# High Rise Aquascape: 3+ Tank Rack Journal



## DJKronik57

Well I've moved into a new apartment, and as space is a premium, have decided to buy a commercial grade steel wire rack to consolidate my 3 aquariums into one space. I chose the wire rack because it was cheaper than buying 3 separate stands, it looks better than most cheap iron aquarium stands, and the construction makes it very easy to hang lights, tubing, wires, and anything else. Here's a picture of the rack (48"Lx72"Hx18"W), it's made by SAFCO and sold by Staples.com for around $150 with free (and fast!) shipping:










Each shelf can supposedly support 500lbs evenly distributed in a 36"x12" area. Therefore, it should be able to support my 29 gallon, but just in case, and for aesthetics and to give the tanks a better base, I'm putting 1/2" plywood shelves on top of the wire. I had these cut at Home Depot and will paint them black to blend in with the shelving. They are the same width as the rack, and therefore rest directly on the strongest, thickest wire supports.

I spaced the shelves out to accomodate my 10 or 20 long on the bottom, the 29 in the middle, and the 10 or 20 long on the top. With this current setup, I have room for another 10 gallon tank. O I also could have any tank less than 48"L and 20"H. I raised the bottom shelf 12 inches off the ground so you don't have to bend over to see the tank(s) on that shelf. The top shelf is right about eye level for me.

The tanks are currently at my old place waiting for the shelving to be finished and ready, but I'll document the moving process as well. I hope to keep this as a continuing journal for the three tanks and as help for other people interested in consolidating their tanks into a metal rack like this.

I'm off to Home Depot to buy some more black spray paint right now (and some fittings for a home made canister filter \\/ ), but I'll post some pictures of the shelving installed! Stay tuned!

Current Costs for Rack: 

$151 SAFCO Rack
$16.74 1/2" 2X4 sheet of plywood x 2
$.99 Black Spray Paint
$3.46 Black Cable Ties
*Total: $172.19*


----------



## John N.

Such a great idea for space limited people. I'll be following all this to see how things turn out. I want to do this too. You kepted us a cliff hanger!  

Can't wait to see those tanks arranged on those shelves. 

-John N.


----------



## DJKronik57

Thanks for the support John! Hopefully I won't have 60 gallons of water and broken glass on my floor. ray:

Okay, so I've been busy over the past day or so getting the rack ready. Here's a picture of the plywood shelves that I made:










The employee at Home Depot cut one shorter than the other and I didn't notice till I got home, but no matter. I did run into a slight problem however, and that is that the front and back edges of the shelving, the heavy duty wire, is slightly higher than the central wire. This means if I put the plywood on the shelf and apply weight, the plywood deflects and bows by 1/8". Not wanting to risk a cracked tank, I cut some cardboard I had laying around from the rack and made a cardboard "cushion" to put under the plywood shelf. This helps to minimize the deflection of the plywood a bit and fits nicely in between the front and back edges.

I will not use plywood for the smaller 10 gallon tank, only because I feel it doesn't need it. The rack can easily support 100 or so pounds that the 10 gallon weighs. It's only the 29 gallon that I'm really worried about.

So with the shelving finished, I decided to go move my 10 gallon from my old place. I only live 10 minutes away so I followed recommendations from people on this board on how to move a tank a short distance.

First, I unplugged and removed as much equipment as I could. I left the heater and HOB filter on the tank since both have moss covering them that I didn't want to dry out (or strand a baby shrimp!). Then, I siphoned as much water as I could out of the tank into a Rubbermaid tub:










I didn't bother to catch the shrimp because I was told they can survive in tiny puddles for a short amount of time. I also don't have any fish in this tank, so there was no need to remove them first. I got the water level down to about 1/4" or just enough to cover the glosso. Then I covered the tank with plastic wrap to keep as much of the moisture in as possible.

