# aquascaping with algae



## brainwavepc.com (Sep 27, 2011)

that's like trying to accent a tattoo with zits...


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

There are some attractive algaes out there but IMO hair algae is just not one of them. They aren't all that attractive either. 

Oh and it'll be hard to aquascape since they aren't like plants that can somewhat maintain their shape unless you have a nice thick patch of them.

But you can do what you want, would be interesting to see what you come up with. Pruning would be key...


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## wahoo (Apr 16, 2011)

Learn to grow plants without algae and scape them. You'll be hard pressed to find information on this.


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## Maechael (Sep 9, 2012)

*give it a shot*

I'd say try it, and see what happens.

It would be interesting to see if nothing else.

And since it's your tank, your opinion on what looks cool is higher on the list than others. No offense to those who hold the opinion.


But they are most likely right about not being able to find information about scaping with algae, as most of the scapers here, try to remove it not culture it.

Best of luck.


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## ChadRamsey (Nov 3, 2011)

brainwavepc.com said:


> that's like trying to accent a tattoo with zits...



:icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:


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## brainwavepc.com (Sep 27, 2011)

I'm sure it could be done, but the problem is limiting that algae to only the areas you want it, it will soon take over everything and you will regret it.


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## ony (Apr 1, 2011)

I neglected my shrimp tank and at one point had a tree scape with the leaf section made of hair algae. It actually looked better than you would think and did hold its shape, wish I had a picture. When I regained my interest in that tank the algae had to go.


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

I've long since lost the bookmark, but somewhere along the line this year I ran into a thread with a guy who let a filamentous algae basically take over his shrimp tank--it made this gorgeous lime green cloud that swirled gently in the current with just a few places left open. 

The closest I've come is purposefully inoculating sun-lit mini-tanks (2.5 and below) with bits of soil and water from a variety of sources (ponds, the lake and river, the canal, golf course spillways etc) to try and get as many types of algae growing on the back wall and surfaces as possible.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

There will always be those who say "it can't be done, it shouldn't be done", but then another goes against that and finds something new, makes something new.

Go for it, maybe one day there will be an algae scaping section on this website because of you.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Ive seen lots of nicely scaped tanks with algae. Clado is a popular one to scape with and it does well in cichlid or monster fish type tank where plants are difficult to keep rooted.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

brainwavepc.com said:


> I'm sure it could be done, but the problem is limiting that algae to only the areas you want it, it will soon take over everything and you will regret it.


This +1.

This was my 2.5 gallon opae ula tank.










Was trying to go with an alien-looking tank with floating spheres of hair algae with a lava-rock scape. However the algae took over and became a cloud of death, smothering the tank, and limiting the growth of other types of algae. However, the algae did a good job of keeping the nitrates down. Here's the tank before I took it apart.










The hair algae was growing into each crevice between the lava rocks, into the darkness. When I tore apart the tank, all the hair algae compacted and rolled into a ball was about the size of a baseball.


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

Monster Fish said:


> This +1.
> 
> _This was my 2.5 gallon opae ula tank._
> 
> ...


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## chibikaie (Aug 2, 2012)

That does look cool, pretty much exactly what I've been trying to achieve. I've got Java fern acclimated to brackish water, been waiting for an algae explosion ... no go. I can't believe I'm complaining that I can't grow algae.


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## fplata (May 20, 2012)

High light/low co2 will get you all the algae you want also limit dosing one of your macros and stop water changes.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

In order to grow a specific algae, you need to introduce it into the tank. You can't just make bba or clado appear out of nowhere. Also most algaes will smother your plants.


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## fplata (May 20, 2012)

If you have commercially grown plants you more than likely have some sort of algae spores in your tank already, you just need to create an imbalance of your system


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

That's true I guess. Though most of the time you will get the type of algae you don't want.


