# Dudebro's Tank - Realismo Mágico - 9 Gallon Cube (Revived)



## jeremyTR (Mar 21, 2012)

Neat set up. You're cycling with fish? Aww poor guys.

Sent from my HTC Evo 4G


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Thanks and yea, eager noob move... the local fish store said these guys are troopers, they wanted to sell them to me to get the cycle going... how could I say no.


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## jeremyTR (Mar 21, 2012)

You should get some plants!


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

I plan to create a dense carpet of hair grass and dwarf baby tears in different areas. I also want to add a fern of some sort and maybe some moss. 

I would like to plant these as soon as possible but I am waiting for the tank to get established. I know I will need more light and co2 for it to grow in like I want.

I am very new to aquariums and cycling. Just taking it slow until I understand more.


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

dudebro said:


> I plan to create a dense carpet of hair grass and dwarf baby tears in different areas. I also want to add a fern of some sort and maybe some moss.
> 
> I would like to plant these as soon as possible but I am waiting for the tank to get established. I know I will need more light and co2 for it to grow in like I want.
> 
> I am very new to aquariums and cycling. Just taking it slow until I understand more.


 
Plants can go in right away, no need to wait for cycling the tank. They'll even help buffer your tank chemistry from the inevitable spikes in nitrites/trates. Much easier to get your plants in and started, and do all your fiddling around getting the layout right, before adding your fish.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

After doing some research I realized I would need more light to keep my plants healthy. I do want fish too.. and the tank is ready for fish but not for all the plants I want.

A DIY light upgrade, CO2 and plant food is in the mail. Once I get the light tested and settled I will get my plants. (providing that its ok for the fish)

Err, I may be in a tough situation now. Will the fish be ok if I add all the plants at once? Any insights. 

A lot of Dwarf Baby Tears
An Anubis Nana
A small amount of Dwarf Hairgrass
Maybe one other small plant.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Super bummed. 

Went on vacation and everything fell apart. I set up a Automatic fish feeder and left my light on. The fish died; poor fellas were overfed and I was left with a ton of green algae. 

Apparently too much light and too much fish food is a recipe for disaster. Now I know what too much is. 

Its been cleaned and I did a partial water change. Right now I have a blanket over the tank to kill off the remaining algae.

Redo coming soon... with plants this time.


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## wtkerr (Sep 7, 2012)

Love it! Good luck!


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Thanks wtkerr!

*Week 3 - Redo*








Full size image of just planted tank

Well its cleaned up now. 

I removed the water and added 3 pots of Dwarf Baby Tears and one Anubias Nana. The Anubias Nana fit right into the whole on my stump. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not have to glue it in or tie it down. 

I am using Eco Complete substrate. I have heard mixed reviews on this holding new plants in. Only one Dwarf Baby Tear floated up which was also one that I planted sloppy and tried to adjust after filling the tank with water. 

I strongly suggesting taking all the water out. Planting. Laying paper towels and slowly filling back up. These little buggers do float easy. I could see how it would be frustrating trying to add them to a full tank. 

I have a DIY co2, DIY LED upgrade coming soon. Its nice to have the plants in, the color does pop against the black substrate - I hope they last longer than my fish...


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Updates:


Started a DIY Co2 last night: running at 2Bps this morning. A little faster that I would like but its my first go at it. 
Heater stabilizing the temp around 74-75. This will help with plants and future fish. 
Dosing with Flourish and Flourish Excel. Now that I have Co2 running I may half lower the doses.

The plants look the same as they did after planting.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

A few days after planting:



























Its still alive!


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

The Baby Dwarf Tears are growing. Here is a similar pick to the one above. 

Its getting dirty in there. I have decided to hold off on water changes to see if it will affect cycling. My water tests have never registered a spike but I do have a small trace of ammonia that registers at .25 ppm and has been there for a while.

My water tests are here: 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Av5FJ0W9LrJldEdka0RKeENhM3FRNjlBR1RJZkpITGc&output=html
Thanks to google docs.


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## FORREST3320 (Sep 9, 2011)

Looks great cant wait to see it fill in


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

*Week 6*

*Week 6 Update*
The Baby Dwarf Tears are growing in nice. 
DIY CO2 is doing its thing. 
New Otto Cats 
New plants! Thanks to DFWAPC which I am now a member of. I dont even recall what they all are but one for sure is Riccia. 

I had a pretty big die off on the grass plant but it looks like most of the stems made it and are rooting.

Algae took over on my vacation. I just finished a tank clean out with some plant reorganizing and added the otto's. Based on what these guys just did in 5 mins I have a feeling this tank will be clean as a whistle in a week tops. 

My Anubias have little spots on them. Not sure what this is exactly.

Its starting to look bright green. I like it. 









Dwarf Tears forming a carpet.









Mystery Spots on the Anubias and also my new plant stem behind it. 









