# The Celestial Swamp - A voyage through a flooded forest fringe



## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I started this tank awhile ago but forgot to start a journal here...

Feb 2016

Well one year into planted tanks, I felt that I had to build a riparium after seeing some spectacular examples over the years by people on both sides of the pond...

My first attempt has been very successful and has been a great learning experience, but it's diminutive size is lacking in the awe inspiring impact that a larger setup can provide... One year later and I'm finally getting my larger shallow wide off the ground.

My major inspiration has been the works of Alastair and Big Tom, and I thank you for sharing your tanks with us over the years!

As the name suggests, I am trying to give the impression of the marginal area where a body of water meets the forest floor (or fringe), in this case an area that has been flooded by seasonal rains. This is my swamp...



That's as far as I have proceeded... I still have to finish the stand, drill the holes, build the overflow, plumbing and sump, and then finally, I can get to aquascaping...

Cheers!

Bump: August 2016

Oh my how time flies... I really wish I was farther along on this project... not much has changed save for the holes being drilled and my youngest daughter get a little bigger...

*Updated info:*

Sep 2018

*Fauna*

1 Otocinclus affinis
1 BN ancistrus
4 Brachydanio tinwini
10+ Celestichthys erythromycin
14+ Celestichthys margaritas
4 Celestichthys choprae
15 Microdevario kubotai
5+ Amano shrimp


*Flora*

Bellow:

Hygrophila polysperma
Cryptocoryne walkeri ‘lutea’
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne willisii x
Helanthium tenellum
Sagittaria subulata
Lysimachia nummularia ‘aurea’
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Limnobium laevigatum


Above:

Adiantum aethiopicum
Spathiphyllum 'Petite'
Syngonium podophyllum 'Butterfly'
Calathea lancifolia 
Aglaonema sp.
Chamaedorea cataractarum
Chamaedorea elegans
Ficus pumila
Anthurium sp. 
Pilea mollis 'Moonvalley'
Pilea cadierei


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## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

That is very interesting dimensions. Subscribing for updates!


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## Doogy262 (Aug 11, 2013)

Looks interesting will be watching.By the way what is that red and white fish???very cute...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

October 2016

Well, the overflow box is assembled, mounted and leak tested... most of the plumbing is assembled and waiting for painting...

My original idea for lighting was an array of 23watt CFL light in reflectors. .. my previous tanks have had great success with those but I've also had good success with LEDs...

I briefly thought about using kessil lights but I think I would need too many and the cost would sky rocket...

So my new plan is to make an array of par38 LED bulbs... I've never used them before but hear good things... I found some Philips 12watt (100w) daylight bulbs with 35 degree beam optics for $15, so I will need between 6 and 8 of them depending on how high up they are. .. I am hoping to hang the lights somewhere between 40-48" above the substrate to allow 24- 36" of riparium plant growth above the rim of the tank...

Again, underwater plants will be low light variety so I'm hoping that amount of light will suffice...

I'm still a while away from the light stage though, so plans may change again. ..



I got the glass cut and pollished locally for the semi coast to coast overflow... I am using GE SCS1200 in black and this is the first time I have used any silicone on glass...



This silicone only has 5 minutes of open time so assembly was very chalenging. .. wood jigs were used to hold the box. side at 90deg...



I used a wooden jig to make sure the overflow box was level to the tank... after using the SCS1200 to attach it, I had to scrape the silicone back and reseal the inner joints because I guess I didn't put down a big enough bead the first time and the coverage was patchy. .. the structural silicone between the panes was perfect just not the inner seams...

Anyways, after 48hrs I leak tested it and it passed and so did the bulkheads!

This tank is slowly coming along!


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

This is a nice build so far. I'll have to keep an eye on this thread. Great job Hitman!


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## bk. (Sep 27, 2014)

those dimensions are killer!!!!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

So I'm happy with the stand being flat and level so I put down a couple yoga mats under the tank as per Derek at Miracles...



I have 40 gallon Tuff Stuff stock tank I'm thinking of using for my sump so I don't have to worry about more glass seams leaking over time... The stand isn't in position yet so I am hoping the final leveling will go smoothly... I'm getting anxious to fill this thing up after owning it for 340 days of it sitting empty...



I've taped off the tank so I can paint the back of it black with acrylic glass paint... it still needs a 4th coat... don't mind the mess, I'm in the middle of a reno too...

the first coat went nicely... It's still not dark enough after 3 coats... i ended up with 5 coats




Next up is the painting of the bean animal drain pipes and gluing them to the bulkheads... after that I can fill it with water and test whole system...


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

looks good!
Also I wanted to say I love the woodstove  we use a pellet woodstove


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

October 21 2016

This weekend it should be in place and hopefully fully leak tested... maybe I will even have time to finish and test the bean animal system!

I've had plants sitting around for over a year waiting to get in this tank... they are starting to look sickly and tired... the sooner I get this tank going, the sooner I can get all my grow out tanks and containers empty and put away... I have six 30 x 45cm containers filled with crypts alone but of course they've been neglected so they aren't the healthiest...

I'm looking forward to the tranquility of a single tank to focus on instead of the mayham that has been my basement for the last year...

November 2016

Some progress....


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

November 29 2016

Hardscape details:

75 lbs of Okho stone, a big box of Manzanita wood, 40 lbs of ADA Malaya, 30 lbs of ADA Amazonia, 70 lbs of safe t sorb, 1 lb of ground peat moss, 1 lb of Mexican pottery clay and a egg crate base layer...

After laying down a layer of mulm on the substrate, i'm doing a dry start for a few weeks so the front area can grow in with crypts etc... that will give me enough time to work on the lights and finish off the sump.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

November 30 2016

Livestock waiting to go in:

This tank is loosely based on species from Myanmar (Burma) and possibly Thailand...

14 Celestichthys margaritatus (Celestial Pearl 'Danio')
18 Celestichthys choprae (Glowlight 'Danio')
18 Brachydanio tinwini (Gold ring 'Danio')

And possible some corydoras pygmaeus (Pygmy Cory), and some Ottocilus sp. that I have on hand... I am hoping get my hands on some Petruichthys sp. 'rosy' (Rosy Loach) and a shoal of Celestichthys erythromicron (Emerald 'Rasbora')


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## billb (May 29, 2009)

Love the foot print of your tank. Did I miss the actual post with the dimensions? 

I have a tank with a similar footprint, 4ft x 3ft. It too is focused on small fish from SE asia and I would absolutely recommend the Burmese Rosy loaches. They are bold and active. You will definitely see these guys out and about. Also, they don't end up in the sump. I have had to keep checking for my Boraras maculatus - always seem to get a couple!

Very nice build


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## fishman922 (Oct 26, 2016)

Subscribed! I am really excited to see this tank fully setup!
I really want to do a riparium with some Mangroves roughly based on wetlands someday. (it may include Bettas, which is a little outside of that natural environment...)


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I thought I'd go over my substrate system...

The first layer under the hardscspe was eggcrate to protect the glass



This was followed by a base layer of safe t sorb



Then a layer of peat moss



Then a layer of new and used ADA aquasoil Amazonia




Then a filler layer of safe t sorb out front and 4 inches of it in the back... ADA Malaya was placed on the edges



Then ADA Malaya was added to the front sloped from front to back... notice the colour similarities between the safe t sorb and the Malaya and the dragon stone...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

billb said:


> Love the foot print of your tank. Did I miss the actual post with the dimensions?
> 
> I have a tank with a similar footprint, 4ft x 3ft. It too is focused on small fish from SE asia and I would absolutely recommend the Burmese Rosy loaches. They are bold and active. You will definitely see these guys out and about. Also, they don't end up in the sump. I have had to keep checking for my Boraras maculatus - always seem to get a couple!
> 
> Very nice build



The tank is 48" x 30" x 12" and I wish I went bigger like 5ft x 3ft... i ordered this tank in the summer of 2015 and didn't realize that I could fit a bigger tank in the space


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## zombiejessigamer (Dec 23, 2016)

This is amazing, I would love to have a set up like this in my home. I lack the space but maybe I could downscale something similar. My bettas would love this! *subscribed*


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## ichthyogeek (Jul 9, 2014)

Subscribed! I'm loving your fish choice so far! I've got a small school of tinwini's, and while they're picky when it comes to eating food I offer, they're amazing to watch! What's your plant list looking like so far? I noticed crypts, but are you going to try and add plants similar to what you'd find in a CPD environment?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

ichthyogeek said:


> Subscribed! I'm loving your fish choice so far! I've got a small school of tinwini's, and while they're picky when it comes to eating food I offer, they're amazing to watch! What's your plant list looking like so far? I noticed crypts, but are you going to try and add plants similar to what you'd find in a CPD environment?


All these fish are waiting in a smaller holding tank... I cant wait to let them loose in this riparium... I suspect I will see much more natural behaviour in a larger space.

I only plan on using crypt species mainly from the X Willisii complex and e. tenelus... perhaps some moss on the branches... this is a loose aquascape representative of what you might see in Myanmar, not a true biotope


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Now comes the planting...

This is only a small portion of what went into the soil



Mulm from other tanks and filters was mixed with water and added to just below the front level so I can do a dry start without the threat of bga etc...

The front area is then filled with various crypt species, mainly from the c. x willisii complex and filled out with e. tennelus (Helanthium tenellum) and lilaeopsis mauritiana... some c. parva was added to the front





I used saran wrap taped together to cover the top up and over the protruding wood to maitain humidity



I open the saran wrap daily for gas exhange and spray the plant every so often... maybe a month of this treatment to cycle the soil and get some good root development and I'm going to flood it...

You can see some of the riparium plants acclimating in the back... The overflow is half filled with a small pump circulating the water.

I have tried using aquatic mosses emersed before with varied success... this time I'm going to using terrestrial 'club moss'... the roots work great dipped in the water... the tops of the "stumps" will be covered in moss and various emergent plants and maybe a few orchids if they can handle the lights...


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## zombiejessigamer (Dec 23, 2016)

It's looking really good! I look forward to seeing the progress of your plants and one day seeing you flood it and add fishy friends!!!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I also added Hydrocotyle sp."Japan" (Hydrocotyle tripartita) and its doing great in this dry start, trippling in size in just 2 weeks... Lets hope it does just as well flooded...



I want to flood it now, but I need to be patient... This project has been over a year in the making so I dont want to cut corners now... my intention is make this riparium as little maitenance as possible, including water changes... the soil needs time to cycle so I hopefully dont need to do much when I flood...

Once I add the second row of riparium plants that will hang off the overflow and right side of the tank, I will see how much light gets down to the soil behind the stumps and hopefully plant temporary nitrate sucking stems and sagitaria sublata... But long term I expect the riparium plants to overshadow that area too much for aquatic plants


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Fantastic build, so excited to see this completely finished.


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

wow, its coming along isn't it!  it'll be a very very pretty setup cant wait to see it flooded!


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## Progen (Oct 31, 2016)

Jesus!!! Why do some people have the vision, time, money, ability and talent?!!!


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## Dan Knowlton (Jan 9, 2009)

Progen said:


> Jesus!!! Why do some people have the vision, time, money, ability and talent?!!!


Because they work harder at it than I do? :laugh2:

Beautiful build - keep us posted. I particularly like the dimensions - I'm thinking about what to build after I move in 1 1/2 years. 

Dan


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## Benboone (Jan 15, 2016)

Awesome build! I always wanted to do a big shallow tank like this! It's such an interesting shape and challenge


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## ScubaSteve (Jun 30, 2012)

Great build! Can't wait to see it finished!


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

Subscribed. Very excited to track progress. Not sure if those dimensions are big enough for the stock shown in your first pic though. Human babies usually require at least a couple thousand gallons.


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## theDCpump (Jul 22, 2016)

hitmanx said:


> I started this tank awhile ago but forgot to start a journal here...



*Are you running a "Bean-Animal" 3 hole set-up?*

I have 2 "herbie" systems running currently, and have a 3 hole-bean animal tank in the garage that I walk past everyday.
I had to ask.

Bean animal mod.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyJK6BTugBM


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Progen said:


> Jesus!!! Why do some people have the vision, time, money, ability and talent?!!!


the most important part about vision is the patience to follow through with a good plan... like I said this has been along time in the making - over 2 years if you include when I first thought about it...

Bump:


theDCpump said:


> *Are you running a "Bean-Animal" 3 hole set-up?*
> 
> I have 2 "herbie" systems running currently, and have a 3 hole-bean animal tank in the garage that I walk past everyday.
> I had to ask.
> ...


Yes indeed... its a standard 3 drain bean animal... 1in emergency and main siphon with a 1.5in secondary drain

I will soon document the plumbing system and wireless dimming LED lighting... 

I am about ready to fill with water, but first I need to figure out how to fill this thing up without disturbing the plantings... I can't friggin wait to see this thing fileld with water and all the riparium plants hanging over the waters edge with all the little fishes swiming in and out of the shadows and out into the open...


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

hitmanx said:


> I am about ready to fill with water, but first I need to figure out how to fill this thing up without disturbing the plantings... I can't friggin wait to see this thing fileld with water and all the riparium plants hanging over the waters edge with all the little fishes swiming in and out of the shadows and out into the open...


I find using a plastic bag over the substrate, as well as filling really slowly works pretty well. A colander would also work, but I prefer the plastic bag.




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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Opare said:


> I find using a plastic bag over the substrate, as well as filling really slowly works pretty well. A colander would also work, but I prefer the plastic bag.


Indeed those are good ideas... but I'm more talking about how to physically get water to the tank... I've only ever had nanos so a single bucket worked well for the infrequent water changes... This thing is close to 100 gallons with the sump, so its a lot more overwhelming!

I'm mixing my super hard tap water 50/50 with RO water so I can't just use a tap and hose...

I'm very close to filling the tank now... I just finished priming the inside of the stand with KILZ and I need to caulk the corners etc so it can attemp to contain any spills... I also added a couple 2x4 supports to the front of the stand because I wasnt 100% confident in the open 4ft span using the double 2x4 headers... I should have used 2x6's...

Planting update: 

everything is growing in great and secure with amazing root systems... nothing can be pulled easily... the Hydrocotyle sp."Japan" (Hydrocotyle tripartita) is trying to take over the tank... its already smothering the crypt undulata along the rocks...

Unfortunately BGA is starting to form on the substrate at the front of the tank... I'm slacking on airing the tank out each day... This probably won't be a problem when I flood...


