# natx's 29G Journal (56k Warning)



## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Hey folks, this is going to be my first planted aquarium and I'm terribly excited to get going on it. I currently have a 40 gallon vivarium for my turtle, which you can see in this thread, and read more about on my web site.

I recently purchased a 29 gallon high tank (30 x 12 x 18 inches) to use with a stand that I had for the turtle's previous tank, a 20 gallon long. Today I cleared out some of my girlfriends junk while she was at work (heh heh), and got the tank into position and leveled (gotta love pre-war Boston apartment buildings, there was about a quarter inch gap under the right rear leg). I should probably re-center the print above the tank.










I have a Coralife dual 65watt compact fluorescent on its way and a glass top. I'm excited about the lunar lighting aspect of this fixture, because the tank is located in our foyer area, and it will essentially be serving the role of World's Coolest Nightlight for those midnight snack and bathroom trips.

Also just found a local distributor for eco-complete, which is good because I was having a hard time with the idea of ordering 60 pounds of *dirt* over the internet. For filtration I'm leaning towards one of those hang-on-tank Magnum canister filters, mostly because my stand isn't ideal for hiding equipment. Feedback on the effectiveness of those would be appreciated. I heard the Bio-Wheel options reduce CO2 concentrations in planted tanks, but I found a model with a standard feed return and no Bio-Wheel attachment.

The layout I've drawn up revolves around an off-center driftwood centerpiece (currently soaking), with a clump of _Hygrophila corymbosa_ directly behind it, and the rest of the tank composed of a lawn of _Marsilea quadrifolia_ and maybe some hair grass or something along those lines. My intent is to start with some forgiving plants that will allow me to feel my way through the setup of a planted aquarium, and provide an attractive minimalist layout.

Sorry I don't have any more interesting photos at this point. The light and other equipment should be arriving this week, and I'll go get the substrate next weekend.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Soaking some driftwood, two store bought pieces that sunk immediately, and one larger piece that my friend collected (rocks are just to hold down the collected piece and won't be part of my hardscape).


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

good luck. just a note, keep a VERY detailed journal if possible especially since you never know what might end up in ur substriaght... :hihi: (check scolly's 75g out)

- fish newb -


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

I've been laboring through that wonderful thread, and I'm only about a 1/5th of the way in.. Wanna give me a spoiler about the substrate?


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

natx said:


> I've been laboring through that wonderful thread, and I'm only about a 1/5th of the way in.. Wanna give me a spoiler about the substrate?


noope =-p

it would ruin it too bad,.... read it all thru. it must take a while... i have been reading it since it started so for me its diffrent... its over 1k posts so good luck reading it all.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Lighting arrived today!


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## attack11 (May 5, 2006)

lunar lights are pretty sweet


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Yes they are!

Yesterday I installed a Hagen AquaClear 50 filter with some ammonia neutralizing substrate to replace the carbon bag it comes with, and a 150 watt heater. I also zip tied all the wires and ran them down in a piece of 1 inch black plastic wire loom. Unfortunately this stand is very unforgiving as far as hiding cables, so the nicety of the loom ends right under the tank at a powerstrip. I'm going to pick up a couple nice looking storage boxes to put on the bottom shelf, and dremel a hole so the powerstrip can sit in that.

Unfortunately the All Glass hood (made out of.. all glass) that I had ordered cracked during shipping. I'm going to try and find one at the local pet store this weekend when I pick up some eco-complete and the plants.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Picked up 60 pounds of Eco-Complete today. I was going to wait on getting plants so I could do them all at once via mail order, but I couldn't resist getting just a few to start.



















They said this was Christmas moss, what I assume to be Fontinalis antipyretica:










And if anyone could help me identify this, I'd sure appreciate it:


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## notropis (Sep 16, 2005)

pearlweed, maybe? 

It's so hard to wait when setting up a new tank!!!!!!!!


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## John P. (Apr 10, 2004)

Hemianthus Micranthemoides


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Great, thanks a lot. Seems like a good plant to be starting out with from what I've read.


