# [NEW UPDATE] "The Chaos Garden II" 75 gallon sump planted.



## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

I started with building the doors and sides as the stand were bought with raw woods built.










Then i painted the fronts and sides 











Tried to turn on the light with all of it marine bulbs, this thing is freaking bright











I then built the sump and i had to learn it the hard way that acrylic and glass don't bond. I made a mess trying to put lots of sillicon to create a barrier, i then used weather tapes to keep everything together. I will wait 48 hours before i run the first water test.










I tried to make a wet dry section with covered top and ill then tape them up to keep the co2 inside.










Here is the reactor that i built




























Im gonna connect these with 1" hose that will also fit my output from the pump and the pipe to the tank. I really do hope this will work. 

And at the end of the day, i finished painting the back of the 75.











P/S: Please keep in mind that this is my first time of many things such as building the reactor, the sump, wood works and even painting so things are sure messy as heckk :red_mouth


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## cephelix (Apr 8, 2013)

that seems like alot of work. looking forward to seeing how the whole thing turns out...

Bump: that seems like alot of work. looking forward to seeing how the whole thing turns out...


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

I finally have everything together ( almost) to start the water run test again, its been a long exhausted week. First time experiencing building a sump, plumbing and wood work were not so fun, but i do hope i get better next time haha!

Here is the picture of it together:










Co2 reactor 










Lighting is hang ( still marine bulbs)



















I'm considering to order 6-7 bags of Activflora, any suggestion? gonna EI and massive co2 so inert subtrate might be good? keep in mind the budget as well please!


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Little update:

Received the co2 regulator, also called my local store and they said that they'd have a 20lbs filled waiting for me next week.










Leak test is done with both sump and main tank.










Bulbs also came earlier this week. 2 midday, 1 flora and 1 red 450mn. I might get an other midday to replace the red if its too much hue










First layer of larva rock to keep the back higher 










Next layers in order are red clay, miracle grow, O plus and blasting black diamond sand










I was gonna do a tradition dutch tank but then i received these from a good friend...










The woods are currently under hot water and also sprayed heavy h2o2. It came with lots of anubias on it, as well as snails.... The anubias are being placed in my emersed set up, sprayed h2o2 as well and hopefully the snails will find their way to go down to water in the tub. 

Ordered quite bit of few species. Pic of hardscapes tomorrow.


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## Ben Belton (Dec 12, 2008)

Good luck. Looks like you have a good start. This will be fun to watch.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Here is the scape i come up with today. Tell me what ya think. Im considering to remove the wood mountain on the right and to tie anubias nana pettie on the one on the left with lots of branches


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

I believe i have got my hard scape.


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## Meganne (Sep 3, 2012)

yup! that works!


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## flowerfishs (May 6, 2009)

nice project.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Day 1: Officially start recording the journal from today 9/9/2014.

Got my co2 cylinder in. The local store was out of 10lbs so i went with the 20 lbs. Luckily that it fits perfectly in the spot.










As the co2 indicator start reading green, i use what i have in my emersed set up while waiting for the other plants to arrive in 2 days. 

I started with S. Repen










Then A.R mini










Then the glossostigma











Nesaea pedicellata 'Golden' ( never had luck with this plant submersed)










C. Udala 










Full tank shot










Right










Above










Left










The whole thing










Hope yall stay with me to watch this tank fill in!


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

*Lets it grow*

Day 3: Lets it grow, lets it grow.... Cant wait it grow anymoreeee. 

Got all the plant delivered, some is good, some is not so good.

I cant tell the difference between some of the rotala so i guess ill grow them and watch first.






























Stuffed quite abit of fissidens in the wood's holes, the mesh are just there for growing out for my low tech tank.


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

Seriously, I can't wait to see this in another month when its all grown in nicely.


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## mopani (Oct 29, 2013)

nice, i am gonna ride this one out


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

Great start!! This is going to look freaking awesome once everything starts to fill in . 

That piece of wood is neat... reminds me of Tom Barr's branch he used in his buce tank. 

Looking forward to seeing this in the future, keep up the updates :3.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Day 7: 
- Syngonanthus Belem melted. I heard that they need softwater, well mine is hard.
- Placed the light on top of the tank now to see if i might need more light. Plants breath but mostly those anubias petti nana.

The fiss is creeping out










Beside removing the Syngonanthus Belem, i only trimmed the glossostigma once as they still growing upward. Other than that, the waiting game is still one. Oh well and water changes. 

