# First Iwagumi Attempt



## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

Decided to try my hand at Iwagumi (first try at planted tank too!). Twist, I am trying to do a semi-low cost (but quality), high tech tank by making and/or finding as much stuff as possible, so I'll be keeping track of cost as well.

5/4/13: Got a 10 gallon at the Petco $1/gal sale and derimmed the top. Found some cool rocks for free by the river. Got a bag of MGOCPM.

Total Cost Thus Far: $20

Dirt added and first attempt at rockscape


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

5/5/13: Decided the rock looks like a penis and rescaped. Capped with pool filter sand bought from Leslie's Pool Supplies.

Total cost thus far: $30

Rescaped and sand cap added









Closer look at the rocks









Before and after comparison


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

5/11: Bought 3 pots of HC Cuba and divided it up and planted. I am going to go with DSM on this tank. 

Light is a single 23W 5500K CFL vertical in a 6.5" IKEA lamp, mounted 14" above substrate. 12 hours burn period on a timer. Too much light, too little? I might go with 2 lights later for a more even spread.

Total cost thus far: $61

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Angle


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## cephelix (Apr 8, 2013)

Are you planning to grow them via DSM or straight up flood the tank?

Quite like the arrangement of the rocks though I personally would angle them more.


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## jimmytruong87 (Oct 16, 2012)

Good luck with algea . HC will melt down . DSM is not good way for HC


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

cephelix said:


> Are you planning to grow them via DSM or straight up flood the tank?
> 
> Quite like the arrangement of the rocks though I personally would angle them more.


DSM for a couple months.



jimmytruong87 said:


> Good luck with algea . HC will melt down . DSM is not good way for HC


Care to elaborate? I've seen plenty of tanks successfully convert emersed HC form to immersed HC form as long as you nuke the tank with CO2 in the first 3 weeks of flooding.


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

no idea about the light, but yea dsm for like a month and a half should be good. I had no problems transitioning


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## amsreorb (Aug 4, 2011)

I'm new at this. What does MGOCPM stand for? I would love to see how cheaply I can do these sorts of tanks as well, so I will be following this thread closely. Thanks for the updates.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

amsreorb said:


> I'm new at this. What does MGOCPM stand for? I would love to see how cheaply I can do these sorts of tanks as well, so I will be following this thread closely. Thanks for the updates.


Miracle Grow Organic Choice Potting Mix. You can search for it on this forum. I would advise you to take the time to pick out or sift out all the larger particles like wood chips. I got lazy and didn't do it, and kind of regret it now. Hopefully my sand cap will be enough to hold the floaties down.

In terms of cost, I want to do it for cheap, but I still want quality, so I save when I could and spend when I should. The MGOCPM is a much better saving if you are doing a big tank (40+). I paid $10 for a huge bag and only used about 1/6 of it if that. Still cheaper than ADA Amazonia, but savings would've been exponential if I had a bigger tank.


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## alexei (May 8, 2012)

the one rock looks like Jabba the Hutt... I like it.


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## amsreorb (Aug 4, 2011)

samwoo2go said:


> Miracle Grow Organic Choice Potting Mix. You can search for it on this forum. I would advise you to take the time to pick out or sift out all the larger particles like wood chips. I got lazy and didn't do it, and kind of regret it now. Hopefully my sand cap will be enough to hold the floaties down.
> 
> In terms of cost, I want to do it for cheap, but I still want quality, so I save when I could and spend when I should. The MGOCPM is a much better saving if you are doing a big tank (40+). I paid $10 for a huge bag and only used about 1/6 of it if that. Still cheaper than ADA Amazonia, but savings would've been exponential if I had a bigger tank.


Thanks for the response. I am working my way through my first planted tank. I am just using the Flora Substrate from the store because I figured it was easier, plus since I am keeping it at school and using it in my science classes, my school is going to pay the expenses for it. I am still trying to keep the cost down, but it is not as important right now.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

5/18 Bought some Osmolite Plus root tabs for more nutrients and rigged up a DIY paintball ASA on off setup with Swagelok B-ORM2 needle valve. 

Total cost thus far: $120

Got some visible growth going!

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DIY Paintball CO2


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

samwoo2go said:


> 5/5/13: Decided the rock looks like a penis and rescaped. Capped with pool filter sand bought from Leslie's Pool Supplies.
> 
> Total cost thus far: $30
> 
> ...


"Decided the rock looks like a penis and rescaped."

Too funny! lol :icon_lol:

Everything looks good bro.

Your DSM will be successful if you blast the co2 and reduced the lighting period to 8-10 hours after flooring.

I like the scape but the little rock on the left is distracting...

Nice rock find by the way..