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## fplata (May 20, 2012)

Lol, I never want any algae. The OP will only do this one time, now there are some cool macro algaes that will create a cool escape, but they need to be collected and grown like plants. I actually think this is a bad idea, but I want to see pictures


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

Have you seen this? 
This guy is scaping with Algae.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2096377#post2096377


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

fplata said:


> Lol, I never want any algae. The OP will only do this one time, now there are some cool macro algaes that will create a cool escape, but they need to be collected and grown like plants. I actually think this is a bad idea, but I want to see pictures


i think ill be doing this more than once... the results of my first test were better than i thought they would be. the next thing i am going to try is setting up a tank with ONLY algae in it. ill probably try creating a farm look, with long thin rows of algae along the bottom and some farm decorations around it. i think a tractor and a barn would work. with the algae, i may be able to use it in ways i couldnt with a normal plant.



brainwavepc.com said:


> I'm sure it could be done, but the problem is limiting that algae to only the areas you want it, it will soon take over everything and you will regret it.


 im not finding this to be the case. if i let the clippings float freely, i do end up with little clumps of algae from time to time, but it doesnt take over like i thought it would. if i see a small ball of algae forming, i can just tug on a strand and the whole piece comes off. whatever species this algae is, its tough. it feels like wool.



fplata said:


> High light/low co2 will get you all the algae you want also limit dosing one of your macros and stop water changes.


most algae probably wouldnt grow in my tank, but this stuff does. i have a couple DIY yeast reactors and 6 48inch t5s on it, which run 24/7. i had three DIY bottles, but three was enough to gas my shrimp so i pulled one. there is very little algae to speak of, even after three weeks. in my other tanks that i have tested the algae in, it grows about an inch every 4-5 days. the substrate is cow manure and kitty litter, so i imagine that if i let up on the CO2 the algae will gain the upper hand.

so far, the tank looks good. 









and so does the algae: 









when i decided to try it, i had already envisioned how i wanted it to work. i wanted it to be easy to scape with and i didnt want it to take over my tank. i tried growing several types out before i stumbled on a way to make the type of scapeable algae i wanted. 

so far so good. i have my thumbs crossed that it will behave how i want it to behave when i devote a tank entirely to it.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

well, i figure i might as well show you all the algae grow out tank. i have figured out that if i flip the algae mat over every few days it forms it forms a more uniform, tightly knit sheet. it also causes it to form layers which can be separated. if i peel one layer away from the other, i can put them side by side and double the size of the mat in relatively short time. it shouldn't be hard to keep growing the algae mats.

a frontal view of the small 5 gallon tank i grow it in:









over head view of the mat:









this pic is just to show how i have used it so far. i cut it with a pair of scissors into a thin strip. you can also see the layers in the strip.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

That is really NEAT! 
Thank you for posting the pictures, explaining it was good, but the visual always does it for me.
High five to you for experimenting!


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## james1542 (Sep 8, 2011)

Hahaha I love it! Some day people will be buying black brush mats for $10 a square inch, I never thought dudes would pay money for skinny jeans but I was wrong.

All kidding aside the clado matt + tree look awesome!


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

im not sure if i would ever sell this stuff. the thought of someone paying me money for something that could potentially cause them an incredible headache just doesn't sit right with me. at least not until i KNOW how its going to act in most situations.

that said, if i ever do sell it, i will first send free samples to people who want to try it to make sure it works as intended in OTHER peoples tanks. 

if i sell it to somebody and i give them bad advice on how to grow it, or fail to warn them of the potential risks involved with adding it to their tanks, i wouldnt be much better than a snake oil vendor. if i ever do sell it, it will come with strong warnings of what COULD go wrong as well as the best advice i can give(which would have to be based on more experience than i have with it). 

of course, freebies wouldn't hurt my sense of morality. warnings and common sense would still apply though.

i still have a lot of tests to run this algae through. its still at the very early stages of what i have planned.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

^Well said.

I would be interested to see how it does in a "normal" tank instead of this craziness. lol http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2102153#post2102153

You have some interesting experiments.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

One of the most Awsome tank's I have ever seen, was saltwater planted tank that Tom Barr created with use of macro algae.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

roadmaster said:


> One of the most Awsome tank's I have ever seen, was saltwater planted tank that Tom Barr created with use of macro algae.


