# Mistuhmarc's 20 Gallon Long|2 Gallon Shrimp Cube



## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Talked to the owner of the lfs here in Richmond, he recognizes me every time I walk in. This time, I got a little present for my tank. I had a thread back in the fish section of TPT asking about which fish to decide to put into the tank, but I guess on impulse, I wanted to buy them right away. So......









Here's a school of 10 green neon tetras. They're schooling pretty well, seeing a lot of grouping than shoaling from it seems, but it's probably cause they're still scared. roud:

While I was it, I decided to take a few other pics too:

Assassin Snail








Relaxing Oto








Amano








Fish haven't been eating, but I assume it's because they're still not used to the surroundings. I'll feed em brine shrimp tomorrow morning and see if they'll eat that.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Got the neons to nibble at brine shrimp, but they're not really eating a whole lot of it. Anyone got any tips on how to get them to eat? Or should I get some live food to get them interested? I also have some frozen bloodworms and I'm thinking of trying those out tomorrow.

Put in some more emersed belem hairgrass that I had growing in the tank below. I noticed that the left side had less hairgrass than the right, so I tried to even it out to make it look "fuller".

Took out about 10 runt stems of alternanthera reineckii mini for a buyer who was looking to grow it emersed. I'm debating about taking out the blyxa and putting in a different type of stem to make a 'bush' like forest in the two ends. I'm also thinking of getting a few stems of downoi to cover some of the areas in the middle.


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

Are you sitting there watching to see if your neons eat? My neon won't eat unless I walk away.. When I peek around the corner he'll be nibbling like crazy. But not if I'm near the tank. Shy guy


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

Oh! It's just personal preference but one thing I'd do if I were you is spraypaint the PVC light stand black to make it sort of "disappear".


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

CluelessAquarist said:


> Are you sitting there watching to see if your neons eat? My neon won't eat unless I walk away.. When I peek around the corner he'll be nibbling like crazy. But not if I'm near the tank. Shy guy


Mmm yeah, I usually stay to watch them eat mainly because when they eat, it helps me see if they'll like the food or just waste it and to see if they're suffering any illnesses. 



CluelessAquarist said:


> Oh! It's just personal preference but one thing I'd do if I were you is spraypaint the PVC light stand black to make it sort of "disappear".


That'd be a good idea. I'll probably do it once I move out since I don't really want to take it down at the moment just to spray paint it.



I'm also trying to consider what I should do with the background, either frost it, or create a black background to make colors pop out more. Both ideas sound good.


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

mistuhmarc said:


> I'm also trying to consider what I should do with the background, either frost it, or create a black background to make colors pop out more. Both ideas sound good.


I like black backgrounds a lot, but from what I've seen just in pictures on here, using the frosted background gives the tank more "depth" or dimension. Not sure why it looks that way to me, but I'm planning to scape my 28g and I'm making the same decision for my background. I'll probably go frosted just because it's not done much.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

CluelessAquarist said:


> I like black backgrounds a lot, but from what I've seen just in pictures on here, using the frosted background gives the tank more "depth" or dimension. Not sure why it looks that way to me, but I'm planning to scape my 28g and I'm making the same decision for my background. I'll probably go frosted just because it's not done much.


That's true. I think what I'll do is give it some time before I decide what kind of background I should put for the tank. In either way, it should look better than before.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

So today, I did what CluelessAquarist suggested and stayed farther away from the tank so the fish were comfortable eating. To my entertainment, the amanos would fight each other for the bloodworms. The neons on the other hand still avoided the food, but snatched it every now and then when they had the chance. Getting better results, but I'm hoping they're doing better.

On another note, I had a small project for myself. Was looking through diy projects for backgrounds to help myself research about what would make a tank look best. With this info, I learned that black backgrounds makes for a better "pop" in coloration while frosted-like backgrounds help create a feeling of depth. With this in consideration, I thought more about creating a depth for my tank. 

Since I'm a college student with no job, I opted for cheaper alternatives since I just recently spent most of my leftover money for a uhaul vehicle to move. While searching, I turn up with this: http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads/how-to-use-back-lighting-for-photography-purposes.5602/

Essentially, it explains that you could use a piece of tracing paper, along with different colored bags as well leds to create a nice background for the tank. I didn't have any colored bags or leds at the moment, so for now, it's just the tracing paper. Luckily for me, the art store nearby sold single sheets of tracing paper, leaving me only paying under $3 for an 18 by 24 inch sheet. 

