# MedRed's Paint-by-Numbers: ADA 60H Iwagumi (R.I.P. 01/2010)



## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

As some of you may know. I bought the deal of the century on a 2nd 30 gallon cube. that in turn has caused me to spend a lot more $$$. I currently don't have an Iwagumi... and most of my tanks don't true hardscapes (African Cichlids don't count!). This is the tank to end all of that

I currently have ordered:


-Cube garden 60 H 24 x 12 x 18










-Garden mat 60 x 30










Garden stand – 60 Silver and Garden stand rack – 60 Metallic










Solar I arm right









-Do: Aqua 
-Music Glass – Mini 15D x1








-Poppy Glass PP-3 17D x 2








-Poppy Glass PV-3 17D x 2











I plan on using a smaller aluminum co2 canister to fit on the rack. I have an extra one currently but it's big and steel. 

I've not figured out what light i will use yet... but it will be metal halide.

Substrate will be powersand (I still think it's gimmicky but oh well) under Amazonia I. 

Stone will be seiryu or ryuoh.

Flora will be Cypress Helferi, HC, and Downoi.

Fauna will be otos, briggitae, and kubotai. I have the briggitae and kubotai in holding already. 

I'm not sure what filter I will use yet. I need something with a spectacular flowrate as I will be using a hydor inline heater and I may move the music glass to the 30 cube and go with an inline cal aqua diffuser. Will a 2236 be able to handle this abuse?


Here is the little holding tank i set up yesterday for the briggitae. The filter was hanging on the back of another tank. ( I have 3 HOB's in varying sizes that are used to cycle new tanks) I placed it on the floor because i Didn't feel like dealing with it. LAZY BONES. I initially planned to place it on my desk. I still may do that










Here are the little guys (30) hiding out. 









and the kubotai. These guys are neon green bundles of joy. If you look above the heater... you can make out a few of the sharpnosed chocolate gouramis that are also in quarantine.











More to come!


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## windfish (Dec 2, 2007)

I look forward to seeing what you do with this tank... :thumbsup:

Did you order the Do!Aqua stuff directly from Aquaforest? I didn't see it on their site but I know they have it in-store.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks windfish. 

My LFS orders amano stuff through aquaforest regularly. They called and received a list of Do!Aqua inventory that they carry. I ordered everything through the LFS. We'll see how the rock turns out... that's obviously the key to everything.


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## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

Wow, can't wait to see the turnout.

Subscribed!


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## st3v3 (Apr 14, 2008)

This is funny. I was just thinking the other day after I set up my 120P that my next tank would be a 60H iwagumi! Way to go Medred. I like your style.


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## BottomFeeder (Jul 26, 2008)

Very nice!


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Hey MedRed,

I'm excited to see how your tank is going to turn out. All those microrasboras schooling should be a sight to behold! I agree about the rocks being the key to everything. Someone once told me they called AFA and had them describe the rocks to them over the phone before deciding which ones to purchase. If you can't see them in person, maybe you can give them a call and ask them to do this, or if they are willing, even taking some pictures for you! It's better than ending up with rocks that you don't like :icon_redf. Subscribed!


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

I'd recommend a 150W MH for this depth of tank. Aqua Medic Ocean Light pendant with the Aqua Medic 10k bulb -- That bulb has great color rendition!! (check my latest 60-P pics for an example).

Can't wait to see this filled and living!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks for the encouragement everyone!

Volatile: I am a little worried about the rocks. I may give them a call tomorrow. 

roybot: thanks for the heads up! I'll order it right now


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I just bought a nice pair of nanochromis sabinae as a centerpiece fish. I'm not sure if i will use them for this tank yet. The male is in with the kubatai and the female is with the briggitae. The male is absolutely gorgeous... and the female is very nice.


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## da1001 (Jan 9, 2008)

Medred, you must have a really sweet LFS, I was trying to find those neon yellow rasboras, but cant seem to find them anywere near me or even online. The places I check regularly either dont carry them, or are out of stock. Mad props for finding an awesome fish for your new cash-dump. Cant wait to see how this turns out!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

hey da... i misspelled the name. They are kubotai. you might be able to ask your LFS if they can order them. We in portland do have an amazing LFS. both the kubotai and the briggitae were a request I made a couple of months back. it took awhile to get them in... but they are here!


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

Sweet setup...anyone wanna give me an extra 150 so that I can get MH instead of T5 for my new setup?


