# Complete Beginner, be nice, this is my 35L Tank (new pics pg 3)



## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

wow, this is a great job for a complete beginner! it looks a helluva lot better than my first tank! it looks like it may have a little bit too much light for such slow growing plants though (i have an anubias just like yours, i think its anubias afzelli or anubias minima?) and it only grows a few new leaves every year, so its really easily subjected to green spot algae (GSA). If i were you, i'd add in some floating plants to dim down the light a little bit, like frogbit, or giant duckweed. or even regular duckweed, in a tank that size its not too hard to control. 

Anyway, you've done a great job with this aquascape, and once the hairgrass fills in and the mosses start growing a lot, itll be a really nice tank!


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## Trallen44 (Dec 10, 2008)

It looks like a great start. I would think after 2 months you should have it cycled. I can't wait to see it as it grows out and fills in.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Aww thanks guys!

Anyway my tank is now cycled, added some fish today, for now 6 Endlers and 2 Amano shrimp. 

The little Vallis i have in there has started to melt so think that will have to come out. Not sure if the hairgrass will work but will see, hope it does. Oh and today i noticed the flame moss starting to grow!! I will update with some pictures soon . 

I appreciate the replies, thank you. 
The light is a 11W 6500k.


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## suebe333 (Feb 17, 2009)

Very nice ,, Love it !!!


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## chunkylover817 (Apr 25, 2008)

ok someone refresh my memory, how much gallons in 35L??? nice tank btw, glad to see ur already using amano shrimp , and wut type of vals were they?? i used to have the corkscrew ones then switched to nana after they all died out. I personally like the tallness of these plants and couldnt resists these vals


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

The tank is 9 Gallons. It is the straight vallis but just runners at the moment so very small, but has just gone really see through


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## chunkylover817 (Apr 25, 2008)

do u use fertilizers??? check ur ph or parameters if u have the test kits


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

PH is 8.0 as from the tap.

Fertiliser is Tropiflora waterlife but only been dosing a week, thinking of getting TPN plus.


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## Katydid (Apr 2, 2009)

its a great looking project, feel free to come and finish mine up...:thumbsup:


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## Crystalview (Aug 10, 2007)

When it grows in show more pics PLEASE


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## chunkylover817 (Apr 25, 2008)

loops said:


> PH is 8.0 as from the tap.
> 
> Fertiliser is Tropiflora waterlife but only been dosing a week, thinking of getting TPN plus.


 iv never heard of that type of fertz, and try and see if lowering the ph of the tank will help. besides that im stumped....:icon_roll


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

chunkylover817 said:


> iv never heard of that type of fertz, and try and see if lowering the ph of the tank will help. besides that im stumped....:icon_roll


Hi chunkylover, I have taken the vallis out now because today it had really melted  thanks for your help


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## Crystalview (Aug 10, 2007)

I use Excel and it melted all my vals.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Crystalview said:


> I use Excel and it melted all my vals.


Oh that must have been it then! I dose excel :icon_roll


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## Crystalview (Aug 10, 2007)

Maybe you could try a half dose or divide the capful in half and give it am and pm. Seachem said to try this when it happened to me. I just never did.
I also finally got Anubis the size I intended it to be then lowered the light wattage a little so it does not get algae. If you have a problem you can also raise the light unit higher.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

OK thanks, i will give it a go :thumbsup:

Does anyone think i need to change something? I am thinking of having the sand back to silver coloured and not mixed with black sand?


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## Crystalview (Aug 10, 2007)

Have you used a dark color. It would bring out the color in the rocks and IMHO would center the display. But what am I saying I still mess with mine too.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Yes i have used black sand but i previously had like a pink light which made it look more like a brown, I found it too dark and added some silver sand to lighten it.:icon_roll

Heres a couple of pics....


