# Big's Fluval Ebi



## bigboij

got it filled,

I really like the mini internal filter it came with it uses 3 chambers that you can fill your own way or use the included media. I left the included the foam in place, and added some used floss and a little charcoal i had in my other shrimp tank to seed this tank. Got a Fluval Compact heater in there that is nice and low profile.
So far i got Fissidens, Taiwan, Java, Christmas, Spikey, 2 other unknown mosses tied to rocks for starting along with a bunch of anubias petite just floating around. waiting for my flame, and weeping moss along with my java ferns and a few mini marimo balls to arrive be for i do any real scaping.

crappy cam, hopefully i can steal my woman's camera shes getting for christmas to get good shots
The tank is in its temporary home as it cycles, once it cycles and i move the shrimp in, i can take down my other tank, and move this one.


----------



## chumlee

I Want one SO bad. I will keep in touch with you to see how you like it. Have anything to say about the substrate and the lighting?


----------



## jmowbray

What's the wattage on the heater and how well does it hold the temp? I have seen people complaining that the 25W heater won't really go up past 73 on a 8 gallon.


----------



## Franco

I have the same heater on a 10 gal and it stays about 75* with the room temp ranging from 68-71.


----------



## Senior Shrimpo

Yes, an ebi thread, I'm definitely getting one of these soon and want to know how it works out for you. What shrimp are you using?
subscribed
edit: yeah... I don't know how to subscribe haha, how do I do that?


----------



## bigboij

chumlee said:


> I Want one SO bad. I will keep in touch with you to see how you like it. Have anything to say about the substrate and the lighting?


The substrate is a bit light, planting some types of plants may be tricky as they will float up fairly easily until they root, but i think it should grow fairly decent. I stuck a small clump of marsilea minuta, in it to see if it takes hold and test the growing potential of the stuff, as my main layout will be moss and ferns. I've noticed the little balls can crush fairly easy if you give it a squeeze, it will be to been seen if it holds its shape on it's own.

The light is a 13W PC which is fairly decent light for a low/med lit tank this size. The quality is good and sturdy with a pretty good reflector. The design would allow you to easily add a second light to the tank to get higher light for those who would want a HC carpet or the more red plants, as i think the single light may be a bit lacking for higher light plants.

the block you plug into the wall/strip is the ballast for the light, so it gets little warm (not anything that i would worry about) and hums just a tiny bit, like most ballasts do.



jmowbray said:


> What's the wattage on the heater and how well does it hold the temp? I have seen people complaining that the 25W heater won't really go up past 73 on a 8 gallon.


I had some concerns my self at the start when it didn't seem to be heating up then i read the directions and left it in the tank unplugged for about 10 mins so it could calibrate it's self then plugged it in. Woke up this, and its holding my temp at 78ish all day (according to the included thermometer, may grab one from one of my other tanks to compare) with the light on and cover on this 7.9g tank. Once the light goes off ill give it a few hrs and check to see if it makes any difference, I dont think it will change much as by just feeling the glass cover under the light there is minimal heat felt.


Update!! put in another thermometer its showing 74-75, then used my infared thermometer and its showing 75.6 so what does that tell me? I have no real idea what the temp exactly it is but its some where in the mid 70s not @ the 78deg that the heater states it should be. May be due to the location of were i put it, im going to try moving it to a higher flow area in the tank to see if i get better results (like the directions say) granted the heater says its rated for 6.6 g tank, i would think it would simply run more often to keep up but it cycles on and off as if it thinks its hitting the right temp.



Senior Shrimpo said:


> Yes, an ebi thread, I'm definitely getting one of these soon and want to know how it works out for you. What shrimp are you using?
> subscribed


For starters just some RCS i have, breeding like crazy in a 2.5g tank. Waiting on a deal on some C-A CRS/CBS (im cheap) and then i plan to try my hand with raising them. For the cost and all in one'ness of these ebi tanks i may pick up another one (maybe more) so i can try a couple different types of shrimp, or use to separate/raise better grade Crystals later on.


----------



## Senior Shrimpo

That's cool, can you adjust the heater at all? Because to keep it at 78 wouldn't work for the CRS, most heaters are adjustable anyway... 
I'd love to put some high grade CRS in there and watch them go, the soil's supposed to be great for shrimp.


----------



## bigboij

yea it looks completely unadjustable, looking at the book, but it running at 74-75 could be a good thing


----------



## Senior Shrimpo

Haha yeah, except that's still a little high, CRS show better colors and females keep eggs better at around 71-73.


----------



## ZID ZULANDER

It would have been nice for them to make it so that the filter could have been behind the fake rock background. Would have made it look clean


----------



## gregpxc

subscribed


----------



## F22

cool tank, i think i need one.


