# My fish den and other house projects



## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I'm starting a new journal to chronicle my next stage in fish keeping. Purchased a house in feb and had my daughter 5/5/15. Its been a busy year, I neglected the tanks a bit during this time. Tore down my 29g and moved all my equipment to the 55g. High light co2, soon to be replaced with a 90g. My house came with a nice back yard perk that I've been cleaning up for the last month. My old journal is linked in my signature.

My new fish den













































Back yard perk



























big things coming, I would subscribe 

I do encourage participation, if you have questions or a comment, please feel free. 

The next post will get into more detail of what went on during the last few months.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

WOW that backyard is really really nice!


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

A glimpse of my morning coffee.

https://youtu.be/mjdKHugYSLA


Its up and running, I have addressed 90% of the leaks I have found. Its holding water and I think what water I do loose is from the waterfall, stream bed, and to many plants wicking water. I need to move the rocks along the stream bed and lift the liner up to keep the water in the stream. Exploring ideas to build up the ground under the liner that will hold. Getting closer. Another weekend of work.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I'm in for the 90g! I like the pond in the back you have going on.

Heads up on the whole daughter thing, if this is your first, it gets awesome! My daughter is just over a year old and she loves to watch my fish in the tank. 

Back on fish tanks. If you don't know what to do with the 55g, you could make it a sump like I did haha.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

The pond has a second waterfall, but I believe it had a leak or there is a clog causing the water to pool and overflow the liner. I just spent about an hour fixing the river rock erosion, pulled them out from the middle to build the bank back up. I have a faster moving stream. Still a few parts to pull away. I'm just looking at it as a big fish tank lol.

Not sure on the 55g. I have up to 4 canister filters to run on the 90g if it needs it. Might turn it into an outdoor grow tank under the patio. If I open the curtains I, I can see the tanks and pond together. 

When I upgrade to the 90g, the bolivian rams will be split into 2 rubber maids. Temp homes until the tank cycles.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Every time I see someone with rams, it really makes me want them! I may have to add a pair to my potential stocking in my 75g.


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## kimchilee (Mar 2, 2015)

aww, can i build a little house right next to your pond? i can live there forever! so nice!


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## bpb (Mar 8, 2011)

That's an especially colorful bolivian. Very nice! Makes me want to snatch up a few. Following along. Nice pond out back. Jealous. Put some live bearers/mosquitofish in there? 

Congrats on the new baby. I'm right there with you. That's the best way to take a break from your tanks. Almost no choice but to!


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Having a daughter has been great. Love this kid. Having so much fun with her.

I have 6 very colorful bolivians in the 55g. I think they are all males though. The 10g may get a pair of breeding blue rams or a colony of shrinp. Have not decided. I'm not sure the pond will get fish this year. It wasn't very well maintained prior to our purchase. Just needs. Little tlc and thinning of plants. I have a lilac bush and my entire rear treeline is honeysuckle trees. 1 red maple, 1 silver maple, 2 elms, 2 walnuts, 1 river birch and 3 Bradford pears on the property.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Last night we got hit with a boat load of rain. Major floods in the area. Last night I learned I need to turn the pond off during flood warning. Otherwise I will be pumping hundreds of gallons of water into the basement lol. I have a drain on the patio. I stacked my bags of pool filter sand around the door and spent 2 hours pushing water into the yard with my push broom. needless to say, I'm having my gutters upgraded tueday lol.

Upgrade for today?

Bye bye 10g, hello 20g long


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## Islandgaliam (May 24, 2014)

My dream home! A room full of tanks and a pond out back...and the dog makes it perfect  Will you be doing fish in the pond?


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

The pond will eventually get fish. I need to thin out the lilies in the center. I have some fear they expanded from below the pond liner. My plan is to pull the bulbs, about half and transfer them to the pond on the farm. I need to build up the river bed banks more and then address the 2nd waterfall. After all of that and I know it's all working with minimum water loss. I will drain it and clean out all of the sludge on the bottom. Fish next year for sure. My goal is to get the back yard entered into a water/garden tour here locally. I'm trading plants with my mother in law. I won't know my results for a spring season or 2. We plan on living here for 7-10 years.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

V 1.0


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Trickle fill. I'm super stoked for this tank. Bringing the mopani back. This tank will house a pair of apistogramma or blue rams. 



















Plants go in next. Still debating if I want to add natural gravel to some areas of the scape. Mainly infront of the slate stack on the right. Coming out and around from under the mopani.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Few snaps with the phone

Up and running


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Day 1 of cycle

Ammonia: 8+ppm

I also decided last night the 20g will get the co2 treatment in the way of a paintball set up. I'm growing anubias, dwarf sag, and stargrass in this tank. Maybe hygro tiger or willow. Low light with a little co2 is the goal. I have a finnex sting ray that can go on the other end if I need more light.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I think 8 ppm of ammonia is high. I believe I did 4 ppm when I cycled my tank. 

Anyway, The paintball setup should work for an aquarium of this size and I'm sure the cost benefits will be great. As for the lighting, I'd suggest some more light for sure. That clip on doesn't look to be the most even and with CO2 you can definitely go above low light values with no worries.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

It is high, mainly to kill whatever might be in the substrate, and filter. 3 days of keeping it at 8ppm, then 3 days at 5ppm. By day 9 I should be into nitrates.