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## resowner92 (Jul 23, 2007)

rountreesj said:


> Sweet setup...anyone wanna give me an extra 150 so that I can get MH instead of T5 for my new setup?


sure it cost $150.01 to ship it though:hihi:


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

roybot73 said:


> I'd recommend a 150W MH for this depth of tank. Aqua Medic Ocean Light pendant with the Aqua Medic 10k bulb -- That bulb has great color rendition!! (check my latest 60-P pics for an example).
> 
> Can't wait to see this filled and living!


where did you buy this light?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

I have the 70W, which I purchased from hellolights.com.
Here's the 150W:
http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=547
(Make sure to spec the *AquaMedic AB 10K* bulb in the menu.)

Lots of places have 'em...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+8075+12112&pcatid=12112

http://www.dtpetsupplies.com/catalo...0-watt-13K-HQI-fixture-from-Aqualine-Buschke/


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

yeah I kow where I can get t5's 4x54 for $119 or MH 150watt for $133 with 8000K bulbs and shipping is $10


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Fishneedit.com?
MH are out of stock...


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

yeah...just saw that...what do you think of the t5 fixtures...think they would be ok...? I like them better anyhow because they have electronic balasts and run cooler. Sorry to hijack medred...you just induced a new ligting option for my brain...


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

not a problem. that's what the forums are for... discussion. I'd rather something get said out in the open for everyone to benefit from if a question comes up.


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## brasstetra (Sep 14, 2006)

> MH 150watt for $133 with 8000K bulbs and shipping is $10


Wow thats a great price!!!


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Sounds very cool! I can't wait to see it all set up! Nice looking fish too!


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

need some pictures to keep fueling my desire for a rimless tank!!!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

so... uh yeah... 40lbs box of ryuoh on the way... i should be able to make a decent scape ;-)


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## jackh (Jul 2, 2008)

im lookin into some brigittae for a new tank myself. those kubotai look real neat too. whered you buy the brigittae?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

so... i picked up an ecco 2236. Do you think this will have enough flow with both a hydor and an cal aqua diffuser inline? Can I place the Hydor on the inlet side? I don't want to have both things on the outlet tube if I can help it. Where are you Les? lol




jackh said:


> im lookin into some brigittae for a new tank myself. those kubotai look real neat too. whered you buy the brigittae?


My local fish store carries them on occassion.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

crap... i just realized that the 2236 is not going to work with the lily pipes i ordered. It's a 1/2" tubing and i ordered for 5/8" tubing. grrrrrrr... why is a filter of that capacity only using 1/2" tubing?


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

just go to home depot and get two adapters and a few feet of clear tubing... just an idea...


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Sweet! Cant wait for this puppy to be set up!!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks cl! 

roun...what adapters would those be?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Check these out: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...eactive_Leakproof_Reducer.html?tl=g30c101s459

I use them on my 20L's XP1 to reduce to 1/2" (13mm) tubing and Lily pipes. Work great, no leaks, no worries.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks roybot! can i find a connector like that at home depot?


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

MedRed said:


> thanks roybot! can i find a connector like that at home depot?


Maybe - Maybe not! Worth a look if you have one close by. My local Home Deep didn't have anyhting of the sort...


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I just decided to order a set of 13mm. A set of 17mm may be on the SnS in the near future ;-)


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

everything is in! well hardware atleast. My stand came in as gunmetal metallic instead of the metallic. It's not the end of the world so i will keep the stand. It was very easy to piece together. I am about to add the lightbar. Once I do that I can take some pics.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

The Junk: most of it anyway










The Scape: no water, no plants yet


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

Great layout!!!! I'm following this one!


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

very nice. i'm jealous. wish i had the money/room to do another tank!


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Wow, I can already tell that this tank is going to be great 
Subscribed!


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

Jealous Jealous Jealous!

I can never find good rocks to really do an Iwagumi(I cant afford 3 lbs a rock either). I see a good layout with this too, I can't wait for the finished project.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Nice pile O' gear! Is that the Aqua Medic 150W?
I know you're not really set up yet, but may I suggest having the In/Out Lilys on the same side? I feel it leads to better circulation within the tank, as well as tidying up the look... Just my 2¢


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks everyone. I may have to leave this tank idling for a little while. I'd like to add the HC before I fill it up, but my LFS won't have HC in again until the following Friday. I have all the other plants I need in holding. I am a little worried that my cyperus helferi may shade the tank too much... we'll see what it looks like when it's planted. I may add some blyxa auberti to a corner so I can hide a ph monitor. We'll see on that one. 