----------



## NJAquaBarren

Is power to the lights separate so you can put it on a timer, or all in one like the Chi?


----------



## hockey9999

Everything has its own power cord.


----------



## bigboij

ZID ZULANDER said:


> It would have been nice for them to make it so that the filter could have been behind the fake rock background. Would have made it look clean


that would have been cool but the background is less than a inch thick so if they did that it would take a lot of tank space moving the background forward.

Although if one wanted they could probably remove the background cut a few holes in the foam and put the filter back there sacrificing the space. Or build there own filter uising a powerhead some tubing and some bulk sponge making the entire rear into a giant filter.The background looks like its only held on with a couple spots of silicone glue, but ill let some one else try that project:icon_bigg



NJAquaBarren said:


> Is power to the lights separate so you can put it on a timer, or all in one like the Chi?


yep lights and filter are separate


----------



## Senior Shrimpo

How is the light? Think it'll be enough to grow hc with some co2?
Post pictures I wanna see how the moss grows in!


----------



## jmowbray

I've heard that one light isn't enough to grow HC you will need another I think they are $30 for the light + the bulb.


----------



## bigboij

jmowbray said:


> I've heard that one light isn't enough to grow HC you will need another I think they are $30 for the light + the bulb.


wanting to add a second light so i can have them both on for a few hrs every day to help grow plants, and bio film for the babies. 

With one on each back edge i could have a cheapie, day cycle with the light starting on the left blasting both for mid day then ending with only the right.

Do you know a place that sells em?, only place i found is in Canada, has em for $32 and charges $13 bucks for shipping. Not crazy but if i can save a buck i will.


----------



## bigboij

more crappy cam pics, w/ flash on (they came out alright)

moved the drift wood more to the middle, and tied on the anubais.

Moved my Cherries over (60+ if you count the babies). tested zero ammonia, the used filter floss kept it from really ever cycling 

still waiting on some more moss and narrow leaf java fern 

second heater is in there temporarily so the babies can eat off of it. (their favorite spot in their old tank)


----------



## jmowbray

bigboij said:


> Do you know a place that sells em?, only place i found is in Canada, has em for $32 and charges $13 bucks for shipping. Not crazy but if i can save a buck i will.


Well it's not much cheeper but this is where I'll be getting mine: http://www.thehiddenreef.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=015561139359!HAG01&color=N%2FA&size=N%2FA&subsize=


----------



## GitMoe

jmowbray said:


> Well it's not much cheeper but this is where I'll be getting mine: http://www.thehiddenreef.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=015561139359!HAG01&color=N%2FA&size=N%2FA&subsize=


Nice tank. I live right near The Hidden Reef. Going there now just because they have a full stock of all the new Fluval goodies. Need a nano thermometer and maybe that 13w light.


----------



## jmowbray

GitMoe said:


> Need a nano thermometer and maybe that 13w light.


Don't buy them all!! lol I need one when I get my Ebi.


----------



## jmowbray

bigboij what kind of heater do you have running in there on the left? How well is it holding temp now?


----------



## bigboij

it is a hydor Nano heater, i think it is the 7.5w. with it and the fluval heater, it keeps my temps a 78.2-78.8 via a reading from my infared thermometer.

I can bury it later if i want to but since the shrimp are using it till the tank matures it will stay visible


----------



## Senior Shrimpo

Update! I wanna see how this works lol.
Is the wall actually rocky and do you think you could make a moss wall on it?


----------



## gringostar9

Moss could easily grow on it, its just foam. Throw a few pins in it for support, and moss it up. These thanks are awesome, so pumped i got one.


----------



## dmxsoulja3

My local petland has the strata for 11 dollars for 4lbs, big bag is 21 dollars, so if you have a Petland and wouldn't go there for anything else you might want to see if they have it to try out. So far I like it, its a pain to not stir it up if you muck around in there but it settles quickly and fish and shrimp seem to like it.


----------



## Senior Shrimpo

gringostar9 said:


> Moss could easily grow on it, its just foam. Throw a few pins in it for support, and moss it up. These thanks are awesome, so pumped i got one.


I don't think moss will grow on it, it needs to hold onto something and it'd just slip off the styrofoam. I tested it out, the best I could do is put up some mesh with pins but I didn't like the look of it so I took it down.


----------



## jmowbray

Java moss will stay on there. I was growing a Java moss wall and I went to clean my spray bar and the moss attached to it and is growing strong.


----------



## gringostar9

Senior Shrimpo said:


> I don't think moss will grow on it, it needs to hold onto something and it'd just slip off the styrofoam. I tested it out, the best I could do is put up some mesh with pins but I didn't like the look of it so I took it down.


I was saying use some pins every few inches for it to attach to. Where there is a will there is a way.