I won't be planting any demanding plants. I moved the light to the center of the tank for more even spread. 

My main use for the co2 is to fight off algae and kick root growth in on the anubias. It will be low bubble count. Probably equivalent to a diy yeast, just more consistent.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Are you using bacteria from another tank? I realized I clicked page 2 and thought this was a brand new thread starting on the top of this page. I was going to say the 9 day nitrate cycle is pretty fast!


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

The eheim was on the 10g, it. Cycled when I moved it downstairs. Seemed like a good time to start over.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Here is my meditation corner



















Cleaned up the 8.7g, its bouncing back from a cycle as well. The tanks didn't take well to the move. 










20g has the ammonia "haze" I'm off to a good start. Bacteria bloom in less than 24 hours.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Its been 3 days, no water changes and as of 3pm the ammonia has dropped on its own down to 4ppm. Nitrite is showing 1ppm. On the right track. Water change later today, test and then add ammonia to raise it back to 4ppm. 2 more days and I should be into the nitrates.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Some quick progress pics of the 55g, im pretty cramped for space. 























































Looks like hell. I'm having to regrow out most of them. I managed to save 3-4 stems of each during the move. My plants took a beating. They are all showing new growth. Once this raok is done and I remove all the floating they should bounce back quicker. I've increased the co2 levels a bit and started dosing a bit more aggressive now that the tank has stabilized.


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

That new 20 gallon hardscape is so cool. Bump on the whole jealous thing. Girls are great my lil one is now 9. Dad is still super cool and shes still my lil cuddle bug. Got to soak it up before she hits her teens... Anywho I usually don't offer suggestions but you may want to look up what lily species that is. Here in the Pacific NW I believe that water lily is a noxious weed. If that's the case I would not move it to another pond. I've seen it take over and ruin ecosystems. It can and will take over everything. Its hard to kill water plants with herbicide, because of how sensitive the other fauna and fish can be too reach the necessary levels of herbicide to make a difference.

Your tank room is ideal! Such a nice big yard, and I too can move and live there if need be. We can have like a planted tank commune in ur backyard lol

Bump: I also really like how you have decor around your tanks, and grow lights for house plants. I was thinking about doing the same and I havent seen anything online like what I was dreaming up until I seen yours. Its nice to see that it can be done. I actually went as far as looking up those cabinet lamps for bookshelfs. They have some at IKEA, not sure if they would grow plants though. Since then I have found planted tanks, now I need to setup my tank first. Then i will use nano tank LED's and clamp them above shelves that have house plants. End game is going to be like a nature corner in the living room, with a LED moving nature picture above my 75gallon planted tank and black IKEA shelves staggered to each side with house plants that have nano tank LEDS neatly placed above them. Long way out but one can dream.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Thinking about the light on the 20g. It might not be enough to keep the plant nodes short. I might look into another finnex planted+ for it. I cant wait to finish this cycle and get the plants in. I've decided on apistogramma ca. Double red for the stock. 1 pair if I can find them. Maybe some shrimp if I keep the apistos fed.










Finnex planted+ on only.









I'm in kansas, the pond on the farm is pretty large, there are 2 actually. My mother in law has a much bigger green thumb than I. She said she wanted them, I need to pull them lol. 

I have an ikea 1.2 miles from me. I feel ya. My next step is the diode strips from them under shelves. I will give them a test run. They may not be bright enough. If not I'm going to build a rig to hold 5-6 brooder lamps across the wall. by the bookshelf is the only socket on that side of the room. Built in 1976 baby. My only issue is wire length on the brooder lamps. I'm not sure if I could or should at that add length to them. Basically poor man's track lighting lol. 
For these









I have a wall o marvel, just started my iron man wall









I build this room around my rocking chair. Its perfect. I'm going to put some shelves up and put some pothos above the tanks.

I love house plants. Here are a few at work I've had going for awhile. They love the lights we have.



























My lilac bush in the back yard, its a mess. I gave it a good thinning once the blooms dropped.










My little lady


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## BayazGouramiz (May 13, 2015)

Wow so cool man, Im envious. All kinds of fun lil projects. Lilac is my favorite sent, its amazing, and those house plants are so healthy. I cant wait! I need more money pronto... Cant wait till my wife is done with school so I can buy more toys.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

All of my house plants started as a few cuttings from places that would let me cut their plants. I traded with local hobby friends for everything else. Diy isn't about how much you spend. Its how you put it together with what you have. Which makes it more unique. I want her to have a fun, educational play area when she gets older. Fun Lil projects keep me sane right now. I get about 3 hours of sleep from her, then she's up for 2 hours, 24 hours a day right now. I just work on stuff I can start and stop on. I'm trading my mother in law the lily bulbs for house leak and habiscus bushes. I need to give the stream bed some shade. The house leak will look great in front in the red mulch area. Previous owners did dick with the landscape. We have a lot of weeds to pull. They just let stuff run wild. I have vinca EVERYWHERE


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I've had Sebastian for over 2 years. My favorite fish.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Quick trip to home depot and I've got some adequate lighting. 

These plants came home with the wife from work while she's on maternity leave. Once they go back I will replace them with more variety and color.









