# if pics are a thousand words....(2.5 pico) *PIC INTENSIVE*



## gBOYsc2

Great nano dude! How long did it take for your UG to fill in? Care to post some tank specs?

I think the downoi could be suffering from nutrient deficiency. Mine started to pale a little bit when I under fertilized one week.


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## thewife

NICE carpet! I'd also like to know how long it took to fill in like that.


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## amphirion

@gBOYsc2: yeah sure
the UG took almost a year to fill out---it would have been sooner but i neglected it at times and that caused a massive reduction in biomass. it took a while for sections of the tank to get up and running again.

2.5 gallons
12" x 7" x 8"
rapid mini canister filter

lighting: 36 W (10000K/6700K) 8 hrs

flora:
Utricularia graminifolia,
Downoi
Mini Pelia
Anubias nana 'petite'
Rotala macrandra japan red 

fauna:
Boraras brigittae (x10)
Celestial danios (x3)
Corydoras pygmaeus (x10)
Blue bee shrimp ---they kinda disappeared, find them from time to time, but secretive
Olive nerites....

Fertilization:
CO2 DIY
Iron: 1.5 mL every other day (give or take)
i should be more diligent with my fert routine....


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## jeff721

Beautiful tank. Really stunning to look at the finished product.


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## EntoCraig

Stunning


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## chumblaka

Impressive, where did you get that small tank, the rocks and the wood, I can't find rocks for my tanks for cheap, lol.

Really nice tank though, it looks way bigger than 2.5 gallons.


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## amphirion

small tank i purchased from a LFS---im beginning to find them in other fish stores around the bay area as well...
the rocks were actually found on a beach hiking trip....did the whole boil and acid test to prep them for the tank.
the wood was found on ebay---yeah it was a pain, but i ended up getting what i wanted... 

thanks everyone for the kind comments---i'll start trace fertilizing when i get home!


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## EntoCraig

Edit: ^ that.


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## Dollface

That last shot is gorgeous. How long did you dry start the UG for, and how'd it fare when you first filled the tank, did you get any melt off?


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## BradC

Great looking tank! Great job


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## amphirion

Dollface said:


> That last shot is gorgeous. How long did you dry start the UG for, and how'd it fare when you first filled the tank, did you get any melt off?


thanks a lot Dollface, im proud to say, it's thanks to you! i dry started the UG for about 6 months---i actually didnt get any massive melt offs....i suspect it is actually because UG doesnt like eutrophication...it did enjoy a healthy/ODing dose of CO2 as a substitute instead (no fauna in the tank---at least the ones that really mattered yet) high lighting seems to be a determining factor as well.

however, i did have multiple times where i was trying to harden it (ie: reduce humidity) and it definitely didnt like that---because of the slope it was hard getting even growth since the higher areas were less humid than the lower areas, or the fact that it tried to insist on growing horizontally instead of vertically, so i had periods of massive die offs.


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## lauraleellbp

Beautiful tank!

What brand is the tank, out of curiousity?


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## Dollface

amphirion said:


> thanks a lot Dollface, im proud to say, it's thanks to you! i dry started the UG for about 6 months---i actually didnt get any massive melt offs....i suspect it is actually because UG doesnt like eutrophication...it did enjoy a healthy/ODing dose of CO2 as a substitute instead (no fauna in the tank---at least the ones that really mattered yet) high lighting seems to be a determining factor as well.
> 
> however, i did have multiple times where i was trying to harden it (ie: reduce humidity) and it definitely didnt like that---because of the slope it was hard getting even growth since the higher areas were less humid than the lower areas, or the fact that it tried to insist on growing horizontally instead of vertically, so i had periods of massive die offs.


Thanks for the input. I'm glad you had such success with the UG


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## amphirion

lauraleellbp said:


> Beautiful tank!
> 
> What brand is the tank, out of curiousity?


some obscure chinese brand out of hong kong---memory's fuzzy but i think it was called aqua nursery or aqua babies....something aqua having to do with babies....sorry i cant be of more help.


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## IntrepidAquarist

Since Utricularia graminifolia is carnivorous could it have eaten your shrimp? Or would they only be big enough to eat the baby shrimp?