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

zombiejessigamer said:


> This is amazing, I would love to have a set up like this in my home. I lack the space but maybe I could downscale something similar. My bettas would love this! *subscribed*


Sounds like you need the Mr. Aqua MA-610!! 24" x 24" x 12" such an awesome tank dimensions for something like this on a smaller scale. If I remember correctly, @OVT had one that was freaking amazing!!


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## zombiejessigamer (Dec 23, 2016)

johnson18 said:


> Sounds like you need the Mr. Aqua MA-610!! 24" x 24" x 12" such an awesome tank dimensions for something like this on a smaller scale. If I remember correctly, @OVT had one that was freaking amazing!!


Thank you soo much for the info! I'll definitely check that out and look at doing something betta friendly and share it in the very near future!


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## ichthyogeek (Jul 9, 2014)

Hmm....with a tank like that, you can use a CLEAN devoted trash can (which you can roll) to mix your water, then pump that mixture straight into the tank with a small pump, and find a way to get those last vestiges of water out of the trash can into the tank after water changes. At least, that's what I hear is how people with tanks bigger than 50 gallons do. Otherwise you'd spend a day constantly getting water! Another alternative is to buy all the RO/DI water and mix it into the sump with something like a Python/hose with your tap water...Although depending on how you get rid of the water from the water changes, that can also suck too (soooo many 5 gallon buckets...)

Can we get an overall tank picture and maybe some livestock photos when you have the time?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

ichthyogeek said:


> Can we get an overall tank picture and maybe some livestock photos when you have the time?


Ideally this problem will be infrequent as i dont plan on doing many water changes once this tank gets settled... The sheer mass of riparium plants will take care of the filtering... 80 microfish in a 100 gallons is not what i call overstocked... In fact i will probably need to worry about deficiencies... All of my nanos have used the non CO2 method with little to no water changes... my other cube riparium has only had one water change in 2 years with stellar parameters. My betta is happy and healthy...

Topping it off with RO water is done semi daily because open top ripariums seem to lose crazy amounts of water due to evaporation... this new tank is 15 times bigger so hopefully it doesnt lose 15 times the water!

I will be keeping a large Brute trash can full of RO water in an adjacent closet with a pump for topping off the sump...

Once the tank is flooded and settled with the fish swimming around I will be taking many photos with my DSLR!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I'm going to flood this tank today!!

But I have a confession to make... while I leak tested the tank itself, I did NOT test the overflow and bean animal system before I aquascaped... Here's hoping that it works!!

Heres the before picture today:


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Oh man!

Even with the best laid plans you always froget something... after soaking the manzinita for close to 8 months, the wood is now very mich dry now during the dry start...

Most of the bulk of the wood is way up high and out of the water, but I hope it doesnt float away and ruin my hard work!!

Half filled:




Update:

I've stopped filling the tank at 3/4 full... I slapped on a AC30 with seeded matrix and a heater to bring up the 13*C water temp from the tap.... I'm gonna let it sit there for awhile so the wood can start soaking up water... I also added Seachem Prime and Excel to help the aquatic plants transition to submersed living... I also dumped a half dozen ramshorn snails in too for good measure... 

I imagine that I will have to do a bunch of water changes early on despite that fact that a dry start is supposed to cycle the soil already - there still could be high ammonia spikes from the aquasoil...

Like everything in this projects, I have to be patient!


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## Daniil (Mar 23, 2011)

Looks nice, I love it. 


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## Coffee_ (Jan 7, 2017)

Looks good! Hope all goes well with the wood


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## Tony Bailey (Aug 2, 2016)

That is looking fantastic!
I've just done a bean animal system on my 1000lt build, not tested yet but has an internal drain and will have an ro system installed for auto top off and draining so no water changes...have to get some progress pics and start my own thread I think! Your work is inspirational


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## ichthyogeek (Jul 9, 2014)

Nevermind the ammonia, what about the nitrates?!!! I'm pretty sure I remember reading Barr's original account about needing to do one or two 90% water changes in order to reduce high nitrates in the water after dry cycling. 

I actually really like the look you have right now with the tank half-filled and the manzanita wood sticking outside of the water!!! Almost to the point where I think you should just keep the water at that level...but then you'd have to adjust the overflow, etc...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

The saran wrap has been removed!

Its still 3/4 full and has random floating wood pieces and a rock to hold down some wood, the heater in the tank, non fuctional overflow, and the riparium section hasn't been organized and finished, but it's got water!!!

No water changes yet... I dont see the harm in leaving it in there for a few days to try and draw out any pollutants or excess nutrients from the soil... the fish wont be moved in until the tanks stable...



This is the rough draft of the sump with diy poret foam hollow cube fikter with a matrix inner layer, and the bean animal plumbing going into a bucket to provide a constant water level and to provide silent laminar flow into the sump...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I forgot to take pictures of the filter build but it's pretty simple... I took a 13" x 39" x 2" piece of 10ppi Poret foam and cut them to size to make a 4 sided cube and used the left over scs1000 silicone to glue them together and to a 13" x 13" porcelain tile base... I made another smaller 5 sided cube out of eggcrate and zipties to fit inside creating a space between that and the poret foam for seeded seachem matrix to serve as further filtration... the pump then sits in the middle...

If needed smaller cubes of 20ppi and 30ppi foam could be used in the same manner within the cube... I do not have a high bioload so 10ppi will function just fine as the riparium plants will be the main form of biological filtration in my setup... and in theory I shouldnt have to clean the foam ever!

My sump is very simple... water drains down into the bucket, overflows into the sump and makes its way through the poret foam filter and back to the display tank... the sumps main purpose is a water reservoir to increse the total for the system because there is so much soil and hardscape in the tank... I have plenty of room in there for extra seeded media and equipment and space for breeding boxes etc...

A sump need not be complicated for fresh water, and certainly doesn't need to be made from glass or expensive acrylic... stock tanks like this are perfect for this kind of thing...


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## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

Awesome build! I might have missed it but what's your full riparium plant list. One day I'll have a more elegant looking riparium like this


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

bbroush said:


> Awesome build! I might have missed it but what's your full riparium plant list. One day I'll have a more elegant looking riparium like this


I have not finalized the riparium planting, but for now its going to be Spathiphyllum 'petite', Syngonium, Cyperus alternifolius 'Gracilis', Monstera deliciosa, ficus pumila, and Lysimachia nummularia 'aurea'...


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## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

hitmanx said:


> I have not finalized the riparium planting, but for now its going to be Spathiphyllum 'petite', Syngonium, Cyperus alternifolius 'Gracilis', Monstera deliciosa, ficus pumila, and Lysimachia nummularia 'aurea'...




Great choices! I highly recommend ruellia 'katie'. It ends up adding a very unique shape to the scape.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

bbroush said:


> t​Great choices! I highly recommend ruellia 'katie'. It ends up adding a very unique shape to the scape.


Yes indeed I would be using ruellia 'katie' if only I could find a Canadian source for it... I think it woulr be perfect for the edges of the riparium section...


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## zombiejessigamer (Dec 23, 2016)

Its absolutely gorgeous! Loving​ that set up!!! Can't wait to see the fish go in!


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## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

hitmanx said:


> Yes indeed I would be using ruellia 'katie' if only I could find a Canadian source for it... I think it woulr be perfect for the edges of the riparium section...




Ahhh that would be a problem. Either way I'm sure it will end up looking great!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

100% percent water change... 100% filled... next up is the return plumbing and testing of the bean animal system...



A quick tank shot...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

So without the overflow system functional, and only an AC30 and korelia 425 running, the water level in the tank decreased a little less than a 1/4 inch since yesterday... using some math that equates to about 1.5 gallons lost in 24hrs... thats a little more than I was hoping... The riparium plants arent even part of the system yet and I find they increase evaporation. .. 

Looks like a RO unit and a dehumidifier are in my future!


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## zombiejessigamer (Dec 23, 2016)

Just gorgeous! I hope the evaporation stays under control for you!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Progress and disquieting realizations...

The bean animal system works fantastic!! My return pump is only a temporary unit that is is supposed to pump 500gph but when accounting for the return pipes and head is probably closer to 250... I just dont think the bean animal system was designed for such low flow as I am having trouble tuning the sound in the open channel despite having a gate valve on the full siphon channel... one minute it's DEAD quiet and the next I can hear a trickle... I will most likely be using a eheim compact 3000 which pumps 700+ and I am hoping for 400gph into the display tank...

It took forever to realize that the easiest solution was the best plan... I have been racking my brain for a long time trying to figure out how to safely and easily do a water change while combining tap water and RO water in this system... I have done several 100% water changes using a python but that was just tap water... The Simple Solution I came up with yesterday was to use the sump as the mixing container and the pump as a way to fill up the display tank... I just had to add a tube that came down to a bowl resting on the substrate and voila!



The system is now 54% RO water and 46% tap... but what I discovered is that even with the sump filled almost to the brim after all the water drains out of the return pipes, I only used 6 buckets of tap and and 7 jugs of RO for a total of 65 gallons in total!! How could this be? The inner dimensions of the tank allow for 66 gallons minus the coast to coast overflow and the sump itself is supposed to be 40 gallons which would bring me 41 gallons unaccounted for... Could my hardscape really take up that much space?

The Hydrocotyle sp."Japan" (Hydrocotyle tripartita) and the Helanthium tenellum are taking over and the crypts are exploding but this week have shown signs of severe melt... bloody blahblahblahblah God dammit!



Half of the riparium plant have been added with more to come very soon!

Unfortunately filiamnetous diatoms and a little rhizoclonium have plagued the setup and I noticed today that some bga has begun to form smack in the middle of the tank on the substrate...


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Get out the Excel for the BGA! Worked pretty well with me, just gotta be quite meticulous in spot dosing any patches you see. Touch wood though I'm not sure it is eradicated but I haven't seen patches in a while now.
Tank is looking great! Don't think the Crypt melt could have been avoided unfortunately, just gotta make sure to clean that up.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

So I finally installed gutter guard on the coast to coast overflow... all the fish I added to the tank, endlers, otocinclus and a dwarf African frog have taken the water slide down to the sump albeit with no ill effects...

With a 42 inch weir, regular plastic gutter guard didn't have enough rigidity to stay in place so I zip tied it to eggcrate and it works very well at preventing any more unwanted rides but now the bean animal drain system has been negatively affected... the riparium planters are creating a bottle neck of water flow between the siphon and open standpipe sections... the planter is blocking the most of the flow as its very close to the eggcrate which I did not account for when designing the overflow... the water is higher around the open pipe and lower around the siphon... so no matter how much I adjust the siphon flow with the gate valve I always have too much water trickling down the open standpipe creating unwanted noise... the system still works, it's just noisy!

I've almost completed the main riparium section, with only the accent plants on or around the emersed driftwood wood to contend with... here I will add moss, ferns, Ficus pumila, creeping jenny and orchids... frog bit and Salvinia natans will finish off the water margins and hopefully deter the fish from jumping out of the water... I have already had 2 endlers commit suicide thus far...

After the big water change and reducing the light duration to 6 hours and dimming the lights to 75% all algae has subsided... the crypts have stopped melting but a lot of the leaves have weird pin holes...

I'm very close to adding all remaining livestock and taking down all my nano tanks!!

I'll take some pictures later...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Just a couple more marginal plants on the right side and the background planting is done... 



I filled a hair net with long fibre sphagnum peat moss and draped it over the back of the middle stump and then draped the roots of the maiden hair fern over that and then tied it down with cotton thread... we shall see if this method works because the riparium planter did not... anyone have any suggestions for proper transition of maiden hair fern to riparium conditions? 



Here's the first inhabitants, a trio of Tiger Endlers... unfortunately one of the females commuted suicide...



The gutter guard stops the critters from taking the water slide down to the sump...



The eggcrate keeps the gutter guard rigid, but also takes up more room in the overflow...



Just like on my cube riparium I employed the use of HOB breeder boxes to extend the riparium section...



Small pumps in the overflow fill the boxes and then discharges back but unfortunately it increases the noise of the system... I need to find a way to muffle the flow...


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Woah! Looking pretty good.


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## tsquale (Feb 23, 2017)

Most impressive setup!


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

Is it water noise that you are trying to dampen or equipment noise?

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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Aquatic Delight said:


> Is it water noise that you are trying to dampen or equipment noise?


The small pumps are cheapies from China so they do make a rattley hum but there isn't much room in the overflow for better pumps... we shall see if that bothers me once I get the water sounds quieted...

The water spilling out of the breeder boxes is making noise and of course my open channel is making noise too... I may need to get or make narrower planters in the overflow so the water has more of a chance to equalize...


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

Have you thought about a spong filter of some sort to put under or around the pumps? I assume alot of the rattle is caused by them resting against the plastic of the box.

I dont have any thoughts on the water noise as i enjoy the water noises and have never delt with trying to quiet it



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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Aquatic Delight said:


> Have you thought about a spong filter of some sort to put under or around the pumps? I assume alot of the rattle is caused by them resting against the plastic of the box.
> 
> I dont have any thoughts on the water noise as i enjoy the water noises and have never delt with trying to quiet it


I'm not sure if it's the cheap motor in the pump or vibration in the glass or plastic... it's really not that loud... personally I like a VERY quiet tank which the bean animal is supposed to acheive; near silent if it's done right

I just tested the water tonight... ph 7.2, Kh 2, Gh 10

All the fish are going in this weekend! WOOOOO OOOOOOO!

All the nanos will be decommissioned, the random equipment and mess that has accumulated in the making of this tank will be stored away, and I can once again have peace and tranquility...

Once the tank has settled in, I can turn my attention to completing the light fixture housing and skinning the stand...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I added 3 Gold ring danios (brachydanio tinwini) and 12 Emerald dwarf rasboras (celestichthys erythromycin) last night and for the most part they are settling in nicely... all 12 emeralds are completely hidden which they are amazing at doing... I had a hard time moving them cause they would hide in the smallest of spaces between equipment etc...

Unfortunately one of the emeralds made it into the overflow and one of the danios made it all the way to the sump... I guess the gutter guard doesn't stop micro fish... here's to hoping it was a one time thing!

Scratch that! I just checked the sump again and there's at least a half dozen of the buggers down in the sump... bloody God dammit!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

All fish are in!!

Wow, was that ever hard catching all these fish from my nano tanks...

