# 3 tanks, one bedroom 5/10/20L 7/22/15



## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

*UPDATED 7/22/15*








*Room*








*20*








*10*








*5*















*Room*








*20*








*10*








*5*​


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## Schwartzy61 (Sep 9, 2010)

Looks pretty righteous man! Keep uploading pictures of the growth down the road!


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Schwartzy61 said:


> Looks pretty righteous man! Keep uploading pictures of the growth down the road!


Thank you so much! We've added more photos!


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## Scars (Dec 12, 2011)

I like the look so far, those must be some happy tetras. Much better than my first "attempts" 

All those tanins might be coming from your dirt. I have a 20 gallon im working on now that turned to tea after water changes. Try adding a little purigen in a nylon bag to your filter. Clears it up beautifully.


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## AaronMB (May 9, 2012)

Looks good! Looking forward to more progression pictures of growth.

I really like these tank journals - certainly makes me wish I took more photos along the way.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Scars said:


> I like the look so far, those must be some happy tetras. Much better than my first "attempts"
> 
> All those tanins might be coming from your dirt. I have a 20 gallon im working on now that turned to tea after water changes. Try adding a little purigen in a nylon bag to your filter. Clears it up beautifully.



Thanks! 

Yep, our neons are happy little dudes. They school merrily all day long.

Yes, we had tanin problems when we added our dirt. We also had problems with the dirt and bark floating to the top. Next time, we plan on soaking our dirt longer, so hopefully that will help. To clear up the water we did partial water changes everyday for a few weeks. It was a hassle, but we've decided to steer clear of synthetic additives as much as possible ^_^.

Good luck with your 20 gallon! I hope to see pictures. We're making plans for a 20 gallon too!


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## Azarakiah (Sep 22, 2011)

are u trying to cause a problem for urself? i dont think u examined ur heater very well... i have the same one its not fully submersable.. not meant to be underwater all the way.. theres a "maximum water line" printed on the heater itself..


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## livingword26 (Oct 28, 2010)

Azarakiah said:


> are u trying to cause a problem for urself? i dont think u examined ur heater very well... i have the same one its not fully submersable.. not meant to be underwater all the way.. theres a "maximum water line" printed on the heater itself..


Actually that looks like a Top Fin® *Submersible* Aquarium Heater to me. I think that the water line is a "Minimum" water line.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752191


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## livingword26 (Oct 28, 2010)

Nice looking aquarium. If your are like the rest of us, you are already thinking about your next (bigger) one.


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## CatB (Jan 29, 2012)

nice tank, but that seems really soon to be adding fish...maybe not. are you sure the tank is fully cycled, have you been testing?
(also, those amazon swords will get HUGE in time, watch out for that)


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## mrduna01 (Nov 27, 2011)

livingword26 said:


> Actually that looks like a Top Fin® *Submersible* Aquarium Heater to me. I think that the water line is a "Minimum" water line.
> 
> http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752191


You are correct 

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2


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## Azarakiah (Sep 22, 2011)

ok now i feel dumb lol the rubber part on top was covering half of the text >.< now im in my place lol


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Good looking tank


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

livingword26 said:


> Actually that looks like a Top Fin® Submersible Aquarium Heater to me. I think that the water line is a "Minimum" water line.
> 
> http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752191


I believe we have a similar model to the one in that link. Have had no issues with the heater so far but it is usually on only during the morning and I try to keep an eye on the temperature. Reviews lead me to believe any heater can be faulty so its definitely something to watch out for. Fried fishies wouldn't be a good day for me :'(



livingword26 said:


> Nice looking aquarium. If your are like the rest of us, you are already thinking about your next (bigger) one.


Appreciate the compliment! I really want a 20 long at the moment. I would like to keep the existing tank going though so I'm looking for a 2 tank stand. Nothing seems to be sturdy enough or fit what I'm looking for style wise. May build my own! :O What plant are you growing on your substrate? I was thinking for the 20 I wanted to go for the carpeted effect.



CatB said:


> nice tank, but that seems really soon to be adding fish...maybe not. are you sure the tank is fully cycled, have you been testing?
> (also, those amazon swords will get HUGE in time, watch out for that)


The tank cycled pretty quickly with the plants that were from an existing planted tank at our local fish store. Before we had fish there were pond snails and I think rams horn snails that came on the plants(as eggs). They were thriving on algae that was growing due to excess nutrients in the water much before we added fish. We've been checking the water throughout the process with the api test kits. The tank was 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and between 2.5 and 5ppm of nitrate when we added the fish, so pretty close to ideal water conditions. 

