# 10 gallon tank



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

New to planted tanks, and just wanted to share what I've got going on. Any opinions are much obliged









above is the full tank










the cave in the tank










one of the fish! It's a dojo loach

other fish in tank:
3 sunrise tequila guppies
1 turquoise guppy
4 tiger barbs
3 hatchet fish
3 long finned golden zebra danios
3 zebra danios


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

not sure if the pics came through...

http://s346.photobucket.com/albums/p410/ferris89/?action=view&current=fullview.jpg

http://s346.photobucket.com/albums/p410/ferris89/?action=view&current=cave.jpg

http://s346.photobucket.com/albums/p410/ferris89/?action=view&current=dojoloach.jpg


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

bump


----------



## grim (Mar 13, 2008)

what are the big leafed plants on the left and i make a bet you got em from a petco


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

the green and white? They are White Ribbon Plants – Dracaena sanderiana
yes I got them at petsmart. Just starting out so I want to try cheap plants that I can careless if they kick the bucket so to speak.


----------



## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

ferris89 said:


> the green and white? They are White Ribbon Plants - Dracaena sanderiana
> yes I got them at petsmart. Just starting out so I want to try cheap plants that I can careless if they kick the bucket so to speak.


They are not true aquatics. They will die. So sorry!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

I wondered about that, I work in a garden center and have sold many terrestrial dracaenas, and wondered how they were aquatic... wow thanks, good to know, I don't really like them that much anyway lol


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

there is another one that I am no wary of, it's called "Kyoto grass" anyone know of it?


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

an update

took out the dracaena, as it isn't a true aquatic (thanks tex-gal!)

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p410/ferris89/fulltank.jpg

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p410/ferris89/leftside.jpg

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p410/ferris89/rightside.jpg

ordered some driftwood today, and my RCS should arrive on wednesday! (Thanks epicfish!)

this project is turning out to be more fun and more work than I was expecting!


----------



## Intros (Apr 26, 2006)

ferris89 said:


> there is another one that I am no wary of, it's called "Kyoto grass" anyone know of it?


I believe it's the Ophiopogon japonica var. Kyoto, but neither this one is pure aquatic plant. I believe you can get some help here with the Plant Finder, the link is up on the page to identify the plants that can fit better to the plan of your tank. Maybe you can find also here some models of different planted tanks, to have a complete idea of endless possibilities of aquascaping.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

thanks! I think you're right about the variation.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

bump


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

realized that two more of my plants aren't true aquatics, a peacock fern that hasn't done well (go figure) and the kyoto grass. taking those out asap!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

can dwarf saggitaria be grown on driftwood?


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

big update, took out most of the gravel, took out the non-aquatic plants (shakes fist at petsmart) 
put in piece pf nice looking wood, found some plants at a local creek (including some dragonfly larvae in another tank!) 
fish look very happy
filled tank to the very top (thanks tex gal) 

waiting for water to clear so I can take pics!


----------



## Ivanmx (Jun 4, 2008)

i think that look very unatural!


do you think about a completly rescape??

using other kind of substrate

cheers from mexico


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Thanks for commenting. The substrate is Seachem's fluorite substrate.
I have redone the scaping many times, just not posted pics for the first times.
I have driftwood coming in on friday and some moss should be coming in tomorrow (thanks to AaronT!) 
water cleared a bit, will post pics soon! 
oh yeah, got my RCS from epicfish! Some are battling against the tiger barbs that like expensive food apparently... they are already eating though which is good.
Going to go get a co2 reactor tomorrow as well as some fertilizer for the plants, and 5 new female guppies to keep the males happy and the only other female guppy company...


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

took out gravel too forgot to say that, thought it looked funky!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Big Photo Update! :dance:
refer to the last post to see what I've done, I also just got my moss in today! (thank you very much Aaron T!!)
Got some Otos

Full tank:









Left side:









Right Side:









Stick:









New RCS:









one of the Otos:









New taiwan moss:









tell me what you all think!!

driftwood should come in tomorrow and will put the rest of my moss on it!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Getting some new growth on a few of the plants.


