# Do!aqua 30-C: Morrowind



## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Specs:
Twenty-watts @ 6,700k via a screw-in CF; FloraBase substrate; DIY CO2; and an AquaClear 20.

Flora:
Glosso, Crypt Parva, Bolbitis, Narrowleaf Java Fern, Blepharostome, Pottias, Flame Moss, E. tenellus, Staurogyne, Anubias Nana "Petite", and Fissidens Nobilis, and Fissidens.

Details:











































The large rock in the back center is a weight to keep the still-bouyant DW submerged.
I don't yet know if the light is bright enough to get the Glosso to carpet. I'll find out in a few weeks, I suppose. I'd estimate that this tank will take about three months to grow in fully.
I've no plans for fauna at this point, but do I ever?

And that's that. Let's see how she does.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow where'd you get that piece of wood?


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

...looks another great thread to fallow. i can't wait to watch it grow in! that is an awesome piece of DW.


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## Randy Lau (Mar 29, 2008)

*UG *how many tanks do you have in your possession as of now? You keep churning out these great looking tanks.

Randy


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

How much was the tank?

The scape looks sick!!


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I got the DW from AFA, *Zoo*. Dunno what type of wood it is, though.

Thanks, *punk*.

I've got five 'scaped tanks and two un-'scaped ones. This, I promise myself, is my last one. I'll have to content myself to rescaping only.

*tran*, the cube was forty-five dollars. Not bad, really.

I should state here that I'm really excited about using Glosso again. It's been a while since I've had a pure Glosso carpet. In my mind it is _the_ quintessential carpet plant; the one that started it all for me. As the tank's only two days old, it'll be a while before I see it carpet, but it's exciting none-the-less.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

Dude, AFA finally has Do!aqua 30cm cubes in?

Last time I went there they only had (iirc) 25cm cubes in, they only had ADA 30cm cubes, for 75$.


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Man, that is one wicked piece of wood, I think it fits the tank size perfectly. This'll be awesome when it grows in.


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## pandapr (Nov 10, 2008)

Ugly Genius said:


> I've got five 'scaped tanks and two un-'scaped ones. This, I promise myself, is my last one. I'll have to content myself to rescaping only.
> 
> .



Sorry but I'm already laughing....last tank....yeah right !!
With all that talent that will be a crime !!

last tank...I said that to myself a couple of times LOL


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## Randy Lau (Mar 29, 2008)

Do!aqua strikes again! I saw that tank the other day at AFA and was really tempted to start my first cube.

Randy


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## danepatrick (Jul 17, 2006)

the tank looks great! i'm also anxious to see if that glosso fills in. you planted it very well.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Man, I'm really digging the glosso just how it is now! It contrasts really well with the color of the substrate.


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## Skrimpy (Sep 16, 2009)

Oh man, I have a feeling this is going to be one of those threads that will be super fun to follow. Really neat looking DW. Is that a single piece, or did you tie them together?


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

I gotta name for you Ugly.

'ROOTS'


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Nice. This is the "smoothest" tank I've seen you do UG. Most times I've come to expect very angular formations. Rocks with lots of interesting, jagged sided or Driftwood with sharp angles. This driftwood is so smooth looking. Another one to watch!


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

/pulls up a seat


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Yeah, *Dollface*. Dunno when they got them. I really like cubes. They're fun to layout as the possibilities are fewer and, consequently, the hardscape decisions are easier to make.

Thanks, *lego*. It really is a cool piece of wood.

Thanks and tell me about it *panda*. Every tank is my last tank.

Go for it, *Randy*. Like I said earlier, cubes are really fun to hardscape. The king of cubes is cl. Check out some of his work.

Thanks, *dane*. If I were a betting man -- which I'm not -- I'd wager that the Glosso's going to need more light to carpet. Twenty watts via a screw-in might not cut it. I'm loathe to up the light any more, however. High light tanks suck.