During the cycling process we observed a spike in ammonia and nitrite which the snails seemed to have no problem with(not that I wanted to expose them to toxic water, but didn't have much of a choice). The pond snails breathe air also so I don't think the water quality had a huge effect on them.

As for maintenance we are doing ~30% water changes every friday and trimming plants if needed. The shimp seem to enjoy eating some dead leaves so if theres not too many I just let them be. Going for a more natural balanced eco system(as natural as fish in glass tanks can get at least ). At this rate the water change happens around when the nitrate reaches about 5ppm.

I'm hoping the swords continue doing well, I've already planted some of the "baby swords" that grew almost entirely in our tank(off the stems that come out). They are growing really fast. Planning to grow enough to have a decent amount of plants to move to the 20g whenever that happens. Always good to save some money!



2in10 said:


> Good looking tank


Thank you  Your 75 looks good! Wish I had room for a bigger tank... someday...

Excuse the lengthy post


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## HappyToLearn (May 6, 2012)

Nice tank 
I'm started my own planted tank about a month ago, so it's fun to read journals from other newbies. I'll be following yours.
BTW, how many watts on your lights?


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## livingword26 (Oct 28, 2010)

theericafish said:


> What plant are you growing on your substrate? I was thinking for the 20 I wanted to go for the carpeted effect.


Its Baby Tears, or Pearl Weed, (not the same thing as Dwarf Baby Tears). It grows around 4 inches tall. Some shorter, and some longer, maybe up to 6 inches? It grew like a weed in my medium/high light, co2 injected tank. I recently converted the tank to low light, no co2. Its not doing well, but its still hanging in there. It may yet make the conversion. Or not.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

HappyToLearn said:


> Nice tank
> I'm started my own planted tank about a month ago, so it's fun to read journals from other newbies. I'll be following yours.
> BTW, how many watts on your lights?


We are using 2 Marineland 10W 5100K compact florescent bulbs, which run on a timer for 8 hours a day, 12pm-8pm. So far, this has been working well for our low to medium lights plants.

Goodluck with your Ebi tank. We contemplated the pantyhose idea, but decided to go with a baffled method utilizing a plastic soda bottle. Our filter intake is wrapped with excess media net from our filter bio bag. The media net catches dead plant matter that the shrimps enjoy eating. It tends to slow down the filter flow, so we do clean it about once a week.









*Plastic Bottle Baffle*









*Media Net Intake Sleeve* *& Pregnant Amano Shrimp *

Yes, these tank journals have been really helpful and fun. 

Cheers to us newbies! 

Also... Happy Birthday!




livingword26 said:


> Its Baby Tears, or Pearl Weed, (not the same thing as Dwarf Baby Tears). It grows around 4 inches tall. Some shorter, and some longer, maybe up to 6 inches? It grew like a weed in my medium/high light, co2 injected tank. I recently converted the tank to low light, no co2. Its not doing well, but its still hanging in there. It may yet make the conversion. Or not.


Hopefully it just takes a bit to adapt to the new conditions and recovers well. I may go micro swords instead planted in a random pattern. Micro swords seem to grow pretty slowly(at least in our tank). I like the "leafy" effect in your picture but I kind of want a grassy effect also. So many decisions and options :O! Right now I'm just letting the java moss slowly find its way all over the tank.


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## HappyToLearn (May 6, 2012)

Thanks for the lighting info and the filter tips!


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

HappyToLearn said:


> Thanks for the lighting info and the filter tips!


No problem! :icon_smil


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Updated main post with 2 new pictures~!


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Updated first post. Added more anubias and moved some of the java ferns around. Placed the heater in a new spot also. Java moss slowly falling and starting to "carpet" a little.


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## srivihk (Feb 20, 2011)

I'm turning green (along with my water) on seeing your first attempt. You sure this is your first tank.

I wish mine was half as good as yours!!!


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## angelsword (May 16, 2009)

It looks really good! Enjoy the sword while it's little. You'll have an excuse to get a bigger tank soon. I'd warn you about the duckweed blocking light for the other plants but you seem to have a perfect balance going on. Everything looks great!


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

srivihk said:


> I'm turning green (along with my water) on seeing your first attempt. You sure this is your first tank.
> 
> I wish mine was half as good as yours!!!


