# Couple of tanks -Vincent



## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Ok, so I decided to do a planted tank right, so I went ahead and got my old 10 gallon out, went out and bought a bag of Eco-Complete and put it in, the pump was just to give it circulation until I could get a filter in








Then a week later, I went out, got a filter and a couple of rocks, I'm afraid I may be overfiltering (if there is such a thing), I got the Marineland 200, and it looks humongous in relation to the tank, but I already put it in and plugged it in, so it's too late to return it now, hopefully it won't be a problem.
















Although one nice thing about having a giant filter is that you can fit your heater inside it








As for lighting, I plan to make a little wooden stand and then attaching two clamp lamps onto it, as inspired by Hoppy: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/95561-10-gallon-riparium-experiment.html
I just ordered a pound of Potassium Sulfate, Potassium Nitrate, and Mono Potassium Phosphate, and I already have Flourish Comprehensive.
Then I'm going to try to put HC or glosso as a foreground, then Dwarf Hairgrass behind that, then IDK, I don't really like the way the rocks are positioned and need suggestions, thanks for looking.


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## itrack4u (Nov 16, 2009)

Is that pump (in the left corner) a Hagen Mini that some folks use as a diffuser?


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

No, it's just a powerhead I got from a recycle center for like 2 bucks.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Well today, I went ahead and got 3 new rocks, put them in








I'm not sure, at first I thought I'd like it because it was leaning, but now it looks like it's leaning too much, but if I put it straight up, then the two taller stone's tips would be sticking out of the water, and I don't really like the look of that anyway, then I started thinking that there isn't going to be a lot of space for plants/fish, so I started thinking I would take out the two larger stones, but then it looks too small that way and the larger stones cost a lot.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

And then after playing with it some more, I made this, same thing just pushed more vertically, I personally like it more, but would like some opinions.


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

VincentK said:


> I'm not sure, at first I thought I'd like it because it was leaning, but now it looks like it's leaning too much, but if I put it straight up, then the two taller stone's tips would be sticking out of the water, and I don't really like the look of that anyway, then I started thinking that there isn't going to be a lot of space for plants/fish, so I started thinking I would take out the two larger stones, but then it looks too small that way and the larger stones cost a lot.


Good start. Put the rocks in a towel and smash them with a hammer. See where that takes you.


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Sloping the substrate from low in the front to high in the back or in the corners might spark some creativity too.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

fastfreddie said:


> Good start. Put the rocks in a towel and smash them with a hammer. See where that takes you.


Do you still think I should or keep the new one I have now, if I do, I need ideas for what to do with the smaller pieces.


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

You'll get something that feels right. Is this your second planted tank? I see you have a 5.5 gallon. 

That's a lot of substrate you have in there. I would either remove some, or make a STRONG slope toward the back. Try to keep the font of the substrate just barely higher then the black trim on the bottom of your tank, and maybe keep the rear just lower than your filter intake. That alone will make the tank at least appear much larger than it does now. 

If you keep the rocks whole, maybe try laying them horizontally, with about 1/3 to half of each rock buried beneath the substrate. Sort of stagger them in the mid section. 

If you break them you have a little more to work with. You could stack the smaller pieces to create sort of a terrace wall, and pile substrate behind for an elevated planted area. You could also make rubble piles, and tuck in different types of anubias or java fern. 

Hard to describe, but if you keep experimenting, something will come to you. Take a break if you need to and look at other people's tanks or browse the aquascaping section. I bet you'll get something cool going.
Good luck roud:


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

fastfreddie said:


> You'll get something that feels right. Is this your second planted tank? I see you have a 5.5 gallon.
> 
> That's a lot of substrate you have in there. I would either remove some, or make a STRONG slope toward the back. Try to keep the font of the substrate just barely higher then the black trim on the bottom of your tank, and maybe keep the rear just lower than your filter intake. That alone will make the tank at least appear much larger than it does now.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the words of advice, I broke the biggest rock into three, but not the other ones, because I was really going for a big centerpiece rock or something, and after playing with it for a bit, I think I got one I like,








at first, my dad said it looked like it was giving the finger :red_mouth tell me what you think


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh, and I pushed the substrate back after I took the pic, in the front, it's a little less than a centimeter over the trim and I pushed the rest to the back, it looks nice, but hopefully it won't slide back down.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

tell your tank to stop flipping me the bird >.<


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

It does look like a middle finger! The tank looks bigger now with more smaller rocks. Have fun picking plants.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

I need lighting advice, I went out to Lowes and got two clamp lamps and 2 26watt 6500 CFLS, screwed some wood onto the back of the stand and set everything up, I just need some help now, first, will evaporation affect the bulbs? Second, I'm deciding whether or not I should have two, I think two, but my dad said one, attached are some pictures of the tank with lighting under two and under one.
With two
















and with one
















I'm trying to grow glosso and some dwarf hairgrass, still unsure what in the back, but I know these two plants need relatively high light along with co2 (DIY), another thing my dad suggested was replacing the 26 watt lights with 20 watt or 13 watt ones, opinions?