New plant









Notice the clean spots on the rock - no more toothbrush:


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## Callyft (Jul 8, 2012)

Looks awesome! I love the look of baby tears ... its filled in very nicely!


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## fishyjoe24 (Dec 10, 2009)

looking good I bet that steam is out of todd's(basic's) or drinda(texgal) tank..


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## fishyjoe24 (Dec 10, 2009)

looking good I bet that steam is out of todd's(basic's) or drinda(texgal) tank..


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Crossing fingers that's mobile photo uploads work. Attachments...

Got some new plants. Not sure if I want to use Valls now. Seams like people frown on their invasive-ness.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Added a 2.5 lb co2 to replace my diy bottle. Wanted it to be small since its sits in the open.

My regulator from UP aqua doesn't quite have the same connection. It fits and doesn't leak though.

Based on my estimates I should get about 6 months from it at 1 bps while lights are on.

Having only Ottos in the tank is nice. The only thing I feed is the plants and I could go weeks without doing that. Nitrates are getting lower over time as well. 

I am thinking of getting some easy bright colored shrimp and keeping the tank as maintenance free as possible.


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## Disher (Apr 1, 2012)

Any updates? Where did you purchase your CO2 setup? I'm looking for something very similar. Can you take a picture of your light? Thanks and great job keeping the baby tears happy.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

eBay for the regulator and amazon for the tank. Same price for the paintball setup once you add 20 for an adapter. I like it a lot.

Added a drop checker too. my tank normalizes right above 1 bps.

Will add photos later... Out of town now.

Right now I am fighting algae. Can't quite get it to stop. Water looks fine and light is down to 6 hrs and the bulb raised up 2 inches. Riccia is floating and it's blocking some light.

My driftwood is also taken out at the moment. I am growing fissidens on it with the dry start method. Crossings fingers on this.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Here are some quick updates. 

BGA is a PITA. Tired of cleaning this stuff. Going to the store tonight to get some maycin.

Put the driftwood back in with the moss after dry starting it with fissidens.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Post Christmas updates. 

Pulled out baby Tears. BGA took it over and killed it off.
The fissidens are starting to grow out.
The Anubias is growing well.


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## jpalimpsest (Dec 7, 2012)

Random comment: I love the name of your set up, I wish I'd thought of it! Tank's looking good.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays. Here's some photo updates of my aquastyle 9.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Just chillin under the leaf.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

*Dudebro's Tank - Realismo Mágico - 10 Gal Eheim*

One of my bloodfins up and disappeared. Probably drug related.

Lots of new growth




















Really digging the fissidens 

New dwarf gouramis 
.


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

nice setup man! love that lush looking fissidens. you didn't get any algae on those too?


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

*Dudebro's Tank - Realismo Mágico - 10 Gal Eheim*

No algae problems like I used too. Less light, less dosing. Switched to DIY root tabs from eBay and use Algae Fix every few weeks when things start going sliding down hill. Usually due to a need for water change and cleaning.

Since I switched to remineralized RO water and reduced lights its all been much more stable. Trying to go lush and low maintenance.

I also added a different ground cover plant.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

*Dudebro's Tank - Realismo Mágico - 10 Gal Eheim*

Showing the different angles and also the growth of my steam plant in the back. It's starting to peak out above the driftwood.

Increased light, c02 and starting ferts again. Hoping to get my steam to grow faster and hopefully I'll be able to turn it up a notch and not get algae takeovers.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

*Dudebro's Tank - Realismo Mágico - 10 Gal Eheim*

I accidentally left my lights on over the weekend and had some sort of black algae outbreak. Luckily no fish died.

I ended up doing a large trimming to rid the algae. Shortly after the cleanup and trim I had another escapie. Down too two bloodfins now. 

I have also moved the tank to a stand up against the wall. Rescaped it. And added limo tint to the back pane.

Here are some new shots.


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## A.D.D.i.c.t. (Dec 9, 2012)

You've still got the tank, love the re-scape!


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## chrislewistx (Jun 19, 2012)

I like the new scape. It is always interesting to see how tank scapes change over time. Yours is looking nice.


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Nice cube!


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Thanks. I hope to update the first page soon with a list of photos and dates showing the progression history.

It has really changed up a lot since I started it.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

I added an Eheim 106 with some tubing from Home Depot. I really like the extra flow. I also like that I can slow the flow for feeding preventing food from getting on the bottom.

Its been two days. My water is very clear now. Very noticeable. 4x the filtration media and added carbon does the trick.

I had the valve on the unit completely open and it stirred all kinds of detritus off the bottom. I left it open to see how the fish would react and to suck out all the muck.With the extra water flow... Tetras like it, otos don't mind, dwarf gouramis seem to dislike it. Everything is peachy with the valve slowing the rate about 25 to 50 percent. 

