# Choco's Fluval Chi Journal (updated 3/31/2014 FTS, fully planted!)



## keats (Apr 26, 2013)

*Choco's Fluval Chi Journal*

I like the scape! I honestly would use Blyxa in a tank this small. It just gets so big. It's root system can be very expansive. Other green mid ground plants like Tropica 049, Downoi, and Hydro Japan would work well. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Point taken. Downoi looks like a good alternative. 
I just love blyxa though!


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

I love the stones! It will look good once flooded though!
Good luck...


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Thanks horsedude! 
I've actually changed the hardscape a bit, trying to add more depth.. and the illusion of a far off mountain cliff. Not sure how much of that was achieved, but here it is! 










Tomorrow I'm expecting my two Finnex FugeRay's. More updates tomorrow, hopefully!


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

The giant rock looks great in the background . Can't wait to see how planting works out in this tank later!


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Got a gift in the mail today! Two Finnex FugeRay, 10"!









I picked up two because I'm going high light, CO2 enriched, etc. Also planning a HC carpet.

Also, thanks to TAPS (The Aquatic Plant Society), which offered me some advice on my hardscape, I've changed it a bit.
Here it is with the lights on!










And a close up.










This'll be my final version of this scape, I'm done getting my hands dirty in the aquasoil!


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## Octantis (Jan 9, 2014)

Looks great,

Just picked up a Chi on the cheap and looking for ideas.

What filter you going to use?


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

I'm looking at the Zoo Med 501. If the tank was a little larger, say 10 gallons, I'd go for the Eheim 2211.. I just think my plants would be blown away if I went with that in a 5 gallon tank.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

*DSM started*

I know I said the scape I had was the last.. but my LFS got an ADA shipment in and I just HAD to look through the stones they got. 

So I bought about 2lbs worth, here's my picks.










You can also see my pots of HC that I bought to dry start.
After planting and rearranging and replacing some hardscape, here is the result!










That's plastic wrap around the top. Gonna air it out probably twice daily, and see what happens after a month or so. 

My new filter selection is the Finnex PX-360, based on Youtube videos and reviews. Plus I am satisfied with my Finnex lights, so I have high hopes for the filter.

And an extra pic.. The light pollution from this thing is kinda crazy.. though when it's filled and full of life I probably won't mind. :biggrin:


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Random question: what movie/show/game is the toy robot on your desk from? I recognize it(I think)... but can't recall what its originally from...FamilyGuy did a parody on it as a school hallway monitor...
At any rate the tank looks awesome, can't wait to see the carpet grow in!


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Robocop! It's the ED-209!


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

_HC dry start, one week later: 3/8/2014_

Front shot:









Top shot:









Compare to a week ago:









DSM has been a success so far. It's all growing really nicely. No mold that I can see, no algae. I don't see any yellowing or browning leaves, just healthy growth and runners all over.
Here's what I do.

I run the finnex lights for 12 hours a day. I have the tank covered with plastic wrap (completely) for all hours, except for two hours a day during the photo period when I remove the wrap completely. I let it sit for two hours uncovered. After two hours are up, I mist generously and cover again. 

I've made a planting plan:









For the hairgrass, I'm going it mostly short, and having it rise to nearly the top of the tank in the back. I was considering going with e. vivipara or e. acicularis for the back, but I didn't want the species to mix. I still may go with another in back. Feedback on that? 

I bought some Petsmart p. helferi that was in pretty bad shape at the beginning of the week. I figured "why not?" and planted what I could into my other 20g tank (which is mostly fish only at this point). I'm running DIY CO2 and dosing 1/2 EI, just to feed my ferns and the downoi in there. Here's a pic of the downoi tonight: 









When I first got it, it was all white, small and withered. It had no roots to speak of.
It's showing some growth, and it's actually green now. This little experiment seems like it's on it's way. When/if it grows out, it's going into the Chi. 

Anyway feel free to leave me some feedback! Thanks for reading!


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Time for another update!
HC is still growing in nicely. Here's a shot from tonight.










Comparing growth:

Last Sunday:








This Sunday: 









I am noticing a little bit of yellowing and algae. Any thoughts?








1 and 2 show what I believe is GSA on my rock. I'll probably spot treat this.

3 shows that the HC has met the glass and is growing upwards.

The rest shows yellowing happening. I've read this is normal. I'll be flooding in a week or two so stay tuned! :icon_mrgr


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## chan1011 (Mar 17, 2014)

Looks great! Is this a typical technique to grow HC unsubmerged? I know it's a hard plant to grow so I always avoided it.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Yep, this is how most grow it _emersed_. 
It's been pretty easy so far to grow emersed. Some people even put it in a Tupperware on a windowsill and grow it out..

I grew it this way because I want:
Strong root growth
Time to plan the plant choice
Add shrimp/ livestock right away

Hc seems to need high lights to carpet. As does most carpeting plants I think.
Thanks for the compliment too, glad you like it.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Update time!
So, I'm late on this update. I did a lot of stuff this Saturday and I was beat, so I didn't update.

