# ADA 90P - River of Tears



## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Planning​

Hello,

I got me a used ADA Cube Garden 90P recently and I wanted to start a new tank journal for it here. I've done some nano scapes before, but it will be my first time working with a tank this big. I also don't have a lot of experience with using CO2 other than some DIY CO2 systems I did using yeast in the past. However, in this tank I will set up a proper CO2 system as it deserves since I am planning on planting some red heavy plants in it. I still need to finish getting some of the items to completely set it up, but for now, here is more or less what I have in mind. I want to call it "River of Tears" Because I will be using a carpet of HC 'Cuba', A.K.A "Baby tears" to create a path in between the rocks that somewhat resembles a river. Get it? "River of Tears" :grin2: Anyways, I am excited about this setup and will keep you posted.

Cheers


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Deciding on Hardscape Placement





I am still waiting on some items before I can set up the hardscape inside the tank, but I was playing around with the rock placement to get a feel of how it would look and I came up with this arrangement. Then I went further and edited the picture to better visualize what I plan to accomplish. 



















Again, this is only an edited image. As you can see I kind of want to go for a mixture of Iwagumy and Dutch styles. using many redish colors in it to contrast the "green river".

Let me know what you think.​


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

Looking fantastic.  Great plan.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

it's going to look awesome! 

I'm jealous of the 18in height, I have a 40g breeder and would love the extra height


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## sbank (Jul 13, 2019)

Clever hybrid of styles. Good to see the independent thinking!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Finished Hardscape




Ok, so I received the light that I had ordered, the Twinstar 900S Metal, looks pretty good and bright, it is supposed to be good for redish plants, which I plan on puting a lot here. Then, I decided to go ahead and set up the hardscape in the tank and add the soil. I will still not plant anything yet until a few days since I want to set up the filter and CO2 systems first and I still need to get some things. After I have all that ready, then I will order the plants, so for now this is all I have. I like the end result of it so far. I might change the small detail rocks a bit but more or less this is it. 




























Room is messy, but this is just to have some perspective on the size of the tank, and how it looks from sitting on the couch.​


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

You did a bang up job on the scape AND the name.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Chizpa305 said:


> Get it? "River of Tears"



I kind of assumed the name was a reference to how much the equipment and hardscape cost ;P

Anyway your hardscape is pretty great. I love that big rock you have.

My only comment is that those small rocks will be absolutely swallowed by any carpet you grow. I would plan on them being invisible from the start and instead pile them up near/on the existing medium/small rocks at the base of your large rocks (does that make sense?).


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## schooldazed (Mar 31, 2013)

Awesome hardscape. Very dramatic. I just checked again and that large rock still hasn't fallen over. Nicely done!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

minorhero said:


> I kind of assumed the name was a reference to how much the equipment and hardscape cost ;P


Haha, Yeah, I know. You deciphered the real hidden meaning of the name lol. I also thought about naming it "Boulders of Burden" as I was placing the rocks in the tank, upon realizing how heavy they were, especially considering I had to repeat it several times until I got the right placement.



minorhero said:


> pile them up near/on the existing medium/small rocks at the base of your large rocks (does that make sense?).


I think I do, and yeah, you're right, the carpet will swallow up small, stranded rocks quickly. For the same reason I am worried about the "banks" of the "river" being swallowed too. I guess I would need to keep trimming the carpet in the area in between the rocks to keep it where it should.

Bump:


schooldazed said:


> Awesome hardscape. Very dramatic. I just checked again and that large rock still hasn't fallen over. Nicely done!


Haha I know, I need to make sure that I don't bump into it too hard while doing any maintenance, just in case. I made sure it was stable before adding the soil. Then by adding the soil it provided a bit more stability to it, but it is so big and heavy that even that is not a guarantee. As long as I am careful it should be fine. (I hope)


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Chizpa305 said:


> ...
> 
> 
> I think I do, and yeah, you're right, the carpet will swallow up small, stranded rocks quickly. For the same reason I am worried about the "banks" of the "river" being swallowed too. I guess I would need to keep trimming the carpet in the area in between the rocks to keep it where it should.


One way to prevent the rocks from being swallowed up by HC or other carpet if it becomes an issue is to put a flat rock like river stone or shale under the existing Seiryu. You won't see the rock underneath and it will give you a critical 1/4" or so lift.


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## Charrr89 (May 15, 2013)

It’s awesome !!! 


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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

Scape is really well done, almost makes me want to try this style even though I just started my own tank. Looking forward to see this one planted.


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## sm1ke (Jun 30, 2016)

I think it's going to turn out great. Can't wait to see this project progress!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Monte Carlo Makes it In














I know I said before that I was going to wait until all the filter and CO2 system components were installed and ready to go before planting, but I lied. I'm still waiting on some items, like hoses and such, but I wanted to start seeing some green in there already, so I passed by my LFS to get some HC, but they didn't have any unfortunately, so I went ahead and got the closest thing available, which in this case was Monte Carlo. Don't worry I won't plant it in the "river"; I am reserving that spot exclusively for the HC, but I might have to wait until my other tank grows enough of it so that I can trim it and plant it on this one. I should be getting some stems today, but only a few because I have spent way too much money in a short period of time on this tank and I have to take it easy with the plants. But all I need is a couple of stems of this and a couple of that and soon enough I will have a dense, lush, forest, just give me a bit of time and some exponential growth principles. And I will be adding whatever other plants as I go along. So the ones I ordered are: 3 stems of rotala orange juice, 1 stem of rotala butterfly mini, 3 stems of rotala super red. Everything else I will be getting from my other tank as I get leftovers.





















Oh, I also retouched on the river banks to try to make it look better. 











I noticed something on the light that worries me. When I first got the light, it hat red LEDs all the way through, but now I noticed that In the middle area it's missing a few. I don't know why this is... If you look at today's first picture, you can also see a shade of blue, caused by the lack of red LED's around the vertical line where the bigger rock is. Don't like that.











I will be adding the stems when I get them (hopefully today) and once I do, I will flood the tank. More pics coming soon​


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## fishguy1978 (Mar 20, 2020)

I'm loving that rock.


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## sm1ke (Jun 30, 2016)

That rockwork looks amazing, very well done. That's strange about the light, I'd be interested in finding out whether that was an intentional design or not. I found this picture that suggests that you might have received a damaged/defective light. The reflection appears to show red LEDs across the whole fixture with no "breaks". I would contact the seller to verify.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

sm1ke said:


> That rockwork looks amazing, very well done. That's strange about the light, I'd be interested in finding out whether that was an intentional design or not. I found this picture that suggests that you might have received a damaged/defective light. The reflection appears to show red LEDs across the whole fixture with no "breaks". I would contact the seller to verify.


