# Ugly's Grindingly Long Yarn (or, A Dry Start Love Story [or, How Love Dies])



## Ugly Genius

Having been out of the planted tank scene for five years, I'm starting slow, mainly because there is so much that I have forgotten.

Anyway, here's the hardware I have so far.

*The Tank*
My trusty old ADA Mini-M -- the same tank I used for Source. 

*Lighting 17W (LED)*
Light will fall from an ADA Aquasky 361. When I left the game in 2010, LEDs were barely a thing and all of my tanks ran under compact fluorescent, so I have no idea how plants (and algae!) react to 17W of LED light. It's an uncertainty I can live with as the fixture is so pretty! 

*CO2*
I've got several different CO2 systems laying around: two ADA Advance Systems and a large ten pound CO2 tank. As (Re)Source sits on my kitchen counter and my wife does not have the same affection for CO2-supplimented aquatic plants as I do -- how can you not love pearling, baby? -- I'll keep my marriage in tact an elect for the much smaller Advance CO2 system.

*Filtration*
In the past I've had great luck with EHEIM 2213s, but I'm considering going all in ADA-_wise_ and getting the Superjet es-150. I dunno, I'll see. It'll all depend on how broke I feel like feeling.

*Substrate*
Aqua Soil Amazonia. It worked for me in the past and I see no reason to change now. I bought a bag of Colorado Sand, the decorative stuff for the front of the tank, but after thinking about it -- the algae that can form on it, the blowing around during trimmings and cleanings -- I'm probably going to go without it. If you have experience with decorative sand, I'd like to hear your opinions.

*Hardscape*
Seiryu stone and driftwood used in tanks past. I got them years ago from Aqua Forest Aquarium here in San Francisco. 

*Plants*
I'll be dry starting _Lilaeopsis nova_ mini, 'Mini Microsword,' for the first two months or however long it takes to establish a carpet. (Here is a primer on "dry start" for the uninitiated. I _highly_ recommend the DSM.)
Other plants will include _Anubias nana_ micro, _Microsorum pteropus_ 'Java Ferns.' _Bolbitis heudelotii_, and some type of moss.
I want this to be a darker tank (color-wise) with slow-growers.
The flow of plants will be from left to right, with left being "upstream" with a denser concentration of plants.

*Fauna*
Dunno. Fish and shrimp are always an afterthought with me. I don't pick out fauna until after the tank has matured and even then it is not a sure thing that I will be any of either in the tank. I'll probably end up with at least some Cherry and Crystal Reds.

Anyway, this is the start of my seventh journal. I'm looking forward to any comments or suggestions that you may have.

Yours truly,
Ugly


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## KFryman

I'm really liking the hardscape, it looks really natural how the wood and the rocks form with each other. I vote not decorative sand just all aqua soil with some kind of low carpet plant, but it's your tank so do what ever you want that makes you satisfied. Definitely following this thread!


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *kFry*. You're local, I see. Where do you get your plants?

Today I filled the tank with substrate. I'm glad that with the height afforded by the substrate, I was able to get a couple of branches breaching out of the top of the tank. I don't plan on doing anything with those branches, but I like it when branches stick out of the top of a tank. It's my way of showing the world that I'm the kind of guy who has branches sticking out the top of his tank. Read into that as you will.








I ordered the _Lilaeopsis nova_ mini and the _Anubias nana_ micro via the internet so until they arrive, there's not much I can do with (Re)Source. Except wait.

As I had no plants to speak of, I went to AFA and picked up a bunch of Mini Java Fern to give me something to do. As you can see from the photo above, I kept it in one of my wife's vases with some CO2 pumping in.
But that was boring.

So I pulled Riven, my Mini-S, out of storage and set it up with the intent that it will be a nursery and a place to saturate the driftwood while the two-month long dry start is underway.








Right now the Mini-S is running under a 13W 5,000k bulb in an Ott-Lite task lamp with an AquaClear 20 for flow and a bit of CO2. I'll be dosing K and micros because I have a vague recollection that that's what I supposed to do. As I get more plants, I'll drop more light onto the Mini-S, but for now, I'll keep it low light. They're just Java Ferns, afterall.

Having even one Java Fern -- just one! -- feels so good. I didn't realize until I dropped that fern into the Mini-S, how much I missed planted tanks. I cannot reconcile how much fun this hobby is to me -- how it so fills me with excitement and artistic oomph -- with the look of confused boredom I get from my friends when I tell them that growing plants underwater knocks my proverbial socks off.

Their loss, I guess.

You know, I was at AFA today and it's remarkable how little has changed in the hobby. There are some cool surprises, of course: LEDs, tissue cultured plants sold in cups and/or sealed bags, and some weird algae inhibiting machine. But so much is unchanged.

I must admit that this is something of a relief. At least I'm not coming back to the hobby with all of you saying, "Ugly, we don't grow plants underwater, anymore. We grow aquatic trees. And we don't dose ferts, we compost!"

Anyway, that's all I got for today. My two-year-old daughter is at my side, graham cracker in hand, and mumbling something about "very hot."

That's never a good thing to come out of a two-year-olds mouth. Gotta go.

With tremendous affection,
Ugly


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## KFryman

Looks good! Im a fan of the branches coming out the top definitely gives it the nature aquarium feel. I get my plants all over, some harder to find I use this forum or plantedaquariumscentral I believe is the name. I prefer going to Neptune Aquatics which is in Milpitas just so I dont have to cross the bridge to go to SF. Definitely planning on checking out AFA in person though!


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## co2art

Welcome back! Your journals are some of my favorite to follow. We've missed you.


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## Ugly Genius

*KFry*, I know what you mean about crossing bridges. I rarely cross a bridge to the Eastbay even though there are some good shops, like Albany Aquarium, on that side.

Thanks, *Josh*! I nice to see that some people here still remember me. I'll try to keep this journal fun.

So:
I've never been addicted to crack cocaine. I've never even _seen_ actual crack cocaine. But from all the movies I've seen where a character is hooked on crack cocaine, s/he always say that after the first hit, they were hooked. That they needed another hit right away.

Yesterday's Java Fern 'Mini' was my crack cocaine.

And I needed another hit. So I went to my dealer -- I mean, AFA -- to get more plants.









_This will be my palette._​
Here's what I got:


Regular Java Fern (to use as a background plant);

Bolbitis 'Mini' (because it looks like cilantro and/or parsley and I love cilantro and/or parsley);

Regular Bolbitis (because it is the greatest aquatic plant in the world [scientific fact!]);

Mini Pellia (because I always end up getting irritated with mosses and end up using MP instead);

Anubias Nana 'bonsai' (because it's small and cute and who doesn't like small cute things--?);

Glosso (I won't be using Gloss in the tank, but I needed it -- this is the plant that got me into the hobby; seeing a carpet of this sh-t in a display tank at Nippon Goldfish Co. [R.I.P.] on Geary back in the day almost made me wet my pants);

Christmas Moss (because it's moss shaped like a Christmas tree. Or pizza);

Weeping Moss (On my way home I remembered that I actually don't like Weeping Moss).


I'm still awaiting the arrival of the Mini Microsword and the Anubias Nana 'Micro'. Once those are in, I'll have all the plants that I'll use in (Re)Scape.

You may have noticed that my nursery tank looks like someone peed in it. I didn't. I swear. I have an actual toilet. You see, I'm using old substrate from my Mini-L that had two big-ass pieces of driftwood in it. Look:








Obviously, much of the tannins from those pieces settled to the surface way back when. I'm running charcoal and Purigen in the filter to see if it'll clear any of it out.

I'm glad I set up a nursery tank, it gives me some time to relearn the needs of each individual plant. What makes it hard is that the Glosso, which I'm not even going to use in (Re)Scape is much higher light than all the others. I'm running two 13W CFLs and I've upped the CO2 a tad. I'm keeping the mosses emerssed as I haven't prepped the driftwood to which I will be attaching it.

Anyway, the kids are out with my wife and I've got the house to myself. Time to play some video games.

Love,
Ugly


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## airriick

Welcome back! I knew I recognized that golem picture from the old days. 

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk


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## loach guy

> You may have noticed that my nursery tank looks like someone peed in it. I didn't. I swear. I have an actual toilet.


Now that's funny!


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## Tihsho

Ugly Genius said:


> You may have noticed that my nursery tank looks like someone peed in it. I didn't. I swear. I have an actual toilet.


Um... You do have kids now right? You may have found the toilet, but did they?


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## bereninga

Welcome back! I too am getting back into this hobby. It seriously is like crack as I feel obsessed once again about it. I too am glad that not a ton has changed other than the move to LEDs. Also, are those Aqualight legs I see? Heheh

Your tank already looks nice and there's not even any water or plants in it! Just subscribed and can't wait to see the results. A good thing is that you already had some nice hardscape and hardware to begin with. That always makes life easier.


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## Kayen

Wow, now that's a name I haven't seen in years.
Good to see old faces on a forum with so much change over the years (I rear my ugly head every now and then too). I recently have gotten back too! 
Off to a great start too it seems! Cheers!


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *airrick* and *loach*!

*Tisho*, I'll have to set up a camera to make sure one of them isn't peeing in the tank!

Thanks, *berenjinga*. Welcome back to you, too. We "crack addicts" have to have some sort of support group, right? Those legs are from an old 28W Coralife fixture. That was the first lamp I bought back in 2004.

Hey, *Kayen*. Long time no chat! I hope you're doing well. Welcome back. I just took a look at your 12 gallon long. It looks amazing. Impeccable plant choices, too, I think. If that is your comeback, that is one hell of a comeback! Knocked it out of the park, kid!

Okay, so let me see where I am with this tank...oh yeah, exactly where I was yesterday. 

I did get notification that my Mini Micro Sword and Anubias Nana 'Micro' will be here on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to that. But I'm really itching to plant (Re)Scape. I so badly want to plant the friggin' thing that I'm tempted to skip the dry start and just plant it. But I've got to be strong. The healthiest carpets I grew, started dry.

I ended up getting an LED for the nursery. It's a Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED. And because I did this, I'm probably going to end up scaping it when I'm finished with (Re)Scape -- Riven Returns, or something like that. I think I want a look similar to what I did on my Do!aqua Plant Glass Cube20 back in 2009.








That was probably my favorite tank. It was a tiny, low-tech thing, but man was it rewarding. By the time I got home from work, I remember the water was so saturated with O2, the water looked like it was carbonated from all the pearling.

Anyway, I'll probably turn the nursery into something like that. Dark and densely planted. That's a few months down the road, though. I've got to set this one up first!

Well, I'm unusually tired. I'm going to read and then go to sleep.

Catch ya on the flip side,
Ugly


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## Kayen

Hey UG, I had dry start forever, and with my 12 gallon long I resisted the urge to dry start and just flooded right away and just blasted nutrients, light and CO2 on it. The 12g was indeed my comeback after not being in the hobby seriously for the 5 years prior - I finally had some time. Great choice on the LED's. I run Finnex's on all my tanks - just seeing you setting things up again - I may just start up a low tech 3gallon again with a Fuge-Ray. Excited to see how things progress, good to see you back. 

Also shameless plug - http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/938330-kayens-17g-rimless-tank.html#post8399218 
This is my current tank. I shut down the 12g since I was spatially constrained.


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## amphirion

Glad to see you're back!


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Kayen*. I posted in your journal. Your tank looks great. Your last scape that crashed was a real beauty, too. I think you and I have similar tastes in layouts.

*Amp*! Sorry I missed your post the first time around. Thanks. It's good to be back. How're you doing?

I got my Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light light today for the nursery.








So far, I'm happy with it. To my naked eye it seems a bit dimmer than two 13W CFLs, but only slightly. I really like the nightlight feature as I can see in the tank when it's lights out.
I'll have a better idea of how it does after a full day on. With the two 13W CFLs, all plants (save the Anubias) are pearling when I get home at 4:30, so if the tank's pearling when I get home, I'll know it's comparable in intensity.

My shipment of Mini Microsword and Anubias Nana "Micro' is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
I'm going to dry start the Mini Microsword and Mini Pellia. I'll try a node or two of Anubias Nana 'Petite' to see what it's like to grow them emersed. If those do well, I'll start more emeresed.

One thing forgotten that is now remembered, the ADA Advanced CO2 system is not a good choice for pressurized CO2. The refills are just too expensive. I'm going to move over to a 2.5 pound CO2 tank with my old GLA Choice regulator. Aesthetically, I think I prefer the look of an aluminum 2.5 tank, anyhow.

Safety question: I haven't used the regulator in five years. Do those things go bad? I'd hate to blow up.

Forever,
Ugly


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## co2art

The regulator won't go bad. If you have a built in bubble counter, the seals may have gotten old and cracked. I'd check that when you hook it up and get going.


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## rrrrramos

Looks like I picked a good day to log back onto TPT! Maybe this'll be the push I need to start that Mini-L that's been sitting in my living room back up! Welcome back UG!


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## Ugly Genius

That's a relief, *Josh*. Thanks. It's great to have a CO2 guy reading this journal. I'm going to have a bunch of questions for you in a couple of weeks. Stick around, please.

*rrrrramos*! Long time no see, buddy! This is starting to feel like a reunion. We have to bring back all the old timers. Hey, dust off that Mini-L and get to it. Start slow and before you know it, you'll be in the midst of one of the best addictions on the planet.

Each and every one of you have my deepest apologies.
Up until now, this journal has been a bit...dull. For the past couple of weeks, I've forced you through two pages of utter crap: me waiting for parts; me waiting for plants; and me talking about waiting for parts and plants. 
The only action you saw was a nursery tank in the form of a Mini-S. Even then, the most eventful happening was the suspicion that the yellowing in the water was not tannins but was one of my kids' piss. (And I was never able to say definitively that it wasn't piss.)

Well, those times are over, folks! My Mini Micro Sword arrived today and I officially started the dry start.

That's right! From here on out it's balls to the wall fun as we are going to literally be watching the grass grow!
Watching the grass grow! How friggin' fun is that?!

I should state that I've grown carpets of Glosso, HC, UG, DHG, and maybe a couple more that I can't remember. Of all of them, the best one is _Lilaeopsis nova_ 'Mini'. It requires very little maintenance, it's pretty, and very short. The only downside, is that it's expensive as heck.

Anyway, here's the first planting.








And from the top.








I stuck a bit of _Anubias nana_ 'petite' in there to see how it does.

From the same place that I got the _Lilaeopsis nova_ 'mini', I also got some _Anubias Nana_ 'micro.' It's not as micro as I had hoped. In fact, it's indistinguishable from the _Anubias nana_ 'petite' that I got from AFA. Meaning, it may have been a waste of money.

With the dry start underway -- and the fun factor turned up to eleven! -- this is what it looks like.








I placed each and every blade of grass with chopsticks. Thank God this is only a Mini-M.

I still have the acrylic glass that I used on the dry start of Source. I've placed two 1-2-Grow! cups on top of the acrylic and I'm letting the Aquasky light the whole thing.

As time progresses, I may end up putting more light on the tank as one of the benefits of a dry start is that you can supercharge growth with ridiculous light intensity with no fear of an algae outbreak. (If you've never dry-started a tank before, you owe it to yourself to try.)

My next task is to prep the driftwood by soaking it in a bucket for a few weeks and then to attach whatever moss or fissidens I plan on using.

Meaning, if you thought watching grass grow was fun, just wait until you see moss growing on wood! Woo wooh!

An update on the Mini-S's Finnex light. It's great. Plants were pearling like crazy when I got home and the color temp is right around where I like it. (My favorite is 8,000k. [You know you're into planted tanks deep when you actually have a favorite color temperature.])

Anyway, that the super-exciting update for today. I know a lot of you are probably breathless from all the watching-the-grass-grow_edness_ of this post, so please, catch your breath and be safe.

Fondly,
Ugly


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## Tihsho

Ug, you have no idea how jealous I am you're at this point! I have more and I quote 



Ugly Genius said:


> [...] pages of utter crap: me waiting for parts; me waiting for plants; and me talking about waiting for parts and plants.


of that going on unfortunately. Slow and steady wins a happy healthy tank.


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## bereninga

I like these updates. It's like reading a prequel or intro before the main event!

I've never done dsm before. It seems way more popular now than in the past and I wish I had tried it. Maybe one day when I get a new and bigger tank.

Do you do dry start until the entire foreground is filled out?


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## amphirion

*ADA Mini-M: (Re)Source*

Hahahah. I totally feel your pain. Which was why I held of posting any pics whatsoever until I could deliver something substantial. In the past, I've developed some promising scapes, and posted in relative real time, only to have them crash into oblivion. Hope that doesn't happen to you.

Any more info on Lilaenopsis nova 'mini'? How does it compare to L. novazealandae? About the same? How do both compare to E. 'belem'? 

Also, you might want to look into the mini buces. Leaves might be just as small if not smaller than petite/micro.
Nomenclature of petite/micro has been sketch as of late. The original petites are relabeled micros and some larger plants (but smaller than normal nana) are now labeled as petites. I remember ordering some petites recently and saying in the back of my head, these plants are pretty big for petites...


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## Ugly Genius

*Tisho*, I do apologize for starting before you. I mean, now I get to hurry up and wait for my grass to grow instead of waiting for the mailman to get here. Sure it's still waiting, but it's a _different_ kind of waiting and I should not brag too much lest I hurt other's feelings. My sincere apologies.
But fret you not! Your time will come, and instead of posting pictures of an empty tank, you'll be posting photos of a barely changing tank like me! You too will become a master of unintentional time-lapse photography!

Thanks, *Bereninga*. If how I handled my past journals are any indication, you can count on this to be a very long prelude to a main event that will be very anti-climactic as all the actors do not move or speak. (They pearl, but that's about it.) You'll probably want to punch me in the face at around day forty-five, but I do promise to be as consistent as I can with the updates. 
As for the dry-start, yes, I will wait until the entire front of the tank is filled. In the past, this has taken about two months. The benefits of far outweigh the restraint required to not fill the tank, so I _highly_ recommend the dry-start method (or DSM as it's also called). Make sure you read up thoroughly on the subject as while it is much easier -- like, 4,000% easier! -- than growing a carpet in a filled tank, there are a few tricks and pitfalls that I take for granted and will forget to write here.

Hey, *Amp*. _Lilaenopsis nova_ 'mini' is much shorter than the regular. I maxes at about 1.75 inches, but under high light, it's closer to 1.25 inchs. It's about the same height as 'Belem', only it does not curl downwards as 'belem' does. 
I have small bit of 'belem' that survived for five years in an unattended tupperware container that sat on a north-facing window sill in my garage for the entire five years I was out of the hobby. (Can you believe that?! Five years in a tupperware container and it's still alive!)  I almost feel obligated to use the stuff just because it was so resilient. Chances are, I will end up building at least one more tank, and I'll use the 'belem' there.
*Amp*, you'll see the _Anubias Nana_ 'petite' and the 'micro' and you will not be able to tell the difference. (Hint: The one on the right is 'micro', the one just left of center is 'micro', and the remaining three, yes, even that tiny bunch second from left are 'petite'.) So, yeah, the labeling is a bit sketchy if you ask me. My advice to all reading this: save money and buy 'petite' as opposed to 'micro'. They're the same thing.

_And now back to our show..._

Today's pictures are pretty much exactly like yesterday's except that I added one bunch of _Anubias Nana_ 'petite' and two bunches of what were sold to me as 'micros'.

















Looking at the second picture, I should note to the uninitiated readers here that a dry-start done properly would not have that much standing water. There is a risk of BGA in even that small amount of water. Try to get yours lower than what you see me doing. As to why I have it that high, well, I'm just a risk-taker and I live me life balls to the wall like that. (I'm just playing. I just forgot to do it today after misting. I'll take care of it in a bit.)

While I have dry-started plants in substrate, I have never incorporated plants that were not able to absorb nutrients from the Aqua Soil like the Anubias tucked in the rocks here. As a stop gap until I figure out how to dose without overdosing the carpet with a spray bottle, I delicately placed bits of Aqua Soil around the the cracks near the Anubias's roots.
If anyone has advice as to how to fertilize the Anubias while it is attached to the rocks, please chime in.

In other news, I added one more light to (Re)Source. In addition to the Aquasky, I'm running one Ott-Lite with a 13W CFL. Depending on how that goes, I may add a second for a total of three lights. Another benefit to the dry-start is that you can pour an unthinkable amount of light on the tank without fear of an algae outbreak. The only limit to the amount of light you can use is your own imagination. (I'm just kidding about that last part. I just felt like saying that because it sounds the kind of thing TV shows used to tell us when we were kids. "The only limit is your own imaginations, kids!" Such bullsh-t. After believing those jerks, I spent the next fifteen years trying to master the Force. I haven't moved a single rock with my mind. Luke pulled that sh-t off in his first fifteen minutes with Yoda. And Luke had no friggin' imagination! He was the most pessimistic S.O.B. in the galaxy!) 

Anyway, where was I--? Oh, eventually I will need a filter. I'm either going to get an EHEIM Classic 150 or a Super Jet es-150. In either case, the filter will probably be placed on the counter _next_ to the tank. 
I've read online that this could be a problem as the tank is supposed to be below the water line. 
And in true internet fashion, I've read the opposite view as well.
The "it is a problem" folk cite gravity and pressure as problems.
The "it is not a problem" folk cite that because it is a closed system gravity's effect is minimal at best and that the only time the filter needs to be below the tank is when it is first started to clear out the air bubbles.
What is your experience? Have you ever run a canister filter next to a tank and had problems?

Anyway, that's all I've got for tonight.

May the Force be with you,
Ugly


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## amphirion

Ugly Genius said:


> If anyone has advice as to how to fertilize the Anubias while it is attached to the rocks, please chime in.


There is a type of root hormone gel that is sold at hydroponics that could be of some use for you. Although the primary purpose is for cuttings, the gel is chocked with nutrients to sustain the plant while encouraging root growth. Apply with a brush or toothpick to the bottom area of your rhizome and set it. It shouldnt wash way or dissolve unless you spray directly on it. 



Ugly Genius said:


> I haven't moved a single rock with my mind.


Your midichlorian count is too low, brah. Luke got his from his dad. And his dad's count was ridiculously high, so it makes sense that he could lift rocks in 15 minutes, even with the dullest mind in the universe.



Ugly Genius said:


> What is your experience? Have you ever run a canister filter next to a tank and had problems?


My canister filter is hanging off the rim of my tank. So far, so good.

Thanks for the update man! A good chuckle before heading off to bed.


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## Tihsho

Ug, you're correct on the mailman part. I'm jealous more so about you having your hardscape in storage where I'm still on the hunt to find mine, haha.


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## Amazonfish

I've enjoyed reading your thread! I have also been out of the planted tank world (I went reef for awhile) and I am getting back into things now and planning a 15-20 gallon planted (no journal yet). I have had a lot of the same thoughts as you recently, such as "what is this weird algae inhibitor thing?" and "what are these weird cultured/ in vitro plants?". And I LOVE the new LED light fixtures. Its about time. Anyway, I'll be following your journal.


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## Ugly Genius

*amp*, thanks for that advice. I had some of that paste from the 1-2-Grow cups I got and I put some on one of the rhizomes to see how it fares.

*Tisho*, yeah, finding good hardscape pieces is a bit-h. As a matter of fact, even when I'm not building a tank, I look for pieces that may work for a future tank as the really good rocks and wood are hard to come by.

Hey, *Amazon*. Thanks! I appreciate that. And welcome back. You're about to have a lot of fun.

In an effort to give each of you wicked case of deja vu, here are pictures taken from today.

















They look pretty much like they did yesterday, but we all kind of expected that, didn't we?

To change things up a bit, here's a picture of my nursery:








All the plants here are doing well. I've started dosing N, P, K, and micros because I've got no fauna and the Aqua Soil I'm using here was used once and then stored dry for five years. Who knows if it's got any nutrients left in it. Also, I've forgotten how much to dose and when, so I'm trying to refresh my memory on how all this is done.

Here's a picture of the bolbitis after about ten hours of light.








As I have no real experience with LEDs, I was not certain that the Finnex Planted+ @8.9W would be enough for the pearling that I so like to see in my tanks. (Up until now, I've run CFLs @ 26W on the Mini-M.)
While the LEDs do seem a tad dimmer than the two 13W CFLs, I don't think it makes an appreciable difference. And I'm less than half the electricity!

And here is that DHG 'belem' that I wrote about yesterday.








Admire that little guy. 
He was abandoned for five years in a friggin' tupperware container. 
Five years!
In the garage. 
In a dirty ass window sill in my garage. 
He deserves your respect. 
Those blades are the emersed growth. His submersed growth should come in a shorter.

Hey, remember that daisy in the movie _E.T_? The one that E.T. brought back to life and then it died when E.T. got sick and then it came back once E.T. got better--? Do you remember that? Well, maybe that little DHG 'belem' is my "_E.T_ flower" and if that little bit of DHG had died, so would my chance of coming back to this hobby!

Holy crap! Do you realize what this means--?

It means that if this little bit of DHG dies -- my God! -- I'll never get back home again!

This is way too much pressure. I'm just an alien botanist visiting this planet looking for some samples for my collection. My dipsh-t co-workers ditched me when I was just a few minutes late getting back to the ship. And now, if this DHG dies, I'm f-cked!

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

Phone home,
Ugly


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## Ugly Genius

In order to help myself better visualize the final layout, I did a bit of a test fit.








Right now the plan is to have a curtain of Java Fern in the back left corner. In front of that, I will have a shorter curtain of Bolbitis -- the effect is to be that the driftwood will appear to be emerging from that a dark bush. On the first knuckle on the driftwood's center branch -- not the one pointing up, the one behind it -- a small, tightly clumped bunch of mini Java Fern. Three of the branches will be covered with an undetermined moss. The top of the left rock will be covered with Mini Pellia. More Anubias Nana 'Petite' will be added to the right-hand rock. The left side of the driftwood will remain bare as a contrast.
I'm missing one plant, but I'm undecided what it will be.

Here's a close-up of the Anubias Nana 'Petite' and '"Micro"'.








So far the Anubias has fared well during the dry-start. I've been misting it fairly regularly, but I think I'll have to glue it to the rock come fill day as I'm doubtful it will have attached by then.

And just to be consistent, here's a shot of the carpet on day three.









_Day 4 of Dry Start_​
So far the dry-start is going very well. I'm keeping the tank fully-covered, misting twice per day. I will wait for week three to start dosing K and micros. I see no signs of die-off or BGA.

In about a month and a half, I will prep the driftwood by soaking it until it can stay submerged. Once that's done, I will attach the moss to the branches and leave it in a bucket with a crap-ton of light poured onto it. It's in this bucket that I will also prep the filter's biofilter by running it in the bucket.

At about the two month mark, I'll prep all the plants by trimming them as necessary and attaching them to anchor rocks and driftwood.

That's the plan, anyway.

But we all know what happens then...

The best laid plans of mice and men,
Ugly

P.S. In my first post, I commented that not much has changed in the aquascaping scene -- save LEDs, tissue-cultured plants, et cetera. Upon further reading -- i.e. posts written after 2010 -- into the dry-start method, I see that it has fallen out of favor by some in the hobby. The risks of BGA, fungus, post-fill die-off are not outweighed by the risks of filling the tank outright, with supplemented CO2. (For non-CO2 injected tanks, DSM is still preferred, it seems.) While this does not change the course I will take with this tank, I do want to put this out there for anyone reading this journal so that they don't drink the proverbial Kool-Aid without knowing what I didn't.
I actually like the dry-start method despite the risks. I've never had BGA, fungus, or die-off. And when I did start my tanks, having the additional plant mass, helped me to better manage it.


----------



## amphirion

I like the DSM as well... until I forget to put the seran wrap back over the tank because I rushed to go to work and come home to raisin Java ferns, mosses, and buces (yes that happened).


----------



## Tihsho

How do you keep the plant's warm during the DSM? LED's don't kick out much heat and there is no heater... 

I've not done the DSM myself yet because I'm too impatient, but the 6.5 is going to have it done because I want to try doing things right for a change.


----------



## Ugly Genius

That sucks, *amp*. Were you able to salvage any of the plants?

*Tisho*, luckily it's quite warm here in San Francisco as of late. And in any case, I am also running a 13W CFL that gives a bit of heat. If the temps drop here before the DS is complete, I'll add a second 13W and that has been enough heat in the past. Remember, you can pour a lot of light during the dry start, so if it gets cold around you, throw on a couple of non-LED lights to heat things up.

