Brendan's 20L Shrimp Tank!

[bettabreeder]

Ok so as I delve deeper and deeper into the world of shrimp I thought it would be a fantastic idea to get the head start on what will hopefully be a Taiwan Bee shrimp tank. I currently have 6 mischlings housed with my crs but once this tank is completely cycled I intend to order some red wine and possibly a blue bolt.

So the specs... well as the title states its a 20 gallon long tank with dimensions equalling 30"x12"x12".

FILTRATION
Eheim 2215 toned down a bit

LIGHTING
Hagen glo T5HO

SUBSTRATE
Amazonia aqua soil 9Lt.

FLORA
Dwarf sag
HC
Dwarf hair grass
Java Fern
Various mosses
Duckweed
and possibly spiral val

FAUNA
Shrimps:
6 mischling
2-3 wine red
1(?) Blue Bolt

Decorations
Inert rocks
Driftwood

I intend to update this thread periodically as events with the tank occur.

Cheers,
Brendan

[pm]

I just recently setup my first dedicated shrimp tank (as you know), and I can see how an addiction can form  . 

Are you planning on splitting the tank up for different shrimp, or  keeping it as one big body of water?

[bizfromqc]

Shrimps are a lot of fun.

I no longer have a "fish" tank in the house, just a small shrimp only Fluval Spec III with CRS and "Léon" (the name my 3 year old daughter gave to the Zebra Nerite Snail).

Problem now is there's starting to be a lot of them in there (the Spec III is around 3G). Just bought a 10G to rehouse them. Nothing bigger for now, once the 10G is filled up with a colony, the surplus will be going for sale on OVAS/La Niche.

Cant wait to see the tank Brendan, keep posting pictures!

[bettabreeder]

I just recently setup my first dedicated shrimp tank (as you know), and I can see how an addiction can form  . 

Are you planning on splitting the tank up for different shrimp, or  keeping it as one big body of water?

Hahaha absolutely it just snowballs into different varieties which means different tanks.... As of right now I'm trying to keep it open. Might have to put one in there if my CRS tank continues to not cooperate.

Shrimps are a lot of fun.


Cant wait to see the tank Brendan, keep posting pictures!

They are a bunch of fun. And thank you.

[pm]

Is that light a single or double bulb?  I ask as you may need to raise it up a bit or it might turn into an algae factory before long.  The tank is only 12" deep right?

[bettabreeder]

Ya I'll def raise the lights once I get a stand made for the tank.

[bettabreeder]

After getting plants from the great group of people here today I was able to come up with this. Comments and feedback welcomed!


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[daworldisblack]

Looking good! What didja get?!

[fischkopp]

Lotsa plants! A few thoughts from me: limnophila aromatica is a nice plant, but it will outgrow your tank in no time, keeping you busy trimming if you don't want the other plants suffer in the shade. A taller tank would be better. The HC will make a nicer carpet quicker if you break it up a little more. And if you shoot a picture, it's always good to give the tank a little clean beforehand.

Happy aquascaping!

[exv152]

Nice setup. I see from the picture you have a ceramic diffuser sitting on the counter. Any plans for co2?

[bettabreeder]

Lotsa plants! A few thoughts from me: limnophila aromatica is a nice plant, but it will outgrow your tank in no time, keeping you busy trimming if you don't want the other plants suffer in the shade. A taller tank would be better. The HC will make a nicer carpet quicker if you break it up a little more. And if you shoot a picture, it's always good to give the tank a little clean beforehand.

Happy aquascaping!

Thanks for the advice, I will break up the HC and the tank is clean now as I planted everything quickly before my lacrosse game and liked the look so snapped a few pics with it dirty


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[bettabreeder]

Nice setup. I see from the picture you have a ceramic diffuser sitting on the counter. Any plans for co2?

I will have my pressurized CO2 set up going again once I fill my tank this week


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[trakturboy]

Oh! .. I am SO riding the same 'crazy train'
I've only been into this hobby for 4mths and I now have 2 dedicated shrimp tanks and .. well .. possibly an addiction !