4 Otocinclus sp.
1 Dwarf African frog (Hymenochirus boettgeri)
2 Tiger Endlers (Poecilia wingei x)
19 Gold Ring Danios (Brachydanio tinwini)
12 Emerald Dwarf Rasboras (Celestichthys erythromycin)
12 Celestial Pearl Danios (Celestichthys Margaritatus)
17 Glowlight Danios (Celestichthys choprae)
3 Pygmy Corys (Corydoras pygmaeus)

Here's a video of them exploring the open middle section: https://youtu.be/5F-_hI6jIV0


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## cininohio (Jan 13, 2016)

That is fantastic. Your technique is inspiring. Besides the fact that it is just beautiful. Thanks for sharing.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

For the riparium planters I used a mix of home made acrylic boxes, Interdesign suction cup containers ($6-8 CAD) from Canadian Tire and amazon and purpose built planters by AquaVerdi ($10 USD)... I couldn't find a source for appropriate size clay balls that most people use so I just used Seachem Matrix in the planters which of course acts as a secondary filter media...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

69 fish all swimming around in the tank is amazing to watch! I've waited a long time for this...

It's funny to see the otos swim from one end to the next and for some reason 20 or 30 of the danios and pygmy cories all in tow... 

Unfortunately even the biggest of the Celestial Pearl danios and a whole host of others have made it down to the sump... I guess I have to find another material to block the overflow but if I go any smaller in the opening size I risk creating an overflow situation if it gets clogged with crud, not to mention louder flow... grrrrr


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## jerrytheplater (Apr 11, 2007)

How about filter foam, even just a thin layer.


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## Fishbeard (Aug 20, 2016)

jerrytheplater said:


> How about filter foam, even just a thin layer.


I agree, this is probably your best bet. Even the smallest hole might let in a curious endler, and would definitely suck up any fry (if you're so lucky). I would put a small buffer on the outside of the input, I've done this before with smaller filters and nano fish with perfect success. It also increases your mechanical and biological surface area!


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## stevee22 (Apr 27, 2016)

This setup is absolutely stunning!! To prevent fish from taking the plunge I agree with the above posts maybe a slice of 10ppi foam or even some plastic canvas would work. 

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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I have thought about using filter foam but the overflow weir is 44 inches long and I'd be worried it would clog too quick... I cannot put foam on the bean animal intakes cause then the fish would be stuck swimming in the overflow and be very difficult to rescue without removing all the riparium planters...

I am thinking 5 count plastic canvas used for yarn weaving...


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## jerrytheplater (Apr 11, 2007)

You need something with small enough openings so you don't end up with a gill net catching your fish. 

For support of the screen, how about stainless steel screening? You could bend it to fit over your overflow and still hold the screen-filter foam- or whatever you decide on. 

McMaster-Carr is a really great resource for all kinds of stuff. This is a link to their Lightweight-Particle-Filtering Stainless Steel Wire Cloth page. https://www.mcmaster.com/#wire-cloth/=16r2p27 You may even be able to use this by itself. Use 3-4" wide jaw pliers to bend it if you don't have a bench vise. You could make it so it just clips on and off. Maybe your plants would be in the way, not sure.


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## dbl_dbl17 (Feb 4, 2012)

This tank is stunning.


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I wondered if that gutter guard was too big. Huge bummer! I think @jerrytheplater's suggestion of SS screen material is a good one! I think filter foam, even the coarse stuff would clog too quickly. 

I think I've said this before, but this tank is spectacular! I can't wait to watch it mature!! This is seriously like one of my tank goals! Huge, shallow square riparium system! Love it dude! 

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## Jmcdaniel0 (Feb 14, 2017)

Buy a roll of the cheapest filter floss you can find. I use it on all of my saltwater reef tanks, to keep the noise down on their sumps. Works well and it is super cheap.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Thanks for all the kudos!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I'm still trying to figure out the best method for the overflow... in the mean time at least 2/3rds of the fish have made it down to the sump... they're just chilling down there waiting for me...

Unfortunately one of the brachydanio tinwini got his tail stuck in the gutter guard and didn't make it... and I have my first jumper - a celestichthys choprae dried up on the floor...

I think temporarily I'm going to string some extra nylon window screen material I have across the overflow to prevent the fish water slide...


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## islanddave1 (Jul 5, 2013)

hitmanx said:


> So I'm happy with the stand being flat and level so I put down a couple yoga mats under the tank as per Derek at Miracles...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Fishbeard (Aug 20, 2016)

hitmanx said:


> I'm still trying to figure out the best method for the overflow... in the mean time at least 2/3rds of the fish have made it down to the sump... they're just chilling down there waiting for me...
> 
> Unfortunately one of the brachydanio tinwini got his tail stuck in the gutter guard and didn't make it... and I have my first jumper - a celestichthys choprae dried up on the floor...
> 
> I think temporarily I'm going to string some extra nylon window screen material I have across the overflow to prevent the fish water slide...


One method you could use would be to secure pantyhose material (cut to size and length) and stretch it over you overflow. Shouldn't mess too much with your flow, but will definitely keep any fish out! Just make sure to clean it regularly I guess.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

islanddave1 said:


> I looks like you have a plywood sheet on top of the stand and am using yoga mat underneath were both these recommendations of Derek? What were his reasons why? It because the bottom trim is not like that of a regular aquarium?
> 
> Thanks Dave


The bottom trim is more of a L-shaped plastic bracket surrounding the edges of the tank, and I am not sure of its exact purpose... it raises the tank less than 1/4 inch so I'm not sure what exactly is holding up the middle of bottom pane of glass... there was a misunderstanding and I did not get the full rimless and trim less tank I wanted... he suggested foam underneath but also said yoga mat would suffice... a sheet of 3/4" maple ply supports the whole thing...


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## latent (Dec 7, 2016)

just get a sheet of 10ppi poret foam from swisstropicals.com. You can cut it to fit any space.


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## ruairidh_ (Mar 17, 2017)

Someone on the forum used a sheet of Stainless steel and cut it to size, maybe that's a possibility?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

(Mar 30th)

So I still can't get all the fish out of the sump... these little bastards are quick and hide so well... but on a good note there's a bunch of babies down there too!

I figure at least half of the fish are still in the sump... I try to remove one or two per day...

I ended up using #7 plastic canvas to block the overflow weir... this of course makes the holes much smaller so the fish will not going down anymore but the flow is affected with a rise in water level... it will be easy to clog too as the dead leaves, Salvinia and duckweed get stuck... I will have to monitor it constantly... I'm trying to source #5 plastic canvas which has bigger holes also in black so it blends in better...

One unfortunate side effect of smaller holes has been an accumulation of surface scum... the coast to coast weir is severely hindered now in this respect... it's like overflow teeth which aren't efficient at skimming the surface...

Now the reason I have surface scum is probably due to the fact that most of the pygmy chain sword (e. Tenellus) has melted back... I fear that with all the mass of riparium plants I am not fertilizing enough... but it could be the substrate too... the roots are fine but most of the leaves have melted... they sit where the light is the most intense so they must need more food... I did miss a week of ferts so maybe that was it...

I added half dozen Amano shrimp and I had another brachydanio tinwini commit suicide... one of the pygmy cories looks pregnant... I haven't seen the African dwarf frog in ages...

Bump: (Mar 31st)

I added 5 more pygmy cories and a zebra oto (Otocinclus cocama) last night... I also transfered all the syngonium into the extra AquaVerdi riparium planters I had... the wide suction cup ones I was using had crappy suction cups so I was using stainless steel s-hooks that hooked on the overflow glass... but the plastic canvas addition on the weir made it very hard to do... problem solved

I also ordered some more smaller suction cup planters from amazon for the one that was causing the block in the overflow and also to put in the HOB breeder boxes for the cat palm (Chamaedorea cataractarum) and a half dead umbrella palm (cyperus alternifolius).

The surface scum is covering the floating plants and is making it so they are not staying on top of the water surface and subsequently dieing and probably making the scum worse... perhaps long term, floating plants are not gonna work in this setup as they also hinder the surface scum from getting to the overflow... the Salvinia and duckweed is definitely gonna clog up the overflow anyways so it probably best to get rid of it... the frog bit is doing better...

I'll get some pictures up soon...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

And the fish go jumping one by one hurrah! HURRAH!

The celestichthys choprae have a death wish.. lost another one today... I moved my lone female orange Lyretail Kili (Aphyosemion australe) in an she doesn't like certain fish near her 'spot'... she made 2 female endlers jump yesterday...

All of the riparium planters are in and filled and now I just need to fill out the empty spaces with accent plants etc...



The pygmy chain sword (e. Tenellus) has stopped dying but it's still looking pretty rough... a couple days ago the surface scum was so bad the entire surface was translucent white... YUKK!

I realized that one of the planters was blocking the surface flow in the front right so it couldn't go around the stumps to the back overflow... obviously this was a choking point for scum... all I did was move the planter and boom! All the scum is gone!





There's a terrible bald spot where the tenellus used to be... I was thinking of dwarf sag to replace it but it might get too tall here...



The new fish and shrimp additions are doing well, but I think I may focus on the Celestial Pearl danios population... either by purchase or breeding... simple reason? They don't jump... I am also going to add another pair of orange Lyretail as a centre piece fish... I originally wanted somethjng bigger and more interesting (not that the males aren't spectacular) but anything bigger will probably decimate my planned cherry shrimp population... I might be adding a small shoal of glass catfish as they from Myanmar as well but they may distort the sense of scale here...



I need to clean the front glass as hydra have made quite a colony there so it's hazy... I don't want to jinx it but algae has not appeared since adjusting the lights... but I think I still need to up the ferts to account for the huge section of riparium plants...


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

beautiful


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Thanks. I know I've been saying this for awhile, but I'm going to get my DSLR out and take some good pics... these cellphone cameras blow the highlights to easy... all the syngonium ends up being white!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I was playing around with the settings on my S7 edge phone and I came up with some better exposure but still not as good as DSLR...

This is my view from my computer desk...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)




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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Really pretty


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## japbart (Feb 25, 2014)

This is really amazing. Definitely an inspiration for my future tank. 


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## JRotala (Mar 8, 2017)

Looks great!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Things are not looking good for this tank... most of the h. Tripartita has died back for some reason and it and the Helanthium tenellum has been overrun by a thick blackish algae in the middle of the tank... too much light? Not enough ferts despite adding on a weekly basis? The front carpet looks terrible... but some of the h. Tripartita has actually started to grow emersed in the back...

Perhaps the riparium plants are just taking too much nutrients from the water... it's hard to keep a balance between the submerged and emersed plant needs... the fastest grower is the Ficus pumila and I've heard it's a huge nutrients hog... the syngonium doesn't like the riparium planters as the stems are rotting off where they didnt before when they were in the shower caddies...

I think it's time to do a siphon clean as mulm has started to accumulate on the substrate and in the bottom of the sump... I have not actually done a water change yet... just filled the sump with 5 gallons of RO water per week due to evaporation...

I moved around some of the riparium plants but I'm not sure if I like the changes... I'll get some pictures up after I do some housekeeping...

At least a dozen fish have jumped out and I usually find them after I've done maintenance on the tank... I guess I'm spooking them... the only babies I've seen are from the endlers down in the sump... speaking of the sump there still at least a half dozen or more fish down there that I cannot catch... mostly celestichthys erythromycin... they are so fast and so good at hiding... perhaps I will take everything out of the sump when I clean it so they can't hide...

I still need to get a more powerful pump for this tank as I'm using a 550gph pump currently and I think it's not powerfull enough to fully balance the bean animal system... I cannot get it quiet!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Here is the algae:





And here's a "moon light" shot... itshe actually darker than it looks...



I suspect the transition from growing environments for all these plants and the inevitable rotting of some roots and leaves and the shear mass of decaying plant matter despite trying my best to clean and collect the dead stuff, has contributed to higher organics... 

I just hope a water change doesn't disrupt the water chemistry too much... I'll start with a 30% change..


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## Brian Rodgers (Oct 15, 2016)

hitmanx said:


> And the fish go jumping one by one hurrah! HURRAH!
> 
> The celestichthys choprae have a death wish.. lost another one today... I moved my lone female orange Lyretail Kili (Aphyosemion australe) in an she doesn't like certain fish near her 'spot'... she made 2 female endlers jump yesterday...
> 
> ...


You've created fantastical paradise there. I just read this whole thread. Your perseverance to your original vision is masterful. Thank you so much for creating and sharing this beautiful tank. Now I need to finish reading.:smile2:


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## SKYE.__.HIGH (Mar 18, 2017)

I have just stumbled upon this post and I think this is gorgeous. It took some serious work but in the end it is worth it (I think). But again I wasn't doing any work except for the extraneous movement of my fingers scrolling through the post. Did you ever think of entering it into any competitions? I truly think you could win some of these competitions (especially in the natural categories)


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Yesterday before the trim...



With risk of being flamed, I have to say no... I will not be engaging in what some people elsewhere haveq suggested water change regime... these are my opinions and I welcome discussion...

While I do agree that a regular water change schedule is needed in many circumstances, I cannot agree that this is one of them... there simply isn't enough of a bioload to justify such a drastic schedule... cleaning the mulm etc will be a priority but a long term regular change schedule will not…

I will concede that I should have made a more conscious effort to watch out for higher organics but mainly from rotting plants as they transitioned... I will point out that all of the plants were doing amazing with lush growth all over… but over time the plants died back, mainly the Hydrocotyle tripartita, before the algae hit, not after… and this coincided with the time the riparium plants began to take off…


The water parameters checked out and the fish and shrimp were happy… and take any massively open top tank and show an example of jumping prone fish NOT jumping… it's a matter of them feeling comfortable… as time has progressed the riparium and floating plants have covered the margins and therefore have given the fish a more closed in feel and suicides have dropped… it also didn't help having an aggressive female Lyretail that relentlessly chased any other fish…


My point is that it's not impossible to find a balance for a tank and I just don't subscribe to the throw as much water at it as you can method as a blanket statement for all problems… I'm sure you can find many examples of such tanks also fraught with algae… it's a different story for high a bioload where fish welfare is priority...


The shear biomass of plants that sustain themselves from this tank on the outside dwarf the average tanks submerged growth… take all your plants in you best tank and render them down into a jar and you will find that they don't actually take up that much space… the mass just isn't there…


There has to be more complicated variables at play here that need to be experimented with… soil redox? Ferts? To much light? Plant competition? I did add a bunch of Ficus pumila before the submerged growth started going down hill and I've heard that it's a nutrient hog… is the assumption that the cause is high organics just because of mulm accumulation? Or the actuall algae species?