Thanks, *rrrrramos. (I've written your name so many times, I know it has five r's. How cool is that?) FloraBase has a really nice color, I think. I think FB (the substrate, not the social networking site) gets a bad rep as the bag says that it needs to be replaced after a year. I believe that people misinterpret this to mean that it disintegrates or something. I don't think it does any more than AS. What Red Sea means is that in order to have the sustained nutrient release, it should be replaced. This is no different than AS which also looses it's potency after a time. I had a tank with FB for a couple of years and the grains were still solid and in tact.

Thanks, Skrimpy. The wood's one piece. I fell in love with the DW when I saw it, but didn't buy it until a couple of days later. I figured if it was still there, it was fate.

That's a really good name, speedie. Roots. I like it a lot. I may use that. In the meantime, I named it 醜い天才. (Minikui Tensai.) This is Japanese for Ugly Genius. That's me trying to be clever.

Thanks, Outlaw. It is a bit smoother than anything else I've done. I'm going to try to not have it come out a Xerox copy of Quasi-Wabi, so manicuring will be very important so as to keep the character of the DW.

Thanks, Church.

You can't see in this photo, but I added a bit of Fontinalis Hypnoids, Mini Christmas Moss, and Mini Rose Moss. When I get batteries for the camera, I'll snap a few.









Now that I look at the photo, I had yet to add the Mini Christmas Moss and Fontinalis Hypnoids.
Must have added them after I snapped the pict.
You can make out the Mini Rose Moss in the back, though.​*


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## jman (Sep 7, 2009)

I was thinking about ordering some of those mosses off the AFA website, maybe growing some emersed. Which ones are your favorite?


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## Bonefish (Mar 14, 2009)

I love Ugly Genius threads.

Nice layout in the cube. The plant selection reminds me of a forest understory, full of rich-but-low lying plant life (like mosses and ferns). Looking forward to seeing it fill out.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

*jman*, 
Pottias for sure. So beautiful and a relatively fast grower by moss standards.
Rose Moss and Mini Rose Moss look pretty much alike so pick one and know that you're not missing anything by not getting the other. (Put a gun to my head and I'd say that Rose Moss looks better than Mini Rose Moss, but, honestly, even side-by-side I can barely tell the difference.)
I've grown quite fond of Fontinalis Hypnoids and Blepharostome Trichoph despite those two being my initial least favorites.
Everyone should have Mini Pellia.
Those are my favorites.

Thanks, *TsuRyuu*!


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## hyphination (Sep 25, 2008)

looks like another sweet tank Ugly Genius!! Wish I had a showroom like yours roud:


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## jman (Sep 7, 2009)

Thanks a lot. Your tank (all your tanks) look great.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

man, figures that they would get the larger cubes in the week I'm not there. Do you know how many they had in stock? If they have any left over I might be able to grab one.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Hey, *hyph*. Five in my kitchen alone! It's actually a bit too much, if you ask me. However, if a tank is not in my kitchen -- like Elements in the living room -- it' gets ignored.

You're welcome, *jman*. I didn't even realize AFA was doing plant sales online. I told them that they should months ago.

I think they did, *Dollface*. They have a pretty large selection of tanks right now. You know, with them piled on the floor in the aisles and everything.

Anyway, I got some batteries. You can now see the Fontnalis Hypnoids -- that I now understand to be "Willow Moss -- and the Mini Christmas Moss. (Mini Christmas Moss is only ho hum. It's not as cool as it sounds on paper.)

















Also, I think I found a new aquatic fern in riverrun that grew out of the rocks in riverrun. I've since put it in here and will try snapping photos later. It's a bit like Special Fern only with round leaves.


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## kcirtappatrick (Mar 16, 2009)

wow looks great! can't wait to see this one evolve from a new tank into another beautiful environment. 
i wish i had a kitchen like yours...than again..if i ever decided to cook i might get distracted and let everything burn..:tongue:


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## jman (Sep 7, 2009)

What kind of rocks are those? I've found some that look like that in a lake up north.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Five tanks on my kitchen counter, *kirk*. It's nuts. Water changes are a snap with all of them so close to the sink. Cooking, however...that's difficult even with a clear counter on which to work. Suffice it to say, there is zero chance of me burning down the house while cooking as it's really difficult to start a fire when "cooking" for me is brewing my two cups of coffee every morning. (Although I did make toast the other week. It turned out really well. Didn't have any butter, though.)