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## amphirion

While UG is indeed carnivorous, the bladders arent large enough to catch shrimplets...they're better at catching microscopic inverts like nematodes and infusoria. Also to boot, the carnivorous structures for the most part stay subterrestrial, so the likely hood of the plant catching shrimplets or fish fry for that matter are very slim. There are true aquatic Utricularia, such as gibba, that do create floating/drifting traps which are more likely to capture those kinds of organisms. good question


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## Hadouken441

This. Is incredible looking. Good job for sure. If you didnt do a far away shot, it would look like a much bigger tank


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## neumahrs

Wow it totally looks bigger than 2.5 gallons, awesome work!


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## amphirion

thanks very much for the kind comments! will post some close ups soon!


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## sampster5000

Great looking tank. Lots of fauna for a 2.5 gallon! May I ask where you found the light fixture and bulbs to fit this tank?


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## forrestp38829

I love how the scape really plays with your mind, with regard to size, perspective.
Great tank.


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## MissGreen08

I agree with others, this tank looks so much bigger than 2.5 gallons. Nicely done!


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## Da Plant Man

I have one remark and one question.

Remark: I love job you did 'scaping it! Looks big!

Question: Why is the drop checker clear?


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## amphirion

thanks everyone! yes, the whole plan was to create a "big" scape within a small tank---what helps create the scale are the plants being used. small plants with small leaves, small pieces of driftwood that are intricately branched all help create the illusion that the tank is huge. small critters also help!

@sampster: the lighting was a hand me down from a friend. it's from Catalina Aquariums.
@caton: maybe not enough solution? but im pretty sure the reason why it appears clear is because the indicator's telling me that there's too much CO2....the fish dont look stressed out and since it's DIY, im not too worried about it.


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## sampster5000

Thank you for the source of the light! I'm seeing things I've never seen before here and this is helping a ton.


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## amphirion

here are a few more artsy fartsy pics messing around with perspective with a point and click---yeah i know quality sucks...if only i had a better camera  please enjoy 
it's a jungle in here!
































a suitor in breeding garb (and you can see algae if you look hard enough XD)

















the soil here was no more than a QUARTER INCH THICK!








i suspect high lighting is what is keeping the UG from floating.


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## EntoCraig

Love it roud:


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## amphirion

thanks! the UG lawn needs a haircut soon...teeheehee


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## JoraaÑ

Downoi is pale which means you need to up your Fe dosing. can be done with water colony or with root tab. Downoi is Iron hog.


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## amphirion

@joraan: thanks very much for that tidbit---i've recently increased the iron dosing, about a week or two ago---hopefully the changes will happen fast. appreciate helping me get my downoi to tip top condition again. im sure the anubias could appreciate the iron dosing as well.


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## ZooTycoonMaster

Wow. This tank is amazing! One of my favorite nanos


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## jake1337

Great tank. Jaw droping. :biggrin:


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## sampster5000

I love the pygmy's and the CPD's!


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## Karackle

Wow this tank is gorgeous! It looks MUCH bigger than 2.5g too the way you've scaped it! Well done! If I didn't know from personal experience how big B. brigittae are for size comparison, I'd swear they were 3inch fish in a huge tank! :hihi: love this! roud:


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## Dollface

Hey Amphirion, I've gotten a couple of questions about what the submersed form looks like, would you mind if I used some of your photos as examples, possibly in my sales thread? With full credit of course.


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## home grown

WOW. 

btw what substrate are you using?


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## amphirion

Dollface said:


> Hey Amphirion, I've gotten a couple of questions about what the submersed form looks like, would you mind if I used some of your photos as examples, possibly in my sales thread? With full credit of course.


fo sho!



home grown said:


> WOW.
> 
> btw what substrate are you using?


i am using florabase for this setup.

thanks everyone for the kind comments. much appreciated!


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## Kibblemania1414

what carpet is that? i would like to get some of those plants


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## amphirion

@kibble: it's Utricularia graminifolia (UG) and Dollface is selling it.


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## Dollface

amphirion said:


> fo sho!


