# Neoman's 12g NanoCube (formerly rrrrRamos')



## brion0 (Sep 28, 2008)

Welcome, looks like your off to a good start. You may find your light to be a little strong, after things are up an running. That crypt is doing good!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Yeah it may, but if it is so much that it starts hurting the plants I can easily just take one of the bulbs out.


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## brinks (Dec 19, 2007)

on your co2 system what is the little bottle for. does the tube from the co2 bottle go into the liquid (water I guess)?


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

the little bottle is like a checkpoint for the yeast/sugar mix. You don't want that going into your tank, so if you add another bottle, it can collect any liquid that may go into the tube, so then it's in the little bottle, and not your tank.

good looking setup so far, i like how the light looks. That crypt is huge!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks for all the comments, yeah I didn't realize how big it was going to be in such a small tank haha.
The lights I ordered didn't come in today, so it looks like that temp light will be on there for another day... 
On another note I put my CO2 into the tank, just have it in there with a ceramic diffuser right now, until I get one of the glass ones, just to see if I can tell any difference between this tank and others I've kept before. 
Oh and also, thanks to my brother, my tank is now inhabited by an oto!


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## Neoman (Apr 4, 2005)

your welcome for that oto ;]


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## crudnugget (Feb 5, 2008)

I like the all in one nano cubes. How is the flow coming from the filter setup? I know a lot of the people that use them for reefs usually upgrade the pumps, but nano-reefs also require a lot more flow than a planted tank.

Also make sure your tank is cycled before adding a bunch of fish!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

The flow is fine, in fact I was considering lowering it a bit. 
And yeah, the oto is in there to help with the cycling. Apparently my lights are walking from Missouri to my house so it'll probably be cycled before they get in from the looks of it.
I'll have to take some new pics now that it's all cleared up and the CO2 is pumping into the tank and all.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

So I planted the crypt and got some driftwood that I attached some anubias nana to and have that in the tank, along with some micro sword that I'm holding till my brother gets his new light in, I'll post some pics later. I'm at a loss at what plants would work well in here. I'm considering HC for a carpet because I want something that will stay small, and I'll have the light for it, but I'm open to suggestion. 
On that note, if anyone has any good suggestions for plants that work well in a NanoCube please let me know!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Pics as promised:

FTS









My anubias nana attached to the driftwood:









Close up of the plants:









And finally my CO2 setup, for now at least:


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Nice crypt. Have you dealt with any melt after moving it around? One little suggestion, though. Keep an eye on the white diffuser if its the throw away kind. I have had them clog up on me in a matter of a few days. If you clean it off every other day, you'll be fine.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Well the crypt wasn't planted until yesterday, so I'm experiencing no problems with it so far. 
Also, that diffuser is just a temp solution until I get a reactor or find some way to get the CO2 into the tank more effectively, but thanks for the heads up I'll have to start checking it out every so often to make sure it's in good working order!


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## infinite07 (Dec 20, 2008)

Looking good. The crypt looks large in that tank. Zucchini, lol. Is that the only thing your oto will eat?


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Maybe you guys here can help me. I'm trying to find an effective way to diffuse the CO2 into my tank using minimal equipment. I had the idea of making a hole in the tubing for my pump, the outflow tubing as there is no inflow, and putting a bulkhead or something of the like to get the CO2 injecting directly into the flow of the water, and coming out mixed in with the water. Like I said, I'm trying to do this with as little additional equipment to the tank as part of this tank is the fact that you can't see most of the equipment being used.

And the oto didn't touch the zucchini, haha, it was just in there because my brother cut one too many pieces and we'd figure we'd see if my little guy would eat any of it.


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## Blown 346 (Dec 8, 2008)

By chance did your brother buy the tank a few months ago? I sold one with a busted ballast and no bulbs?


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## rpayer (Jun 9, 2008)

An Oto is not a good fish to use for cycling. They are pretty sensitive and when your levels spike he will probably die.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

No he got the tank a looonnggg time ago. And the tank had ran for a while before I put the Oto in. He's still doing well after going in before the weekend started.


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## brinks (Dec 19, 2007)

my canister filter has a long tube discharge with a hole about every 2 inches. I enlarged the top one to fit an air line to it and run that line through a two hole stopper, the other hole is for the line coming from my co2 yeast generating bottle. I put this stopper with the two tubes att. into a 12 long 1/2 inch dia. tube with a screen at the bottom and attached this tube to the aquarium with suction cups. I flattened the water tube to make it spray and adjusted it to the top of the diffuser. After operating it for a while there would be about 3 inches of co2 at the top of the diffuser, but every morning my fish appeared distressed and at the top of the tank. I felt there was way too much co2 being disolved so I stopped using it (my tank is only low light).