----------



## Sushieraser

I saw somewhere where the guy had mosses growing on pieces of bark that he then pinned to his background. He did it so he could experiment with different kinds and move them if need be.


----------



## bigboij

Update on where my tank is at.

My order of Flame, and weeping moss along with my needle leaf java ferns and a few mini marimo balls I ordered on 12/3 from aquatic magic, finally arrived after taking over a month. (they were in the mail since the 13th -tip dont order internationally thru usps during the holidays) Surprisingly they came thru alright, the weeping moss turned a bit yellow, but i think it will bounce back.

Still trying to figure out this new camera its a 12MP but i still cant work out how to get pictures much better than my old 5MP

not thinking before taking pics, I just fed em so my substrate is a bit dirty till they clean it up.

Edit: wow didn't realize my substrate was so uneven, gonna have to fix that

FTS


----------



## bigboij

from the side


----------



## Eden Marel

Those are the smallest Marimo I've ever seen. But it is looking good, the driftwood and the plants on it particularly nice


----------



## chumlee

I saw them earlier today, they are called nano marimo...


----------



## Cynth

They look like little green stones, very cute.


----------



## chumlee

hows the tank doing?


----------



## Eden Marel

Hey did you get your shrimp yet? D&G had a bunch of red or black BumbleBee Shrimps for under $3 each. Or if you are really set on low grade Crystals, Aqua Imports has them, but they are $9... so you are really better off getting the Bumblebees or getting them shipped from a hobbyist.


----------



## bigboij

update, pics in no perticular order

finally found a place selling crs's A's for 2 bucks and S's for 3, picked up 15 A's to start with since ive never really had CRS. looking a parameters im running now they should be fairly happy.

my weeping moss is finally starting to bounce back and giving me growth on the tips, i was just about to abandon it.

ran out of filter floss so i stole chumlee's nylons prefilter


----------



## aman74

bigboij said:


> update, pics in no perticular order
> 
> finally found a place selling crs's A's for 2 bucks and S's for 3, picked up 15 A's to start with since ive never really had CRS. looking a parameters im running now they should be fairly happy.
> 
> my weeping moss is finally starting to bounce back and giving me growth on the tips, i was just about to abandon it.
> 
> ran out of filter floss so i stole chumlee's nylons prefilter


That's pretty cheap for S grade shrimp isn't it? Was that someplace local?

Thanks


----------



## bigboij

aquabid actually they were selling them in groups but i contacted the seller and they let me know a per shrimp price for when i buy more.


----------



## chumlee

the tank's looking good. Do you think glosso could grow with 1 stock light from the ebi?


----------



## bigboij

^ that i dont know never done glosso, i think it is more of a higher light plant, think it would grow real "leggy" with the one.

my marsilea minuta is just now finally throwing out runners and its a lower light plant


----------



## Cynth

Looking very good! I really like the fissidens on the wood.


----------



## bigboij

got my CRS

got 15 of em


----------



## jmowbray

What are your params now that the shrimp are in there?


----------



## Cynth

Very nice. Did you find them local or ship them in?

Never mind I see you found them on aquabid (didn't read previous page).


----------



## Viz

Very Nice looking tank! I have one and I think it is about ready for me to introduce the shrimp. I am looking at getting some Crystal Reds. Mine is setup similar to yours but I placed the filter on the left hand side of the tank with the intake toward the corner. I was afraid that if they did breed the babies would be sucked into it. BTW how fast is the flow rate set at on your tank? Is it aimed where the water is being aerated a bit at the top? Also how many shrimp will this tank hold? I don't want to overstock it. How many do you have in yours?


----------



## bigboij

Viz said:


> Very Nice looking tank! I have one and I think it is about ready for me to introduce the shrimp. I am looking at getting some Crystal Reds. Mine is setup similar to yours but I placed the filter on the left hand side of the tank with the intake toward the corner. I was afraid that if they did breed the babies would be sucked into it. BTW how fast is the flow rate set at on your tank? Is it aimed where the water is being aerated a bit at the top? Also how many shrimp will this tank hold? I don't want to overstock it. How many do you have in yours?


Thanks

i think you can put the filter anywhere you want. You will need to use something to make the intake shrimp safe. you can stuff that first chamber full of floss to block em or you can take the entire canister portion of the filter and put it in some panty hose/stalkings.

as for my flow i have it pointing up at about 45* so that it makes a nice ripple keeping my water aerated. as im not using co2 i dont have to worry about degassing.

not sure how many it will hold but i plan to find out, ive got 20 or so full grown RCS, and 50-60 juvies

of the CRS only got 14 (lost one) in there, 

i plan on moving shrimp out as i feel it looks over stocked to some of my other tanks. As for what number is to much? i dont know, but i think you could get a couple hundred in there of mixed sizes.