I hung the light on the back wall and took the old filter off. 

It's all temporary for now. Moving in a month but here's a shot.


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## A.D.D.i.c.t. (Dec 9, 2012)

Nice update! I like the Fluval canisters, really easy to customize media. Looking good!

the addiction continues...


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

I should say the fluval has 4x filtration compared to stock filter on the aquastyle. In case there was confusion... The fluval is stock plus my old sponge and rough media.








Just snapped a better photo of the clear water.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Rearranged and added a rock to separate foreground plants.

Anyone ever trim micro sword? I may want to even the height soon.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Added Lily Pipes - eBay from HK.

These are the poppy outflow medium size. They reduce the flow or keep it at the surface. The hosing is smaller than the standard so i assume its less flow. My filter is now turned all the way up and it there is less current in the aquarium. A lot more surface movement though. 

So far so good.














I should prob refil the water. Lost some doing the install.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Clamp mount arrived for light. Filter light swap is complete.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

dudebro said:


> Clamp mount arrived for light. Filter light swap is complete.


Nice looking light. What was the total cost?


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

40 filter used
15 tubing
12 clamp for light delivered
40 lily pipes delivered

I think that's it.

The Aquastyle came with a filter and the light was attached as a single unit. Same light but now it's clamped properly on the tank.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Neat. I wish they sold the light separately with that clamp


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

They do. It's called a powerled. Amazon has them.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Finally! the LFS has pea puffers and now I have one. Also a single Amano shrimp.


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## snakeskin (Jul 28, 2005)

I've been following your tank's progress and I am interested in growing some Marsilea Minuta myself. Yours seems to be growing pretty slowly though... do you like it?


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

It's good. Easier to maintain than the HC I had in this tank. I have moved it around one or twice to - each time tossed a small amount out. However, it's not a fast grower and that's a good thing IMO. 

Also, my new filter had carbon in it. I just took that out the other day because it may have been soaking up the good plant nutrients slowing growth.


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## snakeskin (Jul 28, 2005)

I want to set up a low tech tank and I was thinking this would be the perfect foreground plant. I've seen it grow nice and thick and pictures and want that look. You are the first person I've seen with it in pictures so I thought I'd get your opinion.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

-1 amano
-1 pea puffer

Neither one made it. 

The puffer wouldn't eat - maybe I should have bought a fat one vs the skinny one. 

Anywho, everything else is well.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

FTS Ehiem Aquastyle


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Tank was overgrown and troubled by algae so I cleaned it out and rescaped. Flipped the wood over and added some elevation.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

New growth. Two Honey Gourami added which may be too many Gourami for this tank. Also added an ATO using an Aqualifter pump and timer to control top off and dosing. Right now it's dosing RO mixed with metricide and micros. Algae, is disappearing and tank looks healthier. Not bad at all.

When I started this tank I did not mind high maintenance and monitoring. Now I just want it to be as simple as possible. 

Added the stock equipment to clean the clutter around the tank. I have everything inside the stand now. Put a heater on since the house is cooling off.


















Will probably sell the fluval 106 filter and lily pipes soon.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Can you get a better photo of your gouramis? At least one looks really too grey/blue hued to be a honey gourami from the photos you have so far. BTW love the tiny see through but distorted tiles in the cabinet door! Make all the stuff inside look mysterious and cool ^^


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

They are pretty blue looking aren't they. I'll get some picks later today.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Here is a close up of the new Gourami's


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Had an ich outbreak. I think the new fish brought it in. One honey passed. Raising temps and adding salt. We used this water to top off our beta tank and I think the beta is ill as well so I brought him the cube for qt. 

Here's a pick:


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## tlyons01 (Nov 23, 2011)

*I know this is an old thread, but...*

Where on earth did you get the light clamp for 12$? I have looked everywhere for just the clamp and cannot find it. I already have the tank and set up, with the powerled fixture, I just need to locate that clamp

Thanks


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

I’m bringing this tank back to life! It’ll be planted with dragon stone and spider wood for the hard scape. More to come.

I just finished cleaning it out and put it on my home office desk - which is getting a lot of use these days. This tank started as a WFH desktop tank way back when. It feels good to revive it and this thread


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Hardscape is in and it’s flooded.
Fluval Stratum
Dragon stone 
Spiderwood
I used my old fluval 106 and glass lily pipes from yesteryear. 

I tested my local water and it’s as follows out of the tap. I live in San Antonio which is aquifer based. I also have carbon filter on the house so chlorine and some other things are filtered out already.

Tap Parameters
PH 7.6-7.8
Nitrate 0
Nitrate 0
Ammonia 0 
TDS 208
GH 12-13 drops or 215+ppm
KH 8 drops or 143ppm

Once the tank establishes I was thinking of doing shrimp. For that I’ll prob switch over to RODI which I have stored in the garage from an old reef tank that was taken down a while back.