No, it actually worked fine when I first got it. See the two pictures below. On the left, that pic was taken before setting up the hardscape. there you can see in the reflection of the light that all the LEDs are working fine. Then on the right, is the way it looks now (same light-strip), definitely missing some red LEDs.... I've only had it for a week though. I will take a look at it today and see. If the problem persists I'll have to call the manufacturers...










Bump:


fishguy1978 said:


> I'm loving that rock.


Yeah, me too. I got the rocks from a guy who used to compete in the IAPLC contest. He used these same rocks to create some beautiful Iwagumi style scapes


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## forksnbolts (Jan 8, 2020)

Hardscape is looking good.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 1 - And It Starts - 





I got the plants I ordered today, only 7 stems in total, all reddish colors. The rest, I trimmed from my nano tank to put them here (some stems of ludwigia repens, some of lysimachia nummularea 'aurea', some ammania bonsai, and some AR 'mini'. For now I I'll just be farming plants basically, but as it goes along it will be growing lusher and I'll be making the changes as I see fit.










^^This is Rotala super red^^












^^This one is Rotala Orange Juice I believe^^












^^And this one should be Rotala butterfly mini, it came in as a single stem and in pretty bad conditions, so let's see if it makes it^^











I am still waiting on the silicone hoses that I'll be installing, but for now I set up the filter with the infamous green tubing that comes with the Eheim classic canister. I'll let it sit there for a few days and once some of the plants get healty looking, I will be trimming tops and replanting to populate all that real state quicker. More updates next week. Enjoy.
.​


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## Charrr89 (May 15, 2013)

Chizpa305 said:


> Week 1 - And It Starts -
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Very nice... love the rock formation... thanks for giving me some inspiration 


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Charrr89 said:


> Very nice... love the rock formation... thanks for giving me some inspiration
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks! I guess that's part of what this forum is for, to learn from and inspire each other. I am glad to have done so to you.:grin2:

Tank is still on the bare bone, it will take some time for the plants to take off and complement the hardscape


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## Charrr89 (May 15, 2013)

Chizpa305 said:


> Thanks! I guess that's part of what this forum is for, to learn from and inspire each other. I am glad to have done so to you.:grin2:
> 
> Tank is still on the bare bone, it will take some time for the plants to take off and complement the hardscape



If I had more time to rethink my scape in my 60p... I would definitely go in the same direction as tour hardscape!


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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

Looks great, especially the rocks as mentioned. Will be interesting to see how much of a difference there is between the rotala's once they've grown in.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Hujeta said:


> Looks great, especially the rocks as mentioned. Will be interesting to see how much of a difference there is between the rotala's once they've grown in.


Yes definitelly. Once they settle and grow more, I'll be able to know how to place them better, but for now I'm just trying to grow them as fast as possible, so that means I'll be cutting off tops and replanting once they get tall enough, untl a good area is covered by all the plants, and then I will let them grow tall to fill up the tank vertically. It'll take some time but we'll get there soon enough.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 2 Fish n' Shrimps






Ok, so I added some fish and some shrimps today to start accelerating the substrate's bacterial growth, and also (whispers) because I was getting impatient. But it should be ok. Also added some bucephalandras onto the rocks to help give the rocks a more natural look, and pressed a bit of christmass moss in some of the cracks of the rocks so it should start to grow nicely in a few weeks



















You can see the bucephalandras on the crevices. (I didn't use any glue, I just inserted them in the cracks. They don't float, and stay there pretty secured.) In some time they'll start to grow strong roots and hold onto the rocks strongly, at which point I'll consider trimming them for a more compact look.











A dwarf in the land of giants ................................ (rocks)











From the plants I got, this is the one that was in the worst shape, but I think it'll make it. The stem is a bit damaged, but it's growing some aerial roots to compensate for that. This is the rotala butterfly











These are the tank's left side stem plants, some I got from my nano tank


That's all for now. I should be getting the silicone hoses I ordered by next week so that I can finally install the rest of the setup, and remove the current green hoses that came with the filter.​


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 3: Amanos Attack!















Yesterday I noticed one of the two amano shrimps that I currently have in the tank, munching on one of the leaves of the AR. I thought that maybe the leaf was damaged and that is why the shrimp was eating it. But then this morning when I woke up I found both of the ARs reduced to threads, while the two amano shrimps were in gangbang mode on the bushier one of them. I felt so shocked, because these two plants were one of my favorites in the tank. They were looking so pretty, healthy, with a lot of new root growth and new plant growth, and a radiant red color one day, and completely munched in the next. I didn't know that amano shrimps ate plants like this, but if this is the case it will definitely be a problem, because ARs are essential in this scape. Interestingly none of the other plants had any damage, it was only the ARs... I am not sure why they targeted them specifically. Is this normal? If not, then, why did they do this? All I can say is that I am not happy about it, and if this keeps on happening, I will have to remove the Amano shrimps. I added some algae wafers and they god distracted eating those instead... maybe they were just very hungry... I don't know. 











This is before the attack












And these are after












On other news, the rest of the plants are growing ok, except there is a particular growth pattern that most stem plants are following in which they grow along the soil as opposed to upwards. You can see here the Hemianthus micranthemoides, the Ludwigia, and even the Rotalas doing this. I wonder why this is also... Strange.











My LFS is still out of HC Cuba, so I have only been able to plant tiny bits that I trimmed from my nano tank. It is not visible in the pictures, but it is there, at the "river's delta"


That's all for now, I should be finally getting my silicone hoses this week, and I already have the reactor and a glass lily pipe/surface skimmer that will replace the current skimmer I have. The tank shlould look a lot cleaner, but until I get the hoses I won't install the rest of the stuff. Hopefully by next weekend I will be posting new photos of the new look and also the ARs are able to grow back again and the amanos will stop munching on them. 
​


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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

That's a real shame with the Amanos' and AR's! I keep 6 Amano's in my 24G with a handful AR mini and haven't seen those tendencies, I'll feed them every second day or so. Fingers crossed it was just a temporary munch.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Tank lookin good, sorry bout the amanos! I had a few that I think got quite hungry and decimated a couple buces that were struggling with my temperature increase for the GBRs - they destroyed 2 plants that way but oh well what can ya do! Luckily most all plants were hardy enough, just a few got torn to shreds by big amanos!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Hujeta said:


> That's a real shame with the Amanos' and AR's! I keep 6 Amano's in my 24G with a handful AR mini and haven't seen those tendencies, I'll feed them every second day or so. Fingers crossed it was just a temporary munch.


Yeah, I don't know either. I will start feeding them a bit more frequently and maybe they won't need to go for the plant alternative.

Bump:


andrewss said:


> Tank lookin good, sorry bout the amanos! I had a few that I think got quite hungry and decimated a couple buces that were struggling with my temperature increase for the GBRs - they destroyed 2 plants that way but oh well what can ya do! Luckily most all plants were hardy enough, just a few got torn to shreds by big amanos!


