# MedRed's 5.5 Gallon: Mini-M/Mega Rescape (R.I.P. 08.07.2009)



## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

So folks... This is my 2 month old shrimp tank. I've been waiting to get the tank in order. Almost there! I was using an aquaclear 20 on the tank. I found one of my Rasbora Briggitae's dried up outside of the tank. I thought it was a fluke but a few more went missing. I decided i'd put the lid on it to keep the fishies in. I ordered a zoo med canister so I could fit the lid on. My canister came in yesterday. I set it up today and went to take the aquaclear out. Guess what I found 4 briggitae (1 living) in the Aquaclear! I don't think they could have been sucked in as I had a sponge on the filter intake... they must have swam into the outflow. I really like the zoo med. I put in purigen instead of the activated carbon. I'll be switching the ceramic for bioballs. 

I'm still not done with the tank. I will be placing some wood pieces in this tank. I could only take one picture before the timer turned the lights off! All the fish are hiding because I'd just completed a water change. 

Special note... I did not use Co2 for this tank at all until exactly 7 days ago. 

Inhabitants:
Clown Killies
Dario Dario (Scarlet Badis)
Rasbora Briggitae
Celestial Danios

Shrimp:
Red Cherries
Amanos
Bumblebees


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Nice tank MedRed! I like that you have a large variety of plants. How long do you keep your lights on and do you have a problem with algae on the glass? My Solar M is on for 8 hrs a day from 7am-11am and 7pm-11pm and I have to scrape the glass pretty often =(

How do you like having the lid on your tank? I've been thinking of getting 1 for my tank as well to prevent jumping but concerned that the glass lid would end up requiring a lot of cleaning due to condensation and hard water getting on it. Can you show us more pics of the tank and lid?


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## Gianne00 (May 15, 2008)

Very nice!! The tank looks a lot bigger than it really is. What is the groundcover in the front-right corner of the tank?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

volatile said:


> Nice tank MedRed! I like that you have a large variety of plants. How long do you keep your lights on and do you have a problem with algae on the glass? My Solar M is on for 8 hrs a day from 7am-11am and 7pm-11pm and I have to scrape the glass pretty often =(
> 
> How do you like having the lid on your tank? I've been thinking of getting 1 for my tank as well to prevent jumping but concerned that the glass lid would end up requiring a lot of cleaning due to condensation and hard water getting on it. Can you show us more pics of the tank and lid?


I keep my lights on a 12 hour photo period with no break. I'm a bit of a maverick... I learned how to balance highlight, no CO2, and no algae early on (not by choice). This tank didn't get CO2 until a week ago. Not much algae at all in the tank. I haven't scraped algae in two weeks. 

I've only had the lid on the tank since last night. I now have an added constraint in that I will need to keep the wood I get pretty low in the tank. My LFS ordered the lid for me... so I didn't know which one I was going to get. I have the one that is a couple of inches shorter than the footprint so that you can run your filters through and what not. I guess the shrimpies could still walk out if they wanted... but it's less likely I'll have any more fish suicides. I'll take more pictures today.



Gianne00 said:


> Very nice!! The tank looks a lot bigger than it really is. What is the groundcover in the front-right corner of the tank?


That, my friend, is our dear friend glosso. It's doing much better now with the co2. I dumped the extra i didn't feel like planting on the far left.. The far left is how it's not supposed to look, tall and yellow. The right is low, green, and spreading on runners.

Thanks for the compliments!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Ok... here is a pic of the lid. there are four little metal clips that go over the lip of the tank. They make a little shelf that the lid goes on. 










Here is the bubble counter and diffusor set up. I love the bubble counter! the spiraling bubbles look like a science experiment










Here are some new pictures I took tonight of the inhabitants... I forgot to capture the dario dario's

Cherry









Cherry playing peekaboo









Celestial Danios: lower middle










Rasbora Briggitae









Clown Killies









Tiger


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

Could you possibly resize those images? They blow out the margins.

Great tank!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

fshfanatic said:


> Could you possibly resize those images? They blow out the margins.
> 
> Great tank!


I realized that as soon as i posted them... I need to figure out my digital camera! Thanks for the compliment!


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## torque6 (Jun 7, 2008)

Nice tank red,
I too have boraras B. in my tank, but you seem to have boraras M as well ? Ive noticed your dazs diffusor is external, I dont recall them carrying a spiral reactor ? Does it work similarly as a normal reactor and whats the flow rate?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks torque. Yeah I have a few rasbora merah in there; netted them out of another tank over a couple of days. They just got lost in the hustle of the bigger tank. the glassware is the dazs beetle counter. It's just a bubble counter that looks cool. the co2 still has to go through a diffusor. none of the water from the beetle counter actually touches the water in the tank.


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Awesome tank!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks Chrisinator! I still need to add a couple of pieces of wood and let the plants grow in. Come on Glosso! Oh yeah... just added a couple of sparkling gouramis as well.