Thanks  I commented in your thread!



angelsword said:


> It looks really good! Enjoy the sword while it's little. You'll have an excuse to get a bigger tank soon. I'd warn you about the duckweed blocking light for the other plants but you seem to have a perfect balance going on. Everything looks great!


Thank you . Yeah, it was fun to watch the swords change from wide leaf to narrow leaf(I believe they were grown out of water and changed to the submersed growth). They are really taking off now(seems like they are bigger everyday ). The duckweed got out of control for a bit but then I came to terms with myself and decided to remove some. I really didn't want to remove plant matter from the tank . The fish seem to enjoy the shaded cover and probably feel more safe from predators(although there are none )


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Got some new driftwood pieces to add a little branchyness to tank. Boiled them once(seems to have low/no tannin).


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## angelsword (May 16, 2009)

The driftwood looks nice. And teeny. Don't worry about the duckweed, unless you get ever single piece it'll be covering your tank in no time


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

angelsword said:


> The driftwood looks nice. And teeny. Don't worry about the duckweed, unless you get ever single piece it'll be covering your tank in no time











I made a little moss tree with one of the small driftwood.

Yeah duckweed grows like crazy ~_~


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## hamsterman (Jan 17, 2007)

Nice tank! You should tie that moss down tightly to the top of those sticks with fishing line or thread. In a few weeks you'll have a nice looking moss tree


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

hamsterman said:


> Nice tank! You should tie that moss down tightly to the top of those sticks with fishing line or thread. In a few weeks you'll have a nice looking moss tree


Was thinking about doing that or making a moss wall, I have the materials already just sort of being lazy lately 









Test idea that didn't fly.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

*We made a video!*

Please check out this youtube video of our wonderful fishtank!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy0oHyO-j7c


roud:


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Started a new project, 20L planted tank with aquasoil. May make a new post or update this one.









*The room *​


*20g Long*




The 20
Older video

*Specs:*

-20gallon long
-Azoo Aqua soil
-Marineland 75w heater
-Finnex Ray 2 30''
-Eheim 2213
-Pressurized dual stage co2 regulator
-In line atomizer
[strike]-Aquaclear 30[/strike]
[strike]-t5NO 2x18w lighting fixture[/strike]

-Downoi
-Pogostemon Erectus
-Limnophila Aromatica
-Java Moss
-Java Fern
-Anubias(giant, nana, nana-petite, coffefolia) 
-Dwarf Hairgrass Carpet
-Hydrocotyle Verticillata
-Lily
-Rotala Rotundifolia
-Blyxa Japonica
[strike]-Water Sprite[/strike]
[strike]-Rosefolia (died)[/strike]
[strike]-Some kind of Sagittaria[/strike]
[strike]-Rotala Vietnam[/strike]
[strike]-Amazon Swords (removed)[/strike]
[strike]-Ludwigia[/strike]

-Alpine Manzanita driftwood
-Various slate peices
-Ryuoh stone

*The Journal(newest to oldest):*









*7/14/14*
Lost the male ram a while ago, I think it was a constipation related issue. He looked pretty healthy then just died one day. Downoi is turning into a forest. Did a trim recently, aiming to fill out the back of the tank.











































































































































