# 55G Journal - On the Edge of Paradise



## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

I had a try at my first planted tank about a year ago with DIY CO2. It turned out decent, but I let it get a bit overgrown and algae started to set in. Recently I tore it down and was deciding whether to try my first SW reef, bare-bottom Aro (have had a couple in the past), or have another go at a planted. In the end I decided I'd give the planted setup another go because of it's visual appeal (the SW reef is equally beautiful but costs a lot more).

Anyhow, here is how my first planted setup looked like :










I tore down the tank above and am starting anew. Began about a week ago but am still in the process of acquiring all the equipment and plants. Ordered a CO2 tank online and a regulator from Rex Grigg, both of which should hopefully get here next week. I have a basic idea of how I want the scape to look, but for now it looks a bit incomplete. For now, I added a couple plants in there since I had two SAE's from before (and two neons I had in my 2.5G mini planted, which I'm still working on as well.) and wanted to give them some plants to 'clean'.

Once I get the CO2 tank and regulator, I'll be going to my LFS to grab a diffuser, some fertilizer (still have KNO3, etc. left over from before), and as many plants as I can currently afford. For now, I'll just be adding the plants and see how well they grow before adding more fish. Here are some sneak peeks of the current incomplete setup.




























Toshi


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Eleocharis vivipara? It ll grow nicely into a mushroom shape with a lot of runners on the surface of the water. I like the contour of the substrate. It ll be fantastic if you can maintain it when you do your tank. Woot


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## evercl92 (Aug 14, 2006)

I agree. very promising layout.


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

I really like this layout so far, I'm excited to see where you take it. Seems to really have potential. What plants are you planning to add? Your really going to like the upgrade to pressurized CO2, very minimal maintenance required and its MUCH more consistant, your plants will thank you


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

Thanks for the comments!

*stepheus*, the plant is Eleocharis montevidensis.

*davis.1841*, I only have a general idea of the plants I want to add. Once I get the CO2, I'll be adding some more Blyxa Japonica for a medium height lawn all the way to the left. Then some crypts here and there behind it. Towards the back, some stem plants for a nice bush effect. Probably some Riccia towards the right and some more stem plants and crypts. I'll have to decide which plants I'll try when I visit the LFS


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

*UPDATE* April 18 2007

Finished adding some sand for a little river effect. Also, the hairgrass I added started yellowing (probably adjusting from emmersed to submersed form) so I thinned it out and replanted/respositioned it slightly.



















I should be getting my CO2 tank in the next day or so, then the regulator next week. Waiting is a pain ...


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## ranmasatome (Aug 5, 2005)

From a perspective point of view.. you may want to consider narrowing the "river" as it goes deeper into your tank... just a thought.


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

*ranmasatome*, thanks for your input. I haven't even begun to add my selection of plants so I'll have to see how it all turns out in regards to that riverbed section. I'm kind of making things up a bit as I go along.


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

*UPDATE* April 19 2007

Got my aluminum 10# CO2 cylinder today. Still have to wait for my regulator though which I'll hopefully get next week.










One of the main flaws in my setup is that for filtration, I am using a wet/dry. I've researched the wet/dry in a planted tank and the general consensus seems to be that it'll outgas the CO2 too much, requiring the CO2 input to be pumped up. During the course of my researching, I came across some information from Tom Barr who stated that the actual trickle area in the wet/dry is not the main source of CO2 outgassing, but rather the overflow. Decreasing the fall of water from the overflow will substantially decrease CO2 outgassing. And as for the trickle section, sealing the top area off (w/ tape, etc.) would create a large reactor where CO2 would degas, then be reabsorbed.

Sealing the trickle section would be easy, but I place a sponge filter inside and removing/reapplying the tape would become a hassle. So I've come up with a simple (and hopefully effective) design for the overflow which would decrease the distance of water falling and which would incorporate a sponge filter to trap larger debris.

Here is how the original overflow on my tank looks :










And here is the design I've come up with :










It might be a bit difficult to see the concept since I'm horrible at making graphics. I will be sticking a long piece of PVC pipe into the outlet of the overflow tank which will block off any water going directly into the wet/dry. This will cause the water to rise up until it reaches holes in the PVC which I will be drilling. This will significantly minimize the distance which the water overflows.