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

MedRed said:


> I keep my lights on a 12 hour photo period with no break. I'm a bit of a maverick... I learned how to balance highlight, no CO2, and no algae early on (not by choice). This tank didn't get CO2 until a week ago. Not much algae at all in the tank. I haven't scraped algae in two weeks.
> 
> I've only had the lid on the tank since last night. I now have an added constraint in that I will need to keep the wood I get pretty low in the tank. My LFS ordered the lid for me... so I didn't know which one I was going to get. I have the one that is a couple of inches shorter than the footprint so that you can run your filters through and what not. I guess the shrimpies could still walk out if they wanted... but it's less likely I'll have any more fish suicides. I'll take more pictures today.


Wow 12 straight hours and no algae? I'm going to try 8 hours straight instead now and try to work my way up to 12. Hopefully I'll have a CO2 setup soon to help with the algae. 

I like your isotetes taiwanesis. How much did your LFS charge for it? How many fish do you have total in there? I have 11 boraras in my Mini M and wondering if I should add more. 1 jumped out the other day when I turned on the light in the room and it freaked him out.  I'm considering the glass top.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

volatile said:


> Wow 12 straight hours and no algae? I'm going to try 8 hours straight instead now and try to work my way up to 12. Hopefully I'll have a CO2 setup soon to help with the algae.
> 
> I like your isotetes taiwanesis. How much did your LFS charge for it? How many fish do you have total in there? I have 11 boraras in my Mini M and wondering if I should add more. 1 jumped out the other day when I turned on the light in the room and it freaked him out.  I'm considering the glass top.



I'm not sure how many briggitae/merah i have in the tank... maybe 7... i'll count them tomorrow as the lights are off now. I have 2 sparkling gouramis, 3 male and 4 female scarlet badis, 4 male and 4 female clow killis, 6 celestial danios... and and maybe 10 shrimp.


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## torque6 (Jun 7, 2008)

MedRed said:


> thanks torque. Yeah I have a few rasbora merah in there; netted them out of another tank over a couple of days. They just got lost in the hustle of the bigger tank. the glassware is the dazs beetle counter. It's just a bubble counter that looks cool. the co2 still has to go through a diffusor. none of the water from the beetle counter actually touches the water in the tank.


oh i see, for a moment, i thought you were using a new daz external co2 reactor.


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

Love those clown killis. Wish I could get some.. 

Nice work on the tank.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thank you fsh. they are the first killies i've ever owned. the males have really nice tails. I don't think the pics do them justice. everything spaced out nicely in the tank. The killies stay at the surface. the rasboras stay in the upper mid, above the the tops of the plants, the celestials stay in the lower mid, weaving in and out of the plants, and the badis hover right above the gravel. The sparkling gouramis wander all over.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

If I counted right..30 fish in a 5.5 gal? I feel better about 28 in my 20 gal now.. Awesome tank!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

waterfaller1 said:


> If I counted right..30 fish in a 5.5 gal? I feel better about 28 in my 20 gal now.. Awesome tank!


ha ha..thanks. I'm the last person to follow when it comes to stocking rules. I take into account fish size, territorial nature, and preferred strata. I'm sure there are people who will have a cow... but striking a balance doesn't have to mean teetering on the brink of disaster or fish that are unhappy because they can't move.


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## tongoo (May 6, 2008)

hey medred what types of plants do you have?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

hmm
isotetes taiwanesis
tonina fluvitalis
glosso
HC
Blyxa Japonica 
Riccia
various java ferns... i think that about rounds out the flora.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Just an update. Everything is filling in nicely. The glosso looks a little yellow in the pic but it's just the light reflecting off of it. The java ferns attached to the rock on the left are going nuts. The bed of riccia to the left is starting to pull away from the base. I might end up pulling all of it up and doing something else with that area. 

I still plan on adding a piece of wood or two that will stand above the ferns and have moss attached to it. 

2 months old









14 days later










obligatory shrimpie pic











Almost forgot some of the other inhabitants

scarlet badis female









scarlet badis male (i had to hunt one down. they typically stay towards the front of the tank. he was all the way in the back hiding out)









Sparkling gourami This nosey parker came to see what I was doing with the camera









This cherry must have been trying to cure it's hiccups


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## theinjected1 (Mar 8, 2007)

Nice! Where did you find the killies? I can't find any locally and am a little hesitant to ship in the heat.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

My LFS has them. I bet the owner would be willing to ship some to you.


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## theinjected1 (Mar 8, 2007)

Cool, can you PM me the lfs info?

Thanks!

~Todd


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

3 months old... i've done a little bit of rescaping. There's some sediment on the leaves as I just added the wood yesterday. thanks badcopnofish :thumbsup:. Starting at the right I ditched the riccia mat. It was going to take too much effort to maintain. 

I rescued 3 stems of tonina belem and 7 stems of tonina fluvitalis from my LFS. They weren't doing to hot. The belem is on the right and is already splitting. the baby splits look very nice. The fluvitalis was added to my existing fluvitalis. The bottom of the new stems are kinda gross but the top growth is nice. I'll let it grow out more and then trim all of my fluvitalis. 