I filled the tank! :icon_cool
Unfortunately I had to fill it a week early. The downoi was growing nicely, and I had great success growing it. I woke up Friday and it was all uprooted, and floating around the tank.. 

So I replanted.. and watched. 
My kribs in the tank swam up to it and started nibbling on it! 
So I decided to fill.

I took a trip to my LFS for my initial tank inhabitants, 3 amanos and 3 otos. I also wanted to pick up some DHG. 

Of course nothing ever goes right. I was able to get the amanos and otos, but they were completely out of DHG. 

Thursday they said they'd have more. I figured I'd get some from another hobbyist on here, of course not checking the weather.. Two days ago it was in the 60s. Right now it "feels like" 14. A "major snowstorm" is coming on Tuesday (seriously WTF), and Friday is set to be in the upper 50s. 
NOPE.

Anyway, I went with a DIY CO2 setup. 








Here it is before I put in the check valves.

I've had success using glass diffusers, so I grabbed one off ebay for around $12 shipped.










I've seen people say these are not good for DIY, but IME they've worked well.

I slowly filled the tank with an airline siphon added the stock, turned on the filter and let it do it's thing.

I also completely forgot to get a heater. Luckily I still had a 150w Hydor heater, so I'm using that for now. I bought a 25w Cobalt Neo-therm, and that's coming Thursday. 

The 150w is overkill, I know. I am closely monitoring my temps. Good thing the Hydor is a great heater with a good thermostat. 
*****
I woke up today and took a FTS.









As you can see the diffuser is really doing it's thing. I had it lower initially, but I felt that it was working almost _too_ well and raised it. I also dosed my micros today.

A few hours later, a pleasant surprise!








Pearling! 

I snapped some pics of my shrimp doing their thing.

























I can't wait to plant the DHG. Sigh.
Anyway thanks for reading! For more pics, check out my imgur: http://chocological.imgur.com/

Leave me questions/comments! :thumbsup:

EDIT:
Forgot to add.
I'm doing an 8hr photo period, with all lights on, including the blues. To me, it makes it look nicer.

I run a single "moonlight" on one of the finnex fixtures at night.
I'm doing EI dosing as follows.
1/16 tsp KNO3 3x
1/64 tsp KH2PO4 3x 
1/64 tsp Plantex 3x
1/8 tsp GH booster

I dose macros and micros on alternating days. I'm using one of these to dose:









I basically took what I was dosing in my 20g, and divided it by 4 as the Chi is 5 gallons or so.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

So I ran in to some issues here.
First issue: Cycling

So, my filter was not ready to be on it's own, despite running on my 20g for weeks. I am dealing with a mini cycle right now, having to change the water every two days or so from high Nitrites. Ammonia is undetectable, and Nitrates build up to acceptable levels, so any day now I'm expecting the cycle to be complete.

Second issue: DHG

I did make a thread here looking for some.. I eventually sourced some DHG belem, which is shipping Monday morning.
My LFS did get some.. e acicularis. E. acicularis grows taller than e. parvula.. but I decided to get it anyway, to cover the equipment. I've planted it in the back. It seems to be transitioning nicely.

Third issue: CO2

Early this week, I looked at my tank.. my otos were white, and my amanos were hiding. One came out, but was floating around the tank, twitching. After testing all of my params, I checked the CO2 charts and realized I was gassing my fish with a over 100ppm dissolved CO2. My DIY setup works too well. No wonder I had such success with pearling...


Just an interruption here.. I think my Otos are mating as I type this.. I just youtubed a video and they are doing the exact thing as in the video.. chasing each other around, doing what looks like a mounting thing.. sheesh.. 

Anyway, lol..
So, CO2. 
I decided to run an airstone at night, and remove the diffuser. It's DIY so I can't turn it off.. it just sits in a cup of water with a little excel in it to prevent any nasties from growing on it. When the lights on back on, diffuser goes back in. I'm going to have to come up with a better solution, so I may just go with pressurized for it. 

The neo-therm heater came too, and it's working great. It's really fancy and the ceramic has a nice heft. 
Heft is good sometimes, and the thing feels like quality.

Growth has been good, the HC is really growing up and out. 
The downoi looks great too. So far so good. 

I'll post pictures tomorrow.


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## helgi125 (Jan 16, 2014)

Tank is looking great!

I had a similar Co2 problem running my first DIY setup, there is a way around it that makes makes it stable,

Amazon.com: Fluval 20g-CO2 Diffuser - 0.7 Ounces: Pet Supplies

Its bulky, yes but it allows you better control of just how much co2 gets absorbed into the water, this is not a "bubbler" its a surface diffuser, the amount u flood in there is the amount that gets absorbed into the water, and you "dose" your Co2 once every day. 

It might work for you, it might not, it worked great in my 29g


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

hope your shrimp and oto recover well from mini cycle and co2 (if the otos are getting it on in a new tank already they're probably be fine, don't think they'd be in the mood if they were getting gassed to death ^^)
Out of curiosity what are your params (pH, gh, kh, temp)?
I want to try shrimp and otos out soon, but I had read you should only put them in very well aged tanks (up and running 4-6 months) so its absolutely cycled and there's a build up of stuff for them to nom on all day. Since this is a new set up do you just you feed them a bit extra so they can kinda graze all day on the food (since there's not a lot of algae or micro organisms build up in there yet)?