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Well, my dry ferts arrived today,








when I first got them, the first thing I thought of was cocaine, haha, and now I have no idea what to do when I dose them.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

YAY dry ferts are amazing! Hold on, where's the iron chelate and the CSM+B?


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

seds said:


> YAY dry ferts are amazing! Hold on, where's the iron chelate and the CSM+B?


Didn't get them, this is my first time getting dry ferts/macro ferts, so I wasn't sure what to get, since there were so many, so I just got the basics. :thumbsup:
EDIT: I also have no idea what those are.


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## JennaH (Sep 28, 2009)

i use these 3 plus flourish comprehensive and flourish iron. looks like a great start! i would start with 1 light and see how it goes, the second one will be easy enough to add if need be.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

JennaH said:


> i use these 3 plus flourish comprehensive and flourish iron. looks like a great start! i would start with 1 light and see how it goes, the second one will be easy enough to add if need be.


I use Flourish Comprehensive too, don't use iron though,
went out and got some storage for my ferts, came in 500 mL too, so that's good.:icon_smil








Keep them refrigerated right?


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

VincentK said:


> And then after playing with it some more, I made this, same thing just pushed more vertically, I personally like it more, but would like some opinions.


 If you would have put another rock jutting out to the left in this pic, you would have Pride Rock! :hihi:

Can't wait to see this puppy planted!
Your pal,


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

pianofish said:


> If you would have put another rock jutting out to the left in this pic, you would have Pride Rock! :hihi:
> 
> Can't wait to see this puppy planted!
> Your pal,


Yeah, I guess that would have been cool, never seen Lion King though, so I googled it, that would've looked nice too, thanks, I'm going this weekend to this store owned by this guy, I think I either saw him on these forums or miapg, but it's called Fantastic Fins, I'm going to pick up a couple glosso, and some other plants to put in the background, going to see what they have.


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

Sounds groovy!


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## nerdyjon (Sep 12, 2009)

VincentK said:


> Well, my dry ferts arrived today,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is cocaine. Don't you realize its the easiest way to ship around the country. "Monophosphate Pottasium" really means cocaine laced with acid.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

nerdyjon said:


> That is cocaine. Don't you realize its the easiest way to ship around the country. "Monophosphate Pottasium" really means cocaine laced with acid.


So I better get rid of it before the DEA knocks on my door huh? Party at my house anyone? Everyone gets a bit of "fertilizer" and "duckweed"


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## JennaH (Sep 28, 2009)

> So I better get rid of it before the DEA knocks on my door huh? Party at my house anyone? Everyone gets a bit of "fertilizer" and "duckweed"


haha. 
i hope you have luck with glosso, i could never get mine to stay low..


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

I love that DIY lamp stand. Very effective...


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

benon said:


> I love that DIY lamp stand. Very effective...





JennaH said:


> haha.
> i hope you have luck with glosso, i could never get mine to stay low..


 Thanks! Hopefully the stand will provide enough light for it to stay low, still not sure if I'm overdoing it with the light, but I'm just going to keep it, and see how that goes.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

*Finally, plants!!!*

Today, I went to a couple stores far away, and one of then is this place called Fantastic Fins, if anyone lives near Livonia, Michigan, definitely check that place out, their awesome! I went to get some glosso today, but they were out, so the guy pulled out some that were floating around, which was about a golfball worth, and gave it to me for free!  So I cut that up and stuck it in the substrate, not sure if that's how you plant it, but hopefully it'll live.
























I also got some Rotala Indica and some Ludiwiga
















I need some more background plants, I'm not sure what to get, I was thinking Water Sprite, but it grows too fast, so probably not.
Lastly, a full tank shot








I have DIY co2 with a Hagen Elite Mini to disperse it. That's all for this week :thumbsup:
EDIT: I moved that Rotala Indica all the way on the left a bit toward the middle, leaving more room for other plants.


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

Looking good. Keep up the good work.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Ok, so an update, the glosso is growing well, at the beginning of the week, I thought it was dying, but then they sprouted new green leaves! Also, I think 14 hours a day of light is too much, I see a wee bit of algae starting to grow. I added some Dwarf Hairgrass and I think I'm pretty much done for plants, now I'm just going to let it grow. Here are some pictures.








IDK if you can see in the picture, but in the bottom half of the plant, it's all brown, but it's nice and green on the top.








Here's the Dwarf Hairgrass, I got it from my 5 gallon, it was growing a lot faster than I thought it was.
















Aaaaand some more pictures of the glosso.








And here's what the whole tank looks like now.