Here I have the sheet being measured and cut to size. 









You can tell that the tracing paper is still see-through since light still passes through it with ease, but is enough to make it so that it can make other things behind the tank "invisible". 









Here's a before and after pic of the tank after installing the piece of tracing paper as a background. It's not much of a difference, but you can tell that the objects behind the tank have "disappeared". The cords as well as the HOB filter have been covered from view. 
















That's it for now. The otos have some really fat bellies, so I believe they're eating their own fill of food, which is good considering there's a good 5 of them in the tank.

Tank's definitely looking better than I first set up. Plants are giving off a more vibrant shade of color than previously.


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

Looks great so far  On the subject of the LED lighting for the background, here is a tank that looks great using the same idea. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=618865


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

CluelessAquarist said:


> Looks great so far  On the subject of the LED lighting for the background, here is a tank that looks great using the same idea. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=618865


Ah yes, his journal. It's a terrific journal and I love the way he placed the rocks. Yeah I'm thinking about doing something similar to that. There were a few items on amazon and fleabay that led sets with a build in remote that could give you several different variations to choose from. I think it's great and I'm planning on trying that out.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Received some regular Baby Tears in the mail today (Thanks @junglefowl!). I planted those in the back, then trimmed them to make it appear less messy than it would appear to be. 
I moved the Blyxa Japonica forward to allow space for the HM in the back, but do you guys think I should just remove the Blyxa and let the Baby Tears just cover up the entire back in a giant bush? 

Also trimmed the AR Mini a little and moved a few of the stems to a couple of other places. I removed the smaller heater because it wasn't working since it would constantly flicker on and off.


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

If it was up to me, I would replant the red plants and nestle them in the rocks. I thought the plant in the foreground was blyxa? Is the red plant also blyxa?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

CluelessAquarist said:


> If it was up to me, I would replant the red plants and nestle them in the rocks. I thought the plant in the foreground was blyxa? Is the red plant also blyxa?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That would seem like a good choice, but I have Hydrocotyle Sp. Japan already growing in the nook and crannies of the Seiryu stone. I might move all of the AR mini into the middle and RAOK the rest of the extras if I decide what to do with it. 

The plant in the foreground isn't blyxa and so aren't the red plants. The plant in the foreground is Eleocharis Sp. Belem, which is a variation of dwarf hairgrass that grows shorter and curls outwards as opposed to the more widely known dwarf hairgrass parvula. The red plants are Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini' which is like regular AR, but stays low.


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## junglefowl (Oct 30, 2012)

You're welcome! I'm glad the plant has a good home.
BTW, your tank looks amazing! I like to leave it as is and wait for the HM to grow taller in the back


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

junglefowl said:


> You're welcome! I'm glad the plant has a good home.
> BTW, your tank looks amazing! I like to leave it as is and wait for the HM to grow taller in the back


Thanks!  I'm sure it'll look great once the HM grows taller. I hope to trim it and train it to look more bush-like in appearance. 

I think I might make a gap between the AR Mini, meaning I'll separate it so that there is a divide with the red plants on both sides.


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

Oh, now I see the blyxa hahaha. I like where it is personally, but it's up to each tank owner to choose


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

CluelessAquarist said:


> Oh, now I see the blyxa hahaha. I like where it is personally, but it's up to each tank owner to choose


Indeed . Blyxa gets so much larger and bushier than that; at one point I had 4 stems branching off from the same stem (yikes). It's a sucker for high light and co2 and it looks beautiful under those conditions. Turns a slight red too under intense light giving it a mixture of a green-red coloration.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

So I tried a little experiment with some dwarf baby tears and decided to put some in a small glass container and leave it outside in the sun to see if it'd grow faster. Turns out, the fact that it was too hot and I didn't check on it as often as I should've caused it to die...shouldn't have left the plastic on to keep it humid. Tons and tons of water droplets on the plastic though. Oops. So now as a result, I had a small glass container partially covered in dead HC. Least I still have more besides that small amount. 

Found some Riccia in my bucket when I was trying to throw away some old pieces of moss. Tied it to a small piece of slate and dipped that in my tank. Highly certain that it'll grow quickly. Never tried out Riccia before. 

