# Etane's New Glass Box w/ Silicone Glue: ADA 60-F



## etane (May 14, 2012)

new fts 12/29/14:



older stuff from 5/20/2012:

So, short story long. 

I got laid off about a year ago. It's a blessing and wasn't even in disguise. Happy and gleeful I was. Severance meant paid vacation. Just got my masters: the world is my oyster. Who needed that damn job. Took a good 6 months just cycling around the county and spending too much time on the internet. The wife got angry. Not sure if it is because she's envious or just didn't like it that I am not working. So, I got a job. 

I got this job that's perfect for me. It's in the consumer high tech industry, so if you like apps and gadgets like I do, it's tres bien. Also, it's only 4 miles from my house. Literally take 3 turns and 4 lights to get to the office. People I work with are great. Work load is pretty light. My pay increase over the last job is over 20%. There's just one glaring problem. The cubicle I am to spend 8-10 hours of my week days in is drab and stuffy.

So, I thought of ways to spiffy up the cubicle while trying to get some fresh air circulating. I got a mini vortech fan, but it just circulates dead air. I should bring plants! But, I don't want to bring bamboo or ficus or fern, you know, house plants. Bland. Started to look on Amazon for something cool. I found BlueIQ. For those who don't know, it's an open ecosystem that you set up and forget. They supply you with a vase with a choice of substrate and plants as well as some neos shrimps and snails. Just add water, and you're supposed to have this ecosystem that supports itself. You never have to feed it or anything.

I got interested. It's a pretty vase. That's a plus. Shrimps look interesting. Snails will clean up the crap in the vase, so I never have to clean. And, you got some oxygen producing plants. This could help with lessening my suffocation. But, I thought, just shrimp is boring. I want fish. So, I emailed BlueIQ asking whether I can add a Neon Tetra into the vase. They said they don't recommend it because the vase is too small to support it and it might eat the Neos. I figure I can make my own version of BlueIQ with a larger vase that can support more fauna. 

Enter the Vision vase. It's 8x8x4 inches which is 256 inches cube. That's about a gallon. It might support some shrimps and maybe a small fish? This is what it looks like:










I got the vase and ordered 10 Snowball shrimps and a clump of Java Moss off ebay and received it last Friday (5-11-2012). I actually received on 9 Snowball shrimps. Read some stuff about acclimating the water to suit the newly acquired shrimps. Put the new shrimpies in a tuppleware. The original bag contained what looked like Duckweed (yuck). I then proceeded to add a little water into the tupperware. I have an RO filter attached to my sink, so that's the water I use. RO water is supposed to be great right?

Well, overnight, I found one dead shrimp. The shrimp turned from translucent to opaque white. What went wrong? I don't know! I took matters into my own hands and decided to quickly take all the shrimps out of the old dirty Duckweed water and place them into the new Vision vase with all RO water. I had the Java moss in the vase for about 20 hours by now. So, the water has SOME biofilm in it sort of kind of. Made extra sure that I scopped up the shrimp without carrying any of the Duckweed over and into the vase they drop. 

At first they just dived to the bottom of the vase but then sprang into life and started exploring up and down and up and down. I wasn't sure I did the right thing, but their activity made me a bit relieved. They were munching on the moss. So, food wise, I thought they were set. Water wise, it's the cleanest water available. The only thing I worried about is acclimation as all these internet forums and instructions warned that shrimps need to acclimate to their new environment, and I just dropped them into newly untreated filter water.

The next morning, another dead white shrimp. The morning after that, another. Morning after that, one more. 4 mornings in a row, 4 dead white shrimps. What's going on? Here's a pic of dead shrimp #4 the night before it left the world of the living:










I think this shrimp knew it was going to die and was fighting it with all its might. I stayed up until 12am just watching it struggle to ingest as much food as it can. And, it spent a great deal of time at the top of the water level trying to breath in as much air as possible. It was the little train that didn't stop chuggin but, alas, it couldn't cheat death.

After work on 5/15/2012, I went straight to PetSmart and bought a Tetra Water Test Master Kit. Tested the water and found the water to be too soft. According to the colors on the chart, both GH and KH was near zero. What can I do? 

What I did was I did a 80% water change and added two pretty rocks I found on the road a few weeks back when walking to my local farmers market. After I was done, the shrimps were all over the rocks like wolves at a Hometown Buffet. I didn't even know the rocks were safe for the shrimps. I did wash them and then put them in water for about a 20 days before I put them into the vase with the shrimps. But, they obviously like the rocks. 

The next morning, I didn't find a dead shrimp. What I found was molted skin. 2 full suit molted skins and I only had 5 shrimps left. The next morning, I found 3 more. Could they molt that fast? My hypothesis is that the shrimps that died tried to molt though unsuccessfully since their old skin ended up suffocating them cuz they couldn't come off which is caused by the water being too soft. Just an hypothesis that I hope not to test in the future.

Here's a pic of a happy shrimp. See, his body is full of excrements. He's been munching on Java moss:










In my state of frenzy during the past week of internet research trying to save my shrimpies, I've discovered it's a big world for aquascaping and shrimp hobbying. I am bit. I gotta get me a real tank. Well, a tank real enough but not too real as I don't want the real maintenance part.

