# ADVENTURE!! 29g rimless High-Tech



## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

*29g*

Spent: Oh man... probably $300 now


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Here we go. Pictures suck because I left my camera while I was on vacation. Using a cruddy 10 year old camera that I found in the attic.

*Please excuse the right side of the tank, still need more sand.)


















EDIT: So Picnik _does_ make them look better...

EDIT x2: The wood's not supposed to be a focal point as much as it is, an accent sticking out from the plants.

EDIT x3: I am not using DIY co2, those are old and need to be thrown.

EDIT x4 (God I need to make up my mind xD)


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## joetaff (Jun 9, 2007)

Always nice to see a 29 gallon! 

I thought I'd give a little advice based on my own 29 gallon up to this point. 

As far as a diffuser I would _Highly_ recommend the atomizer from either Shrimp Lab or GLA. I switched from my glass diffuser and it works so much better and costs alot less. Shrimp Lab is quite a bit cheaper than GLA, and they offer cheap shipping and sell brass check valves for ~ $3 and glass drop checkers for $4 so you can really stock up on co2 supplies for cheap and get it all on one shipping charge!

As I'm sure you're aware, people on this site offer dry ferts for cheap, that how I got mine. 

I'm not going to be alot of help on lighting. I actually saw your journal from my lighting thread haha. I wasn't impressed with my 48w 30" fixture mainly because of the spread and dark spots on the sides and corners I got because the bulbs are only 24" long. I ordered a 36" fixture that will overhand a bit, but it doesn't look bad at all IMO. Many think this will be too much light but I'm not convinced. I think coralife is the only brand making a true 30" fixture with bulbs that actually go the length of the fixture. you may look into that, although I ultimately decided against it because I couldn't find out if it had 1 single reflector or a "W" type reflector (which I wanted) that is still one solid piece but individually contoured like my aquatic life fixture.

Good luck! I'm excited to see this get up and running!


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

supscribed. cant wait to see how this turns out.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

joetaff said:


> Always nice to see a 29 gallon!
> 
> I thought I'd give a little advice based on my own 29 gallon up to this point.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice!

Oooh, but the glass ones are so cool-looking and the ones with the built in spiral bubble counters! :angel: 
Atomic, got it. :angryfire

Hm, I _was_ thinking of the 30" Coralife fixture, atleast, that's what I wanted.



orchidman said:


> supscribed. cant wait to see how this turns out.


Me too...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

if your getting a glass diffuser, and want one that has a bubble counter built in, see if mordalphus has any!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

His were the one's I was talking abOut.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i see nothing...


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

What?


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

Nvm Lol. I read it wrong


You can call me Bob


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## Dragonfish (Apr 28, 2011)

Hey, where in WI are you?


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Got the other side done. EDIT (Sorry the pictures are so bad)


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

I have the 30" Coralife with 2 18w T5NO on my 29g, but I also had to add a 30" T8 to get enough light.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Hmmm. Okay. Well I was planning on a AquaticLife (is that the new Coralife?) 30" 2 x 24w T5HO 

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+22134&pcatid=22134


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

you could get an odyssea, they dont have the best bulbs, but it should work. i know many people who say you can grow most things at medium light with co2. so you dont _need_ HIGH light.


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## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

I had a 30in coralife light on a 36g bowfront back in '08 and it worked fine for me and the tank was deep. I don't want to hijack your thread and post my pics, so here is a link to it in my photobucket with a pic of the tank and the light.
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff175/radioman22/100_0787.jpg


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Uh holy crap that looks bright to me. Cool, thanks! I think I'll go with that then: partly because I sneakily watched my mom order it last night for my bday next week. :ninja:


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> Uh holy crap that looks bright to me. Cool, thanks! I think I'll go with that then: partly because I sneakily watched my mom order it last night for my bday next week. :ninja:


ROFL!!!!! i always make sure my mom consults me before buying stuff like that.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I know.. I showed her it a couple weeks ago and kinda forgot about, was planning on just getting money and buying things myself. Oh well. I bet it will work fine anyway.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

rofl. lcuky you! and happy birthday, how old will you be? 15?


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Hahah, thanks. I'll be 14 next Tuesday.