Anyways, I sucked all the mulm I could find and cut a lot of the algae leaves out and changed out 30% of the water…


I will do so again in 2 days and see where I am at… i will be cleaning out the poret filter this week too... hopefully I haven't offended anyone...


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## diverjoe (Oct 21, 2016)

Like everyone else, I have read this from cover-to-cover and enjoyed every bit of both your story and your BEAUTIFUL tank. I am only 4 months into my latest "adventure" and I can say that the best piece of advice I have read out there is to just be patient and allow the tank time to heal itself. Everything has a cycle and nothing stays Facebook perfect at all times forever. My tank has looked like the perfect pics on this forum and it has also looked like the scum covered pond at the golf course near our home. Right now it is somewhere in between. But, the fish seem happy. Several are breeding an most of all I enjoy piddling with it. At the end of the day, you really cannot ask for much more....


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Sorry for the delay in responding… I appreciate everyone's suggestions and comments.... I apologize if I'm rambling 


I do agree that water changes are useful and sometimes mandatory to reset a system that has higher accumulations of any number of substances… I guess I didn't mention that after the long dry start method where the plants grew massively, I did many 100% water changes to leech any remaining organics from the system but perhaps it wasn't enough… it was then that I stopped doing water changes as per the Tom Barr non co2 method like I've done many times before and everything was fine for a long time... but once the the riparium plants started to take off things changed but then again it might be just coincidence because of accumulation over time…


Riparium plant growth was exploding but the submerged growth was slowing in most but not all plants… but they didn't show signs of obvious deficiency so it was confusing me… the whole idea of a shallow wide riparium is that there CAN be equal lighting for submerged and riparium plants where the former isn't shaded by the latter… so as the riparium plants grow the lighting doesn't change under the water… so now I ask myself is there too much or not enough light?


the Hydrocotyle tripartita is 95% gone now and only growing above the water surface along the driftwood… the e. Tenellus in the brightest section has always done well but the e. Tenellus ‘green’ has suffered the most with the algae as well as the lilaeopsis mauritania… and the crypts under the brightest lights have melted where the crypts under the shadows have been just fine…


I have not altered the ferts since day one and I have been using the concentrations outlined by the non co2 method which has worked well before… if the riparium plants were taking it all wouldn't I see obvious signs of deficiency not just slow growth and algae? Why would the e. Tenellus be bright green and growing compact while other plants are covered in algae? What's happening just doesn't make sense to me in my experiences…


After manual removal and water changes and gravel vac things were looking better, but after returning from a trip I came home to a new kind of algae - brown filamentous diatoms! During the last water change I drained too much of the display tank and while filling it back up I stirred up the safe t sorb in the back which may have added too much silicates into the water column…


Here is what I came home to last week:



My best guess is that its Brown filamentous diatoms or Synedra... I sucked it all out and it hasn't really come back too much..

It comes off easy and is slimy so I sucked it out with and airline hose and some small water changes… it's still growing slowly but it is manageable and apparently blackouts are suggested but again that would be nearly impossible with a riparium setup like this… it was even clogging the overflow guards thus raising the water level...


I'm also starting to think substrate ferts are inadequate as most of the submerged plants are root feeders… the only stem I have is h. Polysperma and it's doing very well with no signs of deficiency and rapid growth… but that doesn't account for the failure of the h. Tripartita…


Yesterday I added several pots of Echinodorus Quadricostatus and Echinodorus latifolius to back of the carpet section and 4 pots of Staurogyne repens spread around, some in brighter and some in darker sections… I also added some more random stems with different growing needs to try and see what works…


Today I'm adding another Hydor koralia on the opposite side to improve the circular flow of the tank because the front sections seem to be lacking… I also removed some random wood I had in the back that was disrupting the flow from the other koralia… I want to make sure I have enough flow to get the crud in suspension so it takes the trip down to the sump without settling on the substrate… I also need to upgrade my return pump as it is lacking...


Unfortunately I haven't found the time to actually clean the sump and filter yet… that's my next priority and very well could be my Achilles heal at the moment… i also dimmed the LED light intensity from 75% to 65%... I know I'm changing so much at once and therefore may not be able to ascertain the true cause of my woes, but I don't want my tank to look so ‘dirty’ anymore… the riparium section is amazing and I just want the submerged section be just as lush…


I've had no more jumpers, but the female tiger endler has ceased to exist, but not before shooting out a bunch of babies…


Here's some pictures of the light spread over the riparium... plenty of light gets to the substrate but is it too much without co2?







Anyways I'll keep you all updated on my progress... come to think of it the main growth of the h. Tripartita has actually before kind of shaded over so maybe that contributed to its demise


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Also I wanted to ask anyone who has had better sucess with cyperus alternafolia 'gracilus', whether more ambient humity is necessary... despite good growth overall, alot of the leaves start to look ratty pretty quickly


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## jipan (May 8, 2017)

What a pretty tank. Did you success with that maidenhair fern? Did it grow with it rhizome / roots submerged? I'm asking because I read it doesn't like it rhizome / roots flooded. If you success, I'm thinking putting a clump on my riparium


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

After a LONG time of Maidenhair fern just sitting there and the lower branches drying up it has suddenly started throwing up new shoots... it's now doubling in size...

I wrapped the rhizome and roots in sphagnum moss and a hair net and tied it to the top of the driftwood so the moss soaks up yhe water...


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## jipan (May 8, 2017)

Oh, so you didn't flood it. I think I'm going to take a leaf from your book and try it with my riparium.

Thank you!


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## Angella (Aug 11, 2017)

I just read through all of this and hope things settle down with your algae/weird stuff that grew everywhere! D:

It looks amazing though. I've never looked into ripariums but I certainly want to now.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

There is some of the first algae left on the liliaeopsis and e. Tenellus 'green' and some of the Brown filamentous diatoms or Synedra here and there but nothing like before...

I was reading that maybe the ohka or dragonstone may leech out silicates for along time and therefore triggering the diatoms... it's so funny that when you add so many variables to a tank any number of them can conspire to ruin your day...

I also forgot to mention that this is day 3 of using excel in the tank... I wanted to see if it made a difference on the algae and also to help the new plant additions along... I'm using it as per the recommended doses... let's hope the whole thing doesn't crash when I stop using it...

I really am changing to many things at once... if it does get better I won't know why!!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I did some water testing tonight for the first time since march... not much of a change since then...

Ph 7.4-7.6
Kh 3°
Gh 13°
No3 5ppm
Tds 410ppm
Temp 22°C

This seems to be normal for my water when I cut it down 50/50 with RO... The interesting thing is the nitrates... my previous larger tank that lasted 3 years hovered around 100+ppm but did not have any riparium plants to soak anything up... fish and plants did well but new livestock additions didn't fare too well...

I may need to increase my dosing... maybe my ferts are in fact the limiting factor... I just need to let the tank settle in for more efficient co2 uptake without injection... as in continue the non co2 method but increase the dosing to reflect the higher needs of the riparium plants... 

At a later date I can test again and keep the nitrates down if they creep up... anyways this journal seems to be only airing out my dirty laundry... I need to start sharing the success of this tank with better pictures and the specifics of the system!


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## viwwo (Jan 15, 2010)

Boy I'm glad I found this journal. I am also trying to make something like that just in a 20g tank. I’ll be following this thread closely!

Eventually I like to have shrimp in there but it’s been around 10 years since I started a tank and I feel like a noob lol. I'll let it run for about 3 months before I'll put cherry shrimp in to it. One day I want to have Carbon Rili Shrimp or Chocolate Shrimp or something special.

I’m looking for plants that I can put in the soil like a riparium. Do you have a favored?


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## DennisSingh (Nov 8, 2004)

Quite the masterpiece in points of time.
I'm glad i stumbled upon this journal and your lovely pictures.
Like to see where this plays out.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

The algae that was left on the liliaeopsis and e. Tenellus 'green' has bloomed again... i think its time mow it all down to the stubs... the synedra is still clumping here and there... i hope it goes away soon... i was not able to keep the 2nd Hydor korelia running as the flow was pushing all the frogbit to the right side of the tank where it wouldn't get enough light... the left side still needs more flow so I'm not sure what to do yet...

I'm slowly working away building up the riparium display... the Syngonium and Spathiphyllum 'petite' is serving as the backbone of the planting with accent plants in front and behind... the three driftwood stumps from left to right are occupied by Lysimachia nummularia 'aurea', the Maiden hair fern with moss and emmersed H. triprtita in the middle, and the largest stump on the right is overgrown by Ficus pumila... the cutleaf philodendron (Monstera deliciosa) has become so big and heavy its fallen down behind the tank... my plan is to install hooks on the wall to guide its path from right to left as a background for the entire display...



All of the Hygrophila angustifolia that came from my previous tanks has been converted to emmersed growth with the stems rooted in the substrate and some reaching more than a foot above the water surface... they have nice flowers but overall the plants smell like goats or sheep... very odd... they act as a great transition plant between the riparium and submersed sections...



These are one of the fastest growing plants in the tank so i am able to spread them round bit...



I need to try and cover the remaining section of plastic canvas acting as a overflow guard thats still visible... the white is very distracting... i have not been able to find it in black... i'm thinking of adding in a trellis raft with more L. nummularia to blur the transition between land water



I forgot to mention that i have changed my fert schedule...instead of once per week, I am now splitting up the doses on alternate days... monday / thursday macros + equilibrium and wednesday / saturday chelated iron with the possibility of a regular 10% water change per week at least until i don't need to keep sucking out this damn algae!!

Also, do most of my pictures have blueish hue to them? I really need to start taking pictures with my DSLR...

I really wish i would have added a gate valve to the return pipe... when i clean the filter one of these days, i'll have to disconnect the pump and when that happens a good 15 gallons+ goes down into the sump and could take fish with it... of course this happens during a power failure too... i've made due with placing a piece of plastic over the outflow to stop the siphon down into the sump but just like everything else, the riparium plants make getting to the back much harder...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

viwwo said:


> I’m looking for plants that I can put in the soil like a riparium. Do you have a favored?


Most emersed stems plants will do fine when planted in the substrate and growing above the water but it would also depend on ambient humidity in the room... and as far as typical riparium plants the only one I have had success with growing directly in the substrate is Cypress alternifolia but but even with that one you need to worry about the depth of the water... 

Most riparium plants are marginal species and seem to want their crowns above the water with lots of flow and oxygen around their roots... some kind of hanging riparium planter is usually a must... 

The easiest plants in my experience are Peacelilies or Spathiphyllum sp and specifically the 'petite' variety... Pothos vine or Epipremnum aureum is a very easy plant to convert to riparium culture as well...


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

This looks very nice. I have an extra tank that I wanted to use as a plant farm / fish quarantine tank. I was thinking of doing something like this with it, but putting it outside the house. What I am concerned about is that, by leaving it outside there will be a lot of water level fluctuations due to rapid evaporation and refilling. Do you have any tips?


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## thebuddha (Jul 16, 2012)

Hitman, this tank is simply beautiful. 

Your effort looks like it has really paid off. I cant imagine how great it is to sit and watch whats going on inside that jungle.

Please let us live vicariously through you by continuing to update with pictures and whats going on!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Chizpa305 said:


> What I am concerned about is that, by leaving it outside there will be a lot of water level fluctuations due to rapid evaporation and refilling. Do you have any tips?


I do indeed worry about fluctuations between top ups especially if I forget to do it... sometimes I have to add 10gallons of water to the sump due to evaporation if I leave it over a week... I'm wondering if the parameters are getting screwed up especially co2...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I finally broke out the DSLR and took some pictures...

I'm a little rusty so be nice...

Tiger Endler



Brachydanio tinwini









Unfortunately the Celestichthys margaritatus, Celestichthys erythromicron, and Brachydanio choprae are camera shy at the moment and move to fast... I need to increase the light and use a flash to get a clear picture of them...


Also, Aphids!!

My emersed hygrophila angustifolia has aphids all over the new growth and it's making the plant all distorted looking… grrrrrrr

I have been brushing them off into the water and the fish come to gobble them up!

My hands have been in the tank alot recently and I've had a couple more jumpers for first-time in a long time… one Celestichthys margaritatus and one Brachydanio choprae…


I've decided to start my breeding program to get my numbers back up in this tank… even though I see fry from time to time they never survive… maybe it's the celestichthys erythromicron down in the sump having lunch or maybe it's the pump sucking them through the 10ppi poret foam , I don't know…


I haven't decided which way to breed yet… hang on or in tank mesh or separate tanks… it would be nice to utilize the space in the sump to save space and use the flow…


Anyone use these methods for my chosen species?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I tried catching some of the celestichthys margaritatus with a net the other day... it's almost impossible because 2/3rds of the tank is impenetrable hiding spots... It took me an hour to ambush one female so I decided to try out a bottle trap...



Every fish species except the cpds managed to get trapped in it, even the super cautious brachydanio choprae... I don't know how I'm going to start this breeding program if I can't get my hands on some fish... maybe I will try a bigger pop bottle

When I eventually trap more, they are going to live down in the sump in a plastic canvas pen I made up...



And when the fry grow out to a certain size in the buckets, I will put them in the little ziss breeder box also sitting in the sump...



I have four 2.5gallon buckets set up with cycled poret sponge filters, a wad of moss, a cup of Gravel, a cup of safe t sorb and a half cup of matrix as the substrate... I used tank water to fill them up and added some snails for good measure...



I will drop 2M/3F in at sunset and change some of the water... they should spawn in the morning and I will move them to the next bucket etc, then it's back into the sump pen for some cigarettes and a nap...

Even if I do one round of this I should get at least 20-40 fry or more... maybe I'll do it a couple more times and sell to my lfs...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I changed out the food in the bottle and hoped for the best... 20min later I had 3 brachydanio choprae, one of the celestichthys erythromicron and the ALPHA male celestichthys margaritatus!!!!

He has such beautiful deep red colours so hopefully he just as fertile!

Perhaps because I haven't fed them today they are getting more adventurous... let's hope at least 2 more females and it's on baby!

Cue the raunchy music!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I got two more!

A male and female cpd... only one more female to go!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Maiden hair fern is going gang busters...


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## zrace (May 17, 2017)

This is down right awesome!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I wasn't successful at breeding the cpds... I tried leaving them in the buckets with 2 females and 3 males for 2 or 3 days at a time... I got no fry

Then life got busy and I haven't tried again... I will try with just 1 male and 1 female and only one day at a time... maybe not have any filters going while they are spawning...

I have had a bunch of brachydanio choprae spawn somewhere in the tank and I've collected the fry and have grown them out in breeder box and then moved them up to the main tank...