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

@helgi125: Looks cool, but I'm not sure about it. Seems like it would waste more than not. I really do like this diffuser I have, but I think I went overkill with 2 bottles. 

@AquaAurora: Yeah, they're doing just great, acting as they should now. I am testing all parameters including pH and GH, but I've been doing water changes way too often for me to give a solid answer. Temps are consistently at 74F.

I added the otos and amanos early, I know. I am feeding them Jake's Om Nom Nom, and they seem to like it. 
Also the tank seems algae free, though I noticed minute amounts of what looks like GSA developing at the substrate. 


Today, I went to Petsmart to get a new airstone and bubble pump. The airstone I had was too huge, and the bubbler was too loud. I got a whisper one, and a small airstone.
I also happened to find some topfin DHG, e. parvula. Oh man, I couldn't pass it up.
It looked really great, not a single strand of brown. Plus the portion was more than generous. 
Full tank shot:








Can't wait for this to grow out. Oh, I also got a hang on style drop checker, which is green as you can see. By the end of the day it'll be yellow. Plants are pearling, HC is really taking off. It's spreading into areas where I didn't want it, so I'll have to trim it soon. 

The portion of DHG was so much I planted some in my "fish only" tank.. which is hardly fish only and it is more like my experimenting tank.








I hope he doesn't dig it up. If he does, oh well whatever.  Would not be the first time.

And yeah, the DHG belem..
Well since I found a great supply of what I originally wanted, I decided to dry start the belem and use it in my 55 gallon, when it's ready to be planted. It's going to sit in this:









I'll be growing it on the kitchen table where it'll get a lot of sun. That's aquasoil in there, with "seiryu" stone. Just a nice little scape going on. :icon_cool
I'll probably let it grow wild in here, and pull out whatever I need when I need it.

Also as a sidenote.. I'll be re-starting my 55 gallon journal. I picked up some stone recently, here's a little pic of it.









As always thanks for reading/following. Stay tuned from more shrimp to be added in the coming weeks!


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## JellyJam (Mar 28, 2014)

Wow the tank looks great I love the aqua scape. What kind of soil do you start with? I have a spare 10 gallon and am looking to start a planted tank of my own. Any advice on where to start learning from this forum?


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Thanks Jelly!
I use ADA Amazonia. I see you live in Queens, so Monster Aquarium sells ADA stuff, over in Flushing. 

Where to start.. Well this forum has a ton of useful info. 
I started probably how many start.. I bought a plant and stuck in in my tank and wondered why it didn't look like the plants in the nice aquascapes. Then I began upgrading. First was the lights, then the ferts, then the CO2. 
I'm still learning, and I read a lot of people's journals and learn from their experiences.


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## JellyJam (Mar 28, 2014)

Thank you for the advice. I've been to monster aquarium a couple of times already. They have a nice selection of plants and fish. I gave the planted tank a try a couple of months back in a 30 long tank. Low tech no CO2. The tank developed bba so bad I just gave up. I want to give it a go again in this smaller 10 gallon I have. I want to do it the right way. I have a lot of learning to do with plants so I guess I will start reading lol.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Woke up today to see a fresh amano molt among the grass. Scared me at first, lol.
I guess that means things are going well.


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

Well, I'm back after a long time away. I moved shortly after this last post and.. had to start over. I've got it set up now, but it's in no way ready for show.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Well, it is sad you had to take it down. This tank looked awesome. I love the hardscape work. Simple, but dramatic.


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## SlabMonster (Apr 5, 2015)

Chocological- I loved reading this thread and hearing about your adventures with the fluval! I have a fluval chi myself. Right now, it's hosting some fish while my 29g gets set up, and funnily enough, my two ottos in the 29g are also doing a chasing game.

I have been obsessively working on my hardscape for the fluval on a diagram board I set up. I had some questions for you though. I just put a great deal of money into the 29g- current satellite pro plus, CO2 system (regulator, tank, solenoid, check valve, needle vale), plants, soil, ferts, and shrimp- so I'm trying to be as low cost on the fluval as possible.

Is it at all possible to keep the stock light and filter? I will be keeping the tank near the window, and possibly moving my DIY CO2 (like yours) into it. I'm fine with low level plants. Thoughts?


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## chocological (Nov 13, 2012)

If you keep it near a window, maybe. The stock light is terrible, and the filter..
I'd suggest investing in a cheap canister or even a HOB.

Anubias and some others will practically grow in the dark, so you may be good. 

Right now, I have a grass carpet in mine, and a betta. I've stopped dosing ferts and injecting co2 completely. I've also taken off one of the lights. The grass no longer grows, but it's not dying either.


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## SlabMonster (Apr 5, 2015)

Why did you dry start your tank/what are the advantages?


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