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## Capncrunch7 (Aug 11, 2010)

I use the 2x24 T5HO aquatic life on my 29g and strongly recommend it! I swapped out the bulbs for some nicer aftermarket ones ( a 10k and 6.7k) and havent had any issues keeping "high light" plants. My ech. tenellus is throwing runners out all over the place instead of growing straight up like everyone warned me it would without some obscenely powerful light.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

nice. happy birthday


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

So you didn't use the rosette bulb? I didn't plan on using it, I prefer 10,000 x 6700 better.

Thanks BOB!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Yay, the light came yesterday (I didn't know Dr. Fosters and Smith was in RHINELANDER WISCONSIN?! That's not too far away.

And it rocks. I love it.

Okay, now, which item should be next on my list? RO system or co2 system?


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

co2!


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

I say RO if you water quality is bad.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I decided to finish my co2 system. I'll just use distilled water for now, they have this thing at a store that refills 5 gallon jugs for like <$1 each. So 3 every week, not that big of a hassle until I can save up for an RO system.


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## SkyGrl (Jan 7, 2010)

updates???? commmeeee ooonnnnnnnn!!!!

and who doesnt love anime. ive been obsessed with Bleach for 6 yrs LMAO!!!!

Amy


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I can show you another empty-tank photo, because I moved the manzanita. But I haven't really done anything yet, just waiting another week so I can get the diffuser and drop checker and more ferts, theeen it will be the planting time.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

lets see it then!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Mkay, minor set back. Waiting for shrimplab to restock their atomic diffusers. AAAND I broke my drop checker.  Dropped it, it was so cool I danced around with it and it slipped. Fffff, my luck.

Q: Will a Clippard mouse solenoid be able to handle 30psi? I hope so...

Here it is atm: Second pic is my plan. Rotala sp. colorata and hc carpet. I'll prolly have a staurorepens (I seriously forget what its called) transition from the stems to the hc.


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## daverock1337 (Jan 17, 2011)

subscribed


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

looks like a good plan. i think its staurogene repens roud:


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

S. repens makes it easy, I need to find enough to cover a square foot of substrate, I think it's the only plant my fish won't pull out and eat.

Can't wait to see some more pics!!!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Just ordered 18L of Aquasoil. Multi-Type, hope its good.

I've got a new idea running through my head... something simple. Like this. Honestly, I'll probably just wing it when the time comes. 

Like this or this.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

love both. the bottom one doesnt look as much like your hardscape does though


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## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

Very good idea. I can't wait for the progress


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Hooray! AS is cool.









My plan. Yellow is limnophila hippuroide. Or what do you suggest?


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## WallaceGrover (Jan 15, 2011)

You can safely derim a 29 gallon?


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I'm sure... The top doesn't do much anyway, I left the bottom on it though.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Last night I did some serious shopping. Ordered the rest of the ferts, plants, and RO system. I'm pumped.


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## TexasCichlid (Jul 12, 2011)

I would get some corner brackets just in case.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Why so? I filled it up and it didn't bow. There's been riskier de-rims on the board.

........ My brain is about to explode from the excitement. Its about time this thing comes up! Only a week and it will be up. I can make it, maybe!


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## TexasCichlid (Jul 12, 2011)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> Why so? I filled it up and it didn't bow. There's been riskier de-rims on the board.


Cheap insurance.


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## matty26 (Feb 25, 2011)

you don't need it, everyone is overly cautious about their tanks, I derimmed a 40 breeder


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## TexasCichlid (Jul 12, 2011)

Guy I know told me he didn't need renters insurance back when we were in college, either. I don't know how many, out of pocket, thousands of dollars in damage his 120 caused when it flooded his apartment and the one downstairs.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Now you have me worried.

Ugh, I took everything out and retested it. Its in the basement now. I'll give it til Tuesday and if it isn't leaking by then its going in my room. I don' think it will leak, it is very sturdy. I've had it for 2 years and it has been very good. The glass on the top isn't sharp either. 