FTS


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## CluelessAquarist (Apr 5, 2014)

Looks great! Can't wait to see more.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Day 12 update:
- Completed the tank build.
- Trimmed once and rearranged/removed couple of plants.
- Had co2 off for one day and algae are now shown.
- Platies are awesome at eating algae! Got BGA for 2 days, was about to put my hand in but they cleared it all the next day. Their poops are now green. Only fed them twice since i got them so they muck on algae lots. Seen couple of babies around as well.
- Looking to get a good package of high grade red cherry shrimp. about 50 or so.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Time for an update:
- Lost track on counting day due to Green Water. Not panicking about it but taking slowly as i have faced it before. Tried a new method of using Willow braches, just got them in today, curious to see the outcome
- Ordered a UV sterilizer.
- Trimmed twice. Replaced rotala routinfodila behind the tree by ammania gracilis. Placed a few stems of rotala macrandra in the place of gracilis. Well wait until the water is clearer...
- Dumped in 50 red cherry shrimps, been collecting them from the filter shock in the sump everynow and then, wapita. Anybody got a trick on how they cover their overflow?
- Also got 10 otto, 3 dead so far. 2 babies bristonose that work like a charm. 2 pleco that i forgot the name but they grow at the same size with bristonose, they are at adult stage now and i dont see them do anythign during the day, sometime i see them running at night. 
- Change the bulbs combination : 2 midday, 1 aquaticlife 450mn, 1 aquaticlife 10000k.


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## umarnasir335 (Mar 2, 2014)

It's unfortunate that the growth looks so lush yet the tank has green water. Can't wait to see how things look once the water clears up


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

- The water is clearing up after i installed the UV sterilizer. Ran out of patience on the willow tree as they didnt send roots out. 
- Added more inhabitants
- Again moved plants around and added one more species. 

Here are the picture of 2 pink/red bulbs and 2 midday. Getting a UVL red wave, soon to be pictured.


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

I really like the anubias tree ha. Don't worry about the GW, the UV will clear it quickly. Things seem to be growing very well; good colors, ground cover spreading etc. Think it'll be an awesome scape.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Thanks!!!


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## austin.b (Feb 9, 2012)

Awesome combination of colors and leaf shapes. Plus all the stems look super vivid. Great looking tank!


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Added an UVL red sun bulb. the bulbs combo from back to front now are : 10000k, pink rose, red sun, midday. The tank looks so much more red now in person.


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## MB2 (Feb 6, 2007)

The water is cloudy but your scape looks very nice. Once the low plants fill in more, it will be even more pleasing. Anubias are growing new roots. Good job, man.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

MB2 said:


> The water is cloudy but your scape looks very nice. Once the low plants fill in more, it will be even more pleasing. Anubias are growing new roots. Good job, man.


Thank you sir! im still having a hard time to find the balance of PO4 for the anubias. should i keep increasing the dose until the gsa stop showing on the glass?


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## MB2 (Feb 6, 2007)

On my tank I did not dose anything, nothing, for first few months. However, each tank is unique so experiment it and see. You might want to lower the light intensity and/or duration too to combat gsa.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

emerald cory dora eggs


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Update:
- first big trim. 
- water is clear
- variety of algaes start appearing
- back to normal maitenance. Including : 1/2 EI, wc weekly 50% of main display tank, follow up with sprayed h2o2, old/ugly/dead/wrong direction growth leaves are trimmed. 

its still no where near what i imaged, probly couple more trim ill get them in shapes.


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## ForensicFish (May 19, 2013)

Very impressive.


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

Very good stuff~

If you still have algae issues, perhaps try tuning up the CO2 a little. IMO the rex grigg reactor is not the best because of the air build-up inside (unless you have a degassing mechanism). It works well enough for the average scape, but on higher lighting - higher demand scapes, it is less than optimal, especially towards late day. Alternatively you could lower your lighting, but nahh....

Things will probably settle down in awhile


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

That's some sexy anubias you got going on. I'm digging the tank.

Xiazhuang, what is the best method of co2 diffusion in your opinion? At least for when it comes to higher demand scapes and the like.