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## Lil boy blue (Jan 26, 2006)

Yeah HM once established will grow and grow and grow.....it cam be made into a nice carpet if you wanted to.....http://www.plantedtank.net/tankprofiles/113/


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Did some planting last night. I added several clumps each of Lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae and Eleocharis acicularis, in addition to four bunches of Hygrophila difformis. I also moved things around a little bit and clumped together the Christmas moss that the power filter outflow had started to blow around.




























I also moved a lone Poecilia reticulata over to the tank, whom I can only describe as a Super Guppy. Backstory: every few weeks I buy a couple dozen feeders for my turtle, who generally devours all of them in under a day (which is why I get smaller, bite size guppys as opposed to fatty goldfish). This one guppy has lived, even thrived, in his tank since March, even managing to breed on two occasions with the fish I had added in the interim. I always said that when I get a planted tank, this humble guppy has earned her spot in paradise. Hehe.


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## bigstick120 (May 23, 2005)

Dont leave your stems bunched together like that. Spread them out a little more and it will look much better and the plants will be happy!


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## hughitt1 (Jun 19, 2006)

> I have a Coralife dual 65watt compact fluorescent on its way and a glass top. I'm excited about the lunar lighting aspect of this fixture


How did you get the lunar light setup? That is really cool looking.


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## attack11 (May 5, 2006)

it's built into the fixture. a few retail fixtures feature them now. white and blue look really nice together if you're considering adding them to your tank.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Yeah, the downside is that they are generally built into fixtures that come with actinic bulbs for reef tanks. Apparently having simulated moonlight is good for stimulating corals and such.

Here are a few new pictures. Everything has been growing pretty well considering I haven't started any kind of fertilizing or CO2 yet. I ordered one of the Hagen units and some Excel to start on next week.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Tried lowering the ISO on my camera and really started to get some nicer results from the camera. Just what I need, another expensive hobby.


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## attack11 (May 5, 2006)

looking good.


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## Jdinh04 (Mar 15, 2004)

AS bigstick said, try parting out the dwarf hairgrass and the microsword. I can already see some of the leaves of the microsword melting and turning yellow. Being able to break them apart in small bunches will allow them to recieve nutrients and light better making them grow twice as faster.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Those leaves have been yellow since they came in the mail, I just didn't do a very good job pruning them off prior to planting. Both hair and microsword are sending out lots of runners, so I think I'm just going to let them go the course for now. I'd rather see how this evolves naturally for the time being than move everything around once a week trying to optimize it for the fastest growth.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Quick update, I installed a Hagen co2 widget last night and a timer to keep the lights on while I'm off on vacation this month. Fish should be ok for four or five days on their own right?


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Some new pics!


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## attack11 (May 5, 2006)

looking good!


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## Nightshop (May 12, 2006)

It took my HM a little while to begin taking off but yours seem to be doind well! My eventually started growing horizontal.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Yeah its been interesting to follow. Some stems are growing up and out in a bushy formation, and others are creeping along the substrate. I'm sort of intending for it to grow into a low hedge buffering the foreground against the tall stems in the back, we'll see how it plays out.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Does anyone know how long it takes for Hygrophila difformis to swap from its emersed leaf state to the submersed? According to the source of my plants, this is a photo of the two different states:










Its been really shooting up just in the past few days, after being semi-dormant the previous two weeks. Like most of the stems have doubled in size just since last weekend. I assume this is all part of it phasing from emersed to submersed growth.


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## AndyN (Jun 2, 2006)

If you want the hairgrass and microsword to form a carpet quicker. Break up the bigger bunches into smaller ones.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks that was mentioned earlier in the thread.


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## marinkus (Jan 1, 2006)

> Does anyone know how long it takes for Hygrophila difformis to swap from its emersed leaf state to the submersed?


it took mine about a month....and since it was my first experience with plants (other than anubias), i didnt even know it was supposed to grow all bushy and thought those ugly-pugly skinny plants were supposed to look like that :icon_roll . but then they started growing and it was nice to watch....


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Its kinda funny I even asked, because the growth from last night and today is really looking like it should.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

This pic isn't the best, but I've seen some amazing new growth this week and wanted to share:


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

This one is slightly better, you can see how the hair grass on the right is doing:


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Here are some new photos. I just got back from vacation, so please excuse the green spots on the glass. Stuff really shot up in the week I was gone!