----------



## OhioPlantedtankguy (Aug 7, 2008)

Looks Awesome! hey have you noticed any holes in your plant leaves? or missing leaves? Tiger barbs are known plant eaters, just wondering if you have any issues? i toss Anachris clippings in my tiger barb tank they go nuts!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

So far the plants are fine, they have tried uprooting them though... lol... but they seem to leave everything alone (except the pond snails)


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Lost a tiger barb today :-(
but decided to see of Irish moss is submersible...


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Got my driftwood today! I really love my new layout, I'll post pics in a couple of days if not tomorrow! I think I have settled into a plan!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

found a new plant at my local pond, I like it alot! it's a nice narrow leaf grass type thing 
added MTS to my tank (courtesy of Rohape) Exciting!!!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

well here is the picture of the settled scape!










Lots of views, not as many comments! please critique!  thanks!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Okay It has been a very long time since my last post, but I just started school again! My ten gallon is suffering from a very bad case of algae, and my oto and MTS aren't clearing it up.... I started a semi-local biome tank too!I will post more later!


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Apr 23, 2008)

Dojo Loaches and Tiger Barbs grow too big for a 10 gallon tank:-k

What kind of algae is it? Otos only eat diatoms IME.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

the algae is just a green side algae, the diatoms seem to be getting cleaned up, Just recently I had some weird brown stuff start growing on my Taiwan Moss it looks like it could be brown hair algae.... The algae has just been terrible lately.......... It's hard cuz now I am back at school, and can only work on my tank 2 days a week when i'm at home...

The plants are doing well, I will post pics soon, moved my guppies and hatchet-fish to my 5 gal that turned from local biotope, to calm zen aquatic garden


----------



## MacFan (Jul 30, 2006)

Do you have a local aquatic plant club? You can put a bunch more plants in the tank and that will help the algae by soaking up excess nutrients from the fish and food waste. At our local plant club meetings, we give away tons of plants for free. Not only are they better than what you'll find in stores, they're more unusual. Do you know what your water hardness is? Are you fertilizing the plants at all? I see a CO2 reactor in the back, are you running it? 

Michael


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

The tiger barbs and loach haven't grown any in the past few months, part of the size of a fish is dictated by how large their environment is.

the CO2 is diy, and yes it is running I have a fertilizer I use every now and then , but I have been letting the plants take care of it.

the plants I have are:

Dwarf Sagittaria – Sagittaria subulata
Taiwan Moss – Taxiphyllum alternans

A crypt of some sort, and something in the back that I have yet to look up properly, I also have some duckweed in there to try and suck up any excess nutrients...
1-Golden Dojo Loach – Misgurnis anguillicauditis
3-Tiger Barb – Puntius tetrazona
3-Long-finned Zebra Danio – Brachydanio rerio
1-Otocinclus - Otocinclus vestitus
2-Corydoras 
everybody seems happy 
I will post some pics later to try and show you what is going on...


----------



## MacFan (Jul 30, 2006)

First, it's a myth that fish only grow to their environment. There are lots of fish sold in stores that shouldn't be. For instance, the red tailed shark can grow to 4 feet, but stores rarely warn people of it and they can end up in tanks much too small for them. Loaches are pretty slow growing, I have clown loaches that have grown quite a bit, but it's been years. Unless they are fry, noticing fish growth isn't very common. One day in the future you'll say "wow, they've grown a lot" but won't really remember it happening. It's a bit like our hair.

The fertilizer is for the plants. With a good regular fertilization scheme, consistent CO2, and good lighting, plants can grow extremely fast. It's harder in a small tank such as yours but not impossible.

The counter intuitive thing is that small tanks are actually harder to keep than larger tanks (up to a point of course.) In a large tank, things that influence water chemistry will have a faster and greater impact in a smaller amount of water than in a larger amount. What filter do you have on the tank? I see it's a hang on the back type, a very good type. What type of media does it have? A sponge and carbon? bio media? You definitely want the sponge and the bio media (light colored course rock usually) and for now it is probably not bad to have carbon in there but once you have a heavily planted tank you can take it out. The bio media and ideally the sponge should never be rinsed with chlorinated tap water. Siphon tank water into a bucket and squeeze the sponge well in the water to clean it out and swish the bio media around for the same. Then put it back in the filter. The reason is that both will grow beneficial bacteria that is important to the tank. The bacteria breaks down ammonia that is produced by decomposing fish and food waste. It then becomes nitrites, which a different bacteria then convert into nitrates. In a heavily planted tank, we want to stop there, but otherwise a bacteria can break that down as well. In heavily stocked tanks or new tanks or tanks without many plants, this is helped by frequent water changes to keep those levels low. In general, you can't do too many water changes and your tank will look better for it.