Awesome, thanks


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## schg

This tank is so sweet, really inspiring. Are those celestial pearls in some of the pictures?


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## amphirion

schg said:


> This tank is so sweet, really inspiring. Are those celestial pearls in some of the pictures?


yup  only 3 though...


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## ADA

Utterly, utterly beautiful! Wow... I have a 1.9 and a 2.9 and was pretty disheartened, from so many ppl saying that smaller tanks like these are MUCH harder to keep the water stable enough (which I'm sure it is), but feel much better after seeing this!.. wow. 
Can you give me any advice, I have had a lot of shrimp die one me... my tanks are only about 3 months old though, so the plants are not super thick or bushy yet.. does it get easier once the plants grow in a lot?

I have a 12W light on my 1.9 (Coralife Mini T5), and am running a Zoomed 501, but no Co2. The plants seem to be growing well, albeit very slowly, so I'm not sure if I want to add is or not. I have marsillea (a couple of different species) some mini swords, Belem grass, HC and Hydrocotyle Sibthorpioides in there.

My 2.9 has a 27W Archea clip-on light, Zoomed 501 and the same plant list, as well as a large piece of driftwood and some mosses (Oh, and a couple of different Rotala species)
I have pressurized Co2 on that one, at about 0.5bps, and I try to keep the Co2 at 30ppm.

I do a water change and dose both tanks twice a week with Yamato Green-N

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!!!


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## amphirion

Thanks ADA, i'll try to give as much advice as i possibly can...
yes, plant biomass takes a while to start, but once when it does, it grows at an exponential rate and will fill out your tank in no time.
from what i can tell, many of the plants in this tank are very low maintenance in the following areas:


UG: no nutrient dosing, or negligent dosing (does not draw nutrients from the substrate)
but requires High lighting and High CO2.
Mini Pelia: versatile plant, undemanding in terms of lighting, nutrients and CO2.
Downoi: probably the most demanding plant in this setup: high Fe needed
Anubias Nana Petite: low light plant, but needs adequate Fe.
Rotala macrandra japan 'red': moderate lighting.

I hope you can see that the plants here are balanced pretty well. Anubias nana, and pelia obtain nutrients from the water column. UG takes nutrients from microscopic organisms, and Downoi and Rotala take from the substrate and water column. None of the plants are forced to out compete each other for nutrients. I believe this is one the possible reasons why they are able to do so well.

I have high lighting...im using a 36 W (10,000K/6700K) which roughly translates to 14.4 wpg---very high light indeed. i will admit that the mini pelia and the anubias dont like high lighting as much as the other plants.

My CO2 system is DIY yeast reactor, and i use a drop checker to check CO2 saturation levels...beyond that, i cant tell you much.

Water changes must be done weekly to avoid nitrate buildup which algae exploits.

That's really all i can tell you, i hope it helps.


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## ADA

Thanks, that's great info and very encouraging. An excellent point is what you said about the balance of plants, and even plant placement, so that none are forced to compete. I never thought of that.

I forgot to say, I have mini pellia too.. it's a beautiful little plant.

Also (pls excuse the off topic question), but I have something that I believe may be related to the Downoi. It's called Eriocaulon Sp. Australia Blood Red.
I got this plant only a few weeks ago, and it seems to be deteriorating. It still looks alive and none of the leaves (more like tiny grass than leaves) have actually rotted or fallen away, but it just looks sick, and has lost some of it's red and green coloring. It's quite a rare plant as far as I know, but I think it has similar requirements to the Downoi. So, when you say your Downoi requires high Fe, do you mean regular, or actually a high dose? I wonder if I should increase my Yamato Green-N dose, and maybe do it 3 times a week instead of 2.. I also was thinking of using some Osmocote Plus, (just use tweezers and insert some of the tiny balls into the substrate near the roots)

What do you think?

Thanks again!


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## amphirion

hey ADA, i cant really say much about Downoi. If you read the bottom of my first post, you might have noticed that i said my Downoi looked very different than the usual, and Joraan pointed out that it was due to low iron levels. I have since started a high dosing, regular regiment of Fe every other day. The Downoi has been in the tank for a while without the iron for a while--so i suspect it was able to manage because of the CO2 and light. Hopefully it will grow the way how it's supposed to in the near future.