It just sucks that the ARs looked so healthy. They should kick back as long they don't keep getting eaten even more.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

That is very odd about the Amanos. Never had them eat my plants. Hopefully you got something out of it and they have a nice red hue to them.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Asteroid said:


> That is very odd about the Amanos. Never had them eat my plants. Hopefully you got something out of it and they have a nice red hue to them.


I know, it was weird. I've only read good things about amano shrimps. I thought that maybe because the tank still is new and has not grown any visible algae yet, that maybe they got a bit too hungry. Need to keep 'em fed more I guess... I just wonder why just the ARs, they didn't touch anything else.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Chizpa305 said:


> I know, it was weird. I've only read good things about amano shrimps.* I thought that maybe because the tank still is new and has not grown any visible algae yet, *that maybe they got a bit too hungry. Need to keep 'em fed more I guess... I just wonder why just the ARs, they didn't touch anything else.


Could be. I usually drop an algae wafer and an spinach leaf in the tank once a week. I keep organic spinach leafs frozen and then put them into the tank.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

Very nice tank,
I wonder if the rotalas are doing that because they feel they have high light already and are trying to spread out. vs when they have slightly less light and they try and stretch towards the source.

I know on my tank when they're on the corners that aren't as bright they grow straight with no problem but in the middle with a ton of light they start growing parallel to the ground 

aww that sucks about the AR, it's a nice plant, just hungry amanos 

Did you get the new tubing?


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Asteroid said:


> Could be. I usually drop an algae wafer and an spinach leaf in the tank once a week. I keep organic spinach leafs frozen and then put them into the tank.


Now I am paranoid and I am dropping 3-4 algae wafers daily so that they don't bother the plants. Maybe once the tank is more established, I will reduce the amount.


Bump:


monkeyruler90 said:


> Very nice tank,
> I wonder if the rotalas are doing that because they feel they have high light already and are trying to spread out. vs when they have slightly less light and they try and stretch towards the source.
> 
> I know on my tank when they're on the corners that aren't as bright they grow straight with no problem but in the middle with a ton of light they start growing parallel to the ground
> ...


Yeah, I think the plants are on "Real-State-Grab-Free-For-All" mode right now. They probably somehow detect clear soil around them and they try to cover as much area as possible before starting to grow upwards... I'm ok with that, because with this "runner" configuration they ramify a lot better, which is what I need right now so the tank fills up quicker. I will let them do their thing. The ludwigias (I'm not sure whether they are repens or palustris) are taking the lead right now regarding growth speed.

I'm still waiting on the hoses. It was one of those super slow shipping times. Acording to the order it says the expected delivery date should be between 5/14 - 6/5, but it already shows as it being shipped, so maybe it won't take much longer. I am anxious to get them so that I can finish the rest of the setup as it is meant to be set up.




Bump: Also, on a good note, I noticed the LED lights somehow fixed itself. It was having a problem where some of the red LEDs were not turning on for several days, but in the past few days it has been turning on all of them... I don't know why that might have happened, but as long as it is working now I am good. now the light spreads evenly throughout the tank.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 4: Glassware Installed, but Algae Appears 





I finally got the hoses I had ordered and I was able to install them and remove the green ones. I also installed a glass skimmer intake to remove the other surface skimmer I had and replaced the diffuser with a hidden-under-cabinet reactor for the CO2, so now it looks more presentable. Speaking of the CO2, I still haven't gotten the hang of the right dosage. My bubble counter was showing about 3 bubbles per second when turned on, however the drop checker never turned green. Now with the reactor I expect more efficient CO2 diffusion in the water so let's see. Also due to the inefficient CO2 distribution, I have seen a still small, but quickly increasing levels of algae. Comparing the pictures from last week, you can see the rocks are greener noticeably more now. I hope that once I find the sweet point for CO2 injection, the plants will start to take the lead against the algae.

With regards to plant growth, I've just let them grow for now, and the Ludwigia has really increased in mass, and is starting to shade the Lysimachia in front of it. It will need some trimming soon. But a lot of the plants are still growing along the soil instead of straight up, which is a bit frustrating, but this might also be a CO2 related issue, not sure really. Amanos have stopped munching on the ARs and they are trying to make a comeback, but it will be a bit more time until they get bushy and healthy again.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

When I had Rotala sp. green it was very prone to the crawl. That plant many times is used in aquascaping circles for it's cascading effect over hardscape, but higher in the water column. I always thought it was a light thing, but with sp. green I would have some go straight up and others straight across. Out of curiosity what has your light cycle/intensity been from the getgo?


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Asteroid said:


> When I had Rotala sp. green it was very prone to the crawl. That plant many times is used in aquascaping circles for it's cascading effect over hardscape, but higher in the water column. I always thought it was a light thing, but with sp. green I would have some go straight up and others straight across. Out of curiosity what has your light cycle/intensity been from the getgo?


I've had it on a 8hr on, 16hr off cycle. However, depending on how the algae behaves now once I start getting better CO2 diffusion, I might reduce it or keep it the same... We'll see. The specs for my light fixture are: Twinstar LED Light 900SM, Color Temperature: 6500K, Lumens: 4900 lm, 65 watts. Unfortunately I can't tweak the intensity, only the "on" period.


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## Ventchur (Apr 29, 2018)

Rotala green in my previous scape never crawled, I always thought I didn't have enough light but I also planted it very dense so it really had nowhere to go but up. Who knows..

Seems like you're starting the hard way no? Low plant mass, high intensity lighting and nutrient rich soil. Getting more plants in there should help out immensely. Maybe reduce photoperiod? What's the water change schedule look like?


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

I was about to say something similar to @Ventchur. Low plant mass iwagumi with 8 hrs full light. Very difficult. Plant mass always helps, but any setup I do now like that gets semi-weekly (in the beginning I do daily) water changes, 4 hr photo period (unless you have a ramping setup) and I setup my filter like this, the ADA way to remove organics/toxins that the plant mass/bio-filter isn't in the beginning.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Ventchur said:


> Rotala green in my previous scape never crawled, I always thought I didn't have enough light but I also planted it very dense so it really had nowhere to go but up. Who knows..
> 
> Seems like you're starting the hard way no? Low plant mass, high intensity lighting and nutrient rich soil. Getting more plants in there should help out immensely. Maybe reduce photoperiod? What's the water change schedule look like?