For the past few days, I've been reading up on plants and shrimp keeping like crazy. I wanted to build a fancy shrimp friendly tank but didn't have a concept in mind. I learned who Takashi Amano and what Amano shrimps are. I learned what types of shrimps can live but not breed together. It's time to find a larger "Vision vase". And, I found it on Amazon, the Mr. Aqua 12 gallon 36" long aquarium. I bought it at an LFS though as it was cheaper since shipping is $23. 

So, here it is:










I am sure you guys all seen it before. I found the 12 gallon tank thread on this forum, and I am sure you have too. So, a word on my opinion of the tank thus far. The workmanship sucks. I already asked the LFS owner guy to give me the pick of the litter. He promised this is it. But, the silicone application is woeful. The glass cutting leaves more to be desired. At least the paneling is lined up straight. I've read about Mr. Aqua's quality control AFTER I ordered it. If I can do it again, I would have ordered it from GLA.

Here's some more detailed pics:










Notice the jaggy edge and poor silicone application in the red circle.










Another.










Another.

Maybe I am being too picky. I haven't had an aquarium since I was 10. I don't know what the threshold is for what passes as good QC for aquariums. I am sure I would get a better made aquarium if I bought an ADA rimless? I'd be willing to pay more but I want the long dimension and ADA doesn't make it in the long dimension.

Here I am, empty aquarium. Got the accessories you see in the picture:

Marineland Single LED 
Fluval C2 HOB w/ optional sponge filter
Hydor Koralia 240 Nano powerhead
Eheim Jager 25w heater (I live in So Cal so the smallest will do)

What to do now? I've drawn many concepts on paper and in mind regarding what I want to do with the aquarium. I've seen tons of really pretty aquascaping online but, you know what? I don't garden and don't want to start gardening. Not going to prune or spray my plants with CO2 or fertilizer. Most plants to me are ugly. I don't even like touching plants. I don't even like dirt. So, no, I won't be using potting soil in my aquarium. 

This aquarium is for my shrimps' happiness and making them happy makes me happy. And, what will make me happier is if I can see them being happy. So, the first and foremost objective for the aquarium concept is openess (sic). I want to be able to see what all the shrimps are doing at a single glance. They can have things to hide and feel safe, but I should be able to see them at the same time. How do I achieve this conundrum? 

And, since I don't like want to take care of the aquarium very much, I need to design the tank so it can be self sufficient sort of like the BlueIQ, just add water! I need to find a balance between flora and fauna, so they can keep each other happy in harmony. And, all I need to do is to look at my happy shrimps.

Currently, I have Java moss in my shrimp vase. I think Java moss is pretty. It can stay. I want to get some hairgrass and some mossballs. I want plants that don't really look like plants you can say. Those twiney leafy things kind of gross me out. I need plats with definite shape and structure. And, they have to be easy to take care of, generate enough oxygen and nutrients to support a small shrimp colony and they must be slow growth because I don't wanna have to prune and cut and rake or any gardening. 

So, that's where I am at. 

I need one of those water changing hoses, Eleocharis Parvula and Blyxa Japonica.

I think I know what I am doing. My shrimps will rue the day. My cubicle, however, is still suffocating me.

Anyways, my other hobbies include audiophilia, photography and road cycling. The photography part might come in handy with this shrimp keeping stuff.

Update 5/20/2012

If you read this far, you'd realize that the title says "ADA 60-F" not "Mr. Aqua 12 Gallon". Well, I returned every equipment I bought and started over. I trekked to Nature Aquarium in Santa Monica, an hour drive from Irvine, today. This is the best retail experience I had in a very long time. Every aquarium and accessory was interesting to look at. Dunno about the rest of you guys, but I've never been interested in pet stores or aquariums. 

Anyways, I brought an ADA 60-F home.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

If that is where the tank is going to go be very careful.

You'll be dealing with about 120 pounds of weight on the shelf.

Judging by the shelf its not ment to support that type of weight.

Check to be sure those tracks are screwed into the studs, otherwise you'll be ****** when the tank falls and you have 12 gallons of water in your office, not to mention a broken tank. :^(

-Gordon


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## vincenz (Jan 29, 2012)

Ditto on the shelf. Make sure it can support at least 150 lbs. 

Some things to consider:

There aren't any plants out there you won't have to trim from time to time. Plants don't just grow to a specific size and just stay there perfectly. It's nature. It'll either grow and keep growing, or grow to the point where it can't grow anymore and then start to die because it'll choke itself. Now what type of trimming and pruning is another matter. 

Since you don't like dirt, go with a shrimp-friendly substrate. There are more than enough qualified people out there to give ideas here, but generally what you want is ADA Aquasoil. 

I would skip on the water change hose because it's a relatively small tank. I'm talking about one of those that connect to a faucet. Just buy one of those small hand siphons and use a bucket-- much more easier to manage for small scale things like this.

Filtration is fine, but I'd get rid of the powerhead. Those won't play well once your shrimp start breeding (shrimp sauce, anyone?). Just put the HOB on one of the short sides. Or if you're willing to go canister for a cleaner look, you can do that instead.

As for lighting, you may not have enough for anything other than moss and crypts. I'm not too sure hairgrass will do well with that light, but I could be wrong. I'd stay away from crypts since you probably won't like how the majority of them look. And they're not very good if you're looking for small scale plants.