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## attack11 (May 5, 2006)

looks very healthy.


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

Looking good!


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Last week I did a little rearranging; the moss ball growing between the drift had gone somewhat out of control, and turned out to be trapping a large amount of sediment and fish turds. I removed it and the driftwood, and tied the moss down to the log. Looking much better in my opinion. 

The moss drives me crazy though, you get one little frond lose from a trimming and next week you have a big clump attached to whatever plant it drifted into. Everything else seems to be doing pretty well. I just wish my photography skills would grow as fast as the plants.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

I've had some green water and thread algae this month. Work has been super busy, so I haven't had the energy to do much proactively about it, and from what I've read sometimes the best solution is to just let it run the course. Everything else appears healthy and growing anyway.



















Also, it appears something laid some eggs on the glass. This is about a half inch long, some kind of transparent goo with these small white bits in it. I'm assuming its something boring like a snail, but it should be interesting to watch anyway.


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## AndyN (Jun 2, 2006)

Those definately look like snail eggs. I tried letting GW run its course but it didn't seem to go away. A UV sterilizer made it go away in a few days.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Yeah I toyed around with the UV idea, but I don't have a canister filter so it would mean doing some kind of powerhead setup or something. I did a 50% water change tonight and its looking better, so we'll see.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

This morning the water seems even clearer than post-watcherchange last night. Is their room for hope?


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

So I waited awhile on the GW, helped out by the fact that we've been on a marathon release schedule at work, and I haven't been home much to be bothered by it. Plants and fish seem to be healthy anyway. The stuff just wasn't dying off, so I finally broke down and ordered a UV sterilizer.

Just installed it tonight, so hopefully we'll start seeing results. I've been dosing ferts and excel at the normal rate (since before the UV). I'm wondering if someone died in the back behind the foliage and I didn't notice, causing this problem somehow.

Once I get the water clear, I plan on trimming back a lot of the wiseria and pearl grass and getting some more plant variety in the tank.


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## tha_beeg (May 16, 2006)

if you ever want to get rid of some of that christmas moss natx ill take some off your hands:wink:


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Haha, once I can see it again I'll let you know. attack11 has first dibs because he asked me awhile ago, but I should have plenty in the future.


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## soundtweakers (Oct 12, 2005)

interested to see how the UV works out, keep us posted!!

I would love to have a 29 gal. just like yours, but my only available room for another tank is 6 inches shy. Nice set you have!!:icon_smil 

good luck
billy


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## tha_beeg (May 16, 2006)

natx said:


> Haha, once I can see it again I'll let you know. attack11 has first dibs because he asked me awhile ago, but I should have plenty in the future.


sweet well i got shotgun after him!!!!


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Swapped in some new plants in place of the wisteria:


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

That's looking great!


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## Subotaj (Oct 16, 2006)

Well done!


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

We must be stupid with our thread rating . . . this is nicer than some of the "4s".

Good job!

BTW, the moss looks like java to me. It could be X-mas or one of the other taxiphyllums or vesicularias. I just wanted to chime in and say that it's definitely not fontinalis. 









photo acredited to killies.com, probably Loh K

This is fontinalis . . . as you can see, it's completely different from most mosses in the hobby which are usually taxiphyllum or vesicularia. I can accept the confusion between those, but there is no way people should be confusing fontinalis with the others . . .

It's probably Amano's fault for repetively referring to java moss (taxiphyllum barbieri) as willow/fontinalis in his books/mags/etc. And of course to compound the stupidity and confusion, all the Japanese hobbyists to this day follow his lead . . .


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I've always been happy with my tank, even when it went to pea soup. I find each stage, even the bad, to be interesting and educational. Although I have to confess that I'm a lot happier now that I can actually see things in the tank, such as the platy fry zooming around in the carpet upfront. Too cool.

The moss was sold to me as Christmas moss. Did I get the latin name wrong earlier in the thread? Its a great moss to work with.. But only after I learned that its best to turn off all water movement in the tank before trimming it. Even the smallest trimming will embed itself somewhere in the tank and takeover within a week!

