# Stepheus' 2ft x 1ft ADA tank Journal



## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

To tell you the truth, this will hardly be a ADA tank, as I am only currently using ADA substrate and possibly switching over to some ADA T8s soon. The other equipment are generally, from the brand Ocean Free. Currently chilled by air condition at night. Will be getting a internal filter to work DIY C02 into the tank and, some fans to help keep the temp low and more constant during the day.

When I first started the tank, I managed to get crystal clear water. However, the manzanita wood leeched tannins into the water. Furthermore, it floated and started to grow translucent jelly like fungus on the surface of the whole pc after I attempted in boiling it to make it less buoyant. Some have seen the previous version of this tank, but here is the pic of it anyways:









I tried treating the wood with high amounts of salt in a bucket of water on the logic that the fungal growth might be freshwater, and thus keeping it at bay. I cant say that the method did not work, but it wasnt too effective. I resorted to leaving the whole pc of wood, which was sinking after a while, in lotus pot outside. I believe the bacteria in the lotus pot and exposure to UV rays while the whole pc was submerged, killed off most of the fungus. I then returned the piece of wood into my tank, resorting to a scape that looks like this:



















Here is what it currently looks like. Most plants in the tank are temporary, in exception of the shorter version of Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis, and some Ludwigia sp. 'Guinea' clippings from my other tank.

















Just so I remember what I envisioned, I edited the pic using MS Paint.

Legend:
Dark green doodles - Anubias var. petite
Dark green specks - Peacock moss
Light green specks - Glosso growing high
Light green doodle - Needle leave Java Fern
Turquoise specks - Marsilea quadrifolia
Light blue - HC
White - White sand

Hope I havent bore anyone with my plans. Do comment. Thanks in advance


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

That's a very nice piece of wood, Stepheus! I wouldn't worry too much about the fungus.....it always goes away after a week or so by itself.

The tank should look great.....keep us posted with pics in a few weeks! It is a little hard to picture, even with your doodling


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

It is a bit difficult to picture, but I think you've planned it quite well. What are the red/brown specks for that are above the narrow-leaf java fern?


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Sorry for the hiatus. Kinda needed it to sort out schooling, working at the same time and then balancing a car loan  I ll soon go a bit nuts. Catherine, thanks for the notice! The orange specks above the narrow leaf java fern is ludwiga sp. guinea. Sorry for not being very clear on the sketches. but here are some updates on the tank.









The water has cleared a lot, but it could do better. Currently, it doesnt have any fauna, except for one snail which hitched a hike on some of the plants that I bought. It not that bad considering that the snail is eating up the dead fungal growth on the wood.









Added DIY CO2, which is not working as I would prefer it to, the output of CO2 is not as high as I expected it to be. Partly due to the air condition i turn on at night. So, I am adding more bottles. I ve also added white sand! Azoo Quartz gravel to be exact  









My next contemplation will be getting a bottle of ADA liq fert, altho it is still a huge expense for me. Does anyone suggest I get it? Some experience on that product as compared with another would be much appreciated.

Besides that, I ve added one ADA T8 which is 15w/tube. My original plan was getting the same T8 from Arcadia but both costs mostly the same. I am going for a ADA craze right now.

Plants that are currently in the tank is:
Marsilea quadrifolia
Mini Java Fern
Mini Fisidens
Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis
Water sprite (which is not part of the original plan..just there to absorb nutrients)

Will be adding:
Shorter red version of crypt balansae
Narrow leaf java fern
Peacock moss (I see this in LFS, but would LOVE to have Flame moss tho)
Nana petite (maybe)
HC (maybe in the place of glosso.)

At the end of the day, there wil only be 7 types of plants in the tank. Which still qualifies as a minimalistic tank I guess :heh: I scratched the idea of glosso bcos I am planning to make this tank as low maintenance as possible. The Marsilea will grow shorter. New shorter aquatic leaves are already appearing.

I ve also been looking at Chinese style garden arrangement. It seems that in a garden, there should be many mini gardens compiled into a big picture i.e. the whole scape. I would like to have a few points in my tank that could be considered as smaller gardens. Of course I ll still be taking the flow of the whole tank as consideration. Thanks for reading all the whole ramble. Please do leave comments. Really need your help in this. Thanks


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

On first glance, those big Marsilea leaves startled me - they are so out of proportion to the rest of the tank. Now I see the smaller leaves growing at the base and I can try to picture what its going to look like. I like your choice of other plants to add to the tank. It looks like a good start and I'll be watching to see how it grows in.


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## zQ. (Dec 15, 2006)

> Marsilea quadrifolia


This thing can grow submerge ? In my country,its grow in any landscape that near the water source.If it can grow,i'll try


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## krisw (Jan 31, 2005)

> > Marsilea quadrifolia
> 
> 
> This thing can grow submerge ? In my country,its grow in any landscape that near the water source.If it can grow,i'll try


Yeah, this is a wonderful plant submerged. In lower light, it will grow tall like in this picture, but with med/high light it can be an excellent glosso replacement, as it creeps along the substrate. But, unlike glosso, it grows fairly slowly, so you don't have to replant it as often. Also note, that submerged, most of the leafs look like a darker green version of glosso, not a four-leaf clover.


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## zQ. (Dec 15, 2006)

>


In this pic is Marsilea hirsuta,but this is the real Marsilea quadrifolia,and i was tried it before,it'll never live submerge.