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## Chris Noto (Aug 19, 2005)

I'm using a Hagen CO2 Ladder that I picked up for about $12 at a LFS. You can get one at eBay for about $10 plus shipping. Works great.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

So I got a good lot of stuff for the tank today
I rescaped it a bit too. Here's a list of all the new stuff on the tank.
Fish: 
5x Endlers Livebearers
2x Oto's

Plants: 
Hemianthus Callitrichoides
What was sold to me as Rotala Indica but I'm not sure if it is or not

I also finally got those lights in, don't know if I posted that before or not. So now I'm getting 4wpg, along with CO2. My plants are already pearling too 
Here are a few pics:
FTS









Best I could get of the Endlers:









The HC which I got on a rock, so I'm hoping it spreads downwards, if not I'll plant it into the substrate:









Lastly, here is a pic of the "Rotala Indica" I was sold, I can't tell if it's actually rotala indica or another kind of rotala, if you can help please let me know!:


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Cool tank! Those rounded edges look so cool.That HC on the rock is really great looking!

You may want to consider only using one of the lights. I think 4.0 wpg is pretty high unless you have some serious CO2 and ferts going in with a lot of plant mass..... but get opinions from others on whether 4.0wpg is too much. I'm still learning. 

I started a nanocube 24g before I did enough reading on TPT, and pretty much burned up about $40 worth of plants because I had way too much light. 

Keep up the good work! This is awesome


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Oops sorry, just read the other comments from p.1 on the lights. Didn't mean to repeat! 

Good luck!


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

Looks like rotala indica to me (or rotala rotundifolia, I guess, if you want to split hairs).


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Couple of updates on the tank. The HC started to grow upwards and no roots were taking into the substrate so I decided to plant it piece by piece barring the part that is still in a clump towards the left of the tank. So far about 20% of thats been uprooted, but there does seem to be a little bit of growth on the ones that are staying in the ground. The Micro Sword is spreading too. 
I got a few shrimp the other day, 4 RCS and 1CRS. I tried to get some pics of them but only the CRS and one of the RCS' wanted to come out and play.
Anyways here are some updated pics, I have a glass diffuser on the way for my CO2, which I've lowered down to a 1L bottle for the time being.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I did a few changes to the tank since the last update. The crypt looked too big for the tank IMO, so I swapped it to my brothers tank and he gave me his micro sword that wasn't growing in his tank. I'm in the process of trimming the rotala and moving the clippings to the left where the crypt was. I planted most of the HC plant by plant, some of its growing out but its kinda just chilling where it is. Better then it dying off I suppose. The anuibus is growing like crazy, at _least_ one new leaf a week on one of the 4 plants. The micro sword is growing slowly but surely. I did lose my CRS but all the RCS are still kicking and are quite a bright red now.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Few new pics I snapped today. You can see the changes I did in the first shot, slowly but surely the rotala is growing in, it's due for another trim pretty soon so that'll make it nice and dense. There is a pic of the riccia rock I tossed in there like a week ago, its growing nicely, and looks nice when it's pearling. I also included an aerial shot of the tank to show the HC. Pretty much all of the old leaves have died off and I'm left with a bunch of nice, very green plants, but the spread is very slow the closer to the front of the tank it gets. The micro sword is making its way into the HC as well.
I'm considering pulling all the HC from this tank and putting it into my 2.5. I'm usually finding a couple plants uprooted by either the oto's, rcs or endler's. 
Lastly, on the same note of fauna in here, I added 5 CPD's, and one of my cherry shrimp had about 4 or 5 fry a few days ago that I find randomly.


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## timme278 (Jan 1, 2009)

update.... 

i love your threads btw.... they show everystep... subscribed on both tank ones


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Oh wow I wasn't aware how long it'd been since I posted anything on this one! I took some pics tonight, not too much has changed. I moved my Mini Elite to this tank to disperse the CO2, and until last night had both that and the glass difusser. Both bottles are now hooked up to a T-valve waiting to run out & for me to order the rest of my pressurized system 
Umm as far as plants, the Rotala is growing just how I wanted it to, I'm really happy that is working out. The Riccia is growing crazy, but its so concentrated in one spot that I'm ok with that. The HC is finally spreading after like 2 months of it not really doing much. Oh and I have a sprig of Bylxa in front of the driftwood, hopefully tomorrow or the day after I'll have some more there. Anyways here are some pics;

FTS: 










Aeiral view:









Riccia & HC:









Enjoy!


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow that's some healthy Rotala!

I'm sure the HC will appreciate all the CO2 in the tank


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

The rotala is by far my favorite plant in the tank. It just grows so fast and does exactly what I want it to do. Now if it'd only fill in that spot close to the middle! But with the Mini Elite in there I don't know how likely that is to happen hahaha.


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

This is really shaping up! Good luck with the Co2 equipment.


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## Northern_Wind (Nov 1, 2008)

rrrrramos said:


> The rotala is by far my favorite plant in the tank. It just grows so fast and does exactly what I want it to do. Now if it'd only fill in that spot close to the middle! But with the Mini Elite in there I don't know how likely that is to happen hahaha.