For anyone curious, the plant species I replaced the Wisteria with are as follows:
- Rotala macranda
- Rotala indica
- Ludwigia repens
- Hygrophila corymbosa

Right now its a little too red, but I think when the Hygrophila grows in there will be a good balance. I ordered all the plants from liveaquaria.com, a site I've had great luck with in the past. They always send me about twice as many stems as I ordered, and the plants arrive in great shape.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Here are a couple snaps of one of the three loaches I picked up a few weeks ago. They aquarium store had these listed under some generic name like 'golden loach' or something. Haven't yet been able to track down the exact species (thinly-veiled request for help from all the loach experts here), despite spending some quality time on loach-specific sites. Some people are really into these fish!

They're kind of fun because they spend all their time hidden, so its a rare treat when one comes out and wiggles around the tank for awhile. Very interesting fish, although hard to photograph.


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

that loach you have there is called a rope fish I believe. They are not very aggressive but will eat smaller fish trust me. I used to have a ropefish and kept it with a pictus cat, and a large ram all in a 20 long. The rope fish quickly out grew that tank. 

It is a great fish, but grows quickly.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

You could be right, but based on some quick image Googling I don't think its the same thing. Rope fish has a much different coloration and skin appearance than these guys. I was also told they were full grown at the size I bought them (~ 3 inches), although given that the LFS didn't have their correct name / species, thats not worth much.

As far as eating other fish, they are going to have to grow a LOT to get there.. Right now their mouths are so tiny (you can barely see it at all, even from a few inches away) I don't think they could eat much of anything.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

To elaborate, these loaches seem to have a pronounce tail fin that the ropefish lacks.. Whats the scientific name of the rope fish?


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## krashnash (Jul 12, 2006)

Pretty tank - wish my 29g looked as good.

I think I've seen the same loaches you have for sale here - only they were labeled "golden kuhli" loaches. Could it be this one: Loaches Online - Pangio muraeniformis?

Stacey


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

I think those might be the ones! Much appreciated.


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## the_noobinator (Jun 10, 2006)

they look pretty long for a kuhli. what's their approximate length?


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

About three and a half, four inches at most.


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## notropis (Sep 16, 2005)

I like the new plants!


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Here is a cleaned up and larger image if that helps anyone make a positive ID.

I guess you can't embed Flickr photos here, so click on this link.


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## Aquaseafoam (Apr 6, 2006)

Looks like this to me. Closely related to the "black" kuhli.


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## sNApple (Nov 6, 2005)

very nice transformation, looks great


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

My plants aren't looking quite as red as before, is there a specific nutrient deficiency or something I should be aware of? Everything is growing very well and looks all around healthy, but the color doesn't seem quite as vibrant as in the above pictures.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)




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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Quick update:
Due to the hair algae taking over certain areas, I had to finally give up on the Christmas moss. It was a hot bed for algae growth, from which it would move to other parts of the tank. I kept a few fronds, and will try to start over from there. I also removed the large piece of driftwood. It was just a bit too large for this tank, and I'd rather use the space to cultivate a larger depth of field.

On the right I also removed the patch of hair grass that had grown in nicely but then fallen victim to the hair algae. Pretty tough to manually remove without also pulling up the grass. Again, I kept a few sprouts and hopefully it will grow back. I'm considering moving down the entire carpet in this manner, removing roughly 6 square inches at a time and letting it grow back. If the algae persists, I might remove it all at once and start over.


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## wei0204 (Dec 7, 2006)

*Hair algae*

Regarding the hair algae problem, is that possible to use amano shrimp to help you up?

I had hair algae problem before, after I have added in few amano shrimps, it's gone in 2 weeks.

Another choice is Siamese Algae Eater or flying fox. They might help in controlling certain type of algae in your tank too.


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## fish_lover0591 (Nov 11, 2006)

wow i read the whole journal ! i like the updated pics they look great ! so how many fish are in there and what type ?


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

4x Otocinclus affinus
8x Xiphophorus maculatus
3x Pangio muraeniformis
5x Paracheirodon innesi

There are also three guppies that survived for a month in my turtle's tank. They were bought as feeders, most of which get eaten within 12 hours, so I figure they earned their keep and used them to cycle the tank when I first set it up.