Tank 1: (3gal)
 - 10 red rili              <-- purchase @ kick-off
 - 5 amano
 - 4 sunkist

Tank 2: (3gal) (This tank is being used to grow plants for a 38g that I'm starting)
 - 6 chocolate          <-- purchase @ kick-off
- plants:
 - 1x Crypt petchii
 - 2x Dwarf Sag
 - 2x Anubias barteri var. nana
 - 4x Anubias minima

New additions "En Route"
 - 6 snowball             <-- due to arrive Thursday
 - 4 sakura (orange) <-- due to arrive Thursday

** Sorry    no photos yet .. stay tuned **

[bettabreeder]

Oh! .. I am SO riding the same 'crazy train'
I've only been into this hobby for 4mths and I now have 2 dedicated shrimp tanks and .. well .. possibly an addiction !

Tank 1: (3gal)
  - 10 red rili              <-- purchase @ kick-off
  - 5 amano
  - 4 sunkist

Tank 2: (3gal) (This tank is being used to grow plants for a 38g that I'm starting)
  - 6 chocolate          <-- purchase @ kick-off
- plants:
  - 1x Crypt petchii
  - 2x Dwarf Sag
  - 2x Anubias barteri var. nana
  - 4x Anubias minima

New additions "En Route"
  - 6 snowball             <-- due to arrive Thursday
  - 4 sakura (orange) <-- due to arrive Thursday

** Sorry    no photos yet .. stay tuned **

Sounds like you're making quite the start! I've been keeping shrimp for close to 4 years now so if you have any questions or just want to chat about them holler away!

[bettabreeder]

so new updates tonight... completely redid the foreground aquascape. spent hours cutting and planting glosso and seperating my HC cuba. I think I found the perfect BPS at 1.5 as my Limnophila Aromatica was pearling and my Echinodorus Quadricostatu as well! pictures to follow tomorrow as I dirtied the tank a bit while rooting around in the substrate.

[bettabreeder]

So as promised... Here are the pics of my new foreground aquascape
fts

left side

right side

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[Jitters]

Oh cool bettabreeder! I can't wait to see some pics one the plants grow out some. Your tank is amazing.

Lol @ Trakturboy. I know what you mean about the addition! I just got my first shrimp tank set up about 1.5 months ago, now I am trying to figure a way to get my wife to let me start a second one.

[bettabreeder]

Oh cool bettabreeder! I can't wait to see some pics one the plants grow out some. Your tank is amazing.

Thanks man! I wasn't too happy with the rock placement so I ended up buying mystery dragon stones from Big Al's but they skyrocketed my KH values which is a huge no-no if I do go through with my Taiwan Bee plan. I can already see some growth on the glosso and L. Aromatica. Even with my CO2 woes as my regulator is leaking I'm having good growth and a ton of bubbling from all plants when lights are on.

[bettabreeder]

Did some trimming today and got the idea to possibly hold off on the shrimp for a while and fill this with celestial pearl danios just to make it pop a little more fts
left side right side


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[daworldisblack]

Looks like the carpet is filling in! Maybe try having only one type of rock in there? The diff colours detract from the overall look I think. Just my 2 cents

[charlie]

Looks like the carpet is filling in! Maybe try having only one type of rock in there? The diff colours detract from the overall look I think. Just my 2 cents

X2

[bettabreeder]

How does this look? right side.
fts


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[daworldisblack]

Better! Another tip to add on to the hardscaping is to maybe vary the size and height so there is more then just one dimension. Maybe work with the angles, orientation, placement - odd numbers work best - its looking good!

[bettabreeder]

Better! Another tip to add on to the hardscaping is to maybe vary the size and height so there is more then just one dimension. Maybe work with the angles, orientation, placement - odd numbers work best - its looking good!

Rah, do you think I should go three and three on each side then?


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[daworldisblack]

I think it'd be too symmetrical - maybe 5/3? It also all depends on how you position the rocks and what angles they are placed in. Stand some up tall and some low to add variety. It always takes a fair amount of adjusting to get it just right lol

[bettabreeder]

I think it'd be too symmetrical - maybe 5/3? It also all depends on how you position the rocks and what angles they are placed in. Stand some up tall and some low to add variety. It always takes a fair amount of adjusting to get it just right lol

I'll give it a go but unfortunately there are all similar sizes. I bought some rocks from big al's but they leached a significant amount of carbonate minerals that I decided to pull them out. School midterms just ended so I have some time to play with rock positioning tonight. Will upload a picture when I figure it out


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[charlie]

Brendan some good rocks are the dragon stone/Okho stone, does not affect the water & looks awesome, both Big Al`s & La Niche carry it.