On Friday I picked up the Archaea Super CO2 Diffuser from AFA for seventeen bucks. I hooked it up this morning to my GLA Choice CO2 regulator and 5 lbs. tank. (The Super Diffuser requires a working pressure of at least 30 psi and I don't think that the ADA Advance System pushes that hard.) Holy crap does this thing diffuse! It puts all ADA and Do!Aqua diffusers to shame in terms of super-fine bubbles. It's crazy. The only problem is that the bubbles are so fine and dispersed so well in the water column that it looks like I've got a bacterial bloom. A good problem to have, but I do miss the crystal clear water. I'm running it one bubble per second, but I may end up dialing that back as I may not need that much CO2.

In any event, if you're running pressurized CO2 and are using a glass diffuser, you owe it to yourself to give one of these super diffusers a try.


----------



## amphirion

thanks for your sympathy. it actually happened with the tank im working on right now.
mosses are amazingly resilient, even the coral moss started growing back again. a certain section of buces lost all their leaves and even sections of rhizome, but not completely lost. the java fern ended up the hardest hit, never really bounced back from it--but i had tons from another tank to replace it.

the CO2 super diffuser is amazing. that's the one that im using now. gas tanks seem to last much longer.


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## Ugly Genius

Glad to hear that your plants recovered, *amp*. I can only imagine what kind of nightmare that was to come home to. All's well that ends well, though.

Yeah, the super diffuser is off the hook. From what I've read, these things came out about one month after I left the hobby. 









_To think I'm getting excited about a thing you guys have known about for half a decade!_​
I think I'm going to get an inline version for (Re)Source when the time comes.

Pearling is out of control in the nursery.








I had this morning free. Left to my own devices, I decided bust out my old Coralife fixture with an ADA 8000k 36W bulb and put it and the Aquasky 361 on (Re)Source during the dry-start. That is a crazy about of light, I know, but I want to see if it'll speed up growth at all. I'll have to make sure that I don't burn the plants, but so far it's looking okay.









_I'm a big fan of 8000k. I think it's my favorite color for planted tanks. I can't stand it in the real world though. Makes everything look like the inside of a freezer._


















_Day six pics._​
With love and squalor,
Ugly


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## co2art

How does your wife feel about the tank on the kitchen counter? Mine is tolerating one at the moment. I'm not sure how long it's going to last :/


----------



## Ugly Genius

Same boat, *Josh*. I dunno how long my wife'll tolerate it, either. I sorta did the "it's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission" thing and set it up when she wasn't looking. I tucked it behind a bunch of bananas, but seeing as how the cylinder is seventeen inches tall and bananas are about six inches tall, I think she may have noticed. 

But I've always got a plan and here it is:
Right now I've got a 5 lbs. tank from Airgas -- you know, the dinged up pieces of crap they give you when you swap one for another. My plan is that when this one runs out, I'll get a new shiny aluminum one, slap an Apple sticker on it, and hope she thinks it's the new Mac Pro. (Hey, it could happen. The last one looked like a trash bin.) 

But my wife's pretty smart, so that probably won't work. 

Maybe I'll tell her that I think she's really beautiful every time she tells me to take it down.

No, that never works for anything. (The trick on that one, I've learned, fellas, is to say it when you mean it, and mean it as much as and as often as you can.)

So maybe I'll just buy a crap ton of bananas and hope for the best.

Bananas,
Ugly


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## Tihsho

Ug, you're doing it wrong... You have to knit a kettle cozy with the kids and tell her that you're displaying their art 

Oh, example of a kettle cozy:


----------



## Mumford

This is looking great! I just started my belem on a DSM but I'm nothing thinking of doing a full one. More like I think I'll let the roots take hold for a week or so and then flood the tank once all my plants arrive. Looking forward to comparing results the results of your growth. Keep it up


----------



## Ugly Genius

*Tisho*, clever. The tried and true trojan horse technique. I might have to give that one a spin.

Hey, *Mum*. I posted in your thread, but I'll say it here again. You're off to a great start. I think you'll definitely achieve FC (full carpet!) before me. Mini Micro Sword really takes it's time to do what it does.

Last night I removed all the Anubias from (Re)Scape. While they appeared to be doing just fine on the rocks, the fact that I have no experience growing them emeresed filled me with an unnecessary doubt during what should be a carefree DSM period. Meaning, if I'm going to suffer through a dry-start, it had damn well be worry-free.

I've noticed that the super diffuser takes about twenty minutes to start...

Emergency Transmission Start​
...NOTES FROM THE FOCT (FISH ON COUNTER TANK) BATTLEFIELD
I am seated at my computer updating this journal when, "Jesus Christ, what the hell is this?!" is heard from the kitchen.

The voice is that of a female.

As my daughter is seated five feet away from me on the couch and drooling while watching some inane cartoon about a bus with wheels going around and around, and my dog, Franny, doesn't speak so much as bark, I deduce that the female voice must be that of my wife and that she isn't pleased with something going on in the kitchen.

Being in very good sync with my wife's emotions, my initial thought is that she is displeased that I moved the Anubias to the nursery. After all, I reason, the Anubias were doing quite well emersed. Why panic and move them?

However, as I enter the kitchen I see that I am not as in sync with my wife's emotions as I had thought as she is pointing at the CO2 tank tucked not very inconspicuously behind a bunch of bananas. "What the hell, dude?! First you tell me only one tank and then you bring up two. And now you've got friggin' scuba diving gear on the counter!"
I look lovingly into her eyes and say, "You are so beautiful."
"Don't give me that crap. What the hell, man. This is getting out of control," she says.
The battle is heading downhill fast. I can feel it. I need something to turn it around in my favor, so I pull from the wisdom of this forum and mumble something about kettle cozys. 
She tells me to STFU.

Crap, that was my last defense.

And then I am hit with a stroke of brilliance. I'm not Ugly _Genius_ for nothing.
With a clap of my hands I shout, "We need more bananas!"​
Emergency Transmission End​
...is it normal for the supper diffuser to take that long?

Send reinforcements,
Ugly


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## co2art

Hahaha

After a few more years, you still won't be able to avoid those moments. Well... I can't. You need to come up with a new place to display your aquariums. A tank cozy isn't going to cut it. 

Good luck


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## amphirion

Looooool. 

I have no snarky comments right now but I also noticed that the atomic diffuser is a slow starter. I'm not to worried about it as it eventually builds enough pressure to work.


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## houseofcards

Welcome back!

Nice pristine setup with equally nice photography.

The kitchen is a great place for a setup since you end up spending so much time there, especially if you have a family, that you really get to enjoy the scape. I had a large setup and a mini s for a long time in my kitchen. 

Keys to success with wife was to:

1. Make it look aesthetically nice inside, but mostly outside the tank. (which you are well on your way doing) 
2. Put some plants in that grow red on top, she'll think they're flowers. I got away with this for a few years. :grin2:

Good luck with the setup, looks like a winner.


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## Ugly Genius

You're right, *Josh*. Operation F.O.C.T. is ultimately foc't. Back in my bachelor days, I had four or five tanks on the counter. I never cooked for myself so that was not a problem. Since I've been married, we renovated the house and it looks super nice now and...I'll have to look into a good cabinet for a Mini-M. Anyone got any good suggestions?

As today is a holiday, I took the opportunity to visit 6th Avenue Aquarium and Flowers. Yep, that's the name of the place: 6th Avenue Aquarium and Flowers. The weird thing about that name is that while the aquarium and flowers part is accurate -- they sell both fish _and_ flowers -- the 6th Avenue part isn't. It's actually on Clement Street. 6th Ave is the cross street. Anyway...The place gets a bad rap by locals here as being something of a dump, and while I won't say that it isn't, I used to like going there way back when, so I thought I'd try again.
The place hasn't changed. It's still a dump and I still like going there.
Anyway, I got four shrimp.
When I picked them out of the tank -- you bag your own fish and shrimp here, believe it or not -- I had no idea what they were. I just thought the red and clear ones looked cool. I later learned that they are called Rili shrimp. I guess they were kind of a big deal a few years ago, but not so much anymore. Anyway, I got two of the Rili and two yellow shrimp.

Here are some pictures.

















I should tell you that I don't actually enjoy having fish and shrimp in my tanks all that much. It makes me feel incredibly guilty. I tend to muck with my tanks at random times, sometimes (often times) after lights out. When I do, I usually turn on the tank lights to see what I'm doing. This tends to freak the sh-t out of the fish and shrimp. And then I feel bad that this OCD-like compulsion to beautify my tanks is putting all of these helpless creatures in a perpetual state of where-is-the-safest-place-to-hide-in-this-three-gallon-tank_ness_.

But because I thought these guys were pretty, I got them. They seem happy enough in the nursery.

Speaking of which, the plants in the nursery are doing pretty well.








I haven't really unpacked any of the plants or even tried to scape the nursery, but there's really no rush at this point. I just want to get them healthy and ready for their big debut in (Re)Souce.

What I'm happy about is that I was able to get my groove back fairly quickly for taking care of aquatic plants. Having my past journals to review helped in this regard. So if you are currently in the hobby and plan on quitting for a undetermined number of years to have a couple of kids or something, I highly recommend that you keep a journal and fill it with even the most trivial and boring details. It'll bore the crap out of your readers, but you'll remind your future self that, in my case, mini micro sword is my favorite carpet plant, UG and HC, while pretty, are pains in the ass long-term, and that mixing carpet plants is not a good idea. (With the exception of DHG; DHG can be mixed with pretty much any carpet plant, save UG, to good effect.) So I recommend your write all of your learnings down somewhere just in case you knock your girl up or get knocked up or what-have-you.

With that said, for my future self and anyone who is interested in watching grass grow, here're today's CYBS (Consistent Yet Boring Shots):

















Forever,
Ugly


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## Ugly Genius

*Amp*, good to know that it's not just my set-up. It's only fifteen minutes that I have to wait for it to start diffusing, so I guess no harm no foul.

Hey *house*! Long time no see, buddy. I remember you had some really nice tanks back in the day. I tried searching your posting history, but all photos are dead links. It's a shame, I remember you had the best taste in plant choices. (You had a restraint that I did not have at the time. I would throw whatever I wanted into a tank, very often to bad results.) Good to see you again. Are you running any tanks right now?


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## houseofcards

Wow, you have a good memory, yeah it's lonely being a minimalist type of guy. I don't have any 'scapes' up right now, haven't for a while although I've keep the hobby close with some really small picos that didn't require much work. I've been staring at my 2-foot rimless for like two years (life gets in the way) that has never been used, so I'm getting the itch to set that one up and your thread definitely inspires.


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## Ugly Genius

Get back in the game, *house*. We need you. The nano section needs you.

Shrimp are idiots.
I've scooped those guys out of my filter five times since yesterday. That's another reason I don't like fauna in my tanks.

Anyway, I don't have much today, so I'll just post my requisite pictures and go about my way.

















I added five portions of Eleocharis 'belem' in order to give the carpet a bit more character when it grows out.

Also, I notice that the mini micro sword has thrown out a runner.








In the grass watching game, that's a _big_ deal.

_Oyasumi_,
Ugly


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## Ugly Genius

Another day, another two photos. 

















It's been seven days since this tank started. So far, I haven't had any problems. I'm using more light than I ever have during a dry-start, but at this point, I don't see an appreciable difference in terms of growth.
One thing that I did notice is that the grass on the slope is growing faster. It's possible that because the roots up there are not submersed, they're getting more O2 and growing faster as a result. (But I have no science to back that up; I'm just trying to sound smart.)

I've decided that initially I'm going to run an Aquaclear 30 HOB on this thing. 
HOBs get poo poo'd in planted tank circles due to CO2 outgassing (CO2's so cheap, who cares?) and whatnot, but I've had terrific success with them in the past. 
My tanks that ran the Aquaclears had fewer problems algae-wise than the ones that ran EHEIMs, ZooMeds, et cetera. That is most likely because it was easier for me to maintain the Aquaclears.
My only concern with the filter is that I like my tanks with a lot of flow. Lots. More than one Aquaclear can provide.
So I'm probably going to need a circulation pump, too.

Anyway, that's it for today. See you tomorrow with the same two pictures.

Consistently,
Ugly


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## Tihsho

UG, why not a Nano Koralia? It will provide flow, but not a fire hose like the centrifugal pump you posted.


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## NuclearArmedBarbies

I'm new to the hobby but have read through some of your older journals, and let's just say I'm glad you're back at this! Your scapes are always very intriguing to my eye.

Have you considered adding a powerhead to increase the flow?


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## Ugly Genius

Hey *Tisho*. I have one of the Nano Koralias in storage somewhere. I just remember it being pretty big. I'll see what it looks like in a Mini-M and if it doesn't look too ridiculous, I'll give it a shot.

Welcome, *Nuclear*, and thanks. You're going to have fun in this hobby. If you ever need any help, just ask.

Speaking of my older tanks, the way my mind works, my first few tanks will be pretty standard. After a bit, I'll get bored and start making some weird crap. When I look over some of my old stuff, I cringe. The last version of Source, for example, was not my greatest work. I had so much excitement and faith in that build, but in the end, I couldn't pull it off. I think I was too stubborn in some of my design ideas and rather than see the idea for what it was (lame), I kept at it.
I think that's the one thing I'm trying to do better this time around. I want to be more in tune with what I should do as opposed to what I want to do; to align myself with a design aesthetic and not get lost in the creative process.

Last time around I was seriously kicking around the idea of putting a curb -- yes, that's right: a sidewalk curb -- in a tank and growing plants in the cracks? Much the way you'll see weeds growing through cracks in sidewalks, I wanted to do that inside of a tank with aquatic plants. I thought it would look cool. In fact, when I drove around the City, I would look out for a broken curb that would fit in a Mini-L. I found one, too, but I dismissed the idea as too "out there".


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## Tihsho

Get another Mini-M and go with the curb idea. It would be neat to see a modern art take on this hobby rather than a Japanese standard. Just don't go all Andy Warhol and start using feces and soup cans and your ideas will be fine


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## amphirion

I'm struggling with miniature power heads as well. The koralias are way too huge for nano tanks. Not getting sufficient flow to keep the moss flat on the rocks either, at least for me.


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## Tihsho

You could always go with one of the Azoo pico pumps and attach one of the eductors on it. Problem is they are kinda bulky and ugly.


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## bereninga

I was on the hunt for a very small pump recenty. The Hydor Centrifugal pumps (Centrifugal Pump, Pumps, Technical Products ? HYDOR components for aquariums) looked pretty small, but I have no firsthand experience and didn't know if they're any good. I ended up getting the smallest Koralia and it was an improvement in flow, but not as small as I'd wanted it to be. I like the power of it, but I'm a little afraid of smaller critters getting chopped up in it if they get inside the casing.


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## co2art

Remember that tank that was just dhg and a couple bricks? lol. It kinda worked. The curb idea is actually pretty cool. 

This thread is making me want to start a journal myself. I have a small tank I've been meaning to set up for some time now. Small kids have been keeping me from doing it though. Perhaps I've just got to do it. 

Keep motivating me


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Tihsho*. I think I've been misspelling your name quite a bit. My apologies. And thanks for the new tank idea of putting feces in a soup can and planting inside of that. I'm going to go with that. "ADA Mini-M: Crap in a Can"

*amp*, *Tihsho*, and *bereninga*, I'll check out those suggestions. You'd think that someone would have marketed and sold a small, good-looking, and strong powerhead by now.

*Josh*, you've got to find that tank with the two bricks. I _need_ to see it. As for the journal, start one! All you have to do is take the occasional picture and write whatever the hell you feel like writing. Or you can be totally avant-garde and just post pictures without writing a damn thing. Or post not a single picture and only describe your tanks. Even if you don't want to write for anyone else, do it for yourself. When I read my own journals from five years ago, some of the memories come rushing back. (My life was so carefree back then. With no kids, all I did was planted tanks, walk my dogs, ride motorcycles, and go to the gym. _Man, I miss those days!_)

Today I want to talk about the nursery. 








The plants are doing pretty good. 
I've got a bit of GDA on the glass so I shortened the light period down to nine hours from eleven to see if that helps. I'm not too worried about it, though; many new tanks go through this, I seem to remember.
What did worry me was the Bolbitis 'baby leaf'. The thing was melting like crazy. So I removed it from the basket, cut off all the leaves, and tied the rhizomes to some lava rocks. I'm hoping it will bounce back.

Here's a picture of the glosso. No reason for me posting it; I just thought it was a pretty picture. 








This tank has got some super-charged pearling going on by the end of the day. It looks carbonated.
If you've got a Mini-M, I do recommend the Finnex light. It's plenty bright for whatever you need.

Speaking of lights. If I could do it over, would not get the ADA Aquasky lights. They are great lights, don't get me wrong, but I don't think that the price justifies what they bring to a tank. Lights that are just a good -- albeit not as pretty -- can be bought for much less.
So if you're in the market for new lights, I would suggest you save your money and get something besides the Aquaskys.

My shrimp have not gotten sucked into the filter for the past two days. Maybe they're not idiots.

Growth is starting to take hold on the mini micro sword carpet. From here on out, it should speed up a bit. (Which is to say that on a scale of 1 to 10 -- 10 being fastest -- we're going from a 1 to a 2. 


















_Day Eight_​
For a comparison, here's day one:









_Day One_​
I'm thinking of adding a buce plant of some sort in the golden ratio focal point (left) when I fill. I don't know anything about those plants, so if anyone has any suggestions, please chime in.
If I don't use a buce, I may chose a crypt parva as it's small, unobtrusive, and fits the other plant choices (mini micro sword, DHG 'belem', java fern, bolbitis, anubias nana 'petite', mini pellia, and moss).

Anyway, that's were we are today.

Ciao,
Ugly


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## co2art

I managed to dig it up. (Thanks google)


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## Ugly Genius

Oh crap! That is awesome! I love it. Thanks, *Jake*!


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## Kayen

Looking good on the updates UG. IMO you could always go for a larger filter with a spraybar to ensure you get the flow you want. Circulator pumps do add a lot, even the nano koralias will blow stuff around (I tried one in my 12G long, and that turned things into a ****storm real fast. 

As for the curb idea - that could be a very unique take - depending on how it all pans out. 
@co2art - that is a different take on a tank that looks great!


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## co2art

^ that's not mine. I just remembered it. 

Wait, Mr. Genius, did you say curb in the tank or tank on the curb?


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## Tihsho

co2art said:


> Wait, Mr. Genius, did you say curb in the tank or tank on the curb?


Mr. Genius said curb in the tank, Mrs. Genius said all the tanks on the curb


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Kayen*. Eventually, I'll probably get a canister filter and use a spray bar. But until then, I'll see what I can do about flow. Also, because the tank's not up and running, I don't know where the dead spots are, so until then, I really don't know what I'll need.

*Josh* and *Tihsho*, yep, pretty much.

My palate is almost complete. One or two more plants and I'll have everything I'll need.








I picked up some Rotala 'green' that I'll be using in the back of (Re)Source. I haven't decided in which order I'll layer to Rotala, Java Fern, and Bolbitis, but those three will make up the back curtain.

I'm also not sure what moss I want to tie to the driftwood. Right now I have Xmas Moss, Weeping Moss, and Willow Moss. 
I'm not feeling any of those at the moment. The Xmas moss is too neat. The Weeping Moss is too...I don't know, I'm just not a huge fan of Weeping Moss. The Willow Moss has a texture too big for a nano.
I'm thinking that the best moss for the look I'm going for is run-of-the-mill Java Moss. Java Moss has that wild tangled look that I think will look good in (Re)Source.
Mini Pellia would look good, too, but it's such a slow grower initially, I probably won't have enough come planting time.

Could you guys ID the red plant for me?









_What's the red one?_​
Anyway, my wife and I have to catch up on _The Walking Dead_, so here are the pictures for day nine before I go.

















Oh, one more thing, here's a photo of a blade of grass. 








This morning, the blade in the center was about 2 mm. below the substrate. Now look at him! That's pretty quick growth, I'd say. I told you things were about to get crazy up in this mofo.

Your crazy mofo,
Ugly


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## co2art

I believe this is the plant in question: 

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ails.php?id=218&category=plant_type&spec=Stem

Woot! The season 6 premier was awesome!!!


----------



## amphirion

I'm already seeing the potential of your scape. Love the plant selection!


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Josh*. Thanks for that. It turns out it's Ludwigia 'red' but that's pretty close. I appreciate it. And, yeah, that season premier was good! The horn at the end, though...WTF?!

Thanks, *Amp*.

Today I found the moss I had been looking for. As I mentioned yesterday, I wasn't happy with Willow, Xmas, and Weeping, and wanted instead some run-of-the-mill Java Moss. Well, today I went to AFA to pick up some plants and asked George if he had any. He pointed me to a bowl with mosses in vacuum-sealed bags. These were not the Tropica stuff, but clippings they sell from their display tanks. I'd walked by them several times and never paid them any mind. George then showed me the tank from which it came. I can't describe the stuff, but to say that it looks like a emaciated Java Moss. It's much thinner. Stringy like Java Moss, just thinner and a tad yellower. The other difference, George noted, is that this moss, for which I do not have a name, grows around the branch rather than just on top of it. Sure enough all the tanks with this moss do indeed show growth around the entire branch. Quite cool.
But here's the part that got me.
George said that that moss came directly -- now get this, because to me this is a _big_ deal and almost had me crapping my pants -- Takashi Amano's tank! "This was pulled directly from his tank," said George. Isn't that incredible?! 
Takashi Amano is the reason I'm in this hobby. When I learned of his death, I was bummed for days. The extent of his influence on planted tanks is undeniable and it is his artistic vision that set the bar as high as it is in this hobby, and in my mind, no aquascaper has come close to being his equal.
And to think that this moss started in one of his tanks...man, that's a huge deal to me.
I'll show you a picture, but the stuff's pretty ratty at the moment because it was in plastic bags in the front of the store under no light for God knows how long. So don't expect too much. Once it grows in, it's a lot prettier.








The moss is the stuff bundled on the left. Sorry for the bad shot, but even with a good shot, it's not much to look at right now.

Oh, and does anyone know what the plant in the center is? I forgot to take the name down on account of being so excited about the "Amano Moss".

I also picked up some Rotala "H'Ra". My plan is to have the Ludwigia 'Red' fade into the Rotala 'green' by having the Rotala 'H'ra' in between the two. A gentle fade from red to green, in other words.








And the reason I went to AFA today is because I really want some Narrow Leaf Java Fern, but no one has Narrow Leaf Java Fern on account of the fact that it's cost prohibitive for most suppliers in that it can't be grown emersed and the one supplier in Asia who does grow it, had their supply destroyed by a typhoon. (Is that all true?) So I went to AFA to pick up the next best thing for this application: Java Fern Trident.








I've got to get this sucker to grow because I'll need to plant cut the rhizome into thirds as I'll need three bunches come planting.

In other news, I've been commissioned to create two more tanks. 
"Commissioned" may not be the right word because one can infer from that that money is changing hands for the service provided. But until I find a word other than "manipulated" that expresses, "one who has been flattered into performing a service for free" I'll stick with "commissioned." It makes me feel like an artist and not like a ego-stroked schmuk.
The problem with making tanks for other people is that because most people just like to look at fish tanks and not actually service them on a daily basis like I do for mine, I have to make the tanks simpler and much more automated than I'm used to. This means low light, big filters, lots of timers, and -- this is the part that kills me -- with fish! (Apparently people like _fish_ in their fish tanks!) Both tanks have to be pretty, too. So I'll probably end up with Java Ferns, Anubias, and moss. No carpet and only one of the two will have CO2. The other is in a school, so I'm not sure how CO2 would go over there.

Other than that, here're today's shots.

















And with that I bid thee...

...goodnight,
Ugly


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## bereninga

Whoa! Must be awesome to get a plant that once lived in Amano's tank! He's so legendary in this hobby and is a huge influence to many scapers.

I've kind of always wanted to set up a tank for someone, even if it's for free. I mean, who doesn't like to spend other people's money? Setting up new tanks is fun because it's such a rare occasion.


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## amphirion

Dude. I've got your narrow leaf Java fern right here. I live in the area, just give me a good time and place to meet drop it off.


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## talontsiawd

I am super looking forward to this thread and really happy you are back. Not only were your old journals extremely intriguing from a design aspect, they were entertaining and informative. That and you make me decide to take trips out to AFA more often, haha. I was supposed to go yesterday but it got cut out of our schedule.


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *amp*! Thanks. I'll hit you up on PM. I appreciate that.

Hi, *talontsiawd*. Thanks, man. It makes me happy to hear that people enjoy this journal. And I'm sorry if I made you spend money you didn't want to. I know I spend more than I want when I go to AFA.

Okay, so today I decided to try something different. After reading Tihsho's thread, I decided to try something different with (Re)Source. (While reading it, I also realized that if you read Tihsho's name backwards...)
While I can't say I understand how Excel (a liquid) would work as a carbon source growing emersed, I do see how the gas would.
So I pumped in CO2 from the ADA system.








As I only did it for one day, I have no idea if it had any effect. One thing I did worry about was that I was suffocating the bacteria in the tank. For the entire day, the tank was sealed fairly tight. I worried that the bacteria were not getting enough O2. It didn't smell funny at lights out, but I'm not sure I'd recommend supplemented CO2 (gas) until more tests are performed.

Here's what the counter looks like right now:








I won't be continuing that experiment as I brought up my trusty old Do!aqua Cube Glass Mini M to prep the driftwood for (Re)Source. It will act as a growing tank and I need the CO2 in there. (I have two ADA regulators, but there's no way that I'm running two in two different tanks with refills costing what they do! I'm going to be getting another standard regulator soon_ish_.)









_From top left: Willow then Weeping. From lower left: Xmas then MP then the "Amano Moss".
6700k bulb on left; 10000k on right.
And, no, I'm not 100% certain one of the kiddos didn't take a leak in the thing.
I'm just playing. I have really good kids. If they were to break the rules, they'd go all out and drop a duce in it._​
Does anyone know, generally, how long it takes driftwood to saturate to the point it stays put? I seem to recall about three weeks or so.

That's the last of the old substrate I had from Elements. The filter's an AquaClear 30 and an ADA Advance CO2 system. The lights are two 13W Ott-lites @6700k and 10000k. (Anyone ever know of a 8000k 13W CFL?)

I'm not running a heater in this tank because I seem to recall that moss grows better in cold water. Please let me know if this is not correct as I've got a ton of heaters lying around that I can drop in there if I need to.

The AquaClear 30 is the perfect amount of flow for this tank. I like that I'm able to hang it from the side. On (Re)Scape, I won't be able to do this due to the fact that the Aquasky's legs sit on the sides of the tank. I'll have to hang it from the back.

Eventually, I'll set this one up proper, but for now it's a nursery and a place to soak my driftwood.

Anyway, here're today's shots.

















I think we're going to end up running this dry-start for the full two months. Growth is good, but the additional light (36W of CFL + 17W of LED) does not seem to have it filling in any quicker than when I just ran 26W of CFL where it took a solid two months for a dense, tightly rooted carpet.

I'm cool with that, though. Now that I have two nursery's, I can start to re-familiarize myself with the plant growth.

Sent from my iPhone,
Ugly

P.S. Just playing. No way I'd type all this on an iPhone.


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## Tihsho

Ug, nice to see that you attempted the gas method. What bacteria are you trying to save? You're still in the dry start and all aerobic bacteria in the tank are not going to convert during a flood to provide you a cycled tank. As for the gas introduction, I've yet to try it personally as I've stuck with the liquid method. Gas for me is somewhat 'pricey' unless I have a spare bottle due to the drive I have to make to get it/take off work to get there during the week etc etc. 

I like the progress so far and see that MTS is kicking in even though they are 'utility' tanks. I thought the same thing, now I have 3 tanks... 1 with a dry hardscape and two emersed (well one's just terrarium esq.)


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## Ugly Genius

Hi, *Tihsho*. Beneath the substrate there is standing water. About an inch and a quarter. I always assumed that some of the bio-filter got kick-started there; not enough to cycle a tank, but a jump start of sorts. Is this incorrect?

I know what you mean about CO2. It is a pain to get it filled cheaply. I go to Airgas place to get my tank filled, but it's not like they're right around the corner or anything. I've heard they fill CO2 at Sport Authority, et cetera, but I don't know if they fill anything besides paintball cylinders.

Yeah, MTS big time. This newest tank is in a neutral territory -- not the kitchen but the living room -- but as a token of good faith I removed about four house plants that my wife never liked.

And you know what I'm itching to start up? My Mini-L!


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## Tihsho

From my understanding the bacteria that is building up will not work in the kick start cycle, well not in the sense you're thinking. The build up of organics and ammonia will provide food for the bacteria for the cycle, but not provide the bacteria to boost the cycle. Why? Well there are two types of bacteria, aerobic (uses air) or anaerobic (does not use air.) Right now you are building up aerobic bacteria. Once you flood the tank you will be killing the bacteria and starting the process of building up anaerobic bacteria.