----------



## Viz

Thanks for the response! Yeah I figured since the tank is made to be a Nano shrimp tank that the filter intake would not be so large on the bottom. I was trying to find out how many gph the filter produces and that will help determine how many shrimp can safely be in there without bioload concern. Unlike the rule of thumb for fish I am not sure what the rule of thumb is for shrimp. I am sure their bioload is much smaller. I think mine is cycled and will start introducing shrimp soon! I will hopefully post some pics this weekend. BTW a great website for gathering information on freshwater shrimp is www.planetinverts.com . It is a great resource.


----------



## bigboij

update on the growth

Stringy moss









Fissdens









Flame









Spikey









Unkown moss 









Taiwan i think


















Front of tank (you can see the weeping moss is still recovering a few more weeks and i can pull it and cut away the brown stuff and reattach the new green thats growing)









Side (under the anubais you can see another moss im not quite sure of what it is,I think Xmas)


----------



## jmowbray

What's the little row of green plants in the sub? Are they all connected or did you plant them in a row like that?


----------



## bigboij

marsilea quadrifolia , It grows in a row/chain like that that. 

now that i got the second light working and im doing a mid day 3 hr burst where there both on. it has really taken off.

i want it to carpet this tank like it has on my 20h. So far that is all from one plantlet i used for a starter, may steal more from my 20 to speed this up.


----------



## bigboij

finally caught a pic of my super red cherry

and she's sporting a saddle (hard to see since she is so solid red)


----------



## bigboij

quick cell pic

gonna need to do my first trim here soon, my flame moss, and the stringy moss (far right) have exploded. The fissidens will be needing a trim before too long aswell


----------



## bigboij

Couple new pics, need a Flame moss trim 

trimed what was living on the willow moss it is kinda hidden in the back but its still recovering.


the retrofited 7000k bulb i rigged up for the old lamp is on the left









the snake like blur in the middle is my algae eater









and the stringy moss started to grow up and out of the tank so it got moved to a vase, not sure what to do with it.


----------



## Viz

I love everyones EBI's They look great! I hope mine will look that good someday. problem is my light went out already after 3 months at only 8 hours a day of operation and I can't track down replacements. The light was enough to produce algae and make the water a bit green. I do have a question on cleaning the aquarium. I have only 8 CRS (some juvies) and a snail to clean some of the algae on the glass. There has actually been enough algae in the tank to keep the shrimp busy. I do supplement them once or twice a week with food. My question is do any of you guys vacuum the aquarium or clean the substrate? I am noticing a large amount of waste on the bottom and not sure what to do as the substrate is very easily stirred up. Any suggestions?


----------



## JamesHockey

that stringy moss looks like thick hair algae


----------



## bigboij

Viz said:


> I love everyones EBI's They look great! I hope mine will look that good someday. problem is my light went out already after 3 months at only 8 hours a day of operation and I can't track down replacements. The light was enough to produce algae and make the water a bit green. I do have a question on cleaning the aquarium. I have only 8 CRS (some juvies) and a snail to clean some of the algae on the glass. There has actually been enough algae in the tank to keep the shrimp busy. I do supplement them once or twice a week with food. My question is do any of you guys vacuum the aquarium or clean the substrate? I am noticing a large amount of waste on the bottom and not sure what to do as the substrate is very easily stirred up. Any suggestions?


cant say ive had the do anything to the substrate the shrimp themselves like to clean the substrate they keep the top 1/8-1/4" pristine for the most part, every time i move anything or disturb the substrate they attack anything i stir up.

as for the bulb you have to get the hagen/fluval one, unless you feel like doing some slight modification you can use an aftermarket bulb (steps for that can be found in this thread http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/equipment/125020-fluval-ebi-light.html)

if you go the after market route let me know ill point you to a place you can get bulbs for a decent price


----------



## gordonrichards

Your tank is looking great! I have to get a piece of driftwood in my girlfriends tank like yours!

-Gordon


----------



## Viz

Hey Gang,

I am not sure what to do. I have had my EBI up and running since about January and I had it stocked with about 5 Red Cherry Shrimp to start since they are pretty hardy. They were doing quite well for several months. I had lost two over the past month so I went and purchased 4 more figuring it was time for the community to increase. Over the last two days I have lost all of them suddenly except for my largest one and it is not moving around much either. I checked the water and there is no ammonia, Nitrites and the Nitrates as almost non existent. The only thing I have done is change the water and add some iron to the tank for the plants. It was not a large amount but could this be it? I have added excel in the past also. I have been using distilled water and no I am at a loss. I am afraid to go buy more shrimp until I can figure out what is wrong. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I start all over from scratch including cycling the aquarium again? Please Help!