[bettabreeder]

Brendan some good rocks are the dragon stone/Okho stone, does not affect the water & looks awesome, both Big Al`s & La Niche carry it.

Sounds good Errol! I was looking for okho stone and couldn't find any. I did find this though. It raised GH and KH


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[daworldisblack]

The other kind of rock that looks good is the petrified drift wood - BA also has them so maybe you could take a look at those too

[bettabreeder]

Yee that looks nice. Ended up going with some dragon stone because I couldn't see any okho stones. Pics to come eventually. Soaking them in a bucket now


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[daworldisblack]

Yee that looks nice. Ended up going with some dragon stone because I couldn't see any okho stones. Pics to come eventually. Soaking them in a bucket now


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Lol nice.. Dragon stone IS Ohko stone! :p Looking forward to the pics!

[bettabreeder]

Lol nice.. Dragon stone IS Ohko stone! :p Looking forward to the pics!

haha rookie mistake! It just looks so different underwater then dry!


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[sas]

Yee that looks nice. Ended up going with some dragon stone because I couldn't see any okho stones. Pics to come eventually. Soaking them in a bucket now


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Looking forward to seeing what you've done. I bet it's going to look fantastic!
Did BA have lots left of  Ohko stone left?

[bettabreeder]

Looking forward to seeing what you've done. I bet it's going to look fantastic!
Did BA have lots left of  Ohko stone left?

Thank you! I hope it will be. I have time tonight after work to tinker around with how it looks so I want to get it just right. I picked mine up at kanata and there was just a couple left. Small pieces though.


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[charlie]

Where is the pics 

[bettabreeder]

Where is the pics 

Building suspense


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[bettabreeder]

More suspense building!!!


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[bettabreeder]

The wait is finally over! Let me know what you think! full tank shot
left side
right side


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[exv152]

Ohko is nice for an iwagumi. But I would stick with one type of stone only to create harmony, as suggested, and not line them up in a row.  BTW, nice to see another sens fan on the forum too.

An example:

[bettabreeder]

Ohko is nice for an iwagumi. But I would stick with one type of stone only to create harmony, as suggested, and not line them up in a row.  BTW, nice to see another sens fan on the forum too.

I would ideally like to do that eventually. Mayb tomorrow I'll break down the rocks. Big Al's only had a couple pieces left so I just grabbed the three I liked. Did a huge change today... Raised the light. I finally feel professional


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[bettabreeder]

Changed it up again. Something just irks me about it and I can't figure it out so I'm coming to you guys to hopefully help me.
Thank you guys,
Brendan


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[Aquaticfinatic]

Awesome!! 

[fischkopp]

Changed it up again. Something just irks me about it and I can't figure it out so I'm coming to you guys to hopefully help me.

That tends to happen! But it's getting there. I would change the rocks around, looks to "lined up" for me. Try to group them, make one side more pronounced compared to the other, let the rock point in the same direction following their "flow" (the proper term escapes me her). Lots to play around with.

Happy aquascaping!

[charlie]

Welcome to my world  , the goal to keep in mind is that it`s you that will see the tank daily & as such when you have some comfort within your self of what looks good to your eyes today is what you go with.
That said here is something that might serve as some inspiration for you.
Borrowed from the net 

[bettabreeder]

Welcome to my world  , the goal to keep in mind is that it`s you that will see the tank daily & as such when you have some comfort within your self of what looks good to your eyes today is what you go with.
That said here is something that might serve as some inspiration for you.
Borrowed from the net 

It's funny you posted that picture Errol. Just today I was thinking about taking the five rocks on the left and making them the center piece of the tank in the middle with HC and glosso on the sides


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[charlie]

Brendan keep in mind that the Dragon stone is easily broken into small pieces with a hammer if you need smaller pieces
Errol

[bettabreeder]

News flash! Latest developments...


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[bettabreeder]

Brendan keep in mind that the Dragon stone is easily broken into small pieces with a hammer if you need smaller pieces
Errol

for sure! That's how I made 5 rocks for the left side out of two. I'm personally not a fan of how the inside of the rock looks so once it's broken it limits the angle I have to work with especially if I had a design in mind.