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## limz_777 (Jun 29, 2005)

like the new placement of rocks , but i would slope the back area more


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

jimmytruong87 said:


> Good luck with algea . HC will melt down . DSM is not good way for HC


I guess I failed pretty badly eh?

Next time do not set yourself up to be proven very wrong.



















A few thousand folks have done extremely well. 

So........

Common mistakes: sealing the tank up too much, it's better that it's not 100% humid, leave some opening, just enough to get a little condensation.
I can grow HC outside in full sun in California's dry weather if I water daily. I have had it growing on my bonsai. Freezing temps kill it though.

Poor CO2 is the most common killer once people flood their tanks, the DSM avoids the CO2 issue, so any one should be able to grow a nice lawn in while dry, but the DSM saves NONE if they cannot grow HC well submersed, which are quite a few folks.
I'm not one of them.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

tylergvolk said:


> Your DSM will be successful if you blast the co2 and reduced the lighting period to 8-10 hours after flooring.


I have actually heard of the suggestion to burn your lights for 5 hours in week 1 after flooding and increase 1 hour each week until you hit 12. Is that too little light?



limz_777 said:


> like the new placement of rocks , but i would slope the back area more


Ya, I wanted to at first, but didn't want to go deeper than 5" which is what it's at right now in the back left corner. This is my first experiment (mostly to test DSM and HC Cuba), and on my next build, I will prop the slope up first with lava rocks or foam.



plantbrain said:


> I guess I failed pretty badly eh?
> 
> Next time do not set yourself up to be proven very wrong.
> 
> ...


Are you...Tom Barr? If so, you are awesome and I love you. 

All kidding aside, I am actually growing some left over HC Cuba scrapes by just laying them over some soil outside (pushed in a little) and soaked in water to test it out. Looking good so far, no growth yet, but definitely not dying lol


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

6/1: Didn't really do anything. It's been 3 weeks since the initial planting...

Total cost thus far: Still $120

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## aqua-botanicae (Jun 4, 2013)

Good start. I'd love to see updates.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

UPDATE!

6/19: A little over 5 weeks in, starting to see some real growth. A good sign that the roots are coming along. Got a slight case of BGA going on the low parts of the substrate. Tilted the tank towards the back to distribute water more evenly.

Total cost thus far: $120




















5 weeks growth comparison


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## binbin9 (Jan 31, 2012)

nice work so far


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Wow that HC is coming in great!


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## aqua-botanicae (Jun 4, 2013)

Nice! How long before you'll flood the tank?


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

aqua-botanicae said:


> Nice! How long before you'll flood the tank?


I am on vacation in Thailand at the moment. Probably flood it when I get back next weekend. That would put the DSM at 10 weeks. Still need to pick up some CO2 supplies, like tubing and reactor.


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## Dina-Angel (Jun 20, 2013)

It looks very interesting so far!


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## walluby (Dec 3, 2007)

Well I was have been one of the ones with little
success. Things were looking good as a DSM.
Then I flooded the tank and instantly created a 
brown mess. I have been bombing it with CO2,
and some new shoots are coming through, but
I don't know what is going to happen next.
I am wondering if I should pull all the brown out
and replant HC. Open for comments.

1st image DSM
2nd image right after flooding
3rd image 3 weeks later


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

Looks like the algae smoothered your HC. Did you reduce photo period to 4 hours and daily 50% Water change for the first week? I hope I can do better because the growth is amazing so far. 



walluby said:


> Well I was have been one of the ones with little
> success. Things were looking good as a DSM.
> Then I flooded the tank and instantly created a
> brown mess. I have been bombing it with CO2,
> ...


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

*FINAL UPDATE BEFORE FLOODING!!!*

7/21 Bought ferts, a large Ista Max Mix CO2 reactor to run inline with my existing Rena Filstar XP3 and a bunch of miscellaneous CO2 stuff like tubing, check valves and drop checker.

Total cost thus far: $200

The HC now covers approx 98% of the floor space. Not misting for 2.5 weeks while I was on vacation actually aided in combating the BGA a bit. This DSM is now at 10 weeks and I am going to flood in a couple of days when I have some time.

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Progression Shots


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## jargonchipmunk (Dec 8, 2008)

love the progression comparison. Glad you had such good fortune with this. Here's to the flooded fortune as well.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

Thanks! Few things I learned.

1. HC Cuba is not as humidity demanding as you think. I honestly think it grew better during the 2 weeks that I was gone and did not mist at all. And I live in SoCal where it's pretty dry.

2. I made the mistake of "adding" nutrients by spraying with water from a water change (fish only). This invited the BGA to start appearing and not sure how much I really aided the growth. Use only root tabs or nutrients from aquasoil.

