somewhat better.


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## ddtran46

This was my first time with glosso...I am not please with it. Haha. I guess the glosso died on me or something, so I had replaced it with hc. Hopefully, I will try out glosso again one day and actually grow it nicely. Not much else had change besides a little growth here and there.


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## plantbrain

Mist and drain off the water excess etc every so often.

Once the Hc roots well and starts to run(3-4 weeks or so), then flood the tank.
Seems to work better than after it entirely fills in.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## ddtran46

Thanks for the tip Tom! 

I think there's a spider in my tank or something. lol. I see some spider webs in there. 

Oh yeah..some of the hc seems to be melting. Does anybody know the reason for this?


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## Francis Xavier

Sometimes HC will melt a little due to adjustment, that's normal. Unless your lighting is insufficient, which I don't think it is.


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## fish-aholic

ddtran46 said:


> Thanks for the tip Tom!
> 
> *I think there's a spider in my tank or something. lol. I see some spider webs in there. *
> 
> Oh yeah..some of the hc seems to be melting. Does anybody know the reason for this?


I have the exact same thing in my emersed tank. Weird.


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## deleted_user_16

i think its fungus, fungus likes wet, damp places, aka your emersed tank. i think ive had it before too.


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## ddtran46

Ok cool. I thought i was the only one who had it, so I don't feel as bad anymore. Because I thought I had a spider in there, I already filled up the tank for about 2 hours (I wanted to drown the spider. lol).


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## ddtran46

Currently, I am debating if I should rescape this tank or not. I am already getting bored with the current scape. My lfs has a nice variety of driftwood in stock. I did not know that having an emersed tank could be so boring. lol. 

I found a new inspiration for my new scape.
http://www.adana-usa.com/images/gallery0/3.jpg
or
http://www.adana-usa.com/images/gallery0/25.jpg


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## ddtran46

Who here likes dirty pipes?









Well... for sure I don't.


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## ddtran46

Did a water change today so I decided to take pictures. lol
Here is a picture of the tank 2 weeks after being filled:









My light setup that I have been using for the past week:


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## CL

Everything is lookin' gooood


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## ddtran46

clwatkins10 said:


> Everything is lookin' gooood


Thanks. haha

Today is the last day that I am going spend money on this hobby, but I still have to buy refills for the paintball tank. I just bought a 20oz co2 tank from Sports Chalet. Yes, I am downgrading from a 5lb to a 20 oz. Having a standard tank is too much of a hassle for me(too far of a drive to refill, while refilling a paintball tank is just minutes from my house).

Yeah..umm the dwarf hairgrass is growing in nicely. Some of the blades are about 6-7" tall. I recently dumped a bunch of rcs into the tank and some of them are uprooting the hc:icon_evil. I am not much of a fan of Aquasoil anymore; AS is too light and hard to plant things in it.

Well that's it for the update.


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## trigun808

i hope your not quitting!
(( 
dont and keep updating!!!!


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## ddtran46

I am starting to actually like the way my tank is coming out. The hc has stop growing funky looking and I like how my dwarf hairgrass looks. What else is new?...ummm I see couple shrimps on my carpet from time to time. All of my crs jumped out(kinda sad about it, but owell). 
Haven't posted pictures in a while, so why not post some today? lol


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## ddtran46

Oh yeah..the drop checker is a little blue because I did a water change today and replaced the solution in the drop checker.


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## bsmith

That dwarf hair grass is great looking.


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## mizu-chan

Looking good :thumbsup:


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## Kayen

Bit of algae but yeah looking good.


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## ddtran46

Haha. Yeah there's some algae on the glass but I'm too scared to clean it there. I might uproot the hc.


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## ddtran46

Took a picture of a little pearling...


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## ddtran46

Here's a picture of a 2.5 gallon emersed tank that I have been growing for the past few months under a 15 cfl bulb.. 
























Deciding to get rid of it cause I have no more open electricity outlets..I just bought rockband and a logitech driving force gt steering wheel on craigslist for 60 bucks last night!! Yeah..It's either a tank or video games(I chose games). 
So..If anyone in Elk Grove/Sac would like to buy this tank from me, that would be cool. lol. I'll also include the clip on lamp if you want.


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## ddtran46

I was getting tired of messing with my inline diffuser, so I just replaced it with my glass diffuser. When I was trying to fillup my bubble counter with water, I accidentally broke my bubble counter..(I might be a little too strong. haha). I am going to try to fix my bubble counter with my super high tech tools(going to superglue the pieces together then I am going to superglue the Co2 tubing around the crack). 