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## thezachammer

You're hilarious dude! And awesome tank! Subscribed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mumford

Oh no... the perfect storm for MTS! You have all the gear already. 

Ya know, it'd almost be a shame not to put them all up...


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## Tihsho

*Mumford* I disagree, for him to have a happy home he will need more equipment which he currently doesn't have... Stands... If you're going with stands you better have space. Dedicated tank room UG?


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## Mumford

Tihsho said:


> *Mumford* I disagree, for him to have a happy home he will need more equipment which he currently doesn't have... Stands... If you're going with stands you better have space. Dedicated tank room UG?


Fair point. I concur. UG get the contractors on the phone!


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## amphirion

if you boiled the wood it would sink, no problem. youd also get rid of the tannins as well.


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Tihsho*. I did some reading on bacteria during a dry-start. I don't know where that leaves us, but Tom Barr said... But that was five years ago, maybe research has proved otherwise since then. Either way, I'm not putting fish or shrimp in my tank until well after the cycle is complete (if ever), so it's really no matter.

I know, right, *Mum*? It _is_ a perfect storm for a wicked case of MTS. It's almost too perfect. Like I'm the victim here. I mean, how can I not? The way I see it, I'm showing considerable restraint as I have three more tanks that I have not set up. That's really good if you think about it. My restraint is borderline heroic. I should be rewarded for this restraint by being allowed to set up another tank. It's only fair.

*Tihsho* is right. Stands would help on the wife front. I'm actually going to start looking into one.

*amp*, if the wood's still buoyant after a couple of weeks, I'm going to do just that. Seeing as I'm in no hurry right now, I have plenty of time to wait.

_EDITOR'S NOTE: It turns out that my wife reads this journal._

Have I ever told you how wonderfully beautiful and beautifully wonderful my wife is? She's perfect. She really is. She rocks my world. I swear, she really does. And she's hot. Really hot.

_EDITOR'S NOTE: Hopefully she stops reading right there to plant a fat kiss on yours truly and tells me that I'm the sweetest man in the universe and that I can have as many tanks as my beautiful heart desires._

Cool. Okay, I don't have much to add except some pictures.

_EDITOR'S NOTE: And for the record, my wife would never fall for that crap. She is beautiful and wonderful like I said, but she's smart, too._

I like this picture because it shows the color pallet I'll be using -- except with a bit more reds -- and the pearling. I like pearling.








Looking at the above picture, I decided that this weekend, I'm going to try to arrange the plants a bit more prettily. At the very least, take them out of their baskets. (Except the Glosso. That stuff's a weed!)

The Rotala 'H'Ra' really is a pretty plant.








I figured out what plant this is.









_Myriophyllum sp. 'Guyana'_​
Until yesterday, I had never even heard of Myriophyllum sp. 'Guyana'. It's quite small and it's fine details lend themselves well to a nano tank. I'm not sure if I'll be able to incorporate it into (Re)Scape, but I'm going to try. It's a pretty little thing.

And lastly, I'll post the quote/unquote growth pictures.

















With unwavering lukewarm affection,
Ugly


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## Tihsho

UG, good find on the text. The way I've seen bacteria, per a biologists stand point are they are segregated like I explained before. The die off/die back of the bacteria from one to another feeds the bacteria with organic sources. To be honest I'm not really sure who is 100% correct, nor would I ever want to be the one to say Mr. Barr is wrong. Again, I'm unsure of the correct answer. I know and follow the logic that was portrayed to me 20 years ago and I'm being stubborn and sticking to it. If there are other articles out there that support Mr. Barr's information, I truly want to read them so I can be more informed on why I'm wrong. *The Google search begins!*

The tank looks great and is filling in slowly, but nicely. I'm really a fan of your plant selection and am actually looking forward to order some plants tonight from a user :hihi:

Also, bro check the quote of your text above... I think you need to ninja edit before the wife reads... I'll check in in a bit to edit this once you update your post 



Ugly Genius said:


> _EDITOR'S NOTE: It turns out that my wife reads this journal._
> 
> Have I ever told you how wonderfully beautiful and beautifully wonderful my wife is? She's perfect. She really is. She rocks my world. I swear, she really does. And she's *not*. Really *hot*.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Tihsho*. Don't worry about editing your post. I edited mine, but only to be factual. My wife knows I think she's hot. I say it so much to her, she doesn't even hear it anymore.

As for the dry-start, I think there may be some confusion because there is water in the tank during a dry-start. There is quite a bit, actually. Not just saturated or wet soil, but standing water. Meaning, there are no air pockets in the substrate, it's all water.

Update your journal with the plants you order.

Thanks for having my back there, though. I appreciate it.


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## Tihsho

Update my journal with what I just ordered? No, that's too easy! Gotta be a bit of a tease don't I?


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## amphirion

one neat trick that i learned that works with several species of stemmed plants is lateral lining. most species of rotala, bacopa, and ludwigia respond very well to this.
rather than planting a stem normally, i would lie it flat on the ground, with most of the stem touching the floor and using some paper clips to fasten the stems to the substrate. this actually forces the stem into activating the latent buds along the stem causing multiple growth points to emerge from the stem. all the stemmed plants you have in your tank i believe are capable of doing this. just a shortcut if you're looking for one.


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## Ugly Genius

*amp*, that is very clever. I never heard of that, but it makes total sense. I'll give it a try. Thanks, man!


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## Ugly Genius

It's been thirteen days.

Thirteen days of watching the grass grow. Something has to happen soon, because I'm going to run out of things to talk about.

Luckily, today's not that day.

What did you think of the new _Star Wars_ trailer? Parts of it look incredible; parts of it look like a scene from _The Hunger Games_. And from here on out, it's pretty much all badass.
I'm thinking Kylo Ren won't be a bad guy for all three or so of the movies. Any guy with a hero worship of Darth Vader can't be all bad. I sense some good in him.
What'd be great is if Kylo Ren left the dark side for the light side but still used all of the dark side's much-cooler-than-the-light-side's Force powers.
That'd be badass.

In planted tank-related news:
Purigen. This this stuff is awesome! I polishes the water until it looks like air. I put some in the Do!aqua Mini M and it pretty much cleared out the tank in a couple of hours. Great stuff.

Regulators. Since I'm going to be running three tanks and I don't want to spend Forty-two bucks for three small canisters of ADA CO2, I need a new regulator. I'll need one with a two block manifold as the new reg will feed (Re)Source and the nursery. My current GLA Choice CO2 regulator will feed the Do!aqua.
Right now I'm leaning towards a GLA GRO-2, but if anyone has another suggestion, please chime in.

I try to keep things interesting for all of you. You know, change it up. Keep things fresh by talking about crap you may find interesting. 
And so, because I'm always thinking of you, I thought I'd spice things up and shoot one shot from a _slightly_ different angle. (I know. With my finger so firmly on the pulse of what internet reader's want, why am I not running a network?! I know. Crazy. The world makes no sense.) 
The other two are the same two you've been seeing for the past almost-two weeks.


























While I can't say that so far this has been the most informative of journals, I can say that it is probably the most representative of what it feels like to dry-start a tank.
So for those of you considering a dry-start, look at my photos one at a time, in order, over a series of thirteen days. That, my friend, is _exactly_ what it feels like to dry-start a tank. 
_Hmm. Maybe it grew a little bit. Hard to tell. I'll check again tomorrow._ 
The next day is pretty much the same as the day before it and the day after is just like all the rest, and so it all goes 'round and 'round, like those wheels on the bus that my kids won't stop singing about. 
Over and over.
'round and 'round.

All through the town,
Ugly


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## Tihsho

You've motivated me to have a submersed nursery. I'm actually in the process of looking into CO2 options with it. Luckily I have a spare regulator, but I don't feel like getting another 5lb tank or ganging off the main tank to feed a nursery which won't be stocked at all times. 

I'm probably going with an adapter to mount my regular regulator on a paintball tank since I have a handful of those from years back and they are cheap to get filled (and fast.)


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## co2art

I have an emmeresed set-up. I totally understand the 'did it grow today' thing  At least the Belem is at least a few new blades of grass a day. I have enough farmed to start like 5 tanks now. I think I set it up so I could be lazy about starting up the tank I want to. See how bad I've been procrastinating?










While forum rules prevent me from recommending anything specific, why not just use one regulator with a manifold that has a needle valve for each tanks? It would keep the amount of equipment down to a minimum. While it might sound silly coming from me, (one sponsor recommending another) you might want to contact gla and see if they could update your current gla regulator so that it has the manifold you need. That might be your most cost effective option. Just a thought. 

On a completely unrelated note, that has nothing to do your thread here, I think I settled on a place to set up the new tank. We built my brother in law a room out in the garage a few months back. There's no access for the 2 year old out there. It's my only option and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'd never get to enjoy it 

Do I dare set up an open top, rimless tank where the 2 year old (that doesn't recognize the word 'no' and is very curious) where he can get at it? He loves fish and I feel bad at the same time for depriving him of that. Ughh... Parenthood...

Even more off topic, being able to move the cursor on my iPhone with the 3D Touch is frigging awesome! (Fat fingers)

Is your wife really reading this? Mine used to keep tabs on me lol - later to realize that we are very boring and nerdy.


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## Ugly Genius

*Tihsho*. Yeah, nursery's are cool and quite practical. Right now, for what is probably a very obvious reason, I'm having more fun with my nurseries than I am with (Re)Source. Without a nursery, or at least multiple tanks, it's quite difficult to keep plants that you're either prepping for the main scape or want to keep for a future build. It also gives me the opportunity to learn the growth characteristics of a given plant.

*Josh*, that's a lot of Belem! Some of the runners have even pulled a Leonardo DiCaprio and jumped ship. It's a sign, man! You've got to start a tank. Do it for Rose! (From what I understand, Belem started here in San Francisco. The Belem I'm growing in (Re)Source is the stuff that started leaking out into the "wild" five or so years ago.)
I get the feeling that you and I are in very similar situations. 
My four year old is cool. If I tell him not to touch my tank, he'll listen. He's a cool cat. (And he gets spoiled accordingly.)
My two year old, on the other hand, is a Honey Badger -- she don't give a sh-t. With my Do!aqua nursery, which is not on a counter but on a much lower surface, she's all it. Every day she taps on the tank introducing herself to the "fish" in there -- I've yet to tell her that there are no fish in there; I don't want to wreck her world -- and trying to touch the water. Earlier today, I caught her attempting to put Thomas the Train in there. She's too short right now, but pretty soon she'll be tall enough to tip the tank over if she got her mind to it. (And she might. She's a Honey Badger like that.)
I do like the iPhone 6S. I got one for my Dad and he loves it. I'm still running a 6.
Yeah, my wife reads this journal. Not every day, but every once in a while, she'll read through. While she, too, thinks we're nerds, she's also a very talented artist (no bullsh-t) and she can appreciate some of what she sees here. She sometimes gives me ideas for my scapes. Her only flaw is that she insists that my tanks have fish! And that she doesn't like fish tanks on the kitchen counter.

As for the regulator, I'll do some more research and I'm sure with everyone's help here, I'll land on something good.

I'll start today with the Do!aqua nursery.








I added the Mini Java Ferns to this tank to absorb some of the nutrients. I think they can handle the cold water while I get the mosses to grow out. Soon, I'll drop in a heater and add some stems. I'll use *Amp's* idea and grow the stems recumbent.

Speaking of the mosses.









_This is the "Amano Moss". It seems to appreciate the cooler water. It's recovering from the weeks stuck in a bag at AFA._









_This is the MP. It looked like crap when I got it from AFA, but it's coming around. There is some Riccia that hitchhiked here. I'm not a huge fan of Riccia._









_Willow, Weeping, and Xmas_​
I am now at the two week mark with the dry-start. Six weeks to go. While I do get anxious to start this tank, my other two tanks remind me daily of one thing that I'm not dealing with: algae. The start of any tank is tough. The balance is not there and my intuition as to what's out of whack is not yet developed. (I never test my water's parameters. I follow the HM -- Hunch Method -- of tank maintenance and fertilization.) And so in the beginning, there's the inevitable dust algae, the diatoms, and whatever other algae feels like making a presence.
By going slow, I'm afforded peace of mind and the time to more fully flesh out what I want to see when the tank's complete.

















With that, I'll wish everyone a good night. Last night my honey badger of a daughter woke at 12:30 crying for an hour that she wanted to get up and play. Needless to say, my wife, son, and I are exhausted as it took us even longer to fall back to sleep.

I love being a dad.
I love to sleep.

You can't have your cake and eat it, too,
Ugly


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## Tihsho

So I have some questions regarding your nursery's. Why do you run filters? If you're only temporarily housing the plants/growing them out/not keeping fish in them (besides the one) why filter the water?

As for the wild child... As they say, Unisom and Benadryl are parents best tools! Well... This is why I don't plan on having kids for a very long time... Or until dosing children with something is legal to make them sleep so I can sleep.

As normal, everything looks great. Also, I'll be shooting a PM your way.


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## Ugly Genius

*Tihsho*, I run the filters for flow. Flow is very important for the distribution of nutrients, CO2, et cetera. In my experience, flow is almost as important as light, CO2, and fertilizers. Remember, many of the plants we use in this hobby originate from rivers and streams where water flows over their leaves and through their roots.
Additionally, one can run into algae problems with the absence of water movement.

Parental confession: I tried giving the Honey Badger baby Benadryl once when she was not sleeping. Long story short, it didn't work. (I would not do the sleeping pill, though.)
I'm sure you'll make a great dad, but wait until you're ready. They'll make you a better person than you would have been without them, but they'll make you want to punch yourself repeatedly in the face because that is nicer than putting up with their crap.


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## Tihsho

Dammit, you win. I'm going to pick up some filter floss and run one of my Azoo palm filters on the 2.5... If only they made a palm that had a UV** in it so I could run this as some ridiculous QT later on... 

Footnotes:
** I know Aquatop makes a HOB filter with a UV filter as I found out earlier today. Sadly they don't make ones appropriately sized for a 2.5 gallon >.<


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## Ugly Genius

I've got to keep today's update short.

















A picture's worth,
Ugly


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## amphirion

Now I kinda wish you did mixed grass. A bit of Belem here a bit of micro there...you'd have patches of different lengths, colors, and densities. Might be a challenge long term though. Then again, there's the saying, less is more....


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## Ugly Genius

I thought the same thing you did. I added Belem about a week ago.


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## amphirion

Must have missed that. Great minds think alike, I suppose.


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## Ugly Genius

Yes, they do, *amp*.

The nursery's been humming along. Growth is not a fast as I'd expect given the light and CO2 I'm pouring on and pumping into the tank. But hey, I'm just getting back into the game. Can't expect too much.

But...over the past two days green dust algae's been getting pretty bad. It started on the glass -- as green dust algae's wont to do -- but then it started spreading to the leaves of the plants. I didn't trip too much. It's a new tank, after all. These things happen in new tanks.

I don't test my water. I have no idea what my water's parameters are.
I does ferts based on a daily schedule governed by my gut. N, K, P, and micros daily. Just a wild ass guess based on what I'm seeing in the tank.

So when I saw the increase in algae, I reflexively cut back on N and P.

Well, today I saw one leaf of the Rotala 'H'Ra' covered in BGA. I cut the leaf off lickedy split and searched for more. I couldn't find any more, but I did kind of kick myself for letting it get there in the first place. 
The appearance of BGA explained the slower-than-expected growth of my plants and the increase in GDA over everything. I was low on Nitrate.

I doubled the dose of N and I'll have to see if that'll tackle the problem.

Healthy plants will combat algae. I know this. 
Healthy plants needs fertilizers. I know this, too. 
But for some reason, I feel like I'm going to set off an algae bloom each time I put in more ferts than I feel is prudent. I've yet to cause an algae bloom by so doing, but I still can't shake the feeling that I'm going to f--k something up bad by dosing heavy.

And oddly enough, my algae woes are almost always caused by too much light relative to the given CO2 and ferts. Yet I never fear to pour hella light into my tanks.

I'm afraid of what I shouldn't be afraid of and I'm not afraid of what I should be afraid of.

It makes no sense!

We could spend the whole night falling down the rabbit hole that is my mind, but I'd hate to bore you and make you crazy at the same time.

Oh, I made a decision on the filter I'm going to use on (Re)Source. If you recall, my choice was between an EHEIM 2211 or an ADA Super Jet es-150. After ping ponging between the two for weeks, I decided to go with the EHEIM 2211. (It's called the Classic 150 now.)
I chose the EHEIM because, well, I chose it because it's hella cheaper and works just as well as the ADA version. (I also have this weird -- I don't know what to call it -- complex that if you, all of you, were to see me drop four hundred dollars on a filter you would think one of two things. That I'm rich and I can afford to drop four hundred dollars on a filter or that I'm poor and just spent four hundred dollars that I can't afford on a filter. Neither is true. I'm not rich or poor. But I'll be closer to poor if I start spending four hundred dollars on filters!)

I ordered it on Amazon and they ship the same day here in SF for free for Prime members. My unit came, but one of the nozzles was a bit bent out of shape, so I've go to send this one back and they're sending a new one out tomorrow. I think the unit would have worked fine as the nozzle was only slightly misshaped, but I'd rather not worry about it, you know? A leaking filter all over the kitchen counter would be a severe setback in the FOCT (Fish-On-Counter-Tank, if you don't recall that acronym) front.
Once the new one arrives tomorrow, I'm going to run it on the Do!aqua nursery to get the biofilter kicked into gear and ready for when I flood (Re)source.

Aside from the tanks, this week at work sucked. Just awful. I won't get into details because, one, I'm sure you don't give a sh-t, and, two, I'm so tired of it all myself that I don't give a sh-t, either. Let's just say that it was a heartbreakingly bad week at work and leave it at that.
What's this got to do with planted tanks? Nuthin'. I just felt like adding that in. It gives a little spice to this journal.
It allows you to read this journal and say, "Hmm, Ugly had a bad week. That sucks. Hmm, Ugly posted the same friggin' pictures again. That sucks."

















I noticed some algae on the substrate today. It was a very small amount on just a few pieces of substrate which I removed, but it did move me to DEFCON 4. The water level is not all that high, but I may have to lower it even more. (To remove water from a dry start, I dab it with a paper towel to absorb the excess water without disturbing the carpet or substrate.)
Additionally, I noticed a couple of blades of grass turning red. (On the top-down shot, you can see one such blade on the right.) I'll keep my eye on that, too. It could be either a nutrient deficiency or too much light. 
Or it could be the normal die-off during a dry-start.

Today is my dog Franny's birthday. She's eleven years old. She's a good dog. A golden retriever. Pretty thing. You'd like her. Everyone does. She's prone to farting at random times in her old age, but who doesn't?

SBD,
Ugly

P.S. SBD, for those who don't know, is Silent But Deadly. Franny drops those all the time. Knock you on your ass, those will.


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## RcScRs

Really digging the journal man.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *RcScRs*. I appreciate that.

The replacement EHEIM 2211 arrived today. This one's fine. Hooked it up to the Do!aqua nursery with no problems.








An AquaClear 30 and the EHEIM 2211 are running in tandem. I'm going to keep them running as such until (Re)Source is filled. Until then, I'm going to see how the added filtration benefits or hurts the tank.
I'm hoping that the added water volume and flow will help with algae control and nutrient/CO2 distribution.

Here's a shot from the side.








_Unrelated musical note: My wife is playing music on her iPhone -- Michael Jackson's "Human Nature". I love that song._

The Do!aqua nursery is my current favorite because is new and reasonable well-behaved. The Mini-S nursery, however, while showing signs of recovery from the algae outbreak, is acting up via proxy of it's regulator. This morning the regulator wasn't able to push out through the super diffuser. I cranked the working pressure from 35 to 45 and that helped, but eventually it would stop. I can take the working pressure as high as 80, but because it was diffusing fine yesterday at 35, I'd rather find out what's the cause rather than a solution.
I've swapped to a standard glass diffuser as I soak the super diffuser in bleach. Hopefully it was just clogged or something.
The moral of the story is the smaller the tank the bigger the headaches.

Anyway, here're the day's pictures.

















We're getting there.

Tell 'em that it's human nature,
Ugly


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## talontsiawd

Though I was hoping you were going to go with the Super Jet because they are sexy, I would have made the same choice. It's hard to improve on an Eheim anyway so I consider a Super Jet more of a "cosmetic upgrade", even though it has some small advantages, the price does not justify any improvements and plastic may actually be a better choice than SS from a practical level, plus I know ADA SS lily pipes get small surface rust so unless they use a different grade on the filters, it could become unsightly, not that it's hard to refinish SS, it's not all that fun either.

I also feel you on the light, I have been the same way, pumping more light than I need and worrying about other details too much, rather than the other way. Easy to get caught in that. 

Even though your nursery tank doesn't compare to other work I have seen from you in the past, I still find it to be a very attractive tank in its simplicity.


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## Ugly Genius

​Hey, *talon*, thanks! The Super Jet is nice, but unless someone gives me $400.00, I'm perfectly happy with the EHEIM. Actually, I really like the EHEIM. The simplicity of design, ease of maintenance, low cost of ownership all jive pretty well with me. Amano himself copied the EHEIM's when making the Super Jet, and even used them in his showroom in Japan, so I'm perfectly happy with my decision.

So far I'm really liking the two filters on the nursery tank. Flow is optimum in my opinion. The "Amano Moss" showed signs of growth where there were not prior. Nothing scientific there, just an observation, but my untested hypothesis is that the moss is receiving more nutrients from the increased flow. 
I'll probably end up putting two filters on (Re)Source, too. (Heck, I may end up putting two filters on all of my tanks! Meaning, I'll probably end up buying a second one.)

_Remembrances of Lesson's Past_

I've been back in the game for a couple of weeks now and remembrances of old hard-learned lessons are coming back to me.

One such remembrance is about hardscapes.

Most of us will spend an inordinate amount of time designing and tweaking our hardscapes to get them just right. Absolutely perfect. We will sweat the smallest detail -- the tiniest rock, the angle of a branch -- to almost pathological levels. (OCD, much?) I know I do.

In the end, I don't think this effort is worthwhile if one simple principle is not practiced. The tank must be easy to maintain.

I've created what I thought were some very good hardscapes, but they were an absolute pain to clean: wood up against the glass so cleaning was not possible, rocks too precariously placed risking a topple if my hand brushed them, and so on. My advice to any of you just starting out in this hobby, design your hardscape with maintenance in mind. Keep the glass unobstructed. Fix stones firmly in place. Leave room between rocks and wood for trimmings. Basically, make sure your hand can fit in there and that everything's tightly placed.

If your hardscape is set up in such a way that maintenance is a pain-in-the-butt, you're going to procrastinate until it's almost too late. And in planted tanks, almost-too-late _is_ too late.

Instead, focus on the health of the plants and tank. A heathy, well-maintained tank with a so-so hardscape trumps a beautiful hardscape with sickly plants and algae across the glass.

What reminded me of this lesson was the Do!aqua nursery.









_My wife painted that, if you were wondering._​
The hardscape is two pieces of driftwood sunk into place with large rocks on top of them. The only thought I gave the hardscape was to keep the wood submerged. As a result, the glass is an absolute pain the clean. If my hand so much as brushes against one of the pieces of wood, it'll float to the surface. Once the pieces are fully saturated, cleaning will not be a problem as I can pull them out as I clean and put them back when I'm done. For now, though, it's a pain because balancing the wood is so intricate, getting the rocks to stay put is like a game of Jenga while drunk.

That said, the tank itself is so new, everything's going well and that makes me like it a lot. No algae, light I'm familiar with (CFL), and the plants are all quite healthy.

So even though the hardscape took all of four seconds to come up with, the fact that it's a healthy tank (knock on wood), it's pretty to me.

This isn't to say that healthy plants alone will a nice tank make. (Unless it's a Dutch style tank.) A hardscape gives the eye a structure and focal point. A tank without both of those suffers in a different way. 

Take my Mini-S nursery as an example.








Because this tank contains only plants being kept for a month and half more, I haven't bothered to place the plants in any semblance of a scape. (Heck, a crypt parva is floating at the surface!) 
Save for bits of algae here and there, the tank is well-maintained and the plants are healthy. But even I do not think it's a good looking tank. This is because there is no hardscape to speak of -- except for the rockwool baskets. 
There is no structure. No tension. No balance. No flow.

So what I'm saying is don't focus too much on the hardscape, think three steps out and focus on the plants and the maintenance. Don't ignore the hardscape completely either. You need both, just more of the former.

With all that rambling done, here're today's photos.


























Someone gave me a copy of _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_ as a gift. Best gift ever.

Forever,
Ugly


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## amphirion

very naice. the painting too!


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## houseofcards

Ugly Genius said:


> ​In the end, I don't think this effort is worthwhile if one simple principle is not practiced. The tank must be easy to maintain.
> Ugly


Ah, yes your preaching to the choir. This is my bedrock principle these days. 

The tank is looking good. 

I think I'm going to dust off my 2-footer that's been sitting around for 2 years and start a journal and...

its all your fault Ugly, thanks alot! grin2:


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *amp*!

*House*, thanks. If it's my fault that you start up a tank again and journal it's progress, it's blame that I will happily accept.

For some reason, I can't seem to take level photos with my iPhone.









_It angles downward towards the right._​
Back in the day, I used to take my tank shots with an old Sony Cyber-shot. The thing was 2 mega pixels and the view screen was about the size of a postage stamp. I think I was able to get better shots with that camera.

It could also be that because the view screen was the size of a postage stamp, it forced me to take several photos for the same shot. I would then curate the best shot of the many.

Technology is making us lamer!

I got some new plants to play with in the Do!aqua nursery.








On the left is Fissidens Splachnobryoides. On the right is Fissidens fontanus.

I've grown Fissidens fontanus before and really like that plant. It takes forever to grow, but when it does, it is unrivaled for the mossy forest look.

I have never grown Fissidens Splachnobryoides, and I'm really excited to see how it grows. I focus on nano tanks, so I'm pretty much a sucker for any "mini" plant. A mini Fissidens, on paper, at least, sounds like the perfect plant for me. We'll see how it goes, though.

Lastly, I bought a bit of Mini-Xmas moss. I have no use for this moss, but five years ago when I was in the thick of planted tanks, I coveted this moss above all others. I was never able to get any -- as far as I can recall -- so I thought I should scratch that five-year-old itch and get some.

_And now a word from our sponsor._

Now that I've ordered from Aquatic Mag twice, I feel like I can plug them here as both orders came quickly and were in good shape. Their selection is pretty good for some of the rare stuff, and shipping isn't terrible. If you can't find what you need in the SnS or your LFS, Aquatic Mag is a good place to go.​
_Now back to our regularly scheduled programing._

They're not actually sponsoring me. (As if any of you would believe that a company _would_ sponsor me for dry-starting mini micro sword over a two month period!) I just thought I'd give them a plug as they shipped me healthy plants quickly. 

Anyway, where was I--? Oh: Moss. Here's my collection as of today.









_Counter-clockwise from left: Mini Xmas moss, Willow moss, Weeping moss, Xmas moss, Fissidens Splachnobryoides, Fissidens fontanus, "Amano moss", Mini Pellia, and "Amano Moss".
I'll try to find out what "Amano Moss" really is during my next visit to AFA._​
For (Re)Source, I will only be using the "Amano Moss", but in the Mini-L that I will set up in the near_ish_ future, I'll try to incorporate most of these.

Something's wrong in the Mini-S nursery. I had two shrimp die; one in the morning and one this evening. I immediately changed 25% of the water to, as they say, "fight pollution with dilution." After the water change, the water became quite cloudy-- bacterial bloom cloudy. Since I have no test kits, I have no idea what's off. In fact, had the shrimp not died, I would not have thought anything wrong. I would have chalked it up to a bacterial bloom and went on with my day.

This made me realize that one of my weakness in this hobby is water parameters. Because I don't keep fish, I pay hardly any mind to my water parameters. As long as my plants are healthy and growing, I go on with the assumption that everything's kosher.

Obviously, that's not the case.

So, I think I'm going to get myself a test kit. Does anyone have a suggestion as to a good test kit for planted tanks?

















I've got more that I want to talk about, but I'm tired/lazy. I'm going to curl up in bed with _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_ and call it a night. It's a really good book, by the way. I recommend it.

Rain in Spain,
Ugly


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## Tihsho

Simple complete API test kit should be enough to get your feet wet in parameters. If you start wanting granular detail, then you'll be in the digital meters... 

Nice to see I'm not the only one with a plant update today  How is Aquatic Mag overall though? I was considering an order until I saw their prices.


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## LlamaFins

What a great read and very informative. I love the look of the hardscape and the carpet is coming along nicely! You have inspired me to create my own account and start a thread for this new project I've started. I have a Mr. Aqua 7.5 gallon cube that I just started over the weekend. Making my first journal post was a fun way to keep track of my tanks. Hope you can check it out. I have a few questions on there.