In place of the riccia mat i added eriocaulon Cinereum. Thanks Craigthor!:thumbsup: I have one more eriocaulon to go to fill in the spot between them. I unfortunately uprooted a lot of my Baby tears in the rescaping so I'm back to the beginning on letting all of that grow back... sigh. 

I moved all of the blyxa to the back. The dead space to the far left and in the back has a few stems of tonina manuas(thanks again Craigthor:thumbsup. That should complete my dead spaces once it grows in.

And as you've noticed I've added wood. I plan on adding a small spattering of weeping moss in a few select creases. I've also added 5 anchor cats and a 3 of my tiny horned nerites. I had a tiny bit of BGA and these guys cleared it right up. I'm playing with the settings on my camera so these pics came out a bit dark. I will get it right one of these days.

2 months old









2 1/2 months old 










3 months old


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## kagebunshin (Jun 30, 2008)

aww, what happen to your riccia in the 3mos pic? I must say I did the new piece of wood though. Change is good .


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## neonmkr (May 16, 2008)

Very nice! Hard to believe it's a small tank.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

i like it. it looks great. but i did like the riccia too...


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

awww... i guess i killed the main attraction. I just moved it to another tank where I could easily pull it out to service it and then plop it back in. 

I realize really need to trim the fluvitalis but i don't have enough good growth on the added stems to keep them alive If I cut them. If I just do the existing stems it will look wonky. 2 more weeks and I should be ready to go.


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## Fishy_Fun (Feb 9, 2008)

where do you buy your fish?i live local to you


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

The Wetspot Tropical Fish.


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## kittytango (May 7, 2008)

I Love the color of your fish and plants. The shrimp are also awsome! Great Job.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks kitty!


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## ChadEmrick (Jun 21, 2008)

Your tank is amazing. I cant believe thats actually that small!

Very inspiring!


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## kittytango (May 7, 2008)

Love the picture of the shrimp hiding in the plants!!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

ChadEmrick said:


> Your tank is amazing. I cant believe thats actually that small!
> 
> Very inspiring!


Thanks Chad!



kittytango said:


> Love the picture of the shrimp hiding in the plants!!


The shrimpies loved the riccia mat . There were 3 of them in it when i took it out.


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## Renegade545 (Oct 28, 2007)

Beautiful tank.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thank you!


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## Fishy_Fun (Feb 9, 2008)

Really! i shop there as well but i dont see some of those plants there when i go.You must always get to them first


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I wait for the order! Everything except for the erios were bought there. They get an amano plant order in from time to time. I was there as the plants were unboxed...lol


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Wow, beautiful tank! And the scale is incredible, I can't believe it's that small!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thank you Karackle!


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

It has evolved quite nicely!! Great job!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thank you Tex Gal... There's still more work to be done!


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## Fishy_Fun (Feb 9, 2008)

Did i even say that tank looks awesome.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thank you Fishy... I thin i'm 75%-80% done at this point. I have decided to use fissidens on the wood. I will order some from aquaspot world with my next order. I am dying to trim the fluvitalis but i'll wait for newer stems to grow out some. i'm still debating on whether to keep the duckweed. The killies love it but it does block the light.


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## thief (Jan 12, 2008)

Awesome Mini M Medred. I am still starting my Mini M and this is inspiring. Can't wait for more pics.:icon_mrgr


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

This tank is looking really good.
So much variety and diversity.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thank you thief and Mizu!


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## Fishy_Fun (Feb 9, 2008)

You've inspired me, 
i decided to set up a 5.5 with 5 CPD and 2 clown killes.I love the looks of your tank and i can only hope mine will look the same.


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## Fishy_Fun (Feb 9, 2008)

i have also been meaning to ask what light you have on that and where did you get it?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Fishy_Fun said:


> You've inspired me,
> i decided to set up a 5.5 with 5 CPD and 2 clown killes.I love the looks of your tank and i can only hope mine will look the same.


Thank you very much!




Fishy_Fun said:


> i have also been meaning to ask what light you have on that and where did you get it?


 I have the ADA Solar Mini-M. It's stupid expensive for a light. I've read about a home depot 27 watt home depot light that would do the same thing for a lot less money. I don't remember which one it was but that would be a good alternative.


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## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

MedRed said:


> Thank you very much!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You will find that by replacing the ADA 27w. with a light from Home Depot there will be a difference on the plants and the visual aspect of the tank. 

I just ordered 2 ADA 27w. NA CF lights. I am placing them in my 8 Gal when they get here on Wednesday.

BTW which light from HD will give you 8000K and the spectrum of the ADA light?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I wasn't meaning the bulb... i was meaning the fixture. I don't know what fixture it is... The ADA bulb would fit i imagine.