I love your tank! looks REALLY healthy. And your avatar too. You've seen Dr. Horribles Sing Along Blog? I LOVE it. All the songs get stuck in my head! Have it on my Ipod. I found out about it because I am a huge Joss Whedon fan. (the person who made the blog) How did you like it? :icon_smil


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## CAM6467 (Feb 11, 2009)

Nice looking rotala! I'm impressed!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Northern_Wind said:


> I love your tank! looks REALLY healthy. And your avatar too. You've seen Dr. Horribles Sing Along Blog? I LOVE it. All the songs get stuck in my head! Have it on my Ipod. I found out about it because I am a huge Joss Whedon fan. (the person who made the blog) How did you like it? :icon_smil


Thanks everyone for the comments. I just got some more bylxa in and put it in front of the driftwood in the front corner, until I move the microsword somewhere else. I also put some taiwan moss tied to a rock in here, but that won't be staying I don't think. 
I also got some Didiplis diandra that I like the look of, but I can't find a place to put it! Maybe I'll just grow it out in this tank for a bit?

Whoops meant to respond to the Dr. Horrible comment too! It cracks me up every time I hear it. I love How I Met Your Mother cuz NPH's 'Barney' cracks me up, so when I heard about Dr. Horrible I found it as fast as I could! What a crazy random happenstance!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Well I searched every thread in the plants section containing the word "blyxa" and it makes me feel better about mine. I thought there was something wrong with my tank when I tried growing it in my small tank, then when the melt began in here I had to dig deeper. Especially as I've got shoots from the first batch growing new leaves and these melting in the same conditions. I'm just glad to find out that due to even the slightest change in water conditions these plants can suffer extreme melt while acclimating and rooting to a new location. I'm going to just keep doing basic maintenance to these, trimming the dying leaves to promote growth in those that are making it. They are right in the return path of the CO2, directly under light and being in the middle of the tank my Seachem ferts (soon to be dry) hit them directly while mixing with the WC. Oddly, the lone survivor from the first batch is prospering not only way out of the way of the CO2 (which is still DIY), but is also shaded by both my anubius AND the driftwood its connected to. I really hope these plants bounce back quickly as they are one of my favorite and if all goes as planned would make the tank look great once they and the HC are fully grown in. I'd post pics but its kind of embarrassing at the moment


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I was looking at the pictures of this tank I posted a little over a week ago and then quickly glanced at the tank now and WOW it's really grown! I did make a couple changes to the tank, including the addition of some plants that I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep or not. Those are some Taiwan Moss tied to a small rock, that's up in the front right-hand corner. There is also some Didiplis diandra that I planted in front of the Rotala, mid-ground on the far left, where the Riccia rock used to be. On the subject of that, the rock was getting so dense that the Riccia was actually floating off of the rock and I was forced to detach it and make a new one. Its now on a larger rock, directly in the middle, growing out and will probably end up in my 2.5. I also left a portion of it floating, its behind the outflow for the filter. I'm also proud to report that I have 3 stems of my Blyxa japonica sending out new growth. Wish more would have survived but I'll take what I can get haha. 

FTS, you can see the Taiwan Moss & Riccia in the corner, the others are too small to see.









Heres another aerial shot, to show the growth of the HC, and if you look hard enough you can see a few of my ever expanding shrimp population


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## lookin_around (Dec 18, 2005)

Great to hear that you've got some of your Blyxa going. Today I saw what I think are some new leaves (or stems?) on some of my plants and so I think I may just let the tank grow out for a while and _try_ not to do too much to the tank other than regular maintenance. I'm also thinking about going to a dual 2-liter bottle setup on my Co2 since I can't get a pressurized system anytime soon, and I have no fauna in the tank to kill haha. That Rotala sure is growing well in your tank. Keep it up!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Don't think much has changed in here, not sure why, but I took a pic of it anyways so why not post it, right?


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

So I ended up taking the Endler's out of here about a week ago. I'm also led to believe that 2 of my CPD's are either amazing excellent hiders who don't like to hang out with the other 3, or they have unfortunately died. I've already accepted the latter, so if I do find them it'll be a great day! That being said, how many of these do you think would be a good amount for this size tank (~10g of available space for them to roam, tons of plants to hide in)
Also, would having them together with some Microrasbora erythromicron, with an equal number of each, be plausible? I would love to have either of these breed


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Following my SOP's, I shot a quick few of this tank while doing my other tank. Just a few close ups of some stuff, not really doing much to this tank ATM, waiting for the HC to carpet and planning to add a few new fish. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up 3 more CPD's for here, and then get a handful of Emerald Dwarf Rasboras to round it out in here. 

FTS









Up Close on the Rotala, big bunch on the right side









Another of the Rotala, part that is invaded by the CO2 filter









Anubias, I highly suggest looking at some of the first pics of this tank to see how fast this one
is growing, I really like it!









This moss, oddly enough, is becoming one of my favorite plants in this tank. I put it in here 
as I really didn't have anywhere else for it to go and it seems to be thriving in here! It's 
already doubled in size and went from a dark forest green to a nice healthy brighter green!