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## ADA

amphirion said:


> hey ADA, i cant really say much about Downoi. If you read the bottom of my first post, you might have noticed that i said my Downoi looked very different than the usual, and Joraan pointed out that it was due to low iron levels. I have since started a high dosing, regular regiment of Fe every other day. The Downoi has been in the tank for a while without the iron for a while--so i suspect it was able to manage because of the CO2 and light. Hopefully it will grow the way how it's supposed to in the near future.


Thanks again for your quick replies and advice.
Good luck with the Downoi.. that's a really beautiful plant. I will post later in a new thread about my sick plant.. hopefully someone out there has some experience with these.

I'll be following this thread.. looking forward to updates from you here, again, well done with this tank. Everything about it is fantastic! Hardscape included.


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## sejoy

First of all, your tank is stunning. I'm envious of pretty much everything about it, especially the CPDs. I agree with karackle, it looks way bigger than 2.5g.
I know it's been a while, but if you update this in the future would you mind elaborating on your lighting and DIY CO2 setup?


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## amphirion

wow...it's been a while...decided to do something different, but yet familiar...i like the concept of overhangs, so i wanted to try something along that line...

@sejoy: sorry, i havent looked at this thread in a while, lighting is very high... i use a 32 watt lamp so thats roughly 16-17 watts/gallon? DIY CO2 set up consists of 2 yeast reactors (gatorade bottles) that are alternately switched to ensure a steady supply of CO2. as one reactor peters out, the other one revs up.

here's an update if anyone is interested:


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## gnod

damn i just had to double check your title. that does NOT look like a 2.5G tank. very nicely done!


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## amphirion

@gnod: thanks. the main trick is in the details....if you have small detailed twigs, branches, and rocks---they will help make the tank look much larger. personally, i would avoid rocks that do not have any cracks, chips, strata, as they give more of a sense of newness and no age.


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## inka4041

Gorgeous! It's got an awesome windswept look to it.


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## amphirion

@inka: thanks very much! i was trying to go for that effect. also, your gobies are gorgeous!


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## gnod

where'd you get those little detailed branches?


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## amphirion

@gnod: i found them through a vendor, http://www.thedriftwoodstore.com/
you might have to personally contact them and custom request your order---but they're really good with communication so you'd be able to find what you're looking for.

i ordered about 3 of these branches and broke them into smaller pieces.


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## Dollface

Man, I used to have a metric ton of spindly manzanita branches like those that I couldn't even give away. They're really handy for <5 gallon tanks though.

I'm sad to see the UG go, but this looks like it'll be just as spectacular.


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## amphirion

@dollface: sad isnt it? people just dont know what they're missing out on.


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## inka4041

amphirion said:


> @inka: thanks very much! i was trying to go for that effect. also, your gobies are gorgeous!


Thank you! I really love the shoreline look too. Seems almost a shame that it'll eventually be flooded. This would be an awesome scape for skips or some amphibious creatures, if it were on a way larger scale. Any ideas on stocking?


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## ItsDubC

Great scapes!

Just curious about the previous iteration of this tank. 10x C. pygmaeus, 10x B. brigittae, and 3x CPDs seems like a HUGE stocking level for a 2.5g. Assuming you didn't add all of these guys at once, at what rate did you introduce them to your tank?


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## amphirion

@inka: yes...hahaha. if i had such a device that could transform a 2.5 gallon into a 75 gallon, that would have been the perfect setup for mudskippers....never had them before, but beautiful beautiful fish---especially when they're displaying! as for stocking, i have no idea yet. i kinda want to try some new fauna but not many fish are capable of living inside a 2.5 gallon tank comfortably, and even fewer that can school in a 2.5 gallon tank. i could just make it a shrimp only tank...

@ItsDubC: thanks very much. yes--you are correct, i did not add these fish in all at once. the brigittae were first to arrive at the scene, then the corries, then the cpds. the time between the brigittae and corries was much shorter than adding in the CPDs because of the relatively light biomass of the brigittae--almost comparable to shrimp. the corries are much heavier in biomass and so the tank needed to settle down before the last introduction.