Cheers,
Llama


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## Couesfanatic

I really like the Lilaeopsis nova mini. I have to admit, I'm trying to resist getting back into a Mini M. You aren't helping...keep it up.

If/when you cut some of the Lilaeopsis nova mini out, let me know I will buy some of it from you.


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## Ugly Genius

*Llama*, thanks! I commented on your thread yesterday. But after sleeping on it, I've changed my mind on some of it. I'll post in your thread after this. I think you're off to a great start. Judging from your nursery tanks, you know how to grow plants, so now all you need to do is pick your pallet and go at it!

*Coues*, the Lilaeopsis nova mini is my favorite carpet. I like the look of a nice glosso carpet better, but Lilaeopsis nova mini edges it out of the top spot because it's so low maintenance. 
I can't promise that I'll remember your post when it comes time to trimming the micro sword -- I'll try! -- but if you hear that I'm selling some, point back to this post when you write, and you'll get first dibs.

It's been twenty days.









_Day One_









_Day Twenty_









_Day One_









_Day Twenty_​
There has been some growth, I now see.

At this point, the carpet will probably be ready at forty-five days, but I think I'm going to wait the full sixty.

I've still got a lot to do, you see. I don't know if I can do it all in twenty five days.

*Problem number one:* the driftwood. It's not staying down yet. I don't want to boil it to saturation it as it will weaken the wood, so I'd rather be patient and wait it out in cold water. After I do get it to stay submerged, I have to attach the moss and have it growing in place while in the Do!aqua nursery. All that will take three weeks minimum.

*Problem number two:* the stems. In the back of (Re)Source I will have Ludwiga 'red', Rotala 'H'ra', and Rotala 'green'. These are currently covered in algae in the Mini-S nursery. They're growing, but I've got to get that in check before I can even think of transferring them into (Re)Source. I'll also need a lot more than I have now.
A lot more.
One thing I remember is that the tanks that fared the best against algae were the ones that were very heavily planted from the start. I'd like to have all the stems planted from the start.
To grow out to this degree I'll need another month.

*Problem number three:* the "Amano Moss. It's just not ready for prime time. The stuff I got from AFA was in pretty rough shape and while it's coming back around, it's going to take about two more weeks before I will have enough to attach it to the driftwood.

*Problem number four:* analysis paralysis. In my mind's eye I have a very clear picture of what I want this tank to look like. This "picture" is a conceptualized abstraction of dozens (maybe hundreds) of beautiful tanks I've seen over the years. I've internalized what I love about each of them, distilled them down to a few elements, and, bam, there it is. In my mind's eye. So beautiful!
My mind's eye and the actual tank, however...
As I wait for the carpet to grow, I often stare at the plants growing in my nurseries. I then look at a photo of my hardscape. As time passes, I find myself questioning all of my design decisions. Will the Java fern look good there? Is Ludwiga 'red' the right choice? No moss there, but not there--? Why? Can I maintain the tank with this much plant mass? 
In the beginning, the answers were clear to me. Now, having questioned the same questions over and over, the answers are wisps of dying smoke against a foggy skyline.
So, yeah, every now and then I'm tempted to scrap the concept and start anew. I guess that after twenty days waiting, I'm more comfortable waiting in perpetuity than committing my ideas to water and glass.
(And to think that in the beginning, it took all of my discipline to not start this tank!)
I've dealt with this sort of chickensh-tedness before. It takes about a five weeks to eradicate.

Those are my four reasons for waiting the full sixty days. As time passes, some will fall off that list, others will make their way on. 

In the end, though, it'll always be...

...forever,
Ugly


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## bereninga

Those problems are def pretty stressful. Maybe make a calendar and plan things out that way? That should help w the planning. I think I'm getting stressful just thinking of the issues you're facing and they're not mine! So far, you're getting some nice growth. That should be encouraging! Maybe get some shrimps and snails to help w the algae?


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## oldpunk78

Hey Ugly, have you seen this weeks walking dead yet?


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## talontsiawd

Ugly Genius said:


> Those are my four reasons for waiting the full sixty days. As time passes, some will fall off that list, others will make their way on.
> 
> Ugly


I know patience can be challenging but it's all part of the game. You could short cut that buy running a 4 hour photo period but your coloration may suffer in the short run if you really want to get going. It makes more sense to wait but I have done that when I needed to move live stock more quickly and wanted to cycle the tank as soon as feasible with success.


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *bereninga*. I think you're right. I'm going to have to have a game plan to deal with all this. I'll try to tackle one problem at a time.

*punk*, _The Walking Dead_ SPOILER ALERT! [GLENNNNNNNNNNN!]

*talon*, I think you're right. I'm going to severely cut the photo period. I'm not worried about the color. I can get that to bounce back, but if I don't get rid of the algae, I throw the tank out of the window and color won't matter one bit. So, I'll tackle the algae and figure out my next steps.

The Mini-S nursery is doing poorly. With my super diffuser still out of commission, the Finnex 12" Planted+ is simply too strong for the amount of CO2 my glass diffuser can get into the water column. Algae is not out of control, but it's getting there. Mostly hair algae, but dust algae's forming on the glass much more quickly than I think is normal. I'm testing the super diffuser now, but it's still not working after a long bleach soak. I may have to get a new one.

I'm thinking of retiring the Mini-S. One, it's too small to be an effective nursery. Two, the small size gives me very little room for error in terms of nutrients, flow, CO2, and light. And, three, it's pissing me off.
My first thought was to resurrect my Do!aqua 30-C, but after pulling it out of storage, I see that I'm not gaining all that much space over the Mini-S. I gain a half inch of height and that may help with light intensity a bit, but...I don't know. I'll think about it for a few days and decide this weekend.
At the very least, I'm going to pour new Aqua Soil into the tank, add an AquaClear 30 (currently I'm using a 20) and take all plants out of their plastic containers.

Everything else is going well. The Do!aqua nursery is chugging along like a champ. No problems. No drama. Just a peaceful little fish tank doing its thing. (Actually, now that I think about it, my two nurseries mirror my kids. The big one, my son, is an angel, the little one, my daughter, is a pain in the ass. Crap. Now that I know this, I have to keep the Mini-S. I'll have to find a way to fix it. To not would be like giving up on my daughter and despite her being a pain in my backside, I love that little girl to death.)

(Re)Source is growing fine. If you may recall, I'm running two fixtures on this tank: a 36 watt twin CFL and the Aquasky 361. Up until a few days ago, I ran the Aquasky in the rear and the 36 watt'er in the front. I noticed that growth was better in the back of the tank. I chalked this up the plants in the rear being higher on the slope and their root systems not submerged under the water -- easier access to O2. (I keep my dry starts fairly wet; there is standing water to the lowest part of the substrate surface.)
Then on a lark, I swapped the fixtures. Lo and behold, the front started to show an increase in the rate of growth!
Because the 36W fixture is about five years old -- although only run for about six months -- it's possible it's lost some of it's mojo. Or it could be that the LEDs are a superior light source. I don't know. In any event, because the front is where the bulk of my carpet is, I'm keeping the 361 in front until fill day.

_I've made the editorial decision to move cut lines such as this one to above the photos. 
The "Report this image" tag pushes cut lines and photo captions too far down for my liking. 
It's unorthodox, I know, but I'm working with what we've got._
















While they were unaware of this fact, I have been holding auditions for (Re)Source for the past three weeks. As the actors went about their days in the Mini-S, I have been watching their every move. Memorizing their growth patterns and characteristics. Studying each of them for any hint of that every-illusive "it factor": the perfect balance of shape, color, vitality, and algae-resistance.
So far, I've only found two.
A rhizome of Bolbitis and a very stubborn, yet beautiful sprig of Rotala 'green'. These two actors have been moved into the Do!aqua nursery to get better adjusted to their starring roles in the equally-sized and filtered (Re)Source.
Seven to ten more actors still need to be selected. I will continue to watch them and as they prove themselves to be the best of the best, they, too, will be moved into the Do!aqua nursery.
The next actor will probably be a sprig of Rotala 'H'Ra'. The little girl shows a range of emotion that is sure to wow audiences.

Break a leg,
Ugly


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## houseofcards

After avoiding all media coverage of The Walking Dead. I should have known to avoid subscribing to threads about planted tanks, silly me. :surprise:

I recently cut the cord to Cablevision and don't currently have AMC and didn't subscribe yet to this year's TWD stream. 

This tank better be worth it :grin2:


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## Mumford

First off @Ugly Genius the tank is looking great.

Second off spoiler alert, there's no way he's dead


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## Ugly Genius

*house*! I am so sorry. Seriously. I felt terrible when I read that. You have my sincerest apologies. I should have written "Spoiler Alert" or something. 
I am very, very sorry. 
I'm not sure how much I've given away, though. As *Mumford* said, I'm not sure that what we saw is what we saw.
From here on out, I have a new -- ahem -- "house" rule. Spoilers will be marked as such. Promise.

As an act of penance, I will reveal to all of you a my personal shame.

The Mini-S nursery as it stands today:








It's not so bad there, but on closer inspection...








It's bad.

You see what I'm dealing with. The heavy dust algae is not so much a nuisance to me as the hair algae. Don't get me wrong, both kinds of algae suck, but I feel more helpless against the hair algae as I don't have a meaningful algae eating crew in this tank to get rid of it. It's just me and a careful hand.

I believe the problem started by under-dosing nutrients. Then, when I noticed that I was low on N, I over compensated by dosing too much of N and P. Long story short, I'm stuck in a vicious circle of dosing too little, then too much with punctuations of CO2 fluctuations due to a stubborn super diffuser.

So:
Because the Mini-S is so difficult to manage, I decided to get a new light. I removed the 12" Finnex Planted+ and go the 



.
The cliplight is 2" shorter and it can be suspended higher. This should help. 
One downside is that, unlike the regular Planted+, this light's blues -- the "moonlights," as they're marketed -- stay on along with the whites and reds in day mode. This tends to give the tank a washed out look, but I can deal with that if it helps with the algae.

So that's my plan. Lower the light intensity. Keep CO2 consistent. Dial in the nutrient dosing.

I've moved the 36W light off of (Re)Scape and put the Finnex Planted+ on in it's place. It's less light, but less of a pain in the ass to remove when I take pictures, mist, clean the glass, et cetera.

















The Do!aqua nursery's doing fine. I planted a sprig of Ludwigia 'red' and Rotala 'H'Ra' in there to better watch their growth patterns as I don't think I've grown either of them before; I'd like to know a bit about them before I plant them in (Re)Source.

Before I go, a spoiler alert for _Star Wars_.
[Darth Vader is Luke's father!]

Aloha,
Ugly


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## Tihsho

Ug, you're making me want to get some Rotala Green along with my want of Rotala H'ra! I hope to have my dry start going tomorrow, so I'll have time to collect more plants...


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## Mumford

Ugly Genius said:


> I'm not sure how much I've given away, though. As *Mumford* said, I'm not sure that what we saw is what we saw.


Spoiler
[At first I thought they were pulling a GOT and were going to just kill off a main character. I was a little impressed. But then if you rewatch it and look at the intestines getting ripped out I don't think it lines up to Glenns body. And we never saw a full body shot like we have with other deaths like Noahs. My guess - Nicholas fell on top of Gleen and that's who's getting eaten. Glenn will manage to crawl under the dumpster behind him which he has a clear shot to if you look at the last scene. It would also be a nice play on the title, Thank You. Nicholas thanked Glenn before he pulled the trigger, and Gleen will also thank Nicholas for protecting him from being eaten.]

I'm dealing with similar issues in the algae department :/

I got one amano yesterday but I need more somethings this weekend. Are you going with shrimp, snails or fish for cleaners?



Tihsho said:


> Ug, you're making me want to get some Rotala Green along with my want of Rotala H'ra! I hope to have my dry start going tomorrow, so I'll have time to collect more plants...


I literally switched my plans two days ago to this same thing. The two rotala I'll keep in my final scape will be the H'Ra and Green lol. The colorata and indica will be faded out over time.


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## houseofcards

Ugly no worries, It's almost impossible to avoid info these days, I just thought it was funny that I found out in a planted tank journal. 

Sounds like, your making the right moves to correct the situation. You could always black it out if it gets worse, hit with some excel and then black it out again, but hopefully it will correct itself.


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## Ugly Genius

*Tihsho*, I'm sure you'd love the plants. They're quite beautiful. Good luck with the dry start!

*Mum*, I'm with you on your prediction/take on _The Walking Dead_. My wife says, "No way. What happened, happened."
I may end up with a few Amanos. There are some MTS and other snails in there already -- hitchhikers. I'll wait a couple of weeks before adding shrimp as I'm probably going to strip the tank and start clean this weekend.

Thanks, *house*! I'm glad you're not mad.

I ran the Finnex cliplight all day and while the algae is not gone, it did not get worse.

This brings to mind another Ugly Remembrance from five years ago: go with as low a light level as you can (and pour in CO2 no matter the light level). 
There's a temptation to pour lots of light on a tank. With high light, you can grow practically everything; carpets will spread flat; plants will pearl; and growth will be fast.
What I now remember is that those four things can be achieved with -- while not necessarily "medium" light -- less than what is considered "high" light in this hobby. Growth will be slowed somewhat, but in a nano tank, slow growth is actually a good thing.
So if anyone reading this wants my advice, go with as low a light level as you can to grow what you want in the fashion that you want it to grow.
And when I say, "anyone reading this," I mean me.

I had a minor scare in the Do!aqua nursery. I got home from work and found about seven strands of hair algae on the Xmas moss. It must have hitched aboard the Anubias and/or Rotalas when I transplanted them this week. (I checked carefully at the time of planting, but not well enough, apparently) I quickly pulled the moss out and trimmed the crap out of it. I think I got it all.
This means that I'm going to have to get the Mini-S's algae problem in check as I do not want hair algae to be a problem I have to tackle right out of the gate when I fill (Re)Source.

















I added back a bit of Anubias. This piece I feel comfortable leaving there as it has roots long enough to reach the substrate; I don't have to worry about it not getting nutrients.

I have also started to dose small amounts of K and micros via the misting bottle. (To the best of my recollection, Aqua Soil contains neither.) I don't know if this is necessary, but I know I did back in the day.

And with that, I wish you a good night.

Word,
Ugly


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## co2art

houseofcards said:


> After avoiding all media coverage of The Walking Dead. I should have known to avoid subscribing to threads about planted tanks, silly me. :surprise:
> 
> I recently cut the cord to Cablevision and don't currently have AMC and didn't subscribe yet to this year's TWD stream.
> 
> This tank better be worth it :grin2:


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## dkobayashi

Great journal! I like your tanks, learning lots here


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## Ugly Genius

Ha, *Josh*!

Thanks, *kobayashi*. Welcome to the Planted Tank.

As I mentioned, because algae was out of control, I decided to tear the tank down and start with a new bag of Aqua Soil. (The stuff in there previously was over five years old.) I took a trip this morning to AFA to get the dirt and a new super diffuser. (I've given up on the old one.) 
While there, I picked up some Green Brighty Lights and Green Brighty Shade. Until now, I've been dosing Sachem's Nitrogen and Phosphorus and ADA's Brighty-K. Until I get my legs back with regards to dosing, I'm going to use the ADA line as I don't trust myself with dosing anything not pre-measured. Eventually, I'll get back to dosing either Seachem or dry ferts, but for now, I'm going to lean on the simplicity of a pump a day that I can do with AFA ferts.
I also picked up a handful of koke stone. Koke stone is basically lava rock. Nothing special. I just wanted a few pieces because I knew that even though the Mini-S is a nursery, I wanted at least some sort of hardscape to make it fun to watch as I wait for another month and a half. I also needed rocks to tie my bolbitis, java fern, and anubias to.

Once I got home, I played with the rocks to see if I could make some sort of hardscape. Unfortunately, I didn't have near enough. So I went into my driftwood collection and pulled two pieces out the would fit into the Mini-S.

I spent an hour pulling the ferns, glosso, and anubias out of the rock wool and trying to remove as much algae as possible.

Planting took another hour. (I plant with chopsticks.) Since this is a nursery for (Re)Source, I tried to plant in with the same flow that I will use when planting it. (Albeit this one flows from right to left instead of left to right and has a glosso carpet instead of Mini Micro Sword.) This will give me the opportunity to see if I've made any mistakes in my planning. If, for example, a plant does not grow well in its respective place or if one plant does not do well next to another. That kind of thing.








I should say that even though this is not a "real" tank, I had a ton of fun 'scaping again. Cutting glosso, tying anubias to rocks, trimming rotala...it was so much fun! I really missed this hobby.

Now with all the plants planted -- attached to rocks or planted in fresh substrate -- a lower light source, and more predictable (for me) fertilizers, I need to do one more thing in my fight against algae.
I needed more flow. 
I swapped out the AquaClear 20 for an AquaClear 30. The flow on a 30 is almost too much for a Mini-S and "almost too much" is perfect for me.
In addition to high flow, I'm a big believer in the bio-filter as an integral part of a healthy tank. The fact that the 30 also has more media on which beneficial bacteria can grow is another plus.

With lower light, good ferts, a CO2 super diffuser that works, and lots of flow, I feel much more comfortable raising the plants for (Re)Source.

Speaking of (Re)Source, here are the day's pictures.

















My daughter is sick. A fever. I stayed home with her while my wife is out trick or treating with my son and his aunts and cousins. I'm hoping no kids come to the door because I have no candy to give.

Trick or treat,
Ugly


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## Ugly Genius

So sad.

The end of daylight saving time. Such a sad and discombobulating day of the year. I wish they would do away with the whole thing.

I'm feeling pretty good about the hardware setup of the Mini-S nursery. I like the lower light, the increased flow, the good CO2 injection, and the fertilization regimen.








I'm glad that I was able to hang the AquClear 30 on the side of the tank. It allows for flow across the tank as opposed to back to front on only one side.
The Aquasky will not allow for a side-hanging filter due to it's design (pretty but stubborn [like my wife]), so I will probably go with an EHEIM 2213 on (Re)Source.

The Finnex cliplight would be perfect for (Re)Source if it were longer and brighter and had blues that one could turn off. The blues just make the tank look too washed out or like actinic bulbs that people use on their SW setups. 
Does anyone know if there is any PAR benefit to the blues?

Here's the nursery this morning.








Glosso and the rotalas are getting started to do their thing. (I won't be using Glosso in (Re)Source. I just want to keep it for the Mini-L I'll be setting up one of these days.) There is also a Lugwigia 'red' and Myriophyllum 'Guyana' tucked back there, too.








This is my anubias growing field.








This morning, I puled in bits of the "Amano moss" from the Do!aqua nursery and tied it lava rocks in two places -- one of which you can see on the rock on the right in the above photo -- to see how creeps along driftwood. I also put in a bit of mini fissidens -- bottom front -- for the same reason. As best I can tell, from the two weeks that I had the mini fissidens, it grows quickly for a fissidens.








These two bolbitis mini's were hard-won. They were in pretty bad shape from AFA, so I trimmed all leaves down to the rhizome to start over. (It is from this plant that the hair algae was introduced into the Mini-S and when they started melting it exasperated the issue.) These are the only two rhizomes that sprouted new leaves.

So as to not neglect the Do!aqua nursery, here she is.








She's purring along just fine. Today I swapped out the Do!aqua diffuser for a generic one I bought back in 2008. (Back then, I now read, I thought $19.00 was a lot of money for me to spend on a diffuser!) Of all the glass diffusers I've owned -- and I have a lot -- this cheapo generic one has the finest bubbles. It's not as fine as a super diffuser, but it's better than any of the Do!aqua and ADA ones I've bought in terms of creating fine bubbles.

Since I'm posting a crap ton of photos, I thought I'd show you my lineup of stuff I put in my tank.








Waste away is for...okay, let me explain. A few nights ago, I was really happy that the Do!aqua nursery was so clean. I love the feeling of a clean tank -- I'm sure many of you can relate to that. Well, I was reading on the internet and about how to keep a tank clean and some dude somewhere mentioned this stuff. Being that it was late at night and Amazon has "Buy it now" I did. Long story short: impulse buy. I have no idea if it works.

SafeStart is for cycling the tank. Even though I don't add fish, I do like to get my biofilter kicked in early to help abate with algae issues. Again, I have no idea if it works.

ADA Brighy K, Shade, Lights, and Micro are fairly self-explanatory, I think. If not, they're food. For the plants. Note that I dose the Shade (one pump a day) in the Do!aqua and I'll dose the Lights in the Mini-S. I'm not dosing the K right now as I stopped using Seachem Phosphorous and Nitrogen.

I do a few drops of the Green Bacter now and again because it came free with the ADA Advanced CO2 system and it doesn't seem to do any harm. Dunno if it works, but it smells like a camp fire. I like camp fires.

I use Equilibrium because I hear that SF tap water is very soft and bacteria can't grow in such soft water. I add a pinch every now and again.

I dose Excel when I feel like it. 

Prime. It rocks.

And I'll leave you with my daily pictures.

















With love and squalor,
Ugly


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## houseofcards

Looking good! That's some lineup of product. I pretty much use all dry stuff and Prime. 

That Waste Away sounds like something an inventive plumber would pitch in the Shark Tank, LOL. Let us know if you see any differences using it. 

It must be nice to have a dedicated Planted Store (AFA) in your backyard. Long Island pretty much has nothing. There was a huge store that opened years ago about 30 minutes from me, but they didn't survive. 

On the ADA Advanced System, do you have to swap out the bottles with the ADA brand, or are other disposables compatible or adaptable.


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## Ugly Genius

Yeah, I'm lucky to have AFA so close, *house*. I would not be as far along in this hobby were I not.

No, the ADA Advance System uses proprietary CO2 bottles. To the best of my knowledge, there are no generics. I don't recommend the ADA system at all. It's too expensive. A standard regulator to a 2.5, 5, or 10 lbs. tank is much better.

Speaking of which, because Josh from CO2Art has been so cool in this journal, I think I'm going to go with CO2Art for my next regulator. I'll need one that can feed two tanks. Any suggestions?


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## KFryman

Ugly Genius said:


> Yeah, I'm lucky to have AFA so close, *house*. I would not be as far along in this hobby were I not.
> 
> No, the ADA Advance System uses proprietary CO2 bottles. To the best of my knowledge, there are no generics. I don't recommend the ADA system at all. It's too expensive. A standard regulator to a 2.5, 5, or 10 lbs. tank is much better.
> 
> Speaking of which, because Josh from CO2Art has been so cool in this journal, I think I'm going to go with CO2Art for my next regulator. I'll need one that can feed two tanks. Any suggestions?


Ș dddI 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk


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## Ugly Genius

Hey *KFry*. I'm assuming that's an accidental post as I have no idea what "Ș dddI" means. Heck, I'm not even sure what that first letter -- if it _is_ a letter -- is. (Actually, I just looked it up and now I do know what it is. It's an s-comma.) So look at you, *KFry* you're teaching us things even when you post by accident. Playa!

I took the day off from work today. No reason. Just felt like it. 
Having the day mostly to myself, I made a three fish store tour. (I know how to have a good time!) 

I started at Ocean Aquarium. This was my first trip back to Ocean Aquarium after getting back to the hobby. For those who've never been to Ocean Aquarium, I'll try my best to explain the place.

Ocean Aquarium is a hole in the wall. 
You know places like it: low ceilings; dark; musty; and, at first glance, vaguely sad. 
It's a place stuck frozen in an indeterminate period of time -- 70s, 80s, early 90s, perhaps? -- and, I suppose, that part of it's charm and part of the unease one may feel upon walking in for the first time. (It's like a place where one could buy an ancient recipe for an herbal tea that will grant immortality or a mogwai.)

The store is crammed from floor to ceiling with planted tanks that loosely adhere to the Walstad method. A chair that looks like Morpheus's from _The Matrix_ sits behind the register that sits in the middle of the store. That chair out there in the open is very symbolic as Ocean Aquarium doesn't feel like a store so much being in one man's house starring at his obsession. (Justin works every day. He takes off three days a year: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.)

The store's a hit or a miss when it comes to plants. Justin's not in the business of selling plants despite the fact that each tank is _heavily_ planted. Heck, Justin's not really into selling fish, either. He won't sell to you if he doesn't think you're ready. (But when he does get to know you, he'll know what you want before you know what you want.)

What Justin sells is an eco-system. Fish, plants, and bacteria. You can buy only one of the three, but you're probably going to have to listen to him for a while talk about the ecological balance of a tank in his pretty-good-but-not-quite-fluent English. It's best just to nod and smile. He's quite knowledgeable. Just soak it in. Discard what you don't agree with, but do so silently.

Anyway, Ocean Aquarium's a hole in the wall and it did not change one iota in the five years I've been away. (Except Justin shaved his goatee.)

I went for some shrimp, but they didn't have any for sale. The Bee shrimp they had had just arrive and I was not looking for something that exotic. I just wanted some Amano.

So I drove west to AFA.
AFA's Amano's are $4.99 a pop. That's crazy! I know I've been away for a while, but there is no way that an Amano is worth five bucks! I'll just eat the algae myself for that price. I did pick up another Trident Java Fern and some DHG 'Belem'.

My last stop was 6th Avenue Aquarium and Flowers. I've written about this place before. It's kind of a mix of AFA and Ocean Aquarium (leaning heavily towards Ocean Aquarium.) There the Amanos were much more reasonably priced at $1.99. But something stopped me from buying from there. Call it a hunch. (Later I would regret this "hunch" as I noticed two strings of hair algae in the otherwise immaculate Do!aqua nursery.)

And that was my three store tour. If I didn't have to pick up the kids from school, I would have travelled to the east bay's Albany Aquarium, but I do have to pick up the kids and, well, when you're a dad you do crap like that and you can't complain about it because it'll make you look like a jackass and the world does not like jackasses.

Speaking of jackasses, the Mini-S nursery has some driftwood fungus. I'm not too worried about that. That stuff usually goes away on its own accord.
The jackass in this case is the Rotala 'green'. That plant, while being very beautiful, is an opportunistic sonuvagun. Rather than grow upright like any well-behaved stem plant, Rotala 'green' will grow horizontally so as to claim substrate real estate. And it does so quickly. When I left this morning, it was sitting in the corner minding it's own business. When I got back several hours later, the bastard had grown an inch into the Glosso!
So I cut him and put him back in the corner. (That video link is contrary to what I'm saying about Rotala, but I linked it so as to abruptly segue to a completely irrelevant anecdote that is my greatest comedic moment of all time. 

(Several years ago my wife, infant son, and I went out to lunch at a restaurant on Irving Street. A fancy_ish_ place, I suppose. For Irving Street, at least. As we walk in, the waitress greets us, "Table for three?" 
We nod. 
As we make our way to the table, the waitress moves a chair from the wall and says, "Put the baby in the corner?" 
And you all know what came next, right? I mean, how could I not?! The woman practically forced me to say it! So, yeah, I said it. 
With all the Patrick Swayze swagger I could manage [which is considerable; I have lots of Patrick Swayze swagger, you should know], I said, "_Nobody_ puts baby in the corner!" 
The waitress just stared at me for an uncomfortably long time. For a moment I feared she didn't see the movie [who hasn't seen _Dirty Dancing_?], but I couldn't laugh or smile because I was in character. A good actor stays in character no matter what's going on on the set. Patrick Swayze head to toe, baby! 
And then my wife let out one of her beautiful laughs -- it's the kind of laugh that breaks through hearts and minds and makes your conversation feel like the center of the universe. And then the waitress got it and laughed herself until we were all laughing except for my son who wanted to be put in the corner. 
As we laughed -- me, my wife, and the waitress -- my fear of eating the waitress's spit was erased.)

Anyway, where was I--? Ah, the Rotala. This is why I built the nursery the way I did. I need to see these kinds of things as (Re)Source's success is predicated on the Rotala 'green' and 'H'Ra' growing vertically. So I'll spend the next month learning how to do just that.

Here are today's pictures (crooked, as usual):

















Nobody puts baby in a corner,
Ugly


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## KFryman

Ahaha I have no idea how that posted, maybe my nephew grabbed my phone when I went to get a drink. The world may never know. 

You tempt me into making a emersed setup to get abundant growth. I sit patiently waiting for an update to say flooded. It's gonna look amazing with all the time you're devoting to the tanks. It's not a hobby to us though, it's more of an obsession.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *KFry*. Thanks to your nephew for teaching me about the s-comma. It may save my life one day; you never know.
Emersed is pretty quick after the first three weeks, I'd say. (The first three weeks _suuuuck_.) Especially for Lilaeopsis nova 'mini' as this is a _very_ slow grower submersed. I don't think a dry-start's any faster for glosso, HC, or UG, though. I've done all of those emersed and submersed and those three grew the same or faster for me submersed. (The plus of dry-start for those three is that you save on CO2 and you don't have algae issues.)
In any event, I do think you should at least try a dry start if you haven't just to say that you have. In my next tank, I very much doubt I'll dry-start again.