Yeah, maybe it would be a good idea to reduce the photo period a bit, at least until the plants catch up to speed. And trim and replant tops to increase plant mass faster. Water changes I've been doing once weekly 30%.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 6: Land Grab





Plants continue to grow, and I have been helping by cutting tops and replanting, to make more compact bushes before letting them grow tall. Algae, however, continues to be a bit of a problem, thought I hope it will only be a temporary one until the plants really take over. It's hair algae, which is very unsightly, but easy to deal with by using doses of Phosphorus. I've also reduced the photo period drastically - to only 4hrs/day. I am not too worried about it, it's just that it makes the tank look a bit less pretty... but I'll just keep doing my thing and the algae should recede. 



















If you look at older pictures, at where the single stem of Rotala butterfly used to be planted, and compare it with the picture above, you'll notice that that area has completely been invaded by other stems, mostly H. micranthemoides, very aggressively, so rather than to keep constantly cutting invading stems, I decided instead to move the R. butterfly to a secluded area on the far right side of the tank, where it will grow in peace and tranquility. It has been growing a bit slow, but soon it will be tall enough for me to cut and replant top to spread it.










And here it is, in the back to the right.











HC Cuba is still struggling to spread, only a matter of time...











Ugly hair algae on leaves of several bucephalandras.











AR making a comeback from the previous Amano attack, still looking a bit unhealthy, but improving











Those glass tubes get dirty really quickly. Already looking brownish.



And that's all for now. More updates in the coming weeks.​


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 7: More Fish and Plants





After turning down the photoperiod, and using some Excel, the algae has decreased. 










Decided to go to the store and get some more fish. I was also able to find some HC Cuba, which I planted by the "river delta" between the two rocks. Hopefully this will speed up the spread of HC carpet which has been pretty slow.










All stem plants are now growing upwards and forming a nice mixture of leave patterns and shades.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

pretty nice. will probably be pretty epic when its grown in!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

ipkiss said:


> pretty nice. will probably be pretty epic when its grown in!


Yes, all the plants should start growing quicker now. I hadn't been using fertilizers too much up to this point since the tank was still in its early stages and to avoid serious algae blooms, but seeing how reducing the photo-period has helped a lot with the algae, I will start to doze fertilizers normally and plants should be having a lot of new growth. There are still many patches of soil that have not been filled out yet, but it'll eventually get there.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Just curious what is the KH with the aquasoil and the Seiryu stone?


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Asteroid said:


> Just curious what is the KH with the aquasoil and the Seiryu stone?


To be honest, I haven't checked the parameters of the water, (other than the CO2 concentrations by using the drop checker color spectrum). I have an old testing kit that I haven't used in a long time. I might do some testing and post the results here in the coming days.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Chizpa305 said:


> To be honest, I haven't checked the parameters of the water, (other than the CO2 concentrations by using the drop checker color spectrum). I have an old testing kit that I haven't used in a long time. I might do some testing and post the results here in the coming days.


Sounds like me, I do very little testing besides co2 as well. Reason I ask is because my current setup has a ton of Seiryu and it brings my KH up to 11 from a tap of 4. I don't have fussy plants, but some carpeting plants even HC will slow with high KH. Your aquasoil is probably still off-setting it, but I was just curious.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 9: A Young Forest Emerges but Water Flow Stalls





Algae has been mostly under control. Stem plants are getting lush on the left side of the tank. The red Ludwigia has been growing pretty aggressively, constantly trying to shade the lime green Lysimachias in front of it, so I have to keep cutting it to allow the Lysimachias to get some chance of obtaining good light. I have noticed the Rotalas at the back are growing at a slightly less aggressive rate as the Ludwigia, maybe because the latter sits right under the light, but all in all it's coming together pretty well, except for the right side of the tank, which I have left mostly barren on purpose to let the very delicate Rotala butterfly to grow undisturbed. This plant, however, has been growing extremely slowly. I believe that in part it probably has to do with a lack of water flow. I've been noticing that the water flow has been getting weaker and weaker. I cleaned the inflow pipe to make sure it wasn't getting clogged, but it is still very, very weak, even though the filter valves are open to the max level. This issue is worrying me a little bit since I am not sure what to do about that. Getting an additional filter is not something I'd like to do. Today I will take it apart and give it a good clean and prime it again to see if the flow improves. Here are some pics, enjoy.


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## taylorwinhaha (Jun 19, 2020)

The hard scape looks PHENOMENAL!! Where did you get your stone from!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

taylorwinhaha said:


> The hard scape looks PHENOMENAL!! Where did you get your stone from!


Thanks, I got the rocks from the same guy who sold me the tank. He was getting rid of all his equipment so I was able to get quite a lot of things from him. Those are in fact some pretty rocks and I am glad I got them for a very good price. But you can also buy them online. They go by the name of Seiryu stones. You can find them being offered on Ebay, Amazon, and other aquarium related online stores. Of course if you order online, expect the shipping to be a little expensive due to the weight of these stones, especially if you decide on looking for really big ones.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

The stems look great. To me, duplicate that on the right side, have the front/valley fill in and your pretty much done.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Asteroid said:


> The stems look great. To me, duplicate that on the right side, have the front/valley fill in and your pretty much done.


Yes, I was thinking about leaving the right side more empty because I wanted to give an opportunity to the slower Rotala butterfly that I moved to the right back corner, to have a chance to grow more and spread out. However since it is growing at a very slow rate, it is putting everything else to a halt, so I am considering changing it to another position, maybe as a mid ground plant, and then fill the right background side with the faster growing stems that I have on the left.


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## evil8 (Aug 7, 2018)

This is looking outstanding!


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

random but I wonder if axial location of the light is going to make a big difference on plant growth. 
I see on the first pic the light appears on the back which make the stems grow more but it may not be hitting the front carpet plants as much. 
on the 2nd pic it's in the middle

do you think this is something that you can use to manage growth? 
would you ever just leave it on the front for a while to get that stem to fill out?

Love how the twinstar looks but sucks that it doesn't have the built in dimmer/controller


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

monkeyruler90 said:


> random but I wonder if axial location of the light is going to make a big difference on plant growth.
> I see on the first pic the light appears on the back which make the stems grow more but it may not be hitting the front carpet plants as much.
> on the 2nd pic it's in the middle
> 
> ...


I normally leave it in the center, but maybe I can try doing this because the front carpet has been lagging behind a little bit. However, I did plant the HC recently due to my LFS not having any on stock for the first few weeks since I set up the tank. The HC is definitely catching up, I think it is growing faster than the Monte Carlo, though the HC is still in adaptation mode while the Monte Carlo is already adapted and is growing a lot faster than at the beginning.

Bump:


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 10





The plants keep growing in nicelly (some of them at least), However the weak flow is still a problem. Haven't been able to work on that since it's been a few busy days, but I am thinking to buy another filter intake/skimmer with a wider neck, since I believe that the narrow neck is what's keeping the flow weak. The reason why I think so is because when trying to prime the filter intake hose, the flow I was getting was pretty miserable. But I haven't had any serious algae problems so far due to this so far. Photoperiod is still kept at only 4hrs for now.