If I were you, I'd go for a hardscape-dominated scape since you don't like maintenance. Go for some nice-looking rocks and have some moss here and there. Good luck and have fun-- just make sure your tank is cycled and good to go.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

gordonrichards said:


> If that is where the tank is going to go be very careful.
> 
> You'll be dealing with about 120 pounds of weight on the shelf.
> 
> ...


I had similar apprehensions too! To test, I jumped on the shelf before placing the aquarium on it last night. I am about 170lbs. It supported me. Plus, I got a huge granite slab on the bottom shelf to keep the weight bottom heavy. With the slab on the bottom shelf, the whole shelf wouldn't budge.

The shelf is brand named Elfa and are purchased through the Container Store. I just contacted them regarding the weight limit. They claim 300lbs for my configuration and shouldn't have a problem as long as my aquarium weight is evenly spread out.

I might adjust the top shelf to be a few inches lower to be on the safe side... But, anyways, thanks for the feedback.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

vincenz said:


> Ditto on the shelf. Make sure it can support at least 150 lbs.
> 
> Some things to consider:
> 
> ...



Pretty much agree with you about everything you said. Don't think I will NEVER have to do some sort of gardening but want to minimize as much as possible through my choices of plants.

Yes, plan to get one of those 2 meter hose with ball pump things not those 25-50ft water change pythons.

Yes, the light doesn't look particularly strong. I saw another forum member with the same tank got the more powerful DOUBLE Marineland LED light. He claimed it to be too bright. So, I thought I could get away with a SINGLE version of the same light. I hope the light is enough to keep hairgrass alive but not enough to get it to propogate. The thought of "runners" kind of gross me out. 

I got some wood and rocks already. I don't know how to put it all together yet though. 

Thanks for pointing out the powerhead shrimpy guillotine. I got the Koralie 240 Nano which I think is the smallest powerhead on the market. I tested it in my sink, and it barely creates a current. I won't use it much. I hope it's small and weak enough that it won't suck any shrimpies in... But, at least it's brought to my attention and I will see to what my alternatives are. Maybe get one of those timer power outlets that will cause the powerhead to "pulse" hence making it even weaker than it already is? But then, why even bother with a powerhead at that point?


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

Good luck with the tank  Its an awesome size. However the single bright is absolute crap and at the most _may_ be able to support moss.


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

Hey you look local, let me guess! Did you get your tank from west Covina?


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

dasob85 said:


> Good luck with the tank  Its an awesome size. However the single bright is absolute crap and at the most _may_ be able to support moss.


The dimension is close to ideal. I really would like it to have a bit more depth. I think then it would be easier to create a pseudo sense of scale.

The Marineland Single is going back. Not that I don't like the light. But, I just don't want anything sitting on top of the tank. That's the whole point of getting a rimless I guess. Keep objects at a minimal so what's inside the tank is not as obstructed. Basically, it just bugs me that there's wires and things hanging all over the tank.

Just put a desk light that I don't use at the moment to light up the aquarium as a test:


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

sayurasem said:


> Hey you look local, let me guess! Did you get your tank from west Covina?


I might have indirectly. I bought it from Ocean Blue in Orange. But, they had to pick it up from somewhere else as both the store and distributor is out of stock. It might have been the West Covina store? What's that store called anyways?


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

Dont think ive ever met a plant person who didnt want their plants to grow at all.


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

etane said:


> I might have indirectly. I bought it from Ocean Blue in Orange. But, they had to pick it up from somewhere else as both the store and distributor is out of stock. It might have been the West Covina store? What's that store called anyways?


CK Fish world exit Azuza of 10 free way. I see that your new from your post count, join some club around here  

Join the 12 gallon long club, and SCAPE! Check my signature.


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

kwheeler91 said:


> Dont think ive ever met a plant person who didnt want their plants to grow at all.


I dont want them to grow either. That way, I wouldn't have to trim lol was a pain today picking up all the hc bits after trimming


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

sayurasem said:


> CK Fish world exit Azuza of 10 free way. I see that your new from your post count, join some club around here
> 
> Join the 12 gallon long club, and SCAPE! Check my signature.


I can't join the 12 gallon long club anymore as I've returned the tank to Ocean Blue. Just not happy with the tank's workmanship. Going to give ADA a shot.

Thanks for the tip on SCAPE. I'll be reading up on it tonight. Spent all day researching tank stuff already...


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Taking a break from playing with my new aquarium. As you can see in the following picture, I intend to use my desk lamp as an aquarium lamp. It's a rather expensive lamp that I ended up not using because the color temperature strains my eyes too much. But, the shrimps seem to like it quite a bit. So, it stays. 










Saw some crystal red shrimps at Nature Aquarium today. My tank isn't even set up yet. But, I couldn't resist and picked up a couple.