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## chunkylover817 (Apr 25, 2008)

hi loops, im seeing some algae on the anubias or is this the picture??? anyways, how often do u change water? ur tank is looking great! cant wait till it fills up with plants


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

WOW I love it! Looks awesome! You must have been some sort of aquarium scape master or something in your past life lol.

Glad you put the heater behind the filter, looks much better.


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## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

Nice start, but I think you should replace some of the sand with specialty substrate. Looks a little empty. If you used specialty substrate like Flourite or Eco Complete, you could put in some non-epyphitic plants.


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## Crystalview (Aug 10, 2007)

I like the second picture more then the black (brown?)one. Your right. I also like the twig set up a bit better. There are a lot of plants that get there ferts from the water column.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

chunkylover817 said:


> hi loops, im seeing some algae on the anubias or is this the picture??? anyways, how often do u change water? ur tank is looking great! cant wait till it fills up with plants


Hi Chunky, these pics are old now, I did have algae on the Anubias but dosing the excel seems to have sorted it


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Glad you put the heater behind the filter, looks much better.[/quote]

I had to get a new heater because having it behind the filter seemed to ruin it, I am hopeing that when the flame moss grows it will hide the heater a little :icon_smil


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

I am going to change the substrate back to the lighter colour then as i much prefer it, The pics on the first page are of my tank now, that twig that you prefer crystal has gone now  i no longer have it. 

I might change the slate to some rock instead, but i will need your help with positioning it please guys  xx


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Cool look!!:drool: Very tranquilizing. Looks like you've got the right combination now. What is your new substrate, and ferts?

I didn't thing the sags would make it. They looked like they need KNO3.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

I haven't got the new substrate yet, the pics above are from a while agio, its the first page of my tank now, changing the sand back to white


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

loops said:


> I haven't got the new substrate yet, the pics above are from a while agio, its the first page of my tank now, changing the sand back to white


You may reget that for mulm and fish poo collects and you can it all on the white. 

I love white sand but after having a 10 gallon top covered with just sand I only put in on a portion of my tank. I am not one to be finicky and expect the sand to stay clean all of the time but it was so messy I came to hate it in the 10 gallon tank.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Well i hope i don't regret it because i changed the sand today, it looks great, i have also added some more wood in there, I will post some pics tomorrow to see what you think  xx


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## mynameisjonah (Jan 22, 2008)

in my opinion darker substrates lead to fish and other inhabitants feeling a little more secure, and it allows the fish to stand out more against the darker substrate! but to each his own preference. i have also tried white sand, but the tank was almost too bright because of it, and it does indeed show every little piece of waste.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Its a natural colour sand not white sorry. The fish i have (Endlers so far) actually stand out better on the bright sand and so far doesnt seem to have changed them at all, still little confident things! love them, real fun to watch.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

loops said:


> Its a natural colour sand not white sorry.


How much did you get and how much did it cost?


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

15kg bag prewashed rinsed and sieved for £4.95. Which is a bargain in the UK. I love it


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

loops said:


> 15kg bag prewashed rinsed and sieved for £4.95. Which is a bargain in the UK. I love it


What a bargain. Can't wait to see it!


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

I hope you like my pics, I can't wait for the Flame moss to grow more to cover the heater a little 

Don't take much notice of the pebbles on the right, i am removing them and replacing with another green rock.

I will be doing a moss carpet soon I think that would fill it out a bit more. I have also ordered some Peacock and Xmas moss so any ideas on what to do with it I would really appreciate it


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Any idea on what could be eating my Anubias? I seem to have some holes appearing


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

loops said:


> Any idea on what could be eating my Anubias? I seem to have some holes appearing


Potassium defincincy can cause holes. You can buy KNO3 on line at Rex Griggs site. It has to made diluted. 