The rocks are Manten, *jman*.

In the center of this photo, you can make out the fern I "discovered". It grew out of a rock in riverrun during the dry-start and is apparently transitioning over to submersed form. It looks a lot like a Special Fern only the leaves are smaller and shovel-shaped. A "Shovel Fern", perhaps?








I still can't tell if twenty-watts from a screw-in CF is enough to get my Glosso to carpet, but I have noticed some growth, so I'll keep this wattage until I know for certain that more is required.








Notice that I'm only using one DIY CO2 setup this time around. That's pretty good for me. Usually, I'd have three by this time in a tank's life.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice job! That wood is super. That unknown plant may be some kind of stem?


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## kcirtappatrick (Mar 16, 2009)

your glosso is looking pretty good! nice and green! 

i'm loving your DW. it reminds me of an epic tree in a video game. :tongue:


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Thanks, *cl*. I have no idea what kind of plant it is. It resembles a fern in that the fronds unfurl, but aside from that, I have no idea what it is.

(An aside: _Empire Strikes Back_ is playing on Spike. Awesome!)

Thanks, *pat*! I like the DW, too.

Speaking of which, I love it when things breach the water's surface. After sharks, DW is my second favorite.

















While not pictured below, I added a stem of Rotala "Pearl" to give the tank some red.


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## dawnstrider (Oct 12, 2008)

Ugly Genius said:


> Speaking of which, I love it when things breach the water's surface. After sharks, DW is my second favorite.


For a second, i mistook the dry whitish part of the DW for a rat, diving into the aquarium! A mean one too. :icon_eek:

Going great *Mr.Genius*!


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## CFlux (Aug 31, 2009)

UG I've been reading through all your tanks as I prepare to do a small tank of my own and I have to say they are all fantastic but I think this one is my favorite. Its always interesting to watch your tanks evolve.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

It does look like a rat, doesn't it, *dawn*.

Thanks, *CF*. Good luck with the new tank!

Yesterday I picked up a new moss from AFA. Most of it's in Source, but I added a bit here.








This one's called Homalia. It looks a bit like Rose Moss crossed with Blepharostome.

Here's a close up of that unidentified fern I've got growing.








The smaller, translucent leaves are the submersed growth and the lighter, larger leaves are emeresded growth.


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## niptek (Nov 9, 2008)

Hey, i notice your not using a drop checker. How do you check ur co2 level?


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

ponhalinc said:


> One more late congrats! I hope you had a good one!


*ponhalinc*, I'm assuming you're a spambot programed to register on forums and congratulate people (late) at random. I'm basing this on the fact that you only have one post and your signature is about the super-exciting document scanning industry. (You must get a ton of chicks when you tell them that you scan documents for a living. Must have to beat them off with a stick! _Ooh, double-sided, too?_)
I've got a question for you, though. Since you're a computer program, I don't understand why you were late. I mean, you're a computer program and I can't imagine you being too tied up for however long to congratulate me for I-don't-know-what on the day on which I deserved said congratulations. Speaking of which, what _did_ you congratulate me for? My birthday's this Saturday, so you're not late for that. In fact, you're early. And nothing of importance happened in the last few weeks worthy of any sort of congratulations. (Well, I _did_ clean the house and that _is_ a pretty big accomplishment. But the fact that you knew that and saw fit to register here on the forum and then congratulate me in public rather than via a PM is, quite frankly, a bit creepy. I mean, are you staring at me right now? Are you here? In my house? Watching me? What was that--? Was that you? Do spambot stalkers make noise? Or is it the silence I should fear? Oh crap, I think it's in my house! Call 9-1-1!)

Ah, *niptek*, a real person! Thank God! 
I check CO2 mainly by way of pearling and fauna behavior. If the plants pearl and the shrimp are eating, I've gotten the CO2 saturation where I want it. Also, I've been tinkering in nanos for so long I just kind of know how many bps to inject for a given tank's size and lighting.
Take all this with a grain of salt, though. I screw up plenty when it comes to water parameters.