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

There are two parts to it: The first part is getting the water saturated as high as possible without livestock distress; to hit this point of saturation any good diffuser/reactor can work but to hit it without livestock distress O2 saturation must be increased either by surface agitation or using a sump etc. When people have sub-optimal CO2, but distressed livestock, its often the lack of O2 that prevents them from turning up the CO2 higher. You lose some CO2 in degassing but it allows you to increase your net injection rate significantly. People may not think about it but the ADA lily pipes are designed to give surface agitation for aeration purposes.

The second part is usage of CO2 misting in the water column itself. 100% diffusion type reactors can give you the first part above, but having a good misting of CO2 in the water column itself delivers more CO2 to the plants, beyond the saturation point achieved above. In this sense, having a CO2 program that delivers a mist would be the optimal solution. And of course good flow to deliver CO2/mist/nutrients to all areas of the tank.

(evidence for these stuff can be found in the Barr report paid subscription section research papers)


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Xiaozhuang said:


> There are two parts to it: The first part is getting the water saturated as high as possible without livestock distress; to hit this point of saturation any good diffuser/reactor can work but to hit it without livestock distress O2 saturation must be increased either by surface agitation or using a sump etc. When people have sub-optimal CO2, but distressed livestock, its often the lack of O2 that prevents them from turning up the CO2 higher. You lose some CO2 in degassing but it allows you to increase your net injection rate significantly. People may not think about it but the ADA lily pipes are designed to give surface agitation for aeration purposes.
> 
> The second part is usage of CO2 misting in the water column itself. 100% diffusion type reactors can give you the first part above, but having a good misting of CO2 in the water column itself delivers more CO2 to the plants, beyond the saturation point achieved above. In this sense, having a CO2 program that delivers a mist would be the optimal solution. And of course good flow to deliver CO2/mist/nutrients to all areas of the tank.
> 
> (evidence for these stuff can be found in the Barr report paid subscription section research papers)


Dear
I totally agree with what you have mentioned above. This is my first time using sump/co2 and i was surprised that after i increased the co2 level, resulted in deep yellow co2 indicator, none of my fish are stressed out. It also results in lots more pearling from plants. I recently move my nozzle outflow and it now creates the same surface agitation effects like lily pipe. I do have surface scums as i block my intake to reduce the noise/improve co2 by using muffer noise reducer pvc pipe. About the mist, i can only archive by delivering the mist to half of the tank, mostly to the anubias tree and i dont think they can benefit much rather than the stems. 
Due to the co2 fluctuation, i';m still playing with it to find the optimal level, the anubias are now suffering from hair/fuzz algae. I still don't really want to deal with the algae but observing the plant's growth. 

Once again, this is a dirt tank and others been telling me to stop dosing EI for the first months. I'm looking to stop dosing this week. What do you think, any suggestion would be appreciated!


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

I'm using dirt as well, and have never stopped dosing. People who say don't dose for first couple of months are running very slow tanks haa unlike yours.

Overall stability is very important for high lighting scapes; its like driving a fast car. Definitely you cant' stop dosing nitrates and potassium (both which absolutely have no contributing effect on algae, only has upsides for plant growth). You could moderate/stop your PO4 and Fe dose until things settle down, and only dose when you see plant growth slow down. If you have been uprooting and replanting tops for stem plants, perhaps try to prune the tops instead and let the bottoms sprout new shoots so that you don't keep stirring up the substrate. 

Stability takes some time; you could also lower the light a little which makes it easier to hit the balance point, then turn it up to get the coloration on the stems.


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## Dan110024 (Jul 14, 2014)

zetvi said:


> I then built the sump and i had to learn it the hard way that acrylic and glass don't bond. I made a mess trying to put lots of sillicon to create a barrier, i then used weather tapes to keep everything together. I will wait 48 hours before i run the first water test.



I know I'm quoting an old(ish) post, but I just want to say that with proper preparation, acrylic and glass definitely bonds with the right silicone.

I was making a sump for my tank before I canned the sump idea. I purchased some regular acrylic sheets on ebay and had a regular glass tank for it to. I used some sandpaper along the edges of the acrylic which would have silicone applied. I can't remember what grit the sandpaper was, but any should do to just take the smooth finish off it. I sanded about 20mm in from the edge. It looked like a haze with some scuff marks by the time I'd finished.

Sure, I might have used more silicone than one typically would if they wanted a neat finish, but I had heard of people having trouble with the silicone bonding to the acrylic, so I used a plentiful amount. Sumps are generally out of sight anyway. I took a function over form approach to it.