So what's with the cylindrical cap (which by the way won't be red)? Well, after thinking about it, I figure that some of the CO2 outgas from the trickle section may find it's way up to the PVC and out into the atmosphere. Thus, the cylindrical cap. This will be siliconed to the top of the PVC pipe and will extend down below the water line. This way, any CO2 which may reach this point will have nowhere to go, trapped inside the cylinder by the waterline. At this point, I can easily add a sponge filter at the top for quick filtering of any large debris.

Sure I could go out and purchase a canister but I'm broke now after buying my CO2 setup and I still have to purchase a diffuser and more plants. DIY is fun anyways 

If you see any flaws or have any advice/suggestions/comments, let me know. Thanks.

Toshi


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

*UPDATE* April 21 2007

Couple of updates to the tank. I actually went to go buy some plants for my 2.5g nano; some Hemianthus callitrichoides and an unidentified stem plant. I only used a small portion of the HC on the 2.5g and had a lot leftover, so I decided to plant it on my 55g. Also had like two stem plants left over so I planted those just for the hell of it as well.




























Also picked up a CO2 diffuser, some Seachem fertilizer, and some PVC parts to create my redesigned overflow which I'll take photos of later as I start to modify it. Now all I'm waiting for is the regulator and I'll finish adding the plants, modify my overflow, and everything will be set ... for now


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Nice planting man! can't wait to see the HC filling in ^_^


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## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

Nice camera, your getting such nice photographs of the plants! I too am looking forward to seeing the HC grow in; your tank's looking very nice.


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## Quantronghoang (Jan 31, 2006)

I just don't think the stream there is a good idea, it's divided your tank into 2 parts,the left side is very very long, but the right side is so short...and so this layout made the viewer a "wrong" feel, although your tank and driftwood is great and well placed.
If you can, I think you should move the stream a little bit to the left size, sothat it's placed at 1/3 of your tank, and make that stream more "perspective" to viewers(now it's look so narrow), that's would be great!


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## Yoshi (Apr 7, 2007)

I agree w/the "narrowing" stream that people have been mentioning above. As for the overall layout, I really like it! Great layout and very articulate planting


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## ranmasatome (Aug 5, 2005)

You planted HC one by one??? i applaud your patience..


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

Thanks for the comments everyone! :smile:

*ranmasatome*, yep, I planted them one at a time. It wasn't too bad since I've done glosso before. The part that took the most time was cutting each individual stem. Planting wasn't too difficult though - the only annoyance were the tetras nibbling on my arm when I was planting. I'm just happy that my SAEs haven't disturbed any of them. The HC I planted in my 2.5G w/ Amano shrimp had a few floaters the next day.

*UPDATE* April 21 2007

As suggested by others, I narrowed the sand area down a bit. It did feel a bit cramped on the right side; this kind of opens it up a bit more for plants.










Better? Worse? I'm still kind of undecided on what I should do there.

The HC is already starting to grow, as well as one of the stem plants, which is peeking above the driftwood now (rightmost plant which wasn't visible yesterday). Couple more days until I finally get the CO2 running!


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## Tankman (Feb 19, 2006)

Nice, can't wait to see an update ;-)


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

*UPDATE* April 22 2007

Finished up the overflow modification ($5) to reduce CO2 outgassing. There are holes in the PVC piping up top, behind the top cap so that water can flow down. Don't mind the overexposed tank (was necessary to show the overflow column.)










Also sealed up the trickle section with some tape. But after a while I noticed the top area gets wet and water seeps out a bit. So I'll probably redo it with some sealant to ensure nothing leaks (I assume if water leaks, then CO2 gas will as well.)

A shot of my Blyxa Japonica which don't seem to be growing much, but they're not dying so that's fine. Once I get the CO2, hopefully they'll take off (I'll be purchasing some more as well.)










And my HC which is growing nicely (taller). Hopefully they'll start spreading for a lawn effect when I get the CO2 going.




























And a shot of the full tank. I moved the Giant Hairgrass to form a line at the rear.










That's it for now. Hopefully my next update will be when I finally get my CO2 running! :smile:


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Nicely done, so far! WHat's the green plant to the right of the java fern? Is that a type of moss..?? Riccia?