Wish me luck!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

And maybe when I set it up I will invision a super-scape in which I will do! Otherwise I will try to redo it as close as I can


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Sorry the pictures are bad.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

It's grown in alot  Colorata pretty much died off, only a few stems left, and they kinda blend in with the rotala since it's now green. Macranda is slowly growing, they're very small and fragile so it's hard to keep them planted with ottos around. :flick: I also switched out the UG for hc and the HC has grown alot in the only 3 or so weeks it's been in!!!! Yay! Um, I'm sorry the pics are so bad, I don't have a camera, they were taken with my camcorder. Also, I did a blackout awhile ago because I had greenwater, and it killed almost all the rotalas, so I had to replant; Every. Single. One. Haha. But they've grown in alot better! Not so much on the sides, I don't know why....


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Hat new plants should I get?? It needs color!!!!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Okay here's another try:









I know it's very bad. I will borrow my friends camera tomorrow and try to get better pictures because in real life it isn't so yellow. It's a very nice shade of lime green, the plants are. Honestly I kinda like the all yellow look and since the macranda isn't doing so hot I think I will just expand the green. Or should I give colorata another try? 

ps I'll clean off some algae. I went on vacation for a week last week and when I came back, the drop checker was bluish green! I have a single stage regulator, so the rising temps of that week made the co2 drop in pressure, so the it wasn't defusing properly in the inline. Boo. 

Can you see the cardinals? I got those too! I seriously haven't updated this in a long time; I got 12 cardinals (not at once, over 3 weeks) and only the very first 6 survived for a month, and then slowly 2 more died. Only 4 now. :/ I think I may buy a bunch from a seller that sells them for like a $1 (opposed to the LFS's 6 for $25) and just quarantine them for a long time to see who survives. I need more! They're so pretty! I'm also planning on setting up another tank, I 40p (Is that what they call it?) ADA tank. It won't be as expensive because I already have the co2 (that was the biggest hurdle for me.) I'm thinking all moss/liverworts with HC carpet (I freaking LOVE HC!!! It's growing so well [knock on wood] and it's so pretty!) for crs. I wanted to add some to my 29 but honestly, every baby counts with these guys and my cardinals are expert scavangers. I had an outbreak of nemetodes and they picked them all clean in a month. I didn't feed them either that month too so that probably helped. He he. So ya guys, look forward to non-crappy pictures tomorrow and please post advice on what I should do with the plants! thanks and best wishes!~john


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## SkyGrl (Jan 7, 2010)

Hey i have been lurking on this thread. hehe. I just wanted to say that the tank looks great and I think that you need some red plants in there. Perhaps some ludwigia.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Yay!!!!

Um I'm thinking limnophila aromatica!? Some purple would contrast the green well.


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## SkyGrl (Jan 7, 2010)

ohhh indeed! i would second that decision for sure! that would look stellar!! maybe the back right corner? 

i shall continue to lurk and comment! your thread is pretty much the only thread i post on anymore. i enjoy your tank so much.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

:icon_redf Awww, thank you. That means so much.



I had to hurry to get the pictures because my friend's sister was waiting for us to be done to take him home, so in all that I forgot to clean the algae! Oh well, just ignore it...

I can't believe this tank is 4 months old already!!!

!! yay these are much better, not as good as I thought they'd turn out but they're much better.

EDIT: Oh and I have some moss coming for the driftwood. I'm gonna try it, it sticks out too much atm...


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

So's.... I was messing around with flow last night. I think what has been causing the sides (especially the right side! Look at the hc in that corner, it's almost dead...) I think it was the fact that I had the input/output of the canister on opposite sides. Not good. So I moved them onto the same side and already I noticed a better movement of the co2 bubbles around the tank. On top of that I added a small Aquaball powerhead, just something I had on hand, to the opposite side. Much much much better. I'm hoping this will turn things around!!! I actually have an unused Koralia powerhead but its rated it's way too strong, I tried it out and it started ripping up stems. Is there anyway to turn down their flow, alot???


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## SkyGrl (Jan 7, 2010)

lol. i dont think so.. i think your just stuck at the power you get. with some other models (top fin i think) of powerheads you can, but koralias are one flow. hmmm i dont have a powerhead in my 15 gallon.. i just have a filter thats way to big.. i think its rated for a 30 gallon... hahahaha. my poor fishies have to swim so hard to get to one side of the tank.. hahaha but my mosses love it. my christmas moss exploded and my flame moss is getting bigger and bigger. in my future tank build (70 bowfront) ill be tying flame moss to some of my branches i ordered. i think i will have to upgrade my light tho. they like higher light then most mosses. 

ive always run my intake/output on opposite sides.. perhaps ill try out the same side thinger.. hmmm


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

try it out skygirl, I like it. Heater on opposite side helps to balance out the look though.