*5/15/14*
Added some downoi from petsmart which seemed to do pretty well. Great for the price of about 8$! Considering some people sell it for 5$ a crown. Took a couple visits to find a healthy plant though. Also added More cardinals to fill out the school. I believe I added 7 more. Just been messing around with the trimming lately.
*4/5/14*
Did a mini rescape. Moved blyxa behind the wood, removed slate. Moved around some anubias and some stone.
*3/24/14*
Added a piece of slate under the wood to add more depth. Moved some hairgrass to the right side to fill in the missing areas. 
*3/5/14*
Got some plant trades for some trimmings. Now have blyxa japonica in the tank. Also got some alternanthera reineckii from petsmart that was grown emersed, going to attempt to fill the middle behind the anubias mound with this plant. The scape is starting to come together, did a major trim about 2 weeks ago so it will take some time to fill out the back area again.
*12/29/13*
20 is pretty full of plants at this point. Rotala Verticillaris growing like a weed. Hydrocotyle Verticillata having to be trimmed weekly.
*11/4/13*
Did a major trim yesterday and donated the plants to the lfs. Tank is coming along nicely and the fish seem to be enjoying the swimming space after the trim. Pogos are starting to really thrive in the tank and are coming out of the surface often. The lily I rescued from the store also has began to really take off.
*10/15/13*
Been a while since update, had a little bga outbreak and stopped that with anti-biotics, replanted all the stems. Tanks in need of a trim. Got some gold rams today! 
*6/29/13*
The 20g is now co2 equipped. After some fiddling with the diffuser (in conjunction with the tank flow) and bubbles per second, the tank is growing astronomically well. The above photo was taken about 6 weeks after the addition of co2. Compare how far we have come below:
*5/14/13*
First day with co2.
*4/21/13*
This tank is doing great. Had a bit of a disease issue for a while and lost some embers and galaxies. Most likely it was costia or parasite infection. Treated with aqua cure pro and kanaplex. Removed and euthanized infected fish. The cherry shrimp population is up to around 40 or 50 now displaying a variety of colors, red, brown, pinkish, rili looking etc. Just letting it do its thing and letting nature take its course. The tank is also very heavily planted with a variety of stem plants. Added 2 siamese algae eaters about 2 days ago which seem to be liking their new home. I have been dosing liquid co2 now for about a week and the plants are responding well. (battling hair algae :O)
*1/8/13*
20 is doing well, trimmed the moss a bit. Looking for a cheap co2 setup :x
*12/8/12*
Cherry shrimp been breeding as they do, have about 25 now. Letting the tank get overgrown.
*11/15/12*
Shrimp breeding like crazy, tanks getting overgrown and pretty full. Moved the java fern to the front and the root system is nice looking. Tanks doing well, had to break up the large anubias into several peices.
*9/14/12*
Long time no update, this is how the 20 looks right now, pretty planted 10 ember tetra 7 galaxy rasbora 6 cherry red shrimp 3 oto cats. 21 different types of plants, assassin snails, filter baffle. Not dosing anything. Just light and substrate.
*7/15/12*
Got a lot more plants and rearanged everything. Added some moss to the wood via fishing line and moved a lot of the slate around. In between this time and the previous date I also leveled the tank(was getting on my nerves seeing the waterline off :O. Not sure if this is the final setup, kinda like it and don't so unsure.
*7/6/12*
Planted some more plants and weighed the driftwood down with some slate.
*7/1/12*
Our first plants went in and we began soaking the driftwood in the tank(didn't have anything larger to soak it in :I)
*6/29/12*
Filled the tank, it was a little cloudy but not too bad, poked around the soil to remove air bubbles.
*6/28/12*
Brought home the new tank and set everything up.


*5g*

*Specs:*
-5g craigslist tank
-[strike]13w 5700k cfl bulb[/strike]
-Finnex fugeray 16''
-Azoo aquasoil
-Aquaclear 20
-25w Heater
-Petrified wood
-Stainless steel mesh
-30~ Blue velvet
-MTS
-Pond snails
-1 horned nerite

-Riccia 
-Mini xmas moss.
-Xmas moss
-Peacock moss
-Fissiden
-Flame moss
-Anubias micro
-Anubias nana petite 

*The Journal(newest to oldest):*









*12/29/13*
Also been a long time since an update on this tank. It has changed a lot and I've added moss from the 20g and driftwood that was previously in the 10g. Really low maintenance tank and after about 6 months the blue velvets finally started breeding and I now have shrimplets.
































*4/21/13*
A lot of the mosses died in this tank, had no cleanup crew for the glass and had huge brown algae blooms. Picked up some nerite snails(1 horned, 1 spotted with heart shaped spots ). The Blue velvets had shrimplets and I'm assuming there is about 10 in there. Letting the tank do its thing til the shrimplets reach a larger size.
*1/9/13*
New contributions to the scape: anubias mirco and anubius nana petite. It's coming together.
*1/9/13*
Purchased some new moss off craiglist from a tpt member. (haven't got his name yet ) Moss carpet is coming along now, just have to wait for things to grow.
*1/8/13*
This is our new project. Planning on xmas/other moss carpet with ss mesh. Stocking ideas are oebt or tiger shrimp. Possibly dario dario.