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## PlantStudent (Jan 3, 2018)

This tank is AMAZING. Super impressed!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

As far as a tank update:

I'm still battling this ridiculous long diatoms algae in the submerged section... I'm starting to think it's because of high silicates or something in the store bought RO water I use for top offs... Our tap water here is just so full of crazy things! 

I just ordered a Spectrapure Maxcap 5 stage RO/DI system so I can make my own water and never have to buy transport and lug around 5 gallon jugs ever again... hopefully this will change some things for the better... a years worth of RO water covers the cost of the system so the convenience is just icing on the cake... 

I also ordered a Eheim compact 5000 for the return... this has way more flow than the pond pump I've been using... I'm going to add an isolation valve to the return line so I can take out the pump for more efficient pump and filter cleaning...

I had to remove all the h. Angustifolia as the aphids were taking over... after trying to eat everything else and a long fought murder campaign I only see them occasionally now... i even released ladybugs in my basement to eat them with completely unknown results as they just flew away... lots of random spiders have taken residence on my riparium so maybe are helping too...

The frogbit is growing nuts too and I have to constantly throw bunches out or it clogs the surface flow and I get scum... an overflow system like this is a delicate balance when you have floating plants especially with the the plastic canvas blocking the across the whole weir...

The underwater section is slowly being taken over by h. Polysperma because it's less susceptible to alagae... but that's okay as it's bright green growth makes me happy... the longer the riparium section grows the more it overshadows the underwater section so it's a constant chore to keep the balance... even with this shallow and wide tank shape this still becomes a problem... crypts are only growing in the darkest areas now...

I think I need more lights to shine directly to the back riparium plants... the ones in the middle are growing too big especially the maiden hair fern and the balance is off... I was hoping the spathiphillum in the back would be growing bigger and faster...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I forgot to mention I have to constantly remove boat loads of some kind of black bacteria or fungus thats growing on the dark sections of the manzanita wood... not sure if this is normal or not... this wood has been submerged in water for 2years now... I'm not sure how long it's supposed to last

This kind of long term tank is an experiment in running a small ecosystem, especially when I try keep variables as constant as possible...







One thing I regret with the tank?

It's not big enough!! I should have gone 5 feet by 3 feet by 18 inches tall...


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## snarkinturtle (Mar 4, 2017)

I had a lot of fungus that kept persisting for ~7 months on ironwood in one of my tanks. It only went away when I started cutting my tap with 50% RO water to drop the alkalinity and pH. However, my KH is way higher than yours (it was about 13dKH, pH ~8.5) so I'm not sure that is the problem in your case.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Maybe a small pleco would help too?

What's the smallest species?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

There's actually a fair bit of room behind the tank for growth... it comes down to light placement... what I need to do is add more lights directed on and angle to back and this should help the back plants growth...

The problem right now is the fact that the maiden hair fern is growing too large... it's at lease 10 times the size as it was last year and I just trimmed at least half of fronds last week... I wasn't expecting it to grow so large and it's essentially growing right in the middle of the tank on the driftwood, not from the overflow section... I can't even move it as it's attached


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

snarkinturtle said:


> I had a lot of fungus that kept persisting for ~7 months on ironwood in one of my tanks. It only went away when I started cutting my tap with 50% RO water to drop the alkalinity and pH. However, my KH is way higher than yours (it was about 13dKH, pH ~8.5) so I'm not sure that is the problem in your case.


I'm really hoping that getting this RO/DI system up and running helps me control the water aspect of this system a little better... even if it doesn't improve anything, at least it will be far more convenient to make water rather than go buy it... i hook it up to the faucet and make water over night into a big reservoir and then add to the system as needed... this way I can also make sure I keep it topped up more regularly with out so much of a swing in water chemistry... sometimes I forgot to add top off water until 15 gallons evaporated especially in the dryer winter conditions... I swear I'm losing 3 gallons a day now


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I do want to point out I love this style of lighting... its very robust and variable... I couldn't imagine being pinned down to using t5s or radions etc especially with the ridiculous costs involved in pre made systems... at $12/bulb and like $20 in electrical parts and some elbow grease its easy to see that I can get great results (imho)...

Each led light bulb is actually attached to a swivel socket that also can be angled too... but I'm sure this would lead to not enough light in the middle... I have more led bulbs and sockets so it wouldn't be hard to add more in the series...

I don't remember if I went over the details of my lighting setup or not... maybe it's time


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## sampster5000 (Oct 30, 2010)

hitmanx said:


> Maybe a small pleco would help too?
> 
> What's the smallest species?


You might try out some clown plecos. They stay pretty small and go to town on algae. 

I've enjoyed following your journal so far. You've got a very cool setup here. The algae problem in the submersed section seems tricky when you aren't using CO2. I also wonder if upping your ferts is going to make it worse. You might try cutting back some light first. Too much light and excess nutrients that the plants can't absorb quickly enough without CO2 is a guarantee to grow an algae farm. These are just my thoughts, of course. I've been out of this for a few years. Overall, your setup looks great!


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## astex (Aug 13, 2009)

I'd love to hear more about the lights on this tank. It is very lovely.


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## Gryhund (Aug 25, 2007)

Beautiful tank! Definitely inspirational!



hitmanx said:


> I'm really hoping that getting this RO/DI system up and running helps me control the water aspect of this system a little better... even if it doesn't improve anything, at least it will be far more convenient to make water rather than go buy it... i hook it up to the faucet and make water over night into a big reservoir and then add to the system as needed... this way I can also make sure I keep it topped up more regularly with out so much of a swing in water chemistry... sometimes I forgot to add top off water until 15 gallons evaporated especially in the dryer winter conditions... I swear I'm losing 3 gallons a day now


Have you considered an "auto top off" (ATO) unit ? I have one attached to my aquarium controller, but there are at least 2 that are stand alone units. It's an added bit of tech some people don't want to fool with, but when you're adding a gallon a day or several gallons a week, I find it useful.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Yes I have considered an auto top off but that's a bit of tech I am not 100% trusting of... 

I think all I need to do is get a reservoir with a pump in it and have a switch close to the tank so I can fill it up on the fly...

When that becomes too much work i will consider the ato...

As an aside I beleive since making my own RO water i have less of this algae issue... but i may be dreaming...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I added a super red bristlenose pleco last week... he's having fun hanging out with the ottos and eating stuff...



I also added some sagitaria sublata spread throughout the front area... we shall see how it fairs with the diatom algae issue...


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## ichthyogeek (Jul 9, 2014)

An amazing tank to look at, especially since i'm confined to a tiny 2.5 gallon in college! I can't wait to see how it continues!

Have you considered amano shrimp? I've heard they'll go to town on most if not all algaes, especially new growth! Although if it is diatom algae, I'm curious as to why your otos haven't gone to town on it yet. Or maybe there aren't enough of them?

I wonder why the fish keep jumping? Usually fish are supposed to be less skittish the more cover you provide. And you're providing a lot of cover. Why do you think that is?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

The Maiden hair fern is taking over again... and I've spread the hygrophila polysperma everywhere... it's kind of turning into a monoculture...





I really do think the homemade RO water is changing things for the better as far as the long hair diatom algae... it's growing much slower... certainly it's much better than driving and carting around big jugs of water. A very good purchase indeed!

My nitrates are starting to creep up to 40+ ppm... it's definitely time to clean out the filter and add the eheim compact 5000 pump...

Also I really need to get rid of the alternifolia in the back... it's drying out to much and looks like [censored][censored][censored][censored]... I just don't know what to replace it with...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

The pleco is getting more orange as time passes...

You can't see it from the front shots but there's a lot of spathiphillum behind the Maiden hair fern and syngonium...



They are healthy but they aren't growing big enough... I'm thinking of adding a 'golden glow' variety of spathiphillum to the very back to add contrast... I really miss having the emersed hygrophila angustifolia spread around to add interest and contrast to the larger plants... I still have some aphids kicking around on the new syngonium leaves...


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## Shaythesalmon (Jan 29, 2018)

Wow! This tank is amazing


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

A picture showcasing the colour of the bristle nose pleco (Ancistrus sp. 'super red'), and the various algae in the front...


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## Tank Stand (Jan 24, 2018)

hitmanx said:


> A picture showcasing the colour of the bristle nose pleco (Ancistrus sp. 'super red'), and the various algae in the front...


Isn't the super red variety supposed to be red? That's closer to the albino colouring?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Tank Stand said:


> Isn't the super red variety supposed to be red? That's closer to the albino colouring?
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk


That could very well be... I'm not expert on pleco and ancistrus... it certainly doesn't look red, but it is beautiful non the less... definitely not an albino...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I want to start adding a shrimp colony to this tank... I've had amano shrimp last quite awhile in this tank but then disappear (ive seen one crawling 10feet away on the carpet) and cherries have not been successful... in the past I've had a successful rcs colony in another tank but when I started water changes with tap water and using seachem equilibrium they all slowly died off...

I use equilibrium as part of my ferts each week but I have decided to use remineralized RO water for any water changes and take tap water completely out of the equation.

Does anybody have any experience with the different kinds of Salty Shrimp brand salts? I've read many good things so I am going to use salty shrimp products but I need to decide between the Shrimp Mineral gh/kh or the Aquarium Mineral gh/kh... What's the difference? They don't list the ingredients...

I plan to keep rcs and amano shrimp in this tank...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I just don't understand why shrimp don't work in this tank...

I drip acclimated a dozen wild cherry shrimp and an amano yesterday and they have dropped like flies... my gh is at 10 and my kh is at 3... my tds is a little high at 375ppm and I have been doing more water changes lately... the fish are happy and healthy... Maybe it's the 2 koralia power heads chewing them up?

Frustrating indeed... 

I purchased the salty shrimp mineral gh/kh so I'm going to remineralize RO water for changes... Maybe I'm lacking calcium and other traces...

*Update:*

I may have overreacted... I actually only saw one dead shrimp and assumed the worst... one of the wild cherries was swimming around this afternoon and it look fine... either the others are hiding or dead somewhere in the background... 60% of this tank is in the shadows and behind drift wood so anything could be happening back there... I have to move planters to see it...

Holy crap these wild cherrys are hard to see! They went from a clear colour to mottled brown and are extremely camoflauged but I have found 2 so far... I still cannot find the amano shrimp...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Its a far cry from the original 60-70 fish i had a year ago... i spent a small fortune yesterday on better quality stock (hopefully) of cpds and emerald rasboras... a dozen young ones each... unfortunately 2 of the cpds have died in the quarantine tank... not sure why

I am also trying the cpd bucket breeding again, but this time only 1 male and 2 females and only one night at a time per bucket...

*Fauna:*

5 Celestichthys margaritatus (Celestial Pearl 'Danio')
6 Celestichthys choprae (Glowlight 'Danio')
6 Celestichthys erythromycin (Emerald dwarf rasboras)
12 Brachydanio tinwini (Gold ring 'Danio')
3 Poecilia wingei x 'Tiger' (Tiger endler)
1 Ancistrus sp. 'Super red
1 otociclus cocama
1 otociclus affinis

*Flora:*

Above

Spathiphyllum 'petite' (Peace lily)
Syngonium podophyllum 'Butterfly'
Cyperus alternifolius 'Gracilis'
Aglaonema sp. (Chinese evergreen)
Chamaedorea cataractarum (Cat palm)
Monstera deliciosa (Swiss cheese plant)
Ficus pumila (Creeping fig)
Anthurium sp. 'Red' 
Pilea mollis 'Moonvalley' 

Below

Limnobium laevigatum (Amazon frogit)
Hygrophila Polysperma
Cryptocoryne retrospiralis
Cryptocoryne lutea
Cryptocoryne willisii x
Helanthium tenellum
Helanthium tenellum 'Green'
Sagitaria sublata


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

As beautiful as this maifen hair fern is in person, it just doesnt come through in pictures... its massive and it's taking over...



Between that and the Syngoniums, my vision isn't being fulfilled as far as the riparium is concerned... They are just getting too big! I was hoping the spathiphillums in the back would be bigger... I need more light back there!

Time for a trim... hopefully I didn't cut off too much...



It's a little better now but now the Syngoniums on the left look to big and the middle looks empty now... the top leaves are almost the size of the Taro I had last year! I have no experience trimming Syngonium... speaking of taro, I can't wait till spring so I can get my hands on some of those for the background planter... the cat palms have barely grown one or two leaves in 2 years so they wont work back there... 



Despite the slow growth, the Spathiphillum and Anthurium have been putting out constant flowers...



The maiden hair fern is beautiful by itself but the fine texture and overpowering size is very distracting... it ruins the composition...


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## Tank Stand (Jan 24, 2018)

hitmanx said:


> I just don't understand why shrimp don't work in this tank...
> 
> I drip acclimated a dozen wild cherry shrimp and an amano yesterday and they have dropped like flies... my gh is at 10 and my kh is at 3... my tds is a little high at 375ppm and I have been doing more water changes lately... the fish are happy and healthy... Maybe it's the 2 koralia power heads chewing them up?
> 
> ...


Amano Shrimp tend to climb out, that's what I've read. I started with 17 cherry shrimp and I haven't since more than 8 at one time. They're very good at hiding. Sometimes when you uproot a plant, quite a few will come out. I have a one that some how hides behind the suction cup of my blue light.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Yeah with all the fish swimming around I could see why the shrimp might be hiding... hopefully they survive... I found a local source of red cherry shrimp for $0.65/ea so I'd like to throw in about 100 of them... I don't want them all to die. That's why I am testing with these first... I am switching the parameters over to remineralized RO water in my smaller riparium and I'm am going to start a breeding colony in there too. I loved breeding them a few years back...

The good thing about the maiden hair fern is that you can kind of fluff it up like a pillow and change the shape of the plant to make it more round... I wouldn't dare split up the rhizome in fear of it dieing like many of my previous attempts... I am thinking of moving it to another piece of drift wood, but it's root system is perfectly situated and I fear it will die...

I would love a calathea rufibarba and ive been looking for one for over a year... i cant find any here in canada... i think it would be a perfect addition in the background.


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

Your riparium area looks better than mine. Mine always end up with the leaves way above the planters, and don't look so hot. I might have to try the maiden hair fern! Oddly enough, its the _Spathiphillum_ I have trouble with getting too big.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

vanish said:


> Your riparium area looks better than mine. Mine always end up with the leaves way above the planters, and don't look so hot. I might have to try the maiden hair fern! Oddly enough, its the _Spathiphillum_ I have trouble with getting too big.