The plants have exploded lately! I think it's the increased flow. They are growing side shoots from everywhere.

New plants today also! Limnophila aromatica and Rotala sp. 'Singapore.' (among others, I decided not to add them because of their large leaf size, Mine throw the proportions off. They will be great additions to my emersed setup though!

I'll take pics tomorrow when hopefully they have responded to the light and reach up.

Getting more fish this weekend. Rummynose, more cardinals, or harlequin rasboras? I like cardinals, but I'm kinda not impressed with their behavior. They're kinda boring... They're pretty, but so dumb and shy!! I like both Harlequins and rummynose.. I'm looking for more of a medium/upper region fish. The cardinals stay at teh bottom and it kinda makes the tank seem empty. Which would be a better choice?


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Great news! I got pictures!! I didn't even have to borrow my friend's camera, this is my mom's super cheap and old digital one. The secret is: "Place it on a table so your shakey hands don't botch up the pictures!"

Next time I'll play around with the setting more. I left it on 'Automatic.' It worked very well on the far away picture, but for the closer ones, not so much. I'll see what 'Close-Up' and 'Landscape' settings do next time! (prolly this weekend or next week sometime)

Exposure On (-0.5)









Exposure Off


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

New plants! 

Okay here's the plant list now:

Rotala sp. "Green"
Rotala sp. "Colorata"
Rotala sp. "Macranda"
Rotala sp. "Singapore"
Limnophila Aromatica
Ludwigia Repens x Arcuata
Hemianthus callitrichoides


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

great looking 29g right here! It def doesn't look like a 29 but something larger with how its planted and hardscaped! I may have just missed it but how are you delivering CO2 into that tank?? Keep it up!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Hi!! I have an inline atomizer diffusing the CO2.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Update! Look how much they've grown!! Thanks crazydaz for the awesome colorata and macranda and the other thing. 

CRAZIEST STORY!! I found one of my cardinal tetras in my filter when I was cleaning it out!!! It's been gone for 2 weeks!! I'm very surprised it survived..


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

it looks good. 
love the rotala green.
a touch of advice: maintain that carpet. trim and replant the long tips of the HC.

out of curiosity, what made you go with a 29 over a 20 long? ive got the same footprint to work with, and will need to decide on one of the two in a few months.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Ya I know I need a new scissors though first :/

UUum I went with it because I had one, I've had it since like 2010. It was just sitting in my closet so I thought I'd put it to use!

I really need to start shaping the stems. After my next trimming I will hopefully have made enough money to buy a nice curved scissors so I can shape the bushes by the next trimming. And the hc! (It's bad I know  )


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

ouch
some cost a pretty penny. 

thats a good reason. lol


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Hehe. Hopefully eventually later I can get some lily pipes. Now those will take a lot of selling/savign!

Thanks for posting, it means alot :3


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Questoin! Would moss on the wood look cool?


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Up to you....but there is so little of the wood showing that it would be difficult to highlight it. Plus, I think that moss on wood is a bit over-done, in my opinion. Your call, though!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

True true...

I'm looking for another piece of manzanita online to help the tank's appearance.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

A little wild I know...


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

no its looking pretty good. you just need to shape the bushes a little.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Mhm! Alot, actually. I've been waiting for all these things... scissors, other plants to blend it with. But I'm not going to worry about them and just shape it how it'll be now and reshape it later when the colorata bushes come in more. I will be trimming tomorrow night I think!


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## Zefrik (Oct 23, 2011)

Very good looking tank. I have a 29 rimless tank right now too, but it has lots of problems. What kind of filter are you running? It looks like a fluval but I can't tell which model. Also do you not have a cover on the filter intake?! I could never do that! All of my fish would be sucked up.


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## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

Nice growth. Good scape. 

I was curious, for the first 2 weeks. Did you have any algae at all? specially diatoms? 