3. Leave a crack in your seal for gas exchange and to let some of the humidity to escape.

4. If you can see water on the surface of the substrate, it's too much water. You can see that there's little growth in the front 2 corners. Those are the low points and it was constantly flooded. Conversely, the back left corner was the highest point and I was worried that it would get too dry, grew just fine.

5. Tilt your tank if you have slopes to get a more even distribution of water level. Only add enough water so that your lowest point just begins to flood.



jargonchipmunk said:


> love the progression comparison. Glad you had such good fortune with this. Here's to the flooded fortune as well.


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## jargonchipmunk (Dec 8, 2008)

*jots notes down in his imaginary pad*



I'm flopping between flood or DSM when I start my tank very soon. I might do DSM just to have fun with some yogurt moss. I've done DSM before, but it was meh. I think I was going way too overkill on the moisture content.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

samwoo2go said:


> Thanks! Few things I learned.
> 
> 1. HC Cuba is not as humidity demanding as you think. I honestly think it grew better during the 2 weeks that I was gone and did not mist at all. And I live in SoCal where it's pretty dry.
> 
> ...



All of these are great tips. I have never had much issue with DSM on HC myself either. Had a few times it didn't work so well but that was due to CO2 issues after filling.

The biggest mistake people make with DSM is just putting too much thought into it. It really doesn't need consistent misting or high humidity, not sure where that assumption comes from. Over misting, having the tank to sealed and having too much water are common mistakes and kind of all go together with having too much moisture. I often see people try to add moisture or try to increase humidity when they are having issues which is usually the opposite of what is needed.


Anyway, tank looks great. Glad you went with the second scape.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

In your past experience, how many bubbles per second should I run the CO2 while the transition happens?



talontsiawd said:


> All of these are great tips. I have never had much issue with DSM on HC myself either. Had a few times it didn't work so well but that was due to CO2 issues after filling.
> 
> The biggest mistake people make with DSM is just putting too much thought into it. It really doesn't need consistent misting or high humidity, not sure where that assumption comes from. Over misting, having the tank to sealed and having too much water are common mistakes and kind of all go together with having too much moisture. I often see people try to add moisture or try to increase humidity when they are having issues which is usually the opposite of what is needed.
> 
> ...


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

samwoo2go said:


> In your past experience, how many bubbles per second should I run the CO2 while the transition happens?


BPS really depends on tank size/diffusion method. If you are using a drop checker, make sure it goes to yellow. After you see new growth, you can assume it has transitioned well and bump your CO2 down so you can add fish without gassing them.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

Yellow, got it thanks!



talontsiawd said:


> BPS really depends on tank size/diffusion method. If you are using a drop checker, make sure it goes to yellow. After you see new growth, you can assume it has transitioned well and bump your CO2 down so you can add fish without gassing them.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

*FLOODED!!!
*
7/27: Finally flooded the tank, all systems a go. Final cost = $200 I am not planning to have to spend anymore until I need to stock. 

I am running CO2 at ~6bps, flow rate at least 250gph (25X turnover). Switched out the 23w CFL for a 13w and reduced photoperiod to 4 hours. Going to do daily 50% WC for 2 weeks with half EI dosing. 

Here's to all or nothing! 

Some pictures below. Any suggestion on what to plant in between those 2 rocks? Right now I am thinking Blyxa Japonica or DHG Belem, but I am open to suggestions (especially something red).

Tank Shot (please excuse all the equipment, I am trying to use as much of existing equipment as possible since this is my first planted tank experiment, if everything goes well, I will upgrade to move mostly everything inline and glass pipes)









My paintball CO2 setup with homemade bubble counter.









Rena Filstar XP3 next to Ista Max Mix Reactor. I feel like the reactor does a pretty decent job, especially given the price. It does make some noise, but I think it's mostly due to the amount of CO2 going in right now. I ran it for a bit without any CO2 and it's pretty silent. 









Drop Checker Yellow? Check!









Obscene amount of pearling going on right now haha


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## keats (Apr 26, 2013)

Looks really good!!


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## Jessicafish (Jul 13, 2013)

Nice! I really like the stones! what are your plans for stocking?


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

Thanks, harvested them from the beach. 

This is probably going to be a shrimp only tank. I might do regular cherries just to figure out how much CO2 and dosing they can handle. 



Jessicafish said:


> Nice! I really like the stones! what are your plans for stocking?


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

Catastrophe Strikes!

I had a catastrophic failure of the heater due to I moved it higher in the tank and forgot to turn it off before changing water. It was above the water line for too long and blew up in 2 pieces. Yes it projectile itself into the wall.


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

samwoo2go said:


> Catastrophe Strikes!
> 
> I had a catastrophic failure of the heater due to I moved it higher in the tank and forgot to turn it off before changing water. It was above the water line for too long and blew up in 2 pieces. Yes it projectile itself into the wall.