In a lighter note, in my 20 gallon tank, MY EMERALD CORIES LAID EGGS  I'm not sure if they're going to hatch or not, but I'm just so happy because I guess I'm doing SOMETHING right, because a couple of days ago, I had an oto die, but this is making me feel a lot better.








You probably can't see them, but they're there, I'm going to temporarily put the cories in a bucket, then dump black pool filter sand over the gravel and stuff, then put them back in, I won't take any water out or anything. I love cories, the 20 gallon is a long, with only cories, and in my ten gallon, I'm going to put only pygmy cories (and maybe RCS).
Thanks for looking.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

So... today, I SAW SOME BABY CORIES SWIMMING AROUND IN MY NEW TANK, I'M SO HAPPY!!! I think I'm just going to leave them in the tank, and see if any survive, because I don't really have another tank that can house them


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## hamsterman (Jan 17, 2007)

Are you sure that's glosso? It looks more like HC or HM. 
https://www.aquascapeonline.com/ProdImages/plants/Dwarf_Baby_Tears_1.jpg


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

hamsterman said:


> Are you sure that's glosso? It looks more like HC or HM.
> https://www.aquascapeonline.com/ProdImages/plants/Dwarf_Baby_Tears_1.jpg


Yeah, when I got it, I wasn't sure what it was, it might be the one in the picture, because when I got it, it was really long, but it was floating around in the tank, so I cut it up and planted it, I hope it's HC not HM.


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

Grats on ze baby corys! Best of luck to you to raise em.
Your pal,


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Ok, update, my friend got two Balloon Rams, the store had them under a different name, but they only have them like once a year, so she was really excited, so I offered to hold them for a week or so. I'm not sure, but I think I may end up keeping them, because my friend made kind of an impulse buy. I have had so much algae grow in the tank since the last week, not sure what kind. I still really want Pygmy Cories, but I'm not sure if I can with the two Rams (which I believe are male and female, the male always follows the female around). Extremely bad pictures are below.
























A lot of algae as you can see.
















The fish! They seem to enjoy Hikari Sinking Wafers and frozen bloodworms.








Whole tank.

Yeah, so I need advice on what to do with the algae, I believe the algae was caused by the 14 hours of light I had going before I put the fish in. I'm putting the nutrients every few days. Yeah so, until next week!


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

That's definitely HM and not HC or Glosso. I know as I had a giant bush of the stuff. It is an easy to grow plant that grows quickly, and since it grows quickly, it gets minimal algae. It can get pretty tall (~5") so just trim it when it does so. Regular trimming should also promote more horizontal growth.

As for the algae, yes 14 hours is way too much. Looks like you could use some Nerites.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

holy algae batman! nice growth though, the HM is doing work! I cant wait to get my HM shipment this weekend


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Yeah, and I took the picture AFTER I cleaned the front glass, it's now down to 10 hours a day now, and yeah, I may need to get some kind of algae eater sometime soon.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Ok, so, one of the rams is now at my friend's, I guess she changed her mind, but it's ok, I still have one, also, I ordered some 20 RCS from epicfish, so hopefully they should be here soon, however, I read stories of rams going to town on RCS, but these rams are itty bitty, so I'm not sure, thoughts anyone?


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## jargonchipmunk (Dec 8, 2008)

the rams, when grown, will almost certainly make snacks of baby shrimp. THey'll probably pick on the adults as well. Maybe they wont' eat them, but they won't let them be comfortable. Especially in a ten gallon.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

It's already fully grown, will it still be a problem?


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Just received my shrimp from epicfish, (thanks again), and I put them into the tank, immediately, the ram started going after them, so I just went ahead and moved it to my 20 gallon. The shrimp were an amazing deal, much better than the $3 each at my LFS.
















Just some pictures of these fine shrimp








and the shot of the tank, not much has changed, there's still a bunch of algae, but the growth of new algae has slowed a lot. I took out the algae scraper because it was scratching the glass.


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## mrparker (Oct 23, 2009)

*Oh my*

That is a lot of algae, and your calmness about it makes me think i am OCD ( which i might be ) about algae. I just got some Flourish excel because i've been reading it helps fight algae and gives the plants good organic CO2. we'll see.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

mrparker said:


> That is a lot of algae, and your calmness about it makes me think i am OCD ( which i might be ) about algae. I just got some Flourish excel because i've been reading it helps fight algae and gives the plants good organic CO2. we'll see.


Haha, I guess I'm so calm because I've dealt with worse, (full outbreak of BGA) and know that this is nothing compared to it, so I'm just going to give it time.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

So, in a few hours, I may be going to a far away fish store to get some fish, I'm deciding between two types (may get both), one are CPDs, if they have them in stock, and the other are Pygmy Cories, which they always have in stock. So, my question is, will Pygmy Cories both shrimp/baby shrimp? I've heard they will and they won't with CPDs, or should I wait and let my shrimp colony grow a bit?