​


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

That rotala is amazing. What are you feeding it - steroids? Very lovely progress.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Got a handful of new plants from imeridian, the list in this tank includes:
Rotala sp. Green Narrow
Limnophila aromatica
Limnophila repens 'mini'
Blyxa Japonica

I also got some Glosso in here, and put it in the middle. It's growing semi-horizontally, still haven't trained everything to grow lengthwise. I didn't change too much of the scape, though I did pull a good amount of Rotala indica from the middle. I also put the moss onto the back of the driftwood, I like it a lot better there. Anyway I'll post the pics and then my concerns afterwards. Here we go:

FTS:









Limno aromatica









Rotala sp. Green Narrow









Here is the Glosso









And the Taiwan Moss tied to the rock










I've been experiencing a bit of die-off in the HC that was thriving a few weeks ago. In contrast other parts are still growing like crazy where they weren't a while back. It might be due to low CO2, so I just fixed up a new mixture today and there is a lot of bubbles all over the tank, hopefully that helps. Anyway here are some pics of it, if you can think of any reason other than CO2 that this would happen please post why!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Still looking for any ideas on why the HC in here went from almost uncontrollable to stunted and dying off.


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## ESK07 (Mar 16, 2009)

nice cube! I want to start another cube now ahahah! nice growth on the HC, i wish mine in my 5 grew that fast


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I did a little work on this tank today, it's past lights out so I'll try to get pics tomorrow if I remember. My brother got some Blyxa and whatever he didn't use he gave me so that's taking up a new space in the tank. I also made the Rotala sp. 'Green' a bit more concentrated to one point, and moved the Glosso to the front middle where the HC wasn't growing. Hopefully the two combine and grow nicely. I moved the Riccia rock opposite where it was before, and in its place is the extra Blyxa. 
To top it all off, literally. I covered the front where the HC and Glosso are, with leftover Eco-Complete from the bag I got my brother the other day (we're a sharing family, in this hobby at least). A bit of it is also on top of the Blyxa to hold the new ones down. I've already noticed a benefit to having the black substrate as for the first time all of my Celestial Pearl Danio's were out in the open. Concerning those, I added 3 more females over the weekend, so I've currently got 6 total, 2 males, 4 females. I'm _really_ hoping to see small baby CPD's within the next couple of weeks. 
I'll try for pics tomorrow, hopefully the new substrate helps with nutrients to the HC & Glosso and stops the die-off.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Pic's of stuff I described up there ^^^^


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Updates Updates Updates! And a question too!
First off, the addition of the Eco-Complete on top of the HC seems to be working how I'd hoped, at least for the HC. After the last trim I did, however, the Rotala is mad at me and hasn't grown a bit, but its still healthy and green so I'm not gonna complain. In fact, I don't think any of the stem plants are growing any. But they aren't dying either. Maybe its time to order up some dry ferts and finally get that CO2 system up & running? Oh and my Riccia is back to weed status in this tank. Must be something in the water 
As far as the question goes, and I've included a picture for this one too, is the red that my Blyxa is turning a good red or a bad red? I've included the best pic I could get of it, it's just a lot more pronounced red than any of the other ones in here. 

The blyxa as noted above, the one in front is the one in question









Hemianthus c. nice & green again and assumingly happy, oh and one of my wild cherries









FTS, now with flash! (why not?)









What do ya think?!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Any ideas on the Blyxa? Should I be worried?


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## emmanuelchavez (Apr 20, 2008)

No. It'll turn red with high lights.
My blyxa turned red when I had it in 6.5wpg in my 20g tank.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

It's an even more pronounced red today. The only thing that worries me is the ends of some of the leaves are broken. But the other plants are starting to follow suit the light red, almost pink leaves are starting to color up a lot. I'm running 2.4wpg for 4 hours then 4.8wpg for the other 4 hours.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I can't put my finger on why, but this tank seems like its at a standstill. Nothing is growing (except the Riccia..) but nothing is dying either. The HC is poking its head out but even that's pretty slow. The once impossible to control Rotala hasn't grown since last trim over 3 weeks ago. Dosing has been the same, Seachem ferts, CO2 is from the same source, the only change I made, and this has been in the past few days, was running both bulbs all day for 4.8wpg for 8 hours. Maybe my CO2 needs to be replaced or more added to make it stronger.
On another note, I picked up some more fish for here, 5 Emerald Dwarf Rasboras. They are the same size as my CPD's, from the same area of the same lake, and act just like them as well. These however have green stripes along their sides and a small dot on their backs. They complement the CPD's quite well and are drawing the shier fish out. 
Unless this new batch of CO2 turns things around I won't have much to update on till then!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

It seems like you should dose some nitrates. That should help your plants grow faster, and your blyxa should green up too


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I should probably just bite the bullet and order some dry ferts from GLA huh?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

rrrrramos said:


> I should probably just bite the bullet and order some dry ferts from GLA huh?