I do have a idea to add some scattered stems of Lamiaceae sp.(Hemigraphis traian) and some Polygonum sp. 'Sao Paulo'. I think they might look interesting growing straight up and out of the tank.

i've decided to use a cal aqua inline diffuser on this tank. The Music glass is a bit small and i'm concerned about flow since I'm not using a spray bar. I won't have this concern if the regular current of the water is carrying co2.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Yes Roybot, on your recommendation I picked up the aqua medic 150w. I am super impressed by the brightness and the color of the bulb. It's perfect. 

I'm not sure how I want to do my Lilly's yet. I'm a believer in splitting the input and output so as to prevent dead spots.


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

Haha to prevent dead spots...use that other set of pipes and get another filter...put them on the other side...Your tank would be very...Alive!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

lol... the other set of pipes is slated for the 30 cube. It is finally fleshing out and looking like it's supposed to. I'm in the process of pulling everything out of that tank (diffuser and heater) and replacing the spraybar and inflow with lily pipes. I have everything I need except my LFS is out of 5/8" tubing until today.

I have decided to place the lilly pipes on one side. Now I need to figure out which side that will be!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

HC on the way! planting to commence tomorrow or saturday.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

HC and Cyperus Helferi planted. I changed the hardscape a little to make it more simple. I have diabolical plans for the other plants that will join this scape. we'll see how that pans out. 

I'm in the process of filling the tank at the moment.


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Looks great MedRed. Really loving this tank.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks Mizu-Chan... I'm going tohave some fun with this one.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

hey medred, you gonna put any medium tall plants between the rocks like amano does? like red tenellus (the short one) and dwarf hairgrass?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

i'm not sure what i'm going to do yet fishman... i'm exploring my options. I'm definitely not done planting though


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## coseal (May 26, 2008)

where didyou find the lily pipes? i have been looking for them online since i saw your video! do you have a link?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

aqua forest just got them in. They don't have them on their website yet. give them a call.


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## fishboy87 (Feb 19, 2008)

I always thought that it would be cool to put blyxa around the front and back crevices around the rocks so it looks more natural like they drifted by the current, the rocks blocked it, and it grew there. Of course, like several people on this forum, I'm blyxa obsessed, so that's just me. Let's see some pics!!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

New pics coming soon. Co2 cranked to 5.5 on the ph controller. haven't added the plants yet... i'm also running a biowheel to help the cycle. I have some superbac that i probably won't add until the HC is rooted well enough for me to add fish... if my sabinae are anything like my apistos... they will pull the hc out to nibble on it.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Any chance of a full-setup pic?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

shouldn't be a problem


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

cool


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I could not think of a creative title for this thread. Thanks Joel!


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

I'm riding along for the eye candy,awesome! You could call this thread "don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful"


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

MedRed said:


> I could not think of a creative title for this thread. Thanks Joel!


Haha! "F" for originality but "A+++" for irony.
Just be sure to stay in the lines buddy, I'll be watching you! :icon_lol:


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

MedRed said:


> HC and Cyperus Helferi planted. I changed the hardscape a little to make it more simple. I have diabolical plans for the other plants that will join this scape. we'll see how that pans out.
> 
> I'm in the process of filling the tank at the moment.


Lookin' good! I haven't had much luck with HC nor my patience when it comes to getting a good HC carpet. 

Looking forward to updates!!!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

waterfaller1 said:


> I'm riding along for the eye candy,awesome! You could call this thread "don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful"


Thanks Carole! I hope my tank ends up as beautiful as your tanks for sure.



macclellan said:


> Haha! "F" for originality but "A+++" for irony.
> Just be sure to stay in the lines buddy, I'll be watching you! :icon_lol:


It's perfect a story for an ADA tank. I'm still working on how to put my spin on this without destroying it. I've already ruined it with Cyperus Helferi as most of the Iwagumi's I've seen have giant hairgrass or something that's vertical as opposed to something that bends at the surface. 



EdTheEdge said:


> Lookin' good! I haven't had much luck with HC nor my patience when it comes to getting a good HC carpet.
> 
> Looking forward to updates!!!


Thanks ED. I've not had too much trouble growing as long as I don't have fish plucking away at it.


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## ingg (Jan 18, 2007)

Probably a little late, but hopefully to help others in the future.