----------



## Noahma

Viz said:


> Hey Gang,
> 
> I am not sure what to do. I have had my EBI up and running since about January and I had it stocked with about 5 Red Cherry Shrimp to start since they are pretty hardy. They were doing quite well for several months. I had lost two over the past month so I went and purchased 4 more figuring it was time for the community to increase. Over the last two days I have lost all of them suddenly except for my largest one and it is not moving around much either. I checked the water and there is no ammonia, Nitrites and the Nitrates as almost non existent. The only thing I have done is change the water and add some iron to the tank for the plants. It was not a large amount but could this be it? I have added excel in the past also. I have been using distilled water and no I am at a loss. I am afraid to go buy more shrimp until I can figure out what is wrong. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I start all over from scratch including cycling the aquarium again? Please Help!


Did you check your water for copper? That will do a shrimp in


----------



## Viz

Yes I did check for Copper as well and the test came back clean. I checked everything again and there is no ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates are around 5 ppm but I don't think that is super crazy. Could it be me adding too much Carbon and iron for the plants? The only other thing I can think of is there is a lava rock in the tank that could possibly be leeching something into the water. That would be odd though since it has been in there for months. I don't know what to do now and I lost my last shrimp this morning. I feel like I need to start all over since I can't figure out what is wrong. All I can think of is a disease in the shrimp or bad water which the tests come back negative on the water.


----------



## Geniusdudekiran

Why are you using distilled water? A lot of people use RO/DI, but why distilled? My guess it that you have overdosed on Excel... Live and learn... We all have gone through some problem(s) with shrimp at some time. Good luck!


----------



## Viz

I am using distilled water because my tap water is very hard. I heard that the CRS and RCS love a softer more acidic water that is the only reason I am using the distilled. I was trying at one point to mix half and half at water changes. It has been about several weeks since all the shrimp died and I have left the aquarium going. I have performed the water changes weekly anyway and was planning on getting more shrimp this weekend!


----------



## Geniusdudekiran

Viz said:


> I was trying at one point to mix half and half at water changes. It has been about several weeks since all the shrimp died and I have left the aquarium going.


So are you using straight distilled water now? Because it lacks a lot of the minerals and other good stuff that other types of water do. The fact that they've slowly been dying off may be because their water has increasingly lost its beneficial minerals (every time you conduct a water change). Keep us posted.


----------



## bigboij

im a dad,

my crs finally had babies,; on the distilled note i am using distilled only for top offs, but for wc im doing half/half










quick fts (dirty glass and Giant Flame moss bush i need to trim)


----------



## Viz

Congrats! Very nice looking tank! I am so jealous!


----------



## Cynth

Congrats on the babies! I love the way the fissidens has grown.


----------



## bigboij

dont mind the dirty glass i got tons of babies that need places to eat


----------



## bigboij

The flame moss has attached to the foam on the back and has actually grown to the point several strands are now over 1" above the waterline. i plan to start cutting back the flame moss till i can transition it to be only on the wall and be a true attached moss wall. That will give my wood more room for my giant fissidens ball to take over the top to give the nice tree effect.


----------



## GDP

Very cool man. Im still deciding if im going to get a few of these or a 20 long. This thread makes me want to get the fluval ebi lol.


----------



## Cynth

It looks great! I love that fissidens. Does anyone else see a turkey or peacock shape in the wood and moss or is it just me?


----------



## bigboij

^^ il never be able to look at the tank the same again..



just pulled the trigger on swapping out to a canister, i want that space back the internal takes up.


just ordered a Finnex px-360 - a fairly good step up from the zoomed or toms' options, at 95gph

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKF-CzLFuKk

http://www.amazon.com/PX-360-All---...8U4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1308920876&sr=8-21


gonna probably need to pick up some plexi to make a custom cover with cutouts


----------



## Noahma

I was thinking of getting rid of the internal filter too. Just takes up way too much space. I need to use a top though due to my chili's attempting the sport of high jump. 


I do see a turkey in there lol. Thats funny!


----------



## Couesfanatic

Love the fissidens. Awesome


----------



## gringostar9

Cynth said:


> It looks great! I love that fissidens. Does anyone else see a turkey or peacock shape in the wood and moss or is it just me?


HAHA Wow... You must see awesome things in clouds.


----------



## PinoyBoy

Looks more like a peacock with a duck's bill to me; either way they're all edible.

This tank has changed alot. How careful were you with your trimming? I've accidentally snipped a cherry in half before :angryfire when I was trimming my moss.