either there or rex grigg's site


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I started my work on this tank just wanting to trim all the ugly brown root growth behind the Rotala, I ended up pulling every plant out of here and doing a total rescape. The only plants that didn't make it back in here are the Anubias and the moss, as the driftwood wouldn't fit anywhere in here.
I'm going to try to get some pics tonight or tomorrow. It looks kinda lame right now but when it grows in it should look pretty good. Hopefully the HC starts popping out again, to really round everything out.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)




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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

While this scape is still growing on me, like any new scapes gotta, my fish and shrimp really love it. These shrimp love the rocks and the fish are actually out and about swimming and still have adequate hiding spaces too. Can't say I don't like that!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

It looks a bit minimalist now, but that rotala will really fill it out when it grows :thumbsup:


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I'm hoping they all fill out well, especially the Blyxa and the HC. I think after those fill out it'll look more like I want. Thanks for the rocks though man, they look pretty good in here IMO


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Alright I'm needing some advice on this here tank. I have a problem with it. See the most recent pictures I posted of it? On 5/11? It looks exactly the same. In fact, most of the Rotala (both species in this tank) are losing a decent amount of leaves. 
Now I've got pearling, and as of this Monday I'm dosing this tank with all the correct ferts. 
The only two things I am actually seeing growth in in this tank is the HC, which is mostly just poking its head out of the newer layer of substrate, and the Riccia that is floating. 
So, could it be that my ever expanding mass of Riccia that is floating right above the outflow of my filter, is hoarding all the nutrients in this tank and stunting the growth of my other plants? The Blyxa and Limno. aromatica both aren't dying, but aren't growing either...


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## bartak (Feb 18, 2007)

It takes a few weeks for changes to take effect. give it some time.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Well yeah I understand that, I'm just baffled as to why the tank went from like, explosive growth to the standstill it's at now. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad its not dying, but I wish it would go back to how intense it was before! Haha


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Nothing new to update on this tank, but starting to question if I should keep this running, or tear it down and concentrate on just my 2.5g. One of the few things stopping me is that I won't have adequate place to house my fish. Plus the fact that I am getting new plants specifically for this tank. This tank just seems to have lost its "fun" value. It's not even great to watch anymore, there is NO growth, in fact some of the plants have even started to meet their demise, and thats after adding ferts. If my brother gets around to setting up his 20g Long soon, this tank will most likely be coming down. But I'm sure he'll reprise it as another planted tank, or maybe even a reef. Until then I'll keep it up and running, if it looks any better after I add the new plants I'll post some pics. As far as the new plants go, I'm transitioning out the Rotala rotundifolia and Rotala 'Green" and adding some Rotala colorata and expanding the Limnophilia aromatica. More Blyxa will also be getting added. I also took out the Riccia that I had floating, it was taking up about 1/4 of the surface. Nothin else really, fish seem good, shrimp and happy, I cleaned out all the filter stuff today, it was starting to get backed up, whoops! Hopefully I'll have more to report on next week...


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## bartak (Feb 18, 2007)

you should be getting great growth with that set up. what exactly are you dosing, and are you getting enough co2?


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I'll just go ahead and post an up to date spec overview of this

*Tank*: 12g NanoCube DX
*Light*: 2x 24W PC, 
*Filtration*: Built in NanoCube filter
*Substrate*: Flourite w/ EcoComplete
*Co2*: DIY from 1L bottle diffused through Hagen Mini Elite Internal Filter, changed weekly/biweekly.
*Ferts*: 
EI - 
1/8 tsp KNO3 Sun/Tues/Thurs
1/32 tsp K2SO4 Sun/Tues/Thurs
1/32 tsp KH2PO4 Sun/Tues/Thurs
1/32 tsp Plantex CSM+B Mon/Wed/Fri
1mL Fe Mon/Wed/Fri
3mL Excel Daily
50% WC on Sundays

*Fauna*: 6 CPD, 5 Emerald Dwarf Rasboras, ~40 RCS

*Flora*: Limnophilia aromatica, Rotala colorata, Hemianthus Calitrichoides, Blyxa Japonica, Riccia, Rotala rotundifolia

I've been trying doing different things with the lighting to see if it does anything, running both for the full 8 hours for a week, running only one for the full 8 hours for a week, then doing what I'd done before with 24W for 4 hours then 48W for the last 4 hours. Only difference is in the algae growth, which is a good thing, but not the aim of it...


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## bartak (Feb 18, 2007)

It looks like the co2 might be the weak link. I would switch to a 2L bottle. and try just using one light for maybe 10 hours a day.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I'll have to give that a try. It's running on the one light already, and I was thinking maybe I needed more Co2 with a more demanding plant selection than before. But man, that means I need to go buy some soda! Probably about time to refresh my whole stockpile of yeast/sugar/baking soda too. Let's hope this works out!
I'm gonna post up stuff I've been collecting for when I start up my 10g (45-P) in here in a little bit. I think the only things I'm missing are the tank, substrate and post body kit for Co2.  Expect to see those up here soon, prob when my plants come in.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Glorious update time! Got some new plants for this tank, and moved some over from the 2.5. Ferts seem to be kicking in as well, but without further ado, heres the graphical journey!