I recommend removing the duck weed and any future pieces that appear. It's not a plant you really want in your tank. It multiplies like crazy and is very difficult to get rid of. Once you have real plants in there it will cover the surface and prevent light from getting to the plants below.

Right now, the best thing you can do is perform frequent water changes and manually remove the algae where possible. Whether by removing rocks/wood and washing it off, or by using a paper towel or razor blade on the glass. Most of the algaes you're getting point to low water quality, particularly the staghorn which according to this site is a sign of high ammonia, which would be consistent with a high fish load and a probable cause of your recent fish deaths.

Michael


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

thanks for the reply! I will reply to your PM in just a second... 
The fish growing to the size of environment isn't a complete myth, (have had fish all my life, and I am currently a Ecology major and have taken classes on morphology) it isn't fact, but I did keep an eye on these fish. 

I truly understand the small tank = big problems, it's all about ratios and such, I try not to fertilize too much, I feel like the nitrogen cycles and other natural cycles are the way I want to go.
I have been manually removing the algae for awhile with a nice scraper, and by the good ol' hand 
the duck weed i moved from my large pond outside to my 5 gal that is doing okay to overwinter  I thought putting the duckweed in there might be a good temporary "sponge" for excess nitrates as duckweed is a remarkable water purifier.

and the recent fish deaths occurred because of a naughty cat in my house that has reached his angsty kitten years and got into my room without my knowledge... >.< but I love him lol
and now to your PM


----------



## grim (Mar 13, 2008)

MacFan said:


> , the red tailed shark can grow to 4 feet,
> Michael


i did not know this all the research i have done on them says they get no bigger than six to eight inches i have had a red tailed shark in my twenty gallon for five years and hes no bigger than 6 and a half inches can you show me were you red this or were you got the info on how big this fish can get or a picture of one


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

there are probably multiple types of shark and there might be a difference in which one each person is thinking of, although I have no experience with them except for passing them by at the pet store


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

this website says up to 6 inches, is this the right one ya'll are thinking of?
http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/freshwater/cyprinids/rts.html


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

home for a month!!!!

Put a few pieces of lava rock in filter to incorporate the beneficial bacteria 

staghorn algae still rampant, added some plants for temporary nutrient suck up 

just trying to kill the darn algae!!!!:fish:


----------



## chuck griffin (Sep 21, 2006)

nice tank!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

.... sooo.... I have done a complete rescape, MacFan has been extremely generous and sent me a box of plants which look lovely, and will be very welcome additions to my not-so-great tank. I have repositioned my driftwood and I really like the shapes I have in my tank now....

The biomass list:
1 oto
2 pygmy cories 
1 chocolate albino pleco
3 zebra danios
5 fancy guppies
20 glass shrimp

Valisneria
Hygro
Baby tears
Java moss
Java fern
Blyxa Japonica
Something Mac Aquired
Something Mac thinks is Hygro "Bold"
Water sprite
Dwarf Sag
amazon sword
crypt of some kind
a Spirally plant
Taiwan moss (a lot of this was taken out due to the terrible algae rampage)

I will post pictures of this when the water clears 

thanks for hanging in there


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Pictures! Sorry for the terrible quality, will get my tripod out tomorrow ;-)

Here is the full tank (kinda blurry, sorry!) \/










The driftwood arch with my chocolate albino pleco below and a pygmy cory to the lower left and a couple of MTS \/









Verrrry blurry left side with driftwood "tree" used to have a gorgeous mound of Taiwan Moss, but the algae ate it all.... \/










The right side of my tank \/










One of my glass shrimp saying hello! \/


----------



## Dan S (Nov 28, 2008)

I just checked out how your tank has progressed since you first posted it and it's looking good! MacFan offered some good advice and i think it's pretty cool how he hooked you up with some plants. Just keep in mind some of the most important advise he gave you was to keep doing regular water changes, it will make all the difference in the world!! Keep up the good work my fellow Colorado plant enthusiast. 
By the way, you might want to get a hold of the guys down at Aquamart in Lakewood to get signed up to join a local plant club they are working on starting if you are interested.