THanks


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Hey guys 



Zefrik said:


> Very good looking tank. I have a 29 rimless tank right now too, but it has lots of problems. What kind of filter are you running? It looks like a fluval but I can't tell which model. Also do you not have a cover on the filter intake?! I could never do that! All of my fish would be sucked up.


It's a Fluval 105. Not the best choice for a tank this size but it works well with my powerhead (300gph altogether..) Hehe, no actually there's a piece of plastic right inside the very tip of the tube, they're like bars. Obviously they don't work very well as I found one of my missing cardinals trapped inside my filter.. (he's been missing for 2 weeks) I'm gonna get an intake soon! (I broke the last one!)



green_valley said:


> Nice growth. Good scape.
> 
> I was curious, for the first 2 weeks. Did you have any algae at all? specially diatoms?
> 
> THanks


Yes. Very badly. First it was diatoms, so I got otos who cleared it up well. Then after that was GSA and greenwater BAD. I did a 7 day blackout (probably too long) and it killed all the algae and all my plants  That's why I didn't update for 2 months because I was battling that and then trying to regrow the plants.. It's stable right now but there is some Green Spot Algae I'm fighting. Ugh I am dosing 4x the EI dosage of phosphate and 2x the micros.


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## y84k (May 31, 2007)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> Update! Look how much they've grown!! Thanks crazydaz for the awesome colorata and macranda and the other thing.
> 
> CRAZIEST STORY!! I found one of my cardinal tetras in my filter when I was cleaning it out!!! It's been gone for 2 weeks!! I'm very surprised it survived..


Funny story indeed... I was missing all three of my Kulhi loaches for about a week... didn't think much of it... just figured they were hiding under a rock or in the super fine gravel I have.. I take apart my new Fluval 306 to clean it and pressed up against the sponges are all three of them... unfortunately all were dead. My best guess is they thought the intake tube would be a good place to hide and got through the filter strainer and got sucked up fast...

anyways i went out and bought a circular sponge thing to put over the Fluval inlet strainer and bought 5 more kulhis. So far no problems!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I'm sorry that it ended that way but I'm happy everything has been well so far!

I'm very surprised that my cardinal got sucked up! He must've been alot smaller than he is now because there's now way he could fit now.

Oh! I forgot to tell you guys!! I got 10 harlequin rasboras last weekend. They are doing really really good in the quarantine. Nothing visible. I'm dosing Melafix + PraziPro as a preventative, but I'm really tempted to add them this weekend... It'd only be a week and the only other inhabitants I care about are the 4 cardinals but there's only 4... I might actually be going to the LFS tomorrow to get 6 more cardinals, so if I do than I'd do another week so they can be together in the quarantine and be done with it altogether.
b ut 
I switched out the bulbs today. While they don't look as intense as the old ones, they are a better spectrum overall and but lack the bright intensity because they're not spiking in the yellow (the new bulbs are 10,000k and a rosette) but I'm hoping this will help to bring out the reds more.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I added the harlequin rasboras today and almost immediately I watched 4-5 of the big, fat females spawn. :/ I did not see any eggs being lain but the males were right behind them trying to get them to. Maybe tomorrow they will actually lay!

0_0 They are so active. It's really funny. 10 is alot more than it sounds too, I think another 10 might be TOO many, so I'll probably get 5 more harlequins and 6 more cardinals.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Today I found 5-7 really cool sticks! They're very nicely shaped with natural tapering ends. They are barkless and very dark. I think they'd look great poking out of the plants/rocks. I'll see what they look like after they sink! I tied some moss to them too.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Nice looking set, crazy luck on the Cardinal.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Here it is  Major trim! See that hanging thing on the right side? That's the stems I got from trimming 0_0 I need people to buy them so I can get a scissors!!

Did I trim the back too short??

EDIT: This whole time I've been focusing on how much the stems have grown, but wow look how much the HC has grown! I wish I could trim it.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

the tank looks SO much better now!
good work.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Yay!!!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Here's a better picture straight on.

Darn rasboras will not school! >_<


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Suggestions for hardscape?


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

A harlequin jumped today.  It's entirely my fault to I did a water change very quickly this morning (I wake up every Monday morning an hour early to do a waterchange) and I filled it way too full (all the way to the top!) and when I came back from my track meet just now, I found it shriveled up and dried on the desk.  Stupid stupid stupid! D: :RIP:


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Any updates on how this is progressing? New pictures!! How are your plants doing??