Both Lowes and Home Depot have a section of dark grey plastic size adapters for tubing. Lowe's has more than Home Depot. You can plumb just about anything together with them, varying sizes up and down, right angles, standard doulbe barbed ends, threaded ends to go into plumbing, etc. They'll be near the tubing, also near the hose clamps - typically on the end of the aisle with all the standard pvc plumbing connections, in their own section.


MedRed - do Kubatai have another name? Those neon green fish? Trying to find them and striking out googling, it only comes back as a loach.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

ingg, the microrasboras are here:

http://www.franksaquarium.com/nanofish.htm

labeled as Burma Yellow Neon Rasbora, the scientific name is:

Microrasbora kubotai


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks for the heads up ingg... and yeah i misspelled the name... it's kubotai. Fishman delivered the goods.


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## windfish (Dec 2, 2007)

Any updates?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I'm still figuring out where i want to go with this tank...


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## rekles75 (Feb 25, 2008)

Well once you get it figured out I will still be following along. 

Looking good.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

This is a whack update... but i'm going to do it anyway... lol... This tank has become a holding tank for half of the stems i'll be bringing to the Oregon get together. I've been floating some of these guys for over a month because I have nowhere else to put them. They've actually helped me overcome a bout with hair algae.

I was retarded and bumped the tank from a 6 hour photo period to a 10 hour photo period early on. The tank ended up being over run with hair algae. Never fear! I dropped the photo period down to 4 hours and dosed 40 mls of excel daily. Within a week and a half I was hair algae free. After that the stems went in and have been cutting the light nicely. 

Before Joel tells me that the cut leaves of the cyperus helferi will die... i had to cut them as they were already dead. A lot of the leaves died back initially even though i could see the roots growing like crazy through the glass. I just cut the dead leaves earlier this week. There are lots of new healthy leaves so no worries. The plant to the right is the Najas sp "roraima." I can't do it justice in the photo but the leaves look awesooooooooome. I just added it to this tank on Wednesday. 

The right side has a few stems of purple bamboo and Lamiaceae sp. (Formerly known as Hemigraphis traian). The Lamiaceae sp. was completely straight until I left it floating too long. Now it's all crooked :icon_cry: . It should straighten up as it grows towards the light. Joel provided me some nice Ranunculus species that I've planted around the stems. Everything except for the HC and the Cyperus Helferi were added Wednesday-Friday of this week. 

The HC is doing well. Thanks Robert Hudson! It died back quite as expected and now it's thickening up. the dark spots are places where the floating plants have kept the light from penetrating. I've been moving the stems around to open up different areas. I wish I could have started this emersed as the root system is not very extensive. I will let the HC completely thicken before adding the sabinae. I'm afraid they may pull it all up! I've placed a few stems of HC in the cracks of the stone. We'll see if they take hold. I'm not dosing ferts yet. Maybe by the end of October. 

Pheww!!! that was a lot... and now for the pics! Yes i know the glass is dirty. I'll clean it up once the stems are removed.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

P.S. as you know the biowheel is just there to help with the cycle. This tank is still not cycled! I'm thinking another week or two. I'm not the best with keeping up with water changes in a tank with no fish in it... lol.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

This tank has advanced nicely. I ended up stocking it with Briggitae, CPD's, otocinclus, amanos, and a lovely pair of nanochromis sabinae. My HC won't look like it's advanced too much as I melted back quite a bit of it with an excel overdose. It's grown back nicely but I don't think it looks that much thicker than the last update. 

The most awesome thing is... My sabinae were showing signs of spawning this week. They dug a cave under the rock closest to the front glass on the left hand side. I woke up this morning to a nice spawn of eggs. I'm glad that they spawned where I can easily see everything. I'm worried that my traffic might spook them. The male has always been very skittish. This is probably their first spawn. I'm hoping all goes well. I have converted 3 former apisto tanks into pelvicachromis taeniatus and nanochromis tanks.

I will try to take some pics in the morning


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

as promised:

the tank... the lump of aquasoil in the middle of the tank is what the sabinae have excavated. I can't get my camera to render the color. The tank is very bright green. 









You can make out the orange eggs on the inside of the cave

















female









cowardly male










Good thing the tank is open top!


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Looking good. 