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Your leaves all look very clean/algae free. Good job!

-Dave


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

thank you! the advice from MacFan has been so invaluable, and I have never loved my fishtank more!! 

the leaves are algae free thanks to the new plants from MacFan and I completely tore all of the algae infected plants out, nothing was getting rid of it...

thank you all for looking at this thing!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

well, the blyxa japonica seems to have started melting, but that was kinda expected, the water sprite is forming new growth already which amazes me, the little lily is sprouting new leaves, so far it just seems like the blyxa japonica is the only thing not doing well...


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

yay tripods!










poor melted blyxa.....









mmmmm, algae....










shrimpy on my baby tears









shrimpy on water sprite (that seems to enjoy my tank)


----------



## MacFan (Jul 30, 2006)

Looking good. BTW, apparently that isn't water sprite I sent you, but I don't know what it is. Maybe someone else can enlighten us. 

Michael


----------



## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

MacFan said:


> Looking good. BTW, apparently that isn't water sprite I sent you, but I don't know what it is. Maybe someone else can enlighten us.
> 
> Michael


I think it looks like CABOMBA http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...details.php?id=60&category=genus&spec=Cabomba I am usaully wrong but hey some one can corect me later=0)

Blyxia took awhile to take hold in my tank but know it grows like mad for me.

Tank looks good i Like it!

EDIT: their is a plant i have seen a couple of times that is called under the common name of cut leaf water sprite, it looks very similar to cabomba but didnt have as needle like leaves growing on it they were thicker and flat.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

I know it isn't cabomba, I had some before and didn't like it, I was wondering about the water sprite because it didn't look like what other people said sprite was  
the fact that it is growing new buds quickly suggests that it is an easier plant than originally thought 

well now that I look at this stuff, it very well could be cabomba and it is a very different color than what my other stuff was... we shall see


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Apr 23, 2008)

What type of lighting do you have?


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

I have two 13 watt output Daylight (6500K) CFL's
I want to do a DIY lighting hood eventually, but I have no money, and no electrical experience :-D


----------



## tinypleco (Sep 21, 2008)

Looks like a Myriophyllum sp. to me.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

what is that?? *intrigued*


EDIT: okay, it does kinda look like it, the "leaves" look nearly identical
thanks for the tip!!


----------



## tinypleco (Sep 21, 2008)

Haha, no problem. Though I'm not sure of the exact species. Go to the Plant ID section!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

I think it is this one
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/details.php?id=48&category=category&spec=Aquarium%20Plant


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

okay, quick question for anyone who would like to answer, I already have 3 zebra danios in my tank, but they seem to be a little aggressive as of late, I was wondering, should I move them into my other tank with my barbs or buy 3 more to get more of a school going rather than separate little fishies?


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

ferris89 said:


> okay, quick question for anyone who would like to answer, I already have 3 zebra danios in my tank, but they seem to be a little aggressive as of late, I was wondering, should I move them into my other tank with my barbs or buy 3 more to get more of a school going rather than separate little fishies?


Buy 3 more to get a school going. Even though they might not school (I'm not very familiar with their behavior), higher numbers would take the focus off of the individuals.

-Dave


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

bought 4 blue longfin danios they are all less agressive now, and the blue really adds a color change in my tank, looks like I have a courtship going on with 2 of my guppies too


----------



## MacFan (Jul 30, 2006)

I can't imagine danios being aggressive, or if they are, not doing any harm. They're basically tetra/minnows... but I agree on the school thing... some of the coolest tanks I've seen have almost all the same fish, lots and lots of cardinals or something. I have a school of Espei Rasboras in my 240g tank that are cool. 

Michael


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Some day I would love to have a large enough tank to do a school of something, I love the way they move together, but I don't want to increase the bioload to the point of over-doing it
 
These blue danios really add something to my tank and would love more ;-)


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

ferris89 said:


> Just starting out so I want to try cheap plants that I can careless if they kick the bucket so to speak.


