# My 3gal. picotope



## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks to Chaz, I have this neat lil thing now, and after receiving some plants from a member on here yesterday, it has some plants in it now!:thumbsup: 

Im waiting on my driftwood and a different light to arrive, so the "scape" def isnt done yet










I like the HM in the front right corner, but im new to it, and dont really know how to plant it, so it forms a nice bush as Ive seen in other members pics on here

Suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!


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## if_fishes_were_wishes (Jul 29, 2007)

Is that a type of blyxa? What kind of filter and lighting do you have? I have a 3 gallon too and like to see the specs of others' 3 gallons


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks:fish: 

Yes it is blyxa...the filter is the red sea nano filter....my lighting is the standard lighting that comes with the picotope...its a 9 Watt 50/50 CF Lamp (Half 7100K Blue/Half 10K White) according to http://www.jbjnanocubes.com/index1.html

Im waiting on a new light fixture to arrive....thanks to Chaz also:thumbsup: and I think that one is going to be a 13 Watt 50/50 CF (Half actinic/Half 7100K)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/swap-n-shop/50922-fs-finnex-cf-light.html

Thanks!


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

New light fixture is here! Looks great!!:thumbsup: Nano diffusers arrived as well!

I took the blyxa out and some of the HM...to give to my mother for her tank, so things are very bare ATM...I believe I will receive plants today and tomorrow...so stay tuned for more pics soon!


























Thanks very much to Chaz for this great light!:thumbsup: 

That picotope is now about as many WPG as my big tank is, when I use both CF's:eek5: hahaha....no fish or shrimps for a while in there

Thanks everyone!


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Here is a crappy cell phone pic the woman sent me after planting the new plants

i will prolly move some things around, still trying to locate some nice driftwood for the anubias, so they are just in the substrate right now.











I will get some better pics tonight....im anxious for this workday to be over...dont these people understand I have fish tanks to tend to! hahaha:fish: 

Thanks everyone:thumbsup:


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

lookin real good, i like the petite nana!


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks B 

According to the woman, the petite looks nice and dark green, and im sure we can all see some nice new bright green growth, so that is great!

Sorry bout the quality of the photo...I will get some good ones tonight!

Subwassertang looks like its growing, the rotala(?) in front of the 
Limnophila aromatica has a nice red tinge to the tops....and the red sword in the back actually looks red! it was always green in the big tank


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## Yoshi (Apr 5, 2007)

So is the bulb on your new 13W fixture a 50/50 bulb? It looks more "yellow" (like a 6700K daylight bulb). Did you swap bulbs or are you still using a 50/50?


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

I believe the bulb in the new fixture is a 7100K bulb. I didnt swap bulbs....the old clip on light had a 50/50 bulb in it


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## Yoshi (Apr 5, 2007)

Ah I see, in your 3rd post you mentioned that you thought it was a 50/50 13W bulb, which is why I was confused. It looks a lot better w/a daylight bulb.


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Good call Yoshi, yes your right, I did mention a 50/50 bulb....for some reason! haha...must have thought that after researching the bulb a bit, before it arrived. 



> It looks a lot better w/a daylight bulb.


Thanks very much! I like it much better this way as well


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Updated pics  



















Süßwassertang was a freebie in my plant order thanks to Minsc :thumbsup: 


















Petite Nana...thanks to erijnal:thumbsup: & my Echinodorus 'Rose' has a new leaf







I shaded that one badly in my big tank:icon_redf 










Limnophila aromatica....also thanks to erijnal:thumbsup: 











Sorry bout the glass:icon_redf

Thanks everyone...many more plants to come for both tanks tomorrow:thumbsup: :eek5:


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Stuck a few more plants in here last night too!










Kinda hid the E Rose a lil bit, but I think I have some decent light on this tank, and like I said co2 runs 24/7.....i will keep my eye on it










Tonina Belem from the top!  Stuck two small stems of sunset hygro in the back...I think the blyxa needs a new home somewhere :?: :lol: 

Thanks!


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

The Limnophila aromatica doesnt seem to be doing so well 

Its not purple anymore, and it looks a bit transparent...I will get some new pics of it soon.....Im at work right now

I think it may have been in the shade a lil bit, but Im pretty sure its not shaded now...hopefully it comes back!