I don't know who Tom Barr is, but I was in north Carolina several years ago and saw a salt tank with lots of different macros. that's when the wheels in my head started turning. I tried to create a freshwater equivilent using algae, but I could find nothing but ways to get rid of algae and nothing on culturing it for aquascaping. at least not in the way I want to use it. I found plenty of threads where people expressed interest, but nothing involving a method to make it work. the closest thing I could find were mostly happy accidents. I want to see a freshwater tank that showcases the potential of our various algaes, many of which can be quite stunning. 

I don't have the patience to wait until somebody creates a niche in the hobby for others like me. I decided to get the whole thing started. this is just the first step. after I get this algae figured out, I will move on to a different type. one by one, I plan to "crack the code" on different kinds of algae. it will probably take me years.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

setting up a ten gallon with driftwood and algae. pics coming soon.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

every time i trim it, it looks more and more like a marimo ball. to keep the trimmings from taking over, i start a siphon going into a 5 gallon bucket and use scissors to trim it. i hold the siphon tube close to the scissors and all the algae trimmings get sucked right up. i then pour the water through a fine fish net and back into the tank.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

well, here is the first pic of the new tank. i was a bit hasty in setting it up. the driftwood doesn't quite want to sink yet, so i pinned it between the tank wall and the maxijet/filter. and yes, the algae is stapled to the wood. ill add more to the tank when the water clears up a bit.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

That 
Is 
Fantastic!

So is that just straight gravel on the bottom?
Any worries that the staples will rust?
How are you doing lighting?


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## sdbrewer (May 17, 2012)

auban said:


> well, here is the first pic of the new tank. i was a bit hasty in setting it up. the driftwood doesn't quite want to sink yet, so i pinned it between the tank wall and the maxijet/filter. and yes, the algae is stapled to the wood. ill add more to the tank when the water clears up a bit.


Something about this is so ugly, beautiful, backward, and wrong. I'll have to subscribe to this thread as I wait for the Walking Dead to return in February.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

the gravel is just rinsed paver base. i saw several bags of paver base and paver sand on sale at Lowes for like a dollar or two per bag, so i stocked up on all ill ever need... about 800 lbs i think. if i remember correctly, i paid 42 dollars for all of it. i have no idea how it affects ph and i really dont care. by the time i add fish to a tank, the water has pretty much stabilized anyway. as for lighting, its just two dome shop lights on top. i really dont care if the staples rust, but i dont think they will. i have dunked many a stapler into water and the staples never rust in the stapler, so i dont think they will rust in the tank.

here is another pic, with a couple pieces added. the wood is starting to stain the water, so ill probably do a water change next weekend.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

if this works the way i want it to, im going to try making a giraffe out of algae, kinda like the shrubs they prune into animals at theme parks. once it grows in thick, it holds its shape pretty well. the marimo looking thing i have in the main tank is already showing promise in this area.


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## Crob5965 (Aug 25, 2012)

Awesome I'm glad to see this thread is still going strong I'm enjoying the progress. 
still to scared to try it myself but it looks great keep up the good work


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

another pic, showing a bit of growth. im going to keep posting these up so you all get a good idea of how the algae grows, rather than the before/after type photos i had up before. im guessing that i will need to trim it in another few days. i started injecting CO2 tonight.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

That's great! 
I think it's important to try keeping this tank as "normal" as possible, so that others may attempt it with out being too afraid (as I know you like to experiment, but others won't risk it). lol So please do check the PH and see if the staples rust and things like that.
But that's just my thoughts, do what you want, I will enjoy watching either way!