FTS









My favorite view of the tank, personally









Closeup of the Rotala colorata; you shoulda seen this like, two days ago, it was half the size. It's gonna be like my Rotala rotundifolia was! 









Pic of the HC, seems to be going well I haven't really been paying much attention to it, I'm assuming new Co2 and ferts have played a part in this









Finally, a pic of some of the new plants I just recieved, courtesy of *imeridian*, I really like this Limnophilia aromatica the colors really stick out










For some reason, I keep finding a dead shrimp every other day. They all seem to be doing fine, some even jumping on my hand when it's in the tank. I've got tons so its not a huge deal but these are some of the bigger ones, and are probably only about 4 or 5 months old. 

On a more positive note, I moved over all my Rotala sp. 'Mini' Type 1 into this tank, its on the very far right of the tank close to the front. The Cherry shrimp have been all over it and cleaned most all of the diatoms that were on here off, which surprised me as I didn't think they would!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Well keeping plants alive is no longer an issue in here. But as I mentioned before, I keep having shrimp dying. It got worse today when I found one of my original CPD's, one of the two males, floating around the top of the water being pushed by the two filters. I checked for any visible IP, the only thing I'd noticed was that his belly was somewhat sunk in, but it'd been like that for a while I just never thought anything of it. I'd be led to believe that its just him being stressed by something, not eating and starving himself to death, but with the recent jump in adult shrimp deaths I'm wondering if its not something to do with the water. I'm going to test the water but our test kit is pretty limited :/
Besides that pretty depressing start, everything else seems to be doing good in here. I think this 24W for 10 hours is working out a lot better than the previous way was.


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## bartak (Feb 18, 2007)

lookin good. I've always had a lot of shrimp deaths, even in pristine, well established tanks. they keep on breeding so I never gave it much thought.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Yeah I'm sure there have been more that I just haven't noticed since they only stick around an hour or so before the other shrimp dispose of the evidence. I'm just hoping my assumptions were right about the CPD cuz I'd hate to lose the fish I've got in here!
But thanks man, once the Rotala fills in on the side it'll be more what I was thinking when I was designing it.


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## hilikus16 (Nov 6, 2008)

You could probably get away with atleast 3L of co2 bottles because I have about 2.7L in my 5.5g and I'm running about 1 BPS. I'm already noticing some good growth even though I just redid my tank about week ago. My shrimp seem to be doing fine too. Just a piece of advice.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I'm trying to get as many 2L bottles as I can between the two tanks lol


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Figured I'd hook up a 3L bottle as suggested above just to see how it'd work out. I got one of those 3L water jugs and made my mix in that. hooked it up, I'm getting a ton of bubbles and all of my plants are pearling. The fish seem to be doing alright, but seeing as they are usually hiding that's all just assumption. I guess I"ll know around feeding time.
I'm anxious to see this tank next week, cuz even before adding the new mix I'm already getting great growth. The Limno is growing nice, the Blyxa is turning a nice bright green, the HC is spreading like its nobody's business and the Rotala is acting just like Rotala should! I can't believe I put off ferts for so long now that I'm adding them I've fallen in love with both my tanks again! 
I'll try to post pics soon. I think its safe to say that I'm not gonna be tearing this down anymore


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Ignore the floating stems, please


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## vtkid (Jan 5, 2009)

I always have stems floating around for one reason or another:icon_roll, nice growth you got there.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Just finished a little cleanup and planting, thought I'd toss some pics up



FTS









The Rotala is happy









Not hearing to many complaints from the Blyxa either









Here's to hoping this Mini Pellia from Craig follows the other plants lead!









Top shot of the L. aromatica cuz I liked how it looked









Also realized I never have shown my awesome filter for this tank in this thread!

















And lastly, the HC. It is loving everything its getting, Pushing up against the glass, filling in all the holes, I'm thinking it will be at full carpet mode in like a week. Only thing is I'm getting some algae on it, BBA or something, most likely due to me using a 3L bottle of CO2 on here and having no way to regulate it. That should change once I get a bubble counter and needle valve for this tank.







​


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

looking good. Keep posted on the mini pelia 'cause mine isn't doing well


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Sweet! It's really looking good. That L. Aromatica is really cool stuff. 

Can you run your Co2 tubing into the nano cube pump instead of the Hagen Mini Elite?


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

fastfreddie said:


> Sweet! It's really looking good. That L. Aromatica is really cool stuff.
> 
> Can you run your Co2 tubing into the nano cube pump instead of the Hagen Mini Elite?