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[daworldisblack]

Lol don't you just love reading week! Keep updates coming!

[bettabreeder]

Lol don't you just love reading week! Keep updates coming!

absolutely! I have a day off tomorrow from work so I'm going to replant and rearrange rocks tomorrow


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[exv152]

Having the same rock throughout makes big difference. Nice job!

[bettabreeder]

Having the same rock throughout makes big difference. Nice job!

thanks! I wasn't 100% content with the rocks tho.

So in that news there is a huge update when I get home from work today


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[bettabreeder]

Here we go!
Comments and suggestions always welcome


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[daworldisblack]

Lol you know you got free time when.. hahaha.. usually the rule-of-third works well in off-centering the center-piece/focal point. Maybe a move slightly to the left or right would be ideal but its a personal preference. I kinda like this too!

[exv152]

Much better. Also, I would choose the biggest rock to make the focal point, and set it off center, the others should be smaller to not detract from that focal piece.

[bettabreeder]

I can try and lift the middle rock tomorrow. Everything in the tank seems to be happy right now


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[bettabreeder]

How is this looking?


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[bettabreeder]

Updated as I had some time on the weekend to work on it


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[charlie]

I would put the stem plants behind the rock scape, probably a stem like Rotala indica/ rotundifolia & let the foreground plants carpet the rest of the tank, just an idea .
How is that Hagen CO 2 keeping up?
Errol

[bettabreeder]

Hey Errol. I'll give that a shot. There isn't a whole lot of space available behind the rock scape. And I'm running two DIY CO2 until I can get my 5lbs tank filled again and find out what's wrong with my regulator. It lasts for about 2/3 weeks before having to make a new batch. Had some algae problems but raised the light and had a blackout period which appeared to help a lot. 


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[exv152]

Hey Brendan, Your iwagumi skills are really coming along, the latest pics are a far cry from the first ones in the thread, in particular your choice of rock placement.  As for the plants, I would even suggest going with carpet plants only. That way nothing outgrows/out competes the height of your stones, and the stones remain the focal point. Awesome!

[bettabreeder]

Thank you for the suggestion and kind words! I was thinking of pulling the limnophila to put some glosso mayb that is tomorrows project

[bettabreeder]

Okay here's the latest update


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[sas]

Looking Great!

[charlie]

It`s coming along nicely, personally I would swap the front left stone with the 3 small front right stone of your main stone   & use 2 of the 3 from the right to replace the space created at the left of the main stone, just a suggestion.
P.S. `m assuming it`s 3 stones right of the main stone, since it`s a bit dark combine with my poor vision  it`s had to tell
Errol

[bettabreeder]

Thank you sas for the compliment

Errol, It goes 2 left, main, 2 right. I know it is dark but its the best I can do with my iPhone. maybe once I am home tonight I'll set up some flash and extra light on the rocks to depict the set up. thank you for the feedback of course. also it is just awkward due to the two right stones are similar size as well as the back left. front left is very small in comparison but the main rock is massive compared to all of them and I don't have any aqua soil to play with better positionings

[exv152]

To be honest, the only rock that looks out of place for me is the left side rock. If that can be repositioned to not be so dominant visually; maybe by reducing the height, making it smaller in stature, etc. Right now it is not playing a supporting role, it's competing with the largest stone.

[charlie]

To be honest, the only rock that looks out of place for me is the left side rock. If that can be repositioned to not be so dominant visually; maybe by reducing the height, making it smaller in stature, etc. Right now it is not playing a supporting role, it's competing with the largest stone.

Exactly, that is why switching it thinking the ones to the right was 3 smaller pcs.
Brendan can try having some of them horizontal as opposed to vertical.
Errol

[bettabreeder]

How's this?


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[bettabreeder]

Here are some pics of the new inhabitants


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[daworldisblack]

Jealous! Looks amazing!

[bettabreeder]

Jealous! Looks amazing!

Thanks rah!