Well, today is just another day. I probably wrote too much yesterday, so I'll keep this one simple.

Here's the Do!aqua nursery from a glamourous side-shot. (The planted tank equivalent of a duck-face selfie.)








And here's (Re)Source at twenty-seven days in.

















After I took those shots, I planted a few sprigs of DHG 'belem' on the slope to help minimize its erosion when I fill the tank. It won't grow near fast enough to fill the back as I thought to do so way too late, but, hey, I tried.

_Oyasumi_,
Ugly


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## Ugly Genius

Today I attached "Amano moss" to the driftwood. I put this off as long as I could as I was reluctant to disturb the Do!aqua nursery as it is doing so well. It's got no algae, exceptional growth, and good coloration all around. An algae bloom is usually just a substrate disturbance away, don't cha know.

With fill day quickly approaching, I could not put off attaching the moss any longer. It'll take about a month for the moss to take hold on the driftwood.


_Mossed it._







So far I've only attached it to two of its eight or so branches. I want to see how it grows, looks, and behaves before I commit the rest of my supply to it. I used the worst of my supply here as this batch will get good light and CO2 here in the center of the tank and will hopefully be at 100% by fill day.

I don't know if you can pick it out in the back there, but I've added Rooster Tail Java Fern to the tank. Rooster Tail Java Fern looks like Trident Java Fern more or less, just with more serrations. I'll be comparing the trident and rooster to see which makes it into (Re)Source.
One of the main plants in (Re)Source will be bolbitis. Whichever of the two java fern types best matches the bolbitis leaf shape will be put into (Re)Source. I've got to study them both before I make my final decision.
Actually, lemme take a close up of Rooster tail from the Mini-S for those of you who've never seen this one before. 

Gimme a sec.

Okay, here:

_Rooster Tail Java Fern_







It's an interesting shape as you can see. I'm not sure if I like it, but I definitely think it has potential. (It's also quite expensive.)

I'm going through artistic angst over the plant choices I've made.

When I saw the moss covered driftwood in the tank for the first time today, I thought that with the DW being the focal point of the tank -- angular with stringy moss attached to it, I should have gone with a round carpet -- glosso or marsilea quadrifolia -- to soften the jaggedness.

Once that doubt seeped in my mind, another rose to the surface. 

The tank may not be big enough to pull off the plant scape that I have in mind. I've got to have at least five plants along to back to have to color transition that I have planned, but the width of the Mini-M just might not accommodate that. It may end up being too bunched.

And when that doubt got finished f-ing with my brain, another knocked. 

I had the rear plant layout inverted. Meaning, where I planned to go left to right with darks on the left and lights on the right, I actually have to reverse the plant layout. You see, the focal point is on the left and it would look best if the red plants in the back row be placed at the left-handed golden ratio spot, about one third on the left.

And when I realized that I had made that fundamental of a planning mistake, I began to wonder what else I was doing wrong.

And then I went to my squat rack and did a set of squats. That helped.

When in doubt, squat.

Anyway, here are today's pictures.

















I'm going to give myself a shout out here and remark that the FTS is relatively straight this time. At least I did something right today.

Uglyより


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## RcScRs

Coming along beautifully man.


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## oldpunk78

It just occurred to me that Ulgy's threads are a lot like nascar. The comparison is like watching cars drive in circles vs. watching the grass grow. Either way, you've got to like the commentary or it doesn't make sense. 

Keep doing what you're doing. The great threads are farther and farther in between anymore. 

Side note: if memory serves, you used to be into motorcycles. How's that working out now that there are kids in the picture?


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## Ugly Genius

*RcScRs*, I appreciate that, man. I really do.

*punk*, thanks for saying that. For a bit, I was starting to feel like that guy playing guitar on the corner with an empty hat out in front of him -- he's not playing poorly, but he's not playing well enough for anyone to drop a quarter in his hat.
Speaking of the forums...TPT has died down quite a bit since I was last here, it seems to me. What happened? Facebook--? Reddit--? Is everyone at another forum? Aquatic Plant Central is deader than here from what I can see. Where'd everyone go? Is there a party to which I was not invited? I'm fun at a party! You want me at your party.
Well, screw the party. I'll do my part to keep this sub-forum of a niche of a niche of a hobby going as long as I have something to say. (And even when I don't!) One grass-growing day after another, I'll keep strumming my sad little guitar on this dark and lonely street corner.
As busy city folk pass me by.
Without so much as a quarter.
Or a nickel!
A nickel...that's five cents, man!
Come on! I just played "Hey Jude", for crying out loud!
You couldn't give me just one lousy nickel!

Yeah, I still have the bike. The beautiful CBR600 sits in the garage. She's been there for the past -- gosh -- maybe six months. I think the battery is dead. I want to ride, but the chances to do so are so rare that when I have an opportunity to ride, I forget that I can. From time to time I think of selling the bike, but then I get back on the thing, and fall in love all over again. I'll get a battery soon and take her out. I won't be doing 140 mph+ like I would when I was single -- I was an idiot back then -- it'll be more like a nice leisurely 25 mph around the neighborhood. Both hands on the handlebars. Full gear. In broad daylight. On empty streets.

Today was a pretty exciting day for (Re)Source! (As far as grass-growing goes, anyway.)








You see that?! Those're runners across the front of the glass! 
This is huge, people! In dry-start land, this is an event bigger than Christmas! 
Submersed Lilaeopsis nova "mini" is a _very_ slow grower, you should know. To get this kind of growth in a month -- even though to each of you this month probably felt like an eternity or a wicked case of ever-repeating deja vu mixed with _Groundhog Day_ sprinkled with "is the forum broken because Ugly posted this same sh-t yesterday" because that's what it is: a dense wall of only mildly-related-to-planted-tanks and sometimes not-in-the-slightest-bit-related (_Dirty Dancing?_) ramblings by some dude none of you know IRL concluded with the two same damn photos each and every day (for a figgin' month!) that is so slow going it makes watching sand fall through an hourglass seem like watching _The Avengers_ in comparison -- is phenomenal!
It really is.
And when I say this growth is phenomenal, this is compared to submersed.
The growth you're seeing here for emersed is nothing special. 
Ho hum, really. 
So don't think I'm doing something above average here. This is actually just about normal. If not a bit slow.
It's just not as exciting (or fair) to say that after one month of dragging each of you through day after day of lawn growing pictures, all I've got to show for it is pretty-much-par-for-the-course growth.
That would be cruel.
I'm the writer, and you're my readers. 
I have an obligation to each of you.
You came here for balls-to-the-wall drama -- you know you did! -- and that's what I'm going to give you. 
Drama!
Balls to the wall.

What does that mean, anyway--? "Balls to the wall." How did that become an idiom for really, really exciting?

Anyway...

Here's a photo of the second planted tank I ever built. This was back in 2008.








It's not very good. It's actually kind of embarrassing.
But with the skills and knowledge I had at the time, that was the best I could do.
And even today, I'm sure I'm creating tanks that will make me cringe to look at years from now, but can't worry about that. I've just got to keep planting because I enjoy it and leave it at that.

I've got some sad news. The ADA Mini-S that I bought from AFA back in the summer of 2008...it's current incarnation as a nursery will be it's last. 
Riven, the tank that started me off here at TPT and ignited my love for this hobby, will have to be retired. 
I noticed a pretty big crack at the bottom of the glass. The silicone is keeping it sealed for now, but I don't think the old girl has another run in her. After her role as a nursery is finished, I'll have to put her down. She can't survive another rescape. 
It's kind of sad, really. The Mini-S was my start. I'll be sad to see her go.

Here she is today, faithfully serving the role as my nursery.








_I'll miss you, girl. You were the most difficult of all my tanks to hardscape, maintain, and balance. You were a pain in the ass, really. Terrible. But because you challenged me so fiercely, you taught me the most of all my tanks. I learned the most from you. I'm going to miss you. 
Sniffle.
Me--? No. I'm not crying. Something's in my eye. Allergies. I think I'm sick. Just go. Stop looking at me! Turn around and go! Go!
Come back._

In less depressing news, the "Amano moss" in the Do!aqua nursery seems to be happy. I came home to seeing the moss pearling.








I love pearling. It's one of my favorite part of planted tanks.








After yesterday's artistic angst, I think I found my feet again with regards to planting (Re)Source. I ordered some plants that I think will finally bring balance to the tank.

I've got one month to go. This month will go quickly so now's the time to get my proverbial ducks in a row. (Proverbial ducks because I don't own any actual ducks and would not know how to line up actual ducks even if I did. They have to line themselves up anyway, don't they?)

Oh, and here is what you came for. The same damn photos as the day before.

















Quack quack,
Ugly


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## talontsiawd

oldpunk78 said:


> It just occurred to me that Ulgy's threads are a lot like nascar. The comparison is like watching cars drive in circles vs. watching the grass grow. Either way, you've got to like the commentary or it doesn't make sense.


That's hilarious because I am just dead tired and I love UG's threads but I just didn't have it in me to read. Knowing the results, I just put a mental bookmark to come back when rested but if I just skipped over it without the detail, humor, knowledge, fun, seriousness, etc, all wrapped into some witty writing, you can't get much at a surface level perspective. Hard to imagine being seriously into another dry start journal, I will keep it at that.


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## bereninga

I think you have nothing to worry about. Us planted tank nerds are reading this every day! And the growth is exciting to see and to someone like me who's never done an emersed set up, this is very informational and has definitely inspired me to do a dry start when I start my next tank. So thank you so much for writing this! 

I remember when I started planted tanks back then, my first root sighting in the tank made me super excited. You don't get to see that stuff with regular plants. 

Btw the rooster tail fern is nice. I had no idea that plant even existed.


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## houseofcards

Ugly Genius said:


> You see that?! Those're runners across the front of the glass!
> *This is huge, people! In dry-start land, this is an event bigger than Christmas!*


Congrats on the runners, but your starting to sound like Trump. Actually he says huuuuge! :smile2:



Ugly Genius;8513378Y said:


> I'll miss you, girl. You were the most difficult of all my tanks to hardscape, maintain, and balance. You were a pain in the ass, really. Terrible. But because you challenged me so fiercely, you taught me the most of all my tanks. I learned the most from you. I'm going to miss you.
> Sniffle.
> Me--? No. I'm not crying. Something's in my eye. Allergies. I think I'm sick. Just go. Stop looking at me! Turn around and go! Go!
> Come back.


That's hilarious. Actually how old is your Mini S? I have one and I want to see how much time we have left together.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *bereninga*. Definitely give a dry-start a try your next go around. I'd recommend having at least one other tank to keep you occupied while it grows out, though. I don't think I'd make it through a dry-start without two nurseries to take my mind off the wait.
I had never heard of Rooster Tail Java Fern, either. The first time I saw it was on my first trip back to AFA a month ago. (There's also very little info on it online. Not that there needs to be. A java fern is a jave fern, afterall.) At the time I didn't like it at all. Too gimmicky. Now it's growing on me. I may end up using it and the Trident in (Re)Source as they compliment each other pretty nicely.

Trump, huh, *house*? I now promise to never use huge in that context again. (Not that I have anything against Trump. I'm not what you'd call an admirer of his, either. Either way, I wouldn't want to emulate him. He's a little too Trump for me.)
My Mini-S is seven years old. Maybe when she was in storage she got beat up, I don't know. I'm pretty careful with my tanks, but she's got a crack in the front left and...I don't want to talk about it. _Sniffle._

(Re)Source is chugging along.

















It's about -- what -- fifty percent filled, maybe? Since I'm a day out of the one month mark, I guess I'm right on schedule. I'd like the carpet to be about 90% filled on fill day to leave some room for growth before I have to start to trim it back.

The Mini-S nursery is also chugging along.








The main problem with this tank is that the driftwood shed a lot of debris and much of that has settled on the plants leaves. The debris and the residual fungus makes the tank less clean than I'd like, but it has been improving day by day.

Here's a shot of Mini Java Fern, Rooster Tail Java Fern, Trident Java Fern, "Amano moss", and African Water Fern.








I'm huge fan of low light plants (ferns, mosses, and anubias). Quite frankly, I think I could be perfectly content with a low light setup using only these plants. The problem is, I'll start with that goal -- simple, elegant, easy -- but as I start planning out the tank, I will inevitably _have_ to incorporate a high light plant and -- bam! -- I'm back to high light and CO2.
One of these days, I have to do a really nice low light tank. I'll probably still inject CO2 because CO2 is awesome, but I'm going to try a tank with only slow-growing low-lighters. If I get a Planted+ 24/7, I could always keep it dim and then crank up the light if I want to see pearling on a given day, right?

Can anyone identify this plant?








It's not H'Ra. It's something else. I'm terrible with plant names.

I've started aerating my tanks at night. Not for the fish or shrimp as I have no fish and of the four shrimp I got a couple of weeks ago, two are dead and I haven't seen one of the other two in a couple of days. I saw the one Rili I know to be alive this morning, but I haven't seen him this evening. [_EDITOR'S NOTE: I just walked past the tank and I did see the Rili. He's still alive._]
I aerate my tanks because I'm thinking it may help the bio-filter. Bacteria need oxygen, I reason, so perhaps they would benefit from some additional O2 in the evening.
Nothing scientific, but the tanks smell better, at least.

I'm still reading _Ecology of Planted Aquarium_. I'm about forty percent through it. It's a good book. Highly recommended. I must confess that much of the science is lost on me, but I'm enjoying it never-the-less. That and the _Nature Aquarium_ books are must-haves for people like us. (Although I think the _Nature Aquariums_ are out of print.)

Anyway, it's Friday night and I'm going to curl into bed and read a bit about the nitrogen cycle before falling deep asleep.

Rain in Spain,
Ugly


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## Daisy Mae

Ha, ha, I am picturing Audrey Hepburn singing that ditty "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plains..."

I'll give you a tooney if you sing that one :grin2::grin2:

Or, five bucks for the "lots of chocolate for me to eat" song. So which one will it be?

PS, dirt on face required when you sing the second song, gotta be authentic!


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## talontsiawd

That plant looks like R. Colorata but it's really hard to identify rotala species for me because so many can look the same so take that as a suggestion. It does have similar coloration and leaf shape/size.


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## Ugly Genius

*Daisy*, I think you'd probably pay me to stop singing. But one never knows. If this journal drags out any longer than it already is, I may have to resort to singing to keep things interesting.

That does look like it, *talon*. Next time I'm at the store, I'll check the label and let you know if you're right.

Having a nursery tank(s) is (are) good for many reasons. The primary being that you have room to grow out your plants for your aquascaped tanks. A secondary benefit is that because you are not trying to make it pretty, you can do whatever you want.

Like cover a piece of driftwood in moss and drop it in the middle of the tank.








That said, it's not easy. The part of me that likes a balanced hardscape, can't stand to look at the tank without trying to fix it. Balance it out. Make it look good. The driftwood sitting there just looks so out of place.
But this is part of the preparation. Part of my plan. I have to see how the colors of the moss will or won't get washed out by the plants in the background. I have to figure out if I need more or less moss on the driftwood that will go into (Re)Source in exactly one month.

Speaking of driftwood. One piece of two can remain submerged without weight put upon it. This is good as I was getting worried that the driftwood would not be ready by December 7th. The other one is getting heavier, so I'm thinking that I should be fine.

In other news, I ordered some Elatine hydropiper off of the SnS here. It should be here on Monday. I'm excited about that plant as I've never grown it before. From what I've read, it's a bit more difficult than other carpet plants, but to me it looks like it's worth the trouble as a smaller version of glosso would look awesome in a nano tank. (I'm thinking of growing it in the Mini-L.)

Anyway, I'm a bit tired today, so I'll cut this one relatively short. But before I go, let me show you these really exciting photos that I took today. You're gonna love 'em.

















I should note that I've cut down to photoperiod from twelve to fourteen hours to around ten. I didn't like that some of the blades were turning red.

So very,
Ugly


----------



## Ugly Genius

To the best of my internet research, no one knows precisely what causes algae. 

And heaven help you if you suggest a cause.

Let's say that you were to offer a hypothesis that excessive levels of iron cause hair algae. This is the internet, so you know that five minutes after you post that on a forum, someone will chime in (with an anger that seems out of place given the lack of human lives at stake or monetary gain or loss) that they have excessive levels of iron in their tanks (enough to set a bench press record with) and they have no hair algae at all. 

Effectively disproving the hypothesis.

These angry people will tell us -- IN ALL CAPS if their feeling really feisty -- that excessive nutrient levels to not cause algae. Excuse me. DO NOT CAUSE ALGAE! 

Period. 

Okay, I can buy that.

You've made your point. And you're scaring me.

Unfortunately these angry people, whom I'm assuming are decent folk with some displaced anger issues, don't really go too much further than that.

It's great to know what doesn't cause algae, but I can think of lots of things that do not cause algae. Frisbees, inflation, _Fallout 4_, books, airplanes, a photograph of my dog Zooey that sits next to my computer, and butterflies.

What I want to know is what _does_ cause algae.

No one can tell me that.

The closest angry people will come to a solution is to advise looking after the health of your plants. If you have healthy plants, they say, the plants will outcompete the algae and that is that.

I call bull. I have healthy plants and I also have algae.

And in tanks where plants all have different needs, keeping one set happy while not pissing off another is no easy feat.

So unless you're keeping all plants from the same native environment, at least one plant is not going to be living in it's optimal environment.

Anyway:

I have a feeling that algae control is about balance of light, CO2, and nutrients (and to a certain extent flow) for a given plant base at a given state of growth. I have a feeling that if any one of those three (or four) things is out of balance, algae will grow.

The reason I bring this up is because I've noticed hair algae in my up-until-now, algae-free Do!aqua nursery.

I haven't been doing anything differently to the Do!aqua nursery except that I started dosing ADA micros (Step 2) yesterday. ADA micros have iron in them. So I thought, "A-ha! I found the reason for hair algae!" Given no other changes to the tank were made in this consistently maintained tank, the micros must have caused the hair algae.

Until I searched "hair algae excessive iron" and read a lot of posts from angry people eviscerating the mere suggestion that iron or any other nutrient could be the cause of a hair algae outbreak.

So there is no way that you're going to hear me suggest anything close to that.
I don't like angry people yelling at me. It makes me sad.

What I do think is that the Do!aqua nursery is out of balance due to the increase in plant mass in my tank. Plants have grown considerably in the past week or so. 
I don't think it's the light as I've been fine up until now at the same intensity and duration. I don't think its fertilizers because I don't want to get yelled at.
So it must be CO2. I think the 1 bubble every two seconds that was okay up until now was fine for a smaller plant mass, but now that everything's growing so quickly, the CO2 supplied at that level is simply not enough for my quickly growing plants. 
I'm going to try to up the CO2 to 1 bubble every second and see what happens.

Angry people: please don't yell at me with regards to this idea. I'm not stating it as fact that low CO2 induces hair algae. I am only saying that I will raise my CO2 levels to see if this causes the hair algae to abate.

In other news, I bought a new filter for the Mini-S nursery. I'm running one AquaClear 30 (which I love) on it and the new filter is a Fluval C2. I plan to run both on the tank. As I've written before, I _love_ to over-filter.
I like the idea of the C line of Fluval filters as they have a wet/dry system built into the top that should help generate more beneficial bacteria.
I read that they are also just about as customizable with regards to media as the AquaClears.
It's been difficult to get the water in the Mini-S to clear completely.

_Fifteen minutes have passed since I wrote that last sentence._

Okay, I had to go downstairs to do the laundry. While walking out, I checked in on the Mini-S. There's hair algae in there, too, now. Now that tank has tons of CO2. The things practically a carbonate beverage.

So low CO2 can't be the cause of hair algae.

Now that I think of it, I just started dosing micros in there, too.

Hmmm.

I'm not saying anything. But I'm not not saying anything either.

Anyway, algae's just one of those things we all put up with in this hobby.

The other things is spouses who question exactly how many tanks we plan on setting up.

My answer to her is: Is that a trick question?

Welp, here are the day's pictures.

















GOODNIGHT!
Ugly


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## KFryman

What is that little green plant growing either on or right next to the rock on the bottom right of the tank? I can't really tell by zooming in. Doesn't really look like algae but I can't tell at all cause it looks so small and I I can only zoom in so much haha. 

As far as hair algae I got it in my 15 gallon once I had a high plant load along with a t5 fixture that was too close. All I really did was get a few amanos and raise up the lights and do a water change. I also started dosing ferts more often. That's my experience with getting rid of it cause now all I get is a dusting on my glass cause I can no longer have nerites, dang yoyo loaches.

I think this has been one of the few threads that I get excited about a notification from you to see the lawn grown. Your whimsical writing creates the spice that sets this thread apart. Keep up the good work! 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *KFry*! That means a lot to me. It really does. I enjoy writing these posts and it makes me really happy to happy to hear that people like reading them.

You've got a really good eye! I don't know what that plant is. It just grew on the rocks from, I assume, something in the air or some plant that was able to lay dormant for five years while in the garage in a Tupperware container. Tomorrow at lights on I'll try to snap an close-up of it. It's probably a terrestrial moss of some sort. It's quite pretty.
It seems that many times that I do dry-starts I get uninvited-but-not-unwelcome guests. I got a fern of some sort one time. Pretty little thing, that one. 
Actually, now that I think of it, I got that fern from these same rocks. Those rocks were purchased at a bonsai store in Japantown, if memory serves. Maybe it's some sort of bonsai store magic. (FYI: bonsai stores have _really_ good aquascaping rocks; especially for _iwagumi_.

I will eventually get some Amanos. They are still my favorite shrimp. Classic. I just wish I could breed them.

Anyway, just a quick update on the abovementioned Fuval. I like it. It looks totally redonkulous on the Mini-S with an AC30 on one side and a C2 on the other, but the only people who would notice the redonkulousness is you guys. Normal people don't notice things like that. They just see a fish tank. All the crap around it is just noise.

I like the Fluval so much that the C3 that I had ordered on accident and was going to return was put onto the Do!aqua. That tank's running an EHEIM 2211 and a Fluval C3. I've probably got more water volume outside the tank than in it!

AquaClears are still great filters, though. If you've got one, there's no need to upgrade, but if you're in the market for a new one, I do recommend the C series.

Totally off topic, I just pre-ordered _Fallout 4_. Super jacked about that one. I'm getting it for the PC because PC's are awesome! Actually, now that I think about it, I've got to check if nVidia has game ready drivers for this thing. Nope. Just for _Black Ops_. Maybe tomorrow.


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## Ugly Genius

I'm in love.








I am absolutely smitten with Hygrophila pinnatifida.








Texture, color, and shape-wise, it's perfect. 

Its red matches the H'Ra/Ludwigia and its green matches the ferns. It's the final piece in (Re)Source's plantscape. 

It's only drawback is that from what I've read, it can grow quite large. So frequent trimmings and re-plantings will be necessary. I'm willing to put up with that, though. It is _exactly_ the plant I needed.

Once again, I got this plant from aquaticmag. Plants came quickly and there was quite a bit of it. A couple of hitchhiker plants to boot! (Most of the plants are sitting in my Do!aqua cube "bucket" as I gear up to start the Mini-L. [Don't tell my wife; she doesn't know yet.])
This is the same company from which I got the Mini Microsword that we're all watching grow for two months. It's actually one of the few places where you can find that plant.
Also, one of their Sales Reps wrote me a letter saying thank you for my order, indicated that he reads this journal, and sent me a coupon. That's pretty cool, if you ask me.

I'm not plugging them because of that. 
I just thought that was a nice thing for them to do and nice things should be acknowledged because nice things make this world a nice place in which to live. 
The only thing better than a nice world in which to live is a beautiful world in which to live. 
To get there we need to nurture niceness in all it forms -- however humble -- so that it swells to dizzying proportions. 
When this niceness hits its critical mass, it will explode like a thousand suns and radiate a beautiful and mighty solar wind (made completely of niceness and a couple of photons) that will sweep across this planet filling our hearts and souls though our skin (because that's how niceness permeates -- though the epidermis) and each of us will effervesce (like Alka-Seltzer except without anything to do with nausea) with an aura of beautiful niceness (it's kind of like a sunburn but it's not painful) that will shine like the stars that have exploded in the vast distances of space for eons past and will for eons to come. 
As we stand together on the brink of eternity staring into the dark cold void of The Everything, we are not afraid, for we realize that it is our love that holds us to this piece of rock floating in space and it is this love that lights our own darkness. 
And we stand there, like stars, twinkling into the heavens, we are filled with love and peace and finally, finally all is well in the world. 

And all that started because Ugly got a coupon for some aquatic plants. 

Yeah, you're welcome.

My new plant day does not end there, though.








Some Elatine hydropiper I picked up off the SnS from antbug. (From here on out, I'm going to call this plant "Hydropiper" as Elatine hydropiper is a b-tch ot write out.) It came quickly and was very healthy. (Meaning, if it dies, it's my fault.)

The thing is tiny! It's like Glosso and HC got it on and had a baby.








This is the first time I ever saw the plant with my own eyes and I know virtually nothing about its care. Heck, I didn't even know how to plant it until I looked it up. Even then, I'm not sure I planted it correctly.
I will say this, there is no way that I'm planting this one sprig at a time like Glosso. My kids would be out of college by the time I finished!

That said, it is a very pretty carpet plant and I hope it does well. I would love to do a new tank with this plant.

Oh, here is the redonkulous of which I spoke yesterday. Two big-ass filters on a Mini-S.








Friggin' awesome.

And speaking of over-filtration. Here's the Do!aqua nursery.








This thing's running an EHEIM 2211 and a Fluval C3. This photo was taken about thirty minutes after planting. During planting, the water column was filled with substrate residue. It was a total dusty mess. _That_ my friends is the benefit of hyper-filtration. Thirty minutes to crystal clear water.

The downside is that you can't actually have any livestock. Except snails.

Here's a close-up of the moss *KFry* inquired about yesterday.








Looks like Star moss. I don't know. It's pretty and it will probably die when I fill the tank.

And here are today's shots. I'm noticing more red blades/dying blades than I'd like to see. I'll keep monitoring it, but if it keeps up, I may have to fill early. We'll see.

















Anyway, _Fallout_ launches in about forty-five minutes. I've got to update my drivers and...

Game on,
Ugly


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## antbug

I'm glad the EH (a lot easier to type than Hydropiper) made it to you safely. it will look great once it fills in. Let me know if you need any more. Great looking nano's! I miss mine.


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## co2art

How well does the mini microsword transition? I've been growing some narrow leaf chain sword emmeresed and am having a heck of a time with it. Well, not really. The plants are healthy (roots, new growth) but they are constantly turning brown and melting.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *ant*. Not only did you send me some beautiful plants, you've saved me some time typing out Hydropiper. From now on, EH it is. Speaking of which, EH is a pretty fast grower. It's already thrown out a couple of runners. It's only been one day! I think this is testament as to how healthily you grew it. I've never seen a plant adjust so quickly to a new tank. Let's just hope my luck holds.

Hey, *Josh*! Missed ya, buddy. I'm getting some die-off, too. It's not bad, but it's enough to put me on yellow alert. I'll have to check through my old Source journal to see exactly how much die off I had, but I don't recall it being too bad. What I may do if the die off continues in my tank is to lessen the light duration. You might want to try that and/or you might want to dose potassium. I dosed K and micros in the original Source -- to good effect -- and I started K about two weeks ago in this tank. (Just a little bit, though.)
I just looked through my old journal to see if I could answer your question and it looks like I had very little die-off. Here's where I was at at about the same length of time as I've been growing here. In addition to no die off, you can see that I had better growth that time around, too. Perhaps I should start dosing K and micros more regularly.
I also saw from my old journal that I listened to Takashi Amano's advice to leave space at the glass to give the carpet room to grow. That was a lesson I forgot this time around. (I forgot so much! [I'm also impressed with how much I knew back then. I've gotten dumber!])
Josh, while you're here, let me ask you a question. Does CO2art have a regulator like this? I'd like to get my next regulator from you guys -- on account of you being so cool and all -- and if you guys have a regulator with a two block manifold for CO2 injection to two tanks, I'd like to buy from you guys. Let me know.

I'm really digging _Fallout 4_ so I've got to keep this short.
Everything's going well. I'm more or less settled plant-wise. I've now got to get the equipment side situated. Besides the abovementioned regulator, I'll also need a heater and filter. For the heater, I'll probably get a Neo-therm because it's cool. As for the filter. I don't know. I'll either get another EHEIM 2211 or a Fluval C3. I'm also not opposed to the idea of the small 



, but I don't know much about them. If anyone has any experience with that one, let me know yay or nay.