After that, I loaded both the tank and the tub of tank water into the car and made the drive over. Despite the fact that it is not a smooth drive thanks to Boston winters, the tank arrived and everything was exactly as I had left it. The shrimp were a bit nervous and were flicking around the shallow water, obviously trying to find deeper pools, but were alive and well.

I set up the tank on the bottom shelf, and then set the tub of tank water on the shelf above. This allowed me to simply siphon the water back into the tank. I plugged everything back in, and although the water is slightly stirred up, it looks almost exactly as it did before I moved it. No dead shrimp or plants!


















Not much bowing or deflecting by the shelving, I'm a little reassured!

And here it is after a few hours:










One down, two to go! Not sure when I'll get a chance to move the 20 and 29, which will be significantly harder due to the fish and larger size. For them, I will probably only keep 50% of the tank water, just because 10 gallons seems to be the feasible limit to the tub approach (I have two tubs for the 29). Stay tuned!


----------



## DJKronik57

*Phew* Well over the past few weeks I've moved both the 20 and the 29 to the new place. I also moved the position of the rack in the room. Here are some pictures of the move and the new setup:










So many benefits of this set up! It was very easy to get the water back into the tank again without using a pump or dumping it in slowly. I just started a siphon and watched it go!










This is how it looked with the 29 gallon set up but not yet aquascaped. I had to rip up all of the plants to catch the fish. I have a little male ram who's very intelligent and very scared of a net. The extra space next to the 10 gallon is perfect for aquarium supplies!










Hanging the Coralife 2x65 light fixture. At first I wasn't sure how to do it with cable ties as I had done with the other fixtures, then I realized that I could use the mounting legs upside down as anchors for the ties:


















After a bit of aquascaping/trimming. Piece in the corner is a really ugly piece of driftwood covered in moss and it will soon hide an Eheim 2213 intake and spraybar. The heater is also behind it. The powerhead and quick filter will be taken out.










And finally here's with the 20L set up (although still cloudy). As you can see I added another light strip to the 29 Gallon tank using screw in CF bulbs. Believe it or not, 135W was not enough for some of the plants I wanted to grow (glosso, micranthemum umbrosum). Right now it's just an additional 20W, but I'm upgrading this to 52W. Also, the Eclipse 3 strip light above the 20L has nasty GE9325K bulbs in it and is just temporary till my 26W screw in CF bulbs arrive.

Most of the plants are still floating/torn up in the 20L from the move and I need some time to decide how I want to aquascape it. The water is brown from the move and because I use peat in the filter to replicate the native habitat of the fish in there (rams, tetras, cory cats) mainly for breeding purposes.

As a side note, I've also finished the DIY canister filter and am using it to clean up the 20L. Here's a picture of it:










It also illustrates another benefit of the wire racks...I can place it directly over the tank and if anything goes wrong, it leaks right back into the tank instead of all over the floor, or in some cabinet where I won't notice it until I have a pool on my floor! It's run buy the AquaClear 30 powerhead in the tank.

So far there's no sign of bowing or any stress on the shelving, and it's got over 600lbs on it! The only downside to this setup is if you live in an old building like I do...then you have to deal with uneven floors and walls and bouncy wood floors that wobble everything when you walk around. Then again any aquarium on this floor would wobble a bit, it's just more noticeable when it's 5 feet off the ground!

If I had to do it again, I may skip out on the wire rack just because of this nerve wracking quirk until I have a palce with stable, level floors. I'll probably get used to it though, and I'm glad I did it. Much better than buying 3 $90 stands and it'll make switching to pressurized CO2 much easier.

Next project: Aquascaping the 20L!


----------



## daeraion

That's cool... I had often thought of using those racks for displaying aquariums, but always was worried they would break. Apparently not....

Do the houseplants benefit from the light around the aquariums?


----------



## DJKronik57

> I had often thought of using those racks for displaying aquariums, but always was worried they would break.