----------



## bigboij

PinoyBoy said:


> Looks more like a peacock with a duck's bill to me; either way they're all edible.
> 
> This tank has changed alot. How careful were you with your trimming? I've accidentally snipped a cherry in half before :angryfire when I was trimming my moss.


only caught one tiny baby cherry so far, for the most part i try to shake away any shrimp that may be on the plant i want to trim just before i make the cut


Got my Canister !!! its a Finnex px-360, this filter fits this tank perfectly, IMHO, and for around 40 bucks shipped i love the price. I couldn't stand the look of running both filters so i pulled all the media from the internal ebi filter and put it all in the new canister. did the same thing on my 20h when i swapped with no problems with any mini cycle or such.

now contemplating getting a SS prefilter screen from shrimplab for my intake, currently using one of the foam inserts from the stock filter for my prefilter.

need to either get some plexi, or get a piece of glass cut, as for right now im using some extra suction cups near the top to act as legs for the back half of the glass for now.










I do plan on shortening the tubes up a bit, was leaving them long for testfitting.

fts+ (tanks in the afternoon cycle, so its only running one fixture)









little bit of trimming since last time, did a RAOK for a local member.

As you can see im using the nozzle as opposed to the spray bar (comes with both), i have even done away with my heater and thermometer (monitoring temps now and then to see if it's stable enough without a heater over the last 24 it's seemed to stay fairly nice at around 75-78ish on a 90 deg day with nothing but fans running in the house) I like the clean minimalistic look i got going now, as you can see with the filter parts being black and clear they really hide themselves nicely. As the needle leaf grows they will be hidden almost entirely.










you can see how i have the intake and output setup in the corner, you can kind of make out the filter floss i shoved in the output to slow the flow a bit, cause when i first turned this thing on the flow was insane. It has slown down a bit as the filter started to "grow" but still a little high for my and my shrimps liking, might fab a more permanent flow control solution at a later time.











the water is almost crystal clear, the dirty glass, and weird effect my camera gets when it catches the over tank lights makes the water look like it has tannis/a brown-yellow hue, the first pic is the closest to real life color.


----------



## Cynth

Looks great! I bought little canisters for both of my EBI's too.


----------



## home grown

Not sure if you mentioned this but are you injecting co2?


----------



## bigboij

home grown said:


> Not sure if you mentioned this but are you injecting co2?


nope no Co2 no fertz, Nothing but lights and shrimp poo. keeping this tank going


----------



## Lil' Swimz$

It would look REALLY good without the background.


----------



## ncharlie

bigboij said:


> Got my Canister !!! its a Finnex px-360, this filter fits this tank perfectly, IMHO, and for around 40 bucks shipped i love the price. I couldn't stand the look of running both filters so i pulled all the media from the internal ebi filter and put it all in the new canister. did the same thing on my 20h when i swapped with no problems with any mini cycle or such.


When you say the canister fits, do you mean you can use the glass top?

Do the hoses fit in the little holes at the corners?

I have been thinking of updating to canisters for both my EBI and Edge.

Thanks!


----------



## Cynth

gringostar9 said:


> HAHA Wow... You must see awesome things in clouds.


I do see things in clouds... and in linoleum and bricks and pretty much every thing I look at. Doesn't everyone do that? Some what?

My bathroom has some weird sponge painting on the walls (was there when I moved in) and I see all sorts of things in the paint designs when I am um... sitting in there.


----------



## PinoyBoy

So the flame moss is actually growing (attached) to the background?


----------



## Buff Daddy

Cynth said:


> I do see things in clouds... and in linoleum and bricks and pretty much every thing I look at. Doesn't everyone do that? Some what?


It's known as "matrixing" and some folks do it more than others. It's a left-brain vs right-brain thing where the tendency of humans to organize sensory information makes them "find" something familiar in shapes, sounds, etc. ("Hey, this alligator tail tastes like chicken.") People that are creative, artistic and/or make associations easily between words or concepts are generally better at it than folks that are more literal or "concrete" in their thought processes.

That being said, I have no artistic talent, especially with aquascaping, and my new Ebi isn't as beautiful as everybody else's is. Of course, since I suffer from "plant collectivitis," mine is already a jungle and I just planted it last night. I really like the look of this one and I almost got the Finnex 360 canister for mine, too, but something *mordalphus *said in another thread made me get a good sponge filter instead... I did get the Finnex 26W clip light.


----------



## bigboij

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> It would look REALLY good without the background.


only place i hear any discontent for the backgrounds on these is on this site, everyone whos not in the hobby loves the back ground comparitive to my blacked out glass on my other tanks. That and that background is a grazing haven for my shrimp. 



ncharlie said:


> When you say the canister fits, do you mean you can use the glass top?
> 
> Do the hoses fit in the little holes at the corners?
> 
> I have been thinking of updating to canisters for both my EBI and Edge.
> 
> Thanks!


nah more just in a power, size, components way. I will have to get a new top (glass or plexi) in the end



PinoyBoy said:


> So the flame moss is actually growing (attached) to the background?