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I'll post some new pictures Friday. I have Track sectionals tonight. I'm still waiting on my scissors for trimming, I don't know what's taking so long, so it's really overgrown, but healthy!


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Well, I use regular scissors, and they seem to work fine.........not quite sure what a pricey pair of scissors can do that a cheap pair can't! 

Good luck with track!!!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

My scissors I was using before kinda squished the plants more than cut, they like would leave a section kinda flat and then that node would turn brown and die off. :/

Pictures tonight I promise!


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## Uptown193 (Apr 25, 2011)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> My scissors I was using before kinda squished the plants more than cut, they like would leave a section kinda flat and then that node would turn brown and die off. :/
> 
> Pictures tonight I promise!


My 2 cent, I suggest buying new scissors for a few dollars at CVS/Duane Reade  unless your want to buy the ones I got for $79 from ADA :eek5:


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Well whatever mine came today, it wasn't that much. lol


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Sorry this has taken so long! 

Here it is about a week after a trim. Sorry the picture sucks so bad. I'll try to get better ones.


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Whoa! This is taking form quite nicely, Lil'!! Nice work! You might want to get rid of some of that algae before the next set of pics, though.... 

Seriously....looks great, and has come really far in a short time!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Really!? Yippee!

Oh hahha I would've but I left my razors to wet and they rusted 

EDIT: Oh I got 5 more cardinal tetras. In quarantine at the moment. I'm thinking of moving the harlequins. They don't really school and just make it look more cluttered... atleast cardinals are pretty lol. I'll give them to my sis! She'll love them!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Okay here's a better picture. Still sucks though.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Just posting this so I don't forget in the future.. *Didiplis diandra*


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Update! It looks overgrown! And the stems, they don't look very full like you can see through them but they aren't so much in person!


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Look really nice bro!!! It doesn't look "overgrown" at all to me! The hardscape really stands out, but it isn't overbearing....the plants really soften the scape, and there are little hints of yellows and pinks to the green. Plants look healthy and the tank looks clean. I would say you are doing a great job!!!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

looks good. still needs a touch of fine-tuning though.
trim your stems low if you want them to be thick. trim really low down, then next trim, trim 1 node higher, and then another node higher, and so on until you reach the desired trim length. this promotes the production of more sideshoots. remember to still keep shaping, by trimming the front and side plants of a bush trimmed lower then those in the center and back; easily done by just trimming them a touch lower on the initial trim.
also, it looks like you need to mow down the carpet. just trim it super short, and then plant some of the trimmings in the few bare patches you have to fill them in quicker. 
look through this thread: http://www.barrreport.com/showthrea...ing-nice-over-time-how-to-trim-what-to-expect
i find posts #5 and #6 particularly good at depicting what im saying.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

:3 aw shucks.

Hey guess what I got a job! babysitting, gross, but I will probably get myself a nice(er) camera this summer! Yay! 

Oh I did a short video just to show the fishies! Because you can't usually see all of them in photographs. I took out the rasboras and put them in a spare 10g, incase I wanna try them again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6-X7wGaxeg&feature=plcp


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

@[email protected] said:


> looks good. still needs a touch of fine-tuning though.
> trim your stems low if you want them to be thick. trim really low down, then next trim, trim 1 node higher, and then another node higher, and so on until you reach the desired trim length. this promotes the production of more sideshoots. remember to still keep shaping, by trimming the front and side plants of a bush trimmed lower then those in the center and back; easily done by just trimming them a touch lower on the initial trim.
> also, it looks like you need to mow down the carpet. just trim it super short, and then plant some of the trimmings in the few bare patches you have to fill them in quicker.
> look through this thread: http://www.barrreport.com/showthrea...ing-nice-over-time-how-to-trim-what-to-expect
> i find posts #5 and #6 particularly good at depicting what im saying.