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## Aquarist_Fist (Jul 22, 2008)

This is a beautiful tank, MedRed! roud:

And my heart almost stopped when you mentioned that the Wet Spot can get clown killies. This is great news. I've been looking for them, but like to shop locally.

Do you sometimes attend the GPAS meetings? I'd love to learn about keeping those killies in our water.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks Fist! 

The Wet Spot carries the clown killies regularly. I've never attended GPAS before. I wanted to go this month but i'm out of town this week. 

Our water is perfect for these guys... soft and acidic. They are pretty easy to take care of. 

Might as well update the tank as well.

I added weeping moss to the higher piece of wood last week. I also trimmed all of the stem plants before I left this week. I added low grow hygro behind the rock on the left and also added the final erio. I trimmed the glosso lawn and wrapped the thin piece of wood with patches of fissidens fontanus. I'll take pictures this weekend.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

lol amazing growth in such a short period of time. congrats on the tank, looks great.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thank you fasinated. New pics this weekend!


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

lol ill be watching.


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## FrostyNYC (Nov 5, 2007)

Clown killies, micro rasboras, and cpds?!?! You have 3 of my favorite fish all in one tank. PLUS shrimp! Except I think I like yellows more than cherries. :icon_eek: But honestly, great great choices.

And very nice tank. Props. :thumbsup:


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Lets see those Erio's.

Good looking tank. You will soon find that your "im 75%-80% done" remark was said in haste. I have found it is MUCH easier to be "done" with a larger tank. Sometimes I feel I will never be done with my M, it changes so fast.

Keep up the good work and post some more pics.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

FrostyNYC said:


> Clown killies, micro rasboras, and cpds?!?! You have 3 of my favorite fish all in one tank. PLUS shrimp! Except I think I like yellows more than cherries. :icon_eek: But honestly, great great choices.
> 
> And very nice tank. Props. :thumbsup:


The fish I used are the perfect size for a nano tank. I recently added two small otos and they destroy the scale of the tank. I will try to take my pictures without them being in it. Thank you for the props!



bsmith782 said:


> Lets see those Erio's.
> 
> Good looking tank. You will soon find that your "im 75%-80% done" remark was said in haste. I have found it is MUCH easier to be "done" with a larger tank. Sometimes I feel I will never be done with my M, it changes so fast.
> 
> Keep up the good work and post some more pics.


Thanks bsmith!

I hope, I hope, I hope , I hope I'm almost done with this tank. The only thing I want to do now is trimming. You can see two of the Cinereum's on the right hand side behind the branchy wood. I've added a third that is actually flowering. My LFS is getting in an amano order with what they call Eriocualon phillipine. I think it may be mini. I'm going to snag a few of those and probably have a little erio garden to the right. The mini's they have in a display tank have been flowering since March. 

i'm actually kicking myself on my shrimp choices. I really should have done blue tigers and yellows in this tank... They would have made for a striking contrast. All the more reason to start another mini... lol


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## Fishy_Fun (Feb 9, 2008)

I would love to see your next nano!!Oh and if you guys are going to GPAS we should meet up


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## Aquarist_Fist (Jul 22, 2008)

I will definitely go to the next meeting, which will be the first one for me to attend. If there is one thing better than talking about aquaria, then it's talking about aquaria drinking delicious Bridgeport IPA (make that ice tea if you're <21 ).

Sorry for getting off topic.


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## Thundaa (Jul 23, 2008)

looks good.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

[email protected]

Thanks Thundaa!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Update as promised. I'm pissed. I accidentaly broke off the end of one of the branches. That piece was a nice focal point for the whole branch. grrr!!!!!!! 

The growth is stupid... I just trimmed all the stems and the glosso. 1-2 weeks and it's becoming a forest again. The leaves at the bottom of the fluvitalis aren't getting enough light. I may have to use less stems.

I added the low grow hygro to the right. The glosso and hc don't like the shade from the java fern and aren't growing well there. 

The blyxa midground chain also hates the java fern shade. I'm going to need to trim that back. 

The Belem and Mahaus to the left are slowing growing upwards. It will be nice to have that area filled in. 

I also cleaned all of my zoo med pipes and tubing with pipe cleaners. That really helped the flow rate.

2 months old









2 1/2 months old 










3 months old










Week 16









Fissidens wrapped branch









cinerums to the right behind the wood. One is flowering










low grow hygro behind the rock. 










weeping moss wrapped wood









blyxa hates the shade from the java ferns









amano snacking


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

wow, crazy growth man


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks CL... the glosso it thicker now than it was in the previous pic. I'd never trimmed the glosso until a week after i took the previous pic. THat's just wrong. I can't wait until the belem and low grow hygro grow in. It will be a long time before the fissidens looks like anything worthwhile. I'll be patiently waiting.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

speaking of fissidens, it is native here in ky, and I found a 17 x 17 inch patch of it today


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

whaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! pics?????


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

looks great. nice and jungley lol


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

MedRed said:


> whaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! pics?????