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## jman (Sep 7, 2009)

I'm jealous of your moss. You must have more than ten species, lucky.


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## MoorishIdol (Oct 4, 2009)

Ugly Genius said:


> *ponhalinc*, I'm assuming you're a spambot programed to register on forums and congratulate people (late) at random. I'm basing this on the fact that you only have one post and your signature is about the super-exciting document scanning industry. (You must get a ton of chicks when you tell them that you scan documents for a living. Must have to beat them off with a stick! _Ooh, double-sided, too?_)
> I've got a question for you, though. Since you're a computer program, I don't understand why you were late. I mean, you're a computer program and I can't imagine you being too tied up for however long to congratulate me for I-don't-know-what on the day on which I deserved said congratulations. Speaking of which, what _did_ you congratulate me for? My birthday's this Saturday, so you're not late for that. In fact, you're early. And nothing of importance happened in the last few weeks worthy of any sort of congratulations. (Well, I _did_ clean the house and that _is_ a pretty big accomplishment. But the fact that you knew that and saw fit to register here on the forum and then congratulate me in public rather than via a PM is, quite frankly, a bit creepy. I mean, are you staring at me right now? Are you here? In my house? Watching me? What was that--? Was that you? Do spambot stalkers make noise? Or is it the silence I should fear? Oh crap, I think it's in my house! Call 9-1-1!)


haha, i enjoyed that response

though this is my first post, i am not a program
just bought a small tank for the office and by searching for nano tanks i stumbled upon these planted nanos and was amazed, all the tanks i've seen of yours are great and hope some inspiration rubs off on me in the future, keep up the good work


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Thanks, *jman*. I've got quite a few different types of mosses. I haven't counted, but it's probably around ten or so. Maybe fifteen if you count the common types like Java, Peacock, and Christmas.

Welcome, *Moor*. Good luck with the new nano and thanks!

Tank's starting to find it's legs. The plants are starting to grow and in true UG fashion, I've upped the DIY CO2s to two.


























I'm really glad I went with a Glosso carpet in this. Of all the carpet plants -- Glosso, HC, HG, MS, MM, HG, et cetera -- Glosso is my favorite. Perhaps mainly because it's so fun to watch grow. Unlike the other carpet plants, you can actually _see_ Glosso throwing out runners and roots. HC and UG, by comparison, are very scarce one day and then an explosion of green the next; there is no watching them creep across the substrate.
And if you're really good at lighting and CO2, you can get the Glosso to pearl under each of it's leaves and that looks really cool.
Twenty-three watts is just about enough light to get the Glosso to carpet in this tank. Twenty-five would be perfect, but I'm going to try this twenty-three watter for a bit more. Algae's been minimal, so I'd rather not jinx it by upping the wattage.

For the record, FloraBase is rad. It's a great substrate. So if you're in an area where you can get FB but not AS, get the FB and know that you're getting a substrate just as good as the ADA stuff.

(Looking over my post, I realize that one must be pretty well-versed in PTs to know what the heck I'm talking about with all the abbreviations I used. I threw in, like, a billion of 'em in this post.)


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## PROX (Oct 20, 2009)

your glosso seem to grow upward probably due to insufficient light.

nice co2 diffuser you have there. very neat looking


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## ClPat (Apr 30, 2009)

Nice! (I can't think of anything else to say, I used up my compliments on all of your other tanks!).
However, I must say that I like this tank less than most, if not all of your others. There's something about that wood's color...I prefer darker woods.


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## ALIFER (Jul 22, 2005)

Ugly Genius said:


> ... I've got quite a few different types of mosses. I haven't counted, but it's probably around ten or so. Maybe fifteen if you count the common types like Java, Peacock, and Christmas ...


Hey UG,

I'm really liking you tanks, you have great eye for layout & design. I think the DW on this tank is very unique and appealing. 

So where did you ever find ten to fifteen types of mosses? I never even knew half of your moss varieties existed.