Here’s a photo. The scape is not as high as I wanted but it’s a start.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Update: Officially planted today.

The hardscape took a lot of patience to make work. It was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle of not so great rock and sticks. I’m pretty happy with how it’s coming together though. Not bad for taking a low price gamble with eBay random stuff. Fingers crossed I don’t knock it all out of wack later during maintenance. 











The plants are:
Anubias Nana Petite
Ludwiga Super Red Mini
Cardinal Plant Dwarf
Corkscrew Val
Dwarf baby tears


Other updates:
- CO2 is hooked up and running. 8 bbl per 20 seconds 1hr before with lights. The co2 is controlled on a zigbee plug-outlet through smart things. I have another plug (two pack) that I’ll use for ATO+Ferts later on. 

- cycle is going. I added some api quick start today. ammonia is 5ppm

- general water params are looking good for neocardinia. I’ll be adding those once the plants grab hold and the tank finds an equilibrium in general. 

- I have two more plants coming in the mail. Another shot coming soon. 


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

3 week update:

algae is growing now, couple dif kinds, I have been adjusting lights to compensate, Hoping to have a moderate amount for shrimp additions, hopefully it will be manageable
I trimmed the plants in the back
lots of plant melt from shipping likely, new growth is looking just fine
I tested Nilocg S and I get about 1ppm nitrates per pump. I discovers this by pumping till I saw the nitrate test raise up. I probably over dosed nutrients in the test (maybe spiking the algae) so I did a big water change to reset the water.
I started using api quick start bacteria and dr Tim’s ammonia to kick start the cycle. Nitrites have been 0 since the first week and ammonia has been .25 - I dosed about 5ppm today
the fluval nano light is awesome- I run a cool sunset and eve dim cycle on the lights. Photo below.



























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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Nitrites finally spiked the other day after dosing ammonia. 

I did a trim, clean, and a little water change to try and reduce some algae and get more light on the vals. 











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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Shrimp added yesterday. I found a local seller for 2 high grade blue bolts and 8 mosuras. 

Algae is still Mheh. But not getting worse. 

HCCuba may not make it but it was a try. I’m pulling co2 off so I don’t have high expectations for. It wasn’t growing well with co2. May just pull it out later and stay lower light/tech. 




















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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Put some Amano shrimp in and the diatoms and algae are no longer an issue. Also allowed me to turn lights on longer and brighter to ensure some algae as is still growing for the shrimp amd to enjoy tank more.

Dosing thrive and about to start dosing potassium as I’m seeing some related issues with leaves and small holes. 

Photos:


















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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

3 month update today:

-All the females appear to be berried. I counted 4 females.  Males have been super active the last few weeks 

-TDS is 170, doing a small water change today. First water change since adding the shrimp. I am dripping the new water in. 

-I’m starting to feed a little less since I’m seeing a bunch of detritus worms. I was feeding extra to encourage breeding. I don’t know if I was too much but the worms are pretty high and there is still a green film on all the rocks. I’ll crank up the baby food when the newborns appear. 

-Added a catappa Indian almond leaf 












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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

I like the hardscape layout. Too bad the plants are not looking too good. Try leaving the dwarf baby tears for a bit longer to see if they come back. I have grown them very well only using Seachem Excell. But you might be lacking something else. Some of the plants show nutrient deficiencies or something. How many hours are the lights on for? I would do twice a week water changes until tank stabilizes. Those shrimps look very pretty.


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes I do have a deficiency with the plants. The primary one is nitrate. I bought some nitrate from Seachem but I’m pretty sure it has some kind of ammonia type source that is harmful to the shrimp. It’s on the shelf for now. 

I am dosing thrive s 4-5 days a week. I started adding seachem potassium about a week or so ago. I have pin holes and decay on leaves. I’ll see how that changes the new growth. 

Raising shrimp is the tank purpose so I will not be doing excess water changes and I’ll be taking small steps with dosing. If the potassium doesn’t cure the deficiency I’ll prob move to a dry ferts pack and find a better nitrate source. 


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Notice the tiny baby in the photo. 

I counted over 30 babies once and I can usually spot about 20 on any given day. Pretty exciting to see so many. 

The plants are still pretty mheh. Im losing leaves and seeing a new black spot on my anubias. I’m certain my current dosing regimen is not right. Now that I know breeding isn’t super hard im going to put more focus on the plants. 

I purchased some fertilizer tabs as an attempt to support more healthy growth- perhaps it’ll feed the roots vs the water column and algae. 

Also the babies are here and appear happy so I’ll prob do a water change soon. 


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Black brush algae started up. CO2 is back on and in low amounts. Plants are perking up but it’s still not quite balanced. 


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## dudebro (Aug 23, 2012)

Feeding time. The whole gang came out. Since adding the root tabs, things are looking much better. 


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