13w 6500k bulbs all around




































Bouncing back after being in a low light situation for about 2 months


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

7 days into the cycle, ammonia is sitting at 4ppm, my nitrites are now a deep purple. Another 50% water change and we should be done in 3-4 days. I'm going fish prospecting tomorrow.

I would like to take a moment of silence here. Yesterday, one of you most popular and overly appreciated pet stores in Lawrence, KS caught fire. The store was closed for the holiday. The inside is a total loss. Many animals lost their lives yesterday, and the community lost a gem. 

RIP 

Updated photos to give you something to look at. Enjoy!








































































Some of the plants coming back













































My planted bowl project, finnex sting ray for the light source


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## Lowe (Nov 11, 2011)

Beautiful all around. How do you have time for all this with a newborn??


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

We take shifts right now. Ridley sleeps for about 3-4 hours at a time on average. I've been on paid leave since may 5th, went back today. I really spend less than 15min a day working on them (feed and dose) an hour or two on sunday mornings. We've got a pretty chill non fussy baby. She will rock out with me in her bounce chair while I work on the room. Mom feeds, I change and we both entertain her.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

New growth that just popped up since the addition of the 2nd brooder lamp


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

The jungle look is amazing. Definitely like the look a lot! 

Congrats on the baby. I'm super jealous of the 3 weeks of paternity leave! I was allowedto take a week of my vacation time when I had my first haha. 

It only gets better. My daughter sits and watches the fish swim now (1 year old).


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## Lowe (Nov 11, 2011)

Freemananana said:


> The jungle look is amazing. Definitely like the look a lot!
> 
> Congrats on the baby. I'm super jealous of the 3 weeks of paternity leave! I was aloud to take a week of my vacation time when I had my first haha.
> 
> It only gets better. My daughter sits and watches the fish swim now (1 year old).



Jealous of the paternity leave as well! I too have a 1 year old like freemananana (this June) and looking back his early months ...my goodness I had no time to do anything!


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I got 2 weeks at 100% pay starting on May 5th, I came back and worked (I'm a branch manager for a bank) may 15th so a few employees could take a vacation. I had the following Monday and tuesday off, was suppose to go back last Wed. Well, last tuesday night I ate a banana instead of a pop tart for a nightly snack, and ended up going into anaphylactic shock shortly after finishing it. Wife with newborn in the back seat rushed me to the hospital, which is only 2 miles from our new house. Due to that (having a very understanding boss, as I almost suffocated by the time we reached the hospital), I ended up with the rest of the week off to recover. Yesterday was my first day back, bit of anxiety when I arrived that I puked in the parking lot as I was pulling in lol. I'm doing better now on my second day back. I work 4 miles from home, so I can run home over lunch and check on them. My wife and I both understand in order for us to stay sane and not kill each other, we both need our own time to clear our heads and emotions. She understands if I come home and head straight to the den, it's been a long day and she will give me an hour or so then bring Ridley down and take her time. She sat on my lap last night as I played xbox for a few hours while mom took a nap. We've been together for 10 years, got married in 2008.

Bump: I think I have decided on the aquatek mini co2 regulator and 2 24oz paintball tanks. I hope the dicks down the street can fill them for me. 

I'm not sure the finnex clip on will be enough light. I'm only going to grow stargrass, dwarf sag and maybe some fissdens. I have a 24inch dual t8 light I could suspend above the tank if need be, I might just order a 36inch finnex planted+ for it. Undecided.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

3 weeks as of yesterday 









My wife says they will be green, I say blue









Sneek peek from out newborn session with our birth photographer. I had an epic beard but baby didn't like it one bit. Takes me 2 weeks to go full beard.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Ammonia has dropped to .25ppm - trace amounts, nitrite is holding at 1ppm. I'm going to test for nitrates tomorrow. Getting closer!


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

I hate waiting for nitrites to go down.. always seems like it takes for.ev.er.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

If it stalls, I will give is 2ml of ammonia and a 50% water change. Should finish it off.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

We've had rain 20 days out of the last 28 this month and it's suppose to continue through the weekend. 

Kentucky blue grass I put down in feb. This yard was BARE and 90% weeds









Don't you want to just go waller in it?


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

*FFFFFFF give me your rain!!!* Or better yet mail me your lawn! We're having droughts here, didn't mow the lawn for 2 weeks because it'd just turn yellow if short >.<


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Rough luck on the banana! I would try suspending that fixture, but a Planted+ is probably a sound investment. Maybe a Ray2 since you thinking of CO2. It may be too much light though.



Italionstallion888 said:


> Bump: I think I have decided on the aquatek mini co2 regulator and 2 24oz paintball tanks. I hope the dicks down the street can fill them for me.


This line made me laugh out loud. I would suggest giving dicks a proper name, Dicks. I forgot it was a sporting goods store.



Italionstallion888 said:


> 3 weeks as of yesterday


Cute kid! If you are worried about the rash on the cheek, some time in the sun will clear it right up. Well, if it is that new born rash stuff and not something else. I'm going with Blue eyes too, give it another 23 weeks and you'll know! 6 months is kind of the area they take root and stay one color.

My wife left her old job when our daughter was born and was a stay at home mom for about a year. That REALLY helped us get through it. I was able to get off work and invest a hour or so after work into a hobby. It really helps when you know you'll only be getting off and on sleep throughout the night.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I call them dicks, because the employees at that Dicks location are kind of dicks lol

we had the docs check out her cheek on Tuesday, they said it is just newborn achne, and suggested giving her some time in the sun and more lotion to the face. Time outside would be great if it would stop freaking raining every day. Good lord I wake up and it's raining, go to sleep and it's raining. I feel like I moved to Seattle lol. 