Decided against it, just going to get some otos.


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## spartanfish (Sep 9, 2009)

If you like visiting far away fish stores, and if you haven't been yet, I would highly recommend Preuss's in Lansing. I went there a bunch when I went to MSU and they are the best pet store I have ever been to. I will soon be making the long trip for my own tank


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh dang, Lansing it like far, far away from where I live, the far away place was like 40 minutes round trip, Preuss is like two hours round trip, but I will be sure to check it out if I ever go that far out, heard good things about it on miapg.


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## Captivate05 (Feb 23, 2010)

Preuss is awesome. I grew up with that place, and it's the only place I will get fish.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Yeah, so I went out and bought four otos, put them in, thought the one in my 20 gallon looked lonely, and now there are five otos in my 10 gallon, hopefully, these should help with my algae problem, which is still a big problem. I don't think I'm going to add any more fish to this tank, because I want my shrimp population to grow.
Oto:








Full tank shot:








Yeah, so, algae is still really bad, I think I might stop doing DIY co2 and switch to dosing Excel, but I've heard that can have negative effects on shrimp.

Now a completely unrelated matter, I got my ACT scores back today, I got a 28. At first I was like :icon_surp and then I was like :icon_mrgr but then I was like :icon_neut when I realized my GPA was still horrible.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

damn i got a 21 5 years ago lol. did they make it easier


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Haha, IDK maybe, when I took it, I thought I got at least half of the questions wrong.


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

I'm doing an every other day dosing of excel and all of my shrimp are fine. Just don't OD. I'm also doing the same thing, just shrimp and ottos, although I have some dwarf cory habrosus (they are only 1 cm long so they can't eat shrimp). Good luck mate,
Your pal,


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## AkCrimson (Dec 17, 2009)

I may have OD'd, or maybe just had bad luck, but before I setup my DIY I was dosing Excel and I had two dead shrimp in like 3 days so I stopped...and no more probs. 

Tank looks rough (algae wise), but if you are determined you will get rid of it and then marvel at how good of a job you did! Good luck.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks for the comments fellow members, I will see by next week, if the otos helped with the algae noticeably, then I might not get Excel and just order a diffuser for DIY co2 online, but if I don't see much difference, I may just do both.

So, uh, I think my algae problems may be traced back to my lighting, I think I may just go down to one, then see how that goes.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Ok, so, I got rid of one of the lights and only have one now, and a lot of the algae on the plants and rocks are gone, and the only algae that remains is the green ones on the wall that you have to scrape off. I kind of got lazy and stopped dosing fertilizers on the weekdays. I saw one of the RCS were berried the other day, I was pretty happy.








So, I can't really take any close up pictures because my camera isn't that great. The HM is growing really well, carpeting the foreground, also, the vals are growing well, but near the top they're turning brown and falling off.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Looking good for a one month old tank. Are you going to put on a background to clean up the look? I have had critters "stealing" glass scrapings as I cleaned the tank, maybe you will get lucky and your shrimp will want to eat it. I imagine it is all wrong but I try to grow the plants fast and don't worry about leaves dying or getting algae covered.

Just keep on watching. Part of the fun is beating the algae. I remember my green water saga. It was so interesting dosing nitrate and each day being able to see deeper into the tank.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Yeah, I'm going to add a background eventually, I'm just too lazy and don't know what to put in the back.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

So this isn't really an update, but I just found out my dad had one of those manual digital cameras, and he let me play around with it, so......
























A Red Wendtii I put in when all the leaves had fallen off and I got it for free.








I was wrong about there not being any algae, look at this stuff!








Some sort of snail, does anyone know what it is? It poops a lot.








A bad picture of one of my good shrimp.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Also, I ordered some Hikari Shrimp Cuisine and 50 Indian Almond Leaves off eBay, although, IDK what I'm going to do with the leaves, I've just heard great things about them. I'm thinking about putting oak leaves into here, to make it black water, IDK, I just thought that'd look|kool.

Also, I just saw Clash of the Titans... In 2D, I thought the theater would have it in 3D, but it didn't. Not that great to tell you the truth, but that might just be because I knew the whole Perseus story.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Yaha! Remember when I said I saw a berried shrimp, but I didn't have a camera? Today I saw it and ran and got the camera, but the pictures are blurry, because the shutter speed was low and I didn't have a tripod.








roud:


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

That looks like a brown/leopard ramshorn snail. Much like a pondsnail in terms of what they eat and how quickly they reproduce.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Yesh, first youtube video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTIdgA5Y_Fk
More berried shrimp!!!
Yes I was in my sleeping stuff and I was playing around with the camera.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

So, I got my Indian Almond Leaves (yay!), and apparently, I have nematodes (I think), they're all in my substrate, I just feel really disappointed now, I think it's because of all the food I put in there when I got my shrimp in an attempt to get them to eat it, but I will post some up to date pictures tomorrow.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Yah, so I after many trips to the LFS, they finally have CPDs in stock! (YESSSSS) So, I pretty much bought all of them, which was only like 10.