If not, anyone with it, keep me on your list for more! hahaha

Thanks everyone!:thumbsup:


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## pet-teez (Aug 17, 2007)

Cute
Hey, uh, is your Anubias "planted"? I can't really tell from the pictures but the rhizome has to be above the substrate or it'll rot.


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks pet-teeze....yes it is planted...I was waiting to find some small pieces of driftwood to stick in there, but havent had much luck 

I think the rhizome is above the substrate...the woman planted it for me the day it arrived in the mail, and I havent touched it. I know they are supposed to be above the substrate...I will check it when I get home, and pull them up a tad if I have to

Thanks again:thumbsup:


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## pet-teez (Aug 17, 2007)

What kind of driftwood are you looking for, and what size?
I have a bit of driftwood here that I was planning on selling at some point.
One thing you could do for now is to attach them to small rocks until your find the right piece of wood for your setup, I had all my Anubias tied to rock for two years (I used plasticoated twist ties, not the paper kind), I did it in a way so that the rock held them down more than as something for them to attach to, it worked well.


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks pet-teez 

I dont really care what kind of wood it is....I was after a spikey look tho....more skinny and tall...so I can attach some riccia to it?

I think my dimensions on the picotope are roughly 11"L x 8"H x 8"D

There is another 3 gal. nano in this section that has the perfect look I was going for! Just not having much luck

I have some rocks laying around and thats a good idea...I will check things out when I get home

Thanks very much!


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## pet-teez (Aug 17, 2007)

Ah, you want a piece of Manzanita in that case, what I have is mostly Malaysian which isn't very spikey. heh
This reminds me though that I need to take new pictures of the driftwood I have around, I have no idea which pieces I want to use for my next project but I won't worry about my stuff right now, I'll see if there is any interest in what I've got.

Good luck with your project 



Erk said:


> Thanks pet-teez
> 
> I dont really care what kind of wood it is....I was after a spikey look tho....more skinny and tall...so I can attach some riccia to it?
> 
> ...


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks PT...I think your right....manzanita is the way to go

However, I look forward to seeing pics of what you have, when you have time to get around to taking pics....im not in a rush...im mainly experimenting with plants I didnt have great success with in the past right now in the nano....I hope to eventually sell some trimmings as well.....so the decor is not that big of a deal right now...but I def. dont wanna kill the petite nana:eek5: 

Thanks again, and good luck to you on your next project as well


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## if_fishes_were_wishes (Jul 29, 2007)

I used a branchy manzanita bird perch in my 3 gallon, here's some pics in this thread:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/52283-3-gallon-eclipse-rescape.html

Maybe something like that would work?


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks :fish: 

Yeah something similar to that...maybe a tad less branchy, but it looks good in your tank!

I appreciate you linking me there


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

This is pretty much what Im after

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/47312-my-3-gallon-nano.html

maybe not quite as "wide" so I have some decent room to plant in there

Like i said, no big rush, as I would like to grow out the L. aromatica, and rotala wallichii, and rotala mac

Thanks again everyone


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## redraider (Oct 11, 2007)

Hey, I have the exact same tank..only its got the stock light on it. Can you recomend some plants for me? I'm new with planted tanks and I dont know exactly what i should get. I need somethign easy! and somethign that will grow in enamel coated gravel.


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Im fairly new as well redraider, so I cant help you much with the gravel part of things, but I have been recommended to replace the stock 50/50 light in the original light for the picotope fixture....just havent done it yet.

I would think you wanna start there, but you should look at low light required plants.....such as anubias, hornwort, cabomba, wysteria, and hygrophilias

Good Luck


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

*Update*

couple updated shots of my nano....Ive been working on this for a while, and really couldnt get anything to hang around in there, but I think I have the hang of things now:thumbsup: 


































































Thanks


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Great background!
The lush green imo looks great, and i'd like to see the plants fill out =)


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks V:thumbsup: My background on that tank is just some trash bags! hahaha 

Yeah, Im waiting for the blyxa to fill in a bit more, and then I think I will be in business.....I need to start looking for some red shrimpies:smile: 

Thanks again!


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Shouldn't be too hard to find : P.
My red shrimpies are multiplying on me : D. 
Unfortunately so are teh ramshorns, and fortunately so are the plants and mts.


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