I'm 100% Italian, and the wife is Irish. Who knows on her hair color. It was black when we brought her home, not it's getting lighter and we are seeing some curls show up. 

Our goal is to have me do the "stay at home dad" or part time stay at home in the next 2 years. We just need to tidey up our finances a bit and get some debt paid down. I've been in retail banking sales for the last 10 years with the same company. Started off as a teller and moved my way up to branch manager. It's coming close needing a change time.


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## Positron (Jul 22, 2013)

Wow, man very interesting story here. I'm very interested in seeing the move to a 90 gallon tank. Moving up to my 75 gallon was lots of fun. Great looking baby and I envy your backyard! Wish we could have a bit of your rain though. Here in Maine we've been pretty dry and hot (85 degrees isn't norm for mid to late may)

First thing I did when I moved to the new place was send some water to be lab tested. Have you gotten around to doing it yet? What's the new KH and GH? Sometimes a water test turns up some interesting things. I'm not sure how it is around Ks, but here in maine I've got trace amounts of iron in the water. It helps!


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

If she's anything like my daughter, she'll end up bald soon! A lot of babies lose their newborn hair for some reason. 

Testing the water is a good idea actually. I'm not sure about lab test, but I'd run at home tests at least! haha.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

oh yeah, the night before we closed we did a walk through with our realtor. I took my testing kit with me and tested the water. Olathe water (old house) was prestine water, we are now on Water One, and it's actually better water than Olathe. I had water one send me a water condition report. 

Out of the tap, my gh is around 9, and kh about 6 drops. Beyond that I have not tested any further. I plan on sending in some soil samples of the back yard and tap water to see what I'm working with. I've been doing straight tap water changes without conditioner since we moved in, no issue and the fish actually look healthier. The 55g gets a 50% water change every 2-3 weeks, and I top off about a gallon, well with all the rain about every week now, during winter it was 2-3 gallons every 2 days. 

Until I can figure out where and how to set up my r/o unit, I think I'm going to stick my 50g trashcan out in the back yard and collect some rain water. I have 300gph pond bump I can use to transfer the water to the tanks. If this were to be our forever home I would have zero issue cutting a few holes and running pvc from the garage storage area to the tanks. I have 1 water hook up at the front of the garage and 1 next to the back door on the patio. Neither are ideal locations for my r/o set up. I'm a bit scared to see the estimate to have one either relocated or an additional spout put in. The house has a whole house soft water system built into the storage area in the garage. It's currently not hooked up/working and I really don't care to mess with it. If I could figure out a way to remove it all, I would have plenty of space to make water, buy a longer pump hose and just pump from the garage. I just have to keep telling myself we have only been here since Feb, I have plenty of time for projects. 

The move to a 90g will be a birthday present to myself in October. I turn the big 30! I have 2 canister filters I'm no longer using (eheim ecco pro and fluval 106) that were on the 29g, the 55g has a fluval 305 and 106, aqua clear 30 on it. If I need more filtration on the 90g I can run 4 filters on it lol.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Sump sump sump sump sump...

You hear that chanting? haha. Sumps are way more fun than canisters if you decide you want to start fresh on the next filtration system


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I explored the sump option, while it does sound ideal, I did not like the amount of water loss people saw. I like having the ability to specialize each canister. The 305 is all media and pillow stuffing. The 106 has a bit of media, pit of pillow stuffing and 80% peet moss. I have better control over flow in the tank (minimize dead spots) that and I don't trust myself drilling into a brand new tank for bulk heads. I can get a brand new 90g for 235 shipped, pre drilled add about 150.00 to that price tag. Figuring new substrate, another box of manzanita from Tom barr, it will start to add up quickly. 

What should I stock in the 20g? I love blue rams, have had them before with no issues. I tried the appistos, while I love the color and attitude of them, they seemed to be more issue prone than my rams. My goal is to get some breeding going on in the 20g. I wanted to breed the bolivians, but alas what I thought were 3 male and 3 female ended up being 6 males lol, Sebastian rules them all.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Found a guy local that breeds apistos. Once the tank cycles I have a young pair of apistogramma macmasteri with my name on it.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Added my sad looking anubias back in. Hopefully when the co2 gets added they will bounce back. Stargrass is next to go in. I did a 75% water change. Ammonia was gone, nitrates were at 10ppm, but nitrite was still holding at 1ppm. Going to test again here tonight.






















































55g after I removed the load of floating plant mass.