I also added a few cherry shrimp in the hopes that they'll fare better than the ones I had previously. Considering I tried to EI dose a 5.5 gallon with co2, they more than likely perished at my hands. Silly mistakes .


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

*Made a local trade today.*

Traded some emersed HC and UG for some Downoi. 8 crowns was a lot and they looked great! (Thanks swissian!) 









Did some work today moving the UG out of the emersed tank (it wasn't growing fast so I moved it into it's own container) and then replaced the UG with Hydrocotyle Sp. Japan that was growing on the far right hand side along with the Ludwigia Sp. Red and Rotala Sp. Green. Added a couple of Anubias Nana sproutlings in the back and placed the downoi where the Hydrocotyle used to be. The emersed set up is doing fine, with all types coming out with tons of growth. I'm definitely close to splitting up the dwarf baby tears so that they can grow out faster. They're all clumping up in one area, so some areas aren't getting filled up. 

Overhead shot:








Downoi, Ludwigia Sp Red. You can't see the rotala sp. green or the anubias, but they're in this section:









Dwarf Hairgrass Sp. 'Belem':









Hydrocotyle Sp. Japan. I got lazy and stuck them into the dirt since I knew they bounced back quick and grew quick too:









Dwarf Baby Tears:









Here's the UG I have left growing in a separate container. It's so slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I'm definitely really impatient...:









The tank itself is doing pretty great, hairgrass is growing in, and I pretty much sold a lot of my AR mini. It'll grow back eventually, but that the area in the back is now sparse. Oops haha.

Here's a tank shot for now: 









Next week I'm going to have to tear down the tank sadly so that I can move yet again to go back home for the month of summer where I'll hopefully find a part time job until I go back to college. Maybe then I can invest in some side projects as my class currently has been kicking my butt..


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

Tank looks great man. Summer break for me too


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

CluelessAquarist said:


> Tank looks great man. Summer break for me too


Nice . You in college? What major are you if you are? I'm thinking of doing a rescape of the tank once I get home, I had another idea that I wanted to try out.


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

mistuhmarc said:


> Nice . You in college? What major are you if you are? I'm thinking of doing a rescape of the tank once I get home, I had another idea that I wanted to try out.


Yeah I am. I'm doing my required general classes right now. I was going to go into business but I'm not sure it really interests/suits me now that I've experienced what it really is.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

CluelessAquarist said:


> Yeah I am. I'm doing my required general classes right now. I was going to go into business but I'm not sure it really interests/suits me now that I've experienced what it really is.


I know what you mean when it comes to really getting into a major. I was actually pre-dentistry before switching over to computer science because I wanted to please my parents. My surprise when they wanted me to be happy and pick whatever is best haha. Of course, being the nerd I am, I still ended up going into programming anyways :hihi:. Figure out your major while you're still doing your general classes right now, it'll definitely put you in a better position than deciding to change it later once you've finished a lot of your major's classes. In my opinion, if you're not enjoying your job, then there was no point in getting there in the first place.


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## hryder77 (May 24, 2012)

wow nice setup! Same equipment as myself ! did you de-rim a standard 10G tank?


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

hryder77 said:


> wow nice setup! Same equipment as myself ! did you de-rim a standard 10G tank?


Yeah man . I used a razor and a small box cutting blade to remove the black trimming as best I can. Afterwards, I used the razor to just remove the silicone that was found underneath. Not the best work I've done, but in my opinion, this was the best first time I've derimmed a tank. Sanded down the tops too. I didn't see that many sharp edges as many people mentioned about de-rimming a tank though. Odd :confused1:.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

So now I'm back at my parent's place for the summer, having to move back all of my aquarium stuff and the such. That work was TOTALLY enjoyable :bounce: /sarcasm. Anyways, I totally rescaped the aquarium, tried to bring the AR mini to the front and create a bush of HM in the back. Dwarf Hairgrass Belem is still my carpet of choice and prior to the move, had tripled in amount due to all of the runners. Those roots were amazing though. 

















This time though, I added something new. Remember the trace paper from before? I had an extra marineland led that I had lying around since I had gotten rid of one of my smaller tank. I added that LED to the back of the tank and I thought it looked pretty interesting. I liked the look of the lighted background, it definitely showed up more to me than a black background would. 









Here's the tank with the lights turned on. My tank is filthy; might not show up in the pics, but when I brought it home, the aquasoil left a residue on the glass walls so now it's slightly brown. I'm going to get that cleaned up soon. 