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[bettabreeder]

So little update... I left a female OEBT shrimp in this tank and well wouldn't ya know it she now is berried. Soooo in about a month I'll be able to find out who her babies daddy is


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[bettabreeder]

New update! Built a stand for this tank as my dresser was no longer level. I plan on painting it black one day and adding a door to it


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[daworldisblack]

Looking good! Always neat to start small projects!

[Dxpert]

Awesome work! I just read through from the start and kudos on the progress, the 20L is a difficult tank to scape because of the limited height and depth, yours however looks great!

Great work on the stand also, it looks very solid, I'm sure it will pop once you paint it or skin it with more wood.

Have you noticed much of an increase in water parameters from the rock you have?

[bettabreeder]

Looking good! Always neat to start small projects!

[bettabreeder]

Awesome work! I just read through from the start and kudos on the progress, the 20L is a difficult tank to scape because of the limited height and depth, yours however looks great!

Great work on the stand also, it looks very solid, I'm sure it will pop once you paint it or skin it with more wood.

Have you noticed much of an increase in water parameters from the rock you have?

Thanks guys! Only parameters changing from the rocks is the KH. Ideally I want the water at 0-1 KH but the rocks keep it at 2 KH


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[bettabreeder]

Should've taken a before and after photo of the trim but I got carried away this morning and only now remembered to snap a photo.


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[fischkopp]

That's a nice setup, looks like you get solid growth. And you for sure build one pretty solid tank. Looking to upgrade soon, eh?

Maybe a bit of critique at this point: I like the rocks, but find you are missing something to balance them. The layout lacks a focal pint that draws you in. Maybe a third rock somewhere, a bit more topography with the gravel, some taller plants in the background, just to give you some ideas. I do like where this is going!

[daworldisblack]

Man, this tank has come a long way and looks like a world-apart from your first few 'proposals' :p Really nice Iwagumi-esque scape man. Simple and good.

Re Scape, I think he does have 3 rocks but the left and middle rock probably look like one. The middle rock could be raised a little and positioned per the rule-of-thirds but a simple trick might just be to plant some shorter stem plants like Styrogyne Repens or Downoi etc. in between the rocks

[Dxpert]

That HC has really filled out! Great work Brendan. Btw, the orange eyed blue tigers are doing great.

[charlie]

Good job Brendan.

[bettabreeder]

Thanks for the compliments guys! and yes i have five rocks in there but the lighting for my camera does not capture the five rocks well at all. its quite better in person.

[bettabreeder]

I did some rearranging so here's an updated shot of the tank


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[bettabreeder]

And a side view of my tank


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[charlie]

I`m jealous of you HC carpet 

[bettabreeder]

Thanks Errol! I'm extremely happy with the growth thus far


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[daworldisblack]

Yes that hc carpet - that is amazing and the colour of how i feel about it! Nicely done!

[exv152]

I've struggled with establishing a carpet of HC since; it lifts so easily, it's suseptible to ammonia burn with new ADA soil, that plus mold can really make it a challenge. Nice little setup you got going.

[fischkopp]

This is coming together nicely. Good job!

[bettabreeder]

Thanks guys!


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[bettabreeder]

So finally got my shrimp tank looking perfect. Just going to focus on growing the moss all the way up the back.


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[exv152]

Nice tank Brendan! I'll bet you're getting a lot of enjoyment out of it.

[sas]

Great looking tank!

[daworldisblack]

Sweet looking tanks man - good to see alls well in there! Them Crystal Shrimps look great in there!

[charlie]

Looking Purdy , great job

[bettabreeder]

Thanks guys!


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[bettabreeder]

I finally had some free time this morning and after mulling over the idea for some time now I finally added more aqua soil to the back left corner and planted some HC all the way up it. It looks pretty shabby right now of course but once the tank clears up I'll post a picture of it.

[bettabreeder]

new slope. Hoping it'll look stellar once the HC grows on it


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[bettabreeder]

Hey guys! It's been a while but after a little hiatus I'm back! School has settled down for a day or two so I have some time to work on this tank aka my HC mat was starting to lift off so I pulled it all up and I'm going to replant it and hopefully work in a new aquascape in the future. I have some SSS+ CBS berries so I don't want to play with it too much.


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[bettabreeder]

So it's been a while but I ended up tearing this tank down and today started new. I'm hoping that this scape will last for a while. I'm really excited to see how it turns out.