Yes the moss is growing like crazy attached to the wall..... but now im thinking it isn't flame so not sure if ill keep it or swap it out for real flame. if i can trim it down and make it still look good it may stay.

in fact its growing right on up and out of the tank even.


----------



## Buff Daddy

bigboij said:


> only place i hear any discontent for the backgrounds on these is on this site, everyone whos not in the hobby loves the back ground comparitive to my blacked out glass on my other tanks. That and that background is a grazing haven for my shrimp.
> 
> I will have to get a new top (glass or plexi) in the end


I like the background on mine, too, at least for the time being...

I'm taking my top to a glass company to see if they can modify it for the larger bracket on my Finnex cliplight. If they can't modify it, I'll probably use the same company to get a piece made.


----------



## bigboij

removed all of the moss not directly growing on the wall.


----------



## Viz

Have you ever had a problem with a white oily type film developing on the water surface? I have this film developed and skimming the top with a glas gets rid of it when I do water changes but it comes back. currently there are no shrimp in my tank yet but heard that I may need to rinse the media or change it out. Have you had this problem with your tank?


----------



## bigboij

Viz said:


> Have you ever had a problem with a white oily type film developing on the water surface? I have this film developed and skimming the top with a glas gets rid of it when I do water changes but it comes back. currently there are no shrimp in my tank yet but heard that I may need to rinse the media or change it out. Have you had this problem with your tank?


yes i do, to combat or lessen the noticeability of it, i make sure my outflows always point up a bit create surface ripples in the water. it keeps the film broken up, along with improving o2 levels in the water to keep everyone happy.

as for rinsing the media i would be careful as the stuff breaks down mushes back down to a mud pretty easily after its soaked in the water for a few hours. if you dont care for the aesthetic look of the little balls of substrate then you can rinse


----------



## ncharlie

Viz said:


> Have you ever had a problem with a white oily type film developing on the water surface? I have this film developed and skimming the top with a glas gets rid of it when I do water changes but it comes back. currently there are no shrimp in my tank yet but heard that I may need to rinse the media or change it out. Have you had this problem with your tank?



I also have this in my cycling tank. I plan to also use the spray bar to ripple the surface.

My concern is this film would prevent gas exchange since it is oily?

Another thread recommended mopping it up with paper towels and that does work.


----------



## bigboij

ncharlie said:


> I also have this in my cycling tank. I plan to also use the spray bar to ripple the surface.
> 
> My concern is this film would prevent gas exchange since it is oily?
> 
> Another thread recommended mopping it up with paper towels and that does work.


did the paper towels it works but a hassel, it seems the film comes and goes day by day. It seems if its a hot day with alot of evaporation happening the film seems to be a bit more noticeable. 

the tank has been running for over 6mos now so its not something to do with cycling.

i was looking a the intake on my canister and i figure i could macgyver a skimmer setup simular to the type on the sunsun filter, but worried about the skimmer eating babies so its staying an idea till i can find a shrimp safe skimmer if its even possible.

May just get some red root floaters or such and just let floating plants keep the surface clean


----------



## bigboij

quick video of feeding
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO









only started with 15 CRS and of them 4 died right off, they seemed to bounce back a bit tho..


----------



## jeremyblevins

Hello nice tank. 
I'm trying to get my tank started back up after my light broke while I was doing a dsm.
I see you have two lights hooked up to your ebi. Would you mind sharing the hours for each light and such as to get great growth without algea. Also how do you do water changes on the ebi?
Thanks


----------



## bigboij

jeremyblevins said:


> Hello nice tank.
> I'm trying to get my tank started back up after my light broke while I was doing a dsm.
> I see you have two lights hooked up to your ebi. Would you mind sharing the hours for each light and such as to get great growth without algea. Also how do you do water changes on the ebi?
> Thanks


Thank ya!

just crawled under the desk (didnt know what i was running) for the most part i started them at 8 each with a 4 hr overlap, that was to much so i just started decreasing the overlap little by little till i found a equilibrium between algae and growth. since im not using co2 or ferts this is my only true algae controller i have.

currently the left light runs 9am-3:30pm
the right light runs 12:30pm-9:30pm

12hrs is long cycle for most people, but its close to real time of light throughout the day. but I just bumped it back an hour later or so so i get to enjoy it at night.


as for WC's, for the most part i dont do em, since im not adding anything like ferts the filter does its job of keep the water clean. i top of with distilled (live in an apt no RO unit for home) due to evaporation. i may do a actual WC once every other month and even then its take a gallon or so out, and replace with a 50/50 tap and distilled bucket of water. I use the back drop as my splash guard for poring in the water and not having to worry about messing anything up. I used hoses and such at the beginning but developed my lazy way and stuck with it


----------



## bigboij

Update pics of my attached moss wall.