So....Then when I decided I didn't want to use it as a sump anymore, I tried pulling the acrylic out. This will be easy, I thought, seeing all the people having trouble with it bonding. I was wrong. I gave up on removing the second baffle. I felt I was going to break the glass before the acrylic was going to come away. The first baffle I removed broke before I was able to remove it. 

I believe from my experiences, I've proved everyone wrong. lol.

The silicone I used was Selleys Glass Silicone. It's recommended for aquariums.

http://www.selleys.com.au/sealants/silicone/glass/










...and how the tank currently sits for an idea of how much I used. It's just a temporary home for the little ones which is why I don't care about its looks.


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## Dan110024 (Jul 14, 2014)

zetvi said:


> Update:
> - first big trim.
> - water is clear
> - variety of algaes start appearing
> ...



That is looking fantastic! We all have our own ideas and visions for what we would like our tank to be, but you have to sometimes take a step back and appreciate it for what it is.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Xiaozhuang said:


> I'm using dirt as well, and have never stopped dosing. People who say don't dose for first couple of months are running very slow tanks haa unlike yours.
> 
> Overall stability is very important for high lighting scapes; its like driving a fast car. Definitely you cant' stop dosing nitrates and potassium (both which absolutely have no contributing effect on algae, only has upsides for plant growth). You could moderate/stop your PO4 and Fe dose until things settle down, and only dose when you see plant growth slow down. If you have been uprooting and replanting tops for stem plants, perhaps try to prune the tops instead and let the bottoms sprout new shoots so that you don't keep stirring up the substrate.
> 
> Stability takes some time; you could also lower the light a little which makes it easier to hit the balance point, then turn it up to get the coloration on the stems.


good stuffs! i did up root plants lots. With some care and slowly pulling, i dont disturb the subtrate much, and most of my stems take longer to root than to grow tall, unlike the crypts. I now doing what you mentioned instead. i was thinking of trimming all the way to bottom but not uprooting. Then trim off the bottom stems to minimize disturbing the dirt. 

i see that you dont have much fish load in your tank but what is your thought on balacing the kno3 between ferts and fish load?

Bump:


Dan110024 said:


> I know I'm quoting an old(ish) post, but I just want to say that with proper preparation, acrylic and glass definitely bonds with the right silicone.
> 
> I was making a sump for my tank before I canned the sump idea. I purchased some regular acrylic sheets on ebay and had a regular glass tank for it to. I used some sandpaper along the edges of the acrylic which would have silicone applied. I can't remember what grit the sandpaper was, but any should do to just take the smooth finish off it. I sanded about 20mm in from the edge. It looked like a haze with some scuff marks by the time I'd finished.
> 
> ...


Thank you for providing such useful information! My sump looks almost the same like your picture. I might even have too much sillicons in the gaps. But like you said, its hidden anyway! I do have concerns about glueing the premade arcylic overflow box to inside of the tank at the intake pvc though, have you thought of that?


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

Hmm I usually start my tanks without livestock; I'll be using KNO3 more so than K2SO4 then, to hit nitrates between 15-20ish ppm.

After livestock comes in, I'll usually use more K2SO4, less KNO3, and also less phosphate dosing. It varies from tank to tank though; some plants uptake phosphates more so. Takes a bit of observation and testing to tweak. However, to quote Tom Barr; exact levels are not important as long as the plants are not nutrient limited. One can be wrong by a wide margin nutrient wise - on the upside that is, without much negative consequences. I could have 10ppm or 30ppm nitrates, 2 or 6ppm phosphates, it matters not as long as it is present in sufficient quantities for the plants.

However, if you try increasing/decreasing light or CO2 by a factor of even 25%, it makes a large difference in the tank. So most of our fine tweaking will come in those 2 areas.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Xiaozhuang said:


> Hmm I usually start my tanks without livestock; I'll be using KNO3 more so than K2SO4 then, to hit nitrates between 15-20ish ppm.
> 
> After livestock comes in, I'll usually use more K2SO4, less KNO3, and also less phosphate dosing. It varies from tank to tank though; some plants uptake phosphates more so. Takes a bit of observation and testing to tweak. However, to quote Tom Barr; exact levels are not important as long as the plants are not nutrient limited. One can be wrong by a wide margin nutrient wise - on the upside that is, without much negative consequences. I could have 10ppm or 30ppm nitrates, 2 or 6ppm phosphates, it matters not as long as it is present in sufficient quantities for the plants.
> 
> However, if you try increasing/decreasing light or CO2 by a factor of even 25%, it makes a large difference in the tank. So most of our fine tweaking will come in those 2 areas.