I will, but they are on my cell phone, and I forgot the memory card adapter at home. I'll upload pics monday night.... wait... I can email them to myself... gah, no signal at the lake  and the pic of the big clump has disappeared off of my phone. I hate that, it happens every once in a while, the phone will decide to display the pic in like a month. I will have to take new pics tomorrow.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

you know what? I've been meaning to explain the purpose of the white suction cup w/ clip in the upper left of the tank. It's part of my ingenious water change method. I have a long piece of airline tubing that I clip in. I run the tubing half way in the tank and siphon. That will pull out exactly the manageable amount to move in a full bucket without sloshing it all over the place.

To refill the tank i have a shorter piece of airline tubing that has a plant weight attached to one end. That end goes in the bucket. I place the bucket on top of the tank and attach the other end of the tubing to the suction cup clip. 

I can fill and refill the tank without being present and without over flowing the bucket or the tank.


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## kittytango (May 7, 2008)

Awesome way to change the water!!! I would love to not have to be there when I change my water, I always mess up and spill it because I'm not paying attention. So you don't siphon off the bottom?

How many different Shrimp types are in there?

I think my Cherries are getting ready to breed! A few Females are saddled and the males are swimming all over the tank like crazies!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I don't siphon off of the bottom because of the aquasoil. Anything hitting the substrate is game for decomposition. I change the water this way every saturday. It's probably around 2.5-2.7 gallons

I currently have cherries, tigers, and amanos in this tank. I want to do something different thought. I'm thinking blue tigers and yellows shrimp... or maybe red & black crystal shrimp.


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## wayneside (Jun 17, 2008)

looks good!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks Wayne!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

MedRed said:


> whaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! pics?????


Allright, heres the fissidens


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## kittytango (May 7, 2008)

that plant looks awesome!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

OMG. Send me the whole thing. I'll pay you handsomely!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Im happy that I have finally decided that Snowballs are going to be the Shrimp of choice in my M. There are a few berried ones in there so hopefully they will be growing in population soon. 

The tank still is looking good. I can only see one of your most recent photos however. It is the branch with the weeping moss wrapped around it. I hope it was from a good source. The introduction of weeping moss in my tank was the beginning of the end as far as that incarnation of the tank was concerned. It was when hair algea found its way into my tank! I could never look at the tank and be satisfied with it in there.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

no hair algae so far. I've only had a small amount of BGA on the front that the horned nerites took care of. It was from tundragirl and exceptionally healthy and algae free. thank you for the compliments... You have some catching up to do with your M!

I'm also starting to realize... I need more light! I'm running a 12 hour photoperiod and I don't have enough light reaching certain areas. I spent too much money on the fixture to ditch it for something else. The lack of being able to upgrade the light is going to hurt the progress of the tank.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

What does your light fixture consist of (bulbs, fixture brand)?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I'm using the Solar Mini-M


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

ok... i broke down and bought an ecco 2232. going to set it up tonight... i hope the flow is enough for the 5.5 gal. The zoo med is not enough filter with this many plants obstructing the flow. It would be fine for an iwagumi... but not for this set up.


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

I use the ecco 2232. It is more than enough for a Mini M =) You are going to have to turn the valves down a bit or else the flowrate is going to blow all your crap all over the tank.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I am a full supporter of full blast filtration  Youre gonna love the flow


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## kelvin2go (Apr 6, 2008)

wow nice color variation.
I hope I can learn this kind of setting up tank skill.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

The filter is going right now while the tank fills up. I have to say i'm impressed with the design of the filter. Installation was simple and rivals that of the easy peasy renas. The lockable media trays are something i wish my c series and my rena had. the self priming is super easy. I'm going to spend some time with this filter... but i have to say i'm contemplating changing the c series on my 30 cube to something in this family. The c series is junk. even though the magnum is antiquated and a pita to put together... it's a much more reliable filter than the c series... can't wait to ditch it. no more marineland canisters for sure. 

is there a spraybar for this filter? also, does the eheim prefilter fit this filter and is the prefilter bit small enough to fit in the tank?



volatile said:


> I use the ecco 2232. It is more than enough for a Mini M =) You are going to have to turn the valves down a bit or else the flowrate is going to blow all your crap all over the tank.


the flow looks to be good right now while the tank is filling. The filter is 8 feet below the tank and the intake is covered in pantyhose. 




kelvin2go said:


> wow nice color variation.
> I hope I can learn this kind of setting up tank skill.


Thanks kelvin!

BTW... i just trimmed this tank. hopefully it'll be ready for some pics next weekend when i'm back in town (leave tomorrow)


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Hey, why not some pics now???


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

still filling, and a little cloudy still.