I'm sure there is a way too, but I've only bothered to take the pump out once since I set this up and didn't look too hard to be honest. The Mini Elite does its job and does it well, and I'm not one to complain about added filtration haha!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I decided I like this tank more than my 2.5g so this one is the lucky recepient of the pressurized Co2! To make that a possibility I had to move the tank to the other side of the room, as I built in a holder for the cylinder in my tank stand. Now I don't know if its because the tank is closer to the TV now, because this is the only tank in my room, because they really like having the pressurized and not the byproduct of fermentation, but the fish are a LOT more active now and are swimming out and about in this tank where I can easily see them. I'm not gonna complain though! 
I'll take some pics of everything and give more detail about stuff a little later tonight or maybe tomorrow. Can't wait to see this after a couple days w/ this CO2 though!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Here are some pictures of the setup as promised, plus a couple pics of the tank just for fun. We'll start with those

Here is the tanks new home. I like it a lot better here to be honest. The 2.5 has settled in its new home, the kitchen!









Obligatory FTS









The setup under the tank. The nice looking side, at least









The needle valve









Caught in the act!


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## lookin_around (Dec 18, 2005)

Dude, this tank is looking AWESOME. I haven't looked at this thing since you first started it and it has sure improved. I think both of your tanks are loving whatever you're doing. Don't worry about the algae, I think that it will take care of itself as you settle into a routine and keep that.

My 2.5 is starting to see some algae on the HC due to my whacked dosing schedule. I just dump a bunch of ferts in whenever I find time to be home. Hopefully I can find a way to get things regulated a little better.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I attributed the algae to the inconsistent Co2 levels from the DIY. Or at least that's what I'm hoping! I went to buy some Excel as my supply ran out today, but the LFS was out. Bummer. 
I feel like I want another plant in here, but I can't decide what would go well, where I would put it or if I want to spend any more money on this!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I don't have any pics right now, but growth is off the charts in here. I put the Oto from my 2.5 in here and got an Amano Shrimp to deal with the bit of algae that's left. The fish are still spending a lot more time out front which I like. And my Mini Pellia looks like it likes whats going on in the water in here, there are about 3 or 4 strands (?) of it past the netting already. I'm gonna be having to trim this tank soon and can probably sell what I trim, PM me if ya need anything I got in this tank.


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## bartak (Feb 18, 2007)

that [email protected]#t is taking of. awesome


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I know I'm so glad its finally looking like I want it to. I need more plants in here though, something new, maybe a little more challenging. I think I'm going to take one of the rocks out (yes, they are still in there!) and will have place for something in the middle there. Suggestions?


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I give up on raising shrimp in here. I have 0 RCS left from the booming colony I had before, and just found my Amano white and belly up. My only thought is maybe there is some copper somewhere in here from something, I don't know. 
Tanks got about 2 months left in its lifespan. I'll be putting most of the plants I don't sell into an ADA 45-P.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Took a quick shot with my camera, I'm going to trim tomorrow or Saturday, If you want some of the stuff in this tank let me know, I'll be posting a FS thread in the S&S when I figure out just what I have


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## vtkid (Jan 5, 2009)

wow that is looking great, what do you dose for 12 gallons?


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I dose the same as is recommended for 10-20g in the dosing sticky.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I got a couple new plants for this tank, some Rotala indica (Ammania sp. 'Bonsai') and some Ludwigia glandulosa. I don't think that they'll be staying where they are right now, but I'll have to be doing some moving around here and there over the next couple days. 
I'm still battling the staghorn on the HC and there is a _tiny_ bit on the Limnophilia. It's almost fully taken over the Rotala mini, I might take that out or float it for a while or something. Growth is keeping pretty steady, I'm getting to the point where I need a bigger tank now, haha!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Great progress! I love the hc!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks everyone! I'm starting a set of H2O2 doses to get rid of the staghorn on the HC. I'll have pics if that works. Currently, the tanks chock full of bubbles.
I'm still unsettled with the location of the new plants. :/ 
Hopefully I find something I like!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

This tank is over run with staghorn and nothing I do seems to be making a dent in it. The HC is beyond saving so it's gonna all get ripped out and tossed into my brothers new tank and get grown emmersed and hopefully the staghorn will die off. And since that's where it started, hopefully removing that will help. 
I've tried everything else to get rid of it, direct shots of H2O2, lowering my dosing of nitrates and phosphates, upping the Co2, cleaning the filters, removing it by hand. Nothing is working, And now, assumingly thanks to the direct shots of H2O2, I have nice dead patches of HC in my once great carpet. 
Anyways I won't have pics or probably update this or my other thread anytime soon. My computer had its power supply die, and getting a new one for that computer would just mean something else will die a couple months later, so until I get a new computer don't expect much on here. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go bash the old power supply with a hammer till you can't make out what it was. If you have any suggestions for a carpet plant that would go well in here that isn't HC or Glosso let me know though!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Good news! I did the 24 hour pH test and my readings are showing that I have 30ppm of Co2 in the tank, so yay! 
And for even better news, no more staghorn! But also, no more HC. Everything else is growing pretty good, might need to trim some soon. 
I did find some E. tellenus that must have gotten mixed in with the Blyxa I got at one point in my 2.5, so I moved that into this tank just to fill up some space. There's not really much else going on in this tank, I don't plan to add anything else because I'm going to be tearing it down when I move next month. 
BUT
I'm having my Dad bring home the DSLR tomorrow so I'm going to get some pictures of this tank along with the 2.5 since I think they deserve better than point & shoot now haha.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