The baby tears definitely need a trim, some stems are looking bigger than others. I might remove the Blyxa and put that in my parent's tank downstairs. It's a big mess and I'm planning on completely tearing it down and restarting it as dirted tank to make maintenance a lot less difficult. I'm planning on starting a journal on that too so keep an eye out for it!


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Sorry about the time in between my posts, been busy with work and trying to finish some school related shenanigans while I'm home. But overall, I've changed a few things with the tank. Took out the AR mini, but left a stem of it in the background. I replaced it with needle leaf java fern instead to take up it's place. I've also tied some riccia to some small pieces of slate to add like a bushy like appearance near the java fern. It worked out well. I just have to keep trimming it almost every so often. Really fast plant there...










Tank shot of the tank as of 7/24/14. It's been going pretty well, the hairgrass is definitely starting to carpet the entire tank. I remembered when I just had a small pot of it. Now it's just been growing like a weed in my tank. Nice to know how fast the growth can get within a few months. 











Added a couple of inhabitants. Introducing the new juvenile apistogramma cacatuoides pair. They're still pretty small, so the size of the 10 gallon should be fine until I plan to upgrade to my 20 gallon long at the beginning of the new semester. 










The male's staring at his reflection haha. :hihi: He must think there's another male trying to steal his territory. 




















I'm getting pretty crazy with the editing of the photos...I'd like to know how people edit out their photos so mine don't look a little too washed out. At the same time, I'm kinda positive I saturated the photo a litttllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeee too much, should definitely tone that down a little.

I'm really thinking of getting rid of my green neons...they're like almost NEVER out when I want them to be. The moment they know I'm nearby, they'll dart to the back of the tank. I get that they're a shy species, but not this shy . I'll try to get some embers shipped out or try to locate some so that I can have them as my schooling fish instead of these neons. I feel as if the tank feels really empty about them..

I lost a few amanos recently. They're all jumping out mainly because of their breeding habits from what I found out. I've lowered the water level so it's not as close to the very tip of the tank as it used to be. The spray bar also has been lowered. But that's been a bummer though, I used to have like 12 ish amano shrimp prior to this situation. Now all I have is 4....that's a little depressing.

Any suggestions as usual?  If there's anything I can do to improve, I'd love to hear it.


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

Wow!! Tank looks awesome!! IMO I don't think it needs a trim. I love the natural look. What kind of fish is that?!


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

pewpewkittah said:


> Wow!! Tank looks awesome!! IMO I don't think it needs a trim. I love the natural look. What kind of fish is that?!


I do too. I trim the regular baby tears in the back every week mainly because the light's so strong that they're growing downwards. I'm thinking that once I switch over to the ecoxotic e series, that I'll either lower the intensity of the light, or raise it higher. 

The fish are Cockatoo Apistos. Dwarf cichlids that don't get as large as the other cichlids . Little harder to obtain, didn't find them at the lfs I work at sadly.


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## Looking4water (Jul 27, 2014)

Awesome growth. I hope my recently planted hair grass will look half as good as yours, Cheers.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Looking4water said:


> Awesome growth. I hope my recently planted hair grass will look half as good as yours, Cheers.


To be honest, it's actually not as difficult as it seems when it comes to hairgrass. Mine's mainly due to the added ferts and co2 that I've been adding to the tank. Not to mention the lack of algae since my last major problem (I really hope it doesn't come back :angryfire). But good luck with your growth! If you have any problems with it, let me know!


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## newbieplanter (Jan 13, 2013)

Great looken little tank there.


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## Dragonxflare (Jul 1, 2014)

Very nice looking tank!


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

newbieplanter said:


> Great looken little tank there.






Dragonxflare said:


> Very nice looking tank!



Thanks guys! 

So I have a new teaser for you guys today. Just got it from UPS.










Bouta turn it on and see how bright it is. I'm super excited .


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

So I moved into my new apartment in Richmond so I can get ready for the upcoming semester. Tore down the 10 gallon and switched over to a 20 gallon long in its place. Derimmed it as well and started adding water. It's doing fine at the moment while the fish are in a bucket. I've added a filter to their bucket as well since I'm sure they'll be in there for a decent amount of time. 

I ordered some driftwood a while back from Tom Barr so that's been added to the tank. It's still buoyant so I've added stones to weigh them down for the time being. 