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

MedRed said:


> is there a spraybar for this filter?
> 
> BTW... i just trimmed this tank. hopefully it'll be ready for some pics next weekend when i'm back in town (leave tomorrow)


Here are some spraybars. I bet you could also make a custom one by cutting the out take pipe and putting some holes in it and capping it too. Waiting for your updated pics!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I think ill forgo the spray bar. I'm currently able to hide the return behind the java ferns. The flow is great. I'm using clear hoses instaed of the green. So far everthing green is hidden. I moved over the matrix from my zoo med. Its funny les was saying eheim doesn't use sponges first. Looks pike the ecco does


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I really like this tank, MedRed. You've got some really good ideas going on in there.

{I'll be stealing some of those ideas. :wink: }​


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## lescarpentier (Feb 2, 2008)

MedRed said:


> Its funny les was saying eheim doesn't use sponges first. Looks pike the ecco does


I stand corrected.:icon_redf
I have learned this about the eccos since I have added 2 of them to my collection.The older eccos even came completely filled with sponges.The 2235 came with 7 blue sponges,and 1 fine Ehfisynth.The newer Pro 3 series also use a course sponge pre filter.

I still advocate the Ehfimech,(ceramic rings),in the bottom basket.This will allow the filter to maintain it's maximum flow longer,and consequently extend your cleaning intervals.


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## skyypeaches (Aug 13, 2008)

about how big is this tank dimensions wise?


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## windfish (Dec 2, 2007)

skyypeaches said:


> about how big is this tank dimensions wise?


36x22x26cm


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Ugly Genius said:


> I really like this tank, MedRed. You've got some really good ideas going on in there.
> 
> {I'll be stealing some of those ideas. :wink: }​


Lol. Thanks! That's very flattering coming from you



lescarpentier said:


> I stand corrected.:icon_redf
> I have learned this about the eccos since I have added 2 of them to my collection.The older eccos even came completely filled with sponges.The 2235 came with 7 blue sponges,and 1 fine Ehfisynth.The newer Pro 3 series also use a course sponge pre filter.
> 
> I still advocate the Ehfimech,(ceramic rings),in the bottom basket.This will allow the filter to maintain it's maximum flow longer,and consequently extend your cleaning intervals.


just pulling your chain... as a consolation to you... I thought i'd try using the ehfimech in the bottom of one of my renas and one of my marineland canisters. I can't tell a huge difference, but i've decided to keep the layout with the ehfimech first. Can't hurt anything. I will say I really like the ecco. The classic is probably too outdated for me... kind of like the marineland 350... but the ecco is a really nice and easy to use filter. if only they'd ditch the green hoses/tubes!



skyypeaches said:


> about how big is this tank dimensions wise?





windfish said:


> 36x22x26cm


Thank you windfish, for those of us to dumb to think in centimeters... 14"x8.5"x10"...

I will say that I have been knocked back severly on this tank. I went out of town last sunday morning and returned Friday evening. 

I came home to find
1) the new filter had completely stopped
2) the co2 canister was empty
3) the tank at 90 degrees

First the filter. I just added the eheim the night before I left. I covered the intake in stocking for the shrimplets. The stocking reduced the flow so much... that the filter stopped. I don't know how long for... but a filter being off for longer than a few hours is obviously a nightmare... especially on a shrimp tank.

Next the 90 degree tank. I checked the weather before I left. The hottest day was going to be 84 degrees. Where I live the temperature is typically 10 degrees less than the weather report temperature. I didn't want to run the AC if i didn't have to... so i opened all of the windows and left. HUGE MISTAKE.

I came home Friday to 104 degree weather. The previous two days were also in the hundreds... True to form my place was 10 degrees cooler than the weather report. The nano tank registered an even 90 degrees. I surprisingly didn't lose many shrimp or fish at all. I haven't noticed any lost shrimp... but I did lose almost all of my B. Merah. Weirdly there were no bodies and I didn't lose any B. Briggitae. The heat took a huge toll on the plant life. The glosso looks like crap, My erios are on life support in my grow out tank, the compact hygro has some melt, and my blyxa melted back a lot. 

And lastly... my co2 gave out while i was gone.

I was most excited to come back and see what this tank looked like. What a huge let down. I'll be nursing this tank back to health now. 

P.S. none of my other tanks were affected in the slightest. They are all much bigger so the water did not warm up past 83 degrees in the next warmest tank.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

What a bummer -- I'm sure you'll be able to bring it around in no time!


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

sorry to hear about the disaster! I had a similar experience this summer, mine was an overheated tank with the lights left on for 3 days, what a nightmare! In a nice healthy tank though, I'm sure it'll bounce back in no time! Good luck! 

A little off topic, I'm curious, do your B. Merah and Brigittae school together or keep to their own kind?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> What a bummer -- I'm sure you'll be able to bring it around in no time!





Karackle said:


> sorry to hear about the disaster! I had a similar experience this summer, mine was an overheated tank with the lights left on for 3 days, what a nightmare! In a nice healthy tank though, I'm sure it'll bounce back in no time! Good luck!
> 
> A little off topic, I'm curious, do your B. Merah and Brigittae school together or keep to their own kind?


Thanks for the words of encouragement roybot and Karackle. It stinks to go backwards on a tank.