Well that's mostly it of the updates.


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## ddtran46

Haven't posted a picture in a while so here is one today. It's just a picture to show you guys what I have to see everyday...


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## hyphination

looking good! filled in pretty niceroud:


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## Kayen

you make it sound like a bad thing, when really , it's a good thing


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## ddtran46

Thanks *hyphination*.


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## ddtran46

I just went to Petsmart and bought myself a 250ml bottle of Seachem Flourish for $2.38 today. I have a quick question...Is the Flourish suppose to be brown and smelly?


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## rrrrramos

ddtran46 said:


> I just went to Petsmart and bought myself a 250ml bottle of Seachem Flourish for $2.38 today. I have a quick question...Is the Flourish suppose to be brown and smelly?


Yup! Drove my roommates crazy


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## ddtran46

rrrrramos said:


> Yup! Drove my roommates crazy


haha..The smell reminds me of old sushi. lol


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## dj2005

ddtran46 said:


> I just went to Petsmart and bought myself a 250ml bottle of Seachem Flourish for $2.38 today. I have a quick question...Is the Flourish suppose to be brown and smelly?


Did you go to the Petsmart on Laguna Blvd? At that price, I may have to pick some up. And shoot me a PM about what you want for the 2.5g tank.


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## bsmith

Yep.


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## Centromochlus

ddtran46 said:


> I just went to Petsmart and bought myself a 250ml bottle of Seachem Flourish for $2.38 today. I have a quick question...Is the Flourish suppose to be brown and smelly?



Yes. :red_mouth


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## KentCurtis

I have some algae near the bottom of the glass in my tank, it is so annoying


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## ddtran46

KentCurtis said:


> I have some algae near the bottom of the glass in my tank, it is so annoying


Haha. Forreals..I cannot get rid of the algae because the hc is touching the glass and I do not want to disturb the hc. lol


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## hyphination

Really? Is it bad to move the plants when cleaning algae off the glass? I always end up pushing my HC down with the algae scraper.:flick:


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## ddtran46

hyphination said:


> Really? Is it bad to move the plants when cleaning algae off the glass? I always end up pushing my HC down with the algae scraper.:flick:


I'm not sure if it is bad or not. I don't know how people clean the algae where the hc is at.


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## Outlawboss

I use a razorblade myself. Maybe it's the wrong way, but I always push the algae bits as far down into the substrate as I can as I scrape downward. My thought being that the light can't reach it, it dies, and becomes food for the other plants.


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## ddtran46

Outlawboss said:


> I use a razorblade myself. Maybe it's the wrong way, but I always push the algae bits as far down into the substrate as I can as I scrape downward. My thought being that the light can't reach it, it dies, and becomes food for the other plants.


 What kinda razor blade do you use? Will that scratch the glass?


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## Outlawboss

I just use a standard square type. 

Like this one.









Since the tanks are small, little razor like that works great. I am pretty careful about it, but I have never scratched the glass as far as I know.


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## ddtran46

Thanks alot *Outlawboss* for the picture. I will try to remove the algae tomorrow when I am not busy.


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## ddtran46

Did a water change today and took a water of the tank with the water half empty. I wish my grass could be like this with the water full. haha


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## dj2005

Hmm, I spy with my little eye, something beginning with A. 

Jokes aside, the HC is coming in nice and full. roud: How do you fill your tank without disrupting the HC roots?


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## ddtran46

dj2005 said:


> Hmm, I spy with my little eye, something beginning with A.
> 
> Jokes aside, the HC is coming in nice and full. roud: How do you fill your tank without disrupting the HC roots?


I just grab a cup of water and pour it in with my hand under the flow of the water.(does that make sense?) lol.


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## FrostyNYC

Tank looks great. Your rocks are getting covered by HC tho, and they're too pretty to cover up.

You could have that sweeping effect of the hairgrass at the waterline if you go with a taller grasslike plant.


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## ddtran46

FrostyNYC said:


> Tank looks great. Your rocks are getting covered by HC tho, and they're too pretty to cover up.
> 
> You could have that sweeping effect of the hairgrass at the waterline if you go with a taller grasslike plant.


Haha. Yeah the hc is getting kinda bushy...I was planning on trimming the hc but got lazy. I will trim it soon..i think.

Yeah I wish my lfs has some hairgrass in stock, but I was surprised when my dwarf hairgrass grew to be that long.