Anyway, I'm going to post my photos and get back to the post-apocalypse.

















War...war never changes,
Ugly


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## suvrajit

Good that you have returned to hobby


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## co2art

Ugly, yes an no concerning the regulator. We can most certainly build multiple outlet regulator but are not quite ready to offer the block type manifold gla is using. We will be offering something very comparable to it in our next production run, but that is a ways off yet. If you could go to co2art.co.uk and click on 'contact us' at top left of the screen and just let us know exactly what you need, we can make it happen. 

I dosed some K and some micros today. Fingers crossed.

I'm also going to remember to not plant right up to the glass the next time I start a carpet. 

I should also mention that I am oldpunk78. The reason for the lack of posts from co2art lately is because I'm trying to not use the sponsor account as my personal account. Apparently, it was confusing to some so I'm trying limit the confusion until I figure out what it is that's creating the problem.


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## Ugly Genius

So you're *punk*?! Mind blown. That would explain why I never saw you and you in the same room at the same time. That's a Clark Kent/Superman thing you just revealed to the world right there. I can't take the blame for that one.
Speaking of which, why did Superman need a secret identity? I get it if you're Peter Parker. You need a job to eat so you can't reveal you super hero powers lest you lose your job. But if you're Superman, why bother? You can hunt better than anything. You can fly to someplace warm when you're cold. You've got no need for money so what's with the secret identity? 
It makes no sense.

The only thing to say today is that I took off the Planted+ Cliplight off the Mini-S nursery and went back to the 13W Ott-lites that I started using way back when. I don't know what it is with the Planted+ series of lights, but I don't like them all that much. This is not to say that they're not good, they're just not what I'm used to. The color is too blue and finding that perfect height requires much more precision than with CFLs. As little as a quarter of an inch can spell disaster when using LEDs. With CFLs, I think the margin of error is about double. I'll keep looking around to see if I can find a good LED fixture, but so far with the Aquasky and Planted+ series, I'm less than impressed.
Maybe once I'm in the game for longer I'll give them another go, but for right now, being so "new" to all this, I'm going to stick to what I know and grow slowly.

By posting daily photos, I've been trying to document what a dry-start may look like so as to allow others to compare my growth to theirs.
What I haven't shown you is what a real dry-start looks like as I've always wiped the glass prior to posting photos. This time I did not wipe the glass so that you can see what it looks like to see a dry-start. Meaning, it's even worse that what you've seen up until now.

_This is what an actual dry-start looks like._







And you thought it was boring before!








If you look closely, in the top center between the growth of "belem", I planted a sprig of EH to see if it will grow emeresed up there. The stuff is going quite quickly in the Mini-S and Do!aqua nurseries and I'd like to see how it'll do emeresed.

Anyway, I've got to give my daughter a bath.

Splash, splash,
Ugly


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## houseofcards

I see why you like the Hygrophila pinnatifida. That's a beauty reddish or greenish. 



Ugly Genius said:


> What I haven't shown you is what a real dry-start looks like as I've always wiped the glass prior to posting photos. This time I did not wipe the glass so that you can see what it looks like to see a dry-start. Meaning, it's even worse that what you've seen up until now.
> Ugly


Why is it called a dry-start anyway. It's obviously far from dry. Should really be ESM (Emersed Start Method).


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *house*. Yeah, it's a pretty plant. I'm really digging it.
And, yes, they should call it ESM. It won't happen because old habits die hard, but EMS is much more accurate.

I have no idea how, but I've got a Red Cherry Shrimp in my Do!aqua nursery. I didn't put him in there. There shouldn't be anything in there but snails. But he's in there.
I just noticed him now: a tiny little thing -- several weeks old, maybe. 
My only thought as to how he got in there is that he was in the bunch of EH that antbug sent me; making that little guy an immigrant from Sacramento. The thing is, there wasn't much water in that package. Just enough to keep the plants moist. It shouldn't be possible that he survived that. 
However he got in there, he's in there and he's got the tank to himself. Pretty cool. As Ian Malcom said in _Jurassic Park_, "Life, uh, finds a way."

Nothing else to talk about today. I had to do a lot of writing for work today, so I'm a bit burnt out of writing.

So I'll post my photos and be on my way.

















Hold on to your butts,
Ugly


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## Nooob

Amazing as always! Your journals inspired me to go with the 20cm Do!Aqua back in the day.

Seeing you and a few others come back to the hobby has inspired me to do the same. I should be up and running in a few weeks if all goes well. I'll be sure to start a journal for sure!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Nooob*! I just took a look at your old Do!aqua. That was a nice tank! Really well done. I can't wait to see you back in the game. Definitely start a journal here. I'll be a regular reader for sure.

Oh, *suvrajit*, a couple of days ago you welcomed me back to the hobby, but I failed to thank you. Thank you, man. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I appreciate it.

I have to choose between two loves.

When I came home today, I saw the most exquisite pearling in the Do!aqua nursery.

















Pearling was off the chain! It looked like an unflavored Slurpee was dumped in the tank there were so many bubbles.
So out of control was it that the EH had buoyed itself out of the substrate to the surface of the tank with the oxygen bubbles beneath it's leaves. (You can see three clumps floating in the second photo.) It also revealed to me that I didn't plant well enough and why dry-starts are awesome.

I was super proud of myself because last night I changed the angle of the spray bar and I figured that this must have increased CO2 saturation in the water column and this in turn caused an increase in plant respiration, and et cetera, et cetera et cetera; meaning I was awesome for doing that.
And then I noticed that I had forgotten to plug in the Fluval C3 this morning.
The reason for the significant increase in visible pearling was because I was forgetful, not smart.
So this means that the increase in visible pearling was the result either of the decrease in water column flow allowing the bubbles to stay situated on the plant mass or the absence of surface disturbance from the Fluval HOB reduced the CO2 degassing from the WC.
Either way, I'm going to have to choose between my two loves: over-filtration or pearling.
Since the Do!aqua and the Mini-S are both nurseries, I'm going to keep those over-filtered.
But for (Re)Source, I'm leaning towards a canister. And just one.

I've got three choices: the EHEIM 2211, the Sunsun 602B (or 603B), or the Finnex PX-360. 
Right now, I'm leaning towards the Sunsun as it can go next to the tank as the pump is below the water level. It's also a bit larger, I think, than the Finnex. 
The EHEIM is solid, a perfect filter, but it's pump is above the water line in the Mini-M and there's no way for me to put it below as it's on the kitchen counter and my wife would not approve of cutting into the granite countertops.
My question for anyone is do you have experience with the Sunsun 602/603 or the Finnex? Would you recommend it?

I got a gift card for my birthday a while back and I used it to buy AZOO Flexi mini LED. This was after reading this thread by Tom Barr. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Tom, so if he gives a thumbs up, I trust that.
Of course, I didn't read the _whole_ thread until after the light had shipped. By the end of the twelve page thread, you can see Tom waver on his initial enthusiasm for the light. Specifically, the PAR might be somewhat lacking and the data on its R&D was never publically released.
In any event, the light'll be here tomorrow and I'll test it out and if it sucks, I'll return it.

Anyway, I can't find that little shrimp in the Do!aqua nursery today, but there are a ton of hiding places so I hope he's still around. I'm going to name him Sí for Statistical Improbability but pronounced as the Spanish word meaning "yes" because that's just what he is. The chances of him surviving what he did are significantly lower than successfully navigating an asteroid field (which is approximately 3,720 to 1!).

Anyway, that's all I got for tonight. The wife and I just finished watching last week's _The Walking Dead_. But that's all I'm saying about that because I don't want to piss off *house*.

Anyway, here are today's shots.

















Anyway, that's where I'm at.

Just got paid,
Ugly

P.S. I'm playing. No party hunting, body shaking for me. I'm going to bed. Even if I did get paid today, that's all the more reason to rest. I'm tired.

P.S.S. Sorry if that song's now stuck in your head. If I were to hyperlink to a video about money, it should have been this cool ass old grove.

P.P.S. But, hey, it could have been worse. It could have been this one, too.

P.P.P.S. Sorry about that last one. Couldn't help myself.


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## Bob B

What type of fish do you keep in the smaller planted tanks.:nerd:


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Bob*. I'm the wrong person to ask that question. I can't recall the last fish I kept. An Otto, maybe. There are quite a few that do well in small tanks like these, though. There's a nano fish sticky at the top of this sub-forum that lists many of them out. I'm more of a shrimp/snail guy.

So the AZOO Flexi Mini arrived.








My fears about it were unfounded. This light is great! For a Mini-S, I would say it's perhaps _the_ best in terms of spectrum and spread. It's too soon to tell how well it does with plant growth, but I'll keep you updated as time progresses.

AZOO lists this light's spectrum as "around 6700k", but I think its closer to 7000 to 8000 -- ADA's -- and my -- favorite spectrum.








If this light grows plants as well as it's marketed to, they have a definite winner with this fixture. In terms of build quality and ease of use, it's much better than the ADA Aquasky. (And the Finnex Planted+ Cliplamp with its unturnoffable blue lights is not even in the same ballpark.)
This is a very, very good fixture. If you're on the fence about getting this light for a smaller tank, get off the fence. You look silly sitting of the fence. What do you think you are? A cat--?

Here's a picture of a shrimp that I got a few days ago at Petco; I bought four. 








It blows my mind that Petco sells RCS. Five years ago they had ghost shrimp and that was it in terms of invertibrates. Now they have RCS and Nerite snails. They also have some semi-decent tissue culture plants.
In the beginning of this journal I remarked that not much has changed in this hobby, but this, in my mind, is a pretty big change.

I found the filter I was looking for. I picked up a Shiruba XB-305 from AFA today.
I'd never heard of this brand until today. I had seen it in passing at AFA but paid it no mind as it seemed like a knock-off brand of some sort.
This morning as I was researching the Finnex PX-360, I recalled that AFA sold one. When I looked it up online, I realized that they actually sold the Shiruba XB-303 that looks exactly the same as the PX-360. A rebranded filter, then.
I then noticed that they had a larger version, the XB-305. As I read about it, it seemed perfect for my needs. It can sit next to the Mini-M as it's exactly the same height and is designed to sit next to or hang on back of a tank. It has an included short spray bar that will allow me to have flow from right to left rather than back to front. And it's fairly large for lots of filtration media. 
I'd reckon that it's about two and a half times larger than a ZooMed 501 and about the same size as a EHEIM 2211, albeit shorter by an inch or so.
So I picked it up this morning and, as of this writing, that makes me just about ready hardware-wise to fill the tank.
The only thing I need is a heater and a regulator. I have a spare ADA CO2 Advance System that I can use that until I figure out what regulator I want to use.

I'm very tempted to fill the tank now, but the one thing holding me back is the EH I planted in the back earlier this week. While that plant is not important for this build in terms of plantscape, intellectual curiosity to see how it grows emersed stays my hand.

So I'll stay the course and wait until December 7th to fill this little guy.

And here's where we are on day 38 of that 60 day course.

















Keep on keeping on,
Ugly


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## bereninga

I agree. Petco stepped up their game. Just got some ember tetras from there the other day. They also had CPDs, emerald rasboras, pygmy cories, and espei. Petco back then would never have those kind of fish.


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## nips

is that the older flexi mini from amazon, or the newer version?


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## Julie7778

Hahaha! That part on sitting on the fence made me lol. I was unsure to get it, but I'm starting a new nano in a few weeks and may get it along with some Fluval Co2. Hoping the light grows plants well!


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## Ugly Genius

*bereninga*, it really is nice that chain stores are getting into the hobby. Anything to get people into planted tanks is a good thing, if you ask me. I think a lot of people will agree.

*nips*, the one I have is not the one that just came out this month. That one has aluminum screws instead of plastic as the plastic screws are prone to stripping if you over-tighten them. To the best of my research, the rest of the fixture is more or less the same. Either way, even this "old" fixture is very, very nice.
Also, I think AZOO might be pulling an Apple Inc with the Flexi Mini line in that they will make incremental upgrades that will compel its customers to feel that they _have_ to have the latest version as it can do so much more. (Even the packaging and some of its marketing is very Apple_esque_.)

*Julie*, seriously, get off the fence. You're going to fall and hurt yourself. It's a really good light. You should have no problems with it. On my Mini-S, about 3.5 gallons, I'd consider it high light. Over my Mini-M, 5.5 gallons, I'd say its closer to medium to the higher end of low light.

Well, I don't have much to say today as I didn't do all that much with the tanks. I did remove the AquaClear from the Mini-S nursery as I finally came to the conclusion that it was filter overkill. I'm now only running the Fluval C2.

Anyway, here are the pictures.

















Today is the first day in a long time where I thought growth looked pretty good.

I took a photo of the 'belem' and EH so as to help me keep track of growth.








Word to your mutha,
Ugly


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## tangelo1106

I have to tell you, I just read your journal and loved every bit of it! Your humor is awesome and I look forward to upcoming entries. Much appreciated!


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *tangelo*. I love hearing things like that. Keeps me going.

Today I want to talk about dads and the things they say.

All dads have a set of often repeated phrases -- for lack of a better term let's call them "catch phrases" -- primarily used in two situations. 
The first situation is when the kids (and possibly wife) are moving more slowly than the dad in question feels is appropriate given the situation at hand.
The second situation is any situation involving money (specifically dad _giving_ us money).

My dad used, “Look alive" for the when-we-were-dilly-dallying and "When I was young I didn't have money!" for the latter. (As I child, I took my dad at face value on that second one and really thought he hunted for his food and carved toys out of wood on account of him having no money. I also wondered if he had a boomerang. I don't know why, but I always thought poor kids with no money would be like that wild kid in _The Road Warrior_.)

Your dad probably had a catch phrase or two, too. 
It's just a thing that dads do.
Kind of like how dads think their farts are funny. There's no reason why a fart is funny, but when you become a dad, you instantly find your own farts in front of your children incredibly funny. (But when they do it, it's rude.)

Anyway, when dads use their catch phrase – which is not nearly as frequently as moms use theirs – they generally mean business. (Interestingly, I’ve noticed that moms do not have catch phrases so much as very specific, oft-ignored warnings/threats. Such as: “Stop jumping on the couch or else!” “All right, but no dessert.” “Wait until I tell your father/your father gets home!” “Are you out of your flipping _mind_?!” But I digress.)

When I became a dad I knew that I would need a catch phrase of my own. Something with kick.

After several months of pondering this very issue, I came up with my own. 

Let’s do this like Buddhists! 

I know, I don’t know what it means, either. All I know is that I say it when I want my family to do something – to get into the car, for example – and I need them to do so more quickly than they are currently doing it. Which is to say, very slowly, and with very little gusto.

It does rhyme if you say it right. Kind of like how you can make the unrhymable “orange” rhyme with “porridge” or “door hinge” if you say those words with a particular inflection.

Let's do this like Buddhists. See?

So what’s my point? My point is that I’m twenty-one days out from fill day and I’ve got lots to do. No more dilly-dallying.

Here's some of what I have to do and/or figure out:
I need a regulator, CO2 tank, and heater. That’s not so bad. All items are orderable online. Except for the CO2 tank that I'll get from Airgas.
I’ve got to get the plants ready. My stems of Rotala are not growing quick (or vertical) enough so I’ll have to figure out what do to there.
The Bolbitis that I’ve been growing is not as pretty as I’d like it to be. I like it when the bolbitis leaves are clearly translucent without the old leaf dustiness that so often happens to them. All the new leaves that I grew in my tanks are looking fine, but they are not yet big enough to be an effective back piece in the plantscape and the old ones from AFA have that dustiness that I just don’t like.
I need to attach more moss to the left-hand side driftwood and make a decision very soon as to whether or not I’m going to cover the right-hand side of the driftwood with moss, MP, fissidens, or what-have-you or leave it bare.
I need to figure out how I’m going to diffuse CO2 into (Re)Source. I’ve never done inline, and I’d like to try here, but I don’t need tubing with the Shiruba filter as it can pipe directly into the intake and outflow pipes, so do I really want to add tubing just for CO2?
I’d like to have a thriving bio-filter going in the Shiruba filter on the fill date, so I’ve got to set that one up on the Do!aqua nursery a week before filling so as to have it ready.

I know to you that these things don't seem all that worry-worthy. Trivial.
And you're right. 
Please remember, though, everything is relative.
And up until now, all I've had to do with this tank is turn on and off the light and mist it.
Relative to that, what I've listed above is, like, a thousand percent increase in tank responsibility!
So when you think about it, what I'm about to do is quite phenomenal. Heroic, really. A true father figure.


Anyway, that's what I'll be doing for the next three or so weeks. And while it is a thousand percent increase in responsibility, things are about to get fun!

And without further ado, here is the tank looking just like it did yesterday!

















Let's do this like Buddhists,
Ugly


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## bereninga

If you happen to decide on GLA's regulator, don't forget that it takes 5-7 business days just to ship standard. So it's more like a lifetime of waiting these days. I also have never done inline diffusion but thought of the idea.


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## oldpunk78

I cannot type my 'catch phrases' on this forum. 

I literally lol'd when I read yours.


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## Ugly Genius

Good point about the regulator, *bereninga*. In today's instant gratification world, a week is a lifetime. Heck, I got impatient when Amazon shipped me something two-day instead of next day! Said to myself, "What is this--? 2008--?!"
After some thought, I probably won't go inline on (Re)Source as I don't want to add tubing if I don't have to. I'll stick to an old school diffuser.

*punk*, I have a couple of those catch phrases, too.

The Do!aqua nursery still has hair algae. I've done a lot of mechanically removing it, but it just keeps coming back. Does anyone have any advice as to how to get rid of it? I'm pretty sure CO2 distribution is sufficient and I dose one pump of Green Brighty Shade once a day. I also change a half a gallon to one gallon daily. Anyone got any tips?

Anyway, I can't write all that much today, so I'll post my photos and be on my way.

















Oh, before I go. I needed to exchange the Flexi Mini because the light cover was coming loose. Amazon sent me a replacement, but that one had a cracked on/off switch. They're now sending me out another replacement.
So just be warned that while this light is really very, very good, check your fixture carefully for any damage or defects as I've never ever had to return a product twice.
Other than that, though, it's a perfect light for a Mini-S. It's too low for anything bigger if you want high light, but for a Mini-S, there is no equal.
A perfect color temperature and while its still too soon to comment on growth of plants, I can say that there is no algae from it.
Shen I tear down the nursery and retiring this cracked Mini-S, I will be getting a new Mini-S tank just to be able to use this light with it. 
It's that good.

Peace be with you,
Ugly


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## Daisy Mae

Glad you like the light! I have the exact same one on my Mini-M and I love it. So far plants have been growing really well, I have it on for a six hour photoperiod, low tech. 

And I know this is from yesterday, but I have to agree with your dad, farts are funny. Especially from the kids and then they make those "ooh" faces and cover their wide open mouths with their hands.


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## Tino

Ugly Genius said:


> The Do!aqua nursery still has hair algae. I've done a lot of mechanically removing it, but it just keeps coming back. Does anyone have any advice as to how to get rid of it? I'm pretty sure CO2 distribution is sufficient and I dose one pump of Green Brighty Shade once a day. I also change a half a gallon to one gallon daily. Anyone got any tips?


What is the current light cycle on that tank?


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## Julie7778

Just a quick little question, I've decide to get the flexi mini (Thanks Ugly!) But, I will probably be getting the mini M or the Do!Aqua 45-F 4.6g Do you think the light will still be enough for the size or should I just put it on my mini S (it currently has the AquaLigher Nano)


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## amphirion

i see you have hygrophilla pinnatifida.









hygrophilla pinnatifida is the new bolbitis 
*runs and ducks for cover*


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## Ugly Genius

Hi, *Daisy*. Yeah, it's a good light and, yes, farts _are_ funny in front of your kids.

*Tino*, my lights are on for about nine hours. I think I know where you're going with that question so I will take your advice and try knocking it down to seven or so hours.

Hi, *Julie*. On anything bigger than a Mini-S, it quickly becomes medium light. So if you want a high light tank, you'd have to put it on a Mini-S. But, on a Mini-M, while it is medium light, you'll probably be able to grow quite a bit. I saw a tank somewhere online where a person was growing an HC carpet with the Flexi Mini in a Mini-M.
I don't think you can go wrong with this light.
On it's third day on the tank, I have noticed an increase in growth rate over the Finnex Planted+ Cliplight.

*amp*, while Bolbitis is my true love, the hygrophila pinnatifida is very quickly becoming a huge crush.

Nothing new going on. Tanks're still doing what they do. The Mini-S is being better behaved than the Do!aqua nursery, but I guess that's the way things are. You can never have all your tanks well-behaved. They're like kids. There always one acting up. It's just what they do.

Here are the pictures.

















One mistake I almost made today. I was trimming the Glosso in the Mini-S and I put some of the cuttings in the back of (Re)Source. I was curious what it would be like to see Glosso grow emersed.
I quickly remembered that mixed carpets are a pain in the ass and never look as good as they do in your mind's eye.
I quickly removed them and threw them in the Do!aqua cube "tub" where I put all of my clippings. (That thing is getting full!) I'm already tempting fate with the few sprigs of EH in the back. There's no need to up the complexity with Glosso, too.

Bullet dodged,
Ugly


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## Tino

Ugly Genius said:


> *Tino*, my lights are on for about nine hours. I think I know where you're going with that question so I will take your advice and try knocking it down to seven or so hours.


Tropica recommends 6 hours for the first 21 days and then increase gradually depending on what you have going on there at that point. 
I personally have always had good results with 4-2-4 schedule (that is 4hrs on, 2hrs off, 4hrs on again).
Good luck.


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## Francis Xavier

Well hey Ugly, what siren call dragged you back to this side of the universe? ?

I feel like a gif from godfather 3 about "I keep trying to get out, but they keep pulling me back in" would be appropriate


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## Kayen

Wow. FX, and Ugly. 
This is a huge nostalgia. 
Also I've a Mini M on order that is all your fault UG.


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## Ugly Genius

*Francis*! Good to see you, man! You've got to get to posting around here again. This site not as bumping as it used to be and it could use a little boost from you.

*Kayen*, just like old time, huh? Its starting to feel like home again. We just need Craig, CL, , thief, Zoo, and a few of the other old timers to show up and we've got ourselves a party.

Sometimes I wonder what I got myself into with this self-imposed commitment to posting daily pictures. I’m not saying that I don’t like writing every day, but on some days, I really have to wrack my brain to come up with something to write about. 
I don't really like talking about my day all that much, for one thing.
When my wife asks me how my day at work was, I usually answer, “Fine” and move the conversation onto something much more interesting. Like is Finn the Jedi or is Rei the Jedi? Or are they both Jedi? And is Rei Han’s kid? Luke’s kid? If so, from what the trailers are showing of Rei sitting around waiting for her family to come back from wherever they are at, does that mean Han or Luke is a deadbeat dad? Those are the kinds of things I like to talk about. At which point my wife quickly changes to topic to how her day was.
My point is, I know each of you less than I know my wife and it gets difficult to come up with interesting things to talk about.

So let me just roll with whatever comes to mind.

A question. I’ve noticed that more people grow HC carpets than Glosso carpets. Why is that? I don’t dislike HC, but in my opinion, Glosso just looks so much better. Its just so much more elegant and easier to maintain. Is HC perceived as easier to grow and that accounts for its greater popularity? Or am I in the minority and most people prefer the look of HC? What do you think?

I don’t know if you guys have taken a look at the recent AGA contest results, but I did and I’m not sure what to think. Is this the current direction of the hobby? The top ranked tanks, while expertly crafted, are aligned to an aesthetic that I don’t dig all that much. This “landscape” look is great once in a while, but it doesn’t float my proverbial boat. Actually, let me be more blunt. I don’t like that style at all. Much of the time, the work goes into creating the hardscape at the expense of a creative plantscaple blended with a less gimmicky hardscape. (Please note that I am not criticizing anyone’s work in comparison to my own. In many – if not most – cases, their skill and artistry far surpass my own. I’m simply commenting as from an art appreciation standpoint.)
My favorite tanks are consistently Nature Aquarium style and I suppose this prejudices me against most other types as they stray too far from what I consider the source.
I was just really, really surprised to see the results and to see which tanks were ranked higher than others by the judges.

In eighteen days, if all goes according to plan, I’ll be filling the tank. Eighteen days into a dry start seemed like it took forever. Having only eighteen days left feels like the blink of an eye. I’ve taken care of much of the preparation, but there’s one piece that I didn’t decide on to until relatively that may come down to the wire.

I’m going to cover the entirety of the two pieces of driftwood with the “Amano Moss”. I’ll leave a branch or two bare, but the majority of both pieces will be covered in moss.
As I’ve watched this moss grow, I’ve fallen more and more in love with it. It’s very thin, for one thing, and it’s growth pattern is more “huggy” in nature where it binds tightly to the silhouette of the wood or rock to which it is attached.
I don't know what this moss is called officially. All I know is that it came from ADA's tanks in Japan and of all the mosses I've worked with, this one feels the most "natural".

















Anyway, I've still got some things to finish up around the house before bed so I'll let you go. (When I say "things to finish up around the house" I mean, play _Fallout_ and finish my shoulder workout.)

So here we are 43 days in. Eighteen to go. (Or two. Technically, I think I said that this dry-start could go anywhere from forty-five to sixty days. So in a way, I could fill the tank this Saturday and not be failing in my goal. I could look at is as being ahead of schedule!)

















But I won't,
Ugly


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## Ugly Genius

It's Friday!
When you're a hard-working father of two, that doesn't mean sh-t. 
Fridays used to mean something. Fridays were a time to let loose, have some fun, and be alive!
Now I hobble home, lick my wounds, and, for fun, take two photos of my waterless fish tank.

















Today I put one of the Flexi Minis that I'll be returning to Amazon (because it was broken) on the Do!aqua nursery as a test. 








While it is decidedly lower light than the two 13W CFLs I usually run on this tank, the tank was pearling by lights out.
I've got a couple of weeks before I have to send this light back, so I will run a test to see how this thing performs on a Mini-M sized tank. I have a feeling that it's too low light for my tastes, but there is a possiblity that the plant-specific light spectrum of this fixture can compensate for this percieved lack of brightness.
We'll see.

Anyway, its Friday.

Lights out,
Ugly


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## Timmy!!

This journal is pure inspiration for me to start a nano. I can't wait to see the tank flooded, it's gonna be good! I also really enjoy reading the daily updates, always so entertaining lol. Won't be to much longer until it's time to flood that bad boy!  

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Timmy!!*! 
You should definitely start a nano! 
Nanos are great for so many reasons. They're cheaper than a larger tank. Because of the confined space, you are forced to hone your eye for the more minute details that are often overlooked in larger tanks. You can more quickly see the effects of nutrient imbalances. You can more quickly correct said imbalances. Maintenance is relatively quick. Most importantly I think that a nano can help you more quickly develop your artistic eye due to the fact that you can rescape a nano in one afternoon so you are not as weary to tear your tank down and try something new. If I look back, I think the longest a scape stayed up for me was about six months before I wanted to try something new. So every four to six months I was able to challenge myself with a new creation. That really helped me find my "voice".
And, yep, pretty soon I'll be filling this tank up. It makes excited and nervous at the same time.

Today I took my nephew to AFA and 6th Avenue Aquarium as their mother wants them to get a fish. We picked up some plants, Anubias Nana, and some Aquasoil. The tank they have is very small, two gallons or so, so it'll probably be home to a betta once I get the tank established.

Of course, I couldn't just get stuff for my nephew and not get something for me. 
I bought another Flexi Mini. 
I've decided that even if the Flexi is medium to low on a Mini-M, I like it enough to work around that limitation. If I have to cram all my high-light plants underneath it's narro light spread, so be it. And besides, the Do!aqua is just a nursery, anyway. Once I fill (Re)Source, much of the Do!aqua's plant mass will removed and I'll have to rescape anyways.
Oh, I think I figured out the reason for my algae woes in the Do!aqua nursery. 
Apparently, I've never been home or looking at my tank between 2:00 PM and 2:45 PM. Because today I was home at that time and I did look at the tank. What I saw was that that light slants in from a south-facing window right on the corner where hair algae is most established. 
This means that the sumnab-tch Do!aqua was smuggling contraband light while I was away at work!
Friggin' bastard! 
After all I do for this tank, this is how it repays me! 
So I'm going to have to block that corner with something to shade it from the extra light.

In other news...








