# Sharing my 4 gal. Finnex....Again



## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I'd take out the driftwood pieces or find some longer pieces. The HC looks like it's filling in well.

I would have more of a slop in the substrate. I think it would look nicer of there was a valley in the middle, and the rocks on either side were higher up.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

I dont know yet. right now I just have them there. I dont like it and will probably change it when I get some creativity LOL. I have a bunch of manzanita left over I just dont know what to do with it. I may not even use it at all.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

For an Iwagumi scape, the simpler the better. Have a few low rocks with character, and let the slopes of your substrate and plants do the talking.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

epicfish said:


> For an Iwagumi scape, the simpler the better. Have a few low rocks with character, and let the slopes of your substrate and plants do the talking.


Thanks!

Thats one vote for toss the sticks.


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## chizamp (Apr 12, 2008)

Once the HC fills in nicely if you plant some taller stem plants around the driftwood I think it would look real nice. I look forward to seeing updates on this new scape.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

i'd have to vote to for go the sticks too. stick to just the rocks, they look fairly nice as it stands now. the dwarf sag i think may add something a little different to the background but im no iwagumi expert at all. also agree on sloping the substrate more too, would add more charector to the scape.


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

nice start! I like the rocks, but i'm not a huge fan of the DW. I liek the look of DW in tanks but I think you need it to be more spread out, maybe some more height, as opposed to just in a bunch. Or none at all. How is the ground cover growing in?


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Ok the sticks have been gone for a while now. Nothing has really changed my HC still has not taken off. I may need more light, the bulb that comes with the light fixture was a 13w daylight 7100k, and I changed that to a 13w 10000k. I hopes this helps it been on there for a few days now. 

Just wanted to point out this is not going to be iwagumi, I will have some nana petites and dwarf sag in the background and maybe some Tonias. I may also move my erios over because they are in my 55gal and my four leaf clover ( cant remember the other name "marsalia minumita" something like that) has taken over in the foreground ad overshadowed them. 

In any case I may have to replace the light fixture because I cant find a bigger watt bulb, so if any one has any suggestions on a 12" long fixture I could use it would please share. I may have to go to Atlanta light bulbs and see what they have there.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

If you're open to rearranging the rocks, I would move that one in the front behind the other two, and then move the middle one foreward a little bit. If possible you also might want to shift the rock behind the larger one so the slope is at the same angle as the larger one, and maybe move it slightly more right. 

Good luck growing your HC in more, it looks like you've got some pretty good coverage going already.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

IDK, If I move any more rocks to the back I may lose area where I want to put other plants. Also now that I look at it I think you are right about the rock behind the bigger rock. Next time I open the top for air I will try and play around with it, although that is the natural slope of the big rock.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Its been a while since I updated this thread, basically because I take terrible pics. 

I changed a few things like I replaced the wood with others that I had, and I removed 2 peices of the rocks. Although you cant tell because the HC has filled in. When I planted the HC I did not know it had riccia in it and it has grown in along with the HC


























I moved my briggitaes from my 10 gal to this tank









Here is the HC/Riccia mix, It will soon float to the top and I will have to replant it, but until then oh well.









Sorry for the green spot algae on the glass. I have a couple of nerites and an Otto in there, they are just taking there time cleaning up. 



Well tell me what you think, I'm a big boy so I can take it. 

Also does anyone know the code so that you can click the bar above the pic the make it bigger and smaller.


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## merk1_99 (Nov 11, 2008)

Personally I like it the way you have it now. I like the full look. What are you using for light? I have a finnex 4 with the stock light and it seems dim to me. So I am wondering if I need to upgrade wattage/fixture or if a 10k bulb will take care of it. Not looking for fast growth, just growth. Are you doing any CO2?


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

It looks really healthy! Good job.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

merk1_99 said:


> Personally I like it the way you have it now. I like the full look. What are you using for light? I have a finnex 4 with the stock light and it seems dim to me. So I am wondering if I need to upgrade wattage/fixture or if a 10k bulb will take care of it. Not looking for fast growth, just growth. Are you doing any CO2?


 
I tried to switch to a 10k bulb and the HC still wouldn't grow so I broke down and bought one of the Home Depot $20 lights and used it with the light that came with the Finnex and the HC took off. With the HD light I cut it on for 4 hours a day as a burst. 

Yes I use pressurized CO2.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Thanks UG

Considering your nanos are always amazing, a compliment from you is great. Now if only I can take pics like you do.