Well this one isn't one you would find at Ikea or in Home Depot. Those can typically only hold about 250lbs per shelf. This one is a commercial grade shelf ordered from Staples.com that can hold 500lbs per shelf. They also sell industrial grade ones that can support 1000lbs per shelf!

Plus after going to look at stands, they are either ugly or rediculously flimsy and cheap. Just looking at some reassured me! You have to spend quite a bit of money to get a decent stand.

And yes, the house plants do benefit from the leaked aquarium light. Perhaps I'll start an herb garden (not _that _kind of herb) along side my aquariums!


----------



## John N.

DJK, man you are living the life! That's a really neat rack for all those tanks. 

The 10 gallon aquascaped look AMAZING! You've done a great job with that particular tank. The glosso is staying down really well with those screwin CF bulbs and DIY CO2. Not to mention that moss wall is starting to look very cool too. It's a shrimp heaven! 

You ingeniously mounted those lights over all your tanks perfectly. I would have never thought of using zip ties on those mount legs.

I'm looking forward to seeing how things are going to shape up for that 20L. 

Instead of those supplies next to the 10 gallon you definately need to stick another 10g tank there to complete the setup! 

I'm now subscribed to this thread, cause I missed the previous update.  Well not anymore! Keep us updated.

-John N.


----------



## DJKronik57

John N:

Don't worry, I'm just keeping the supplies there so I don't see a big empty space for a new tank that I can't afford right now! Eventually, there will be another 10G there and the supplies will go underneath.

So I've been researching and looking around at aquascaping styles, and I really think that an iwagumi style tank would be perfectly suited for both the tank dimensions and the viewing angle. It's right at eye level, thus increasing the sense of depth, and using low ground cover like glosso or HC would make the tank look taller than it's stem-deforming 12 inches. I can move the ram pair to my 29 gallon tank as well as the ottos and pygmy cories and leave the rummynose tetras or even get a smaller tetra or fish to further enhance the sense of size. I'd have to sell or trade or move the plants that are in there now and buy more substrate and rocks, but that wouldn't be too bad.

So here's the concept: Rolling hills of HC with craggy rock outcroppings (3 placed in the sanzon-iwagumi style). A school of small colorful fish, and some cherry shrimp. Somewhat like GoHan's Walking Aoyama.

Another option is a little bit less "one species" like this 22G by Aaron Padilla which ironically is ALSO on a tank rack like my own (see the legs on each corner? :high5: )










Opinions? Advice? Input?

On a side note, your friends will really think you're crazy when you show them this picture and tell them how beautifully orchestrated it is.


----------



## John N.

I like Aaron's tank. I think you should go for the iwagumi style tank. Makes a perfect tankfor your rank, and plus it's visually appealing. Is this for the 10 gallon or the larger tanks?

-John N.


----------



## Tankman

Dang man, I had a dream of this and I never knew it could be done. Kudos to you


----------



## DJKronik57

John N.:

The iwagumi would be the 20 long on the very top rack.

Tankman:

Thanks! You never know unless you try! 

Well this week has been full of new purchases and arrivals. I received my Eheim Classic 2213 filter for the 29 gallon tank in the mail and I love it. It's silent and oh-so sexy and German. Eheim truly is the Porsche of filters. I also received my 4 light bulbs for the hoods that will replace the Eclipse 3 hood over the 20 long. I'm upgrading to four 26 Watt 6400K CF screw ins, giving me 104 Watts total. These, however, I'm not going to hang like the others, since the tank is higher, hanging them will make it uncomfortable to view the tank since the light will be shining right in your eyes. Instead, I'm just putting them on top of a glass top. Here's a picture of the bulbs installed in the hoods:










I used foil to increase the amount of light going into the tank. I have them on the tank now temporarily and man is it bright! I'll put all the prices at the end of this update.

So now I have the lighting I need for the iwagumi tank. Next on the list are the rocks. There aren't any appropriate ones at the local fish store, so I'm going to have to hunt around. Anyone know any good places to get pretty rocks?