That najas could definitely use a trim though. 
Is it just me, or is the tank not even close to being level?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thank you. it's me and the camera... my camera sucks... and my photo taking skills suck.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

It reminds me of a bamboo forest :0

It just needs to grow in an tidy up a bit. Then it'll be perfect.


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Clean those pipes!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

lol... i will once the spawn is 5 weeks old or so. I don't want to disturb a thing at the moment. The excavating kicked into high gear today... so much for aquascaping... lol. By the time the HC carpet fills in... this tank should look very nice. The cyperus is sooooo flipping slow. I need it to be 2-3x as thick as it is now. I'm not fertilizing in this tank yet. I'm just about to bump the light period from 6 hours to 8 hours. Wish me luck!


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Photoshop is pretty handy for leveling tank photos (using the "measure tool" create a horizontal line, then select Image>Rotate Canvas>Arbitrary and press enter), but only if the picture is taken from dead center. It won't level the water though.

Bumping the photoperiod up seems like a good idea to - that should help the HC carpet more compactly.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Decided to do what I'd planned from the beginning. Just planted on 4/24/2009










I've started with a good amount of HC so I'm hoping things don't take too long to fill in. I'm figuring 2 months.










I had some questions from the emersed growth thread. Anyone want to help me out?

1) what is the best lighting duration? I want optimal growth without cooking the plants (especially since I'm using metal halide).

2) should i completely seal the top of the tank in saran wrap or should I allow some air exchange?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

That scape looks really nice!!


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

the hardscape seems short, but very well thought out, 2 thumbs up


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks CL,

Fishman... the hardscape is really short for a 60-H. That's why i used so much substrate the first go around. I ordered the ryuoh stone site unseen... and was surprised by how short the pieces were. I just ordered a new batch with one piece of seiryu... the seiryu was massive and the majority of the ryuoh was oddly shaped (meaning it looked like it was man made with flat surfaces and square pieces and didn't look natural). 

I went with a 60-H namely for singular, emergent stems and the cyperus helferi. Neither of those worked out well for the size of tank. I currently have a 60-P hardscape in a 60-H tank.

I did spend some time with the layout as a had a few stones to choose from. I ended up using only one stone from the new batch. My goal was to do something centralized but not dead on(as I typically aquascape from a back corner) and also to eliminate shadows. I noticed in the last scape... the angled rocks cast shadows that the HC did not want to grow in. This time I minimized the shadows from from the beginning and fit stones under the overhangs that couldn't be helped

I'm debating what I will add to think tank livestock wise. I'm thinking CPD's, Lamp eye killis(they look killer under metal halide), or green neons. I'm also debating adding CRS and/or Orange Crayfish. 

After the roots establish themselves I plan on feeding with miracle grow diluted in a spray bottle to speed up the growth.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

bump for help with my questions.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

MedRed said:


> Thanks CL,
> 
> Fishman... the hardscape is really short for a 60-H.


i don't know. it is shorter that what you would expect, but maybe it provids an opportunity to something a little bit different. if you were to group a few stem plants or some _Cyperus_ or other grasslike plant right behind them the short stature of the stones would accentuate the height of the plants. 

that amazing new scape that Jason Baliban just posted has a tight, low group of hardscape features, and it is quite successful.

that's just a thought anyway.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I don't want to do anything that's going to create too much shade... that means cyperus and a lot of stems are out. I dunno what I'll do at this point. I have a few months to make a decision.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Having an issue with the hill not staying moist. Have to mist it a couple of times a day... probably wouldn't be a problem If i wasn't using Metal Halide. I settled on a 12 hour photo period. I did have one clump turn to mush pretty quickly... other than that... everything is hanging in there. Next week I hope to start fertilizing with miracle grow.


Day 1









Week 1















Day 1









Week 1


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## nickcamp12345 (May 2, 2009)

Once this fills in, I can't wait to see how this tank is going to turn out. Do you know what kind of fish or shrimp you're going to put in it?


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## Francis Xavier (Oct 8, 2008)

MedRed, I know what you mean about getting flat / outwardly bad looking stone. They're useful, but you have to get creative with your soil to cover up flaws of the stone or not make it look like the flat piece of stone it is. It's good practice, really!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

nickcamp12345 said:


> Once this fills in, I can't wait to see how this tank is going to turn out. Do you know what kind of fish or shrimp you're going to put in it?


I'm thinking orange crays and maybe CRS. For fish I'm thinking CPD's or green neons. I'm really not sure. Not sure what I want to do as far as other plants are concerned as well.