*Here is our first attempt at a freshwater aquarium! Please, let us know what you think! ^_^

Our 10g!*

Our tank video: 




*Specs:*


-[strike]2 5100k cfl bulbs[/strike]
-[strike]MiracleGro Organic potting soil[/strike]
-[strike]Topfin 50w heater[/strike]
-10gallon
-Aquaclear 20
-Eheim 2211
-Finnex fugeray 20''


-[strike]amazon swords[/strike]
-[strike]ruffle swords[/strike]
-[strike]java moss[/strike]
-[strike]a variety of anubias[/strike] 
-[strike]anacharis[/strike] 
-java ferns
-duckweed
-ada driftwood
-ryouh stones
-azoo plant grower bed
-ludwigia
-rotala
-salvinia minima

-[strike]7 neon tetras[/strike]
-2 amano shrimps
-1 oto meowmeows
-50+ assassin snails
-50+Cherry shrimp

*The Journal(newest to oldest):*









*12/29/13*
Been more than 8 months since an update on this tank! Tank has been redone with aquasoil and is now a cherry shrimp/assassin tank. Its planted with trimmings from my 20g and has new driftwood and ryouh stones. The shrimp have been doing great, started with about 5 and now have 40+. Moved the assassins over after the tank redo and they have been doing fine also.




















































































































*4/21/13*
The 10 is still alive and kicking! Lost one neon to constipation/overfeeding issue. It was a female food hog. I am now feeding less and they seem to be responding well. Lots of floating plants in this tank taking over, so far I'm liking the look and the nitrates are noticeably reduced. Have about 70+ assassin snails in this tank which are being fed algae wafers and flakes and seem to be thriving. Possibly going to sell some of them to lessen the population. Dirted tank is really awesome but the gravel does get a bit icky, mts might solve that issue but with the amount of assassins they would be instantly consumed :x.
*1/13/13*
Changed the scape on the 10 to give the neons more room. Trimmed the plants and moved the driftwood back a bit.
*1/8/13*
Replaced the stock hood with a glass top and light fixture with two screw in cfl bulbs. Added a ton of plants I picked up from someone off craigslist. Neons ottos and amanos are still doing fine. The male amano went missing for a week but showed up out of the blue just when I thought he'd left for good. Having some issues with fungus on the wood and black beard algae. Not so much since I got the new fixture though, it cuts back the light a bit.
*12/5/12*
First tank is doing good still, assassin snails breeding like crazy, have at least 40 now and feeding them algae wafers. Neons got pretty big, swords growing, some algae issues but nothing major.
*7/16/12*
Update on the 10g. Moved one of the swords to the 20g tank, anacharis is growing like crazy and managing to keep the duckweed under control. Also have tons of baby assassin snails. Might sell them to my local fish store  The anubias second on the right had some algae problems and one of the leaves is falling off. Ruffle sword not doing too well also. Other than that all is good and the fish are happy.
*6/22/12*
Added small branch driftwood around the tank to even things out a bit. Made a moss tree with one of the branches behind the large driftwood. Trimmed some of the sword leaves that were dying off. Ended up turning the driftwood around and moving some plants around to provide a better feel to the tank.
*6/14/12*
Added anubias coffeefolia to the front center of the tank. Moved the heater to a new location because it was causing the duckweed to gather inbetween it and the filter(made a mess  ). Java ferns growing a ton!
*6/8/12*
Weekly water change. Moved the heater to a less visible position and moved the moss onto the driftwood. Moss tree! 
*6/2/12*
Neons getting bigger and tank still growing well, Also added 2 oto which seem to be doing well.
*5/26/12*
Tank starting to become grown. Added 3 java ferns.
*5/10/12*
Added 3 Amano shrimp! 2 females with eggs and 1 male.
*5/4/12*
Clear Water after water change.
*5/2/12*
Water a bit brownish due to leached tannin from the driftwood.
*4/24/12*
Added 4 neon tetras around this time.
*4/18/12*
Removed faux drift wood/added moss/more anacharis.
*4/2/12*
Day 1 After filling the tank(water a bit murky due to the dirt still seeping though the gravel).


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Our 20g has begun cycling after about 3 weeks. Nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia all present. We are doing a fish less cycling too without any use of Cycle or pure ammonia. Very excited that we are able to do it this way.

Currently the 20long is stocked with driftwood and slate, along with various plants: water sprite, amazon sword, roatalia, java ferns, and an anubias. Some from our 10g, which brought in some pond snails . We are also using azoo substrate, which was very easy to work with as it did not cloud the water at all. 

Will definitely post some pictures soon.