Not sure how to plant this though. Still trying to figure out plant layouts. Any ideas?


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Sorry about the wait. College was getting to me and I had a lot of work to do. Picked up a work study job to get myself a little extra money for funds too. Asides from that, it also took me a while to get wifi set up for my apartment. Much hassle...Here's a shot of the tank as is. Driftwood finally sunk down and finally in place.










This is only temporary. I'm going to fix up the tank a bit more once the shipments on a new filter and substrate come in. Ordered some S.T international aquasoil and a eheim 2215 filter. Never had an eheim before so this will be new .


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

I'm going for the nature aquarium approach, so let's see how this goes.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Looks like something else came in the mail today too!


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

mistuhmarc said:


> Sorry about the wait. College was getting to me and I had a lot of work to do. Picked up a work study job to get myself a little extra money for funds too. Asides from that, it also took me a while to get wifi set up for my apartment. Much hassle...Here's a shot of the tank as is. Driftwood finally sunk down and finally in place.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think it looks awesome!! You've accomplished the natural look very well :3. Looking forward to the plants growing in. 

How are you liking the e series? I might get one for my 60p...


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

pewpewkittah said:


> I think it looks awesome!! You've accomplished the natural look very well :3. Looking forward to the plants growing in.
> 
> How are you liking the e series? I might get one for my 60p...



Me too. I'm trying to figure out what plants to put in the back to make it look nicer.

I think it works great. Excellent light, I'm able to lower the intensity to the amount I want. I'm planning to eventually raise it so I can set it at it's max PAR. At night, I set the settings to the green and blue LEDs to "5" and the others to 0 to give it a nice moonlight glow. At night it looks amazing.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Don't think it can be seen really well, but this is what the tank looks like in the dark. Definitely a lot nicer looking in person.


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## pandacory (Apr 18, 2011)

Are you running the 24" model?

Looks like you are getting good coverage. Are you wanting for light at the edges or see plants reaching inward for the light?


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## Xzavier247 (Aug 9, 2014)

How are you liking the e series?


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## AnotherHobby (Mar 5, 2012)

Nice looking tank! What's your moonlight setting? I'm using 0 for white and 3 across the board for the others.

Also, moonlight is very hard to take a photo of unless you have a DSLR that can do high ISO with low noise. If you have a tripod, you can do longer exposures, so you don't have to go crazy high ISO.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

pandacory said:


> Are you running the 24" model?
> 
> Looks like you are getting good coverage. Are you wanting for light at the edges or see plants reaching inward for the light?


Yeah, I figured it looked better than having a light that extended past the edges of the tank. But now I have areas where the light doesn't reach because the angle of the light only reaches so far....

I'm hoping to hang the light eventually, working on that slowly but eventually . Once I hang it, I'll raise the intensity of the light. 



Xzavier247 said:


> How are you liking the e series?


Compared to my old fixture, the Finnex Ray 2, it was definitely a step up. Ramp timer, remote controllable, and RGB leds definitely enticed me at first. Turning it on for the first time, I realized there was actually a difference in color after adding the light. Definitely more intense colors. I can see how the finnex can wash out some colors. Worth the price.



AnotherHobby said:


> Nice looking tank! What's your moonlight setting? I'm using 0 for white and 3 across the board for the others.
> 
> Also, moonlight is very hard to take a photo of unless you have a DSLR that can do high ISO with low noise. If you have a tripod, you can do longer exposures, so you don't have to go crazy high ISO.


My setting is 5 for both green and blue. Red doesn't sound bad considering the fish won't see that at night. I should try that/ 

Yeah, I figured...only problem is, I don't have a fancy camera haha. All of the pictures I've been taking have been with my iPhone 4S, which, in my opinion takes decent pictures after like 50 other pics . How great is that?


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Just finished moving around the driftwood. Added a little extra substrate to bank it up higher behind the driftwood. Removed the larger java fern and added Rotala Sp. Green from my emersed tank to attempt another go at a bush behind the needle leaf java fern.

I might remove the piece of driftwood from the back. I think it takes a little too much away from the overall scape. Thoughts?


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

mistuhmarc said:


> Just finished moving around the driftwood. Added a little extra substrate to bank it up higher behind the driftwood. Removed the larger java fern and added Rotala Sp. Green from my emersed tank to attempt another go at a bush behind the needle leaf java fern.
> 
> I might remove the piece of driftwood from the back. I think it takes a little too much away from the overall scape. Thoughts?