-Rick


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I really like how it looks like a tree growing over those rocks. Excellent job. What is that large moss in there?


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## jose faria (Jun 5, 2009)

Ugly Genius said:


> For the record, FloraBase is rad. It's a great substrate. So if you're in an area where you can get FB but not AS, get the FB and know that you're getting a substrate just as good as the ADA stuff.


Hi UG,
When you speak about FB, are you speaking about Red Sea's Flora Base or is it about another brand?


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

That's one sweet tank! Thanks for sharing!!


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Thanks, *PROX*. Yeah, the light's right at the point of being too soft, but at the same time, algae has been kept at a minimum with almost no maintenance on my part, so I'm willing to let the Glosso grow up a bit in order to maintain this. Besides, as you'll see in the photos below, the Glosso is starting to carpet in places.

Thanks, *Pat*. I know what you mean about the wood. It is a bit...desert-looking; almost out of place. When the tank grows in I expect it will look completely different than it does now, though. What you're seeing here is just the bones of the final 'scape.

Thanks, *Rick*. I appreciate that.

The moss is Willow Moss, *Cl*. Initially, I didn't like this type of moss, but it's grown on me. (Pun intended because puns are rad.)

Hey, *jose*. Yeah, it's Red Sea Flora Base. Really, really good stuff, in my opinion.

Tanks a lot, *Edge*!

醜い天才 (Minikui Tensai), "Ugly Genius" in Japanese, is coming along nicely.

As my attention's been given over to my new bike, I've paid hardly a mind to my tanks. But this one is doing well despite all that.





















































In true UG fashion, I've added another DIY CO2 setup.

I can't help myself.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ugly Genius said:


> In true UG fashion, I've added another DIY CO2 setup.


3?
LOL.
That's awesome. It looks great, man!


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## danepatrick (Jul 17, 2006)

looking good *UG*. i want some of that glosso when you're ready for a trim! after staring for a while, i think you need to put some moss in that fork at the top and let it hang down. every thing is just so busy at the bottom and middle and i think adding just that one touch to the top would really bring it out!


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow I love all of the different mosses that you have


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

I see you got your hands onto the beautiful collection of mosses in AF. I was there yesterday. Just got some mini pelia though. Looking forward to see them grow in this setup. Looking really good so far. Keep a check on the glosso though, once they catch on they can seriously over power every other plant in there.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

The "Shovel Fern" is living and growing.

















I still don't have a clue as to what this plant really is.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

During my period of inattention, this tank fared the best. Presumably because it's so low-light: thirteen watts over however big a 30-C is. Five gallons, I think it was.













































_Don't ask me the names of any of the mosses.
I've totally forgotten._​
Growth has been phenomenally slow. I'd chalk it up to the low-light, but the tank does get a pretty hefty dose of direct sunlight for a few hours of the day. Another thought was that it was due to the low temps as, until yesterday, I did not have a heater in this tank and my house would occasionally drop into the low fifties. Or: It's also possible that SF's soft water is the culprit; I started adding Nutrafin's Cichlid Conditioner yesterday to up the hardness. (Whatever _that_ means.) A final possibility is that FloraBase sucks compared to Aqua Soil.

Anyway, the girl's flight back from Disneyland is delayed and it may end up that yours truly will spend New Years Eve cleaning his tanks.

At least it's safer than being on the road.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)




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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

Looks good. You've managed to make such a small space seem so dynamic. I like it a lot.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Thanks, *cah925*!

I know you're all probably wondering why I'm posting so much about this tank as of late -- arguably my least popular tank. Truth be told, I'm kind of digging this tank and I've got a feeling that once the Bolbitis takes off in the rear-right corner, this'll be a tank in very much the same vein as Quasi-Wabi.

But, the reason I'm posting yet another photo is because I found a Tiger Shrimp. I thought they were all dead a long time ago.
A sign that twenty-ten's going to rock.