Stay tuned! ^_^


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Thinking of stocking options for the 20 long. Possibly galaxy or axelrod rasboras. As for the cleanup crew maybe more amano shrimp or a variety of shrimp and some cory cats or more otos. Pretty undecided still! :X


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Updated pics on 20. Update on the 10 soon too. Both tanks doing well.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Updated with a video of the 20.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

New pictures.. oversized pictures...


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

The neons!

Starting a 5g tank, not sure what the stock is yet. Dario dario .. oebt.. idk.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Neons saying hi...









Amano being huge..









Cherry shrimp being red..


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Can't wait for things to grow in


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

*Micro is micro*









Awesome anubias micro we received from our LFS! Perfect for our 5g micro tank.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Momma blue velvet 









Glass voss water bottle project. Housing stem plant and placed in my window sill. Seems to be growing for now!


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Added some Indian almond leaf to the tank in hopes of providing anti-fungal and bacterial qualities and hopefully get the ph down slightly. The crushed coral brings my 7.2 tap to 7.5 but gives me the gh that keeps my cherry shrimp happy.

Anyway, hoping I find some sort of medium using somewhat natural methods.

Tetras are doing fine in the higher ph but I'd like to see them a bit happier.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

*20g Long with CO2 progress*










Along with the addition of the co2, we introduced some livestock: white cloud minnows, a nerite snail, amano shrimps, and some more otos. We also moved our neon tetras and one remaining amano shrimp from our 10g to this tank. It's a nice community we have now. 

We also added some new plants: frog bit, rotala vietnam, and hydrocotyle verticillata (we have been calling it the "pogo" plant).

The scape was also updated with ryuoh stones.









View from below of the frog bit.









Our ludwigia, rotala, hairgrass etc... forest.









Pogos to the right, plus ryuoh stones.









Nerite friend nom-nom-noming.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

The female









The male


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Added new video. Rams are getting more and more colorful, hoping they breed.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Rams started breeding after a slight top off. They began by cleaning off a rock(ryuoh stone) and when I got home from work the female was laying eggs ontop of it in a really good viewing area for me. 

I made a video, pretty neat only had them for a few days. The male has been guarding the eggs and what looks to be like he is fanning them.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Male Gold ram.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Did a major trim today. Going for a dutch looking nature aquarium. Also considering adding a monster ray to my ray 2 for added color and a bit of par. Running co2 very conservative at the moment, plants seem fine and algae is at bay.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Shot of the ram male with my new dslr


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## pwu_1 (Oct 28, 2013)

Hi I just saw your journal for the 20L. It looks awesome, I hope my tank can look like that some day. Question for you if you don't mind. So you just have a finnex Ray2 4 inches above the top of the tank and that is enough to grow carpeting plants? Do you think the ray 2 gives you at least medium/medium high light?
I recently got a 20L also and right now I just have 3 CFL clamp-on work lights on top of the tank but the light is pretty un-even so I was thinking of upgrading to LED. The Ray2 seems like a good choice but I'm trying to aim for medium high/high light so wanted to see what your thoughts on the Ray2 over a 20L tank. Thanks


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

pwu_1 said:


> Hi I just saw your journal for the 20L. It looks awesome, I hope my tank can look like that some day. Question for you if you don't mind. So you just have a finnex Ray2 4 inches above the top of the tank and that is enough to grow carpeting plants? Do you think the ray 2 gives you at least medium/medium high light?
> I recently got a 20L also and right now I just have 3 CFL clamp-on work lights on top of the tank but the light is pretty un-even so I was thinking of upgrading to LED. The Ray2 seems like a good choice but I'm trying to aim for medium high/high light so wanted to see what your thoughts on the Ray2 over a 20L tank. Thanks


The ray2 on a 20long is definately high light. You can grow pretty much any carpet. You are going to need co2 and ferts though. The fugeray or planted plus might be a better option but still co2 would be good.

I raised the light because it was actually too much light and it was causing algae on the carpet and other areas in the tank. I still do get some algae growing on the plants closest to the light.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368

Check out that thread and scroll down to the charts and you can learn some stuff about par and which lights are high light at what distance.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)




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## Crazy4discus (Jan 30, 2014)

Nice tanks!


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Thanks. Definitely still a work in progress!


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)




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## jmf3460 (Aug 21, 2013)

lovely tanks and kudos on your photography skills. I am envious of falling asleep in your room, it would take me forever to go to sleep with all the good stuff to look at.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

The funny thing is that staring at the tanks actually makes me fall asleep and I prefer to stay up late. The 10g turns off around 9pm and the 20 at 11:23. The 5g is my night light and stays on until around 2am.