I like the stream before when it was wider!  I know, I know.....not to frustrate you, but if you planted some crypts or had some moss that could "over-hang" the stream, it would have cut down on the width of it, and you could have shaped it like that. Now, I'm afraid if you plant anything that will hang over the stream, it will be too narrow towards the back, and you won't be able to see it at all.....

You do take some nice photos.....maybe you could give me some help with mine sometime?


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

donaldmboyer said:


> Nicely done, so far! WHat's the green plant to the right of the java fern? Is that a type of moss..?? Riccia?


Thanks! That's HC nex to the Java Fern/Petite Anubia. I still had a lot left over and it's still in the pot. Didn't want to waste it so just tucked it in between the driftwood for now 



donaldmboyer said:


> I like the stream before when it was wider! I know, I know.....not to frustrate you, but if you planted some crypts or had some moss that could "over-hang" the stream, it would have cut down on the width of it, and you could have shaped it like that. Now, I'm afraid if you plant anything that will hang over the stream, it will be too narrow towards the back, and you won't be able to see it at all.....


That was my plan initially - to get some crypts, etc. to overhang the riverbed. The way I had it in the beginning left little room to plant however so I narrowed it. I don't mind if the riverbed disappears towards the back. Hopefully it'll add to some depth, we'll see 



donaldmboyer said:


> You do take some nice photos.....maybe you could give me some help with mine sometime?


Thanks. I use a DSLR for my photos which I think is necessary to capture good aquarium photos (at the least a high-end prosumer camera.) Ability to change lenses and manually set aperture/shutter really helps a lot.


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## Rainbowfish (Apr 23, 2007)

Hey, I like it so far! Very nice. I love the substrate too, which kind is it? Was it expensive?


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

Rainbowfish said:


> Hey, I like it so far! Very nice. I love the substrate too, which kind is it? Was it expensive?


Thanks! The bottom layer is black gravel mixed with laterite. The top layer is ADA Aqua Soil which is sold here locally for $36.00US for a 9L bag. It would get pretty expensive if I used all AS, so I just used it for the top layer (enough for the plants to get nice and rooted.)


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## Fabac (Jul 2, 2006)

That looks great, excellent photos.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Need.....moss......for.......driftwood......soon!


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## nap83 (Feb 7, 2006)

very well planned out, even the planting is at its best! i'm sure the tank will be the forums envy...


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

Thanks for the encouraging comments so far everyone, appreciate it 

*UPDATE* April 24 2007

Got in my regulator today and test fitted it 










I was planning on getting the CO2 tank filled up, but remembered that the place is closed today. So I'll have to wait another day. Also resealed my trickle section on the wet/dry and mounted the diffuser inside the tank. Almost there ...

Since I'm currently running just under 2wpg, I'm not sure if the HC will form a carpet. So I set up an extra fluorescent fixture I had for an additional 60w. It doesn't have reflectors or anything so I know I'm not getting all of the light into the tank, but it should be better than nothing. I don't really want to spend more money on an extra fixture; plus I want to keep it medium light. Hopefully it's good enough - only time will tell.


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

*UPDATE* April 25 2007

Finally got my CO2 set up! It was easier than I thought it would be  For now, I'm starting it at just about 1bps since that seems to be the general area where you should start from. *When should I test the water (KH & PH) to measure my CO2 levels?*

Also got another batch of plants into the tank. Once my wallet recovers, I'll be adding another type of stem plant to the back and some crypts as well as some reddish plants for the right rear corner (any recommendations?)

Here are a couple of updated photos :





































Now I need to figure out what to do for my fert dosing. I have a general idea but any recommendations would be appreciated. Tank specs are 55g w/ approximately 168w (but realistically, probably 130-140w), ADA AS. Ferts I have on hand are KNO3, KH2PO4, Seachem Equilibrium, Seachem Iron, Seachem Flourish.

Thanks for looking!


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Use the fert table here at APC!

Well, I don't know.......but it would appear that your HC is spreading afterall, huh? 

What types of plants did you add? AND WHY HAVEN"T YOU ADDED ANY MOSS TO THE DRIFTWOOD YET? HAHA! 

I think this tank is going to look something fierce when it's done! NICE JOB!