I also ordered an Eheim 2232 canister filter. I checked out some pipes at Nature Aquarium but seems all the pipes are too big for the 60-F. The only option I found through my extensive research is Aquatic Magic's 9mm pipes. I guess I have to use the green pipes until the Magic pipes arrive. Are there other options? I think I need pipes that are less than 5" in height and prefer 9mm pipes. Of course, I will have to convert the hose size from 13mm to 9mm.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

I have a 60F as well and I'm using cal aqua labs 13mm nano pipes. They're perfect for a 60F

http://greenleafaquariums.com/inflow-outflow-pipes.html

Or of course, you could always buy the ADA or Do! Aqua versions too


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> I have a 60F as well and I'm using cal aqua labs 13mm nano pipes. They're perfect for a 60F
> 
> http://greenleafaquariums.com/inflow-outflow-pipes.html
> 
> Or of course, you could always buy the ADA or Do! Aqua versions too



Hi. Thanks for your feedback. I think I saw your 60-F thread. It was a gift, right?

I checked out the Do!Aqua nano sized 13mm pipe. You know, the one without suction cups. It's 6inches long on the inflow. It's too tall for my aquarium unless I don't use any substrate. And, I think I will have at least an inch of substrate at the back end of the aquarium when I am done... And, the Cal Aqua seems to have the same height as the Do!Aqua...

Oh yah, I have to put one of those shrimp filter guards on the inflow too since I have shrimps. So, the shorter the pipes the better...

edit:

Hey, I went back to check your 60F thread. I do see your pipes but can't get a full view of the inflow pipe. Is the bottom of your inflow tank touching anything? Do you think there will be enough room to install one of those shrimp mesh guard?

edit again:

Oh, I see now. The Do!Aqua pipes I saw didn't have suction cups. The Cal Aqua you have do have suction cups, therefore, you can raise it up higher to fit your tank unlike the Do!Aqua one. I guess I can use the Cal Aqua pipe too! Thanks again for your help.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Laying out how the substrate will be placed:










The wife is helping me to my concept to reality. She's good with paper.

He seems more patient than I am in getting his new home set up:


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Got it set up.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Day 1 (yesterday)

Some background on the set up.

Originally, I planned to do some peaceful prairie sloping with curvy walking path with different substrate material and thickness/topography with 3 types of substrate and 5 type of plants. I was overly ambitious. It turned into mush after I turned the filter on. I tossed the whole thing save a few plants. 

Second try, going minimalist. Only a manzanita branch, 5 yamaya stones and a lot of java moss wrapped around the manzanita. Clean and simple. I am much happier. I read shrimps don't like bare bottom. But, that's what I am going with. I am sick of dealing with substrate.

I got some terrarium globes in there fitted with some moss and stones. I thought the shrimps that want some cover might find it useful. Turns out, they don't like the globes. The few I saw went in either came straight out or struggled frantically to get out. So, I need to find some other method to provide cover.

The shrimps really avoid the yamaya stones for some reasons. Some taiwan moss is placed in between the branch and the stones. So, I thought the moss would entice the shrimps to use the stones as cover. But, they hardly go close to it. 

Within 5 hrs of setting the aquarium up, 3 of 5 snowballs went into molting. 2 molted very quickly. 1 seemed to struggle as a CRS kept bugging it. For some reasons, they all liked hanging out at the larger size rock just underneath the branch yesterday. Today, they are exploring. 1 snowball is still hiding underneath the big rock. I think it just finished molting.

Anyways, on to day 2:



















This morning, first thing I noticed is the water is hazier than it was yesterday. I guess the tank is already cycling. Did a water test with tetra strips. Ammonia seems safe although a bit high, I think, for such a young tank. Nitrate is between 1.0 and 3.0. Hardness (gh) is 75 ppm. Chlorine is nil. Alkalinity (kh) is between 40 and 80. And, pH is somewhere between 7.8 and 8.4.

What sticks out to me is the high pH. So, I did a 15% water change with RO water. A few hours later, the pH tested between 7.2 and 7.8. I think I am good water parameter wise for today.

In a tupperware bowl, I have a glass tray filled with ADA Amazonia soil with E. Acicularis planted in it. I added a bottle of Tetra SafeStart to the bowl to grow a colony of beneficial bacteria who will feed off the ammonia provided by the ADA soil. The water in the bowl is testing very high on nitrates and moderate on the ammonia. After the nitrate and ammonia is down to nil, I will add the tray with the plants and some water into the aquarium. 

The aquarium has already started cycling as mentioned above. I didn't think it would start so soon at least not before I add the water and plant from the tupperware. I hope my shrimps doesn't get damaged by the cycling. I guess I have to do daily 15% water changes to prevent ammonia and nitrate spikes.

Other observances:

1) 1 of 2 CRS is bigger than all the rest of the shrimps. I really dislike this shrimp. He keeps bugging others. He ate all the snowballs' molted skin. He's certainly developed a taste for it and tried to eat a snowball that was trying to molt. This shrimp is a feces machine too. During the first day, he hardly moves and just munches on exoskeleton and leave feces behind him. I am getting an Eheim vacuum just because of him. I think he's single handedly raising the ammonia level in the tank.

2) I wonder whether the yamaya stones is the cause for the high pH.

3) My cheapie 50mm 1.8 nikon lens does a rather good impression of a macro lens or at least it performs much better than the 17-55mm 2.8. I haven't touched the 50mm in years and was contemplating on selling it. I guess I will keep it for the shrimps.

4) The snowballs don't really like climbing on the branch though I tied up a bunch of moss to it. The CRS goes up there more often.