Francis Xavier said:


> MedRed, I know what you mean about getting flat / outwardly bad looking stone. They're useful, but you have to get creative with your soil to cover up flaws of the stone or not make it look like the flat piece of stone it is. It's good practice, really!


I know exactly what you mean. I did do a couple of scapes with soil covering the broken pieces... I wasn't satisfied with the amount of real estate I was using up for those pieces of stone. I will just imagine the tank is a 60-p and not a 60-H


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

I like the hardscape alot. I usually never think that far ahead when it comes to scaping a tank. I usually do it on the fly which gets me into trouble. nice to see you are getting it going!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks Torpedo. 

I've started to notice that the higher areas are growing better than the areas that are more waterlogged. By water logged I don't mean submerged with water, just that the water level is higher.

I can't help the constant raising of the water level because I have to keep misting the higher areas to keep them from drying out. That turns into a lot of excess water that raises the level in the lower areas. 

I figure that I will now use a piece of airline tubing and siphon the excess water out 1-2 times a week. I don't want to waste the dissolved nutrients in the water so I'm siphoning the water into my spray bottle. Hopefully this improves the growth in the lower areas.


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## nickcamp12345 (May 2, 2009)

You should think about some Rummy Nose Tetras. Their colors will stand out and with a black background. i would say neons or cardinals, but thats very original and the rummy's tend to school tightly making it look better. eventually that's going to be my future plan.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I'm burnt out on cardinals and rummynoses... I donated about 100 cardinals and rummynoses back to my LFS last year.


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## kenko (Mar 12, 2009)

Looks great with just the HC! 
I'm jealous - I need to find some time away from the kids to revamp my ADA tank as well. 

As for livestock, and I know they are a bit pricey now, but what about the Micro-galaxy rasboras? Awesome, tiny little fish.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

thanks kenko

Yeah i'm considering galaxy rasboras, we'll see... I may just leave this tank as HC only.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

So you can see the front areas that were waterlogged weren't growing as well as the areas that were higher and drier. I'm sticking to draining the water back into the spray bottle if the level gets too high. 

I'm excited to see next week's grow as today I used Miracle Gro for the first time!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I just realized tonight while spraying... that I had healthy, thriving mosses growing on the rocks! You can see the fissidens on the piece to the right that juts towards the glass. I also pulled off some christmas moss as well. 

I also have something odd growing that isn't HC. I will take pictures of it in Friday's update.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Weekly update time! I'm getting a lot more thickening and vertical growth now as opposed to spreading. I was hoping to have the entire tank filled after 4 weeks. I'm thinking it will be another 2 weeks before that's accomplished. I'm thinking another month of growth after that before submerging the tank. Here's the first week after miracle gro!

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[/QUOTE]

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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

based on today's post... who wants to guess as to when the tank will be ready to fill?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Sweet sauce! I'd give it 10-14 days.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

It's getting there! It could probably be flooded now. I have a few areas on the slopes that I want to fill in before I fill 'er up. There's some unidentified plant to the bottom right of the rock that's furthest right. You can see it in the overhead shot pretty easily. I have no idea what it is... it's probably terrestrial. I'll leave it in for the flood and see how it does.

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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

That's looking awesome MedRed =) Makes me almost want to try it myself!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks volatile. I'm glad I've documented it. I really didn't notice the difference between weeks 2 and 3 when i was witnessing it first hand... but it shows up in the pics.

I think I may have added another twist to this method... The soil only needs to be soaked but not submerged. The HC has grown much quicker without any standing water in the tank. I mist it everyday... and when the water level becomes noticeable... I get a piece of rigid airline tubing and suck it all out from the bottom of the tank and into the misting bottle to save the nutrients.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

MedRed said:


> I think I may have added another twist to this method... The soil only needs to be soaked but not submerged. The HC has grown much quicker without any standing water in the tank. I mist it everyday... and when the water level becomes noticeable... I get a piece of rigid airline tubing and suck it all out from the bottom of the tank and into the misting bottle to save the nutrients.


That's exactly what I discovered when I did my little 2.5 gallon tank emersed. The hc where the sand was submerged died back but the rest did great. I did the exact same thing with siphoning the water out with airline tubing.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Great minds think alike!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Surprise! 