----------



## kuro

wow your phoenix moss look amazing, i have a ebi too and did HC dsm a few months ago hoping my phoenix moss will come out looking that great on my driftwood but i didn't tie it to rock i just superglue it onto my driftwood. i even glue mini x-mas moss onto the back wall like what you have there on your ebi but that moss grow really slow even my mini pelia on my driftwood is spreading faster. Hopefully when i fill it in few weeks the christmas moss will kick in.


----------



## jeremyblevins

bigboij said:


> Thank ya!
> 
> just crawled under the desk (didnt know what i was running) for the most part i started them at 8 each with a 4 hr overlap, that was to much so i just started decreasing the overlap little by little till i found a equilibrium between algae and growth. since im not using co2 or ferts this is my only true algae controller i have.
> 
> currently the left light runs 9am-3:30pm
> the right light runs 12:30pm-9:30pm
> 
> 12hrs is long cycle for most people, but its close to real time of light throughout the day. but I just bumped it back an hour later or so so i get to enjoy it at night.
> 
> 
> as for WC's, for the most part i dont do em, since im not adding anything like ferts the filter does its job of keep the water clean. i top of with distilled (live in an apt no RO unit for home) due to evaporation. i may do a actual WC once every other month and even then its take a gallon or so out, and replace with a 50/50 tap and distilled bucket of water. I use the back drop as my splash guard for poring in the water and not having to worry about messing anything up. I used hoses and such at the beginning but developed my lazy way and stuck with it


Thank you for answering. Is there a specially timer that can handle two light cycles or do you just have them hooked up to two different timers?


----------



## bigboij

jeremyblevins said:


> Thank you for answering. Is there a specially timer that can handle two light cycles or do you just have them hooked up to two different timers?












two 5 dollar timers and a 3 dollar extension cord. its only on a cord cause then i can lower it back behind my desk and outta the way.


----------



## bigboij

update

the fissdens tree is about due a trim its turning into a bush




















the moss wall is growing nicely


----------



## Cynth

Looking awesome!


----------



## madness

Did you ever find a solution for the lid/glass top when using the external canister filter?

Also, what type of moss is on the moss wall again? Was that the (maybe) flame moss?


----------



## bigboij

madness said:


> Did you ever find a solution for the lid/glass top when using the external canister filter?
> 
> Also, what type of moss is on the moss wall again? Was that the (maybe) flame moss?


I'm still using suction cups near the top rear to act as legs as the front rests on the edge of the tank. Just got married last week so I been insane busy and hadn't done any other than feed and top off for a while. 

The moss wall i think ia java Xmas moss mix in the last picture you can see what i think is java at the top. At the bottom right corner you can see what I think is Xmas that makes up the rest.


----------



## madness

bigboij said:


> I'm still using suction cups near the top rear to act as legs as the front rests on the edge of the tank. Just got married last week so I been insane busy and hadn't done any other than feed and top off for a while.
> 
> The moss wall i think ia java Xmas moss mix in the last picture you can see what i think is java at the top. At the bottom right corner you can see what I think is Xmas that makes up the rest.


Congratulations man!


----------



## DesmondTheMoonBear

We need an update!


----------



## Hyzer

DesmondTheMoonBear said:


> We need an update!


I second this.

Somehow I missed this awesome EBI. Nice work!


----------



## bigboij

Sorry for the lack of any updates, between getting married an moving to new house i have been busy 

this thank was surprisingly easy to move, lowered water took out equipment road in the front seat of my car.

topped it off with distilled upon setup and added a splash of the minerals that come with the kit.

as for maintenance i do nothing but feed scrape front glass (side left green for the babies) and top off with distilled water. the shrimp and my light cycle seems to keep any algae of concern away to keep this tank glorious 

cell phone is my only working cam at the moment


----------



## HammerJoe

Hello,

I've enjoyed reading your journal. I am thinking of getting a EBI as well and I was wondering if you clean the gravel as well and if yes how messy it is and if its hard?
Ive had tanks in the past but they were alot bigger so cleaning the gravel was not much of an issue but with this small tank Im wondering if it can be done without disturbing everything?


----------



## pedropete

i've heard cleaning (like vacuuming) the fluval stratum isn't a good idea as it removes potential meals for the shrimp, who love to walk around, picking at particles and biofilm accumulated here and there.

my question for Big, the OP, is: how did you mod the filter intake so shrimplets were sucked in? thanks!


----------



## majerah1

Wow,I love the overgrowth!It looks fantastic and those shrimp must be super happy!

Im hunting a used Ebi for my daughter who wants some shrimp,lol.I have a good source for some blue pearls,so will see how it goes.In any case your tank has inspired me even moreso to look for this type of tank.


----------