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## merk1_99 (Nov 11, 2008)

Well it looks great. I guess I am going to have to run up to Home Depot and get one of those lights, or upgrade to a new fixture....


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

nice it's growing well!


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

How bout an update: 

I am starting to really like this tank. I received some moss before thanksgiving and I tied it some left over MDW and it took off while I was out of town. It grew into a nice bushy tree top. If anybody knows what kind of moss it is please let me know. It kindof reminds me of riccia but it doesnt float to the top, but it pearls like crazy.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Here are a few more pics. 

FTS

















My HC Floated to the top because of some riccia that I didnt know was in it, so I planted glosso. Hopefully over time they will both cover the foreground because I like that look. 









I also got some tiger shrimp

































And here is an otto and the briggitae


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

What a cute shrimp! The plants look great! I hope that your plants do as well in my tanks!


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## brt_p (Nov 16, 2008)

let's just called it "Riccia sp." :icon_mrgr
the stem plant in the background, what is it?..is it Tonina?


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Hey you got one very neat little tank there!!!! I enjoyed seeing the progression of this beautiful little "world". roud:

Do you find that your Nano is easier to maintain than a larger tank?

Also did you ever find out what kind of moss that was? It looks wonderful growing like a tree top in there!


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Phoenix-cry said:


> What a cute shrimp! The plants look great! I hope that your plants do as well in my tanks!


Thanks Phoenix-cry. Dont worry with all the good advice you get on this forum, you will growing great plants and giving them away to newbies in no time. Just remember dont let the "OG's" get to you.:icon_lol: You already have the artistic eye, you have proven that in you art work, now just translate that to a aquascape and there you go. 



brt_p said:


> let's just called it "Riccia sp." :icon_mrgr
> the stem plant in the background, what is it?..is it Tonina?


Riccia sp., funny. I may just do that if no one can find the name of it. I cant even remember who I got it from. Whatever it is, its not what I thought It was. But I do like it alot. 

Back ground plant is *Tonina sp. Manaus. *It is a little more demanding than Belem. So far it is doing great in the little tank. 



EdTheEdge said:


> Hey you got one very neat little tank there!!!! I enjoyed seeing the progression of this beautiful little "world". roud:
> 
> Do you find that your Nano is easier to maintain than a larger tank?
> 
> Also did you ever find out what kind of moss that was? It looks wonderful growing like a tree top in there!


Thank You for the kind words. For Me I am finding the nano a little easier to scape now. I say now because I now know which plants are going to stay small and proportionate to the tank. But then it could also be that my other tanks are two 55gal and a 10 gal, both of which are 2 of the most difficult to scape, Its very hard to show depth in these tanks. Now for you and judging by your 90 gal it may be easier for you because what you did there is just magnificent, The couch shot is amazing. 

Still dont know what the moss is. I may have to put the pic back in the plants section. I like the tree top look also, I didnt even try to do it. It just spread out like that while I was away for thanksgiving. I need to take a shot above the tank so you can see the width of it.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

OK after posting the pic in the plants section, I believe it is sinking riccia. Here is another shot of it with some another riccia I have floating in my 10gal. 

The riccia on the left floats and on the right does not float.


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## brt_p (Nov 16, 2008)

@rekles75
May i know your water parameter?..
i found it hard keeping Tonina sp. , it keeps melting around..

my water parameter :
GH = 5
KH = 4
PH = 7.3

IMHO,
i think both of them is Riccia, the left one, was in high light condition, the right one, was low light condition...


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

I dont really check my Parameters too much, I just watch the plants and change my ferts accordingly. Sometimes its hit or miss. 

I will try to get around to checking them sometime this week, and I will post it then.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

This is the top of tank shot, to show the width of the tree top.


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Wow!! That's amazing! The ricca you gave me is growing like a weed!


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

TRAGEDY!!!!!!!!!!

I woke up this afternoon to find all but 1 of my tiger shrimp dead. I have tested my parameters, nothing there. I think that the temperture dipped overnight and this may have been the cause. I have a heater in there and it is set but it may not have come on. This was a cold weekend here, I believe it was 13 degrees this Sat morning. Thats very cold for Atlanta. I will check a few other things tommorow to see if I can find out what happened, But this was devastating.


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Oh no!!!! I'm so sorry!


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

Riccia Rhenana maybe?
google-fu for the win. 