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## yeux (Aug 23, 2006)

Promising tank...


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

*donaldmboyer*, haha, I'm so broke right now I have to wait a bit until my next batch of plants. I'm thinking of redoing the rightmost driftwood, so when I do that, I'll probably go for some moss on there. Plants I bought were more Blyxa Japonica to fill in the midground and some Rotala Indica for the left rear. Now I just have to wait for things to hopefully start growing  The HC does seem to be spreading a bit here and there. Damn SAEs keep on knocking a couple out everyday.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Why in heaven would you change that driftwood? That's the coolest piece!! 

Yeah, SAE's have a tendency to do that......I made the switch two years ago to shrimp, and never looked back. Much less damaging and aggravating! 

Have you increased your CO2 yet?


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

Well, I ended up getting rid of that riverbed and made a little "lake" instead. I might just get rid of the sand altogether. I had a bad habit of constantly changing the scape when I first started - I'm never satisfied with how it looks. Once I get my final batch of plants, I'll have to leave it as it is and let things grow. I bumped up the CO2 to around 2bps tonight. I'm having trouble w/ my shrimp in my 2.5g tearing up my HC; not as bad as the SAEs haha. The HC in both tanks seem to be doing well though


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

*UPDATE* April 30 2007

Just a small update; the plants seem to doing okay for now. Getting some algae on the glass here and there, but nothing too serious. Anyway, a couple photos:










The HC is growing, some vertically, some slanting horizontally. The leaves are getting pretty large, so I'm wondering if this is even HC. The LFS I bought this from didn't have any names for the plants, but it looked like HC so I assumed it was. I'll be letting it grow out, and if it gets any taller, I'll start trimming.

Overhead shot of the HC :










An hour or so after the lights turn on, some of the HC starts pearling and begins giving off a stream of air bubbles, so I assume the CO2 level is good for now.










Along with the HC, some of the Blyxa leaves pearl as well. They don't really seem to be growing much though. On the other hand, the Java Fern I have in there pearls a lot under the leaves.










The Rotala seem to be growing slowly but steadily in the background. I'll be letting them reach the surface before I trim and replant for thicker foliage.










Still re-working the right side of the tank. Hopefully I'll get another batch of plants soon since the right side is pretty bare at the moment.


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

Okay so it seems that the plant I thought was HC is actually HM. Fortunately, I think it still looks nice and it seems like it can still be used as a foreground plant. A lot of sources says it needs high light and can be difficult to grow but I'm only at just about 2wpg and a majority of the plants are slanting and growing extremely well. I'll start trimming growth over 1.5"-2.0" and see if I can form a carpet with it.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

HM will make a nice foreground plant, though it does have a tendency to grow more vertically than you would like. HC is easier to get to grow on the horizontal, but with 2w/gallon of light, even the HC would likely grow up as opposed to across. The HM will creep, just a bit more slowly. If you didn't have CO2, you may encounter more problems though.

With the other plants, they are still probably trying to adjust to your tank....give 'em another week or two, and you'll see better growth out of everything!! Blyxa, from my experience, does tend to take a while to really adapt to different conditions. If it is pearling, you have nothing to worry about!

How about some full tank shots!?


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

Some updates; changed up the hardscape a bit here and there. Trimmed up some plants and re-planted, mainly the Rotala. Added a bit more Blyxa to fill in the middle area and added some Fissiden to the driftwood on the left. Deciding whether to go with the same Rotala on the right side or add another type of stem plant -- I can't really decide which one to go for with all the choices at my LFS. Also, tore down my 2.5 shrimp tank and added some Dwarf Sag from it to the middle rear of this tank, along w/ the four Amano shrimp I had in the 2.5g. Anyway, the photos ... (the right side of the tank is a bit dark since I was repositioning my lights when I took these photos.)

*Left Side of the tank*









*Right Side of the tank, still needs work*









*HM Foreground*









*Fissiden on driftwood*









*The Blyxa wasn't really growing in the beginning, but now they're turning nice and green and becoming bushier*









*Full Tank Shot #1*









*Full Tank Shot #2*









For now, I have about 108w + 60w (not sure if I'm getting all the output from this). About 4bps. Weekly 50% water change. For fertilizers, I'm dosing twice weekly - 1/2tsp KNO3, 5ml Seachem Flourish, 5ml Seachem Iron, and pinch of KH2PO4 (which I started dosing recently due to some GSA). Also, about 1tsp of Seachem Flourish after the water change. I'm getting steady growth and hardly any algae, just a bit of GSA which I mentioned (but hasn't shown up after dosing KH2PO4, and a little bit of brown algae on the glass.