I can't wait till that beautiful carpet fills in!! 

I agree with removing the large piece of wood. I think a thin piece maybe pointed at an upward angle would look nice, you could even add another type of middle ground plant to fill that area? A bush of anubias, blyxa, or crypt. But its all up to you, I think you've done great so far!! :bounce:


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

pewpewkittah said:


> I can't wait till that beautiful carpet fills in!!
> 
> I agree with removing the large piece of wood. I think a thin piece maybe pointed at an upward angle would look nice, you could even add another type of middle ground plant to fill that area? A bush of anubias, blyxa, or crypt. But its all up to you, I think you've done great so far!! :bounce:














Does this look better? I'm always unsatisfied by my placement. But it does look better than the larger piece. 

As for mid ground plants, I attempted to plant hydrocotyle in the small opening in between the driftwood and rock. So hopefully it will cover that area once it starts to grow out. If not, I'll think about blyxa instead. I realized there's an area between the rocks and the grass so that proves to be difficult to fill in because then the rocks would be unseen.


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

mistuhmarc said:


> Does this look better? I'm always unsatisfied by my placement. But it does look better than the larger piece.
> 
> As for mid ground plants, I attempted to plant hydrocotyle in the small opening in between the driftwood and rock. So hopefully it will cover that area once it starts to grow out. If not, I'll think about blyxa instead. I realized there's an area between the rocks and the grass so that proves to be difficult to fill in because then the rocks would be unseen.


Much better! The wood you put on the ground really makes the scape flow. :thumbsup: I know what you mean... It seems I can't even let a month go by without having my hands in the tank moving stuff around! I think having a few weeks to set the hardscape, move stuff around and be completely satisfied before filling and planting has helped me. We'll see though . 

I'm sure once the Hydro will look great once it fills in and laces itself through the wood. I hope you have better luck with it.. I love Hydro, but I can't grow it for some reason, which is crazy considering that most people consider it a weed! If you're going for a more natural look, you could get any kind of moss, attach it to a screen cut to size and place them between the rocks. Or even add a slower growing moss(riccia) to the cracks and crevices of the rocks.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

pewpewkittah said:


> Much better! The wood you put on the ground really makes the scape flow. :thumbsup: I know what you mean... It seems I can't even let a month go by without having my hands in the tank moving stuff around! I think having a few weeks to set the hardscape, move stuff around and be completely satisfied before filling and planting has helped me. We'll see though .
> 
> I'm sure once the Hydro will look great once it fills in and laces itself through the wood. I hope you have better luck with it.. I love Hydro, but I can't grow it for some reason, which is crazy considering that most people consider it a weed! If you're going for a more natural look, you could get any kind of moss, attach it to a screen cut to size and place them between the rocks. Or even add a slower growing moss(riccia) to the cracks and crevices of the rocks.



It's grown great for me before. I've had problems with it overtaking other plants in covering spaces to the point where I had to cut it often. Do you know why you're having problem with it? 

Funny thing about Riccia. I've tried it before...definitely a great plant, BUT, not fun once you trim it and it starts to uproot itself. Getting rid of it all is painful too.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Couple of minor changes. Removed the spray bar and moved the outflow to the front. I prefer the flow this way so that the fish weren't have too many problems trying to swim around. Moved the heater to the back as well. 

I also had an idea with my light. I was having some dark spots and I wanted to hang the light. But I couldn't because I didn't have a light suspension kit for this light. So it had me thinking...then I realized I could use the rack itself to hang the light from. So...










I ended up tying it up with string to keep it up. Working pretty well. Tied it a good amount to keep it from falling off. Added a ziptie in case it wanted to randomly slide off (not sure if that really helps it though). I really can't wait till there's an official hanging kit for this light. 

Poor fish. I turned on the light at 1 in the morning to do this. I just now tried all of this out. Oops.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

So I was having fun with the camera. Here's some random shots:


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## Asu1776 (Mar 5, 2013)

Nice tank! Digging the setup and the placement of the driftwood. Most of the aquascapes I've seen usually have the base of the driftwood focused on the left side, but I like the mirrored look. 