Karackle, the Merah and Brigittae do school together.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I've come to the conclusion that this tank will never be the same. For that reason, I've decided to completely tear it down and rebuild under a new direction. I will be removing everything (including the substrate) and starting over. I will keep several of the plants in this tank, but it should be a very different look. The rebuild will probably commence towards the end of the week.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I'm sorry to hear you had some bad luck with the tank, but I'm looking forward to what you're going to do next. 
I'm calling it now: the next tank'll kick even more butt.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thank you Genius... you're the best!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

The stage is set for the rescape:

After tragedy struck this tank. I set out to rescape it. As you can see i've pulled most of the plants, and fish from this tank. The back of the tank is rotal mini (i don't know if 1 or 2). I had it buried in a tank where it wasn't getting enough light and turned long and stringy. I planted it in this tank a week and a half ago. I was waiting for it to begin to root before cutting it. I cut it to 1 1/2" right after I took these photos. Should grow back nice and thick. There's also some stray fissidens to the right that i'm holding for a member. 

Plans:
Remove plastics and add lily pipes.
Remove heater and add hydor inline (already have the hydor just need to add it). 
add lilaeopsis novae mini as ground cover as soon as Aqua forest gets more.
add shrimp back. (added more AS but couldn't catch all of the shrimp. so far the ammonia has stayed in check and no shrimp deaths).

The tank will be really simple but should look nice. 

inhabitants will be 
Phoenix rasboras
CPD's
microrasbora erythromicron
anchor cats
CRS
amanos
otocinclus.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Aww, it was so nice. I get like that too though, I think it's the artist in us that wants to create. I think it's why I now have five fw planted tanks, and started with just one a year ago.:redface:
I am jealous of your luck with glosso, I never did well with it. But only had excel, no CO2. For a tank this small, what type of CO2 set up do you get? Is it the same as for bigger tanks, or smaller for nanos? 
Looking forward to what you do with it. How do the erythromicrons look? I love the look of your killifish. Mine are just babies, so no flashy tails yet.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks for the words of encouragement Carole. It was going to take way to long for this tank to bounce back without me going in and doing a lot of manual labor. I decided to make this tank a lot easier on myself by simplifying it.

This tank is using pressurized co2 from a milwaukee regulator with a splitter. It's shared with a 25 gallon tank. The killies are awesome. I've relocated almost all of them to a holding tank. I may add them to the ADA. You can see a few of the erythromicrons on the picture. They are so similar to the CPD's. 

One thing about this rescape is that the scale of the tank is completely gone. It looks small now. i hope Aqua Forester gets in the micro sword so i can quit looking at bare aquasoil. lol


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## hyphination (Sep 25, 2008)

how many otos are u planning to house in that tank?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

What was the tragedy?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

hyphination said:


> how many otos are u planning to house in that tank?


2



bsmith782 said:


> What was the tragedy?





MedRed said:


> I will say that I have been knocked back severly on this tank. I went out of town last sunday morning and returned Friday evening.
> 
> I came home to find
> 1) the new filter had completely stopped
> ...


enough to make a grown man cry... or in this case rescape.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Sorry to hear about that man.

I have been watching my mini m closely today (after a week off of work where its located). What do I see... bba and staghorn on the same plant! Whats that all about???

Im beginning to think that s drop checker in a small tank as our mini m's is false. because its always AT LEASST green but mostly yellow. 

Just another connundrum in the aquatic gardeners life...


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Oh, I missed that.:icon_sad: I thought you just felt like a rescape, I did not realize there was a problem. So sorry, did you lose fish too?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I lost all of my B. Merah


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

So sorry for your loss.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks Carole. If I was home I could have averted disaster. The tank took a beating and wasn't going to be the same without major intervention. I guess that's the problem with small tanks... bad things end up really bad.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

and with the quickness.



MedRed said:


> thanks Carole. If I was home I could have averted disaster. The tank took a beating and wasn't going to be the same without major intervention. I guess that's the problem with small tanks... bad things end up really bad.


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## smn723 (Oct 6, 2008)

I'm really starting to notice that I like all the tanks you do MedRed. Nice work!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks smn723!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

And so... You may have seen me post this picture on another thread as my last post of this tank:











After 6 months of waiting... I finally got some Lilaeopsis nova "mini" for the foreground. I had a great feeling of satisfaction as a planted it last night. I was beginning to think I would never get some. I can't wait for it to fill in!










I made this an open, simple layout so that I can showcase the shrimp better. So far I have a few amano and red cherry shrimp. I may add another species of shrimp... not sure yet. Since the layout is so open, I want to add a fish or school of fish that will not pick off the exposed babies. The problem I'm having with choosing a fish is that I want the fish to fit the scale of the tank, have good color and/or interesting body pattern, and not be something I already have in another tank. I'm stumped at this point


More pictures:


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

It looks great but something seems to be missing, and I'm not sure what..?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

everything? lol. I know it looks spartan to me as well. I think it will end up looking more like a manicured lawn instead of an aquascape when the foreground grows in. that's fine with me... Trying to maximize the light and flow in the tank with minimal maintenance.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

The tall plants feel out of place, brings too much height for the tank. I would drop the tall plants and stick with shorter plants. Also limit it to 2-3 plants in general. Maybe just to the Mini grass plant all around with the erio atleast that is what it looks like top back right corner. Also if your erio is flowering you should consider splitting it.