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## Francis Xavier (Oct 8, 2008)

Not a bad way to start the new year at all! Glad you found something unexpected.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

30c's are actually around 7 gallons. I'm kind of amazed that your glosso is carpeting so well. I've never had luck with it at all, and I'm starting to believe it's 'cause that glosso is more dependent on co2 to carpet than light.

I'm also really digging the tank, I love that single red stem you've got in there, but honestly that anubias right in front is kind of distracting for me.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Thanks, *X*! Not a bad way to start the new year at all.

Seven gallons, huh, *Dollface*? Good to know. And thanks for the compliment. I've got a bit of a complex about this tank as I love it despite a few people not feeling it, you know? 
That said:
Now that you mentioned the Anubias, I'm inclined to agree with you. Tomorrow I'm going to reposition it and in it's place, put a moss of some sort. This will add to an effect I've been chasing of having the DW appear to be growing out of a mound of lichen.

BTW, upped the wattage to twenty-eight watts via a CF. Just to see it that'll help growth.


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## Aqua'd (Dec 20, 2009)

With 13 watts over a (presumably) 7 gal tank, You give me hope for my 4 gal with a 13 watt  
That glosso is looking really cool, It makes me want to try it out!

I'm wondering if I'll eventually need to add another DIY CO2 system on mine once I get it fully planted, obviously you think you need a lot of CO2 for your tank to grow well?
Keep it up, Following your threads I've learned a lot!


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

Your glosso's looking ill! The bad kind!
There's a lot of algae floating about too, the scapes brilliant but the tank looks neglected, right?
What are you dosing ferts and co2 wise? How many water changes?
I read that it's getting direct light, that would account for the BGA, avoid natural light, it just loves to ruin a tank. 

I'm starting to think that the glosso is light and co2 limited that's why it's looking glassy/aneamic. depending on what you want from the tank it might be worth upgrading the light and adding more co2 + ferts, that or swapping out the glosso which I think is probably less suitable than something like four leave clover which looks much the same.

Glosso is extremely co2 hungry and really really likes high co2 and hight flow, with enough flow you can grow it relatively easily, light is a secondary factor. In fact, on here I've seen a low light non-injected tank with a glosso carpet, I think it could have been Tom Barrs, worth a look. 

Best of luck with everything and happy new year!


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Thanks, *Aqua'd*. Give Glosso a try, I think you like it.

Hey, *garuf*. You're right on the overall lack of plant health in this tank. 
Until a few days ago, I didn't dose ferts at all for a period of about a month, maybe a tad longer. As a result of this, plant health suffered. I don't believe it was the low light as many of the low-light plants also suffered stunted growth and poor coloration during this period of inattention.
The BGA didn't appear until a few days ago -- one day after I started dosing micro and macros. A coincidence, I'm sure, but we'll see.
Light's been upped to more than double what it had been, so we'll see if that helps the Glosso and other plants.
The most tell-tale sign of nutrient deficiency I've noticed is in the fissidens.








Here you see that the fissidens is pale in towards the center. It's improved in the last few days and greened up a bit, but prior to me paying attention to my tanks, the Fissidens had a yellow hue much like wheat.
The same is true of the Glosso, as you mentioned.









_If you look close, you'll see that some of the leaves are actually red!
What's that all about?!_​
Some of it is starting to bounce back, but the leaves are still abnormally small and discolored. We'll see if I can bring it back with proper dosing and light. (The tank has had pressurized CO2 for some time now, so low CO2 is not the culprit here.)

Oh, *Dollface*, I moved the Anubias.








You were right.


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## connordude27 (Jun 14, 2008)

wow how long would you say this tank of yours took to scape? its crazy good:icon_excl:icon_excl


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Thanks, *dude*. I don't recall exactly how long this tank took to set up, but I do remember that the hardscape came quickly as there was only a handful of ways in which to position the driftwood being that it has the same dimensions as a 30-C. The planting took a while though. Lots of planting with chopsticks and tying & gluing the mosses, et cetera to the rocks and wood. If I had to guess, I'd say the hardscape took twenty minutes and the planting took about an hour and a half.