Yes! Thank you so much! I need help lol
Okay yes so trim very short? I was worried I would kill the plants chances of growing by doing that, I tried before and they died but I think the reason why is because I did it like a week after I just planted fresh stems so they didn't have roots good enough to really grow yet and they just kinda died off. I will do it now though since they have great root systems now!!  Should I do it now or wait a week since I will be gone all this week and I don't want to come home to algae! Because I read something like for the week or so after a heavy trim you should do waterchanges 2-3x a week and to do a photoperiod of half etc. Would it still be a good time to trim if I just halved the photoperiod and waited til I got back for a wc? And I trimmed the hc last time I trimmed it must grow fast too. haha Okay I'll trim that too when I do. Short short short I got it. I have lots of it growing emersed now from the trimmings of last time. 

Thanks for the help I'll go read the article now!

EDIT: Oh ya! I had a slight problem during the last trim  Only 1 stem grew from each one! So like it was a pointless. I don't understand why this happened. Could it be water quality? I just ordered a new filter set for my RO system since it's been about 6 months I've had it.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Your aquarium looks good and it looks nicely filled in not overgrown. Congrats on the summer job and becoming gainfully employed.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I'm going to go ahead and trim them now, this way when I get home the the tank will be a surprise lol! I'll post pics when I'm done.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> Yes! Thank you so much! I need help lol
> Okay yes so trim very short? I was worried I would kill the plants chances of growing by doing that, I tried before and they died but I think the reason why is because I did it like a week after I just planted fresh stems so they didn't have roots good enough to really grow yet and they just kinda died off. I will do it now though since they have great root systems now!!  Should I do it now or wait a week since I will be gone all this week and I don't want to come home to algae! Because I read something like for the week or so after a heavy trim you should do waterchanges 2-3x a week and to do a photoperiod of half etc. Would it still be a good time to trim if I just halved the photoperiod and waited til I got back for a wc? And I trimmed the hc last time I trimmed it must grow fast too. haha Okay I'll trim that too when I do. Short short short I got it. I have lots of it growing emersed now from the trimmings of last time.
> 
> Thanks for the help I'll go read the article now!
> ...


the death could have been to poor flow/CO2. i have experienced this with a few plants, but after transplanting one or two stems to the foreground (looked weird, but helped), where there is more flow (and thus CO2) it revived. then i got a small powerhead to help with circulation. the roots may have been a/the factor in your case though, i dont know.
the possible algae (and remedial WCs and photoperiod cut) are if you remove a very significant amount of plant mass, like after a vacation and your tank is a jungle. if you want, cut the photoperiod and hour or two, it certainly wont make more algae grow.
if you have an emersed setup (you mentioned you have some HC in one), add a clipping or two of each stem from your tank to it. lay it flat and press the whole thing to the substrate, this will allow it to stay moist and root well, sending shoots up from each node. this way if anything does die off you have some as a backup, and that knowledge should help you worry less and trim more aggressively.
when you trim a stem, you remove the apical bud (the top growth point). the apical meristem releases auxins, inhibiting growth of the axilliary buds (side shoots), as the plant grows taller, the distance from the apical bud and lower axilliary buds decreases, allowing them to grow; the greater the distance becomes the faster they grow. by removing the apical bud, you allow all the axilliary buds to grow a bit, and one to become the new apical bud. doing this over and over, allows multiple axilliary buds to grow visible stems.


Lil' Swimz$ said:


> I'm going to go ahead and trim them now, this way when I get home the the tank will be a surprise lol! I'll post pics when I'm done.


sounds good


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Oh I see marko @[email protected] so many scientific terms lol But I get what your saying.

Is this short enough? I tried to trim the HC shorter but it parts started to come up.  If I trimmed it super short there was nothing there sometimes! D: In the second pic, why does it look so bad? I planted it alot denser 
















Hey I have an emersed setup going very well. It's a jungle of stems lol. The r. green is nuts in that tank. Here's a pic.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

i think it should do.
it really depends on how high you want the finished bush to be. 

if parts of the HC are uprooting it means one of two things: either the base is rotting, cuz you let it grow to high; or your uprooting it as you trim.
i would really mow the HC. pretend its hairgrass, just slice it to .25"-.5" above the substrate and let it grow back from there. if any part are too sparsely planted (this goes for the background stems too), just plant the clippings in there.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I would like the highest stem plants (the limnophila aromatica's) to be about up to the drop checker.