Is it possible to place the heater vertically next to the inflow of the filter? I think that position hides it better so you will be less distracted by the open space you have created. Plus, it optimizes heating since it's in an area of high flow and the warmed water would circulate around the tank more. Just my two cents.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Asu1776 said:


> Nice tank! Digging the setup and the placement of the driftwood. Most of the aquascapes I've seen usually have the base of the driftwood focused on the left side, but I like the mirrored look.
> 
> Is it possible to place the heater vertically next to the inflow of the filter? I think that position hides it better so you will be less distracted by the open space you have created. Plus, it optimizes heating since it's in an area of high flow and the warmed water would circulate around the tank more. Just my two cents.


Thanks ! I've almost always had my driftwood on the right side (might be because of filter placement but also because it's easier for planting because I'm left handed). 

I had it there before, but I guess in my thinking, the flow would move back towards the intake, allowing for circulation around the tank.


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## mot (Sep 17, 2011)

Really nice feel to this tank. The fish are showcased really well in your last set of photos. I like it alot.


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## agro (Nov 29, 2013)

Edsal rack? Which one? The original particleboard also?


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

mot said:


> Really nice feel to this tank. The fish are showcased really well in your last set of photos. I like it alot.


Thanks! That means a lot coming from you! I love your scape, it's very clean and pleasing to the eye. 



agro said:


> Edsal rack? Which one? The original particleboard also?


I'm actually not sure, I obtained this rack from a friend who did not want it anymore. He got it from Lowes I believe. Anyways, yes, I'm using the original particleboard that came with it. HOWEVER, underneath the 20 gallon long, there are two boards of particleboard to give it some extra strength. I'm pretty sure one board would've easily bent and broken given time and any water that would soak through.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Guess who just stocked the tank with 20 ember tetras?

This guyyyyyyyyyyyy










Really quick picture, I had to go to class. But I managed to acclimate these guys into the tank. All 20 made it through USPS Priority. Stil washed out in color though, though I believe they'll get that color back eventually.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

On a side note, picked up a 2 Gallon cube from GlossoFactory for below 30 dollars so look out for a journal for that in the future!


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

NICE tetras! Those are going to POP in your tank . Where did you get them?

That's a good price for a 2g rimless. Is it high-clarity glass? What are your plans with that tank? I am going to set up a nano saltwater tank sometime before Christmas!


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## Jalopy (Aug 11, 2013)

mistuhmarc said:


> On a side note, picked up a 2 Gallon cube from GlossoFactory for below 30 dollars so look out for a journal for that in the future!


What light is that?


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

pewpewkittah said:


> NICE tetras! Those are going to POP in your tank . Where did you get them?
> 
> That's a good price for a 2g rimless. Is it high-clarity glass? What are your plans with that tank? I am going to set up a nano saltwater tank sometime before Christmas!


WetSpot! Found them on aquabid, selling a 10 pack of them for 17 + your choice in shipping. Ending up asking for 20 with USPS priority shipping haha. I can't wait till they color up!

It really is. I got it for 27$, and that was cheaper than the price for a truaqua cube. I'm planning on turning it into a small shrimp tank for the living room haha. 

Saltwater interested me at one point, but the price was too high, I'll probabl;y try it out sometime when I'm older lol.



Jalopy said:


> What light is that?


Deep Sea Solar Flare Mini Led! The suction cup type!


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

Those are going to look great in there. Get some pics up as soon as they color up! I just added some h. Rasboras to my 29g, I love them.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

CluelessAquarist said:


> Those are going to look great in there. Get some pics up as soon as they color up! I just added some h. Rasboras to my 29g, I love them.


Will do! :icon_wink At the moment, they look like juvies, so I'm sure over time, the color would eventually come out . 

In terms of tank layout, I'm not sure I want to keep it the way it looks right now. I kind of want to change it already, but in doing so, requires that I should add more substrate. Hmm...


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Ordered two 5lbs bags of Brightwell Rio Escuro to add to the substrate in my tank. I'm planning on redoing the tank as I am not really content with the overall hardscape of my tank. 

Rio escuro's supposed to be similar in terms if ADA aqua soil, so I'm hoping that things will turn out well with the shipment that comes in. In addition, it doesn't leach ammonia when you first put it in the tank, so that's another plus.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Well guys, guess what came in the mail:









The particles are smaller than I expected, but I ordered extra fine, so I should've seen it coming. In any case, I'll post pics later of the scape. I switched it up as I felt the old scape wasn't doing it for me. Stay tuned!