Finally got around doing the pH test, and it seems to be pretty normal, around 6.8 - 7. However I did this only a day after a 25% water change, so that might have affected the results. I will do another one right before a water change to maybe get a more accurate test.











The ARs keep ketting small munchings here and there, though not as dramatic as that one time when they reduced them to threads. I have been feeding the amanos, using sinking pellets, but it keeps happening. I know it is not a lot of damage, but it is constant and it is annoying. Someone has any info that could help with this? Also, tried feeding them spinach, but they didn't even paid attention to it.











The Rotala butterfly is not doing super good. It's looks a bit ratty and growing very slowly. I also noticed that for some reason it is growing, pointing to the right... Anyways, as I said before, I am planning on changing it to another position because I am tired of waiting for it to grow, so instead I will be filling the right side of the tank with the some of the stem cuttings from the left (once they grow a bit more that is)


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

yeah changing the intakes/output would help if it's the throttling point

I realized last time I cleaned my 2217 I stuffed it with filter floss and I noticed the considerable loss of flow. I took out some floss and noticed the difference


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

Chizpa305 said:


> Finally got around doing the pH test, and it seems to be pretty normal, around 6.8 - 7. However I did this only a day after a 25% water change, so that might have affected the results. I will do another one right before a water change to maybe get a more accurate test.
> ...
> The ARs keep ketting small munchings here and there, though not as dramatic as that one time when they reduced them to threads. I have been feeding the amanos, using sinking pellets, but it keeps happening. I know it is not a lot of damage, but it is constant and it is annoying. Someone has any info that could help with this? Also, tried feeding them spinach, but they didn't even paid attention to it.
> ...
> The Rotala butterfly is not doing super good. It's looks a bit ratty and growing very slowly. I also noticed that for some reason it is growing, pointing to the right... Anyways, as I said before, I am planning on changing it to another position because I am tired of waiting for it to grow, so instead I will be filling the right side of the tank with the some of the stem cuttings from the left (once they grow a bit more that is)


I'm not sure what time of day you did a water change, or what your water change schedule is like, but 6.8-7 seems high for a tank with Amazonia AND CO2. It could be that your seiryu stone is releasing more CO3 into the water than you realize, or maybe you're just changing with harder water. This might be the reason the Rotala "Butterfly" is struggling, since rotalas tend to like softer water and Butterfly is a particularly picky form. If it's not doing well, I'd say just go ahead and grab something like another ludwigia or limnophila that isn't as picky about soft water. Not worth putting your whole tank on hold for that one stem!

I doubt that your amanos are going after healthy AR. The AR is probably already struggling and they are just eating the dying leaves. I've never had them eat healthy plants before!


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

If you ever get tired of trimming stems I think a scape like this would look amazing:


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

gjcarew said:


> If you ever get tired of trimming stems I think a scape like this would look amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skDLKjaLE-U


Until you have to redo the carpet in a 6 foot tank :frown2: Go epiphyte >


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

monkeyruler90 said:


> yeah changing the intakes/output would help if it's the throttling point
> 
> I realized last time I cleaned my 2217 I stuffed it with filter floss and I noticed the considerable loss of flow. I took out some floss and noticed the difference


Yes, unfortunately these intake/skimmers are like 40 bucks and mine is already past the point to return it. But oh well. It is the price of a mistake.

Bump:


gjcarew said:


> I'm not sure what time of day you did a water change, or what your water change schedule is like, but 6.8-7 seems high for a tank with Amazonia AND CO2. It could be that your seiryu stone is releasing more CO3 into the water than you realize, or maybe you're just changing with harder water. This might be the reason the Rotala "Butterfly" is struggling, since rotalas tend to like softer water and Butterfly is a particularly picky form. If it's not doing well, I'd say just go ahead and grab something like another ludwigia or limnophila that isn't as picky about soft water. Not worth putting your whole tank on hold for that one stem!
> 
> I doubt that your amanos are going after healthy AR. The AR is probably already struggling and they are just eating the dying leaves. I've never had them eat healthy plants before!


That's a good point, it makes sense. That could also be the reason why some of the Rotalas are not getting the colors that I expected them to get. Well, not much I can do about that because I am not planning on changing the hardscape, and tap water here in Florida, I would assume is harder than normal, since it comes mainly from very large underwater, cavernous aquifers (yes, we never run out of water here - suck on that California) so it might already come on the harder parameters. The butterfly, I could do without because it is just another stem, however the AR is hard to replace because there are not that many bushy middle-ground red plants available out there... So at the very least, I will just have to get used to the munched leaves. And yeah, I think you might be right because I've seen a lot of its leaves with deformities and some of them looking a bit dark and unhealthy, even before they have any holes in them.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

gjcarew said:


> If you ever get tired of trimming stems I think a scape like this would look amazing:


Yes, I know that Iwagumi styles look pretty cool, but they are not that low-maintenance as you might think. The low plant volume causes a lot of algae problem and you need to be on top of it. Also cutting all that fast growing carpet can be as much (if not) more of a pain in the ass, than just cutting stems. And, I don't know, I've always been an admirer of the dutch style. That's why I tried to kind of mix the two styles in this scape.


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## senyk (Jun 24, 2012)

absoluty amazing, what did you use to edit the picture out of curiosity?


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 11: Bright Red Sarpae Tetras





Happy 4th of July! So I already decided on which fish to add. I went for bright red sarpae tetras, and I am glad with that choice because they look really nice in this tank, together with all the other tetras. Is not a lot of size difference, but enough to create some dynamic of colors and sizes without it being too chaotic. Anyways, here is a video I took. enjoy.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

senyk said:


> absoluty amazing, what did you use to edit the picture out of curiosity?


Thanks! 

Which picture are you referring to? The one at the beginning of the journal, where I did like the visualization thing for the aquarium?


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 12: The Red Balance





Just a quick update on the tank: Finally planted some stems on the right side to create an equilibrium, although it still needs to grow and catch up with the lusher left side. I moved the Rotala butterfly to the a midground area together with some ARs, but it is barely visible there. Monte Carlo carpet is growing thicker and with a bright green color on both sides. Again, here the carpet on the right looks less full than the left side (probably due to poor water flow). Yes, I have still not fixed this issue... But it's not THAT bad. HC in the rock canyon needs to hurry up because Monte Carlo runners are creeping in their territory fast. I am more focused on growing the front portion of the HC carpet to establish a beachhead before spreading the HC to the back along the "river". I've managed to replant some AR tops to spread it to some empty areas and it has been growing ok. There are some empty spot on the far right midground and far left midground areas assigned for them once I have more. Haven't seen any munching on the leaves as of late. Which brings me to an important topic. I have not seen my 2 amanos in a few days... Also, the RCSs don't walk around everywhere anymore. Some can still be found hiding in the bushes, but rarely found walking over the rocks and such. I am not too sure why this is. I have not seen any dead ones, or any fish attacking them. But I started to notice this ever since I introduced the new fish. I thought Sarpae tetras were cool with the shrimps. But whatever the reason is, there tank definitely looks a lot more shrimp empty than before... But I know that as long as there is lush vegetation, they will be able to hide in it and survive. Christmas moss is growing nicely on the rocks and turning to a brighter green too. All in all, I think the tank is going along fine so far, though it is still not at its prime. Here are some pics, enjoy.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

The money shot is getting closer and closer. Really nice!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Asteroid said:


> The money shot is getting closer and closer. Really nice!