Three that split off from the main group
















The main group








Can't really see it, but what I believe are nematodes








FTS
I'm so happy right now, I think I may be giddy.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

You tank reminds me of my tank. all i can grow is algae and moss and its a rcs tank. Good luck on the algea.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Lol thanks, I've had some luck with it, a lot of the algae growing on the walls stopped, it's mostly on the rocks now.


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## farmhand (Jun 25, 2009)

mrparker said:


> That is a lot of algae, and your calmness about it makes me think i am OCD ( which i might be ) about algae.


Reading through your journal for the first time, and I read this, LOL.
Most people (including myself) get so wacked out over a little algae, you seem to take it easy and just enjoy your tank. I need to learn something from you.

Enjoying your tank. Keep it up!


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Beautiful CPD fish. I have been thinking about buying some for my 10g just to have some action going on.

As for the tank itself, it is looking much better with the algae dying down.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

farmhand said:


> Reading through your journal for the first time, and I read this, LOL.
> Most people (including myself) get so wacked out over a little algae, you seem to take it easy and just enjoy your tank. I need to learn something from you.
> 
> Enjoying your tank. Keep it up!


Thanks! Yeah, I think I'm going to start dosing ferts on weekdays now, see how that goes. The algae isn't too bad, I pulled a big bundle of it from the substrate in the lower right corner the other day.



dj2005 said:


> Beautiful CPD fish. I have been thinking about buying some for my 10g just to have some action going on.
> 
> As for the tank itself, it is looking much better with the algae dying down.


Thanks also! I was so excited when I saw they had it, my dad jumped when I told him how much I spent ($45 for 10), the LFS people were really nice too, they had it as $6 each but the guy gave me them for $4.50 each since I bought 10. You should definitely get some CPDs if you see any, they're awful shy right now but I see them darting around after I turned out the lights.

Also in an unrelated note, I ordered a 7.5 gallon Mr. Aqua cube from Marine Depot and a box of manzanita from manzanita.com, I will probably try some Onyx Sand on that.

Thanks for looking


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

So, this morning I found 1 dead fish and one like this








I put it in a tank with some CopperSafe, but I think it's already dead, I need help!


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

What is your ph? 

When the pH difference between the store water and your home water is between five tenths and a whole number, you need to give the matter some thought. Some fish will do just fine, while others will react negatively to such a pH change.

Info to adjust here. There it says if you adjust the ph you have to do it constantly. I found just doing it for a month max helped new fish.

Also add a bit of API water treatment with aloe in it.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

I just called them and asked, they said that they use the tap water and don't treat it besides adding copper to the water. I also use tap water, but I will check my water, I bought otos from them before and had none die at all, and otos are as sensitive as they come.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Ok, remember all that enthusiasm I had yesterday? It's pretty much gone now, I've had four or five die off, not sure what it is, they all had the white parts on their bodies, like in the photo above. I've pretty much given up on fish now, I figure I'm one of those shrimp and plant only type of guys, with the occasional catfish (I love them).


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

VincentK said:


> I just called them and asked, they said that they use the tap water and don't treat it besides adding copper to the water.


Then it seems you need to do as they did and add copper for about a month. I like the API water treatment for it contains aloe, which is good for healing sores.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Hilde said:


> Then it seems you need to do as they did and add copper for about a month. I like the API water treatment for it contains aloe, which is good for healing sores.


I don't have a quarantine tank =( but I asked but they said they didn't have anything with aloe, they said they had something that contained mala-something blue and copper, but IDK.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

VincentK said:


> I asked but they said they didn't have anything with aloe, they said they had something that contained mala-something blue and copper, but IDK.


I was referring to API stress coat.

For a quarantine tank check out craigslist.org in your area. You just have to add some old tank water, small bag of old gravel and a floating plant or moss to a quarantine tank.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh, I might have seen that at PetSmart, I don't have time to go pick it up now, but it's on my to buy list now, thanks for the help Hilde.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

VincentK said:


> Oh, I might have seen that at PetSmart. Thanks for the help Hilde.


Yeh, they probably have it. I find it everywhere even at Wall-mart. 

I just went through a similar experience with Neon Rainbows. They had developed bubbles and wasted away. Now my favorite fish are the Gold Danios. They are so hardy that some use them to cycle a tank.

How long did you cycle the tank? Have you tested your water?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

That looks quite a bit like Columnaris. If so you need to get a heavy-duty antibiotic going very quickly.