For your fish check out the Microrasbora Nanas. A great fish that is not quite 3/4" full grown and can fit 10-15 in a Mini M just fine. Mine also don't bother the shrimps that I can see. I currently have 10 which is a good mix with my 18 CRS/ CBS mix.

Craig


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Also I would remove the Downi as the leaf structures doesn't complment the tank style.

JMHO

Craig


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Med, this is your signature look. (You know you have style when someone can recognize it right off the bat.) I think it's going to look great when it fills in.

I see a mixture of Asian and European motifs (left and right, respectively), balanced very well.

I saw your Mini Microsword on hold at AFA over the weekend. (At least I _think_ it was yours as you said you were getting two squares and they had two squares on hold.)

I wonder if you'll have the same frustration I'm having with it: shrimp and MTSs uprooting it prior to it rooting deep. At least two sprigs are floating at the surface by lights out.

Also, keep us updated on it's growth. Mine it growing quite quickly in the Mini-S and Mini-M, but it appears to be yellowing in the Do!aqua Plant Glass Cube. (Could be the excessive amount of CO2 in such a small tank.)

Looking forward to seeing this one grow out!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Craigthor said:


> The tall plants feel out of place, brings too much height for the tank. I would drop the tall plants and stick with shorter plants. Also limit it to 2-3 plants in general. Maybe just to the Mini grass plant all around with the erio atleast that is what it looks like top back right corner. Also if your erio is flowering you should consider splitting it.
> 
> For your fish check out the Microrasbora Nanas. A great fish that is not quite 3/4" full grown and can fit 10-15 in a Mini M just fine. Mine also don't bother the shrimps that I can see. I currently have 10 which is a good mix with my 18 CRS/ CBS mix.
> 
> Craig


Duly noted. I'm using the rotala mini as a backdrop. I'll see what it looks like when the microsword grows in. Thanks for the tip on Nanas... they look too much like kubotai... I need something different.



Craigthor said:


> Also I would remove the Downi as the leaf structures doesn't complment the tank style.
> 
> JMHO
> 
> Craig


the downoi stays... lol




Ugly Genius said:


> Med, this is your signature look. (You know you have style when someone can recognize it right off the bat.) I think it's going to look great when it fills in.
> 
> I see a mixture of Asian and European motifs (left and right, respectively), balanced very well.
> 
> ...



Thank you UG. Yes that was my micro sword... the last 2 squares they had. It's hilarious you mention the shrimp uprooting it... I noticed today I had quite a few bits floating that had been secured very well. I immediately thought of the board member's avatar pic of a hand drawn shrimp uprooting plants with the caption "I'm unplanting."

I don't have any MTS (Thank goodness) so hopefully the majority will stay down.


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## Minsc (Jul 9, 2006)

You should replace the Ammania with Limnophila mini, and the downoi with some Lobelia 'small form'. It will be the best theme tank ever:tongue:


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

lol...hmmm


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

MedRed said:


> The problem I'm having with choosing a fish is that I want the fish to fit the scale of the tank, have good color and/or interesting body pattern, and not be something I already have in another tank.


What about a type of Borasas or CPD? Both would fit your description.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I have CPD's in another tank... I haven't seen another microrasbora that is colorful enough that doesn't look like something I already have.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I like white clouds. You could get the gold kind. They aren't as small as some fish, but they are still small :thumbsup:


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

YOU! have been recruited. Join the Mini M force roud:


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

update... I forgot the spray bottle behind the tank


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The tank looks much better! The fish are the perfect scale!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks CL


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Lookin' good! The Mini Microsword has spread quite well!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks UG. it's not one of your masterpieces... just an open layout so i can watch the shrimp. Will look nicer when the armania fills in and the erio on the left gets taller. I got the erio from aqua forest i can't remember the name of it. It's broad leaved and i think the name starts with an "N".


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## thief (Jan 12, 2008)

Nice tank. Don't worry about scaping though, personally I think you did a great job working with the blyxa and sword grass. What are the pretty red fishes called? I would like to know where to get them!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks thief. those little guys are boraras brigittae. I got them from my LFS. They have become quite popular in recent times.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Another victim of the SW tank. This tank has gone Low tech and has been simplified. The briggitae are around the back of the rock as I'd just performed a water change. I added Aquasoil to the front right and the back left to create rolling hills. We'll see how they look once the micro sword grows in. There's mini pelia attached to the rock.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

MedRed said:


> Another victim of the SW tank.


sh#* happens when you play with salt


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

no joke


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes... this tank lives on.


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