Yes, little by little it's getting there. One of the things that is slightly annoying is that some of the plants are not getting the red colors that I had anticipated. For example, the Rotala H'ra is supposed to look a lot redder, yet in my tank only the tops are slightly pinkish. But likely it's because of the rocks that are making the water harder and that affects the colors.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Chizpa305 said:


> ... For example, the Rotala H'ra is supposed to look a lot redder, yet in my tank only the tops are slightly pinkish. But likely it's because of the rocks that are making the water harder and that affects the colors.


If you want the extreme red for H'ra I'm pretty sure you need to bring your water column no3 to near zero.


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## [email protected] (Jul 19, 2020)

Great Job!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Asteroid said:


> If you want the extreme red for H'ra I'm pretty sure you need to bring your water column no3 to near zero.


Do you know of any product or dosage that can help with this? I know some people like to use RO water, but for me that is very inconvenient due to me living in a high story building so many trips carrying big water containers is not something I am looking forward to. It's gotta be tap.


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

Those bright reds are NO3 limitation AND lots of bright light. I doubt you need R/O water, usually tap water doesn't have a lot of nitrates in it unless you're in an area with a lot of agriculture. You don't really need to get rid of nitrogen in the water, as long as you don't actively dose it your plants will eventually use all available nitrogen in the water column.

I suggest using Osmocote+ balls around all the plants that do want nitrates (baby tears, lysimacchia nummularia, ludwigia) and then using a liquid fertilizer without nitrates such as ADA Brighty K, Tropica Premium Nutrition, APT Zero, or Seachem Flourish. You can also use Seachem Flourish root tabs around the red rotalas since it doesn't contain nitrogen.

Is your photoperiod still only 4 hours? You could try increasing that as well. Turning red is a light stress response, so really blasting your tank with light is sure to help. It will probably also mean more algae on your hardscape but that can be controlled by spot treating with excel/ H2O2 and a wire bristle brush.


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## rzn7z7 (Aug 17, 2013)

Chizpa305 said:


> Do you know of any product or dosage that can help with this? I know some people like to use RO water, but for me that is very inconvenient due to me living in a high story building so many trips carrying big water containers is not something I am looking forward to. It's gotta be tap.



What about purchasing an RO unit and making RO water at home? Then you could set all of your water parameters to what you want and not just NO3


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 15 Big Trim





Not a lot to report. My stem plants were a bit too long so I took em to the barber shop to get a clean cut. Didn't touch the carpet, although it probably could use a trim too. Here're some pics.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

gjcarew said:


> Those bright reds are NO3 limitation AND lots of bright light. I doubt you need R/O water, usually tap water doesn't have a lot of nitrates in it unless you're in an area with a lot of agriculture. You don't really need to get rid of nitrogen in the water, as long as you don't actively dose it your plants will eventually use all available nitrogen in the water column.
> 
> I suggest using Osmocote+ balls around all the plants that do want nitrates (baby tears, lysimacchia nummularia, ludwigia) and then using a liquid fertilizer without nitrates such as ADA Brighty K, Tropica Premium Nutrition, APT Zero, or Seachem Flourish. You can also use Seachem Flourish root tabs around the red rotalas since it doesn't contain nitrogen.
> 
> Is your photoperiod still only 4 hours? You could try increasing that as well. Turning red is a light stress response, so really blasting your tank with light is sure to help. It will probably also mean more algae on your hardscape but that can be controlled by spot treating with excel/ H2O2 and a wire bristle brush.


Yes, I am going to try out the Osmocote balls and the seachem flourish root tabs. I could increase the photoperiod, althouth I would need to fix the damn flow issue that it's had. I've been lazy on that. Because with poor flow and increasing the lights, the algae is really going to explode there.

Bump:


rzn7z7 said:


> What about purchasing an RO unit and making RO water at home? Then you could set all of your water parameters to what you want and not just NO3


I'll research those and see if I end up getting one. Don't know much about them.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 21





I replaced all the silicon tubing with a wider diameter vinyl one (the silicone one was a little soft and bent at certain points creating disruption of flow. Old diameter was 12 ID / 16 OD, the new tubes are 16 ID / 22 OD. Also changed the filter intake and the reactor with a compatible diameter. Now I have a better flow, however I took for ever to make this upgrade because I kept pushing it for later, and I was starting to struggle with some algae issues. But now with the improved flow hopefully things will get better. The carpet, in particularly suffered with the algae, some fibrous green algae with very long hair like filaments, not sure what type of algae it was. It grew around plants but not on the glass, and grew incredibly fast. When trying to pull it out it would mess up the weakly rooted carpet plants, it seems to have an affinity with HC in particular. Also because I had the CO2 disconnected for a while, the plants were not growing too fast. Carpet still has not grown all the way to the back of the canyon, but it has made some progress. The canyon does not get as much light so it is more vulnerable to algae and slow growth. Anyways, here are some pics right after trimming the background plants


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

Very clean trimming. Have you thought about maybe adding a sand path down the middle of the canyon? It might help break up the solid line of green across the front, and help solve your growth problems in those dark areas.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

gjcarew said:


> Very clean trimming. Have you thought about maybe adding a sand path down the middle of the canyon? It might help break up the solid line of green across the front, and help solve your growth problems in those dark areas.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk


I thought about this, but seeing other tank journals that use sand trails, I've realized that the sand trail is a nightmare to maintain clean. It looks good the first couple of weeks and then it starts to get contaminated with dark soil and the sand usually starts to turn darker / brownish after a while, losing the aesthetic. I wanted to try something different by creating a "green path instead", which I haven't seen many tanks using. The carpet that I planted along the canyon is growing, just at a slower rate, plus keep in mind that I did not plant any carpet there until recently so it hasn't had the full length of time to grow as the rest of the plants in the tank, but you are right about the front carpet being too consistent and boring. I wanted to complement the far left and right foreground corners with some staurogyne repens or pogostemon helferi to add some variety. And maybe also spread small clumps of them in a few different spots.