I would.imagine that it depends on the variety of spathiphillum... I'm using 'petite' but I am thinking of trying a larger variety for the back...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I'm setting up an STC-1000 temperature controler tomorrow to control the heaters down in the sump... heater thermostats always seem a little flakey... my tank is a couple degrees lower this week than what it's been set to...

I'll go into detail on the build tomorrow...

Also I forgot to mention that at least 4 of the cherry shrimps have stayed alive and hang out mostly at the base of the far right manzanita stump grazing away and colour up nice... there still may be hope! The amano shrimp is no where to be seen...



The otociclus cocama...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Playing with the manual settings on my phone camera...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

If anyone wanted to know how the maiden hair fern is growing in the driftwood...



I tried growing terrestrial moss on top of the hairnet full of peat moss but it died slowly as the fern blocked the light... not sure what else will grow here...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

*Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.*

_Edgar Allan Poe_



I've decided to add some darker colours to the riparium... mostly shades of purple to contrast to the light greens of the syngonium and maiden hair fern...


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

I think those are going to look good. What plants are they? I only recognize the Anthurium.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

vanish said:


> I think those are going to look good. What plants are they? I only recognize the Anthurium.


Anthurium sp.
Calathea sp. Medalion
Calathea lancifolia (rattle snake plant)
Philodendron (dark variegation)


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I wash all the soil off the roots and then wash the entire plant with mild soapy water to remove any chemicals or pesticides... Then I trim the older leaves off and prune back the root systems... then i leave them in a bowl or bucket of water with roots submerged to leach anything else out and allow it to start transitioning to water roots... a couple days maybe...

Then I place into appropriate planter depending on the needs of the particular species...

I've never tried calathea before so here's hoping they do well... some say that the crown needs to above the water but I've seen examples of it growing below like a spathiphillum...

I find Anthurium tricky too... you have to get the crown just right so it doesn't rot but also allows enough water to get to the roots... I've had a couple failures... it definitely needs to above the water level with the roots below...


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## Viridis (May 11, 2016)

hitmanx said:


> I wash all the soil off the roots and then wash the entire plant with mild soapy water to remove any chemicals or pesticides... Then I trim the older leaves off and prune back the root systems... then i leave them in a bowl or bucket of water with roots submerged to leach anything else out and allow it to start transitioning to water roots... a couple days maybe...
> 
> Then I place into appropriate planter depending on the needs of the particular species...
> 
> ...


I've grown almost all of my Marantaceae spp. in what are essentially riparium conditions (small amount of inert media with a water basin underneath) and they all grew orders of magnitude better than when they were in potting soil. The crowns were above water, but man, they threw roots like you wouldn't believe; and the growth was amazing above. You may need to do regular trimming once they get established.


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## Tomatoandegg (Nov 8, 2016)

beautiful. how long is your photoperiod and how bright are your lights? the algae must be frustrating


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Tomatoandegg said:


> beautiful. how long is your photoperiod and how bright are your lights? the algae must be frustrating


The par38 leds bulbs slowly ramp up over a 12min period to 65% brightness... I'm really not sure how much that really is but I know if I go higher then I start to see more algae... the lights stay on for another 7hrs with a slow ramp down to off, then one of the lights comes on at 2% for another 2hrs acting as a moon light...

It works for me and the slow on and off is more soothing for me and the fishes... the algae seems to be subsiding now that I have started using homemade RO water... I am experiencing some bba on some drift wood but it's not that bad... It's probably due to shifting co2 levels from the water changes after being so stable for so long...


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

I just re-read your whole journal again. I really do like this tank.

Now, it may just be _when_ you're taking photos, but to me, the hygro polysperma looks like its reaching up, rather than growing flat. On my tanks with that plant, it only does that after the lights go out. They're flat as a pancake when the lights are on. I'm wondering if you're getting as much light in the tank as you think you are.

I'd love to get a hold of one of those Seneye things and see just what the PAR is like on these bulbs.

Still jealous of your riparium, even if you aren't satisfied with it.


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

I need to know how your dimming works. I struggled with that on my 150g and I'd get better coverage with more bulbs on lower power and my bulbs would probably last longer, too.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

vanish said:


> I need to know how your dimming works. I struggled with that on my 150g and I'd get better coverage with more bulbs on lower power and my bulbs would probably last longer, too.


I'm using a Lutron Caseta Wi-Fi dimmer... you plug a box into your router and control the dimming with your phone... I have setup schedules so it comes on at the same time everyday... every 3 minutes it gets brighter during ramp up and darker during ramp down... the bundle cost me about $100 CAD and i hard wired each bulb socket in series to the dimmer in a junction box with a power cord coming down to the plug... you do have to make sure the leds are dimmable but it works great!

As far as the pictures, I usually take them late at night after lights have gone out... the hygrophila is usually flat...

I'd love to get a PAR meter too to see what kind of light power I have...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

There he is!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I added the calathea lancifolia (rattlesnake plant) to a planter and stuck the green variegated philodendron behind it...



I also added the darker Anthurium to the back...



I have had this chamaedorea elegans sitting in the back for the last year not doing much bit not dieing.. . So I moved it up the front driftwood just stuck in a crack...



Next is the calathea medallion.. .

The view from my basement couch


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

What the heck is this stuff?!



It grows under the darkest sections of the manzanita... I pulled out a baseball size chunk yesterday... it sticks together like one solid squishy mass like a soft sponge...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I know I've been changing or adding a lot to this tank recently, but I enjoy it while the world outside wastes away in the cold grip of winter...

I decided to scrap the idea of building a temp controller using my stc1000 as the extra parts needed would cost more than buying a prewired Inkbird 308s... this one comes with an extra long stainless temp probe too...



Now my intention was to always add orchids to this display for colour and interest so decided to go out on a limb (pun intended) and scoop up this phalaenopsis and try it in an unorthodox growing position...



the roots I have wrapped around the crown of the fern and they are touching the moist moss... we shall see if it works... for $10 why not?



they are normally epiphytic high in the tree tops, but it may grow here below the fern... It's a gamble but it just might work...



I'm also trying out a 200 micron filter sock to try and catch debris when I do work on the submerged section... it won't be permanent as I don't like the idea of changing it out every couple days... yeah right


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I added the calathea Medallion into planter cups and put them in the back left HOB breeder box and overflow.... hopefully they survive and fill out nicely...



I also found some black plastic canvas for the weir guard... you tell me if it looks more inconspicuous?


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

The white is definitely more noticeable than the black.


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## jerrytheplater (Apr 11, 2007)

I agree with Vanish. The white jumped right out at me. Black is hidden except for the top where you can see through the diagonal mesh. Cut it flush with the other and it will look better.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

What a gorgeous tank. I love the maidenhair fern, even if you think it's too much. Looks beautiful. Odd about your Amano shrimps, i always thought they were pretty hardy. Maybe just shy of your fishes?


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

Any tips with the maidenhair fern? I just picked up a pot for my hob planter box. Just make sure the rhizome stays out of the water?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

vanish said:


> Any tips with the maidenhair fern? I just picked up a pot for my hob planter box. Just make sure the rhizome stays out of the water?


Yes keep it out of the water and have a lot of patience...




Keeps chugging along... massive growth of the maidenhair fern despite regular massive pruning...



The calathea lancifolia is doing great but the calathea Medallion failed... as did the orchid, but not after keeping it's blooms for a long time...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

1 Otociclus affinis
1 Otociclus cocama
1 Ancistrus sp. 'Super red'
5 Brachydanio tinwini
4 or 5 Celestichthys choprai
20+ Celestichthys erythromycin
20+ Celestichthys margaritatus
1 Amano shrimp

Unfortunately the C. choprai have been harassing the other fish and especially the tiger endlers... they chased them up and out so the endlers are no longer with us... I really regret getting the C. choprai... in my opinion they are not a good community fish... and they themselves occasionally jump out as well... I started with 18...

I will continue bolstering the population of C. erythromycin and C. margaritatus... they are much more chill...

The interesting thing about the male tiger endler is that he took to protecting his harem of B. tinwini, always protecting them... I was sad to see him go...


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Very good to know about the Glowlight Danio's (Celestichthys choprai). I've been tempted by them the last couple of trips to the LFS. 
This tank is just so spectacular. Do you have a misting setup? I've just started my first emersed cube and I'm thinking of doing another and it sure would be comforting to program a Mistking system to go one for a few seconds every couple of hours. My interest lies mostly in Bucephelandra so any small loss would be costly in both time and monetary loss. I was thinking of the basic one for about $130. Looks like it will run 8 nozzles?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I do not have a misting setup... the plants I have do well at ambient humidity of 35-55%


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## ese8413 (Mar 9, 2018)

Just read thru the whole thread...and wow, lol very impressed, thanx for sharing


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)




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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)




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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

When viewed from the top you can see that the spathiphyllum 'petite' are actually getting quite large...


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## Yams (May 4, 2018)

I found this a few days ago and bookmarked it because...

just...
woah.

this is the most beautiful aquarium I have ever seen.

I've googled 'riparium' and 'paludarium' and 'planted whatever' a number of times, but this one is by far my favourite. Incredible. Really. I lack the necessary vocabulary to express how much I love this. In fact, I want my large empty aquarium to look exactly like this some day.

Few questions though - how does the terrestrial plant part work? Are those plants sitting inside the tank water? Do any of them sit in dry soil?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Yams said:


> Few questions though - how does the terrestrial plant part work? Are those plants sitting inside the tank water? Do any of them sit in dry soil?


Thanks.

All the plants are either bare roots in water or in various under water plastic planter pots with hydroton pellets or seachem matrix growing media... the maiden hair fern is growing on a hair net filled with sphagnum moss on the driftwood soaking up water...

Go back to previous posts to see how that all works


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

I love the way this looks. Very artsy. The room corner with the wooden walls adds to the aesthetics of this tank.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

It's time for a change... 

The riparium plants are getting unruly and overshadowing almost the entire tank...

This is after a major cutback...



And I temporarily removed all the Syngonium to dunk them in a bucket of water to hopefully kill the aphids and eggs... they aren't really killing anything but they are annoying...



I have moved a couple of the larger Spathiphyllum 'petite' to the HOB boxes and I'm replanting the Syngonium into the overflow instead of in riparium planters... not sure what I'm going to put in those now... essentially I'm moving everything back on the left side... the newer darker Anthurium sp. has been moved to the far back right and the Cyperus alternifolius 'Gracilis' has been removed entirely... I was sick of picking out the brown spent shoots...

This all will hopefully open up the tank on the left side and give the submerged growth a chance to flourish... it's mostly Hygrophila Polysperma now but I like the look of a forest of that compared to stunted anything else I try down there... I also want to grow Ficus pumila (Creeping fig) on the left stump but up to now it's been too shaded... 

Overall the tank is a mess and overgrown as I've been on vacation a lot... but it's chugging along healthy and growing...

One of these days I'll add more lights to the back, skin the stand, change out the pump and clean the filter... baby steps...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

The syngonium is back in, filling 4 planters in the overflow and 1 aqua Verdi suction cup planter...



Next up is a replanting of the hygrophila polysperma forest... hack down and replant the tops and move them farther back as the submerged section is more open and bright now...



I just noticed how obvious the remaining white plastic canvas on the overflow is now that I moved the syngonium back as well as the unpainted return from the sump...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Trimmed down the forest of hygrophila polysperma and siphoned off accumulated mulm... Will replant today



I'm also thinking of adding more otociclus affinis and amano shrimp to help keep things more tidy... every once in a awhile the amano comes out of hiding and looks healthy...


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

This is so amazing. I want to try it on a smaller scale and I have some specific questions I hope you could help with.

1. I've got some "shower caddy's" that would have to go in the tank, but I have some HOB breeder box's too. Are you hanging them on the outside of the tank? If so, what are you using for substrate? 

2. I dont have alot of room between lights and tank rim. Maybe 10"? I was thinking of using baby tears Soleirolia soleirolii or Helxine soleirolii. Do you have any experience with them? Would they work in the matrix type substrate inside the tank planters? Do you have any suggestions for lower growing foliage plants? I've got some tillandsias mounted on driftwood along the top of the tank, but I'm clueless about getting the dense cohesive setting that you've created.

3. Do you have any experience growing emersed crypts or hygrophila in a riparium setting? I've got some emersed lucens, lutea, and parva growing in organic soil that I would like to try, but dont want to kill if the humidity wont be high enough.

Thank you! Keep the pics coming. This is one of my favorite threads to look at throughout the day. I love the different angles and view points you post up.

That maidenhair fern is gorgeous. One of my favorite plants. I've killed it several times and finally realized why... my cat loves tearing into it. I've moved it outside to recover. Would you suggest planting it like a bromeliad in mostly sphagnum moss and spritzing the moss a little bit daily?? If I can get this to recover I would reposition all of my lighting to allow for its inclusion in my little 20 long setup.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

After another mulm siphon and some house keeping, I replanted all the hygrophila polysperma in the mid ground...



The h. Polysperma has always grown gangbusters... and it all came from half a dozen almost dead stems I rescued from a moldy in vitro cup...

For unknown reasons most of the Helanthium tenellum "Green" has become stunted in the foreground and isn't sending out runners... I've tried root tabs with no change... but the ones that seem a little shaded on the left seem to be doing better...

I really don't know why I can't get much else to grow down on the substrate when before it was lush and green... too much or too little light? The soil has depleted? The riparium plants are taking too much of the ferts? Lack of co2?

I haven't tested the water in a long time.. maybe it's something else...

Only one of the species of crypt has done well and I'm not entirely sure which species it was... I believe it's Cryptocoryne lutea... all others have stunted or died... I don't recall if I have tried c. wendtii so I should get some to maybe fill out some of the empty spaces...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

So apparently you need to check the tightness of plumbing connections regularly... just found a leak at a union on the secondary drain on the bean animal to the sump... they were all pretty loose after 1.5 years... who knows for how long... and the bulkhead is loose too and has a very slow drip... but it seems like it just started when I tightened the union...

Those that have pvc plumbing make note...


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Just based on the sheer amount of plant mass above the water (which isn't C02 limited) I would think you would need to megadose that water column. How much in the way of dry ferts are you dosing? I would guess at least 1.5 times EI. 
I dont know if its feasible, but a high powered spotlight blasting the underwater area allowing maybe something dense and low growing, monte carlo perhaps, would allow the incredible wood scape you have in back to be more visible. You did a great job with that. I would try to showcase it.