I'll keep my eye out in the meantime.

Lighting the 20L:

26W 6400K CF bulb x 4 = $16 not including shipping
Incandescent Hood x 2 = $40

*Total = $66*


----------



## gnatster

The 104W of light does not reach that tank, far from it with that type of setup. 

1. Spiral CF such as those are very inefficient in lighting. There is a quite a lot of restrike due to the design. 

2. Foil as a reflector is worse then no reflector. Note how many different facets there are. The light is bouncing all over the place and most is not being directed to the tank. You would do much better removing the foil and painting the interior a flat white.


----------



## DJKronik57

Exactly how much light reaches the tank is _not_ the point. The point is screw in CF lights offer more light per dollar than any specially designed CF system, allowing you to put more than enough light over the tank for much less money. I'm also doubtful that the loss is large enough to offset the economics of screw in bulbs. It would have to approach 60% for me to think twice, since I would have to spend at least 60% more. If I had bags of money, I'd buy AH Supply lighting, but to get a comparable system (based on wattage alone) would be $65 plus $40 for the bulbs plus shipping. :wof:

As for the foil, I know it scatters light and directs some back into the bulb due to the many facets. However, it does also reflect light significantly and scatters it much less than white paint. Hold a piece of foil in the sunlight and you can see much more focused light is being reflected than if you use a painted white surface. The white paint, no matter how glossy, has millions of reflective facets. Reducing the wrinkles in the foil also helps to minimize the amount of light bouncing into the bulb. Ideally I would use mylar or something similar, but I haven't gotten around to that yet and probably never will because again I don't have bags of money and the difference is not worth it. Plants grow amazingly as is without algae problems.

In conclusion, I probably have somewhere between a 4 and 5.2 WPG equivalent. With light levels that high, the difference has a minimal impact on plant growth.


----------



## banderbe

Ever considered using mylar for the reflector?


----------



## DJKronik57

I have as I suggested above, but the light levels are great as they are, and this is more of a temporary low-budget solution until I can afford top of the line lighting. 

:drool: ADA Metal Halides :shock: :wof:


----------



## Chris S

I am also going to be making my own hood for a 20 gallon that i have. I just happened to find a bunch of tiny glass mirror strips that where for ornimental puposes. I intend to glue them in and play around with the angles to limit restrike. Cheap is the deciding factor for me most of the time also. This way i can buy something else for my planted tanks!  Namely some nice plants hehe.


----------



## mrbelvedere138

DJKronik57 said:


> I have as I suggested above, but the light levels are great as they are, and this is more of a temporary low-budget solution until I can afford top of the line lighting.
> 
> :drool: ADA Metal Halides :shock: :wof:


Dude go buy a balloon....the shiny inside of a helium balloon is mylar.


----------



## DJKronik57

Most coffee packaging is mylar too. I like the mirror idea though it may be tedious getting them to fit correctly. An M shape is ideal with the middle point of the M right above the bulb. With mylar it may be hard to create the right angles so the light doesn't restrike the bulb. Maybe just glue the corners in and let the middle drape down? 

What it all boils down to is that it's too much effort for something I don't exactly need right now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! [smilie=h:


----------



## mrbelvedere138

DJKronik57 said:


> If it ain't broke, don't fix it! [smilie=h:[/QUOTE]
> 
> Words to live by my friend


----------



## DJKronik57

Ok, so the 20 gallon rescaping has begun. In a bit of a rush so I'm just going to post pictures now and ask for your opinions then explain later!

This is what it looks like so far (sorry about the bad pictures, had no time to clean it up!):










































What do you think? Comments and criticism welcome!! Again, will explain process later, have to run!!


----------



## DJKronik57

Okay, sorry for the last post guys, it was kind of rushed.