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## Heartnet

Good job with your journal. Thats a stunning carpet of UG. It never gets old when executed superbly like that. 

You mentiond starting with a low biomass of UG and then it exploded exponentially filling in over the course of a year. So did you start with a handful of UG plugs or enough to give it a good spread in the beginning?


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## amphirion

@heartnet: thanks very much. i believe i obtained a 2"x4" mat of UG. i divided that into eight 1x1" plugs and planted them through out the tank. they started taking off on their own.


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## speedie408

Not sure how I missed your journal but just stopping by to say hi to a fellow local and to tell you you've got a great eye for scaping. Keep up the good work! Are you a SFBAAPS member?


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## amphirion

@speedie: thanks very much for your compliments. yes i am a member of SFBAAPS...i havent gone to a meeting yet though, can never figure out when the times are. havent made any worth while posts there either...i guess i should put up this project over there.

this hobby is too expensive, and when you combine this hobby with miniature orchid species, and rare carnivorous plants---the wallet gets spread a little thin.  that being said, im trying to get into the planted tank mojo again.


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## ItsDubC

Thx for the info, amphirion. Again, awesome tanks!

Whenever I feel like I'm spending too much on planted tanks, I just go to my brother's place to remind myself how much *more* expensive his reef hobby is


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## inka4041

If I could suggest a fish, it'd be congopanchax brichardi or pseudomugil gertrudae.


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## amphirion

@ItsDubC: yes....the dark side... hahaha
@inka4041: those are great suggestions! i forgot about congopanchax brichardi---i'll need to try and hunt some of those down and do some research. pseudomugils would be nice too, but i would try to find the Aru II types instead of the typicals....both are hard to find unfortunately.


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## inka4041

Frank had an issue with his last batch of brichardi, but is planning to bring in more. Another cool pseudomugil is the new 'neon red.'


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## amphirion

ok....some updated pics...added some more sticks, tried re-positioning anubias...what a nightmare....
any hints as to how to keep these plants down and prevent them from floating?


























a warmer overall shot









hopefully tank will be done by monday....


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## amphirion

alright, a significant update....
final plants used in the project didnt arrive until thursday, and i ran off to AZ for the weekend so, the tank looks rather shabby. but it's recovering since i threw a nerite into the tank.

on to pics: 
egleria fluctuans adjusting to new tank perimeters. kinda sad that older leaves are dead, but at least new ones are taking its place.

















downoi...looking nice and green. 









fissidens showing new growth as well...









overall shot:









i have a question...im getting an accumulation of BGA in certain corners of the tank which i cant do anything about because the tank is so small. is there anything i can do to control it that can be defined as a long term solution? how are your impressions with Phyton GIT? considering it.


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## Dollface

amphirion said:


> alright, a significant update....
> final plants used in the project didnt arrive until thursday, and i ran off to AZ for the weekend so, the tank looks rather shabby. but it's recovering since i threw a nerite into the tank.
> 
> i have a question...im getting an accumulation of BGA in certain corners of the tank which i cant do anything about because the tank is so small. is there anything i can do to control it that can be defined as a long term solution? how are your impressions with Phyton GIT? considering it.


iirc it's Bacter 100 sprinkled directly on that's used to deal with cyano/BGA, while Phyton Git (Man, I've been thinking it was spelled python all this time) is used for BBA on anubias leaves. You may try manual removal first, sucking it out with an airline tubing.


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## speedie408

A full regimen of Erythromycin will cure your BGA woes.

Also I noticed there seems to be a good amount of fish poo collecting on your substrate. You may need more flow/filtration to get that stuff into your filter. Otherwise, you just have to try your best to vac that stuff up without disturbing the substrate during your water changes. We all know too much bioload without enough plants to soak up the nutrients will def cause algae outbreaks.