Don't mix meds, though; you'll need to do a big water change and use some carbon for a day to pull out the other stuff you were using.

Copper-containing meds will kill alll inverts in your tank and probably also render the tank unsafe for inverts ever again, since it can be absorbed into the silicone seams.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

lauraleellbp said:


> That looks quite a bit like Columnaris. If so you need to get a heavy-duty antibiotic going very quickly.
> 
> Don't mix meds, though; you'll need to do a big water change and use some carbon for a day to pull out the other stuff you were using.
> 
> Copper-containing meds will kill alll inverts in your tank and probably also render the tank unsafe for inverts ever again, since it can be absorbed into the silicone seams.


I think that's what it is, but I don't have access to Furan because none of my LFS sells any special antibiotics, Maracyn is the best thing I've seen, but I read that Maracyn doesn't work on Columnaris, all the fish I saw that had it are (unfortunately) dead, but I don't know how they got it, they all seemed to be doing fine at the shop.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Hilde said:


> Yeh, they probably have it. I find it everywhere even at Wall-mart.
> 
> I just went through a similar experience with Neon Rainbows. They had developed bubbles and wasted away. Now my favorite fish are the Gold Danios. They are so hardy that some use them to cycle a tank.
> 
> How long did you cycle the tank? Have you tested your water?


This tank has been up for a while, it had otos and RCS without a problem, I did test my water and it seemed to be fine.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

This journal is now about two tanks,








Mr. Aqua 7.5 gallon cube








Box of manzanita I got from Manzanita Burlworks








All of it sorted out, I think I may only end up using two or three pieces.


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

How much for that enormous box of manzanita? Where'd you order it from?


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

I got it for $25 and then some for shipping, www.manzanita.com


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Got some hardscape ideas,
















I was thinking of attaching java or christmas moss to them, but am torn between the two.
On a nicer note, it's all stormy and rainy where I am, very relaxing.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

So today I added a tad bit of plants, I went to a couple LFS, at one I found they had gigantic globs of narrow leaf Java ferns for so cheap! So I got all of it for $9 dollars, I also found some lace Java fern, which were at another LFS, I added them to the tank with some water,








the lace Java ferns are attached to the two lower pieces of driftwood,








and all of the narrow leaf ones are in the back.








How my other tank is looking, it's doing all right, nothing's really happening, the eggs on my RCS aren't hatching or anything.








What will go into my cube tank! I will just transfer some DHG and my Dwarf Puffer and Bumblebee Goby.
The water is extremely cloudy because of the Onyx Sand.
Thanks for looking y'all!


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

I like the cube a lot.

On that note, let me know if you want to sell the leftover manzanita wood.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

dj2005 said:


> On that note, let me know if you want to sell the leftover manzanita wood.


Haha, probably not, I am going to use it in my 2.5 gallon and 20 gallon later on, sorry.

Time for update!

So, during the week, I was going to pull out all this hair algae, but just before I did, I saw a bunch of baby RCS in it (I guess I didn't provide them moss)
























Yikes all that algae that the shrimp are in in the pictures are from the large mass of algae you can see in the middle on the rocks.








Moar babies soon?

Also, noticed something in my 20 gallon today!








Baby Emerald Cory!!!! I thought all the ones I had left in there had died, but apparently not!








Here are the ones that hatched from the eggs I saved.

If you didn't notice, no new pictures from my cube, right now is ugly with all the dust and stuff, I only have a power head in there, I ordered a Zoo Med 501 online and hopefully that will clear it up some. I tied Christmas moss to the driftwood and put some DHG in the foreground, there's still a little corner IDK what to do with.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Do you know your nitrate levels? That is one item that can lead algae to grow. It can be increased with dosing KNO3.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Yeah, I think it came from when I was dosing KNO3, before I had thought that KNO3 got rid of it, not the other way around, and always put a little extra, but now I'm not really dosing at all. I'm not really too worried about the algae, the shrimp seem to be enjoying it, so it's fine in my book.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

How long did it take for your wood to arrive?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

VincentK said:


> Yeah, I think it came from when I was dosing KNO3, before I had thought that KNO3 got rid of it, not the other way around, and always put a little extra, but now I'm not really dosing at all. I'm not really too worried about the algae, the shrimp seem to be enjoying it, so it's fine in my book.


As long as it is not suffocating the plants like BBA does it is okay.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

CL said:


> How long did it take for your wood to arrive?


About a week after ordering, maybe a little more (I ordered on Friday night, so had to wait until weekday to ship, arrived same week).



Hilde said:


> As long as it is not suffocating the plants like BBA does it is okay.


Yeah, it's only on the rocks, I'll get to removing it someday.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

So just a little update on my cube tank,








added some HC, Rotala, and E. Tenellus,








HC is dying a bit, but that's expected.