So this is what the tank looked like right before tearing it down

Here is the middle of rescaping

Left side placed

Right side coming together

Working with HC for planting

Getting somewhere....

[daworldisblack]

Thanks some skillz with the hardscape! Pretty great start man!

[bettabreeder]

Here's a fts. Something is just not sitting right any suggestions?

[charlie]

Good going.
If you are not happy with it , (BTW I love the rock work on the left side) You can try this & see how it looks -
the large rock on the right side, if you can flip it & bury it some ,so you get  more of a lower rise, with the smaller ones half buried too. ( could also try making a slightly smaller rock out of the big one0
Move the red Ludwigia red sp more to the right, slightly behind & right of the centre rock of the left group of rocks.
move the tall grassy plant( giant hair grass?) from the right to the left side back where the ludwigia was..
Put the Arcuata on the right side where the Tall grassy was.
just a suggestion.

[bettabreeder]

Thank you, I'll try that. Definitely agree the right side rocks are too big. Any suggestions for the foreground? I think it's the glosso that is throwing me off right now.

[charlie]

As you have already experienced the HC will lift, combine that with the glosso & HC growing into each other & you now have that more hands in the tank more frequent.
If you want to keep the 2, I would probably plant the entire front with HC, instead of what appears to be now - 2 banks of HC & the glosso in the middle . Put a barrier/  divider & plant the glosso centre back.

[bettabreeder]

Thanks Errol I'll keep that in mind. Here's a quick little tinkering photo. I still need to fix the rocks on the right side. Perhaps tomorrow nights project. Feedback is always welcome!!!

[bettabreeder]

More tinkering...

[bettabreeder]

Basically the same just added some cabomba
Feedback always welcome!

[Dxpert]

Looking great! Love the hardscape. Do the rocks still leach hardness or have they stopped after a year?

[bettabreeder]

Thanks! The jury is out on that one because I added new rocks to this scape so my KH is around 2 but I'll test GH when I'm home today.

[bettabreeder]

I was in and out of the house all day yesterday so I forgot to test the parameters but I'll check them tonight. In other news. Between all the running around Errol helped me out with some plants I wanted for this tank so here is the update... Still entertaining stocking ideas if anyone has two cents.

[Dxpert]

Love the nice colour that you have going on in that tank, great work on the scape.

[bettabreeder]

Love the nice colour that you have going on in that tank, great work on the scape.

Thanks! And to answer your earlier question it appears as if the rocks do not leech after a year as my KH is ~1 and GH is at 2.

[charlie]

Thanks! And to answer your earlier question it appears as if the rocks do not leech after a year as my KH is ~1 and GH is at 2.

Dragon stone does not leach.

[bettabreeder]

Here's some progress guys!

[charlie]

Here's some progress guys!

Hey Brendan some nice growth, good work.
What is the 2 clump of plants in the middle back?

[bettabreeder]

It's hair grass I'll take a side shot in a minute

[charlie]

I find it distracting at least from the picture, maybe thin/spread it out, as opposed to having it in 2 clumps.
What is the other plant close to it?

[bettabreeder]

The luwigia sp. red?

[bettabreeder]

Update

[charlie]

can`t wait to see it mature, you got the bug for colour now 

[bettabreeder]

Here's an update. First real trim for the tank. I'm getting really good growth and I'm going to start dosing. I've been battling algae and developed some weird sort of film on the top of the water. I figured it's from the fish food but I'm not entirely too sure. Any thoughts are much appreciated.

[Mike L]

You can make a surface skimmer very easily to get rid of the surface scum using power head and a small soft drink bottle. PM if interested

[daworldisblack]

You can also aim the output of your outflow or a powerhead slightly towards the surface of the water to get some water movement going. A surface skimmer may mean pumping more co2 in. Also shrimps love that surface scum - put some floating plants and they'll latch on upside down and munch on it.

[bettabreeder]

Thanks mike and rah. I already have the spray bar pointed upwards but not at max flow as it tends to disturb the aquasoil at the front. Might just take it close to full speed and see if that helps

[charlie]

Thanks mike and rah. I already have the spray bar pointed upwards but not at max flow as it tends to disturb the aquasoil at the front. Might just take it close to full speed and see if that helps

Mount the spray bar on the side panel, so the flow goes along the length of the tank, it may need shortening.