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## MrHarris (Mar 19, 2005)

I like it.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

It's looking good, I can't wait to see what you come up with for the right side.


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## rbittman (Apr 27, 2006)

I think your tank is lovely: such a clean design and very expertly done. I do think you have Micranthemum micranthemoides and not Hemianthus callitrichoides though.


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

MrHarris said:


> I like it.


Thanks for the comment!



cs_gardener said:


> It's looking good, I can't wait to see what you come up with for the right side.


Thanks Catherine. For now I'm thinking of some Crypts or Narrow-leaf Java Ferns with a backdrop of a yet to be determined stem plant. But I tend to change my mind on selecting plants so we'll see 



rbittman said:


> I think your tank is lovely: such a clean design and very expertly done. I do think you have Micranthemum micranthemoides and not Hemianthus callitrichoides though.


Thanks! Yeah, I realized a bit too late that it was HM and not HC. I do like the color contrast it provides, but it grows pretty quickly and requires frequent trimming. I may end up pulling it and go for a simple clean look of Blyxa only as a foreground (at least the left side of the tank), but for now I'll let it grow out and see if I can keep up on the trimming.

Toshi


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

Just another quick progress photo - only some slight differences.

Here's what it looked like 10 days ago :










And a photo from tonight :










As you can see from the photos, the HM is really starting to grow a thick foreground. I have to trim at least once a week or it won't look as clean; but it's not too difficult so I don't mind for now. The Blyxa is still growing nice and lush. The Rotala indica are growing taller and I've trimmed some of the taller ones and planted extras to the right side of the tank. I think I still have to trim a couple more times to get the nice bushy effect. Also, the Fissidens is growing steadily, now covering most of the fishing line.

On the second photo, right below the neon tetra, the leftover HM (still in the pot) is growing fast as well - don't know if I should keep it or not. Right behind it, I have some Rotala green recently added. You can also see the streams of air bubbles that my HM produce which should indicate good CO2. However, I'm still getting some brown algae and some GSA started showing up again (despite phosphate dosing). I upped the CO2 a bit and lowered the photo light period. Hopefully it'll help a bit.

I'm still not sure if I should add some more Blyxa or Crypts / Narrow Leaf Java Fern in front of the driftwood on the far right. I need to add something though since it lacks a certain feeling of depth on that side. I just decided to set up another 29G (possibly for some CRS) so I might end up spending more money on that 

Thanks for looking.

Toshi


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## Haeun (Oct 19, 2006)

WOW, it looks gorgeous! HM does make a nice foreground. The leftover potted HM looks nice, and I actually thought it was just another background stem plant.
Kind of wonder how this scape might have looked with HC though. 

I can't believe you got so much growth in the past 10 days! Wish my plants in my nano would go that crazy.


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

It's been a while since an update. About a week or two ago, my water suddenly began to get cloudy. Doing a bit of research, it seems I had green water. So as suggested, I tried a blackout for about 4-5 days. I then did a 50-60% water change which helped a lot and the water was clear for a couple days. It still gets a bit cloudy, but not as much as before. Also, shortened lighting period to 7 hours as opposed to 8. The past 2 weeks I haven't done my weekly dosing - would that affect the GW? No other algae is present.

Buying a UV would be my last resort. I'm going to try another 50% water change and a 3-4 day blackout again this week and see if it goes away. Anyways, here's a recent photo of how the tank looks.


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## Haeun (Oct 19, 2006)

I don't know for sure, but I noticed that my green water went away with dramatically shortened photoperiod (to 5 hours) and better water circulation. Those are the only things that I changed, and the green water went away.

The tank looks great! The HM really filled in. (I love HM. ) Only thing I have to say is that the slopes (or at least the sense of slopes) got muted with the plants. Maybe you can let it grow more/trim less on certain places to reinstate the slopes?