10 gallon is still whatever, kind of getting boring, but lots of new shrimp babies!

Went to the LFS and saw some White Cloud Minnows, totally fell in love, I am thinking about making my 20 gallon long tank something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JjRLqTxGQs them fish are awesome!


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Here's a picture of all my shrimpies in my 10 gallon, not very up to date, but I will update tomorrow, because I have finals, so it's only a half day.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Those shrimps are sweet. I really like the little guys. Beyond that, I think the tank should look pretty nice once things grow in. I've been debating on buying that same cube, and spend ten minutes in front of one trying to convince myself I don't need it every time I'm at the LFS.

Also, the cake is a lie.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks Acula, you should get the cube, I'm glad I did, glad to see some gamers in here too, I just beat it.

Ok, so quick update, I didn't really feel like getting out the good camera, so I just took em with my digital.









So here's my 10 gallon, I pulled out all the vals, they were spreading way to much and becoming a nuisance to pull out.









Here's some HC from my cube, not really dying off as much as I thought.









And here's some moss growing very well.









And here's a FTS, as you can see, a lot of algae. I stopped putting in fertilizers and am only putting Excel now.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Looks great dude! Hope you get that algae under control.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

With all that algae, it's starting to look like Oz!


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

VincentK said:


> Thanks Acula, you should get the cube, I'm glad I did, glad to see some gamers in here too, I just beat it.


If I do pick up that tank, I'm going to call it my weighted companion cube. Haha, I'm such a nerd...

But that's great moss you have. What's the plan for fauna in there, if I missed it? Any chance you're going to pick up a few CPO's, so I can just completely live through you?


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Want some tank with that algae? 

I'm amazed at how quickly the moss revived itself. I hope to see some less algaefied pictures of the cube soon.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Dr. Acula said:


> If I do pick up that tank, I'm going to call it my weighted companion cube. Haha, I'm such a nerd...
> 
> But that's great moss you have. What's the plan for fauna in there, if I missed it? Any chance you're going to pick up a few CPO's, so I can just completely live through you?


I've got a dwarf puffer and a bumblebee goby in there.

I'm going to try to add some ramhorn snail in from my 10 gallon to see if they eat any of the algae. It's starting to get better though, I had green water a bit back and I got rid of that in like 2-3 days.


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## hdthan (Mar 29, 2010)

You must have the patience of a saint! I have a bit of green spot algae in some of my tanks, and i lose sleep over it every time I see it! Really looking forward to this cube's development! Subscribed.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

VincentK said:


> And here's a FTS, as you can see, a lot of algae. I stopped putting in fertilizers and am only putting Excel now.


Have you decreased the lights to 5 hrs? They are the engines.


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

how much are you fertilizing?
how much light?
temperature?
co2?

you need more flow on the cube.

I suspect, too low/inconsistent co2, 10 hour photoperiod, low plant load, and no nutrient rich substrate...? am i right?


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

My lighting is now about 6-7 hours, I have no CO2 at all, just putting some Excel in, I guess my plant load is about med, the substrate has some stuff in ithttp://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/OnyxSand.html and I have a couple RootMedic in there. I do need more flow in the cube, I just don't know how, the flow on the ZooMed is incredibly low, I think I will have to put some kind of powerhead in there, but I don't know where yet. The green water is pretty much gone now, the algae slowed noticeably, but still lookin pretty messy. Will get pics up some time soon.


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

high flow and good cleanliness really should fix the hair algae after some manual removal. But you will always battle algae unless you do co2 via pressurized setup. IME. and you nee about twice as many plants. eco complete would be a VERY wise investment for both tanks at this point. as would many water changes.

algae is light/co2/and nutrient related, but also flow related. 

I have found that if you REALLY go for healthy plant's the algae will disappear.


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

get another filter, another zoomed or tom rapids or something. 

ALWAYS double or triple over filter i PROMISE it helps insane amounts!!!


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

i have 2 eheim 2213's on my 36"x18"x16" tank and it is BARELY enough. I wish i'd have gone with two 2215's. but two filters is usually better than one big filter i think...


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Might go to the ReUse center and get a used HOB, I saw a BioWheel there the other day for like $5, it was in new condition though.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Time for update!
My cube has cleared up, almost completely, so I figure I can start putting ferts in again, here's a picture.








In my 10 gallon, the algae is still growing, but much slower, my shrimp are breeding a lot, here's another picture.








Here's a guy I thought had died, in my cube, because of all the green water, I never could really see.








I also just got back from Fantastic Fins with 10 pygmy cories, which brings the total up to 15 now, which is where I think I will keep them at, they're currently in my 20 long, and two are juveniles, which the guy said were tank raised, I have a vid on youtube that's currently uploading, it's awesome to see these guys school, it feels kind of empty though, I'm thinking about hatchetfish, but scared of the whole jumping thing.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Here's the vid, excuse my creepy smiling and shaky hands.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4fVHBATTR8


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Love pygmy cories! Especially when they're in schools like that.