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## amphirion

Dollface said:


> iirc it's Bacter 100 sprinkled directly on that's used to deal with cyano/BGA, while Phyton Git (Man, I've been thinking it was spelled python all this time) is used for BBA on anubias leaves. You may try manual removal first, sucking it out with an airline tubing.


ah. thanks, will try the airline tubing technique first during my next water change...and use the bacter 100 after maybe...trying to explore my options.



speedie408 said:


> A full regimen of Erythromycin will cure your BGA woes.
> 
> Also I noticed there seems to be a good amount of fish poo collecting on your substrate. You may need more flow/filtration to get that stuff into your filter. Otherwise, you just have to try your best to vac that stuff up without disturbing the substrate during your water changes. We all know too much bioload without enough plants to soak up the nutrients will def cause algae outbreaks.


where could i purchase this antibiotic? is it the same as myracin? hahaha. that's not fish poo....or is it? there are no fish in the tank. could be snail poo though.


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## speedie408

This is what I use:









and yup, Mardel Maracyn also works too.


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## amphirion

speedie408 said:


> This is what I use:
> and yup, Mardel Maracyn also works too.


muchos gracias sir.


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## speedie408

amphirion said:


> muchos gracias sir.


De nada.


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## amphirion

finally got around to treating the bga. damage was done, eglaria still making new growth but got slimed over and clumped in the process  im about half way through treatment....wish me luck.


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## mluk27

Looking good Jon, regardless of the bga! It should be a stunning tank when stuff starts growing in!


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## sejoy

So glad you started up this tank again, I'm sure this one will be just as beautiful as the first. hands down my favorite thread on the site.


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## maxwellag

Your tank looks great! What is that plant that looks like grass in the front?


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## ADA

maxwellag said:


> Your tank looks great! What is that plant that looks like grass in the front?


I can answer that for you.. It's called Utricularia graminifolia aka. "UG".

It's a carnivorous species which feeds on small lifeforms in the water column by trapping them in it's little trappy things.. haha. No idea what they're called. Mouths? Hands?


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## FlyingGiraffes

ADA said:


> I can answer that for you.. It's called Utricularia graminifolia aka. "UG".
> 
> It's a carnivorous species which feeds on small lifeforms in the water column by trapping them in it's little trappy things.. haha. No idea what they're called. Mouths? Hands?


Bladders.


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## ADA

FlyingGiraffes said:


> Bladders.


Hahahah There you go. Bladders. Thank you.


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## talontsiawd

amphirion said:


> some obscure chinese brand out of hong kong---memory's fuzzy but i think it was called aqua nursery or aqua babies....something aqua having to do with babies....sorry i cant be of more help.


Did you get that at Albany Aquarium by any chance? I haven't been there in a while but I remember they had these tanks in 3 or 4 different sizes.


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## Geniusdudekiran

What kind of Cories are those?


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## maxwellag

Geniusdudekiran said:


> What kind of Cories are those?


Pygmy cories (corydoras pygmaeus)


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## @[email protected]

if it werent for the equipment (drop checker, CO2 diffuser, intake, etc) to show me the scale of the tank, id think it were MUCH larger. like 20 gallons or so.
you did an AWESOME job with this tank.


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## amphirion

hi all...it's been a while since i've been around. sorry for letting this thread die, and leaving questions unanswered, but i think you guys have done fine without me  and i've come back to resurrect it!

@talontsiawd: never heard of albany aquarium. i guess that means another road trip!

getting to the down and dirty, the tank has been running on minimal demands. recently dropped a few iron tabs into the downoi region and can see notable green coloration almost immediately.  my CO2 paintball canister ended up with a broken valve, and i never got around to replacing it, devastating the eglaria . the downoi seems to not mind about the absence of CO2 supplementation as long as it gets its high lighting and iron fix. not to mention im getting a lot of dirt debris (dont really know what to call it) settling all over the tank, leaves, rocks, especially after a water change. i try vacuuming it but it seems to magically reproduce--which is a special type of frustration as vacuuming could be easy accidentally destroy the hardscape if i was careless.

anywho, thanks for listening to me complain a bit. here's an update as a thanks.


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## Green_Flash

wow great work, it looks like a wild river bottom/edge.


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## amphirion

thanks. i was trying to go somewhere between that and an alpine landscape, you know where the trees will only grow towards a certain level because it's too cold above it? i wish the tank was a bit longer--it could use more negative space.