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

update: this photo is of the algae just before i trimmed it. after trimming it, the water was pretty murky, so i will have to wait till later to get another pic of it. the lights up till this point were going 24/7, so the algae grew fast. from now on though, im reducing the photo period to about 14 hours. ill keep trying to reduce it more and more, but since i leave for work at 6AM and dont return till 6PM it will be hard for me to reduce the photo period to less than 12 hours without getting a timer. ill probably get one sooner or later.

the tank is showing new tank syndrome, cyano, bacteria, mold, etc. i expected this, it always happens. it should pass within two weeks. i added shrimp to test the idea that the algae may grow fast enough to keep the ammonia down. one of them got stuck in the filter and died, but they are otherwise doing ok. it may not mean anything though, they ARE cherry shrimp after all...


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## vodoc (Feb 21, 2011)

That is awesome! Experimenting with something different! I love it.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

after changing the filters and adding a little aragonite(the algae likes high kh) the tank is coming along quite nicely. the algae is getting pretty thick. when i touch the driftwood, it feels like a fuzzy guinea pig. the shrimp love it. 

the wood is still leaching tannins, but it is starting to slow down. i do an 80% water change every week to clear the water.


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

only thing i would do is check the staples since there are shrimp in the tank. heavy metals like copper will kill the shrimp over time. its looking good and cant way to see how this goes. with shrimp checking the parameters is not a bad idea. those look like cherry shrimp am i correct? they should be able to handle a wide range in parameters so this could get interesting


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

the tank is coming along quite well. it has finally balanced itself out pretty well. i some of my cherry shrimp to it, as well as several amano shrimp. i also started adding fry from my bluefin killifish tank into it, as well as some H formosa fry. they grow incredibly fast in this tank. once they are large enough to not be eaten, ill return them to larger tank with the adults.
i added old used carbon to the bottom.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

changed the filter again, and moved the little "trees" from the big planted tank to this one. the algae is really starting to look pretty. the tank overall is looking better and better. it hasn't had any CO2 injection, just decent flow. the powerhead in the video doesn't run, its actually there because the driftwood STILL wont sink. it has just enough air in it to cause it to slowly float. so, i'm just pinning the driftwood down until it will stay put. it shouldn't take much longer.

there are three different kinds of fish in here, H. formosa, Lucania goodie, and Lucania parva. they are all fry i rescued from another tank, except for one female H. formosa, which i added because it was a surprise i found in the other tank. i thought they had all died when i moved from north carolina to california(i only had a few to begin with). in the last few weeks it has produced a nice little colony. 

the fry are growing unbelievably fast in this tank. i think it is because of the little critters that are living in the algae. some of the algae has blackworms in it, which i couldnt disentangle from the "truffula trees". the surprising thing is that they are actually reproducing quite fast in there. i see new small worms fall out of it every time i shake them around a bit.

http://s1242.beta.photobucket.com/user/sjveck/media/20130101_004357.mp4.html


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## Robotguy (Jan 24, 2010)

auban said:


> if this works the way i want it to, im going to try making a giraffe out of algae, kinda like the shrubs they prune into animals at theme parks. once it grows in thick, it holds its shape pretty well. the marimo looking thing i have in the main tank is already showing promise in this area.


Yes! The engineer in me really wants to try to pull off an aquatic formal topiary garden. Natural smatural, I like symmetry and geometry...










Subscribed! And first thing in the morning I'm going to go mess with my marimo that's getting quite shaggy.



auban said:


> i start a siphon going into a 5 gallon bucket and use scissors to trim it. i hold the siphon tube close to the scissors and all the algae trimmings get sucked right up


Like an underwater Flowbee!


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

auban said:


> it feels like a fuzzy guinea pig.


Ahh, I wanna pet it!

This is soo cool, thanks for keeping the updates going!


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

Acro said:


> Ahh, I wanna pet it!
> 
> This is soo cool, thanks for keeping the updates going!


you want to pet my log? :eek5: :hihi:


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

When you put it that way, not really....
Now do something useful and give an update on the algae!


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

So where is that update??????


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## scribnibbler (Mar 26, 2012)

This is the funniest anti-forum. So strangely opposite the rest of the site. What if one were to aquascape with green spot aglae on glass. Like use a glass razor to crave intricate designs into the algae and make a bground pattern with it? Like art? I might try. The front and sides of my tank are clear but the back of my tank is entirely covered, so are the filter tubes but I like that cause now you can't see the filter tubes, their camouflaged against the same color. Thoughts on carving in flat algae?