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## fairgate (Apr 7, 2012)

Absolutely love those rectangular vases you have there. Good luck with the new tank, hope it all works out for you, you have some nice equipment there.


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## 808Hawaii (Jan 28, 2012)

I too ordered the cal aqua, and also is starting my 60f. I'm just waiting on soil. 
My tank journal:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals/176578-60f-making.html

Good luck!


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

fairgate said:


> Absolutely love those rectangular vases you have there. Good luck with the new tank, hope it all works out for you, you have some nice equipment there.


Thanks for the comment!


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

808Hawaii said:


> I too ordered the cal aqua, and also is starting my 60f. I'm just waiting on soil.
> My tank journal:
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals/176578-60f-making.html
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks for the comment. The 60f is a really short tank, and I found it difficult to work with in terms of fitting the lily pipes. I almost went with Aquatic Magic since it's the shortest pipes on the market that I know of. (AM=5", CA=6")

I couldn't use the Cal Aqua ones when I had the tank in the middle of the shelf. So, I had to move the tank to the right end of the shelf. This way, the hoses doesn't have to bend and hangs straight down. Looks much better this way and is probably better water flow too. The hose had to be bent at sharp angles to fit when tank was in middle of shelf.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

cool looking tank


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## 808Hawaii (Jan 28, 2012)

etane said:


> Thanks for the comment. The 60f is a really short tank, and I found it difficult to work with in terms of fitting the lily pipes. I almost went with Aquatic Magic since it's the shortest pipes on the market that I know of. (AM=5", CA=6")
> 
> I couldn't use the Cal Aqua ones when I had the tank in the middle of the shelf. So, I had to move the tank to the right end of the shelf. This way, the hoses doesn't have to bend and hangs straight down. Looks much better this way and is probably better water flow too. The hose had to be bent at sharp angles to fit when tank was in middle of shelf.


Or you could drill holes soothe tubing could go throug?

It is what I'm planning to do once I get a drill bit thats the same size as the tubing.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

808Hawaii said:


> Or you could drill holes soothe tubing could go throug?
> 
> It is what I'm planning to do once I get a drill bit thats the same size as the tubing.


I may steal that idea from you since I want to put the tank in the middle of my shelf. Might be safer that way.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Dinner will be served at the round table. 










*how exciting*


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## 808Hawaii (Jan 28, 2012)

etane said:


> I may steal that idea from you since I want to put the tank in the middle of my shelf. Might be safer that way.


No problem on stealing the idea lol, I've seen people do it, so I thought to share.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

etane said:


> Nitrate is between 1.0 and 3.0. Hardness (gh) is 75 ppm


Seachem equilibrium would help with the low gh and benefit the shrimp. Check your ph before using RO water with water changes for you don't want to lower the ph below 7. It happened in my tank I lost a valuable fish.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Hilde said:


> Seachem equilibrium would help with the low gh and benefit the shrimp. Check your ph before using RO water with water changes for you don't want to lower the ph below 7. It happened in my tank I lost a valuable fish.


Thank you for your suggestion.

Initially, when I first filled the tank up, I used half RO water and half Crystal Geyser water as it tests very high in water hardness. Now, it stays above 7.4 even after 15% water change with RO water.

I ordered some Seachem equilibrium just now.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Quick update:

Nothing constructive to report. Actually, tank wise, it's been a frustrating week.

About a few days after I got my aquarium set up, I wanted to clean some debris in the aquarium. There's no substrate at the moment, so it's really easy to see debris. And, this one in particular really bugged me cause it's in the corner behind where the branch is held. So, I had to take the branch out of the tank in order to get to it.

When I took the branch out, the Java moss came loose. I never tied it up. But, with the water resistance in play, moving the branch around pulled the moss loose. Also, the Taiwan moss that was sandwiched between the branch and yamaya rocks started flying all over. It has already decayed since it was only half alive when I planted it. So, pieces are all over the tank. 

What made matters worse is after a day or so the branch started the white fuzz syndrome. After reading up about it, I realize that perhaps me removing the branch from the water killed off some beneficial bacteria and allowed fungi to grow on the branch. I read this will only last a few weeks. I also read that shrimps will feast on the fuzz, but I don't see the shrimps touching it. And, tanin seems to be leaking more after I moved the branch. Tanin level went down a few days ago but has gone up up up since then. Here's a current state of the tank shot:










So, I planned to redo the scape this weekend but plans kind of fell through. I couldn't make up mind on what I want to do. 

One thing I have in mind is to create a carpet out of mini pellia. Reason for mini pellia are 1) shrimp friendly 2) low maintenance 3) slow growth therefore, I suspect there's no floating leaves to clean up or pruning needed. Also, pellia doesn't really require soil, so I don't have to replace soil in the future. 

I ordered some mini pellia last week and arrived on Friday. Kinda disappointing with what I received. When removing the plant from USPS box, I found it to be dry with the paper towel holding the plant to be somewhat moist. The leaves are already 10% brown. Not sure I want to use this as it might just decay just like the Taiwan moss did as I received the Taiwan moss in similar condition. Here's a pic:










Would you use it in this condition? Does it even look like mini pellia in this condition? Anyways, after seeing the clump of mini pellia, I figured it might be easier to plant if it were already on mesh. So, I ordered 3 portions from AFA. It should come later this week.