Woooow!  Sorry to hear about your tank. That carpet was looking very good. I hope no one got hurt from that heater.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Wow, that's no good. I can't believe that it broke that violently, it looks like the dry wall even cracked after it went through the glass. Must of scared you pretty good, haha. Hopefully your clean up efforts are going/went well.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

talontsiawd said:


> Wow, that's no good. I can't believe that it broke that violently, it looks like the dry wall even cracked after it went through the glass. Must of scared you pretty good, haha. Hopefully your clean up efforts are going/went well.


Ya it shoot about 1/2" into the drywall

I am at a lost of how to transplant into a new tank...


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

samwoo2go said:


> Ya it shoot about 1/2" into the drywall
> 
> I am at a lost of how to transplant into a new tank...


Pull your carpet up ASAP and put it in a Ziplock bag if you don't have another place to put it. That will keep it good for a few days, maybe up to a week or so. Then you can take some time figuring the whole thing out. I haven't had that bad of a failure but I did crack a pane with a rock (tank was luckily empty). It was a lot nicer having time, rather than running around like crazy like when I have to move a tank.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

talontsiawd said:


> Pull your carpet up ASAP and put it in a Ziplock bag if you don't have another place to put it. That will keep it good for a few days, maybe up to a week or so. Then you can take some time figuring the whole thing out. I haven't had that bad of a failure but I did crack a pane with a rock (tank was luckily empty). It was a lot nicer having time, rather than running around like crazy like when I have to move a tank.


Ok, so keep the carpet in DSM conditions in the zip lock or fully submerged. What about the current substrate, does it go with the carpet or just plants only? They are about 5 weeks into the flood from DSM.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

samwoo2go said:


> Ok, so keep the carpet in DSM conditions in the zip lock or fully submerged. What about the current substrate, does it go with the carpet or just plants only? They are about 5 weeks into the flood from DSM.


DSM conditions are fine. Basically, you would do it the same way you would ship plants. For me, that would maybe 1/4 cup of water and fill the bag about 1/2 way full, use more than one if you get past that. I wouldn't worry about getting the old substrate out of the root system and then put the substrate in a bag, bucket, etc to reuse if that is your plan.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

talontsiawd said:


> DSM conditions are fine. Basically, you would do it the same way you would ship plants. For me, that would maybe 1/4 cup of water and fill the bag about 1/2 way full, use more than one if you get past that. I wouldn't worry about getting the old substrate out of the root system and then put the substrate in a bag, bucket, etc to reuse if that is your plan.


And when I replant, do I do another quick DSM for them to root or plant directly in water?


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

samwoo2go said:


> And when I replant, do I do another quick DSM for them to root or plant directly in water?


Either works. I have become less of a fan of DSM over the years. I find it takes longer and has more room for error. Planting HC is a pain compared to dry start but I just would rather take the extra few hours. Just make sure to take a break if you don't want to do a DSM tank and just go for it. It's really no different than if you were starting a brand new tank though, pick whatever way you prefer.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

talontsiawd said:


> Either works. I have become less of a fan of DSM over the years. I find it takes longer and has more room for error. Planting HC is a pain compared to dry start but I just would rather take the extra few hours. Just make sure to take a break if you don't want to do a DSM tank and just go for it. It's really no different than if you were starting a brand new tank though, pick whatever way you prefer.


Perfect, just picked up a 12g long on CL for $50. Here we go.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

samwoo2go said:


> Perfect, just picked up a 12g long on CL for $50. Here we go.


Nice. Awesome score right there.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

I am back in business!


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

Damn, that was fast and it looks even better. So I guess the heater blowing up was a good thing? j/k. BTW, Welcome to the club.


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## Jonnywhoop (May 30, 2012)

jimmytruong87 said:


> Good luck with algea . HC will melt down . DSM is not good way for HC


I lolled. Check my sig. You're a complete fool.



And nice progression btw! :icon_smil


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

That looks really good. Are you carpeting the whole thing or leaving the sand on the right side? If you leave the sand, I think it would be cool if you put some HC around the back so it isn't such a sharp line.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

talontsiawd said:


> That looks really good. Are you carpeting the whole thing or leaving the sand on the right side? If you leave the sand, I think it would be cool if you put some HC around the back so it isn't such a sharp line.


The plan so far is to put a blyxa in the back left corner and a tree (either Mini Pellia or US fissiden) where the little rock is on the right side. Probably a few s Repens around the tree and along the back as well.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

Started a new Journal for the 12G Long: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=432649


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

Found out what the heater was through a Google Image search. Looks like it was a Resun external control titanium heater: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/aquarium_heater.html

I think I bought it off e b a y though. Either, not worth my time to pursue any further...


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