Thank you for your input

On another note, I spotted one of the amano shrimps last week. I had not seen either of them (originally there were two) for quite some time, over a month even so I thought they had died or something, but seeing one of them made ma happy, however I don't know if the other one is also hiding. Ever since I added the Tarpae tetras, all the shrimps stay hidden in the bushes in the background, but very few venture towards the front, which is kind of a bummer because I like seeing them more, but it is what it is...

This week, I will be adding some of the root tabs that someone recommended to me to see if it improves the plant colors. 

That's all for now, more pictures coming up in a few days


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

I definitely see @gjcarew comment about the sand path. The easiest way I've found to maintain a light-colored sand path is to use an inexpensive sand like PFS and simply vacuum the surface out and replace. You could probably do that every few weeks and it would stay picture-ready. You can also go with Parva, but then you'd have to rename the tank, maybe The Cryptic River. 

Either way, tank is looking good.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week Number... Lost Count... Definitely Over 52​




It's been a long time since I last posted here. I was struggling with a lot of algae problems in the tank. I could not figure out what was wrong. I kept the light on only for 4 hours/day and low fertilization. But algae kept growing at a rate that was so quick that it made me feel exhausted trying to keep up with the maintenance to keep the algae down. I came very close to taking down the aquarium entirely since it felt more like slave work rather than a hobby. But I went online and started to find answers and it turned out that what I had to do was to actually increase the light period and increase fertilizing as required to promote plant growth (both of which were counterintuitive to me because I thought it was these things that were causing the algae in the first place). I was able to identify the algae I had as "blanket weed algae", which is more common in ponds. It grows brutally fast and it completely takes over the aquarium forming a network of filaments that is just impossible to remove physically, without destroying all the scape. So this algae thrives in low nutrient levels, and can grow even with low light. Anyways, I was able to take control over this algae by increasing photoperiod to 8 hours and dosing ferts as indicated and I have been able to regained a bit of my confidence in making the tank look better without it requiring so much work. I am still experiencing moderate levels of other types of algae in the rocks and leaves of plants, but I am planning on getting a full cleaning crew of Nerite snails, Ottos, and Amano shrimps to finally conquer the remaining algae as much as possible. Here are some pictures of how the tank is looking now










I notice that the intake / outtake tubes are filthy dirty. This I need to fix soon too...
I have let the ARs grow a bit, want to plant some Staurogine repens around them in the bases.
Also, after increasing the photoperiod to 8 hours, I have noticed the colors of some plants have popped more, especially the background rotalas, which are now looking sort of pinkish



















Below is a picture of when I was suffering with the blanked weed algae.


















Well that is all for now, as I said, I will be adding some nerites and amano shrimps soon to help with the clean up. I'll post some pics once I do that.
Until then,


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

Blanket weed is the worst and I have torn up scapes rather than deal with it. Glad you got it under control!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

gjcarew said:


> Blanket weed is the worst and I have torn up scapes rather than deal with it. Glad you got it under control!


Yep, it is a pain in the butt. I had to remove it very carefully too because if it was attached to the carpet it could easily pull whole patches of carpet right off. I could not save the Christmas moss though. That one was just too entangled in the stuff. There is still some considerable amounts of hair algae, and staghorn algae. My tank balance is still out of whack even though the main problem (blanket weed) is mostly under control. I won a battle, but not yet the war. However I am gonna go all in until I fix this.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Good luck in the war. I feel your pain.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Tank Update: Cleaning Crew Enters the Scene



Yesterday I added 3 nerite snails, 6 Amano shrimps, and 3 ottos. However, I removed the Sarpae tetras. I had been suspecting for a long time that they were hunting down the red cherry shrimps, but I had never caught one in the act until a few days ago, when one of the Sarpae had half a shrimp in its mouth. The shrimp were always hiding and never roaming around freely on the rocks or on the carpet plants, and their numbers were dramatically reduced ever since I added the Sarpae, so this all hinted to the fact that the Sarpae were doing something to them. When I added the Amano shrimps yesterday, and then came back after a few hours to check up on the tank, I noticed the Sarpae tetras were displaying a hunting behavior pattern. They were constantly swimming into the bushes and out, and then back in, in a bit of an agitated fashion, as if they were looking for something that was hiding there. I didn't want to risk losing the Amanos, so I finally decided to remove the Sarpae. Must admit it was a tough decision that I had been postponing for a long time because I really love the bright red color of those Sarpae tetras, but after weighing the pros and cons, I decided to remove them to a breeding / farming tank that I have in the balcony. I also have RCS in that other tank, but hey... survival of the fittest and all that, plus they got plenty of hiding places there.

Anyways, I also trimmed down the carpet since it was getting a bit tall. Gotta say, trimming down HC in between the canyon is one of the toughest things ever... In the coming weeks I want to add some more Staurogyne repens and Pogostemon helferi to the front left and right sides of the tank to add some more plant variety in that area, and maybe leave carpet only in a smaller area in the front center, around the canyon... We'll see. I also did a water test for Nitrates, and found out that my ppm is pretty low. I have been dosing Flourish Comprehensive thinking that it had Nitrogen, I had forgotten that that doesn't have too many macros at all. On top of that I have been dosing Iron, but, without enough macros, the plants can't synthesize a lot of iron so the iron accumulates into the water column... that is most likely the cause for the staghorn algae. So I ordered some new fertilizers to complement the dosing. I think the lack of Nitrates could also be why the plant's red colors popped out more, because the tap water I use is very high in KH and with the big rocks adding to that, the colors should not be that red under right nutrition... Though I kind of like the reds.










That's all for now. I will update more in a few days.

Cheers.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Week 53: Yep That's Right, I did the Math. The Tank Just Turned a Year Old












I did a huge trim down of all the stem plants in the background to create a more defined curve line and also to make all the bushes bushier by sticking the healthy tops in between the older stems. ARs were removed and tips replanted because they were a bit overgrown and had a lot of ugly looking white aerial roots. added some more RCS, that can be seen freely roaming around the tank as they used to before the introduction of the Sarpae tetras. The Amano shrimps still seem a bit shy because I don't see them a lot. Sometimes I just see one or two at a time. I've never been able to see all six at the same time, so I still don't know if any of them was eaten by the Sarpae tetras before I removing them... I might add more Amanos, and more Nerites in the future. Talking about the Nerites, they move a bit, but for the most part spend lots of time stationary. Is this normal? Are they more active at night? Or are they still not fully adapted to the tank?

Below are some close up pictures that show the full extent of algae that I currently have (Which is a lot) but as I said before. The blanked weed has not showed up again, which is GREAT!!! I finally got the fertilizers I ordered, Potassium being the key one I think the plants are craving the most. I will be adding Nitrogen and Phosphorus only after big trims to promote rapid new shoot growth, and then only use Flourish (micro nutrients), Potassium and Iron to try to get those reds to pop out. I am also spot treating with Excel, the worst algae areas. Still a lot of algae to get rid of though.