I'm sorry about your shrimp, loosing fish and stuff is so hard D:


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

The stuff you gave me floats.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Sorry to hear about your shrimp, man. I can so relate. Not too long ago I had a massive die-off and it broke my heart. I stopped trying for a brief moment, but got back in the game after I realized that tanks without anything moving are quite boring.

Hang in there, bro.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Thanks guys. When it happen I immediately thought of your tanks UG and how this is how it must have felt. 

Riccia Rhenana maybe? Possibly it is the closest match I have seen.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Phoenix-cry said:


> The stuff you gave me floats.


 
It doesnt float in here, but then again it is only 4 gal. Its very shallow plus themajority of it is already at the top, but whats growing on the base of the wood doesnt seem to want to go to the top like some other Riccia I have tried.


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Hmmm...very strange. I had to mess down some and the other clump is floating free


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Doesnt sound too strange, I guess that proves its not sinking riccia. Most riccia is a floating plant. Thats how it pulled up most of my HC after I finally got it growing. It was so small at the time I didnt even know it was in there with the HC. I am not talking about the riccia I sent you. This was another variety I have.


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

I love this tank. That sucks about the shrimp. That was a crazy few cold days wasn't it? Heaters do malfunction a lot, or maybe that little hydor just couldn't keep up. 

Keep up the good work though. This little tank is nice!


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Thanks Freddie, It wasnt the Hydor. I unplug that a while ago, I just never removed it. It was the submersible thats behind the riccia tree that malfunctioned.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Does your house have heating?

That's strange, since Tigers are _Caridinas_, and _Caridinas_ prefer cooler temperatures. What was the tank temperature when you noticed they were dead?

That's happened to me once, although it doesn't get as cold here

But sorry for your loss


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Oh yes my house has heat. The temp was at 76^ when I got up, but I woke at like 2p. I work nights. It is on an exterior wall and the outside temp was around 13^. Thats about as uncommon as snow here.


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

I like this tank. That's too bad about the heater.


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## Aquascapejackson (Feb 25, 2011)

the riccia HC mix looks wild man..in a good way though


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Whoa! Bumped from the dead after two years! Rekles, are you still alive or did all those breeding Mollies in your 55 take you and your dogs hostage?


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Aquascapejackson said:


> the riccia HC mix looks wild man..in a good way though


WOW I haven't even looked at this thread in a while! 

I tell you what I wasn't happy when the Riccia and HC mixed. I have went thru a lot of money trying to get HC to grow for me. I just kept failing with it. I finally got it to grow with the emersed method. Then I dont even know how I got the riccia in my tank because I was never really interested in it so I know I didn't buy it but it mixed in with the HC and of course its a floating plant so it just uprooted my HC after a while. Then my Tiger strip Shrimp died so I gave up on this tank. I took it down and placed it in the garage. I had too many tanks running at once anyways, all 4 tanks where running at one time at one point. 

But thanks *Aquascapejackson *You just reminded me how much I hate RICCIA!!!!!!!! LOL 



fastfreddie said:


> Whoa! Bumped from the dead after two years! Rekles, are you still alive or did all those breeding Mollies in your 55 take you and your dogs hostage?


*Freddie *Wat's good! Its been a while my dude!

I'm living, them breeding a#* fish aren't though. I finally got rid of them. Some to a local fish store and some to some kind of outbreak in the tank.:thumbsup:. I got caught up in my work and side jobs so much I neglected my tanks. Then I tore them all down. I have been trying to get back into the game and have started a new project in the last couple of weeks. 










I got this setup from *Roundtreesj* here on the forum and I set my 4 gal Finnex back up for shrimp again. Hopefully it will go better than last time.


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

Woah..what are the dimensions on that 4g Finnex?

it looks alot wider and shorter than mine


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## karatekid14 (Jan 16, 2011)

I think that tank is a 55, definatly not the finnex.


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

karatekid14 said:


> I think that tank is a 55, definatly not the finnex.


Yep... after a little more careful reading I think you are right.. the Finnex has been placed in the collectoritis storehouse/hiding spot 



rekles75 said:


> I took it down and placed it in the garage.


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

This thread has been brought back to life again!

I may have to bring the 4 gal finnex back to life. Haha!

The tank at the top of this page is my newest setup. It is coming together nicely. The finnex was set back up but I will take it down again due to the paintball CO2 setup that I tried to use wont work for me and I am tried of dealing with it. The regulator went out in it and gassed all my shrimp I just bought a couple of weeks ago. SO I think that is a sign to just deal with the tank at the top of the page. I do better with larger tanks anyways.


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