The platys have been breeding, so thats been a lot of fun. I'd like to transition the tank to primarily those and the group of Ottos. It had been awhile since I've kept aquarium fish, so it took me awhile to figure out which species I'd look to focus on.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

wei0204 said:


> Regarding the hair algae problem, is that possible to use amano shrimp to help you up?
> 
> I had hair algae problem before, after I have added in few amano shrimps, it's gone in 2 weeks.
> 
> Another choice is Siamese Algae Eater or flying fox. They might help in controlling certain type of algae in your tank too.


Yeah, I've been looking at Amanos. I priced some online, but with shipping it was nearly $75 for a dozen, which seemed kinda ridiculous. I think I might look into it some more, or try and convince the local shop to order some. Seems like the way to go when it comes to getting rid of this type of algae.


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

natx, they are the best way to get hold on it, aside from good pruning and teasing, and lowering the iron levels and upping CO2. A combination of all of it will do the trick. WHere are you located? There may be an LFS a little further than the local one that may carry Amanos.


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

natx said:


> My plants aren't looking quite as red as before, is there a specific nutrient deficiency or something I should be aware of? Everything is growing very well and looks all around healthy, but the color doesn't seem quite as vibrant as in the above pictures.


The reds seem to come out more when you lower Nitrates a little, but not too low that you get a BGA problem. There is a fine line, you just have to experiment.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

So removing the Christmas moss has made a huge difference; the hair algae no longer spreads into my stem plants. There is still a good amount in the pearl grass carpet, but this hasn't seemed to expand in the way that the algae growing amongst the moss dead. I've upped my Excel dosing a bit as well which might be helping with that. Granted its only been ~5 days, but so far so good.


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## PeteyPob (Apr 26, 2004)

i had a huge problem with hair algae in my dwarf hairgrass lawn a few months back. I removed as much as i could everyday to prevent build up. It was a pain but i managed to check my dosing and get it back under control. 
Just keep at it and stick on it, eventually you coma out victorious


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Did a little trim last night, and still making good progress on the hair grass receding. Nothing is moving into the stems at all now, and I've been able to remove basically everything that had been there before. There is still a bunch present in the pearl grass, but even that looks like its dying back. Also, the pearl grass grows so fast its already grown over the top of the algae. I'm going to let it form a jungle and then trim back.


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## retoid (Jan 2, 2007)

I like jungles 

It's looking good right now natx


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Quick update. Just got back from spending some time in the Dominican (photos here). The place I was staying had tons of indoor ponds full of chichlids and other aquarium fish. Very neat! I wasn't able to take any good photos of them unfortunately, the top down perspective on fish just doesn't make for a good picture. My platys spawned again while I was away, and one female seems to have made it to a size where she should be fine. I originally started with four males and one female, two spawnings later its evened out a little bit.

Need to do some trimming, and I've been sketching out some ideas for an update to the aquascape. Thinking about replacing the foreground with something that isn't quite as invasive / fastgrowing, and adding some rockwork.


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## dennisfermin (Feb 7, 2007)

Very lush! Yeah I can see how a little rock work in the front might create a bit more visual interest. Still very nice, the way it is now!


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Pearlweed is well named. I like it shaped as a small bush/shrub. Tank looks great, healthy mature jungle almost. Digging it!


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Two vacations and some neglect had allowed the hair algae or whatever it was to get a stronger foothold on the tank. I did a major, much needed trim and seem to have removed most of it from the stem plants in the tank. I also pulled out the pearlweed carpet, salvaging as much of the microsword that had been growing in it as possible, which I replanted in the foreground. The loaches are mad about this, but they'll cope.

Also if you may have noticed, the leaves on the Rotala have become very small and spindly. Is there any sort of defficiency in particular that might be to blame for this?


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Hey guys. No new photos (tank is doing great though!), but I made a slideshow using an online video editing tool my company is working on and thought some people might be interested.

http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=933518889


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Recent photos:


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

I added 9 Amanos today. I ordered 10 but they only sent 9 for whatever reason. Anyway, I can see how people get hooked on the shrimp, these guys are a ton of fun to watch in the tank. I'm hoping they'll help pick some of the pesky hair algae out of my moss and stems. I remove it manually but there is always some lurking, ready to grow back.