Still trying to improve my photography skills and it seems like something you never master. Using a tripod and a remote shutter release or using the cameras timer helps a lot with the sharpness of the photo. I still need a new lens though, wish money grew on trees...


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Added a new video. First post is getting pretty lengthy, I should do something about that...

Not extremely satisfied with the video but I only spent about 20minutes making it/uploading. Not too bad


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Finally ran out of fertilizers. New ferts made


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Forgot I had this video.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)




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## kuopan (Feb 5, 2014)

wow your 20L is gorgeous!


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

kuopan said:


> wow your 20L is gorgeous!


Thanks! Cant wait to see yours filled


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Rams a bit underexposed but he was really showing off his colors . They were spawning recently on the right side in the "anubias jungle" There is a leaf in there which seems to be perfect for egg laying. One of these days I need to try to hatch them. Another project 

Really digging cardinals lately. Great colors.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Some cell phone pics.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)




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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Need to get back to updating, Tank has changed a bit.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Too lazy to update overcrowded first post. The tank looked like this a bit ago before a huge trim. 

Added fish yesterday, 7 Blue tetras and 3 Glowlight danios. Blue tetras are very active and the danios also. The tank dynamic is a lot different now than with just the cardinals and neons. Pretty maxed out with about 20 tetras, 2 siamese algae eaters, 2 otos, 3 danios. They seem to be fine due to the tank being heavily planted. The sae are almost always hidden digging around somewhere.

Also the hair grass is slowly being taken over by the moss(pretty much inevitable). It bothered me at first but then sort of grew on me, I like the layered effect and grown in feeling of it. Tank differs from pic a bit right now, its trimmed down and I added a few more stones due to the old ones becoming moss covered. Subwassertang ball has reached about the size of a fist and started from about one peice that was an inch long about 6 months ago.

Also managed to defeat clado and hair algae for the most part. I did manual removal for as long as I could stand then dosed algae fix at slightly lower than the usual dosage and began using excel more regularly. I also grew out the stems from about 6 inches to around 12 inches then cut the top 6 inches off to get rid of any algae that was growing on the top areas(closer to the light). Unfortunately I can't use this method for my shrimp tanks which are also suffering from hair algae. The shrimp seem to breed better with it in the tank though(its forming sort of balls of algae for them to frolic in )


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## Zoidborg (Jan 29, 2014)

Uh Im so jealous! It looks great!


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Zoidborg said:


> Uh Im so jealous! It looks great!


Thanks! My goal has always been to get the tank fully planted and it seems I'm reaching that point. I wish I had room for a 40B :'(


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

The Current 5g, added subwassertang from the 20L which was getting too crazy. Blue velvet shrimp doing good. Nitrates were ridiculously low even after no water change for 3 weeks I had about 10ppm.









Shrimp dinner time.









The 10g, added a flag fish a while ago to eat hair algae and worked great. I think some of the older cherry shrimp died, had some that were over an inch long.









The 20L at the moment. Post trim so not the best looking at the moment, its in the grow back phase.









1/7 blue tetras I added to the 20L a while ago, they started mating after the water change and got really colorful, hard to catch them on camera they are fast little guys.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Got a new tripod today so testing that out. New growth in the tank.


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## chinaboy1021 (May 30, 2003)

Very nice looking tanks. What camera/lens are you using? Your photos are spectacular


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

I'm using a nikon d5200 with the stock lens. I want to invest in a 105 macro lens or the 40mm macro, or the 35mm. Will probably end up getting the 35mm because its all around useful and not just for fish tanks.

The stock lens is alright but you have some limitations when it comes to low light without cranking the iso up. Fish looking blurry due to slow shutter speed etc.

Thanks for the compliment


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

The current state of the tank. Glass is a bit dirty this is at about 3 weeks of no trim or water change.


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## umarnasir335 (Mar 2, 2014)

All your tanks are spectacular but that 20 long looks lush and balanced (especially for not changing the water for 3 weeks)! How much co2 are you running on it currently?


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Currently the co2 I'm sure is less than 30ppm because the drop checker does not reach a lime green color with 4dkh fluid. Probably more around 20-25ppm. 
I'm using an in line atomizer at about 40psi through a dual stage regulator. The bubble rate is too fast to read. 