8.7g dirt tank


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Last stem and hope of hygro sunset. This took a hard hit.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Shopping list complete 

Aquatek mini regulator
24oz paintball tank
Co2 tubing
30 inch finnex stingray

Reuse my hagen bubble ladder until I can figure out an inline diffuser and heater that will work with 9/12 mm eheim tubing. Going on order this week.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Did some clean up, topped the plants, cleaned up the hob, moved some scape around and placed the diffuser directly under the aquaclear.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

order placed! Co2 stuff will be here by Thursday. I decided just to use brackets and a pipe to suspend my t8's above the tank. Better than the finnex fugeray and will hold me over until I can decide on what direction the tank will go.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

all of my co2 stuff arrived by fedex today while I was home for lunch. I called the 3 dfferent stores that have the ability to fill this 24oz bottle for me. All 3 locations have broken parts on their machines. So what would have been a quick 5 min drive, will now turn into an hour round trip just to get this stupid bottle filled. So much for getting it all hooked up tonight. I have to run to walmart and homedepot to get items to suspend the light anyways, but ugh just my luck.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Did you ask what the turn around time on fixing their machine was? I've seen many 'broken' machines get fixed on the next shift. Then again, I've seen machines actually bust and take a week or so to fix.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Dicks said the hose is broke and they are waiting on the co2 company to come out and replace it, no eta. Sport authority said the machince is broke and has been for awhile with no eta on getting it fixed. I found a fire and safety place close by that has food grade co2 and they actually fill the bottle, unlike the home brew store that I was using that just swaps them out. This place charges 1.00 /lbs on the refill or 3.50 for a paintball tank. but alas they close at 5. Might try and run over there on my lunch tomorrow.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Guess what?

It's still raining. We have another 5 straight days of it. This is madness


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Yeah buddy










Temp until I figure something else out.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Made a drive to olathe pet shop today. I lost over 30 fish when I moved the tanks to the new house. 10 rummy nose, 4 cherry barbs, about 20 different neon tetra and some rasbora. 

The stock in the 55g post move include 6 bolivian ram, 12 emerald cories, 1 female cherry barb and 4 gold white could minnows. Now that the tank is established on the new house water I wanted to restock. Today I picked up 5 H. Rasbora, 5 cherry barbs 2 male, 3 female and 2 more gold white could minnows. Once these guys settle in I will head back for the rummy nose and the stock will be completed. Tank doesn't look as empty now. Very pleased.

20g as of now shows trace amounts of nitrite. I added some kh2p04 and a little kno3. Seems to have helped the stall. One more water change and I can pick my fish up this week! I'm probably going to plant it tomorrow with cuttings from my other tank. Then I'm going to decide on the light that I need. 

Plus note, I figured out how to connect my 2 24inch planted+ together on the 55g. Now they are even across the tank (even light spread and unblocked the 10k) and firmly attached on the end. No more dunks into the tank!


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

If you don't mind my asking, why not have both power cords on you planted+ together in the center? Seems like it might make it neater


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I will once I redo my electrical work. They are on their own timers, one in the middle and one on the end. They were both on the same one but My double slot timer broke. I just need to run to ace hardware for chain to hang the t5s over the 20g and walmart for a few double slot timers.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Project complete 










Lights on


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Wooooo who









One more day


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Today we finished the cycle. Picking up the fish Thursday night. Very excited to get these guys and I think the tank layout will make a perfect home.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Before we moved I placed 10 red cherry shrimp in the tank. Left them in during the move, and mini cycle. I saw one on occasion munching on the fissdens. Today I found 2 more and 1 that looks to be holding eggs. I guess the bolivians leave them alone.

Nice find for the day









Also redid this box with a better dirt mixture. Has a nice layer of ash in it now.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Made it home safe









Already settling in


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Starting to color up









Did some minor adjustments after watching them for a few minutes. Once the plants grow in I will add more oak leaves.









My planted bowl making a comeback. I might cling wrap the top this weekend.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Minus the plants, I believe I got most of the kinks fixed on the pond.

Valves full tilt.



















Having a bbq tonight. Ridley gave us a long afternoon nap so I cleaned and added more to the 20g


















The jungle


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Not near as pale now










Changed up the 8.7g a bit


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Any keep live blackworms? Any tips for longevity with a fridge?


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Planted bowl update

I added cling wrap to the top of the bowl. For the last week I have been misting with water from the 55g. Things are starting to happen!



























Done messing with the 20g until my package arrives today. 2 more goodies!



















I snagged some nasty poison oak over the weekend. This is pure evil. Hit the doc this morning for meds and came home to recover. Don't really trust putting the hands in the tank. Im in itchy scratchy hell right now. All this rain has its downside. Now we might get hit with tropical bill fronts the rest of the week. /nopoolthissummer

The macs have colored up nicely. Considering some dither fish for the 20g. Any suggestions for such a short tank? No aggressive top swimmers?


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Kid went down for a nap. wife left to get her nails done. I got restless. Shoulder high gloves ftw!

Still need some tweeks. Now I can see my tiger lily.































































Ss mesh intake and cholla wood


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I tracked down some clippings of my old hygro willow bush. Excited to have it back and in the 20g. I also picked up 20 cherry red shrimp to go in.

The male has started to darken up some. Nice reds coming in on the fins. Bit of blue speckles on the face. Female has stayed yellow, her fins are almost entirely red. 

55g looks great now. Jungle has been cut back a bit. This time I left just 2 rooted mids of each, and the rest were all tops. Plants should be straighten out for a photo by tonight. 

Planted bowl progress. Hygro sunset loves a good misting. it's one of the last few stems I have. I'm pleased it survived.









Hygro tiger


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Cricket cricket


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## ROYWS3 (Feb 1, 2014)

All I can say is this whole thread is amazing - the new daughter, the new house, the tanks, the pond, the houseplants, the lawn, etc.! Where do you find time for it all??