So you think I should just trim super low for the hc and anything that comes up because the bottom rotted out should just be replanted?

EDIT: I'll try planting more stems but last time they never took hold, alot of the ones I planted 2 weeks ago didn't even root  Kinda sad. I'm so bad at this  Thank you for all your help I really appreciate it :3


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

not sure how well l. aromatica branches, but if it branches similarly to a rotala, id say you should be good.

yup. when i had a scape with HC, id mow it down to that length every 2 weeks, and if any patches needed filling, i had the stems to plug them in. and every now and then, the bottom as a whole slowly started to wither and then id uproot the mat and replant, selling the extra.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Wowee okay. I'll try it out then. Kinda scared >_>


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Hey guys! Sorry I keep posting on this I won't post now after this until Saturday.

But I'm going to rip out all the R. green in the front right section of the tank. The section where it's not thick. I don't think I planted them nearly deep enough because I knocked up like 5 when trimming  So tomorrow morning I'm going to use my trimmings to replant that section very deep and very dense. I may even do the other laggy section on the left side, even though it's doing a bit better, they're still not very deep. Wish me luck!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Okay wtf? I come back from vacation to find that for each stem that was trimmed, it only regrew ONE stem! Pointless! I don't understand what I'm doing wrong...  *tear


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## Vermino (Jun 14, 2012)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> EDIT x2: The wood's not supposed to be a focal point as much as it is, an accent sticking out from the plants.


seeing how you didnt stick to this idea, I'm guessing I can take this theme for my next tank. I seriously love how that driftwood just sticks out like that. Is that rosewood BTW?


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

LOL go for it. XD It's manzanita.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I chickened out on the rescape. I'm afraid! Lol

Well it turns out upgrading the bulbs to stronger PAR ones solved the bracnhing issue! Great growth now, but a tad bit of GW which I'm sad about 

Well here's an update, sorry it's so dark! But it as the only clear picture I took.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

YES!~ For update! Okay so I know the front right and left sides of R. Green are too short for the scape (along with the r. colorata in the backright hand corner) but I need them to fill in more so I trimmed them shorter then planned. Hopefully that'll help>

EDIT: Also added more rocks! Kinda bright atm but they'll darken once things start growing on them...

Also! I ordered a new filter! Yes! Much bigger, 375 gph SunSun with built in UV.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

good work. your background is looking nice and thick, and nicely shaped too.
now just keep working with the HC and youll have a masterpiece.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Yay thanks! :3 Tomorrow is HC trim day  And my birthday is coming up! (August 9nth wink wink) and I will be Hopefully getting a camera (something way better than what I'm using.)


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Guys... Gah I'm kinda like derrr right now because I ordered the new filter to get rid of the GW, but I took a suggestion of lowering my EI dosages (I was dosing like 4x more ...) and it is gone now! I'm so happy and I feel so stupid!


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Terrible terrible news, this tank is done 

I woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning to the sound of water spilling on the floor. I lifted my head and BAM! Water gushing out of my tank. Got the fish out, the rocks, the plants, the wood, the Aquasoil and drained the water still in.. got everything cleaned up.... God what a mess.

After it was taken out, I found that the bottom seem had started to loosen and it got underneath. The tank was 6 years old plus Co2 and I used vinegar soak one time before I knew how bad it was....

Well shoot! Lol !


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> Terrible terrible news, this tank is done
> 
> I woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning to the sound of water spilling on the floor. I lifted my head and BAM! Water gushing out of my tank. Got the fish out, the rocks, the plants, the wood, the Aquasoil and drained the water still in.. got everything cleaned up.... God what a mess.
> 
> ...


removing the rim couldnt have helped stability either...
im really sorry about it, though. and it was progressing very nicely...
fortunately you were home to save the livestock.

well you have all the equipment, and plants, and substrate, and livestock. all that you are missing is the 5 panes of glass that you can pick up at petco/petsmart.
or maybe pick up a 20 gallon long (same footprint, but shorter), and a 10 gallon and have 2 different aquascapes. :icon_wink


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

LOL.

I got a 20 gallon long, set up using all the old equipment. I'm not very good at aquascaping so the scape is familiar with different placement of plants.... let's give this a shot....


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