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## jkan0228

Is that downoi in the back?


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## amphirion

yes it is.


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## andrewss

I really like this scape, usually you don't see driftwood sandwiched in rock like that... I think you made it look great


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## CryptKeeper54

Nice tank. Great sense of scale. Those branches look delicate. Must be a pain to scape and clean without breaking them.


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## amphirion

@andrewss: thanks very much!
@cryptkeeper54: oh yes. very tedious to clean. i've broken quite a few sticks... T.T

here's a close up of the downoi, i knew that downoi was an iron hog, but i didnt know the extent. what are you seeing is a week's difference between placing the iron tabs.


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## DTDPlanted

Amazing what 6 months or so will do! Scape is looking uh-mazing! As for scaping ideas. Ive recently become very fond of endler livebearers . Great color, not very well known in the trade yet, would be a good addition I think! just dont get any females unless you want a breeding fest! Some RCS might add some nice algae control/color!


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## Amandas tank

You did a beautiful job designing your hardscape, especially in such a small space!


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## NWA-Planted

Thats an awesome looking tank! Thank you for making me realize how pitiful my scaping skills are ;-)

Sent from a dark corner in my happy place


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## amphirion

@DTDPlanted: thanks for the suggestion on the endlers, but actually I had something else in mind. there's a genus of recently discovered fish from the Characin family called Tyttocharax, that max out at 2 cm. I am in process of obtaining a small school of 12--being tetras and their upturned gapping mouths suggesting that they are fin nippers, they will probably be the only fish swimming in the water column. https://www.google.com/search?q=tyt...A&biw=1366&bih=610&sei=2jKdUL30EILJigLI7oDADw

@amanda: thanks very much--that's the best thing with nano tanks... you can get the most bang for your buck! like i said, the trick is in the details. lots of details will make the tank look bigger than it seems. 

@nwa-planted: awwwwww.... i hope you mean that i've inspired you.  we've all got to start from somewhere right? money helps. hahahahah. here was my first planted tank:


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## Amandas tank

Your welcome  I have one large tank and plan to also have a small one in a few years simply because it looks like a ton of fun to scape one of these little buggers! I love details


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## amphirion

@amanda: it is a ton of fun, but it is also challenging at times. but it's those challenges that make the end results worth it! get ready to use lots a bent tweezers and forceps...maybe a bamboo skewer or two!


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## oliver77

awesome tank... doesn't look that small in pics.


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## bluestems

Wow, you're an amazing aquascaper! I love both of the scapes you created and the plants are looking so healthy. Good job!


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## amphirion

@oliver and bluestems: thanks very much for the kind remarks. i try.  should be updating this thread about midweek when i get the nanofish in!


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## LyzzaRyzz

Looks great! I wish I had your skills! 
I'm getting better, I think. Lol
My nano tanks look horrible next to yours!


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## amphirion

in time Lyzza! in time! the guys here give plenty of inspiration and knowledge.


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## NWA-Planted

Yes i am impressed!  and money does always help!! Lol

Thankfully when this hobby gets me down my wine making hobby makes me...... Uh.. What was i saying??? [:

Sent from a dark corner in my happy place


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## LyzzaRyzz

Money always helps..I'm ordering ninety dollars worth of plants and fifty worth of shrimps and my boyfriend thinks I'm nuts...I say, let me be an aqua gardener..it's what makes me happy!


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## amphirion

LyzzaRyzz said:


> Money always helps..I'm ordering ninety dollars worth of plants and fifty worth of shrimps and my boyfriend thinks I'm nuts...I say, let me be an aqua gardener..it's what makes me happy!


whoa...nice! lolz. i purchased a buce when they were relatively new to the hobby. 1 plant. 80 dollars. hahahahaha. i mean, sobsobsobsobsob.....

*UPDATE*
i received a stem of Hygrophila pinnatifida in the mail today. planted it in the back area of tank, between the Downoi and A. nana 'petite'. was hoping to add some sort of dark and vibrant texture to the tank. i know that H. pinnatifida grows relatively large, but it can be encouraged to be compact under high growth. hoping to see if it compliments the downoi and branches well. we shall see....