I emptied the 20 Gallon into a Rubbermaid tub (see earlier posts) and put the fish and plants in there for now with a sponge filter. They seem to be happy for now. I added another bag of EcoComplete to the tank to create the hills in the rear and then started positioning rocks. All this took me about 3 hours.

Still looking for tips and advice on the layout! I'll explain it a little bit more thoroughly first though. I'm looking for a mountainous rocky look, with HC covering the spaces in between rocks and creeping over the lower ones. In the foreground, a plain of white sand will create contrast. The focal point will be that erect rock towards the left side of the tank and it will lean over a small dip between the two hills. Almost all of the rocks point towards this dip.

As I look at the photos now (I reposted one below so you can see what I mean), it seems like the left side should slope down more towards the end of the tank, instead of being almost flat. Then it would better match the right side, which gradually slopes down to normal level. I'll probably try that out tonight and post some pictures tomorrow.










Also trying to figure out if I should use ADA Bright Sand or ADA Rio ***** for the foreground. Anyone have any opinions? I tried Home Depot but their sand was nasty (filled with bits of glass, brownish). I'll keep you posted on the progress!


----------



## DJKronik57

Okay, so this morning I rearranged things a bit, I cleared space for the sand in the front and used the extra substrate to raise the hills. I also placed the rocks a bit differently. Here's a picture:










What do you think? Like the old layout better or this one?

Here's the whole rack now:


----------



## xcooperx

i like the first one, what style you gona use there full of HM? whats your Lightning setup?


----------



## John N.

Very nice. I like the latest rock layout. The only critisism I can offer at the moment, is that I think you either have too many rocks, or maybe just too many rocks of the same size. There may need to be 1-2 smaller rocks in the front to offset the girth the other rocks bring. However, the new hills with the raised rocks may have alleviated this issue. 

But if you are going to change anything maybe 3 of the largest rocks only or them paired with 2 rocks smaller then what's currently in there.

-John N.


----------



## lljdma06

That's just a fantastic idea! Brilliant! And you could probably paint the rack as well, with some paint for wrought iron built for patio furniture. I have a wrought iron stand my mother painted white. I have already subscribed to this thread and will definitely consider it for future projects. 

I like the layout for the third tank and like it was said before, the creation of hills may have negated the problem with the rocks being of similar size, however, until I see the plants I really can't comment on the scape too much. I do agree that it is better now than when it was flat, though the two hills kind of remind me of female anatomy, which I don't think was the look you were going for.


----------



## dstephens

I love it. I saw a very similar aquascape in one of the last 2 volumes of AquaJournal. Low profile in front with sloping effect and rocks interspersed. For my tastes, the dip in between the 2 middle rocks is a tad steep. I would think about just softening it only a very small amount to reduce the peak effect on both sides. The HC growing all over the rcoks and in between rocks is exactly something I am planning for. I built a large boulder/stone pathway in my front entrance and I left just enough room between stones to plant dainty little plants like lemmon thyme, scottish moss, etc. When the sun doesn't fry it, it looks great. Thanks for posting your work. Darrell


----------



## DJKronik57

First of all thanks for all your comments and support guys! I've been busy setting up the new aquascape and working out problems, so I haven't had time to answer questions.

Cooper: The lighting is four 26W 6400K Screw in compact fluorescents in two incandescent hoods. It is going to be a traditional iwagumi tank with only HC and one type of fish (probably rummynose tetras).

lljdma06 and Darrell: I definitely agree with your shape comparison and the severity of the dip as you'll see I've changed it a bit.