Ahh,look at this pic,the Marsilea quadrifolia has some overexposure point on there leaves.That mean the leaves is still emerge leave,i think if it is really Marsilea quadrifolia it'll die in few more days.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Interesting. Actually I am still new at this Marsilea business. The only thing I did was a short research online before I purchased the plant. The plant I bought dint come with any tags indicating the specific scientific name btw. Well, all i can say now is... we cant really match the names to the plants for sure until deeper considerations have been brought on the table and discussed. Do continue to try and identify Marsilea here and here. Any thoughts on my tanks? Heh?


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Quite a bit has happened since the last time I posted those pictures. The tank layout/idea is still the same though. Things I have added:

Narrow leaf java fern
20 pcs of Tiger shrimp and cherry shrimp
Orange river pebbles
DIY CO2 diffuser
Weeping moss










Highlights:
1. 2 of my cherry shrimps berried the day after a added a new male into the tank. However, I havent see babies yet. Its been at least 1 1/2 weeks now since they berried. My tank's temperature fluctuates 5 degree Celsius everyday. That might be a problem.

2. Marsilea has all turned submersed. Almost every leaf is 4 lobed and I love it this way. I dont think they ll turn into single lobes. I hope they wont.


















3. Mini fissidens is growing great. All of them has turned submersed. I can even see some frowns growing away from the places that I ve planted them.

4. I will be removing the bunch of moss on the top left after I see a a successful batch of new baby shrimps in my tanks. Or when I find time to make a full moss tank. Even saying it makes me feel excited. Lol.

5. Ludwiga sp. guinea growing very neatly.

















6. I have tied some weeping moss on the DW. I have also positioned the DW a lil differently. its subtle but I think it looks better now.

Thats all! Hope to hear some comments


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Nice wood.


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## yxberia (Apr 19, 2005)

Nice layout in such a limited space. 
Btw, I think I have the similiar Ludwigia like this. Do you find it difficult to grow? Mine ludwigia leaves turned mini. Any idea?



stepheus said:


> http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/8707/dsc039421is0.jpg


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Heh thanks for the compliments. I ve got a non-aquascaping friend to look at the tank and she mentioned that it is still very bare and messy. I ve gotta admit it is. Its so confusing to have the full blown picture of the scape in my head and having someone telling that the scape is empty. LOLL

xyberia: ludwiga sp. guinea is growing easy for me. ADA substrate and good dose of ferts from Ocean free. If you want, I will soon have a lot of the ludwiga to give away. maybe you can try keeping them again. its growth is moderate but under higher fert and CO2 schedule, it grows a faster.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

One of my tiger shrimps berried. Its a first for me. heh. So to commorate the day... i did a shoot. Hope you enjoy!












































I changed the scape, hoping that this will mature faster then moss and fissidens i previously had on the DW. altho i removed the DW the foreground and midground is still the same things. hopefully, it ll mature enough for may 31. well if it doesnt mature then, i ll save the pic for next year.


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## Jessie (Apr 23, 2007)

Very tranquil! I like how the open left side seems to continue on into the distance, from the visual trick the reflection creates in the background.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Thanks jessie =) i was kinda going for the meadowy feel. glad u noticed!

i got to admit tho this scape still needs a lot of maturing. the barclay longifloria is suppose to be deep red (turned green due to neglect in another tank), the hydocotyle needs to get bushier, and the ludwiga/c. balansae/narrow leave fern needs to grow out a lot thicker. wish there was a fast fwd button.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

I _really_ like where this one is going


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## Jessie (Apr 23, 2007)

Yea... the more I look at it, this doesn't look like an aquarium, it looks like a clearing in a field after a rainstorm. The way the photo captured it, it's like the sun is just starting to break out of hazy clouds.
Wonderful. Looks like fresh air!


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## Suikei (May 5, 2007)

I really like it too. It's not too built up, and yet it still doesn't feel like the tank is too tall. great!


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## ranmasatome (Aug 5, 2005)

i have to say.. that little bunch of mixed plants??? well.. its really well mixed. Lets see how it grows out to become.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

thanks Steven, suikei, ranmasatome! and jessie again!

truthfully, i was just thinking of a major rescape if no one besides *me* likes the tank. most of the time, my opinion on my own tank counts less. lol. it matters that i like the tank but i dont like defining beauty selfishly. it's nice to create something that others will enjoy as well. all part of practicing the art.

ranmasatome thanks for the criticism. when this scape came to my mind, stupid "bunch of plants" was the first critic that i could think of. looking fwd to that hydrocotyle and c balansae when they tip the "bunch of plants" feeling.

one thing i love tho, is criticism. i hope more ppl will bring some


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## zQ. (Dec 15, 2006)

Nice tank ! but where's the DW ? 
Ah,i've tried Marsilea quadrifolia but what i've got is just a bundle of Floating leaves like lotus (


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

zQ. if your marsilea has already rooted well, cut off all its leaves and subject them under high light. it'll help if you have CO2, even DIY. i ve got DIY CO2 hooked on this tank. btw, having them with floating leaves arent that bad at all. i would jump into the act of building a scape using them in that form.


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## zQ. (Dec 15, 2006)

Thank you for the reply.I'll try it !


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## Mellonman (Nov 2, 2005)

I love this layout !
The natural feeling is almost perfect (or it will be when the grass covers the aquasoil  )...
Great job


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