Did you settle on dithers for the apistos yet?


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Typically start my sunday mornings at 6am. About an hour a night after everyone goes to bed. Sit in the rocking chair and read Ridley a story before bed. Put her to bed. Say good night to the wife and I unwind from the day. Talking to my contractor today about my lack of plumbing and need for the r/o system to be set up. This might require some holes. Which I got the ok for lol. Pantry is coming, so the hutch is coming down stairs. New project to upcylce. Painting the basement and redoing the house plant design. Shes going to help me with this one.


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

Italionstallion888 said:


> Any keep live blackworms? Any tips for longevity with a fridge?


 I keep mine in a container in the vegetable crisper of my fridge with maybe 2" of water covering it . Change the water and rinse the worms daily before feeding . I've started with a lb. of worms and still had some after almost 3 weeks , with feeding and rinsing . I just use tap water for rinsing and topping the container . Length of time seems to be dependent on the quality of the worms when you get them . 

RE: poison ivy/oak ..... Look around for stuff called technu . Works pretty well for me poison ivy . It contains stuff that neutralizes the irritants in poison ivy/oak. I get mine at REI , though any good outdoor store will probably have it.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Is there a certain temp that need to stay above or below. I have room in the beer fridge, but I keep it a bit on the colder side. No dirt in the container, just water? Did you put holes in the lid?


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

I really don't know about temperature range , I've just stuck them into the crisper and taken it as an article of faith that it'd work like it always has . I've got no cover on my container , it's an old heavy weight plastic 1 gallon or so tank from prehistoric days I picked up cheap years back at a local club auction . Just for laughs , I'll stick a thermometer in the crisper section before I go out later . No idea as to the oxygen consumption of the average worm but it certainly wouldn't hurt to poke a couple of holes in the container top .


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I have not settled on dither just yet. I'm trying to keep in mind that fry will hopefully be in the tank soon. I miss my rummy nose but they are a more ideal fit for the 55g. Thinking maybe just 5 gold white cloud minnows but I have them in the 55g and I want to diversify the tanks. 

Anyone care for celestial pearl danios? My lfs keeps them in stock. If the a. Macmasteri go red. They should leave each other alone. I'm seeing old growth dying and new growth coming in with the plants. So far the plant list for the 20g is

Stargrass 
L. Repens 
Hygrophlia polysperma 
Hygrophlia polysperma sunset
Hygro tiger
Hygro willow
Anubias lanceolata 
Anubias coffeefolia 
Anubias Nana and petite 
Anubias hostifolia 
Dwarf sag
Hairgrass
Blyxa

This tank will be a potassium hog before to long. I'm dosing 8ml of k2so4 daily already. 

Straight tap with a bit of conditioner since day one
Tds: 336
Kh: 6
Gh:8
Nitrate: 40ppm
Phosphate: 2ppm (trying to get it up a bit more)
Ph: 6.2 

Very happy. Let the plants grow in and add more oak leaves. If you have not looked through my last journal, I really do try and track my progress on each tank. Helps me learn from my mistakes and create better displays. I think it's fun to see the tank evolve over time.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

someoldguy said:


> I really don't know about temperature range , I've just stuck them into the crisper and taken it as an article of faith that it'd work like it always has . I've got no cover on my container , it's an old heavy weight plastic 1 gallon or so tank from prehistoric days I picked up cheap years back at a local club auction . Just for laughs , I'll stick a thermometer in the crisper section before I go out later . No idea as to the oxygen consumption of the average worm but it certainly wouldn't hurt to poke a couple of holes in the container top .


So ... back again . Looks like about 42 degrees in my fridge crisper drawer . Probably not a whole lot of scientific accuracy ,thermometer's probably from Target or similar , but it'll give you a place to start.Maybe start a bit higher if you can , 46-48 and see how that works.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Thanks for the info, I believe the beer fridge will work.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Planted top

Just the start









Collecting my co2 left overs.









New bulbs for the dual t5 will be here wed.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Several updates


New bulbs came in, I like it!



















House plants are rooting. 



















Full color shot of my male










Water lily bout to do something









What my kid does while I work and mom runs errands









Part of me wants to make the 20g a full hygro tank, but I don't know if I can afford the potassium for it lol. I would love 3 main plants. A bush of h. polysperma/sunset mixed, h. willow in the middle, and h. Tiger on its left all on the left side/back corner of the tank.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Hello everybody, happy weekend to you all. 

Nice photo I snagged of Sebastian. He and my pleco who's 8 years old have been with me from the start. he's always been a little bland in color. With the new tank design and more enclosed plant growth he's done a 180. He's my favorite fish. So much character. If the bolivians were the avengets. Sebastian would be captain America in the tank. Always keep the peace. 











Taking suggestions for this guy's name.










Female is looking good, I've observed some courting action over the last few days. I'm going to add more oak this afternoon. Water change tomorrow. I need to drop my gh be about 3 degrees. I want to do it naturally without r/o for the time being. More tannins please!


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Trying out some left overs from the 55g. 


















Blyxa is about to take off









Redid the back


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Top and replant yesterday morning 




























Hairgrass came back









That tiger lotus, so sexy


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Removed the 10k lights and put the 6500k in the back slots. The 10k seven their purpose, this should balance the tank out a bit. Would I be better off with a ray 2 or monster ray for the 55g in addition to the planted+ lights.