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## nevada (Apr 3, 2005)

Nice tank! And also i do admire ur patience in planting each single plant. Its really neat and just can't describe how patient you'll get. Great Work!


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

*Haeun* Thanks for the tips on GW. I'll try to shorten the photo period more and increase water circulation if it doesn't go away. I did a trim about a week ago but the HM grows way too fast and that's probably why the slope feeling disappeared. Still working on filling up the Rotalas in the background so it looks a bit cluttered for now. Good idea on trimming certain areas; I'll give that a try.

*nevada*, thanks for the compliments!


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## naresh666 (Jun 2, 2007)

nice tank. iam planning to layout the gravel liek what u did. i plan to put a layer of fert then a layer of black quartz. but am contemplating on ADA. as i have heard that plants root to ADA better?

will they get loose and float if i use quartz?


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

naresh666 said:


> nice tank. iam planning to layout the gravel liek what u did. i plan to put a layer of fert then a layer of black quartz. but am contemplating on ADA. as i have heard that plants root to ADA better?
> 
> will they get loose and float if i use quartz?


Black quartz shouldn't pose a problem in planting, although I did notice that planting in ADA seemed a bit easier. If you have shrimp or jumpy fish like SAE's, some plants may get uprooted either way until the roots get established.


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

It's been 5 months since my last update. Been busy with my personal life so I haven't had the time and will to work on the tank. I let it get pretty overgrown but just did a large trim on it the other day. I rearranged some plants here and there but nothing too major. I'm kind of letting it grow on it's own for a somewhat natural look, especially the Dwarf Sag which made it's way from the back center to the front right corner.

Fauna-wise it's still pretty empty - just my single neon (which has survived all this time), a SAE, an Oto, and 4 Amano Shrimp (I assume they're all still alive but it's hard to see all 4 at the same time with all the plants). When I'm more financially stable, I'm thinking of picking up a nice school of Cardinals and maybe a Discus or two; we'll see.

Anyway, here is my most recent photo taken today.


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

I know you said you just kind of let it grow on its own for a while but I Think it really made something I'm finding even more interesting now. The dwarf sag I think really fits in hear with the other plants you have here. it looks as though the dwarf sag just keeps going but gets rougher toward th back, which is appealing to me. I wonder what this tank could be you went without HM and let the dwarf sag completely fill in its space too. Definately like what you have though.


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

davis.1841 said:


> I know you said you just kind of let it grow on its own for a while but I Think it really made something I'm finding even more interesting now. The dwarf sag I think really fits in hear with the other plants you have here. it looks as though the dwarf sag just keeps going but gets rougher toward th back, which is appealing to me. I wonder what this tank could be you went without HM and let the dwarf sag completely fill in its space too. Definately like what you have though.


Thanks for the comments. I _have_ been thinking of getting rid of the HM since it grows pretty fast - I actually did a trim on it tonight. We'll see how the dwarf sag grows since it's pretty random 

Here's a quick photo update/tour of my tank as it looks now :

*Now w/ the HM cut down in height*










*And several miscellaneous shots of the aquarium.*


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## helgymatt (Sep 12, 2007)

Nice Tank! I'm glad to see you cut down on the river effect. The white was too high of a contrast with the black gravel IMO and was a distraction. I also think larger pieces of driftwood sticking out into the open areas of the tank would be good. Any Blyxa for sale!?


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## f2eight (Apr 14, 2007)

helgymatt said:


> Nice Tank! I'm glad to see you cut down on the river effect. The white was too high of a contrast with the black gravel IMO and was a distraction. I also think larger pieces of driftwood sticking out into the open areas of the tank would be good. Any Blyxa for sale!?


Thanks for the comment. I agree that the sand doesn't really suit the scape. I thought of adding in a new piece of driftwood but still not decided yet - space is a bit limited for me to work with. Now that I've trimmed down the Rotala, the Blyxa should get more light and start growing again. If you want, check back in a while and see if I need to trim them down. I've thrown away a bunch of Rotala, HM, and Fissidens since I have no space for them after I trim them every other week.


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## Jareardy (Feb 14, 2008)

Any more updates?


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

Very Nice!!! I have to say this tank is refreshingly inspiring!! This scape I think really has turned out for the better!! even the smaller more focused views really have something add something unique


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