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## Robotguy (Jan 24, 2010)

scribnibbler said:


> This is the funniest anti-forum. So strangely opposite the rest of the site. What if one were to aquascape with green spot aglae on glass. Like use a glass razor to crave intricate designs into the algae and make a bground pattern with it? Like art? I might try. The front and sides of my tank are clear but the back of my tank is entirely covered, so are the filter tubes but I like that cause now you can't see the filter tubes, their camouflaged against the same color. Thoughts on carving in flat algae?


I love it! If you have access, you could print your design, tape it to the glass and back-light it so you could see where to carve.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

Bah! That is such a creative idea (And funny too)! I imagine an asian style dragon carved into the back of someone's tank. That could look rather amazing.
Instead of leaving it clear, you could then put up a background, (like red paper) and then the dragon would POP!


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

i dont have any pictures at the moment, but i have basically just let the algae take over. as it turns out, the hair algae is amazing at raising young fish. i dont even have to feed them until they are large enough to eat grindal worms, and the single ten gallon is able to support at least a hundred fry until then. its not exactly pretty anymore, since maintaining a nice appearance requires constant trimming, but for its current use, i have not encountered anything better. in 90 days i saw lucania parva and lucania goodie go from egg to sub adults showing color. some of them were already showing spawning behavior. 

currently i have a small colony of gulf coast pigmy sunfish in the tank. the tank i moved them from has fry in it, and in a month i will drain the original tank, catch the fry, and move the adults back into it. the fry will go into the algae tank to join any fry that hatch out while the adults enjoy their short stay.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

this is the algae tank at the moment. it is pretty much just a shrimp tank at the moment. i tested its abilities to support fish, and it turns out that it is the best thing since sliced bread when it comes to raising fry. nothing in my experience beats it. anyway, every time the algae grows out, i pull as much as i can off of the wood and it just grows back nice and thick. i then put the excess algae into tanks for raising fry. works great.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

most recent pic. i switched the bulbs out for two "10 UVB" bulbs. the algae has responded by turning an incredibly deep green. i also added all my malawa shrimp to it. several of the females are already burried, and i believe one already released young. the shrimp seem to love this tank.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

Still very cool. Great way to raise fish fry and shrimp.
However the "scaping" idea seems to have been lost...


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## nofearengineer (Mar 20, 2013)

I'm sure if I tried to intentionally scape some algae, a bunch of Madagascar Lace would mysteriously show up and ruin everything.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Over on Aquatic Quotient there are a couple of really nice simple layouts that somebody made in nice clean tanks with algae-covered rocks. I will go look for the link.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here is one of those posts on AQ...

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum/showthread.php/101064-1-feet-rescape?p=720288#post720288

The single stone in the tank has some moss on it too along with some pretty emerald green algae.


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

"this is the algae tank at the moment. it is pretty much just a shrimp tank at the moment. i tested its abilities to support fish, and it turns out that it is the best thing since sliced bread when it comes to raising fry. nothing in my experience beats it. anyway, every time the algae grows out, i pull as much as i can off of the wood and it just grows back nice and thick. i then put the excess algae into tanks for raising fry. works great"

Ive also eard this about algae being the best thing for fry to be raised in since it suck up so much more waste then even moss can. Very interesting, maybe if I ever try and breed fish ill keep this in mind


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

yeah, the aquascaping thing is kinda lost... it can make for a really cool setup, but only if you are willing to go with an algae only tank, or spend at least fifteen minutes every day picking stray algae strands out of your plants. 

im sure there is a lot that can be done with that algae that i am not doing, but i have gotten so busy lately with studying arabic that i hardly find time for the hobby anymore. i used to be able to spend a few hours a day on my tanks, but now its more like fifteen minutes. i study arabic from 0600 to 1830... 

at least im learning. :/


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