The sand color is close to white. It will probably stay clean with the plants you have.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Ok thank you


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## chunkylover817 (Apr 25, 2008)

r u giving ur plants iron??? i love the set up, its makes the tank look bigger than it actually is. btw, is ur dwarf hairgrass growing ??? i see in the pics it seems to be having some trouble


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

The hairgrass has had a little trim, although since i have had it it doesn't seem to grow


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

loops said:


> The hairgrass has had a little trim, although since i have had it it doesn't seem to grow


I think the KNO3, potassium nitrate, would help the hair grass grow better.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

I have lots of java moss to play with so i will be doing something like this....edited in MS Paint lol....










anyone any other ideas on what else i can do. I was thinking of putting some moss attached to a piece of wood in the left back corner as there is quite a bare spot.


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

theres no way you'll be able to do that with moss, the moss will get out of hand too quickly. plus, it'll grow into the hairgrass and get all tangled up. i'd suggest some more nana in the foreground maybe?

with only anubias in this tank, i feel like you are looking at a major algae problem. Try to add some more plants in the back of the tank, or a small bushy plant in the back middle and right corner.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

I was thinking of removing the hairgrass totally. 

I have had this tank set up since Feb and had no algae problems so far so hopefully i shouldn't get much. 

I will be added something to the back but i just dont know what? I once had vallis in there but flourish excel melted it


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

oh, i guess youre fine then. still, it'd be better to be on the safe side. You might want to add a little bit of duckweed to take out any extra nitrate that may be bothering you. Also, are you adding flourish regularly? because moss really hates excel, too. oh! You should add some crypts!

you could get a few nice looking balansaes in the back left corner and maybe some willisii x lucens in the sides of the foreground, and a few other small crypts in the left midground.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

demosthenes said:


> Also, are you adding flourish regularly? because moss really hates excel, too. oh! You should add some crypts!


I have sprayed excel on xmass moss and it did fine until I put it in a tank with no light.

Love the scapeing and placement of the sand. I get a very peacful feel viewing the tank. The placement of rock reminds me of this tank


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Thank you 

Any idea on what plant i could add to the back?? I would like something that again is low demanding.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Ok my anubias is having a few problems, little holes and leaves curling. I reduced the light hours but not helped much....

it is worse than this now...


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Holes mean you probably have a potassium deficiency. Recommend KNO3, potassium nitrate. Can be bought at Lowe's. Sold as spectricide stump remover. Must be diluted. Check out Rex Grigg's site for dilution.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

Thanks for that 

I have added some Amazon Frogbit so hopefully this will help with the curling?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

loops said:


> Thanks for that
> 
> I have added some Amazon Frogbit so hopefully this will help with the curling?


I don't understand your reasoning on this. For the more plants you have the more nutrients are needed as a whole.


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## loops (Apr 13, 2009)

No no sorry I have added it because i like it, and i did have a hair algae problem starting


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## aschaal03 (Feb 2, 2009)

Vals usually melt until they are established. Mine melted till there were hardly any leaves left on most of them, I lost 2 of 10 plants...the leaves that were left were see through and were turning brown..then they rebounded and reached the top of the tank in a week. I was dosing excel at the time as well (very lightly, however). My tank is 4 months old now and the vals have put out at least 10 runners. I wouldn't give up hope if I were you! 

**edit: sorry I only read the first page of this thread, thinking that was it. lol. I see now you got rid of the vals. :icon_mrgr

For filling out the tank you could try hornwort. It gets ferts from the water column and isn't demanding about anything. I put this in my puffer tank to give them some security, I don't add anything to that tank besides 1WPG of T8 lighting and it's doing great. It is a floating plant, but I use a plant weight to keep it down so it looks like it's planted. It grows VERY quickly and is great for keeping algae at bay. 

Here's a pic of it I googled.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

aschaal03 said:


> Vals usually melt until they are established. Mine melted till there were hardly any leaves left on most of them, I lost 2 of 10 plants...the leaves that were left were see through and were turning brown..then they rebounded and reached the top of the tank in a week.


That is good to know. I love vals, especially since I can get them for $1.5 at Pet Smart. I lost all but 1 while I was on vacation.


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