Very helpful information. What do you think of a tank with PO4 range from 15ppm-20ppm? Any possible harm ?


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

I have no idea actually Hmm... I've dosed up to 6ppm-ish, and don't seem to see any improvement for plants above that so haven't yet tried pushing it further. Some shrimp people may claim its detrimental for livestock ? Not very sure the full effects of very high PO4. It may exacerbate existing algae issues, but I haven't done enough testing to claim this as fact.


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## knm<>< (Mar 18, 2010)

what pump are you using for your return? I just got a wet/dry filter and need to get a pump.


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## Grumpy1415 (Oct 15, 2013)

Gorgeous tank!


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

knm<>< said:


> what pump are you using for your return? I just got a wet/dry filter and need to get a pump.


I was using an used Mag 7 pump but it impeller got broken and made lots of noise ( this pump has lots of good reviews, just because mine is old though). I bought a new one on Ebay and i believe it belongs to the sunsun's stuffs. try to the word " WP 700 GPH Water Pump Submersible Aquarium Koi Pump Fountain Sump Waterfall" on ebay and look for the seller topdogsellers. Cheap, silent, work well. Cant complaint.


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## Dan110024 (Jul 14, 2014)

zetvi said:


> I do have concerns about glueing the premade arcylic overflow box to inside of the tank at the intake pvc though, have you thought of that?



All I could say is buy some scrap material and test it before you do it with your actual tank. I don't see how it could be a problem if it turned out like my baffles did, but there's too many variables to guarantee that yours would adhere well. I'm not too familiar with overflow boxes either, so I don't know if there's a load pushing down on the box which may cause the acrylic to give way from the silicone at some stage. Baffles are a pretty safe bet, with practically no significant load on them.

You would want to get silicone which is recommended for glass/aquariums, and while it may be for glass, who knows if it has the same properties as the Selley's silicone which I linked above. If you're testing it with scrap, you would want to make sure the acrylic is at least similar to what your overflow box is. And finally, you'd want to ensure you're able to leave the silicone to cure for a good 24-48 hours after fixing the overflow box to the glass. This means no water in the tank which I think might be a deal breaker for you at this stage.


edit: I just remembered that overflow boxes sit on the outside of the tank, right? You might be able to ignore that final point then


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

rolling with my bew iphone and lenses


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Updated 11/20/2014.
Its now 2 months and 11 days old.

- Moved/removed and added a few more species.
- Did the biggest trim for this tank today. Start forming the shapes.
- Noted to keep the top and remove the bottom of the red ludwigia next time. 
- Added airpump on timer at night after co2 off. The reason is that i've not seen my co2 indicator has any other colors than yellow so i added air into the sealed section at night after the co2 off.
- Lower the lighting again since last water change.
- Considering changing the 10000 aquatic life out for a midday.
- treated the tank with algae fix, hair algae is now forever gone. 

Enough of talking. Here are the pictures:





































Snail id please! 










New specie, forgot the name but in the same line with straugen repen










Rotala sunset added 









two type of unknown speices. IDs PLEASE!


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

awesome anubias roots
do you have algae problem with anubias so close to light source like that?


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## pewpewkittah (Jan 14, 2014)

Absolutely gorgeous. 

It's quite amazing how much this tank has transformed in just two months! I am jealous of that anubias tree...


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Love the anubias mass! *steals some*
your snail is a common ramshorn, brown or tan ramshorn if you want to be specific, they can come in a variety of colors and patterns.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

ikuzo said:


> awesome anubias roots
> do you have algae problem with anubias so close to light source like that?


Thank you. I do have algae problem on the older leaves but since the new leaves grow very fast, i start trimming these old leaves off. The new leaves are surprisingly adapt to the highlight condition very well.

Bump:


pewpewkittah said:


> Absolutely gorgeous.
> 
> It's quite amazing how much this tank has transformed in just two months! I am jealous of that anubias tree...


I appreciate your compliment!

Bump:


AquaAurora said:


> Love the anubias mass! *steals some*
> your snail is a common ramshorn, brown or tan ramshorn if you want to be specific, they can come in a variety of colors and patterns.