I ordered a few things and due to the heat some of them suffered. Mainly the pilea depressa so far. I've been trying to find some of the plants you've used and have been coming up empty. Big box nurseries, smaller specialized nurseries, and random pet stores with zero luck. I was thinking maybe pond specialty places? Where did you locate yours? Is there an adaptation period? Do you always plant an entire plant or have you used cuttings?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

What the bloody hell!?



Water has gone cloudy... can't tell if it's greenish or white... 





I have a uv sterilizer arriving today that I'm putting in the sump... but why did this happen? Weird...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Cheap uv light from Amazon.. . 



Placed in the sump... hopefully this works...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

24 hours later... woooooooo!!!


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## TacitBlues (Aug 4, 2016)

Huh. How odd.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Of course this is by no means a scientific test but I really don't know what else could have solved the problem besides the UV light. I only had time to snap a quick picture and I had to leave again so I don't know if there are any other ill effects from the light to my set up and the inhabitants


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## Yams (May 4, 2018)

I've commented on your aquarium before but I'm still super obsessed with this tank - it's probably the main reason I'm in the process of setting up a riparium, though I don't have the luxury of such a beautiful rimless tank like that.

When you posted that top-down view of the cloudy water I noticed the lilypad-like plant leaves on the left, what plant is that? It's super cool!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

48 hours later... water is crystal clear... no I'll effects to anything that I can see...

I added 5 more amano shrimp today and planted the front with Sagittaria subulata...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Sorry busy night...

I'll get a photo up today... it's crazy how clear it is...

Whatever the issue was it may have contributed to some kind of deficiency in the older leaves of the hygrophila polysperma... bottom leaves have major pinholes that I haven't seen before... lack of light probably... the water was pretty turbid during the dark times before the coming of the light...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I don't know if I have ever posted my fertz schedule... I use Tom barr' s non-co2 method and his recommendations.. . I'm thinking I may need to up the numbers... or at least actually do it... I forget sometimes or all the time 

Monday / Thursday

EQUILIBRIUM ● 3 dash
KNO3 ● 2 dash
KH2PO4 ● 1 pinch + 1 nip


Wednesday/ Saturday

EDTA Fe ● 1 dash


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## Weidbrewer (Feb 14, 2018)

Whaaaaaaat?

Just came across this thread and am blown away. Looked at the first page then skipped ahead for spoilers and I am beyond impressed.


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## Starwarsfan (Aug 12, 2018)

great tank. very well done.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Crystal clear water... amano shrimp doing great... but the plants seem to be showing signs of deficiency... old leaves mostly... but new leaves also seem a bit off...


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## Mike! (Mar 26, 2018)

Yams said:


> When you posted that top-down view of the cloudy water I noticed the lilypad-like plant leaves on the left, what plant is that? It's super cool!


Looks like frogbit.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Mike! said:


> Looks like frogbit.


Sorry, yes indeed it is frogbit... great plant


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I am on holiday at the moment, but when I return I will be doing a full bevy of water testing to see where I am at... I will make a fish count and list the current flora and fauna in the tank...

I was thinking of switching to an all in one fert like Thrive to make it easier... dosing with dry ferts isn't that hard but a simple squirt would make it so I had no excuse actually do it... 

I will also be adding a school of Microdevario kubotai and more otociclus this week and move the CPDs that are down in the sump up into the display tank. Of course I will need to capture the few Glowlight Danio that terrorize the other fish and move them to the sump where they can spend the rest of there days patroling for planaria etc.... maybe then it will be a little calmer and happy up there...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Changes over time...

Jan 2017



Feb 2017



Mar 2017



Apr 2017



Jul 2017



Aug 2017



Sep 2017



Dec 2017



Feb 2018



May 2018



Jun 2018



Jul 2018



Aug 2018


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Has anyone had success with all in one ferts like Thrive?


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## swarley (Apr 12, 2018)

Thrive is a fairly well-renowned liquid fert. Many people use it with success. I have it on my nano tank i set up. I instruct the caretakers of the tank to dose 1 pump per week/waterchange and the plants in the tank have been growing really well. (And honestly I wish I could have it in my own house because the tank is looking amazing =D.) 

For the scapes at home, i use a diy liquid fert instead.


- One thing some local scapers that use thrive have told me is that Thrive grows plants really well, but it doesn't seem to give good red colors in plants.


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## lazy999 (Aug 2, 2018)

Niceee


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

The trap has been set to catch the glowlight danios.. . Unfortunately only the amano shrimp have ventured in so far...



I drip acclimated and added 15 Microdevario kubotai... they are beautiful fish but too fast to take pictures of with my phone.. .



I also moved the 8 cpds that were in a breeder box in the sump up to the main display... hopefully the danios will get trapped before they harass the new fish and make them jump...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I was watching the tank last night after I added the M. Kubotai and it's amazing what a school of dither fish can do for more skittish fish... almost immediately the C. Margaritatus, B. Tinwini, and C. Erythromicron and C. Choprae all came out of hiding into the open water... the M. Kubotai are more of a mid to top dwelling fish and they don't seem to be skittish, much like the B. Tinwini before their numbers dwindled to the current 4 that I have now...

So I watched the C. Choprae for awhile and they really are mean... constantly harassing even the largest of the C. Margaritatus males and any other fish that comes near it besides the Ancistrus... once these bastards have been moved maybe I can try cherry shrimp again and all the other fish can stay in the tank without being chased out...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Still no luck with catching the C. Choprae in the bottle trap... just shrimp and ottos...

But also I have no jumpers so maybe the previous agressive culprit is gone... the new amano shrimps are doing fine... but the H. Polysperma is still showing signs of deficiency... Pale colour and holes in older leaves and now transparent areas in newer leaves a few nodes from the top... i turned the light intensity down a bit a couple days ago and I am dosing more fertz... nothing drastic has changed recently except for the green water / bacterial bloom and UV light... could it be anything else? I don't think flow has changed at all...

I added another large Anthurium sp. to the back right HOB and another Calathea Lancifolia to an aquaverdi planter on the left...







I couldn't find any local sources of Ficus pumila to add to the stump on the left and they never seem to take from stem cuttings... it's root or nothing...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

This is one of my favourite fish... Otociclus Cocama... nice fat belly



Bristle Nose Ancistrus hiding behind the clear bottle...



I don't know if this is going to work long term but I moved some small stunted Spathiphyllum 'petite to some aquaverdi planters in front of the overflow to fill in the space... they were in the very back, severely shaded, and the roots where growing 6+" down the main bean animal drain and messing up the small pump that supplies one of the HOB breeder boxes...


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## swarley (Apr 12, 2018)

That OTO!!!!!!! ... Beautiful fish. I want a school so bad now. lol


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## TacitBlues (Aug 4, 2016)

swarley said:


> That OTO!!!!!!! ... Beautiful fish. I want a school so bad now. lol




Yeah! Where did you get it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

So using my frog-bit as a "duckweed index" I definitely think that my tank was nutrient deficient... the growth has been explosive in only a few days



With the same dosing scheme I've had all this time but before the riparium plants we're so big I had to throw out handfuls of frog-bit each week...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

The roots of the Spaths have definitely made there way down into the substrate in the back... who knows how far into the soil they go...

Also the idea allelopathy has me thinking... perhaps one of the many plants is responsible for this madness... it's very frustrating that nothing else seems to grow in the submerssed section besides H. Polysperma and a few crypts... I'm sure I have enough light... it's brighter the any of my previous tanks for sure... if the PAR was too high, compounded with low nutrient levels and no co2, that would also account for poor growth would it not?

Even the dwarf sag I added isn't really taking off...


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## swarley (Apr 12, 2018)

That's fairly strange. I'm gonna be lazy here and not read previous posts to check, but are you dosing ferts? and is substrate an Aquasoil or dirted? My dwarf sag sucked in my inert sand even when ferted/co2'd. I dont know why, but in my dirt with sand cap tank, it grew like crazy (with no co2) and stayed low and everything. Lighting was fairly high on both.

Depending on the species (tho it sounds like you aren't using 'hard' plants), and if you're already ferting/co2 then i have no other guess besides alleopathy to explain the struggling plant growth...I'm gonna read up now..lol sorry.

I'd also say with floating plants/emersed, nutrients get hella sucked out so if you're ferting, you may need to fert even more.

Edit: So I read back and looks like there's a good amount of ADA Malaya and Amazonia in there, tho I'm not sure about the fert levels in the Malaya, the substrate should be good for plant growth. I think it could be the floating plants/emersed plants. Since they have all the CO2 they want, they're probably using up the ferts too quickly and not enough left for the other plants ? And some plants might be more sensitive than others, and maybe the hygro polysperma and crypts are just chill with less ferts and are doing well. Could also be multiple things affecting the other plants too ofc.


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## TacitBlues (Aug 4, 2016)

For whatever it's worth, I can't grow dwarf sag no matter what I do with it. I think sometimes for whatever reason some types of plants just don't like some types of tanks.


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## jfish043 (Jan 13, 2017)

Nice


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I just read the entire thread. This is totally inspiring!

I have the perfect place to put something like this and have been wanting to do a planted freshwater tank for years. I have been keeping orchids in terrariums for the last few years along with a couple vivariums. I think a riparium is the next logical step for me.

Thanks for all the great info and pictures!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I've been working on this tank so much lately it's hard to remember that with a low tech changes take more time to settle in... some times I go months without doing anything but feed and top off... so far I've reduced the light intensity and period, started fertilizing more, decided to do 7% weekly water changes , moved plants around, and added more flora and fauna... all this within a month... it will be hard to know exactly what has helped or hindered my tank...



I truly wish my original idea of the submerssed section being dominated by crypts and tenellus panned out... I truly hate having to constantly trim stems... I also wanted a more open feel and the stems create the illusion of a smaller depth of field, not to mention the hardscape that I painstakingly designed is all but invisible behind it... 



Unfortunately I may have cursed the otociclus cocama when I posted the picture the other day... somehow he made it to the floor for a few minutes, and my first reaction was to put him back in quickly, but he has ceased to exist... out of any off my fish, that one made me sad...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

*Fauna*

1 Otocinclus affinis
1 BN ancistrus
4 Brachydanio tinwini
10+ Celestichthys erythromycin
14+ Celestichthys margaritas
4 Celestichthys choprae
15 Microdevario kubotai
5+ Amano shrimp


*Flora*

Bellow:

Hygrophila polysperma
Cryptocoryne walkeri ‘lutea’
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne willisii x
Helanthium tenellum
Sagittaria subulata
Lysimachia nummularia ‘aurea’
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Limnobium laevigatum


Above:

Adiantum aethiopicum
Spathiphyllum 'Petite'
Syngonium podophyllum 'Butterfly'
Calathea lancifolia 
Aglaonema sp.
Chamaedorea cataractarum
Chamaedorea elegans
Ficus pumila
Anthurium sp. 
Pilea mollis 'Moonvalley'
Pilea cadierei


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## JonRon (Jun 6, 2017)

Unfortunately I may have cursed the otociclus cocama when I posted the picture the other day... somehow he made it to the floor for a few minutes, and my first reaction was to put him back in quickly, but he has ceased to exist... out of any off my fish, that one made me sad...

[/QUOTE]

Sad day. Sorry to hear.


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## swarley (Apr 12, 2018)

Rip beautiful oto. You will be missed.


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## TacitBlues (Aug 4, 2016)

Oh, that's too bad :/


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Fish behaviour always astounds me... i have had these three C. Margaritatus in a holding pen in the sump since last fall... they were some of my originals from the previous tank and I kinda forgot about them down there... they are nice and plump, albeit not very colourful but adding them back has done wonders for the other cpds...



Despite there being almost 15 other cpds in the main tank, they would NEVER come out if I was around even at feeding time... but today ALL of them came out for feeding... considering I named this tank after them it was nice to see...


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## Rocketlily (Jul 30, 2011)

Very, very interesting build and thread. Thank you for sharing all the ups and downs. You've shared a lot of information, all very useful. Thank you.


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## rob g (Jan 4, 2005)

Just finished reading this thread. Very attractive build. I can only imagine how peaceful it must be to sit in your basement and enjoy this creation. Congrats.


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## Devin187 (Nov 4, 2018)

Nice tank! How wet does the Maidenhair Fern stay?


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## linzlamb (Oct 6, 2018)

Wow just read through this, very impressive and gorgeous tank. Really intriguing to see the ups and downs on the journey of creating and maintaining this masterpiece.

Bump: Wow just read through this, very impressive and gorgeous tank. Really intriguing to see the ups and downs on the journey of creating and maintaining this masterpiece.


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## Saxtonhill (Dec 28, 2012)

Wow! Well done and very reminiscent of the Tom Barr build and journal of a few years back on this forum.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Things are a little over grown...



Especially underwater... there's barely any open water for the fish...



The maiden hair fern is of course massive again and this is after a big trim...



I'm hacking away at the hygrophila polysperma as we speak and there was a lot of mulm hiding under there...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I bet your fish love all the plant density. It's so beautiful!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I'm embarrassed to show the state of this tank and what was accumulating behind all that growth...



The algae that I've been battling since 2017 really likes the manzanita on the bright left side and was covering the Limnobium laevigatum (frogbit) roots and
Ceratopteris thalictroides... i had to remove those and wash them off...



Something I noticed... the hygrophila polysperma that was growing under the dappled shade of the fern was healthier than the stems out under the bright lights... the ones out in the open seemed deficient...

I have 6 more Celestichthys margaritatus, 1 more Microdevario kubotai, and 11 Boraras brigittae (chili rasbora) drip acclimating to the quarantine tank and will be added at a later date...

I'm still not sure how fish are getting down into the sump but there's a lot down there... one of these days I'll get them back up into the display tank...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

You can see here that the hygrophila polysperma on the left is more pale than that on the right... maybe the higher light is causing an imbalance...



With most of the stems and floaters taken out it's quite open but I think I like it... I will add stems back under the fern, but I will only add some of the frogbit back in...



I do like the contrast of the full top and mostly barren bottom...



There's a lot more swimming space for the fish... I could barely see any more than couple fish at a time before...



This way the hardscape is more on display... but I really wish my original concept worked out where the bottom looked like a flooded forest with "grasses" and crypt etc... too much light I guess... I started with 100% power to the LEDs at 7hrs/day and now I'm on 55% for 6hrs... hopefully the stupid algae and mulm accumulation will subside with the better flow now that the water column is more open...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Good grief... open space means maximum velocity for the remaining Celestichthys choprae to chase and harass the other fish...