Planted+ only 









Loving the new bulbs


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## strangewaters (May 13, 2015)

Italionstallion888 said:


> Having a daughter has been great. Love this kid. Having so much fun with her.
> 
> I have 6 very colorful bolivians in the 55g. I think they are all males though. The 10g may get a pair of breeding blue rams or a colony of shrinp. Have not decided. I'm not sure the pond will get fish this year. It wasn't very well maintained prior to our purchase. Just needs. Little tlc and thinning of plants. I have a lilac bush and my entire rear treeline is honeysuckle trees. 1 red maple, 1 silver maple, 2 elms, 2 walnuts, 1 river birch and 3 Bradford pears on the property.


Same here. She was born 5/15/14 

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Congrats strangewaters, being a dad is awesome. She melts my heart every time she smiles back at me.

Looks like some hairgrass snuck into the planted bowl. Not sure how but I'm not complaining.


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## jasa73 (Jun 3, 2007)

I like your idea of putting a sponge on top of your c02 delivery to collect the leftovers. Clever.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I'm going to switch the input and output positions. That way the output will flow into the sponge and absorb the left overs. Also reduce the dead spot the sponge created.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

This morning I moved the 8.7g, new stand will come later this year.


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## Hetzer (Sep 23, 2012)

Wow your home is so full of life, so vibrant; it's wonderful!


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Thank you. I'm a firm believer that lots of healthy plants and water in the home fosters a happy positive vibe home. My wife is taking her plants back to work on Tuesday. Our pantry for the kitchen will be here next week. After that the hutch will come down stairs and I can start working on paint and setting up my true house plant display. 

Being a dad is awesome. Here is my little thug celebrating her 1st 4th of july. 2 months old tomorrow.









Meanwhile we have some friends over, traded them babysitting for some glorious kc strip steaks. Dad is getting drunk off this magnificent local brew.









Happy 4th everyone.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Wake up light, I love this look


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I found several shrimp skins in the tank today. No dead shrimp, just the molt. Taking that as a success.

Dropped the Tds in the 20g today down into the 200ppm range today. Female is starting to look plump and he's doing nothing but flashing at her. My next project is a reactor for the 55g. Started the planning stages today.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Cleaned up and lights on 










Female









Male









Basket goes in and they swarm


















We got 5 inches of water in a 45min period yesterday. 











The water level was at the top of the concrete when the drain clogged.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Sounds like flood damage just waiting to happen! Any pond residence escape in the flood?


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

All of kansas city was flooded. Couple of tornados, flash flooding. It was nuts. My neighbor had a small river running through her back yard. I spent 45 min pushing water with a push broom and catching debris clogging the drains with my pond net. My contractor is coming out Thursday to look at the grade and discuss more french systems on the sides of the house. There are no fish in the pond yet. Thankfully. We have not seen this much rain in about 50 years. Almost 20 inches in may, yesterday broke what we got all of last july. If I know what it does at its worst, I can fix it and never worry.


One of the big highways running through downtown (I70 and truman) had 5 feet of running water. Most of the highways were shut down.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Growth updates on the 20g


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

https://youtu.be/Ex3nM9YJFnc

https://youtu.be/Y5q13WRpbIg


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Update on the 20g

Shrimp have started to come out of hiding. I found one dead today, might have been a fish casualty. The ones I've seen so far look much bigger and a lot more red.

I've managed to keep the tds in the 200-250 range during the week. Mac's look great and the plants seem to appreciate it.

Ludwigia getting settled.









This hygro willow I got back from a huge mother plant that was tissue cultured a year ago. It's looking good. I'm going to top it when it reaches the surface and let it go crazy. Decent rotala growth as well.









Babies from the 55g, little growth









My sad AR from the 55g. New growth so that's a plus. I understand this plant takes time to establish. I'm good with that.









Blyxa is happy as hell. Already have side sems. Not bad for a little nub at the start.









Nice reds coming through 


















Starting to darken up. The lower tds really brought these fish to life.









Very happy with the results. Co2 ladder needs a serious cleaning, after 4 months the 5lb bottle on the 55g gets a refill tomorrow.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I've changed the photo period on the 55g a bit. Co2 is now on an hour and a half before the first set of lights kick on. I raised the power compacts much higher. Half hour of this before the planted+ come on. 



















These run 4-6
planted+ from 4:30pm-11pm


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## Bine (Jul 12, 2015)

Italionstallion888 said:


> Wake up light, I love this look


So, you give them a little light to wake up, and then go full light? I do something like that. House lights on. Take a shower. Tank lights on. Just seems polite.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Yup, they each get 30min of soft light


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Some behind the scenes of my operation

55g









20g









In between


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I turned the co2 up this week. I'm calling it one bubble per rung count, up from every 3. Plants have responded nicely. I removed some slate that welas impeding flow. Better circulation and the tank looks a bit more open now. I increased my micro dosage by an extra 3 ml. waiting to see of the AR responds. It's struggling still.



















Tops of the rotala, moved the rooted section to the back.