For ferts I'm using a pps pro style approach so somewhat daily dosing but the longer I don't do a water change I dose less judging on what the plants look like. I feel that it keeps the nitrates down and the water quality relatively good.

I do top offs when the water level reaches about one inch below the top and try to keep the tds around 200 when doing water change. Tap tds around 130. Usually do about 7gallon or less water change(about half the tank drained) every 2-3 weeks.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Did a major trim couple days ago. Moss took over almost the entire hairgrass so I just went with it and am now attempting to grow a moss carpet. Did a big cleaning too and got a bunch of mulm out of some areas that were looking unsightly. Kind of want to add some hydrocotyle japonica or glosso to the tank to make a more mixed looking carpet/foreground.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Weighted the c02 tank to see if a refill was needed and after almost 2 years it still has 4lbs of co2 in it. 10# tank surprised its lasting this long.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Got the co2 adjusted back to a better flow rate after I had disconnected it to weigh the tank. Did a little trimming and replanting. 

Crappy cell photo


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Decided to whip out the camera and tripod..


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

In the process of moving the tanks right now. The 10g already made it to the new house. Everybody survived the short move(about 10min drive). Removed filters and lights, took out the flag fish then drained the water to about 2inches above the substrate then lifted the tank carefully onto a piece of wood then carried that to the car and drove extremely slow. Did not remove any hardscape from the tank at all.

I'm planning to do a light rescape of the 20g upon moving since I have been neglecting the tanks a little bit lately. I also used fenbenzadol to kill planaria in the 5g which seems to have worked well.

Hoping all goes well.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Move went well. Hardest tank to move was the 20 since it was full of plants. has a slightly different scape now that I'm digging. Plants are growing back from a phase of no ferts and really low maintenance.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Some recent shots. Still haven't trimmed since moving, growing out some stems to work with.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

the tanks look wonderful!


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## geekdad (Aug 7, 2014)

Very lush tanks. What's your lighting?


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Thanks. Just did a trim on the 20 today. Trying to weed out older stems and replace with the new growth. Hydrocotyl finally growing in a good position.

I'm using finnex fugeray on my 10/5g right on the tank and ray2 on the 20l about 13inches off the substrate. The square plastic on top of the tank blocks out a little bit of light aswell. Ray2 a bit much for lower tanks I feel fugeray or planted plus would have been ok too. In the smaller tanks I let a lot of floaters grow to keep it low light.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

I need some motivation to update this journal. Tank is really overgrown right now.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Do a complete rescape? I see you have done a ton of different layouts, but there is still more out there. Take a look at some youtube aquascape convention vids or google pics for some other ideas. Maybe one of those scapes with a pathway leading into the distance, or a piece of wood making a arch way or a "tree of life" or two opposing mountains (grassy hills or some stone), or one of those right angle layouts with a branch in one corner type of deals. Or even make a underwater waterfall from a rocky mountain.

Ohh, how about the back wall be a rock dead-drop cliff dropping down into a valley of green haha.

or...or..OR! you could get another new tank  Petco and I think PetSmart are having the $1 per gallon sales right now. Get you another tank with a new variety of colorful fish.
From what I've heard it is safe to remove the top plastic trim from 20 gallon tanks and under, that way you have a rimless tank (unless you don't like seeing the water line)

Just some thoughts for motivation. 
Not sure if you dose C02 or not, if not maybe try a little DIY one for starts to get more red plants going. Anyways, they all your scapes look great, only if mine looked half as good, haha. You got a talent with planted tanks, keep it going.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

I've been thinking about upgrading to a 29g for a while and the soil is about 2 years old so probably time for a complete redo someday. Lots of work in that though :x. I wanted to consolidate the 3 tanks into a 40b but the effort haha..


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Amano shrimp in the 10g which is pretty much a jungle tank now.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Did some trimming today. All the critters seem happier.


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## theericafish (Apr 27, 2012)

Sideshot of the 20


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

update?


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## dbf (Mar 31, 2017)

I lost access to the old account. The tanks are still going strong, the 20 is now medium light and the 10 houses all the shrimp and is growing a lot of subwassertang and moss. The 5 is currently just housing a bunch of snails and slow growing plants. Will update with pics eventually but have sort of been on hiatus from the hobby and the tanks are all very low maintenance now. A lot of shops in the bay area have closed down so it got a bit harder to frequent them. Still want a 40b


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