A few months ago, some of you may recall me going through a moss craze. I used all kinds of mosses, fissidens, liverworts, and the like: Mini Christmas Moss, Fontinalis Hypnoids, Blepharostome Trichoph, Pottias, Notocyphus Lutesceis, Jungermanmin Psedocyclop, Homalia, et cetera.
While these are all fun and great and all that jazz, in the end, my heart has returned to it's one true love: Mini Pellia.
In a nano tank, no "moss" beats Mini Pellia.
It's small, beautiful, and slow growing.








One of the best features of this liverwort is that it never, ever misbehaves. Where, for example, Christmas Moss can grow bushy and unruly given enough time, Mini Pellia matures so slowly, its growth becomes organic to a hardscape, creating the illusion of permanence and correctness. Meaning, MP's growth rate in our tiny cubes of glass and water is directly proportional to the growth rate experienced in the big world we all live in. So when one sees Mini Pellia do its thing in an aquarium, it just feels right.
It's also a very hardy plant. I've grown it in almost absolute darkness and, while it didn't thrive, it didn't die. The bit you see in the above photo was just pulled from such conditions. Not bad for two months in relative darkness, huh?

The tank is starting to recover. This feels good. Honestly, when I was gone, I was convinced that any skill I had in this hobby was gone -- evaporated like the water in all of my abandoned tanks. Slowly, I feel it all coming back. More important than the skill, however, I feel the love of this hobby flowing in my veins again.
And if you want my opinion, love trumps skill any day. 
Skill will take you far. 
Love will take you to the end.


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## thief (Jan 12, 2008)

Lol Man you have a ways with words UG.

I love the tank and feel the same about my Mini Pelia. It reminds me of one of the Marimo Balls I have it seems to always be green and doesn't grow much in my shrimp tank. 

Also I'm not sure but your glosso looks "starved" like it's suffocated or something. It wants to be green but somethings missing. Maybe some fertilizers are needed? I'm no pro at Fertz but I remember reading that yellowness in leaves can (again not sure) mean that it needs more Phosphorus I believe. *correct me if this is wrong*

But still it's nice to have you back as I love seeing your process taking place in your tanks!


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## jman (Sep 7, 2009)

Do you need to change the water on a tank like this?


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

Water changes depend on your fertilising method, low tech means next to no water changes, high tech and most nano's anything from 1 to 3 water changes a week in a idea world.


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## wgama (Dec 1, 2009)

What is this plant(the one circled in red)? I really like it! I am planning on setting up a low-ish ten gallon shrimp tank and I would like to know what it is. Oh and nice tank by the way!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Hey UG. I like how this tank is coming, but it looks like the plants might be suffering some nutrient deficiencies?
http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/plants/1705-id-aquatic-plant-deficiancy-diagrahm.html


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## paulrw (Apr 14, 2009)

hey ugly. i love your tanks they are all truly inspiring and this one is no exception!
i just read through this entire thread again and some thing really made me laugh. in one post you use about a hundred abbreviations! but i believe you are the only person i have ever seen spell out " et cetera" ha! guess it's just one of the mysteries of your genius.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Hey, *thief*. Thanks. Yeah, no doubt about the plants being starved. I didn't fertilize at all for a month, maybe two. I started fertilizing a few days ago and the plants are starting to respond favorably.
From this, I learned that Flora Base is not anywhere close to as nutrient-rich as Aqua Soil. I very much doubt that I will ever use Flora Base again given the readily-available Aqua Soil.

Hey, *jman*. I didn't change water for over a month. I would recommend this, though. The good thing about nanos is that a water change takes all of two minutes. A half gallon in and out every couple of days and you're good to go.

Thanks, *wgama*. It's a Crepidomanes auriculatum. Also known as a "Special Fern". It's a very, very tough plant to keep. It is without a doubt, the most difficult plant for me to keep. It grows very slowly, is eaten readily by most shrimp, does not take well to being transferred into new tanks, and is sexually attracted to fire. (Just kidding about that last part.)
That said, in its full glory, it's a stunning plant. Worth the effort. And price. It's expensive!