I ordered them from liveaquaria.com, and the shipping was very professional, they arrived in great shape.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

I can't believe how fast the Amanos cleared out all the remaining algae. I felt compelled to drop in a wafer or two this week since there didn't appear to be much left for them to eat. Tomorrow I'm going to do a big trim since I'll be on vacation next week, I'll try to post some new photos then.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

I had read a lot about these shrimp on the various forums before purchasing them, so I thought it might be useful to throw in two of my own observations, specifically how they differ from what seemed to be considered common knowledge:

1. This species can be used specifically to deter algae
Some people had said that using Amanos specifically to deter an algae problem wasn't going to be successful, and that time would be better spent discovering what caused the algae in the first place. I can vouch that 7 Amanos within two weeks had completely removed all traces of hair algae from my tank. Most useful was their ability to prune it out of the moss and delicate stems, something that is hard to accomplish without trimming.

2. Amanos and fish fry
I have had four platy fry born since introducing the Amanos and not once have they shown any hostility to the young fish.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

A couple recent photos. Glad I resisted the urge to re-scape the tank, I'm really enjoying how things have filled in this summer.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Hello all, here are some new photos. I had cleared out a section on the right to make way for some new plants coming in the mail, but unfortunately they didn't arrive in the best shape. Currently replanting the section with cuttings from the rest of the tank, and trying to decide if I should order some more plants, and what they might be.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

I recently changed out my light bulbs, something that was over due. The intensity difference was noticeable, and the plants responded accordingly. I also noticed an increase in the green spot algae on the tank walls, and a new form of algae that I haven't seen in the tank before. It is a blue gray color, appearing in short strands and forming a fuzz. It particularly seems to enjoy attaching to strands of the Christmas moss.

I took a strand out of the tank and put it under my new microscope (actually old, my father's lab replaced a bunch with new models that have digital cameras built in, so I got a free hand me down). This is also my first attempt at photographing through the microscope. I set the camera up on a tripod pointed into the eyepiece of the microscope, which seems to work fairly well. Next time I will remember to jot down magnification for each photograph.

Here you can see the strands of algae wrapped around the larger, bright green Christmas moss:



















And here you can see the strands isolated and at higher magnification:


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

A few other things of note, while I have this thread dug up. The tank has grown in considerably since the last photos, I will take some tank shots soon. I've been really happy with it as of late.

Secondly, I've started researching a reef tank. I know thats a dirty word around here, but its been real interesting reading so far. My girlfriend and I are moving to a new apartment this summer, and I plan on setting up a reef then in addition to my turtle and planted tanks.


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## danakin (Jun 8, 2007)

You've got a great looking tank going there. And I think this is the first time I've seen someone post photos from a microscope of their plants; very neat!


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks very much. It really opens your eyes to see how much life there is in the tank that escapes the unassisted eye.

Also after further review I've determined that what I thought to be algae is actually Cyanobacteria. Which would explain why my otherwise diligent crew of Amanos and Ottos haven't been touching it I suppose.


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

i've noticed this blue/gray stuff on my xmas moss too. Do you happen to know how one gets rid of this stuff and why it came about in the first place?


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

I found this thread on here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/algae/55379-cyanobacteria.html

Seems like the usual combination of algae eliminating voodoo hearsay that you get on the internet: black out the tank, reduce nutrients, raise nutrients, more CO2 etc. etc.

Mine coincided with the introduction of some plants I bought on here and the replacement of my bulbs, which greatly increased lighting intensity on the tank. I don't think it came in on the new plants because I had them at least two weeks prior to noticing the growth, so it was probably the increase in lighting that prompted the growth. I had also recently performed a major trim on the tank reducing plant volume by possibly as much as 25%, so it could easily be that the plants aren't using up as many nutrients as they have been, allowing for other organisms to gain a foot hold.

I will probably let it ride for a month as the plants fill back in and see what happens. I'll update this thread with any changes, but as of right now I don't plan on changing anything in the tank routine.


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## natx (Jun 6, 2006)

Cyanobacteria seems to be in remission. Most in the moss has disappeared, the remaining strands attached to large leaves appear to be getting longer and less densely packed. I was about to go to bed just now when I saw the rotala pearling more than usual, so I had to snap a few photos:


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