I wish I could get them out of there...

In the last couple days I've seen 4 of the 6 amano shrimp at one time... only 2 of the
Brachydanio tinwini remain... and of the 10+ Celestichthys erythromycin that should be in there, I've only seen 1... the rest are in the sump or are hiding in the manzanita as they are very good at that... there are a bunch of the Microdevario kubotai down in the sump with less then half of them in the display tank...

I added a tiny Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus oblongus) in early October and I swear he doubled in size in the first few weeks but now i can't find him...

*Updated Fauna:*

1 Otocinclus affinis
1 BN ancistrus
2 Brachydanio tinwini
10+ Celestichthys erythromycin (maybe?)
14+ Celestichthys margaritatus
3 Celestichthys choprae
7+ Microdevario kubotai
4+ Amano shrimp

Soon I will adding 1 more kubotai, 6 more cpds and 10 chili rasbora... I'm also thinking of adding a big group of Trigonostigma hengeli... apparently they are peaceful schooling fish that will get along...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

The overflow and sump!!

Somehow the Siamese Algae Eater got down into the sump! How is that possible?? He's already bigger than the c. Choprae...

The overflow is surrounded by #10 plastic canvas... unless they jump over that and then over the leaf gutter guard which is an inch taller...

Could they possibly be swimming into the return pipe and down into the pump and somehow not get chewed up?? 

I'm so confused...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

A gritty shot of the whole tank as I see it...


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## TheUnseenHand (May 14, 2017)

Sounds like you need to put a webcam on your tank at key areas (overflow, return). This camera is great and cheap. I have one on my reef tank. You'd be surprised what you notice watching the camera.

https://www.amazon.com/Wyze-Indoor-...argid=aud-467599743108:pla-687048860392&psc=1


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I've got 6 more Celestichthys margaritas, 22 more Microdevario kubotai waiting in a quarantine tank...

I'm gonna be adding some cryptocoryne wendtii 'green' and 'kompact' to the darker areas... its the only crypt species i haven't tried in the tank... and if I can get the front section carpeted with dwarf sag I will be happy...


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Thanks for the updates!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

The sump is finally cleaned...



I rinsed the poret filter for the first time since start up... it wasnt actually that bad although it is only 10ppi... I siphoned out the mulm in the sump with a python and replaced the water with remineralised RO...

I went fishing with my daughter and caught 12 Celestichthys erythromicron, 1 Microdevario kubotai, and the Siamese Algae Eater which has quadrupled in size since the last time he was in the display tank... I was actually expecting more to be down there... 

This is the best I could do with this fast swimming fish...



I put everything back together but now the pump is making a cavitation noise and the display is quite cloudy... I put a 5 micron sock under the drain pipe and added some seachem prime just in case... I had to readjust the bean animal drain valve so I guess the filter was holding back some water...

I was going to finally replace the old pump with the new eheim compact+ 5000 I bought last year, but the hose size is different so I need new plumbing parts...

I will update the list of flora and fauna later... there's also a fry of unknown species in a breeder box in the sump now...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Fauna (Dec 2018)

1 Otocinclus affinis
1 BN ancistrus
1 Siamese Algae Eater
2 Brachydanio tinwini (Myanmar)
13 Celestichthys erythromycin (Myanmar)
14 Celestichthys margaritatus (Myanmar)
3 Celestichthys choprae (Myanmar)
8 Microdevario kubotai (Thailand/Myanmar)
4+ Amano shrimp

What seems strange is I have NEVER seen a dead body in the tank or sump... yes I've had jumpers but not enough to account for the losses since startup... unless my dogs are eating the bodies 

A lot of the fish were pushing 3 years old so probably age related... but I've lost 7 kubotai since September and I've never seen a body... I do miss the brachydanio tinwini shoal... they were gorgeous but I can't find anymore...

Feeding has always been something I have worried about... common wisdom says don't feed to much but it's hard to know what too much is when you have a community tank with different types of fish and feeding habits...

I really don't think I feed enough and it will be interesting to see how the margaritatus and erythromicron fair with the new shoal of kubotai being out front eating all the food... given the age of the tank and non sterile conditions I'm sure there's all sorts of critters to supliment them but I don't know... I definately see them hunting something...

Waiting in quarantine:

6 Celestichthys margaritatus
18 Microdevario kubotai
6 Boraras brigittae

Not all the kubotai in quarantine were healthy when I got them and 4 have died by what seems like starvation with sunken bellies, odd swimming and death... no other signs of why... same thing happened with the brigittae as I started with 12 and down to 6 or 7... but they showed signs of fungus... the remaining seem healthy...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I moved 17 Microdevario kubotai and 5 rasboras brigittae into the riparium today... the front of the tank is again a hub of excitement...



Yesterday I added some Ludwigia repens to the middle left... I've never tried this plant before and it should break up the green if it grows...

[

I also added a large portion of trident java fern and I will be splitting it up and gluing it to the manzanita in the back middle with the leaves coming out towards the front... hopfully its not a algae and scum magnet...



I want to do something with this stump... it's too small for the ficus pumila... I'm thinking of a wabi kusa draped over the back with various emersed plants at a smaller scale... as long as i keep the plants above trimmed back it should do well 



Also something that I have noticed since using the salty shrimp for remineralizing the RO water for changes is the snail population has rebounded in a big way... the tank must have been deficient in calcium I guess? Over all theres less of that mushy algae too...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Now that snails seem to like my tank I'm going to try some other species that may help keep my tank clean... I've had the bigger red and brown ramshorn snails before in harder water setups and I like them... but I want to try malaysian trumpet snails to help with the substrate and nerites of different kinds...

I picked up 6 various specimens today of neritinae and clithon, but I am unsure of the exact species... 



They're in the quarantine tank now, as I had a zebra nerite before that died within a day and I think it brought planaria with it...


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Just found this thread. I LOVE your tank! I love ripariums in general, but you've made a very stunning one!

Subscribing and looking forward to more photos!


edit: what is your air temp and humidity in the room this tank is in? I tried maiden hair fern way back when i first started riparium plants but killed it i think the air was too dry and I kept the roots too wet. Clearly your maiden hair fern s is loving whatever you are doing.




hitmanx said:


> Now that snails seem to like my tank I'm going to try some other species that may help keep my tank clean... I've had the bigger red and brown ramshorn snails before in harder water setups and I like them... but I want to try malaysian trumpet snails to help with the substrate and nerites of different kinds...



Speaking from experience: once you introduce mts (malasian trumpet snails) you can never get rid of them without scraping the whole tank out (and toss all the substrate). I've tried thoroughly sifting substrate for 2+ years, always missed a few and they just repopulated. Was a a dense riparium so plenty of plants to consume ammonia from their poop, but omg so much poop! Water cahnges always looked so nasty when I siphoned the substrate. I'd personally recommend black worms instead. They can be food for the fish, eat dead plant matter, and sift substrate as they live in it. But that's just from my experiences.


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## Ventchur (Apr 29, 2018)

Maiden fern the MVP!


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

AquaAurora said:


> Just found this thread. I LOVE your tank! I love ripariums in general, but you've made a very stunning one!
> 
> Subscribing and looking forward to more photos!
> 
> ...


Room temp varies from 19 to 24 and humidity varies from 60 in the summer to 35 to 40 in the winter... even when I fire up the woodstove about 10 feet away it's still the most prolific grower in my tank... it does get some dry fronds in the winter but only a few...

The trick is how you plant it... I've tried many ways but putting into sphagnum filled hair net and resting it on a log has been the ticket... the roots have now spread out far into the tank and created a wonderful area to collect detritus...

I have a love hate relationship with the maiden hair fern...


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## Yams (May 4, 2018)

hitmanx said:


> The trick is how you plant it... I've tried many ways but putting into sphagnum filled hair net and resting it on a log has been the ticket... the roots have now spread out far into the tank and created a wonderful area to collect detritus...
> 
> I have a love hate relationship with the maiden hair fern...


It's absolutely beautiful though. I think I want to try growing it; if I do then perhaps I'll try what you did to get it to grow so well. Thanks!

I'm about halfway done setting up a large riparium with your tank being a big part of the inspiration. I'm not kidding. I think I commented earlier in this thread saying that I was going to do it. Well, I'm doin' it. :grin2:


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

If you want inspiration check out this guy I found today... amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/user/minh0007

It looks like he makes short term setups, either that or he has a lot of huge tanks with the same dimensions as mine...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I wanted to clear something up... I assumed that the overall basement humidity was what this the maidenhair fern was growing in, but where the basement ranges from 35 to 60% and today it's 35, it is in fact 50% when I measured it right at the tank...


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I have lots of updates coming, but I wanted to get this problem out of the way first...

For a long time I've been dealing with various deficiencies in the submerssed plants and the recent addition of Hygrophila angustifolia, which is known to be a canary for problems, has been showing signs of deficiency...

These leaves are not new but either the second or third one down... they are some of the brightest areas in the tank...



They are near the surface, some in high flow and some less so... I know some of you will say that holes in leaves are always due to flow and co2 distribution but it shouldn't matter as much in a non injected tank right?



I have stopped using dry ferts and have been using Thrive all-in-one and equilibrium... I'm dosing twice as much as the bottle says for a low tech and im consistently changing about 10% weekly...

Any ideas?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

I did some rearranging in the back, cleared the area above the left stump, added salvinia natans, Hygrophila angustifolia, heterantha zosterfolia to the brighter sections and more crypt wendtii and lutea to the shaded, and started using Thrive all-in-one fertilizer instead of dry ferts... I am seeing deficiencies in the stems and the dwarf sag is living but not sending runners.. . I am about to add osmocote substrate ferts so hopefully I will see an improvement.. . The mexican clay tablets I added back at Xmas definitely added more growth and colour to the crypts I put them near...



Besides some Pilea cardieri placed in a few places, I added another Anthurium, but a different hybrid... smaller with pointy leaves and pointy purple spathes... also added an unknown fern with the roots stuffed in a wet portion of the driftwood with some sphagnum (possibly Korean rock fern)...



I used some sphagnum moss wrapped in hair net hanging on the stump with its toes in the water for the Anthurium...





I still haven't decided what I am going to do with the left stump... but I added some spiky moss at the waterline...



The recent addition of the salvinia has made all the floaters more loose and therefore more prone to moving around and thereby ending up on the far left where it gets stuck on the overflow... so I am trying something new... I used fishing line and little foam pieces to make a floater barrier... it a kind of ugly and you can see the foam from underneath but it's an experiment... surface scum has accumulated within the area now...



The fern has been drying out in the lower humidity this year so I had to trim a bunch of fronds and it's kind of lost its shape... it has an open crown and I'm seriously thinking of getting rid of the thing and maybe starting with a new one that doesn't have such a large rhizome...

Here it is in the moonlight...


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

Really love your tank. Especially all the above-water plants dipping their toes- I'd love to try something like that one day. I switched to using Thrive also, and some of my plants look better but others are struggling- my stems (rotalas) started looking awful until I added root tabs again, my windelov fern is dying. Everything else seems to really like Thrive- especially my floaters! but I'm considering going back to dry ferts because I really miss the windelov it was so pretty before.


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## AguaScape (Oct 28, 2018)

Your tank is gorgeous. The plant on the left side is absolutely stunning. The one with the wavy leaves, with dark green spots and edge on a lighter green field. Please tell me what is is.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

AguaScape said:


> Your tank is gorgeous. The plant on the left side is absolutely stunning. The one with the wavy leaves, with dark green spots and edge on a lighter green field. Please tell me what is is.


Calathea Lancifolia... does very well in riparium planters... it folds up each night and spreads out when the lights come on...


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## Grobbins48 (Oct 16, 2017)

Absolutely stunning- beautiful presentation!


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## AguaScape (Oct 28, 2018)

hitmanx said:


> Calathea Lancifolia... does very well in riparium planters... it folds up each night and spreads out when the lights come on...


Rattlesnake plant. Exciting name. Thank you for that information. I may be doing some above water foliage on my 60 cube. This plant would be #1 on my list.


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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

Just read through the whole thread, a really interesting journal this one and gorgeous setup. I see it's been a year since you were active Hitman but would be really interesting to hear what happened to this tank?


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Yes it's still going strong... just haven't updated in awhile... Keeping busy with other stuff...

I will get pics up soon... no real change... it needs a good cleaning... the same slimy brown algae is starting to come back... time to clean the filter!


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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

hitmanx said:


> Yes it's still going strong... just haven't updated in awhile... Keeping busy with other stuff...
> 
> I will get pics up soon... no real change... it needs a good cleaning... the same slimy brown algae is starting to come back... time to clean the filter!


Good to hear it's still in the game! Life gets in the way sometimes but looking forward to seeing some fresh pictures


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Just now...


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Wow! This tank is a stunner indeed - the emergent plants look GREAT!


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## Crazygar (Nov 16, 2006)

Hitmanx, I think Jarmila (Angelfins) has more Zebra Otos. Just finished reading the entire journal. Wow, what a great way to start my morning.

What a stunning tank and very inspiring.

Gary


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## Quagulator (May 4, 2015)

Crazygar said:


> Hitmanx, I think Jarmila (Angelfins) has more Zebra Otos. Just finished reading the entire journal. Wow, what a great way to start my morning.
> 
> What a stunning tank and very inspiring.
> 
> Gary


Online orders only  Post services experiencing long delays... 

Just checked website, zebra oto's out of stock...


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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

hitmanx said:


> Just now...


Looking great! I was afraid there for a moment that you didn't have the tank running anymore as there'd not been any updates lately. I see you got rid of that fern that was in the middle of the emersed plants before, know you mentioned it kept taking over the tank. Hope you find the time to keep us updated going forward, it's a really cool build.


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## Crazygar (Nov 16, 2006)

Quagulator said:


> Online orders only  Post services experiencing long delays...
> 
> Just checked website, zebra oto's out of stock...


Obviously Online orders, that is a no brainer. For planted aquarists like ourselves in SW Ontario, this is the one stop shop. FedEX is faster than Canada Purge.

Gary


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

Tank looks amazing
not sure if they're in the pic but how are the Kubutai? I love how they always go out and swim in the open


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Ive read through this before, but it just popped back up in my subs. I recently acquired a 30 gallon frag tank with overflow that i fell in love with and have been planning to do a riparium tank with hardscape poking out of the water. Ill have to re read through this and pull more inspiration! This tank is just awesome and i am excited to make my own in home version.Thanks for keeping us updated.


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