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## Asu1776 (Mar 5, 2013)

mistuhmarc said:


> I'm planning on turning it into a small shrimp tank for the living room haha.


You should totally do it! Probably one of the best tanks I have set up. The maintenance on this tank below is virtually nil; it's pretty self sustaining. My shrimps are also breeding like crazy. It's a 3 gallon by the way.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Asu1776 said:


> You should totally do it! Probably one of the best tanks I have set up. The maintenance on this tank below is virtually nil; it's pretty self sustaining. My shrimps are also breeding like crazy. It's a 3 gallon by the way.


I'm excited to work on it! I have it cycling at the moment, though I might change out the hardscape again since I'm not too fond of how it's turning out at the moment. I can't wait to add shrimp to it.

I finally finished changing the hardscape and sitting down to take a picture of it. In my opinion, it looks better than my previous hardscape. The plants look nicer in this scape as well. 









I also managed to catch the male cockatoo mid yawn, it turned out pretty well.









The embers started to color up too, funny thing is, they were supposed to replace my green neons, and the addition of these guys caused my green neons start to school more often. I think they just needed a bigger school than the original ten that I had. So now I have a school of twenty embers and six green neons. 









Now I'm waiting for the Rotala Green to start growing out so I can trim it into a bush. I'm hoping it turns out nicely. The H. Pinnatifida is starting to get some massive growth. On the other hand, I'm starting to get algae problems with my java fern...some areas have staghorn, while others have green spot.


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

WOW!! It looks amazing, like really damn good. Nice job. The white background makes everything pop and ties in with the rocks.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

pewpewkittah said:


> WOW!! It looks amazing, like really damn good. Nice job. The white background makes everything pop and ties in with the rocks.


Thanks!  The white background's been there for quite a while now, but it's only now showing up since I raised my light slightly higher. With the light higher, I'm getting better light coverage and it doesn't seem like my plants really struggle with the difference. 

I'm happy with the way it turned out as I had no direction with the previous hardscape. Made me confused on what to change.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

*2 gallon up and running and a short update on the 20 gallon long.*

Hey guys! Guess who finally set up that 2 gallon cube! Dis guyyyyyyyyyyy. Had it up and running within the last few months and started adding things to it. I ordered some SS meshes to place some mini christmas moss on and got a hanging mesh from H4n (thanks H4n!) to stick to the side of the tank. Only a few shrimp in it but I'm perfectly fine with that. 


1st Pic! The Display Picture!









2nd Pic! The Side Picture!









3rd Pic! That light though!









4th Pic! That shrimp though!









I changed the light because I didn't like the gooseneck, not enough light spread either. Found this light on fleabay and it's pretty much like the Aquasky! Only with more LEDs. Bit pricey though..


On another note, here's a slight update on my tank. Removed a rock on the far right and moved the blyxa up. Rotala Sp. Green's growing long and soon the right side should get bushy. Removing the Pinnatifida soon and replacing that with more Rotala once I remove it. 

I also removed the DHG 'Belem' and switched over to HC as a new carpet. Turning out fine so far, it's been growing alright so far. 

Before:









After:









Going back home for the Thanksgiving weekend. So hope algae doesn't get all over the place. See you guys later!


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

Gorgeous!!! It's too bad you didn't keep the DHG 'belem', in my opinion it gave the scape a softer look. Nonetheless, everything looks great .

Also, the two gallon looks nice . I have plans to set up a nano reef for christmas and I might just get that tank.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

pewpewkittah said:


> Gorgeous!!! It's too bad you didn't keep the DHG 'belem', in my opinion it gave the scape a softer look. Nonetheless, everything looks great .
> 
> Also, the two gallon looks nice . I have plans to set up a nano reef for christmas and I might just get that tank.


Yeah...I've been having problems with the DHG 'Belem' though, as algae was growing here and there within it, coming out as strands causing a major problem for me. I removed as much as I could, but discovered that there would be no way to remove it all, so I ended up just pulling it out. 

The 2 gallon definitely looks better than I had hoped. The clarity of the glass really adds to the look of the tank. 

I can't wait to see that reef!


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## jsarrow (Jun 10, 2008)

Great looking tanks! Just curious, how did you go about de-rimming the 20L and were the edges that were exposed sharp or no big deal and no need to sand smooth?

Thanks!


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

Long time no see Marc. As always your tanks are beautiful and I wish I could steal them from you. Hope term is going well for you.


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