*CL*, thanks for that diagram. I'd never seen that one before. It's the best guide I've seen. I'll use it as I try to bring this tank back to health.
Now what's this I hear about you going saltwater in a Mini-M? Hmmm?

Thanks, *paul*. I was just thinking about that today. So funny you mentioned it. It's an old habit of mine. Dunno when I started, but it's been with me for decades. Like my tendency to spell out numbers. WTF's up with that?!

So, my goal is to bring the plants back to health. Judging from CL's diagram, I'm lacking everything except CO2 and phosphate. I'll start by dosing Green Brighty Special Lights and Green Brighty Step 2. I've also started to raise the GH and KH. I'm going to consider root tabs if the Glosso doesn't perk up after a few weeks of dosing ferts.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Ugly Genius said:


> *CL*, thanks for that diagram. I'd never seen that one before. It's the best guide I've seen. I'll use it as I try to bring this tank back to health.
> Now what's this I hear about you going saltwater in a Mini-M? Hmmm?
> 
> So, my goal is to bring the plants back to health. Judging from CL's diagram, I'm lacking everything except CO2 and phosphate. I'll start by dosing Green Brighty Special Lights and Green Brighty Step 2. I've also started to raise the GH and KH. I'm going to consider root tabs if the Glosso doesn't perk up after a few weeks of dosing ferts.


Orlando posted the diagram over at APE.
It's an excellent tool, no doubt!



Ugly Genius said:


> Now what's this I hear about you going saltwater in a Mini-M? Hmmm?


Depends on who you head it from :icon_cool
Oh, it's iwagumi, too.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Getting this tank back to health is taking time, but I there are signs of improvement. The Glosso is starting to green up now that I've been adding Green Brighty Special Lights every other day.








Tank's got a sort of "enchanted forest" vibe when you look at it up close.

I'll snap better photos when the sun goes down. (Shooting tanks during the day sucks, doesn't it? So much light and none of it useful.)


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Algae problems still linger, but nothing terrible. Mostly just BGA trying to take hold, but BGA's one of the easiest algae to fight, in my experience.
Glosso's still acting up, and if it doesn't come around soon, I'll add fertilizer tabs to the FloraBase. (I'm not going to say that FloraBase sucks, but compared to Aqua Soil, it's terrible. I'll never use it again.)


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## soundtweakers (Oct 12, 2005)

hello, any update on this tank? Your works are truly awesome and just want to let you know that you got a new fan on the east coast.


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## matthew.shelly (Dec 1, 2009)

I am loving this tank! I agree, having things breach the water's surface is pretty awesome. I recently found pictures of Wabi Kusa style tanks. Pretty sweet. 
I tried having my driftwood breach the surface in my 5.5 gallon. I had to switch it back to fully submerged because a little bit of mold started growing on it. I think the issue is that it was still under the hood which kept it pretty moist. 
Again, awesome tank!


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Got a new lamp for this tank.
It's a really good light. I'll be redoing this tank in the coming week.


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## Lindasdream (Nov 23, 2008)

*Love your tank*

I've been lurking on this site for awhile now. Ugly you have some of the best looking tanks I've seen. :icon_bigg
I went to Aqua Forest the other day and bought my first cube. I can't wait to get it started. 
Do you use a heater with these? I'm not sure one would even fit...


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Welcome from the shadows, *Linda*. Thanks!
There are a couple of heaters that fit in the cubes. 
If you got one of the twenty centimeter cubes, I recommend the Marineland ten watt heater. It's small and does what it supposed to do. There is also the cheaper Hydor seven.five watt that's pretty good.
If you got a thirty centimeter cube, then pretty much any twenty-five watt heater will fit.
All that said, in Morrowind, I don't use a heater. I haven't had any problems so doing.

That said, I've said this before, but let me reiterate, FloraBase sucks. I will never use it again. The Glosso never took as did all root feeders. I was able to grow Glosso floating, but that was only because I fed the water column. 

Basically, this rebuild of Morrowind will be a simple replacing of the substrate for Aqua Soil. I may use a different piece of DW, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.


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