Another thing I want to do is to add a hard ware to the aquarium. Want to do it for two reasons. I think it would look nice if there's something behind/under the branch on the left side of the tank. Plus, I worry that the shrimps doesn't have enough hiding places when they molt (and I don't want to get those ceramic tubes). Yesterday, went hiking specifically for the reason of finding rocks that will compliment the tree as well as having some irregular slopes for the shrimps to evade nosy neighbors when molting. Here are what I found:










I want to use two rocks. Want to put two rocks close together, so there's a bit of a crevice in between for the shrimp to hide. I did pour some vinegar over the rocks to see if they fizz. But, all I have are cooking rice vinegar. Not potent enough? Well, it didn't fizz. I soaked the rocks in vinegar and salt overnight to kill off some bacteria. I read you have to boil it but don't want to do that with my pots. 

Anyways, that's it for now. I got some mesh coming. Going to order some UP shrimp sand (damn Amazon just sold out! Guess I will get the Fluval). Going to cover a thin layer with the sand then cover the whole tank up with the mesh except where the rocks will be located. This way, the mini pellia will eventually carpet the whole tank.

Just did some research on Fluval Shrimp Stratum and seems it doesn't support CRS shrimplets well. Not that it is a big deal as I don't intend to breed shrimps or anything. But, I do have some Amazonia ADA soil left, about two hand fulls. This soil is supposed to support shrimplets because it has more nutrients? So, maybe I can just sprinkle some of this stuff over the Fluval. I don't want to get another bag of Amazonia as it leaches a lot of ammonia so I've read.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

etane said:


> I ordered some mini pellia last week and arrived on Friday. When removing the plant from USPS box, I found it to be dry with the paper towel holding the plant to be somewhat moist. The leaves are already 10% brown. Not sure I want to use this as it might just decay just like the Taiwan moss did as I received the Taiwan moss in similar condition.


Perhaps they came from an area that has summer temp. Thus now best to get shipments with ice packs or wait until the temp decreases.

Brightwell aquatics Floriaxis may bring them back to life. It helped with some plants that are sensitive to shipment.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Hilde said:


> Perhaps they came from an area that has summer temp. Thus now best to get shipments with ice packs or wait until the temp decreases.
> 
> Brightwell aquatics Floriaxis may bring them back to life. It helped with some plants that are sensitive to shipment.


Thanks for the suggestion but, man, I am not sure it's worth the effort to revive that clump of worts. It will violate my low maintenance endeavor!

I have it in a cup of water, and it hasn't improved but also hasn't gotten any worse.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

Nice! I guess welcome to this habbyt, a mix of hobby and habit. Lol!

My advice, the more plants and filtration you can have with the least light is the key for low maintenance lush good looking clear water tanks. 

Pressurized co2 makes it much easier against algae and plant health.

Have fun!


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

pejerrey said:


> Nice! I guess welcome to this habbyt, a mix of hobby and habit. Lol!
> 
> My advice, the more plants and filtration you can have with the least light is the key for low maintenance lush good looking clear water tanks.
> 
> ...


I see you're a word smithereener! Thanks for leaving your footprint here.

More plants on the way sir, and they are the low light variety: mini pellia. Putting them in the tank this weekend. Hope the addition of mini pellia will contribute towards lower maintenance.

Been contemplating CO2. Pro is as you've mentioned. Con is don't want the plant growth to be so high that the shrimps cannot support it with the amount of CO2 they naturally produce.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Took delivery of API water tester today. Here are the results. I am a little bit astounded that everything is pretty much 0ppm. pH looks to be 7.4. The tank has been up for more than a week now. My tank is cycled?


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

etane said:


> Took delivery of API water tester today. Here are the results. I am a little bit astounded that everything is pretty much 0ppm. pH looks to be 7.4. The tank has been up for more than a week now. My tank is cycled?


 It may not, the spike IME is like around week 2. Wait to add livestock and focus on plants. Are you adding ammonia or anything to create ammonia? Like some food?

The reason is that both plants and algae like NH4,NO2 and NO3; if there is available nutrients in the tank and there is light photosynthetic will happen (you decide if you want the plants to do it or algae instead  ) that would keep you busy for about a month. Then add lil dudes. Scape and rescape because you won't bother anyone!

It's better to wait.

The only way I know to help the cycle to do its thing on time (1month IMO) is to have surface agitation by lowering the water level so the filters splash or with an airstone. All those bacteria juices you can buy are snake oil IME. 

Ps. The other good reason for heavily planting from day 1 is that a lot of the bacteria you want lives in the plants.


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## meowschwitz (Sep 6, 2011)

Probably not cycled. Your tank will be cycled when you have some nitrates, but no ammonia or nitrites. Since you have no nitrates at all, I'm guessing that you never had any ammonia to begin with. You'll have to introduce a source of ammonia somehow like pejerrey suggested to get the cycle going.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

meowschwitz said:


> Probably not cycled. Your tank will be cycled when you have some nitrates, but no ammonia or nitrites. Since you have no nitrates at all, I'm guessing that you never had any ammonia to begin with. You'll have to introduce a source of ammonia somehow like pejerrey suggested to get the cycle going.