It's been a while since I posted a picture of this tank, and my Dad can't remember to ever bring home the good camera so my cheap one will have to suffice for now. 
Few changes since last time. All the HC was pulled, about half went to starting a new tank for my brother, the other half I'm selling. While doing a rescape in my 2.5'er, I found some E. tellenus growing with the Blyxa. I decided to put that in this tank and see if it grows. So that's taking place of where half the HC was. I have some Ludwigia glandulosa on the other half of the tank, it's been a crapshoot with that plant, it's growing, and MOST of it is staying red, but the new shoots are growing green and the bottom leaves will NOT stay on. I moved it from the center of the tank to the front in hopes that it gets more light and nutrients and all that other good stuff. 
I also did another capping of Eco-Complete. Probably added about an inch or so around most parts of the tank. 




























​


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

My brother got a few Scarlet Badis for this tank today, a male and two females. They look amazing, but are possibly the most camera-shy fish in the tank. They will stay put whenever I approach the tank, even when I get real close to the glass to look at them. But the second they see the camera they dart to the other side. I did happen to get one really good shot of the male but can find my transfer cord! I'll put up the shot once I find it!


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)




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## Neoman (Apr 4, 2005)

he's colored up quite a bit since this pic was taken. I've been trying to get some better shots of him but its more difficult than I expected (these things are tiny!). Hopefully I'll get some decent ones to put up today, hes looking nice and red right now. 

I'm also gonna try and get some pictures of the other two, though they don't come out as often. I might need some input as I'm not sure if they are really females :/


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## Sprout (Mar 26, 2009)

nice, i skimmed though all the pages, Great job.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks! I actually just rescaped a little bit, had to get rid of all the Limnophilia it was taking over the tank! Gettin the tank set up for some special new plants, I'll try to get some pictures later this week.


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## JSmith (Jun 12, 2009)

heh  I know what special plants! cant wait to see what you do with them..


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

So in the last picture I have what I'd thought was Echinodorus tenellus. If I'm not mistaken, that grows quick and all but stays generally around the 3-4" height. I have a leaf or two from these plants that are close to touching the top of the water. I took a pic just now with the flash, lights are out so pardon the way the pic looks, but can someone ID this for me? 












TBH I want an ID to make sure it will grow in low light, or at least survive. I'm _planning_ to put this in my brothers low-light 20H and have Marsellia minuta encompass the whole corner.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Soooooo
Can anyone ID that plant for me?


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## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Are the leaves kind of spongy? It could be a _Sagittaria_ of some kind, maybe _S. sublata_


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks, yeah, it's dwarf sag. Either way it's out of this tank and replaced by M. minuta. Hoping that makes a carpet in the next month before I head out of here.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I don't move till next month but I'm thinking about taking a jump start and tearing down this tank. I'm gonna take some pics this week, maybe tonight. If I break it down I'll post a thread in the SnS selling most of it.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

Andddd after a couple recent purchases for my new tank, this one is getting torn down this week. Pretty much everything in the tank will be for sale, I'll be using it to grow out my M. minuta till I leave, and then my brother will take over the tank (and this thread too I think) I'll be posting it all up in the SnS later this week once I get counts and all.


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)




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## Neoman (Apr 4, 2005)

So, I'm kind of bringing this tank back. With my brother setting up his Mini-M and planning to move, he's given the tank back to me. 

Not really sure about what I plan on doing with it yet. So far I've got some rotala, HM, and HC growing in there, we'll see how that turns out. Hooked up DIY co2 a few days ago and have been fertilizing with EI. Fishwise I really have no clue what I'm doing. I've got 3 CPDs, 1 Emerald Dwarf Rasbora, a scarlet badis, an oto, and a (soon to be removed) SAE. I'd like to get rid of most, if not all of these and attempt to breed some other type of nano fish in here.

I apologize for the crappy photo quality.


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

I think you can do your brother's tank justice and make it your own. Wipe the water spots from the outside glass, wipe the algae from the inside, stuff it full of plants, keep up with your water changes, and you will not disappoint. :thumbsup:

Might want to rename the thread title to "Formerly known as ........."

Looking forward to seeing what you do.


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

Any updates on this one? I'd like to see it progress. I like Nano-Cube tanks!


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## Neoman (Apr 4, 2005)

I apologize for the lack of updates here. I've spent all my time working with my 20 long and haven't really payed attention to this tank. I'm contemplating whether I should keep it a freshwater nano and get some bororas or something, or turn it into a nano reef with some of the scraps from my dad's 46 bow when he tears it down.


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