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## ddtran46

Just went to my lfs today and saw some ADA and Doaqua tanks....Should I start a another tank? My friend is offering to buy me a Doaqua tank(the Mini S size) for my birthday coming up....


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## roznalos

what LFS are u talking about??? AFA??


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## ddtran46

xximanoobxx said:


> what LFS are u talking about??? AFA??


No. lol. It's called Jojo's and it's located in Sac


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## CL

I thought that your tank was a 45F or a 60F when you posted that half empty shot.


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## roznalos

ddtran46 said:


> No. lol. It's called Jojo's and it's located in Sac


lol, i knew it, looking at your location, it would be a pain to drive to SF just to check out a LFS w/o purchasing any. :icon_mrgr


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## ddtran46

I will rescape this tank, so here are my last pictures of this tank.


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## cintamas

WOW! Those rocks are being swallowed, big time! You really have your way with the HC.

Great tank!


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## dj2005

I agree, that's impressive HC growth. Looks like the grass grew very well, too, and actually looks like what it did when your tank was half full. 

Are you going to keep the same plants and rocks for your next scape or doing something totally new?


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## ddtran46

dj2005 said:


> I agree, that's impressive HC growth. Looks like the grass grew very well, too, and actually looks like what it did when your tank was half full.
> 
> Are you going to keep the same plants and rocks for your next scape or doing something totally new?


I might just use the same rocks, plants and my old driftwood from my previous scape. Haven't figured out a scape yet, but yeah...I plan to start this rescape this week.


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## ddtran46

cintamas said:


> WOW! Those rocks are being swallowed, big time! You really have your way with the HC.
> 
> Great tank!


yeah. haha...Ime, Hc is pretty easy to grow.


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## ddtran46

Anyone In elk grove/ Sacramento wanna buy alot of hc and dwarf hairgrass for just 10 bucks? If no one buys it then it'll go in the trash.



Just finished with my new scape..I'll take pics when it clears up.


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## hyphination

HC is looking good! can I ask why your doing a rescape?


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## ddtran46

hyphination said:


> HC is looking good! can I ask why your doing a rescape?


I did a rescape because I was getting bored with the tank. I have to change things up once in a while to keep myself interested in this hobby. I don't know...I am weird like that.


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## ddtran46

Here is a current picture of my new scape. If my gf likes it then I guess I'm happy.


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## hyphination

ddtran46 said:


> I did a rescape because I was getting bored with the tank. I have to change things up once in a while to keep myself interested in this hobby. I don't know...I am weird like that.


I know what you mean man. I've never let any of my scapes grow out to its full potential just because I get bored of them too quickly. anyway I like this new scape once your HC fills in it'll look awesome


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## Outlawboss

I'm diggin' the sand lake in front. Once the HC fills in, that's going to look pretty sweet.


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## ZooTycoonMaster

Wow I love the piece of wood!


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## ddtran46

Outlawboss said:


> I'm diggin' the sand lake in front. Once the HC fills in, that's going to look pretty sweet.


Thanks...That is what I am hoping the HC will do for me.


Thanks *Zoo*


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## roznalos

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Wow I love the piece of wood!


Ditto, I like the wood you're using. I'm looking forward to this tank's progress. Good luck with the new scape!


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## airriick

lmao.
Go to Jojos and go to the fat manager then ask for a discount.
You'll prolly get one


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## ddtran46

airriick said:


> lmao.
> Go to Jojos and go to the fat manager then ask for a discount.
> You'll prolly get one


What did you get at jojos? How much of a discount? lol


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## ddtran46

My cleanup crew are doing their work.


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## kcirtappatrick

ddtran46 said:


> I did a rescape because I was getting bored with the tank. I have to change things up once in a while to keep myself interested in this hobby. I don't know...I am weird like that.





hyphination said:


> I know what you mean man. I've never let any of my scapes grow out to its full potential just because I get bored of them too quickly. anyway I like this new scape once your HC fills in it'll look awesome


i'm telling you guys just get more tanks! haha. 

i'm loving the new scape tran! i've always been a fan of scapes with the DW and the sand. can't wait till that HC fills in. its gonna look sick! roud:


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## CL

Hey man, is this tank still up and running?


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## ddtran46

CL said:


> Hey man, is this tank still up and running?


No, I do not have this tank anymore. I sold it a while back, but I do have a new tank I will be setting up soon.


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## CL

ddtran46 said:


> No, I do not have this tank anymore. I sold it a while back, but I do have a new tank I will be setting up soon.


Ah, I thought I remembered seeing somewhere that you broke it down, but figured I'd ask.


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