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## amphirion

lolz....so can you say "overstocked"?

i've always been one for pushing the envelope, but this one might be a tad bit too much, even for me. hahahaha.

so tyttocharax......what to say....
they could definitely be a nano fish, but will need something like 5 gallons or higher. the largest of them is about 1" and .5" deep--and they are very VERY tight schoolers. some are deep bodied like lemon tetras while others are more streamlined like a neon tetra. i suspect this is a sexual dimorphism. very incorrigible fin nippers, especially amongst themselves, so large numbers may be necessary... feeding is entertaining...they enter some sort of swarm, piranha pack mentality, and will easily dominate more timid species...

i would like to remove them from the tank, but the tank wont let me do that (darn twigs). perhaps maybe when i do a water change soon. heh, maybe they might grow on me...some of them are starting to show some red coloration on the fins.


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## LyzzaRyzz

Are those pristellas? What size tank is that?
I had some in a five gal, but they just sat there. I put them in my 45, now their active as can be!


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## amphirion

@lyzza: lolz. they're called Tyttocharax. these ones specifically have not received a species designation yet and are just known as T. ssp. blue line. i will probably be moving them to a bigger tank as their bioload is making a significant contribution to the tank (getting algae growing on the tank glass)

the tank is still the same. 2.5 gallons


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## dtang21

Nice tanks! I noticed you were from the Bay Area. Are you using SJ tap water by any chance for your tanks? I'm trying to grow UG and unfortunately growth has been stagnant for almost 2 months now. I suspect that it might be the hardness of the water. Got any helpful tips to share?


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## amphirion

unfortunately, im not from SJ. im more peninsula, so i get the hetch hetchy water supply. stuff is sweet. UG seems to do much better when grown emersed. i strongly suggest growing it emersed first then flooding it. it does not like nitrogen enrichment, and doing so will melt your plants. CO2 supplimentation is great, but not necessary. High lighting is obligatory as it will prevent your plant from growing lanky and detaching from the substrate.
it prefers soft, acidic water to do well.


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## amphirion

here's an in progress photo for those interested...will probably be a while before i upload another one, since growth is pretty slow. im horrible at capturing decent shots of my fish, so it'll be a while before i do that.


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## ADA

So amazing. I love this tank, you've really made it amazing


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## amphirion

thanks a lot. i do appreciate it. despite it being a relatively low-maintenance tank, a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this tank. quite a few broken sticks unfortunately, so the tank is not as intricate in detail in comparison to at first. that being said, i am really happy with it. probably my best work yet.

now i got to deal with the amanos....the amanos like to hide in the cave AND dig, which causes all of the soil hidden back there to fall out.


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## ADA

amphirion said:


> thanks a lot. i do appreciate it. despite it being a relatively low-maintenance tank, a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this tank. quite a few broken sticks unfortunately, so the tank is not as intricate in detail in comparison to at first. that being said, i am really happy with it. probably my best work yet.
> 
> now i got to deal with the amanos....the amanos like to hide in the cave AND dig, which causes all of the soil hidden back there to fall out.


Yeah, sometimes I have found that the low maintenance tanks that are designed well end up looking the best of all. There's no maintenance in nature! That's what I love about your tank.. it looks like a slice of natural, untouched nature. Beautiful.


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## acejohn

Nice!


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## rainbuilder

Wow, this is awesome!


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## amphirion

thanks so much for the kind compliments...
i wanted to share with you guys some more details of the tank--artsyfartsy shots.

hygrophilla pinnatifida closeup-









the boraras merah acclimated rather well, save for 4 that decided to commit suicide...
2 of them seem to be more vibrant than the others. i tried to tweak the photo colors so that they would match that of real life.









as always, thanks for taking a look!


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## fishcrazee

I love looking at your nano, it's been an inspiration to me. I wish I had the same aquascaping eye you had but I'll learn slowly I hope. Do you have any recommendations on stocking since you tend to push the status quo limit on stocking.


P.S. any updates?


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## dj2005

Beautiful scape.


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## Buu

Is this tank still running?


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