There are at least twenty different plant species in this three and a half gallon tank. Glosso, E. Hydropiper, Rotala 'green', Rotala 'H'ra', Ludwigia 'red', Rotala 'I forgot', Hemianthus micranthemoides, Mini Java Fern, Rooster Tail Java Fern, Hairgrass 'belem', "Amano moss", Anubias Nana 'petite', Anubias nana 'micro', Bolbitis, Mini Bolbitis, hygrophila pinnatifida, Mini microsword, Fissidens fontanus, Fissidens Splachnobryoides, and Hydrocotyle Japan.
There may be one or two more, but that's most of them. 
I think of this tank as my ark. If something happens to the other tanks, I've got enough here to rebuild anew. 
I just realized that I should put Mini Pellia in here. 
Hold on, be right back.
Okay, I just glued some MP to a rock and dropped it in there. 
I'm serious. 
I'm not saying that for comedic or dramatic effect. I stopped writing this post to glue bits of MP to a small rock and put it into the Mini-S.
Just call me Noah! The neurotic Noah.

At Sixth Avenue, I picked up three CRS.
Here's one.








I got two red and white ones and one black and white one. 
I forgot how pretty CRS are. 
As far as I can recall, I never had any luck breeding CRS, but maybe this time around I'll get lucky. 
These are of surprisingly good quality considering the source, 6th Avenue, but I guess in the five years I've been away, the quality of stock out there in the market has gone up.

Anyway, I think there was one more thing that I wanted to tell you, but I cannot recall what it is right now.

So rather than stare a blinking cursor until I remember, I'll post the photos and play more _Fallout_. 
After all, even if I remember what I wanted to say right after I post this, it's not like I'm _not_ going to post tomorrow, right?

















That just wouldn't be Ugly,
Ugly

P.S. Right after I posted this, I remembered what I wanted to say. *Tino*, I took your advice -- or, rather, I interpreted your advice -- to get a timer. (I'm pretty sure you assumed that I already had a timer because what kind of dumbsh-t does not use a timer in today's day and age?)
Well, let me tell you what kind of dumbsh-t: this one. 
You see, I just never felt the need to use a timer. I don't know why. I've always done the lights and CO2 by hand because...I'm not sure why. I suppose that a part of me likes turning on and off my tanks by hand. As stupid as that sounds, I think that is the reason.
Or maybe the idea never occurred to me. I honestly have no idea why I never used a timer.
Anyway, I got a timer and -- my God! -- it's awesome. It turns my lights on and off by itself! So friggin' cool. I set my photoperiod to seven hours and I'll tweak it from there.
Long story short, timers are awesome.
With this level of dumbsh-ttedness, I sure many of you are expecting me to extol the virtues of something else just a mundane.
Hey guys, have you heard of wikipedia? It's so awesome! They have information on everything!
Yeah, I know. Ugly Genius is ever so slowly catching up.
2014 here I come!
I mean 2015.


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## oldpunk78

Yup. Friday's just aren't Friday's anymore. &#55357;&#56864; I've known this for years and it still irks me. 

It would seem that my procrastination in setting up my tank wasn't sitting well with my wife. She told me that if I didn't set it up soon, she was going to make it happen w/o me. I think it has something to do with my emmeresed tank in the kitchen and the fact that she wants it gone. Either that or it has something to do depriving the kids of fish. 

This leads to another problem. I've been very slowly planning my 1st attempt at an Iwagumi. Something tells me this is going to be too boring for everyone but me to deal with. My family has always been unimpressed by simple aqua scapes with simple fish. Not sure if this is a future argument waiting to happen or if it's an opportunity for a larger aquarium in future. I dunno.


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## houseofcards

Fridays? Wait to the kids get older you won't know the difference between weekday and weekend, day and night. 

Just tell the wife you need to compensate by adding more aquarium gallons to keep your sanity. I think 20 gallons per year is fair. Don't want to push it. 

Shocker of your thread thus far, hands down is that you weren't using timers. :surprise:

Bump:


oldpunk78 said:


> This leads to another problem. I've been very slowly planning my 1st attempt at an Iwagumi. Something tells me this is going to be too boring for everyone but me to deal with. My family has always been unimpressed by simple aqua scapes with simple fish. Not sure if this is a future argument waiting to happen or if it's an opportunity for a larger aquarium in future. I dunno.


Hardest thing with the Iwagumi I found was resisting putting too much in. It works if the plants are healthy and you trim based on the hardscape and you find a cool school of fish. I found my wife/kids never really got the plant thing, but they get the fish thing, so it's hard to say how they will react to an Iwagumi.


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## Ugly Genius

*punk*, I'm wondering if we're married to the same woman, because I'm pretty sure she's said the exact same thing to me. Several times.
And I don't want to scare you, but my wife -- girlfriend at the time -- did not like the iwagumis that I did. She said they were boring. I then directed her attention to the other five tanks spread about the house.
I can say that while my tanks don't have fish and this bores her to no end, she does like shrimp. But she only likes CRS. She thinks RCS are boring and Amano are ugly. This morning she took an interest in the tank (finally!) to look at the three CRS I put in there yesterday. So maybe your wife and kids will like CRS--? Besides that, I got nothing. I haven't the slightest clue as to what fish float people's boats.
George at AFA just set up a 60P iwagumi and it looks sweet. He's using Pa-Hai stones, I believe. UG, Glosso, and moss are the only plants in there. Next time I'm there, I'll try to snap you a picture.

*house*, I think you're right. Water soothes me and the only way for me to be a good dad is to have lots and lots of tanks in the house. If I stay in this game for another two years and I don't end up killing my kids (or myself), I'll buy a large tank as my "Father of the Century" prize.

We'll I finally tied moss to the right-hand piece of driftwood in prep for fill day.
That was a pain in the ass. As the growth in the Do!aqua nursery is so dense, I ended up making quite a mess when I pulled the driftwood piece out. Then, in a "stroke of brilliance" I decided to super glue the moss to the wood. It ended up looking like crap. 
So I had to pull it out again and tie the moss down with thread. It still looks like crap.
Suffice it to say, I don't recommend glueing moss to wood. The white shows too much and it doesn't hug as neatly as it does when tied with thread.
I was too irritated to take a picture for you guys, and right now it'd depress me to look into the tank, so I'll post a picture of it tomorrow.

That brings something to mind.
While I will always try to make tanks as pretty and interesting as my skills will allow, I promise that I will try to show you my ugly side as well. Warts and all. 
There are people of all skillsets on the internet and if a new person to the hobby were to stumble here, I don't want that person to think that I don't make serious f-ups now and again because all I do is post carefully prepped and curated photos. 
All of us in this hobby suffer setbacks and frustrations. That just part of the game.
I know that many of my mistakes are obvious without me pointing them out -- you have seen the layout of the Mini-S nursery, right? -- but omission is a powerful tool on the internet. 
By not showing you something like a f-cked up moss gluing job, you're not seeing how I got the tank to its final phase.
You're just seeing what I want you to see and not all the crap in between.
It's the crap in between that matters the most, sometimes.
My point is, I won't omit the ugly. Here you'll get all of Ugly's ugly.

Crap. After making a speech like that, I have to post pictures. Okay. Gimme a second.

Okay. Got 'em.








Not too bad from a distance, but up close it looks pretty lame.








Like a straw man sewn together by drunk, highly-caffeinated children.

You may also notice the BBA. I'm not too worried about that, though. That leaf was stuck under the driftwood and was probably deprived of CO2 and nutrients while tucked under there.

What does worry me is the brown fuzzy algae all over the moss on the left-hand side. I've got to get that cleared before December 7th or my schedule is thrown all off.

In which case, what I may do is a fill on December 7th, but only water. No planting. I will run the filter for a day or to with just the carpet and very low light. During this time I will continue to fight the hair and brown fuzz algae in the Do!aqua nursery until it's under enough control to move to (Re)Source.
Besides going with lower light via the Flexi Mini, I've put the tank on a timer, and I've blocked the part that gets sun at 2:30 to 3:00. I've also upped my NPK dosings to one pump of Brighty Shade at night and Brighty Lights in the morning.

Well, I wrote more than I intended to. I just wanted to respond to punk and house and post my photos, but I guess I had more energy that I thought I had. (My apologies if the post made no sense. I'm quite tired for having done nothing all that much today.)

Here are the pictures.

















Warts and all,
Ugly


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## bereninga

If you plan to use moss on the driftwood, would you consider doing the blender thing and adding to the dry start? I wouldn't use all but just some as an experiment. I feel like that's the best way to get moss attached that looks the most natural. I've never tried it but have seen tanks with that method. Seems legit.


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *bereninga*. I've read about that technique and I may end up trying it if this batch doesn't stick. 
I was going to try to do it yesterday, but something happened -- I can't recall what; probably had something to do with the kids -- and I got distracted and realized that I only had twenty minutes to finish attaching the moss to the DW before we had to leave to visit my family. The result of that hasty attempt to glue moss to wood is what you see above. 
The moral of the story is don't have kids.

Not much to say today. I've shortened my photoperiods to eight hours on the Mini-S and seven hours on the Do!aqua. We'll see if that helps the Do!aqua's algae woes. 
I'm also pretty sure I'm under-dosing nutrients. I stopped dosing micros a couple of weeks ago and that may have been a mistake. In the Mini-S, I've noticed that some of the anubias's veins are yellow and I'm thinking it may be a macro or micro deficiency. Anyone know what yellow veins on an Anubias indicate? The leaves are green, but the veins are yellow.

I've almost 100% decided that I'm going to do a phased fill with this tank. Even if I tackle the algae on the driftwood in the Do!aqua, I'm going to run the filter on the tank with only the carpet and no plants. 
Then, after a week, I'll plant the stems, and let it simmer in my mind for a two days. Next, I'll glue the Anubias to the rocks, wait a couple of days and then I'll drop in the DW. 
Maybe not in that exact order, but something like that. That'll give me time to watch the tank over the period of a week to see if I want to make any changes.

Here are the day's pictures.

















I'm not worried about you guys reading this. 
But I do worry about what your significant others/family members think of you.

It's a burden I carry every time I post here.

You see, you guys know what you're seeing here. Grass growing. To people like us, this sh-ts exciting! 

But to "normal" people, this kind of journal is a real head scratcher. Heck, a forum about planting weeds in water is a head scratcher for most normals.

And so I worry about what your family may think of you as they pass your computer and see what looks like you looking at the same two quite unremarkable pictures every single day. 

They must be thinking, "WTF. I think _[insert your name here]_ has lost it. S/He's been looking at the same photos for weeks now. Do you think s/he's trying to find the face of Jesus in there like people do with toast?. It's not right. We need to have an intervention. Call the family."

And I don't want your family to think you're weirder than they already think you are. (Admit it.) And I don't want you to go through an intervention on my account.

So do this for me.
The next time someone walks behind you while you're looking at those same two photos, put their minds at rest regarding your sanity by raising your hands over your head and shouting, "I FOUND JESUS!"

Amen,
Ugly


----------



## Opare

*ADA Mini-M: (Re)Source*

Not sure why but today's entry was especially entertaining, I guess Jesus jokes really make me chuckle. Thank you for the daily interesting and funny reads, they are a nice way to wind down after you've done a lot of work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Opare*. It's cool to think that someone in Malaysia is reading this journal. Ugly just went international!

Something weird happened in the Mini-S nursery. On Saturday or Sunday, I tied two bits of "Amano Moss" to two rocks and put them in the middle of the tank. Today they appear to be dying.








They plants around them seem fine, so I'm not exactly sure what happened. They just got paler and paler and now they appear almost white in someplaces.
In the photo, you can see a bit of the same type of moss on the lower front right and it is fine, so I don't think it's a contamination or anything like that.
I don't know what to make of it.
Perplexing.

Anyway, tomorrow's my Friday as, like many Americans, I have Thursday and Friday off. (For my -- ahem -- international readers, know that Thursday is the American holiday of Thanksgiving. 

It's the only day of the year that we _give_ thanks. 

On all other days, we _take_ thanks. 

For example, if someone were to hold open a door for someone to let them inside, after the recipient of the kind gesture passes through the door, the door opener must say, "Umm, _you're welcome_." To which the openee says, "Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you."

You see because that is how we Americans roll. You don't _give_ me a thank you; I _earn_ and then _take_ the thank you!

On Thanksgiving, however, that exchange is upended and the recipient of the gesture offers thanks of their own accord. 

Hence: Thanks_giving_.

(Unless they were, like, clear across the parking lot when a person started to hold the door open for them and waited the entire time as they crossed the lot and approached the held-open door -- slowly and uneasily now because the person holding the door open in what is usually a casual kindness, is a complete stranger to this person, and s/he is staring directly at that person and there is no mistake that the door is being held open for _them_ and the person walking across the lot is really starting to get creeped out and if this is a random act of kindness, the effect is almost the complete opposite with a bit of a do-I-have-my-mace mixed in.

In this case, the person, Thanksgiving or not, would most likely not give a thanks.

At least not to the creep holding open the door.)

Anyway, here are today's photos.

















Um, _you're welcome_,
Ugly


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## Daisy Mae

Um, so sorry, thank you! For entertaining me (yet again) tonight. 
Sheepish smile in there somewhere.


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## bereninga

What kind of rock did you tie the moss to? Is the healthy moss attached to the same kind? That is a very weird thing to happen. Is it for sure dead? Because white moss would be pretty darn cool to have if it mutated somehow.

I don't think there's ever one boring update in this journal. Not to put any pressure on you. hahah But seriously, are you a copywriter during your day job?

Ah, the "don't have kids" advice I always hear. The closer I get to that stage in life, the more I hear that! I feel like once I'm there, I'll switch to super low tech.

The foreground is coming along beautifully.


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## houseofcards

I would think along the same lines it has to be something with the rocks. If something in the water made them white that quick I think everything would be dead or at least affected by it. Is there a chance you cleaned the rocks with something and didn't rinse it off enough, i.e. bleach, excel, etc.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Daisy*! I like reading your journals, too.

*bereninga*, I thing you and *house* are probably right. One of the stones is just a piece of Seachem Matrix, so I don't think that's the one that was contaminated, but the other stone is from my backyard. I could have sworn I rinsed and soaked it, but there's a chance I didn't do so well enough and there was some sort of something nasty on that rock. I guess I should count myself lucky that the damage was not more widespread and that it didn't hurt the shrimp.
And, bereninga, while I tease about not having kids because they are pains in the ass -- well, technically they really can be pains in the ass; major pains in the ass -- when the time comes, go for it. 
Kids will rock your world in the best way possible. 
Some of the sh-t my son and daughter do has me laughing until tears are flowing down my face. Objectively-speaking here, the stuff they do is not all that funny -- at least not to any of you -- but because I love them so much, every emotion is multiplied beyond it's actual worth.
Some of the best conversations I've ever had are with my five year old son. And because he's five, we very frequently will have the same exact conversation half a dozen times. Even still, I would not give away a single word of those talks.
And when I watch my daughter sit at the table and eat pizza from the crust side in, I'm in heaven. The moment is even sweeter when she's not digging up her nose and asking me to view the results of her nasal search. "Daddy, look what I found!"

I took my dog, Franny, to get a haircut at Petco. She's got to be pretty for Thanksgiving, after all. They did a pretty good job. She smells real nice.
While there I checked out the fish section and found some Rotala 'green'. The price was a bit steep compared to what I usually pay, but when I saw that for $7.00 I get over twenty five stems, I realized that was actually a really good deal. I think AFA sells four stems for, like, four bucks.
I got some of that and a Java Fern. (It's labeled as narrow leaf but I doubt that. It looks like normal java fern to me.)
Both are emersed, but I do want to try growing rotala emersed so I may just keep it that way for now.

Anyway, that's all I've got for tonight. I've got a big day of eating a crapload of food tomorrow, so I've got to rest up.

















XXOO,
Ugly


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## houseofcards

We 'kid' (pun intended) about out kids and the time it takes away from your own activities, but with all the stress it sometimes brings, I really wouldn't trade all the things we did/do together. Although my kids are a little older, so the 'digging up the nose' thing would be pretty gross at this time. 

I have been able to recapture some of that magic through my dog. For example, going through the Starbucks drive-thru and asking for a Venti Coffee and a Puppuccino and seeing my dogs reaction "Priceless"


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## Ugly Genius

So right, *house*.
And I never knew about the Puppucino until I looked it up just now. I'm going to get one for Franny next time I'm there.

Here we are fifty days into the dry start. Ten days to go.

















I can say that up until now, it's been fun. There were very few worries and the growth, while not remarkable, was much faster than it would have been submersed.
Lilaeopsis nova 'mini', you should know, grows _very_ slowly submersed. It's _the_ slowest growing carpet plant that I know.

I've had it growing in the Mini-S for close to a month has thrown out only one and a half runners. Meaning, for this plant I don't think that if you want a full carpet in a largish tank, I think dry-start is your only option. 

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, unless you don't celebrate Thanksgiving in which I hope you had enjoyed your Thursday.

Thank you,
Ugly

(And I mean that. I appreciate you guys reading this journal. I do.)

P.S. I kinda sorta of got permission to start another tank. (Meaning that she didn't say, "No." (This one won't be in the kitchen.)
I'll be resurrecting my Mini-L, now called a 45P by ADA, I believe, and doing another proper tank. (Not a nursery, in other words.) This one will also be a dry-start. EH carpet, most likely.
So what'll happen is this journal will stop being a journal for (Re)Source and will instead chronicle the dry-start of the Mini-L. (I'll change the title of this journal to something else like, The Unflippable Dry-Start Flip Book. I even include instruction on how readers can cut out my photos and assemble them into their own flipbooks for hours of educational entertainment!)

For (Re)Source I will start a new journal once it's filled.


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## oldpunk78

I'm gonna be sad when you flood this tank. I'm not sure why. No, wait. I do know why. It's like seeing beginning coming to an end. The beginning is the best part. The picking things out and and getting it all together is best part. Once you flood it, you know it's days are numbered. 

Oh man... I need to get out more. Oh, and I laughed my ass off about the post that explained the worries about our better halves reading this. My wife stopped caring years ago. :/ I think... Oh geez!!! What if you're right?!!


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## Ugly Genius

I've got some good news and some bad news.

I'm not sure which is which, but they're directly related and, to quote Obi Wan, depending on your point of view, you'll see one piece of news as good and the other as bad.

So in no particular order, here are the two pieces of news.
1) This will be the last update to the dry-start for (Re)Source. (If in your head you whispered, "Thank God!" then this was the good news.)
2) I filled the tank today.

My reason for filling it was two-fold. 
1) It's Friday and I have off from work and I figured why not.
2) I was getting more die-off than I was comfortable with. I'm not sure what the cause is, but I figure it'll be easier for me to control plant health with a water column present as I have a feeling that it was either the colder temps here in SF or something going inside the substrate.
Either way, being unable to take inaction as an action, I had to do something, so I filled the tank with water, setup the ADA Advanced CO2 System, attached the Shiruba XB-305, plugged in the Colbalt Neo-Therm 25, and, for good measure, slapped on an AquaClear 30 with two bags of Purigen. (I'm only running the AquaClear until the water clears.)
I'm not going to start planting for a week or so, depending on how well I can tackle the algae issues in my two nurseries.

I should say that so far the Shiruba XB-305 seems like a really good filter. It's quiet and has very good flow. It's flow may be better than the EHEIM 2211 I have on my Do!aqua nursery, but I'll have to live with the Shiruba for a while before I can say for certain. (The one drawback this one has compared to the EHEIM is that there are no shutoff valves for easy maintenance.)

Anyway, as I stated, when this tank's ready, I'll start a new journal for (Re)Source so this will be the last of the daily updates for this tank.
I will be starting the 45P in the near_ish_ future, and I'll update that tank's dry-start progress here. (Maybe.)

In summation for this grand experiment in consistently chronicled boredom, allow me to present to you the before and after pictures of a fifty day dry-start with mini microsword:

Before:








After:








The next time you see this tank, it should be filled and finished.








Until then, I wish you a fond adieu,
Ugly


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## Ugly Genius

*punk*, I didn't see your post before I posted. Sorry about missing the post and sorry for posting in direct opposition to what you posted. So I'm sorry twice.
It is sad for me, too, though. I liked writing to you guys on a daily basis and you are right that the best part of a planted tank is the creation part. 
It's here at ground zero where all you're dealing with is ideas, tinkering, and prep. 
As of right now, I have a pretty clear picture of what I want this tank to look like so it's all pretty academic from here on out. The rush of the creative process is already spent.

As for the wives, my wife hasn't read this one for over a month so I'm in the clear, but let me just tell you right now, punk, my wife is the most beautiful and wonderful woman I've ever met. No woman in the world compares to her. Not even in the same ballpark. 

My life was untellably improved the day I knocked her up.


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## jlfkona

Second morning of waking up and not having an update to make me smile. I think I am going through withdrawal. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ugly Genius

Hi, *jlf*! It's good to be missed, but I hate to see anyone go cold turkey -- they start getting cold sweats and irritable -- and while I don't have any photos to post, I can at least drop a note to say hi. 

Hi.

(Re)Source is about 95% planted. The last bit is just me waiting out the algae issue in the Do!aqua nursery to move the left-hand side driftwood over to (Re)Source. After that it's finished.
Planting, which took place this morning, went well. The only problem encountered was with the Pearl Grass which despite my best efforts to repeatedly plant it deep into the AS, it kept coming up. (When plants do that, I take it personally. Like I'm failing them. I just imagine them having this self-preservation mechanism that kicks in when they're not in an environment well-suited for their needs. I get all, "Look, you, do you really think I'm _not_ going to take care of you?! Hmm? Why do you think I spend so much time, money, and effort on you guys--? To give you a sh-tty home--?! No, I didn't think so. You see, I care; I care a lot. So stop giving me lip and get in the friggin' dirt and stay there!") [For a moment there I forgot if I was talking about my plants or kids.])
Anyway, the Pearl Grass was pretty much the only problem as all other stems stayed put. Even the Anubias and Baby Bolbits stayed put in the rock crevices without any tying or glue.

Until the last piece of DW is put into place and the back curtain grows in, I can't say how well this tank came together, but I'm feeling pretty good about it. It looks like I imagined it, at least. For a first swing after my return, I could have done worse, is what I'm saying. (I f-ed up the metaphor there, didn't I? I should have said, "For my first swing, I didn't miss" or "For my first at bat, I didn't strike out." [And for some reason I always spell metaphor with an e at the end. Without the e it looks misspelled. {And rather than go on about an f-ed up metaphor, I should have just corrected it and let it go and not even brought up the whole e thing.}])

My point in all this is to let you all know that I am still here. I'm trying to catch up on all the other posts here on TPT. (I've been so self-absorbed, I never realized that other people posted journals too!)

Oh, I realized that once I pull out the driftwood from the Do!aqua nursery, I have to set that one up proper, too. I mean, I can't just leave a half empty tank sitting around, right? It's borderline rude, I'd say. 

Even to the most optimistically-minded glass-is-half-full kind-of-person, a half-empty planted tank is a slap in the face. A kick in the nuts.

And I am not the kind of person to slap someone in the face.

Or kick them in the nuts.

No, not me.

So I have to set up the Do!aqua proper.

Because that's the kind of guy I am.

A lover,
Ugly

P.S. I realize that some of you may be wondering why I don't just post a photo of what I have so far seeing as how the tank's 90% complete. Especially with that little "warts and all" speech I gave a week ago.
And, yes, I am being hypocritical, but you see, I really care what you guys think of my tanks. I really do. And I want you guys to see it in one fell swoop so that the full impact -- however slight -- is there, you know?
The danger to doing it this way is that I build this sh-t up way bigger than it deserves and when you guys see it, you're less than impressed and the best I get is a golf clap (and a sarcastic one at that) and then you all see something shiny (and it turns out it was just a Mylar balloon stuck on a tree branch) and you all find that more interesting (it's just a balloon, people!) and I end up crying and my children see me sobbing and this throws me into a shame spiral where I don't shower for weeks and people at work are wondering if I'm homeless and/or crazy because each time they ask me if I'm okay, I respond with a golf clap.

And it's all my fault because I didn't post a friggin' photo.

Under pressure.

That's a good ass song. 

You're welcome.


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## klibs

Hey what is the canister filter you use on the right of this tank? Is that the Shiruba XB-305?










I am planning a 2.5g nano and wonder how well that would work out for my tank... How much flow? Is it silent?
Looks like it would be way too much for a little 2.5g unfortunately...

Thanks!


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## Francis Xavier

Oh my god you finally flooded it.


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *klibs *. Yes, that's the Shiruba. It's perfect for a Mini-M at 5.4 gallons, but I would say it's probably is too much for a 2.5 gallon tank. 
The Finnex PX-360, however, may be what you want. It's one step down size-wise from this filter and both the Finnex and the Shriuba are rebranded filters from the same OEM.
For a Mini-M, I'd say there is not better filter, for anything bigger or smaller, I'd say there are probably better options.

Hey, *X*. Yep, I filled it. It's been planted for a few days now and it's coming along. I had a lot of die off on the carpet, however. A lot. This didn't happen to me last time around, and I did everything more or less the same so I'm not sure what went wrong. I have a feeling that something went wrong in the substrate -- anaerobic bacterial die-off causing toxicity to the root system -- but that just based on a hunch based on a very loose understanding of something I know nothing about.
I'd estimate that the die-off put me about twenty days back into the dry-start. Meaning, I should have stopped at the thirty day mark.
I just hope the die-off doesn't continue.

Other than that, everything else seems to be growing fine.

Tank should be ready for prime time any day now.


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## Francis Xavier

The die off is just the plants transitioning from emmersed to submersed form, which is why I tend to favor filling from day one with good plant density, you just tend to get the results faster and more reliably.

Algae in the flooded method usually comes from a lack of plant mass at the on set, which is why people originally started to do the dry start method - e.g. I have two sprigs of this plant and I want to grow it. But typically you have two start phases of the dry start - first beginning is original setup then second beginning is flooded and it's like day 1 over again.

The true major source of algae is Florida Aquatic Nurseries (or whoever provides the plant) fault. Excepting when a plant comes from a tissue culture vial directly, and even when the plant appears pristine you are in essence inheriting all the problems of the source - snails, pests, dormant algae, etc that ever came in contact with the plant, even if things seem clean.

Let's say Florida Aquatic has an outbreak of BBA, then they clean plants and ship them to the distributor who then distributes to the retailer - now everyone along the chain has the seed for BBA and this is how ultimately it ends up in your tank.

Most of the more complex algae occur this way.


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## houseofcards

Even with some die-off I would think the recovery with a good setup like UG has would be pretty rapid. I wonder if anyone ever tried a 'drip-method' flooding approach. Where similar to the way some people acclimate fish, you very slowly over the course of a few weeks fill the tank so the 'plants' have time to adjust more. 

In regards to algae and snails. I've never dipped, cleaned, quarantined anything. It would drive me nuts to do that stuff every time I got something. Algae doesn't usually spread or become a major problem if that tank is running well. Snails are only a nuisance if there are too many dead leaves or organic matter left in the tank. Otherwise they stay totally in control and are welcome.


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## Ugly Genius

Hey *X*, you are right that one should expect die-off going from emersed to submersed, but this one's a bit different. I've done several dry-starts and I saw some die-off in those as well, but this one's different as the die-off started before filling.
I didn't really dry-start this one to circumvent an algae outbreak. _Lilaeopsis nova_ 'mini' is such a slow grower submersed that this was the only way to have a relatively full carpet during this year.
I should be able to turn it around as the die-off's not catastrophic, but still, I should have cut my losses as filled at day thirty.

Hey, *house*! I thought of doing what you suggested, but the problem that I could not solve is how to get flow and CO2 into the tank without disturbing the substrate with a very low water level.
Another option of filling and draining several times just seemed like too much of a pain in the butt.
I'm with you on the algae and snails bit. I like to think of my tanks as self-contained eco-systems and if algae's there, something's out of whack and if there are a lot of snails, that means the system can accommodate them until it can't. And then they go away.

On an algae-related note, I tried Algaefix in the Do!aqua nursery and it eliminated all hair algae without any detrimental affect to the plants. (It will harm shrimp, so don't use it if you have those in your tank, but otherwise, it works well.) It'll take about a week to do it's thing, but it'll work as advertised.

On a CO2 related note, if you have a super diffuser, put an intake sponge on your filter intake and place the diffuser next to the intake. The superfine bubbles will stick to the sponge and act as a poor man's CO2 reactor in that all water passing into the intake will filter over the collected CO2 bubbles resulting in a much quicker and efficient dissolution into the WC. I just started doing this and it seems to really help growth.


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## Ugly Genius

I'm a city boy.

Born and raised.

So when I would see farmers on the television talking to reporters after a long drought or locus or whatever devastating cr-p that happens to farmers, I could never relate to them when they said, "I lost a whole season's crops to that [_insert whatever devastating cr-ap it happened to be_]."

I simply had no basis of comparison.

The closest I could come to relating to those poor farmers was when I put a lot of effort into writing a post in a forum -- like, a hundred and fifty words! -- and the browser crashed and I lost all my work.