+1 
No3 will tell you when the last stage of the cycle is happening.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Thanks for the comments peoples. Some additional information. Been testing the tank water with Tetra strips until about 4 days ago when I ran out. There's always been a good amount of ammonia and nitrite in the water. So, I am a bit awed that there's no trace of either in the water now at least that's what the API tester is telling me. Wondering whether one of these tests is less accurate than the other. 

I was scratching my head about the lack of nitrate too. Could the moss be sucking it up? I've got 7 shrimps in the tank, and I read somewhere that you only need one to produce enough ammonia to kick start the cycling process? (I know I shouldn't add the lil guys into the tank until the tank is cycled, but I purchased the snowballs even before I got the tank...) 

Lastly, as you can see in my fts, I am not using substrate at the moment. So, I can see the excrement on the tank floor. I took delivery of an Eheim vacuum couple of days ago and cleaned up maybe 40% of the excrement. Still lots left. Anyways, here has to be some ammonia in the water....


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

etane said:


> I have it in a cup of water, and it hasn't improved but also hasn't gotten any worse.


That reminds me of my moss in a tank in front of a south window with no additional lighting. Thus wonder if more light would help.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

Strips are inaccurate is said, never used them tho.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

I took delivery of 3 mini pellia mesh yesterday. It looks very thick, lush and healthy. Can't wait to get this planted. These are on mesh.

Question:

I want to get the m pellia to eventually grow to carpet the whole tank. I got 4 sheets of mesh, 12x8" each, to cover the entire tank, for the m pellia to grow on. So, do I place the m pellia mesh on top or below the 4 sheets of mesh?

I am leaning towards placing the m pellia mesh under the mesh sheets.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Well, it's another rescape day. My objective is to keep things very simple and utilitarian. The rocks provide shrimps with hiding places to molt peacefully. Some plants are in place to clean the water and provide shrimps with some biofilm. Tossed the branch as it was probably restricting water flow. Tossed the Java moss as it was leaving brown stuff at the bottom of the tank.

I put three portions of mini pellia underneath ss mesh that is covering 75% of the tanks bottom. Here's a pic of one of the the mini pellia placed in the UP shrimp sand just before I placed the ss mesh over it. I hope, in months to come, the mini pellia will propagate on the ss mesh and cover the rest of the tank's bottom. For now, I just hope it doesn't die from lack of light as the steel mesh is on top of it. 










Here's a pic of the tank getting filled. I sorta messed up my first scape when I used the lily pipe to fill up the tank. So, I got a mister to fill up the first few inches of the tank.










After the water level reaches above a few inches, I started using the lily pipe to fill the tank. Water is from a bucket where I kept the old tank water. I used about 3 gallons of old tank water and about 3 gallons of RO water mixed with some Crystal Geyser.










Took a water test. Everything is still zero. pH is somewhere between 7.4 and 7.8. I hope the pH comes down a bit. Now that I am using shrimp sand, I assume pH should drop a bit within a few days.










Quick shot of the tank although it's not completely filled. Waiting to receive water hardness tester, so I know what water to use to fill the rest of my tank. Of GH is too low, I will use more Crystal Geyser. If it's too high, I will use RO water.










Well, that's it for now. Shrimps are back in their vase for the next few days while I let the water run through the filter a bit and get the water hardness tested.


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## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

cool scape and I LOVE how you write your journal in detail.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

green_valley said:


> cool scape and I LOVE how you write your journal in detail.


You mean my long and drawn out posts? 

Thanks!


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Went to bed last night thinking I was done but kept thinking what if my shrimpies have shrimplets and get trapped under all that mesh? So, removed them this morning.


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## halffrozen (Nov 4, 2011)

Love the tanks scape!!!!

How long did it take for that mister to fill the tank up a few inches??


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

halffrozen said:


> Love the tanks scape!!!!
> 
> How long did it take for that mister to fill the tank up a few inches??


I think it took about 30-45 minutes. I can't recall exactly how long it took. I had to refill the bottle bout 4 or 5 times.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Love the new scape. It's simple but I find it very appealing. With the simple/modern looking light and lily pipes, it really complements the style.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

talontsiawd said:


> Love the new scape. It's simple but I find it very appealing. With the simple/modern looking light and lily pipes, it really complements the style.


Thanks for your comment, Matt. I wanted a self sufficient aquarium like the Walstad way but didn't want a jungle in the aquarium. Just visited Mies Van der Rohe's pavillion in Barcelona a few months ago. That's sort of my inspiration for this scape.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

Ok, NOW I think I am done done.

So, at the beginning of the day, I had the shrimps in a vase. I compared the water hardness in both the vase and the tank. The vase's water was very hard, and the tank's water was very soft.

I filled my mister up with RO water and sprayed it into the vase at the rate of a few squirts every 10 or so minutes. And, I topped off my tank with a gallon of Crystal Geyser spring water. After about a few hours or so, I tested the water again. The results showed that water from the vase and tank had close to equal all 6 parameters that the Tetra test strip tests.

Then, I put some tank water into the vase to acclimate the shrimps. Finally, I moved the shrimps over to their new home.

About a week ago before I started rescaping, I had 5 snowballs and 2 crs. When I moved the shrimps over to the vase, so I can rescape the tank, I counted only 4 snowballs and 2 crs. And, I didn't even find a body. Do shrimps eat the entire body of their fallen comrades?