Then get Anacharis densa or Hornwort or Java fern. Anacharis densa and Hornwort only need a little light to grow and grow. They are floaters but can be planted. I prefer the Anacharis densa, for it is easier to plant and blends in with the Bacopa carolina. Java fern comes in several variations. They are very hardy plants and slow growers. They are rhizome plants, thus they just sit on top of the substrate or are attached to rocks etc.. I have seen all of these plants a Petsmart. I have only seem 1 variation of Java there.

BTW your plants look like they need some potassium nitrate and potassium sulfate. They can be bought quite cheaply at Rex Grigs web site.


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

ferris89 said:


> there is another one that I am no wary of, it's called "Kyoto grass" anyone know of it?


I googled it and found that it is not a true aquatic plant. I would try the onion plant instead. I haven't tried it yet. Will if vals die.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Dawntiwster, I already changed out plants, and the kyoto grass is on longer on my list, my new posts show the updates 
most plants sold in petsmart (where I got my first plants) aren't true aquatics, they are juvenile forms of houseplants essentially :-/ there is one petsmart by my house that sells the basic true aquatics.
take a look at my most recent posts to see themuch needed changes 

What shows the potassium deficiency? (I'm still new at spotting issues) I am currently fertilizing using a PMDD mix, which should have it in there as potassium nitrate as well potassium sulfate if I am not mistaken.


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

Where is the new post? Link please. I enjoy seeing what other are doing. Such a nice distraction from etc. etc.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

these last few posts are the new posts on this thread  with the rescaped tank
pg 5-6 are the newer ones


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

ferris89 said:


> I know it isn't cabomba, I had some before and didn't like it. stuff was... we shall see


I am pretty certain it is Myriophyllum mattogrossense. I had some for a while. I needs stronger light or Flourish or CSM + B.


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

ferris89 said:


> I have two 13 watt output Daylight (6500K) CFL's
> I want to do a DIY lighting hood eventually, but I have no money, and no electrical experience :-D


Your tank looks like it has 2wpg. A quick and cheap way to increase it is to buy clip on lights rated for 65watts and use the daylight CFL's. I was told the lights are in the back of Lowe's and are $5.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

65 watt rated may not necessarily mean that is the output wattage, same lighting different output 
but yes I have approximately 2.6 wpg and I am thinking about constructing a light hood (which when I get to it, I will post in the DIY forums


----------



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Ferris, your tank has undergone quite the transformation from its inception! Nice progression! 

I cast my vote for the 'unknown' as a Myriophyllum as well.


----------



## Chris Noto (Aug 10, 2005)

Hi, Ben. I've had a 10 gallon tank going since last January. I'm also using 2x13w screw-in CFs in the old incandescent hood. My bulbs are 6500k. I'm doing DIY CO2 for the first time, and using Seachem fertilizers N, P, K, Micros, and "Equilibrium", a hardness balancer, pretty much according to label, along with a 5 gallon water change, using RO/DI water, once a week. 

I concur with the posters so far that what you had called Water Sprite is neither that nor Cabomba, but, rather, is Myriophyllum mattogrossense. I got mine from a club member here in Atlanta, and it's been growing like mad, along with Valisneria, Hygro. difformis, H. corymbosa, H. polysperma, Echinodorus tenellus, Java Fern, Java Moss, and Amazon Frogbit. 

All the best!


----------



## FishandTurtleJunkie (Apr 14, 2007)

Bert H said:


> I cast my vote for the 'unknown' as a Myriophyllum as well.


Agreed. Looks like Myriophyllum mattogrossense.


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

FishandTurtleJunkie said:


> Agreed. Looks like Myriophyllum mattogrossense.


Well, 4 have labeled unknow as Myriophyllum mattogrossense, so must be.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

certainly think it is  

getting close to buying supplies for my DIY adjustable light hood


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

ferris89 said:


> certainly think it is
> 
> getting close to buying supplies for my DIY adjustable light hood


Here is a place many buy from:
www.ahsupply.com


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Well, school is out, and I am trying to get my room cleaned so I can get some decent pictures of my tank! some of it has grown quite a bit and other plants weren't as lucky. 
I have also had a few deaths in the tank so there is a significant decrease in fish....
will get new pictures up in a couple of days!