Yeah, I know, I'm a city boy. (And I know why farmers call us "soft".)

But now, I can relate to those farmers.

I know what it's like to lose an entire "season's" crops.

Most of it, anyway.

Something happened in the substrate that turned it bad. Killed nearly 75% of my _Lilaeopsis nova_ 'mini'. 

This is not a simple transition from emeresed to submersed die-off. I've done many dry-starts and a die-off of this magnitude has never happened. Something else went wrong here.

It's sad waking up every morning and seeing something that you've sunk so much time, energy, and money into slowly decay. Day after day.

It's heartbreaking.

It's like watching a near and dear friend slowly start to dress like a hipster. _Please, shave the beard. Please! And why are you wearing nerd glasses? You don't even have bad eyesight! And, for the love of all that's holy, put on looser jeans! You're going to damage your junk. I'm serious!_

I've taken action that I hope will halt and then reverse the die-off, but only time will tell if too much damage was done below the substrate.

Given the above situation, I did what any planted tanker would do in my situation.

I pulled out my tiny two gallon Do!aqua Plant Glass Cube20 and set up a simple, avant-garde, experimental panted tank. (My wife has not noticed it yet as I placed it next to the Do!aqua nursery in the living room. I'm hoping she just thinks they're one tank.)

Back in the day, the Plant Glass Cube20 was my favorite tank.

Because was so small, it was so easy to manage and never, that I can recall, gave me a single problem.

I need some of that ease right now. 
Furthermore, I took it a step further and made came up with a rather unorthodox hardscape that should make maintenance really easy. (You'll see it a couple of photos down, but stick with me as I have to walk you through the process.)

Back when I was setting up my Mini-L, I had this hardscape:








It was dark and wicked in a cool way that I really dug.

However, because the driftwood was so dominant, the coolness of the left-hand rock was never made apparent. 
As a matter of fact, you probably didn't even notice anything about that rock when you first saw that photo, right?
The rock was overshadowed, literally and figuratively, by the wicked, creeping driftwood. (Which to this day, I still love although that tank was a b-tch to do maintenance on.)

At the time, I remarked to my wife that it was a shame that I could not use that rock as a focal point as it had so many cool features. The rock has divot caves perfect for planting, cool fissures and cracks, and when seen from a certain angle, a face. (The rock was too small and lacked a distinctive shape to be a focal point in a tank as large as a Mini-L, but I always wanted to showcase it in a tank and I finally have my chance.)

When I setup a tank, I almost always have what you guys think in mind. I try to make tanks that the "general public" will appreciate.

For example, when I made this tank, it was almost done completely to please the internet.








While I enjoyed that tank, it was not very fun for me with just two plants: UG and HC.

On the other hand, the last incarnation of Source, with all of its broken rules and lack of any artistic cohesion, was one of my favorites.








This tank had no sloped substrate, no focal point, and dozens of mismatched plants. I retired from the hobby before this tank could mature, but I still wonder how that one would have come out if the ferns on the left hand side had had time to grow in thick.

_[I just noticed from that photo how deep I had the substrate. That is Lilaeopsis nova 'mini' there, also grown via dry-start. Look at how nice it is! Perhaps I had my substrate too shallow this go around.]_

Anyway, because of all of that, I decided to create a tank with three criteria in mind.

One: It must be easy to maintain. This means no precariously placed pieces of driftwood or rocks and easy access to the filter tubes for painless maintenance.

Two: It must have a big-ass filter. I'm convinced that the reason that the Do!aqua Plant Glass Cube20 never gave me crap was because I had a relatively large filter attached to it. At the time I was running a ZooMed 501 (with 13W of CFL and DIY CO2). I'm convinced that the larger the filter the fewer the problems.

Case in point, here's my Do!aqua Mini-M nursery just now.








This tank has an EHEIM 2211 and a Fluval C3. Suffice it to say, it's got _a lot_ of filtration. I have virtually no problems with this tank. I don't even have to scrape the glass. All I do is top off for evaporation and dose fertilizers. 

The final criteria is: It has to be fun for me.

So here's what I came up with.








As you can see, I've clearly been able to use the abovementioned rock as a focal point!
In my defense, while the use of one big-ass rock and nothing else as a hardscape is unorthodox and some would say ugly (but not in a good way), because the thing is four pounds, I have no fear of disturbing the hardscape during maintenance. Criteria number one is firmly met.

It's lit by an AquaLighter Nano.
This is a cool little lamp. 4.5W at about 7000K. The RGB spectrum's not as ideal as the AZOO Flexi-Mini, the Flexi-Mini is way too long to fit on this thing.

Here's what the AquaLighter looks like from above.








This tank's a tad shy of 8"x8"x8". With the rock's displacement, there's about a gallon and a quarter of water in there.
The AquaLighter is the perfect size for this tank. I'm not sure if it's medium or high light at this point, but I think it's bright enough to grow what I've got in there.

Speaking of which, I've got three plants. EH as the carpet. Anubias nana 'bonsai' on the rock, and Rotala 'H'ra' in the back. Eventually, I'm going to put UG in the center "cave" in the rock so that it looks like it's spilling out and over onto the carpet of EH.

Other than that, I've got no further plant plans.

And, no, I don't intend on stocking this thing with livestock. (Not even snails if I can help it.)

For filtration, I went with what many would consider overboard: the Finnex PX-360. 

It's big. It's spec'd for tanks up to 25 gallons, but I can't see that being true at all. I can't see it being good for anything over five gallons.
Here's it next to the tank.








Where the tank has about 1.25 gallons, the filter holds about .5 gallons. That's forty percent of the tank's volume! Flow is not unreasonable at all, either. For me, it's perfect.

I'm going unheated this time around as I'm building this tank around the EH which, from what I've read, prefers cooler water.

I'll be doing DIY CO2 via a glass diffuser, but I haven't set that up yet as I have to get some yeast. Until then, I'll be dosing Excel.

And that's what I've been up to lately. I'm still waiting for (Re)Source to bounce back. Aside from the carpet, all other plants are growing nicely. The only problem I can think of there is that the Rotala 'green' is not shooting upwards as I'd like it to, but I've been trimming to try to force it upwards.

And, before I forget -- and I think I've mentioned this before -- but the ADA Aquasky 361 is not worth your money, in my opinion. 
For its price vs. the competition, ADA should bring more to the table. 
For example, I'd love it if it had three dimming presets: low, medium, and high light based on the general consensus of what those are PAR-wise. 
After all, these lights are built for specific aquariums so determining each light level would not be difficult.
Or, at the very least, put a damn dimmer on the thing!

Anyway, I wrote way more than I intended to. I guess I missed you guys.

(Re)Source should be ready in a few weeks. I'm crossing my fingers that the "whole crop" isn't lost and, at least in the meantime, I can watch my wet rock with a few plants around it.

Unquestioningly,
Ugly


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## Daisy Mae

"On the other hand, the last incarnation of Source, with all of its broken rules and lack of any artistic cohesion, was one of my favorites."

Best line right there. 
If the tank doesn't please you, then it has failed IMO. 

So sorry about the "crop" loss. 

And I have an Aqualighter Nano lamp too, it works quite well for the 8-inch-ish diameter/square tank. Sweet rock you have in that cube. Enjoy!


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## bereninga

Sometimes it's just fun to grow plants without the stress of the scape being so artistic.

It's a total bummer that the crop has been lost or almost lost. Sorry for the news. But whenever there's an end, there's a new beginning. I like the new set up and it's always nice to finally use some hardscape in the way you've always wanted to.


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## nomad1721

Hey Ugly,

I'm a little late to this party, I've wanted to chime in on your thread, but I wouldn't allow myself to do so until I read through the whole thing, so I apologize in advance if I refer to things that happened weeks ago. Took me a while, not because I'm slow or anything, rather life seems to love interrupting me when I read this thread. I'm lucky if I can get through two pages without some disaster befalling me. *go to work* *feed the fish* *converse with my fiancée* *take out the garbage* *shovel snow* etc etc. Even yesterday, I have TWO pages left, and a TPT'er I wanted to buy some manzanita off of PM's me and says he's ready for me to come by. Doesn't he know that I'm only TWO PAGES away from being completely caught up on what is essentially the most entertaining thread EVER?! I digress.

I'm here now, and what a trip. You, sir, are a hell of a writer. I felt like I was with you every step of the way. I realized that I have this fictional construct of what the interior of your home looks like and where you've placed your various tanks. I feel like I know you. Not in that creepy internet stalker way, but maybe more in an old-timey British way:

_*Bollocks! I say, Percival, is that you old chap?! Why, it's been ages good fellow! What a splendid bit of happenstance! What say we catch up over dinner? Tuesday? Capital! Cheerio, old boy!*_

Between the Star Wars, Gremlins, and Jurassic Park references I was grinning ear to ear. THEN, you brought up the Dirty Dancing bit, and I knew where you headed, but I had to see how it all played out. You did not disappoint! I laughed so hard I was crying. I LOL'd pretty hard at the timer thing to! 


*_Ok, serious face_* How is that Shiruba filter working out for you? I wish I had seen that when I was searching for a canister for my 9g. I'm like you, where I like to over filter my tanks. I like the convenience of mini-canisters like the TOM Rapids and the Finnex PX-360, but I wanted something with more flow and water volume. In the end I went with one of the NatGeo canisters from Petsmart. They're just a rebranded Eheim Ecco, and while it's quite nice, it's probably going to be too much filter. I wish I had even thought to look at the AFA site, but I just assumed that anything on their site would be out of my price range. Lesson learned.

I appreciate you sharing your pitfalls as well as your successes with us (sorry to hear of the plight of your Lilaeopsis nova 'mini'). Oh, and thanks for sharing your nursery tank that you felt so ashamed of, but dude, shut up. Your nursery tanks look better than most of my tanks that I've spent hours scaping! You should see MY shame tank aka nursery tank. It's a freakin mess!  I dare not post pictures, lest the trolls feed for a hundred years!

Hmm, I feel like there was more that I was going to say, but I've probably said enough.

Thanks. Thanks for the pics, thanks for the fun, thanks for trying to make this community an even better place. Speaking of which, you good sir, have inspired me! I hereto proclaim that I am changing my user title from "Serial Lurker" to "Determined to Contribute". Well played.


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## nomad1721

Oh, I remeber what I else I was going to say. Three things:

1. That link to the "Friday" video you posted a ways back...For shame, Ugly. For shame.

2. @Ugly Genius and @Daisy Mae , what are your opinions on the AquaLigher lights? I was thinking about getting them for my newest tank [ journal ], but I ended up going with two Azoo Nano LED's instead. I love how sleek the AquaLighter fixtures look, though, and I wouldn't be against swapping out some of my older fixtures for them.

3. I'm sure I'm probably the eleventy-eighth billion person to ask, but once your Amano moss grow out, would you be willing to sell some of it? I really dig the way it hugs/wraps around wood and what not.

I lied... there were actually four things.


4. In response to your question a few pages ago about HC, I would have to say that for me, even though HC is a cool little plant, it's not one of my favorites either. To me though, HC is sort of a right of passage into planted-tankness. If you can grow that successfully, you must be doing at least something kinda right.

Anyway, that's it. Looking forward to seeing (Re)Source (re)cover, and to being a part of watching the 45P and the Monolith come together.

_Giving you thanks_ <-- see what I did there? And it's not even Thanksgiving anymore. I told you I read every page. :icon_wink


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## amphirion

i just saw the post about the setback.  hope everything rebounds quickly.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Daisy*! You know, you're indirectly responsible for me getting the AquaLighter light. Before buying it, I googled it for reviews and user feedback and one of your posts was a search result. In that post you showed your pico, but it was enough to squash my concerns that the nano would be too small. So thanks!

*bereninga*, you're so right. I think I do need some tanks that are more artistry, but I need one or two that are built just for me. Tanks where I say, "F-ck the rules" and have fun with them.

Cheerio, *Nomad*. Hey, thanks for all of those nice things you said. It means a lot. To hear that you appreciate my writing and tanks make me feel really good.
And, yes, please convert from Serial Lurker to Relentless Poster. The world's moving on to Facebook and whatnot and while those places are great from projecting oneself as much more interesting that one really is, this is the only place to get elbow deep into the nitty-gritty of planted tankedness.
So to everyone who reads TPT, post, people! We need to keep this community alive!
I really like the Shiruba on my Mini-M. Love it, in fact. That said, the flow is a bit lower than I'd like it on (Re)Source because my hardscape is so friggin'...intricate; I've got a few dead zones in the front. (BGA in places.) So as a supplement, I'm running an AquaClear 20 on the back. 
I used an EHEIM Ecco way back when. I used it on the Mini-M and that's 5.4 gallons and it was fine. It's a good filter. (I preferred the 2213 on the Mini-M only because I appreciate engineering elegance of the Classic line of EHEIMs, even though the Ecco was a better filter for me.) I think the National Geographic filter you got will work just fine. Use the spray bar if the flow's too strong.
After one full day with the AquaLighter, I'm still positive on this thing. It's a very nice light. For small (less than two gallons) rimless tanks, it's a solid choice; perhaps the best choice for cubes. (The best light for a three to four gallon tank is still the Flexi-Mini. Bar none.)
I should note that the second after you posted photos of your AZOO Nano LEDS, I ordered some as they look so cool and I figure I can use them to supplement the AquaLighter if need be, or start a pico tank here at my desk. (I'm growing java fern in a cylinder right next to me, but it's being lit by a desk lamp I used in college way back when. Sentimental lighting.)
Yeah, I've got a couple of people in front of you for the moss, but yes, absolutely I'll give you some when I have enough. It really is the nicest moss I've worked with. When you guys see it on (Re)Source, you'll dig it, I'm sure. For nanos, there is no other moss choice, in my opinion. 
As a matter of fact, for years I always tried to emulate the moss work that Amano did on his driftwood and rocks. And no matter what moss, lighting, water temperature, or CO2 levels I tried, I could never get the moss to grow the way that he did his. And while I still can't grow it the way that he did, with this moss, _his_ moss, it looks closer than it ever did from my previous efforts. It's a great moss. It really is.

Thanks, *amp*. Things got worse from yesterday w/r/t the carpet. Algae outbreak pretty bad on the substrate. I think all the decomposing blades made for an algae Smörgåsbord. Rhizoclonium from the looks of it. I was able to suction off much of it, but there's still quite a bit there. Time permitting, I'll head to 6th Avenue to pickup a few Amanos to help me deal with it. 

Okay, yesterday I said that the Finnex PX-360 was perfect for a tank of this size. I said that I didn't think it could be good for anything over five gallons.

I was wrong.

It turns out that I had the filter basket installed backwards so that flow was severely restricted.

PX-360's got plenty of flow. Once the tank fills in and the plants have rooted down the substrate, this filter will be perfect for my needs, but as of right now, it's too much filter for too small a tank. I was able to redirect the outflow so that the substrate didn't get blown away so it's usable for me until everything's settled, but for anyone wanting a filter for a two gallon tank, I would say that the PX-360 is probably too much for you. Get the ZooMed Nano 10 instead. That's probably the perfect amount of flow for most people.


Other than that, I added a bit more EH and a sprig of Myriophyllum sp. 'Guyana' into that center "cave".
I really like this plant. It's a pretty slow grower, so it may end up working in that spot. We'll just have to wait and see.

Also, a sprig of Bolbitis 'mini' was put in a fissure to the left of the "cave".

Behind the rock I added one more stem of Rotala 'H'ra' for a total of two. Depending on how they react color-wise to this tank, I'll keep it at that or, if they don't redden up, I'll figure something else out.








Since the photo was taken, I also added a bit of Fissidens splachnobryoides to the left of the Myriophyllum to see how that does tucked in there.

The water cleared quite quickly with the filter turned up to eleven.
I relocated a ADA CO2 system from the Mini-S to help the plants in here get adjusted. (The Mini-S needs a trim very, very badly so one or two days without light or CO2 won't hurt it all that much, I'm thinking.)

Oh, I had a panic moment this morning where I thought the Do!aqua nursery was leaking. The area around the tank was wet and I assumed that when I pushed the tank to the left to accommodate the new tank, that I broke a seal or something. I rushed about getting the Mini-L ready, when I realized that it was simply the water dribbling down from the Flexi-Mini clamp. (I tend to keep my tanks filled to the brim so this happens from time to time.)

It got me to thinking that one more tank is not in the cards for me. I simply don't have the time. If I want to build the Mini-L, I'll have to tear down my three nurseries and consolidate them into a long, shallow, low-tech tank. Something that'll keep the plants alive, but that does not require much more than me dosing ferts.

Anyway, my son's really sick. Ear infection and last night the poor guy threw up twice. 
He's laying down on the couch behind me watching _The Clone Wars_. I asked him if he wouldn't prefer to watch _Star Wars Rebels_ but he's not too interested in that series as it doesn't have clones in it.
I don't have to heart to tell him that the clones are bad guys and that Anakin becomes a real as-hole later in life.
The way I see it, childhood's the time when a person builds the emotional and intellectual armor that will protect them for the duration of their lives. The things you love as a child stick with and give you a grounding and compass that partly defines who you will become.
So rather than burst his bubble by trying to show him the reality of the Anakin and his clone troopers, I'm going to let him enjoy _The Clone Wars_ for what it is and, when he's ready, let him discover on his own that the world is full of egotistical, selfish, and dangerous heavy breathers.
And never, ever turn your back on a guy wearing armor. 
Even if he has a friendly sounding name like Cody.

No, _I_ am your father,
Ugly


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## Daisy Mae

That's funny, UG, I thought you might have seen an Aqualighter nano in use in my "vase collection" thread. Actually that thread shows three Aqualighter lamps- two picos and a nano. Yeah I guess you can say I like them. I even have another nano light as back-up (don't laugh)! I waited a couple of months for the nano version (lack of availability at the time) so I decided I better get two when they finally became available. 
@nomad1721 -- does that answer your question


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## Kialya

Ugly, just wanted to say, I got paid for 3 hours of work to read your/others posts from #1 to #205. I laughed. I cringed. I copied bits of info that I will hopefully use later. So, thank you for entertaining me last night at work! You have a flair for telling a story - even when you say you are at a loss for a good subject. Even though I am REALLY new to this whole hobby and I am greener then the plants in my tank, I felt like you did not talk over my head.

I guess what I am getting at, is just a big thanks for sharing your hobby with us in an entertaining way.


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## houseofcards

Ugly Genius said:


> ...My wife has not noticed it yet as I placed it next to the Do!aqua nursery in the living room. I'm hoping she just thinks they're one tank.


I cried and laughed with your 'long' post about the die-off. Even in your darkest hour you were concerned about Multiple Tank Syndrome and your wife's views on this. 

Anyway it sounds like a GREAT plan, let me know if it works :grin2:

For the record, I really loved that UG/HC setup, but I can understand why you wouldn't keep it around for long and want to do something else. 

I'm excited about this new setup, since I've always like going large on the hardscape even in a small space.


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## nomad1721

Ugly Genius said:


> Thanks, *Daisy*! You know, you're indirectly responsible for me getting the AquaLighter light. Before buying it, I googled it for reviews and user feedback and one of your posts was a search result. In that post you showed your pico, but it was enough to squash my concerns that the nano would be too small. So thanks!
> 
> Cheerio, *Nomad*. Hey, thanks for all of those nice things you said. It means a lot. To hear that you appreciate my writing and tanks make me feel really good.
> And, yes, please convert from Serial Lurker to Relentless Poster. The world's moving on to Facebook and whatnot and while those places are great from projecting oneself as much more interesting that one really is, this is the only place to get elbow deep into the nitty-gritty of planted tankedness.
> So to everyone who reads TPT, post, people! We need to keep this community alive!
> I really like the Shiruba on my Mini-M. Love it, in fact. That said, the flow is a bit lower than I'd like it on (Re)Source because my hardscape is so friggin'...intricate; I've got a few dead zones in the front. (BGA in places.) So as a supplement, I'm running an AquaClear 20 on the back.
> I used an EHEIM Ecco way back when. I used it on the Mini-M and that's 5.4 gallons and it was fine. It's a good filter. (I preferred the 2213 on the Mini-M only because I appreciate engineering elegance of the Classic line of EHEIMs, even though the Ecco was a better filter for me.) I think the National Geographic filter you got will work just fine. Use the spray bar if the flow's too strong.
> After one full day with the AquaLighter, I'm still positive on this thing. It's a very nice light. For small (less than two gallons) rimless tanks, it's a solid choice; perhaps the best choice for cubes. (The best light for a three to four gallon tank is still the Flexi-Mini. Bar none.)
> I should note that the second after you posted photos of your AZOO Nano LEDS, I ordered some as they look so cool and I figure I can use them to supplement the AquaLighter if need be, or start a pico tank here at my desk. (I'm growing java fern in a cylinder right next to me, but it's being lit by a desk lamp I used in college way back when. Sentimental lighting.)
> Yeah, I've got a couple of people in front of you for the moss, but yes, absolutely I'll give you some when I have enough. It really is the nicest moss I've worked with. When you guys see it on (Re)Source, you'll dig it, I'm sure. For nanos, there is no other moss choice, in my opinion.
> As a matter of fact, for years I always tried to emulate the moss work that Amano did on his driftwood and rocks. And no matter what moss, lighting, water temperature, or CO2 levels I tried, I could never get the moss to grow the way that he did his. And while I still can't grow it the way that he did, with this moss, _his_ moss, it looks closer than it ever did from my previous efforts. It's a great moss. It really is.
> 
> No, _I_ am your father,
> Ugly


Haha, don't worry I intend to be a contributing member going forward. Oh, and all those nice things I said, those were merely to position myself among the inner sanctum of your thread followers so as to secure myself a portion of your coveted Amano moss. Mission accomplished. :hihi:

Thanks for the info on the Shiruba canisters. I REALLY want to pick one up, but my filtration needs are currently met. Perhaps if my old Aquaclear 20 were to have an unfortunate and untimely accident I'll pick one up for my Picotope. The Ecco on my 9g bowfront really is an amazing little filter, especially since I picked it up on sale for the price of the Shiruba 305. Rather than a spray bar, I went the lilly pipe route, which gives me GREAT circular flow throughout the tank, but it will probably be too much current for any of the nano fish I'm planning on housing. *I think I could make a bad joke about Galaxy Rasboras spinning through the tank like the pinwheels of the Milky Way, but I won't* I do like that the flow on the Ecco is adjustable so hopefully I can find a good balance between flow without hurting the internal pump.

I think I might try out one of the Aqualighter Pico's myself just to try it out on some of my little cubes. I'm glad you picked up some of the AZOO Nano's. I love the design of them, and they seem solidly built. I just hope the output will be as nice as the fixtures themselves. --love the sentimental lighting bit. I did that with an old IKEA fixture for a while, for no other reason than I'd had it forever. Thanks for offering to share some moss. I will happily wait patiently!

Thanks UG





Daisy Mae said:


> That's funny, UG, I thought you might have seen an Aqualighter nano in use in my "vase collection" thread. Actually that thread shows three Aqualighter lamps- two picos and a nano. Yeah I guess you can say I like them. I even have another nano light as back-up (don't laugh)! I waited a couple of months for the nano version (lack of availability at the time) so I decided I better get two when they finally became available.
> 
> @nomad1721 -- does that answer your question


It does, thanks @Daisy Mae ! I'm going to grab a couple pico's for myself.


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## Despite

I loved reading this whole journal. Your sense of humor is amazing. It takes a lot of skill to make reading about grass growing entertaining. :grin2: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## Aquarium_Alex

Ugly Genius said:


> Anyway, my son's really sick. Ear infection and last night the poor guy threw up twice.
> He's laying down on the couch behind me watching _The Clone Wars_. I asked him if he wouldn't prefer to watch _Star Wars Rebels_ but he's not too interested in that series as it doesn't have clones in it.
> I don't have to heart to tell him that the clones are bad guys and that Anakin becomes a real as-hole later in life.
> The way I see it, childhood's the time when a person builds the emotional and intellectual armor that will protect them for the duration of their lives. The things you love as a child stick with and give you a grounding and compass that partly defines who you will become.
> So rather than burst his bubble by trying to show him the reality of the Anakin and his clone troopers, I'm going to let him enjoy _The Clone Wars_ for what it is and, when he's ready, let him discover on his own that the world is full of egotistical, selfish, and dangerous heavy breathers.
> And never, ever turn your back on a guy wearing armor.
> Even if he has a friendly sounding name like Cody.
> 
> No, _I_ am your father,
> Ugly


You are a writer or journalist right? You should be. :laugh2:
I remember that show; it was definitely one of my favorites. Your writing style is very relatable and it makes this journal fun to read even if there weren't cool plant stuff going on.


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## oldpunk78

Aquarium_Alex said:


> You are a writer or journalist right? You should be. :laugh2:
> I remember that show; it was definitely one of my favorites. Your writing style is very relatable and it makes this journal


I believe he's actually an insurance adjuster.

Jk

He said what he did for a living a few years ago but I can't remember. I've always just assumed his job involved being well worded.


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## Jaye

Just finished reading this entire thread. It takes a great writer to make reading about grass growing - gripping? Seriously, a fantastic and informative journal. Thanks.


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## Aquarium_Alex

Jaye said:


> Just finished reading this entire thread. It takes a great writer to make reading about grass growing - gripping?


I did not know I needed this pun but I'm grateful for it now.


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## Ugly Genius

A couple of days ago I wrote about the woes of farmers.

During that post I mentioned that the closest I could relate to their pains of losing of season's crops was losing a long post I was writing due to a browser crash.

I wish I had written about winning millions of dollars in that post because it seems that whatever I wrote about in that post would come true four days later.

Yesterday I had this long ass post -- six hundred words, maybe -- where I responded to each of you with thoughtful responses, words of thanks, and sincere encouragement, I had a photo of the Cube Glass with all plants used identified (in Latin!), and I wrote a rather poignant (yet effective, if I do say so myself) rallying cry for those of us suffering defeat (never give up!).

Then my friggin' browser crashed.

I sh-t you not. It crashed.

So I'm going to have to circle back in a later post to get back to each of you who posted.

Today I'm going to keep this one short with just a bit of explanation of what's going on and where I'm at.

The Do!aqua Plant Glass is coming along nicely.








Planting is complete. I changed course a bit from when I last posted. I removed the Myriophyllum sp. 'Guyana' -- I don't know what I was thinking with that one -- and replaced it with Hydrocotle 'Japan' -- a much better fit; better, even, than my original plan of UG. 
I added two different kinds of Fissidens on the left side of the rock. The Fissidens are splachnobryoides, a.k.a. 'mini', [_lower left_] and fontanus [_upper left_].
The Hydrocotle should cascade out of the cave and down the face and the Fissidens -- given decades -- should climb along the left face of the rock. 

I swapped out the AquaLighter for a Flexi-Mini because nothing grows plants better than the Flexi-Mini. When I want to slow down growth, I'll switch back to the AquaLighter.

I added a 5W Colbalt heater because it's cold as heck here in San Francisco. It's super small.

Until yesterday, this tank had was super thick with bacterial -- as foggy as it gets here in SF, if you can believe that -- but it started to clear last night.

(Re)Source is pissing me off. But that's nothing new. I _think_ I've got things under control, though. We'll see.

Soon_ish_, I'm going to wind down this journal and start a new one for (Re)Source (finally!) and, possibly, one for this as-of-yet unnamed cube as this thing is starting to intrigue me and I think it's got something to say.

Anyway, I promise to get back to all of you who posted earlier in my next post.

In the meantime, know that tomorrow I'm taking off to watch _The Force Awakens_ and I promise to follow the "house" rule and not spoil a thing.

May the Force be with you,
Ugly


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## bereninga

I like the switch to Hydrocotle 'Japan'. How did you get the fissidens to stick to the rock? I think this would be a really cool rock to try the moss painting method. But then it would have to be converted back to a dry start.


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## Aquarium_Alex

Sorry about your post. 

I agree hydrocotyle will be a great fit there. I think having Monte Carlo drape down could also be very nice but the hydro should have a similar effect. 

You may find that it grows upwards instead of sideways--that's what mine does, but it's in much lower light--but if it does you can just plant it at the bottom and teach it to climb upward by tying it around the rock with a piece of string. 

Just a thought

Please don't spoil star wars for us!


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## oldpunk78

I've got it! Ugly writes greeting cards for Halmark for a living.


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## EdWiser

Ugly is MIA [emoji23]


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## Couesfanatic

Any update?


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## jlfkona

Here is a link to his other journal. ADA Mini-M: (Re)Source (or, Ugly Genius's Beautiful Stupidity)
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=985226


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## monkeyruler90

yeah, how are the tanks?


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## EdWiser

He moved to another thread. 


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