Ohhh cool. Do they breed well and fast? i have not seen any more but that guy


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

zetvi said:


> Thank you. I do have algae problem on the older leaves but since the new leaves grow very fast, i start trimming these old leaves off. The new leaves are surprisingly adapt to the highlight condition very well.
> 
> Bump:
> 
> ...


If you have one there are probably more, with such dense planting they can be very hard to find especially when small. If you have more than one they'll breed.. they're semi fast breeders if they have an over abundance of food. I have them in most of my tanks but 2 of my 4 of my bettas will eat the snail (when they're young/small) and I'll harvest larger ones for my husband's dwarf puffer (along with pond snails, mts, and a large live culture of black worms.. spoiled fish only eats live food). I think MTS are the fastest to reproduce and the offspring to mature to breed, at least I'd been told that.
I use to have some lovely blue spotted and brown spotted ramshorns but I think the genetic trait for that is recessive as I've not seen any offspring with it in a few months :c


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

AquaAurora said:


> zetvi said:
> 
> 
> > Thank you. I do have algae problem on the older leaves but since the new leaves grow very fast, i start trimming these old leaves off. The new leaves are surprisingly adapt to the highlight condition very well.
> ...


Lovely! Thank you for sharing. I don't hate snails anymore so ill let them be. Feeding less is both good for fish and snails. having them undercontrol is actually an advantage i believe. They eat algaes and dead matters. They are just an other member of the cleaning crew, just dont feed them!


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## ROYWS3 (Feb 1, 2014)

This is the first time I've gone through this thread and I must say that your tank is absolutely amazing

Kudos to you sir!


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## umarnasir335 (Mar 2, 2014)

I don't know how you made Anubias grow that fast! Amazing!


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

ROYWS3 said:


> This is the first time I've gone through this thread and I must say that your tank is absolutely amazing
> 
> Kudos to you sir!


Thank you very much. I appreciate your compliment, sir.

Bump:


umarnasir335 said:


> I don't know how you made Anubias grow that fast! Amazing!


I don't know how and i dont think mine grow fast either haha. They just there, i see lots of new leaves as i keep trimming off dead/old leaves.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Update:
- added few small branches
- added ludwigia sunset on the left corner, cant wait for this plant to fill in. Amazing colors.
- Anubias tree is getting mature


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Update:
- Trimmed most of my stems to seed a new tank. I really like this clean look. Maybe the time of this tank will be soon.
- Practicing with an old aged canon, pictures are still better than iphone 6 plus.
- GSA still growing quite well so im increasing the phosphate level to see how it goes.
- the 20lbs cylinder finally ran out after 3 months +. I was adjusting lots sicne the beginning so i expect the new refill to be last for more. 

Before Trimmed









After trimmed: 



























AR, Mini butterfly, Aromatica and rotala sunset









hitchhiking mini butter fly


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## MB2 (Feb 6, 2007)

Beautiful tank. Those red color plants make nice contrast to the dark green anubias. 

I should not send you that much anubias:icon_smil. Now I have a serious competitor, :wink:

What is your P now? You might need to reduce light as well to control it.

Can I get some of your red plants the next time you trim?

Thanks,


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## tangelo1106 (Sep 20, 2010)

Awesome job!


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## UDGags (Sep 13, 2009)

I really like your aquascaping in this tank. I'd wish I had seen this one sooner.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

MB2 said:


> Beautiful tank. Those red color plants make nice contrast to the dark green anubias.
> 
> I should not send you that much anubias
> 
> ...


Dear,
Mine is in no place to compare with your scape haha. I will pm you what i have as red plants. 

My P and NO3 at the end of a full EI dosed week are 10ppm + ( darker blue than the maximum of api color card) and in the range of 10-20ppm for no3.

ive tried to raise the light up to help with algae on the leaves but that wont work for the overall scape. Other plants still need that high or higher light to reach their optimal colorations. I observe that the anubias new leaves tend to have less algae and some are perfectly algae free even though they are right under the light. My guess would be that the plants are adapting to the high light condition and are growing at a faster pace. I have been increasing the dose of P but in order to keep others happy as well, i believe i will have to keep up with trimming the old affected leaves on the anubias.


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

tangelo1106 said:


> Awesome job!


 thank you!


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

UDGags said:


> I really like your aquascaping in this tank. I'd wish I had seen this one sooner.


Im glad you like it. Did it somehow insprire ya with an other scape idea?


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