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

Prolly gonna buy the stuff I need for the light hood tomorrow while I am at work, so hopefully I will have everything cleaned up and new pictures by the end of the week


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Hey ferris89! I look forward to new pics. 

-Dave


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

I got most of the hood built today  getting the rest tomorrow :-D

thanks Dave, I am going to do a little maintenance on the tank, after i finish, and then I am going to do a photoshoot and upload the pics!

so prolly around the afternoon time of the 27th


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

AHA!!! finally after months of teasing you all with pictures!!!

I did a rescape today, (I have been battling a hair algae that was absolutely ridiculous, so this was almost necessary) and I think this is my favorite one that I have done, it makes my tank feel so wide open.

let me know what you all think!

the entire tank










the left side










the right side










I now have a light hood as well!!

two 15 watt bulbs and at night a black light

cheers!


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Nice pics ferris. It needs some growing in, but looks fine. What's the big white thing in the middle?

-Dave


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

yeah, lol, it used to be all grown in, but with a rescape I pulled a lot of the "weaker" plants out, and a lot of the riccia had been overgrown with the hair algae, so I pulled a lot of it out :-/

the white thing in the middle is a chunk of quartz that I've had
does it look out of place?


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I was thinking it was one of those things you see at PetsMart in their tanks (no idea what they are...some water conditioner maybe). It does look out of place considering your other hardscape, but if you like it then keep it.

Another thing I forgot to ask: Are you still doing DIY CO2 and do you use any ferts regularly? And what's your total light output?

-Dave


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

lol, no, I don't use petsmart as a guide for anything anymore, they usually steer me wrong :-D

I like it under t he black light i have in the new light hood for night-time, but I do think it looks odd with the other things... *ponders*

I am not doing CO2 at the moment, need to get that started back up, and I am dosing with a pretty general fertilizer mix I got from someone (spaced on the username just now sorry!)
it seems to be doing alright...

I keep forgetting how to calculate total output, which numbers do I use again?


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

ferris89 said:


> I keep forgetting how to calculate total output, which numbers do I use again?


The total of the amount of watts divided by gallons of tank size. Example: I have 2 x 65watt PC on a 55 gallon tank (it's called a 55, but that's not the actual gallons). So, 130 total watts divided by 55 = 2.36 WPG.

-Dave


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

oh, if that's all then I am at 3 wpg
for some reason I thought there was a separate calculation lol

I think I should sleep more haha


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

added some new danios (zebrafish) to my tank, and they are all schooling together already!:grouphug:
I was lucky and was able to get a leopard print danio! :whoo: I hope the lot of them breed and the genetic recombination is good enough for more of them the leopard print is most likely recessive genetically anda:


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

After a long and crazy beginning to my summer, (sister's wedding, massive layoffs at work reducing us to the bare minimum) I decided to play with my new camera and macro lens and grab a couple of shots!

I will be posting a larger update with pictures asap, but I need to do a little cleaning before that is possible 

Cherry Shrimp are doing very well, the second one doesn't have much color, but the first one, boy howdy it is red!!


----------



## Veloth (Jun 25, 2008)

Nice shots. Sorry to hear about the layoffs, glad you survived them.


----------



## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I think the 2nd shrimp is a male. Males are typically more clear. It's the females that have the nice color.


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

no joke veloth, and thank you!

Tex Gal - I had no idea that was how you can sex shrimp, granted I never have needed to, but That makes me happy because I think that means I have at least 3 females and 2 males, I am waiting for the riccia to grow in to help protect shrimplets if they breed :-D


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Great looking shrimp ferris! How may do you have altogether?

-Dave


----------



## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

well I can count at least 5 at one time. But since they enjoy hiding during the day, I have no real idea of how many there are in total, I want to grab more during the first week of august so I can start creating a colony, now that plants are growing back in (with minimal algae if I might add)

I also want to find some decently priced amano, I have some hair algae that none of the shrimp, cories, or snails are touching


----------