Anyways, here's a view of my tank from where I am typing.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

I have a slight update. I upped to an ADA 60P. I transferred everything from the 60F to the new tank. Now, I wonder whether the Cal Aqua Nano pipes are too short for the new tank? The tank is probably not getting sufficient water circulation. What do you guys think?


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## ASTRAL (Oct 16, 2012)

etane said:


> Went to bed last night thinking I was done but kept thinking what if my shrimpies have shrimplets and get trapped under all that mesh? So, removed them this morning.


 Totally love the ADA tanks. What rock and substrates that you're using?


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

ASTRAL said:


> Totally love the ADA tanks. What rock and substrates that you're using?


Rocks are yamaya. Substrate is UP Aqua shrimp sand.


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## tetra10 (Aug 5, 2012)

any updates?


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## Ach1Ll3sH33L (Mar 1, 2012)

tetra10 said:


> any updates?


based on how that shelf is bending in the last picture, im guessing the tank fell at some point :icon_conf


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

hhahaahah no...


Ach1Ll3sH33L said:


> based on how that shelf is bending in the last picture, im guessing the tank fell at some point :icon_conf


Bump: new tank shot. just revived my 60f



plants:
alternethea reineikki mini
linderia sp india
erio japan (browning)
ammania bonsai

fauna:
panda cory (2)
pygmy cory (4)
chili rasbora (4)
rasbora u (1)
yellow neo (1)
amano shrimp (1) missing
macrotocinclus affinis (2)

filter: Tom's internal
light: truelumen pro 12k 

yes, i am under filtered at the moment. 

saving the left side for a pending salt water tank


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

so, i took down my friend's office tank. thinking of putting the animals into my 60f. but, tank is already under filtered as it is probably.

also, these new additions are potential shrimp killers. neos and bees gets picked off by some of these fishes when they molt. amanos do ok.

new addition wiil be:

2 pygmy cory
1 macrotocinclus
3 celestichthys erthmromicron (shrimp killer)
4 boraras naevus (shrimp killer somewhat)
2 amanos

So, after putting these into my tank:

1) i need more filtration
2) my sole yellow neo will be bye bye sooner or later

As for filtration, I have an eheim 2236 canister and an aqueon quiet flow 15. the canister is harder to use in my new set up because of the shorter tank causing tighter tube bends. the aqueon is slightly more robust than the tom's filter i think. might have to go with that for now. but, it takes up more space in the tank. sucks.

Lastly, i can't find my amano in the tank and my erios is growing new leaves but is also somewhat browning.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

this morning, i removed half the water from the tank in order to lighten it. pushed the tank back so it's flush against the back of the stand. this is so i can install the lily pipes onto the back of the tank. 

i rather put it to the side of the tank rather than the back, but i didn't want to put the tank so far to the side of the stand. so, now the intake is all the way to the left and outflow is all the way to the right.

it won't create ideal water circulation but it should be good enough. the eheim 2236 should clean the tank up pretty good despite the non-ideal water circulation.

i dumped all the animals i mentioned above into the tank after the cansiter filter was set up. i like the way the tank looks much better now with the lily pipe and with a higher fish population.





i have some red eye balloon tetras i don't know what to do with. they were from my 60p that i took down. i gave them a new home in a aquatop 8" cube. there's 5 of them in there with 2 bumblebee catfish. got a tom's internal filter, an aquatop 15w heater and an aqualighter nano led. the led is overkill but it works as a lamp for our kitchen and living room.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

found the water stagnant on the left side of the tank. added a small power head to improve water circulation near where the inflow pipe is. it's actually an aquatop internal filter with the filter part detached. inserted a small air line tube in front of the impeller to tone down the current. otherwise, the fishes were hiding and the plants were swaying too much. now the water is finally circulating in a gentle flow clock wise.


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## etane (May 14, 2012)

new fts



new sts



some thoughts: my first few encounters with planted tanks were interesting but somewhat high maintenance keeping the tank clean because of the soil particles clogging the filter. i used only sand in my 60p for the reason of keeping it as low maintenance as possible. but, after setting up a 2 gallon planted cube with soil, i found keeping soil substrate wasn't as hard to deal with so decided to give it a try in the 60f. 

so far, the tank is very low maintenance. no floating soil particle to speak of at all. the sand is 80% UP aqua shrimp sand and 20% ada amazonia. the mixture is great. amazonia is too fine by itself, and the UP is too buoyant by itself. my sand sits on the bed with minimal maintenance required. only my glass pipe's output leaves a bit of bald spot at the right front corner of my tank. 

all my plants are thriving. even the erio sp japan is growing lush green new leaves without co2 injection.

my nano fishes are sorta skittish. they were very brave when i had them in the office tanks. but, they hide in the back and are afraid to come to the surface when feeding now that they are in the 60f. tank is too big for them? only the macrotocinclus forage none stop without a care.

I threw in 2 amanos but only see one. and, the single yellow neo is still alive. i thought the yellow would die quickly because i have two types of shrimp killing fishes in the tank at the moment but it's doing good so far.

lastly, turned up the canister filter's current and less stagnant water. ordered a hydor pico 180 to try out but probably don't need it now.


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