You're definitely going to have to get some covers if you get hatchets. I learned the hard way... D:


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

I went out today on a trail and found a little pond, on a log there was some moss growing, I grabbed a little, growing it in a little bucket, there were some bits of riccia in it too, does anyone know what moss this is?


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

10 gallon is doing well, I added those pieces of wood because I needed something to tie my Fissidens onto.








My cube, which is growing the moss very well, I think I may have to trim it, which I'm not really looking forward to. Also, it looks like there's a lot of algae on the side walls, but there isn't, I promise.








Finally, a pic of my female betta, which I really like a lot, it's in my room and swims up to the glass every time I come to look at her.

Thanks for looking.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I see the Rotalla in the 10 gallon is pinking. What light, fertz do you dose, do you have. 

The cube looks like it could use some KNO3.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

How's that bumblebee goby doing in there with what I assume is fresh water? I saw a couple of those guys at the LFS and was crazy tempted to get one or two, but always thought that they needed brackish. Or at least that it was pretty preferential.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Hilde, I have 26 watt CFL over both tanks, but currently I'm not dosing anything, but I will start again.
Acula, the bumblebee goby is doing well, I've read that there are two species; Brachygobius doriae, and Hypogymnogobius xanthozona. Brachy. doriae is brackish only and has broken bands. The other species, H. xanthozona has solid bands, and will do fine in either brackish or fresh.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Tearing down my 10 gallon, can the Eco be reused?


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

VincentK said:


> Tearing down my 10 gallon, can the Eco be reused?


Sure it can.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

*Update*









Here's my cube, it's looking nicer. I got rid of a lot of the algae and reduced the light to about 7 hours a day.

Here's my messy 20 gallon long, I'm still trying to get things figured out in this tank.








Left side
Just planted in the Myriophyllum, not sure if it will do well in low tech or not.









Right side









Whole thing









Lighting









Beckford's Pencilfish









Scarlet Badis


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Well the plant on the far left looks like it needs iron. Brightwell Fe should help. It contains- Iron oxide, iron sulfate.

I think some Ludwiga to separate the Rotala indica and Stargrass would make the plants stand out. For the Rotala indica and Stargrass both have pointed leaves.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Hilde said:


> Well the plant on the far left looks like it needs iron. Brightwell Fe should help. It contains- Iron oxide, iron sulfate.
> 
> I think some Ludwiga to separate the Rotala indica and Stargrass would make the plants stand out. For the Rotala indica and Stargrass both have pointed leaves.


Thanks, I will look for Ludwigia at my LFS, isn't iron bad for inverts though? Would Flourish Iron have the same effect? Or could I buy some dry iron chelate?

That's limnophila btw, at least it was sold to me as that.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

VincentK said:


> Thanks, I will look for Ludwigia at my LFS, isn't iron bad for inverts though?


Oh, I forgot about your shrimp. Probably better to get Kent freshwater (Kelp, boric acid, magnesium sulphate, sodium nitrate). Kelp is a natural form of iodine, potassium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, calcium sulphate, iron sulphate.


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## .Mko. (Sep 23, 2010)

lovin the 20 gallon long =) I want a tank by those dimensions some time in the future.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

.Mko. said:


> lovin the 20 gallon long =) I want a tank by those dimensions some time in the future.


Thanks , it's kind of a mess right now, there are dead snails and planaria everywhere.

Redid the 7.5 gallon, the algae was getting bad and it was too much of a hassle to try to maintain, so, I figure I'd try something new.

Got some HC, glosso, DHG, Cryptocoryne Parva, and Fissidens and tried an emersed growth start. At first it was going well...
















But then I figured I was doing something wrong, as most of my HC started dying off, so I filled it and got my co2 going (first paintball setup ).
I think it's doing alright, it just got cloudy, but I figured that would happen.
















Some of it seems to be growing out of the dead/dying plants. Gosh, this sure is familiar huh? Seems like just yesterday that I was watching new plants grow out of my dying HM with algae everywhere.

Finally, a full tank shot:









I'm still a bit iffy on the hardscape, I could use some opinions.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Got rid of the old rocks, I didn't really like the flatness of the old setup I had. Still not sure what plants I want to put in here.

I also ordered a 27w Archaea light, but it's currently out of stock, so it should be here within a couple of weeks.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

VincentK said:


> Here's my cube


For some reason didn't pay much attention to it earlier. Very nice!! The wood give the illusion that the tank is bigger. Where did you get the wood?


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks! I got the wood from Manzanita Burlworks at www.manzanita.com, they have a $25 dollar package for nano aquariums.


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