I think this Nerite (above) has a bad case of stomach ache after eating so much algae. It hasn't moved for a whole day...
































































The cavalry has arrived to help fight all these algae. Thought about going for ADA line of frets, but ended up getting these so I can add them at whichever ratios I want.
​That's all for now.
Cheers


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Tank Update:


So as of right now, I have added a total of 12 Amano shrimp, maybe I'll even add more later on, to get to a total of around 20 or so. Also, 6 nerites (zebra and spotted shell), and 3 Ottos. Honestly, the only thing that is really reducing the algae, at least noticeably, is the Excell spot dosing. I have a few patches of hair algae that have turned white, though still visible. I have only applied Excell on algae patches on rocks, but don't want t apply it close to plants to avoid damaging the plants. I added some more plants. More specifically, anubias in the shadows of the two bigger rocks, and some tissue culture Pogostemon helferi that does not seem to be doing too good. It seems to be melting and I am not sure if any at all will survive. Snugged some small clumps of monte Carlo in a few cracks on the rock to see if it grows as an epiphyte there. Some pictures below










Playing around with a magnifying glass and camera, took some close ups.










Above you can see some small fluffy algae in between the carpet leaves.



















Above, here again you see the fluffy algae covering patches of carpet. Also, you can see some of the Pogostemon helferi, which is melting down and likely will not make it, but I'll wait and see... All I need is one that survives and then I can spread it later.










Here is you can see the added Anubias (not sure which variety). I placed somewhat under the rock shade to fill a bit of that empty space. I cut the original plant into 5 different segments and added them in little clumps attached to small rocks.










I was trying to adjust the CO2 because I think I was adding a bit too much, but I can't really tell what color that is. Seems to be very light. Sort of between blue and green... Is my solution bad? Is this normal? How should I interpret that?

I am thinking about improving the water flow to maybe help get rid of the algae. The problem is that I keep having some water flow issues due to a reactor hooked up to the only filter. So I have been thinking about adding another filter just for the reactor (filter without media) and then have the bigger filter alone for improved flow. The other canister would not be filtering the water but could provide some additional water flow


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

I love the nerite pics!! Great photo session!! Thank you!!!!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Tank Update





I have managed to get rid of a lot of the algae on the rocks with the help of Seachem Excel. The algae on the carpet is a lot harder because if I apply Excel directly on it, the carpet plants will likely suffer as well. I don't know if the Amano shrimps, the Nerites, and the ottos are making any difference to be honest. They keep munching all day long, but the algae looks pretty much the same. I am thinking it is mainly water flow issues. I've had water flow issues since I started this tank. I am going to have to set up a separate filter to have a strong flow and also some surface agitation, and leave the current one I have hooked up to the CO2 reactor which mainly for the CO2 distribution. This is likely the main problem in the tank because water is not moving enough throughout and plants might not be getting enough exposure to those nutrients. However that'll have to wait a few more weeks. For now I'll have to do with my current poor flow. It is kind of ironic because one of the main reasons why I went with CO2 reactor was to have less equipment visible in the aquarium, but now I will have to add extra inflow and outflows anyways so it defeats the purpose. But maybe in this tank it is required to have two different filters anyway since the big rocks block a lot of the flow as well.











You might have noticed that there is no Filter inflow or outflow in the picture above, and that is because I removed it to do a deep clean. I put them on a bleach solution to get them sparkling clean, left them there for about 2 days. Hooked it all back in, and turned on the filter and suddenly water started pouring out of the CO2 reactor at a pretty fast rate. I closed all the valves, but water was still coming out non stop. I panicked and decided to remove the intake and outtake quickly. However I had to pull it hard because my hands were slippery and the suction cups were not coming out, and I broke the damn thing in the process. Now I have to order a new one, and I cleaned it in vain. But you know... S*** happens.











On a somewhat of a better note though, apparently some of the Pogostemon helferi is going to make it. I lost about 98% of all the pieces I planted. They melted completely in a matter of two days, but this tiny piece is sending a few new healthy but tiny shoots. It's a bit hard to see but I circled it. If it grows successfully I'll be able to spread some Pogostemon helferi around the tank as well as more Staurogyne repens to make the carpet more interesting. You can also see how nasty the carpet plants look with all that algae. I need to solve the flow issue once and for all.




















See how Sovietically right angled and boring the carpet looks. Vs how I kind of want it to look like









​Anyways, that's the idea.
That's all for now.
Cheers!


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## zivvel (Apr 17, 2013)

That is a real bummer on the broken glassware. I'm happy to see the Pogo in survivor mode, though. I really like that plant. I recently added it to my own tank.

I battled that same nasty algae for what seemed like forever. The solution for me was more filtration and less feeding. Good luck with yours!


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

zivvel said:


> That is a real bummer on the broken glassware. I'm happy to see the Pogo in survivor mode, though. I really like that plant. I recently added it to my own tank.
> 
> I battled that same nasty algae for what seemed like forever. The solution for me was more filtration and less feeding. Good luck with yours!


Yes, I also think the filtration might be the main problem. I just can't seem to get a strong flow with the Reactor hooked up to the filter, though I remember it being a lot stronger when I first hooked it up, but now can't get it past a trickle of water. Once I get me another Eheim 2217 it should make the filtration and water flow issue a lot better.


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

Tank Update: 6/2/2021


I managed to improve the water flow a little bit by thoroughly cleaning the filter and all tubing. Plant health is going up and algae is going down (slightly), but there is still some staghorn, mostly on the bucefalandra leaves. I can't remove the infected leaves because then the buces would be left leafless. I stopped dozing Iron to see if that helps. Since I had to put a temporary filter inflow that does not have a skimmer, the water surface agitation is poor. I had ordered a replacement glass filter inflow/skimmer, but it arrived missing a piece and now I am waiting for that to be replaced too...










There is a lot of pearling going on. I think it might have to do with the decrease in water surface movement coupled with increased filter flow which increases the reactor's CO2 dilution. I had never seen so many bubbles in the tank... It looks pretty



















I keep making small changes to the scape here and there. Now I decided to place the Rotala butterfly in that space only (see above pic), to attempt to create a bit of a focal point there together with the AR clump, but I am not convinced. Maybe as it starts to looks thicker it will convince me.










Anubias there have some pinholes on the leaves, and I've noticed the Staurogyne repens with yellowish leaves. I've been dozing nutrients as recommended on the bottle, but I've read that Seachem's recommendations are more aimed for low tech tanks. I have been considering other nutrient manufacturers that make products more focused on high light and CO2 tanks. I've been eye balling the new " The 2hr Aquarist API complete" fertilizer. Anybody has had experience with it?​


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