[Mike L]

 Surface skimmer will not add any co2 that I know of.
Take a small personal soda bottle because they are rigid.Remove the label and glue. Cut out bottom of bottle and cut V grooves about and inch or so down all the way around. Drill a hole in the cap the size of the power head intake. Place foam filter in the cap end of the bottle to prevent floss from being sucked up the power head. Add floss and mount upside down with the V opening such that you have overflow enough to keep the power head primed. Your surface will be clear as glass in an hour or so tops. Can't take credit for it as I googled several builds and found this to be most effective.
Mike

[daworldisblack]

Surface skimmer will not add any co2 that I know of.

Sorry I meant the agitation will degas the co2 from the water quicker which means theres a need to pump more co2 in. Might be negligible as there are other factors like water temperature but I know its been brought up before in other discussions re skimmers and co2 in planted tanks. CO2 degases pretty easy apparently?

[charlie]

CO2 is easily out gassed, but as posted ,it is easily compensated by increasing your injection.
You want a slight ripple going along the length of the tank, not a huge wave which will create  splashing & lots of outgassing, the light ripple will also promote gas exchange, never a bad thing.
The reason your spray bar is creating disturbance with the front of the tank, is that the way it is mounted presently the span is only 12 inches , the water hits the front panel-down & back to the rear of the tank.
Mike that suggestion does work basically a ghetto eheim surface skimmer, that said it`s not for everyone as it does stick out like a sore thumb in a nice planted display tank 
Errol

[Mike L]

Because the skimmer power head is so low you can aim in such away as to create no surface agitation. If the power head is not to strong ie 400 GPh say for that tank it works great, however it would depend on tank size. 
Charlie keep in mind your only running it for a couple of hours. After that your might not need it for quite some time. I did this in a 75 gallon tank a month ago 2 hours run time haven't had to use it since.

On another note when I did this I had tiny bugs that looked a little like shrimp or baby mosquitos in the fine floss.  So tiny you almost could not see them unless they moved. What would that have been.
Mike

[bettabreeder]

Increased flow and was able to eliminate surface film. In other news I upgraded to lily pipes!!!

[bettabreeder]

Quick little update here. Finally finished this semester so I had time to work on the tank. Here's what it is looking like now

[charlie]

love the changes & growth.

[barefoot_golfer]

Love the mix of colour & texture .... Great job!

[bettabreeder]

Thanks guys!

[daworldisblack]

Looking good man! All that growth from that dual bulb fixture!

[fischkopp]

This tank has come a long way. Great job! Love it!

[bettabreeder]

Thank you for all the compliments guys!

[bettabreeder]

Wow! I can't believe that it has been nearly 4 years but I am glad to say that after shutting the tank down for 2 years I have it back up and running. I need my CO2 tank recertified and refilled, does anyone have a suggestion on where I should go? I was considering starting a new thread for this but honestly it is crazy to see where the tank has come from to where it is today. I am excited to see what it will develop into now.

[drukus]

The tank looks even better than before. I like it a lot.

Where did you get the Celestial Danios? Their colours are quite vibrant.

[bettabreeder]

I picked up 3 of them from a member here and then grabbed an additional 12 from Critter Jungle. Hoping to turn this into a breeding project potentially.

[Kalemh]

Tank looks great. Cant wait to see it grow in some familiar looking plants (;

[bettabreeder]

Thanks guys! I'm excited to see how your plants grow out Kalemh! As you can see I didn't waste any of them and packed the tank. Would love to get the CO2 system up and running sooner than later though.

[daworldisblack]

Thanks guys! I'm excited to see how your plants grow out Kalemh! As you can see I didn't waste any of them and packed the tank. Would love to get the CO2 system up and running sooner than later though.

I haven't had a chance to refill my tank as well in a while but the 2 places I considered the last times were Pyromatek in Gatineau and Davidsons downtown. They only open during regular work hours and not on weekends which is a bit of a PITA. I need to get mine done soon too lol.

[lucius]

Yeah it's too bad they can't stay open late on one night for those of us that work 9 to 5 as well or maybe a Saturday morning.  Davidson charges a bit more but Pyromatek is further away assuming you live in Ottawa.