Right side scape is starting to fill in









Moved some hair grass over. Hopefully it takes and spreads quickly.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Hey would you be interested in Oplismenus basket Grass (Oplismenus hirtellus 'Variegatus') for your outdoor pond? I tried getting it to work on my riparium (3rd time trying this plant first 2 times I bought clippings from pt members..) but I really think it needs the stronger lighting and more importantly higher humidity than I can offer it. I still have a bucket with a large root mass and new stem growth outside which is doing great! The stems I cut for the riparium are drying out though :/ 
Anyways wanted to offer it to you, if you are interested I'll drop you a PM with more info and photos (it will need a medium priority box for the root ball).


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I totally would, but here at the end of next month I'm going to completely drain and gut it.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Did some moving around of wood and removed some slate that I believe is contributing to my surface scum problem. Looks more cave to open space now.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

tds seems to be increasing by 100 every 7 days. I removed more slate, piece of mopani and Terra cotta pot. More surface area to plant and the tank will look more evenly weighted.























































Filling in pretty quick.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)




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## Ennui (May 20, 2015)

Italionstallion888 said:


> Looks like hell.


Your tank looks great bud rofl :hihi:


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Removed most of the manzanita. Needed more plant space.




































Co2 catcher









My forgotten dirt tank. I just let this one do its thing. Occasionally squirt some ferts and top off with an r/o blend.


















Stargrass will finally need a trim. Might remove the plant on the left and put h. Willow in its place.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Suspended the manzanita above the tank. Super creepy root feel now. I love it. I might tie moss around them. 

My cherry barb clan has created a "nest" with this moss. Swimming into it, picking at.










So I'm going to trim it and spread it around. Teaser


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

We spawned Thursday night!









Female went from super dark back to yellow and is in super patrol mode. She won't let the male go anywhere.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Photos taken with my new note 4.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Here is my 10 year old pleco.


















I have a love for cherry barbs. 


















I believe macmama has moved the non swimming wiggles. Did a water change this morning. She's now allowing macdaddy close to them. They were out eating/foraging together. I lowered the aquatic life fixture down another inch. Hygro tiger seems to be struggling. On a plus note, the AR has new growth that looks promising. I think the increased micro ferts have helped.

On point


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Great shots tonight.


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## Bine (Jul 12, 2015)

That pleco is what looks super creepy. Awesome!


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Thank you, my wife bought him we first got together. It will be a sad day when he passes.

Thinking about removing the ludwigia and letting the h. Sunset and h. Polysperma take over that area. Thoughts? I'm growing tired of the ludwigia in both tanks. It's just become a pain as of late.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Minor replant



























I think my heater is dying in the 55g. Tank temp are 75, and it's been on for a solid hour. I messed with it, as the jagers you can reset. I'm going to watch it over the next hour or so.

I'm just dosing and letting it grow. This tank likes every 2 week water changes. After 2 weeks the tds was 350, gh of 6, kh of 3. Algae is going away with the decrease in light from the power compacts and longer planted+ photo period. Results are better each week.









My planted bowl


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

First sat off in a month and mother nature decides to storm it's butt off at 630am, house shaking thunder and about 2.5inch rain.

So Ridley and I jammed out in the fish room. I have taken out every hygro species from the 55g. They were all struggling for nutrients and I'm over dosing. Into the 20g they went. Which the others seem to be doing great, so I have high hopes of the stems bouncing back. My 3 year old jager heater in the 55g died Thursday night. The tank dropped down to 73° before I realized it. Threw my 75w back up in yesterday. Sitting back at 80° with no fish loss. I got lucky. 

Stargrass and rotala have taken off in the 55g. Topping about every week. Starting to finally fill in. Once I have a decent bush going of both, I'm going to remove the Ludwig and spread it into a hedge behind the tiger lotus. Should provide nice contrast.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Male has grown a lot in the last month 









All the hygro together


















Blyxa and stargrass are happy with the light selection and co2 amount.










Hair grass turning a bright green and sending out runners. This side of the tank is just a .5 inch layer of pool filter sand. No root tabs or anything special. Close to the flow and co2.









Profile of the mac


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

I seem to post the same shots without much variation.

Here is some variation from the normal entry


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Excellent I love extra angles


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Few snaps of my office plants

I really need to take the big one home and replace the dirt. Need to figure out the logistics of getting it home safely.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Had to top the h. Polysperma today. This tank is a bit slow growing than I had anticipated it being given the light and co2. A lot of the plants were babies so I understand they needed time to root. Other than the h. Tiger and h. Sunset, I think everything else has rooted.



























Front yard of the cave









Close up shots of my hygros


















Mama is camping out in the cave


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## Bine (Jul 12, 2015)

Does the leaf litter stay in there until it breaks down to become fertilizer?


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Yup!


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Took a vacation day, ran to the dmv, dentist and other errands. Had a 45min nap time for the kid to take advantage of. I poured all of my ferts down the drain and started over. Previous I had 10 bottles, one for each fert. Now I have 1 bottle for npk, and one for csm+b+fe

4 bottles total now. Took some math to work out the liquid solutions for the 55g basing it off my 20g figures. I think I'm close, iron is the only ???


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Getting the itch to upgrade the 55g. 6 more weeks.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Hygros looking good with the new fert batch.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

More off the wall


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Thinning out the 55g a bit. 










The inhabitants 









Project house plants made some progress over the weekend.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

The monster is back




















Hygro in the 20g


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

Quick update on the tanks


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## Ennui (May 20, 2015)

Looks incredible


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