I didn't plan on filling the tank yet... But I was breaking down a tank(making room for a nano reef tank) that had the hairgrass and Isosetes Tiawanensis (yeah I can't spell that) that I was going to use. I also had a Cryptocorne Cordata Rosanverig that I couldn't part with. I don't know if it will be a permanent part of this scape yet. Minsc wouldn't take it off my hands so it stays for now.


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## vtkid (Jan 5, 2009)

simple and beautiful


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

looks great. the grown-in carpet makes a big difference and goes well with this composition. those rocks look much better now and fit in the space better.


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## itstony (Jan 11, 2009)

the tanks looking really well . i just got a question, i was planning on growing HC the same way. is there any guide to sucessfully growing it out like you did?


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

another great scape using dry start method.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thank you everyone!

Just made small adjustment to the plants on the right and trimmed a little off the hairgrass.











Now I will just wait for everything to grown in. 

istony... With a little trial and error, I think to best method is to not water log the plants.

The more plants you start with, the quicker the process will be. I think I used 6 pots of HC. 

I've noticed that most say to submerge the soil until it's just below the surface of the substrate. I think that's good only for a day or two just to get the AS fullly soaked. After that I'd use a piece of rigid airline tubing and siphon all of the water out of the tank (siphon from the bottom).

I had two spray bottles prepared. 1 was a mixture of miracle gro (i followed the instructions on the box... it doesn't take much) and the other was just regular water. I didn't have much problems keeping the lower areas moist... but the hills did dry out a bit. Maybe metal halide was the cause for that. Mist with the regular water once-twice a day to keep the soil moist. After awhile the misting will make the water level rise again. Just siphon all of the water out when it starts to be visible at the surface. I siphoned this water back into the regular water spray bottle so that I didn't lose any dissolved nutrients.

I waited until week 2 to give the plants time to root before i fertilized. I just sprayed as if I were doing a regular misting. I only fertilized once a week and did regular mistings in between. 

I ran my lights 12 hours a day. I am planning to drop down to 8 hours now that it's filled. Hope that helps!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Very nice! It looks great 
making room for that reef, eh?


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks CL,

I shouldn't be talking to you. Your actions are making me poorer with every passing second.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

MedRed said:


> Thanks CL,
> 
> I shouldn't be talking to you. Your actions are making me poorer with every passing second.


:hihi:
You're welcome :flick:


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

Looks real good. Nice rock selection, plants look very green, even some pearling in the last pic.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks Cah925!

Full Tank Shots w/ Lily Pipes. I'm blasting the co2. 



















*edit... screwed that up... posted a wrong pic. Fixed!


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I saw the post before your edit. I looked at the first photo and thought, "Damn, his pipes are _cleeeeaaan_; can't even see 'em."

Tank's looking good, Med. I love the Hairgrass, Isoetes Taiwanensis, and Crypt additions. I think they definitely add to the tank.

Really good job.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thank you UG! Now just waiting to see how it all grows together. I think this would have looked better as a 60-P instead of a 60-H. There's a lot of empty space at the top. I'm partly to blame for not making my slopes aggressive enough. I'm hoping the I. Tiawanensis will fill in.

I still don't know what I'm going to do for livestock. The only certainty are amano shrimp.

I'm debating CRS and/or Orange crays. For fish?

CPDs? Green Neons? Lamp eye Killis? Emerald Eye Killies? Briggitae? I don't know!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Looks excellent. I really have wanted to try Iwagumi since the first time I saw a great natural style tank but wanted something more for my first tanks plant wise. This encorages me to redo my 10 gallon but with much worse hardware. Nice work.


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## Minsc (Jul 9, 2006)

MedRed said:


> Minsc wouldn't take it off my hands so it stays for now.


C'mon now, don't be blaming me! Those plants look really good there!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Thanks talon!

Minsc... I blame you... and for punishment, I will infect you with the nano reef tank syndrome!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

MedRed said:


> Thank you everyone!
> 
> 
> istony... With a little trial and error, I think to best method is to not water log the plants.
> ...



I forgot to mention... cover the top of the tank in saran wrap. I used my glass cover and then ran two sheets of saran wrap over that. Made it easy to peel back the saran wrap and remove the glass top for access... and then put the entire assembly back on and fold the saran wrap back over the edges.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Then:










1 Month later:









I've really been neglecting this tank as I've been busy setting up a reef tank. I only have two otos in the tank for livestock. I'll be trimming and wiping off the dust algae shortly. I'm still not sure what I'm going to put in the tank. Just thought I'd update the continued growth of the HC


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Broken down due to move.


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