So I modified the scape a little more after the last post because I wasn't liking it. I also figured I should add water to see how much the whole scape "softened" due to settling and gravel sliding. This is what it looked like after my adjustements and water test:










As you can see the dip is much less pronounced. Next I needed to add the sand to my foreground. I debated on buying ADA Bright Sand from ADG for a long time, but then realized that this was a learning experience and that mistakes would probably be made and $35 for 18lbs of sand was too expensive compared to $3.97 for 50lbs for PlaySand at Home Depot. If I make a mistake and it gets mixed with EcoComplete, it's pretty much useless, so next time I rescape!  First I washed it thoroughly. Then I scooped it into the foreground of the tank and started to slowly add water. As you can see, I didn't start slow enough! A big crater formed where the water blasted away the sand:










Overall, the water wasn't that cloudy. It did need cleaning up though, so I put my homemade DIY canister filter to work and it rapidly did it's job:










A few hours after filling.










The next morning. As you can see I've already put a little patch of HC in there. I can't wait!! The resident MTS snails are a bit confused, but all seem to have survived so far. Now I just have to plant the HC (the little I have) and see if I can get some more from somewhere else. I also started CO2 into my filter intake to get the pH down, Boston tap water is somewhere around 9!!

Again, let me know how you like it, and leave comments and questions!:wave:


----------



## xcooperx

Nice! im excited on the next photo with the HC, anyway just wondering about your 29 gallon, that full of light ha, and you only inject DIY co2, whats your experiance with that, about the algae issue?


----------



## DJKronik57

I actually have no problems with algae in the 29. I have two juice bottles going at once with one changed out every week, keeping the CO2 fairly constant. The only time I have algae problems is when the DIY CO2 runs out and I don't replace it. But I dose ferts regularly and all seems to be well, besides the normal little pockets of algae that never go away. I also have 4 ottos in there which help as well (probably a close tie for favorite fish to the clown loach, they're so fun to watch!).

I found that with the 130 watt coralife alone, I got so-so growth and no pearling. Adding the 52W CF made a huge difference and now plants pearl and grow like crazy. One benefit of fast growth is that you know when your CO2 is running low or when you need to fertilize because the growth slows down noticeably.


----------



## xcooperx

i was also planning to do that on my 29 gal. but im afraid that im gonna have some algae problem cause of only having a DIY co2, but maybe i'll go with 130wpg if i already have pressurized, Oh about your tanks, they are amazing i love it, especially the 10gal., Job well done!


----------



## DJKronik57

Time for an update!

Sorry it's been so long, I've been very busy combating algae, losing shrimp, and rescuing fish! Here's a quick picture of what the rack looks like as of tonight:










As you can see there have been some changes. We'll start from the top:










This is the 20 long which I recently finished re-scaping. It's my first attempt at an iwagumi style tank and I have learned a lot. First, starting off with almost no plants is NOT a good idea. Algae immediately took hold, covering the sand and rocks. Even though I didn't have the HC to add at the time, I should have put in some Hornwort or Water Sprite to outcompete the algae. It's not that there was an excess of nutrients, I didn't add any out of fear of an algae bloom, but it came on its own. In fact, when I did put a little piece of HC in there from my other tank, it just sat there and got covered with algae until I realized that it probably had no nitrates (HC loves nitrates). Here you can see the difference between the nitrate starved recovering HC (right) and the beautiful emersed growth I got from Niko (thanks Niko!! :thumbsup: ):










You can also see how I am holding the HC down (it is SOOO hard to get to stay rooted!) with a small U shaped piece of plant weight. So, this comes to the first lesson I learned about iwagumi tanks:


*Add lots of plants and dose fertilizers regularly from the start! An empty tank is an algae magnet, even unfertilized.
*
Next, I left the MTS snails in the tank to try to help keep the sand in the front aerated and prevent noxious bubbles from forming. They do their job...but they also have a bad habit of being bulldozers and plowing the gravel into the sand. I also added 2 Amano shrimp, 2 Ottos, and 6 Rummynose Tetras. The shrimp seem to like to dig holes -s ) in my hills. The tetras are about the only animal in the tank that doesn't disturb the substrate!! I know keeping the sand clean of gravel is going to be a huge headache in the future until the HC covers all of it. Second lesson:


*Sand/Gravel combinations are a PITA if you have any sort of livestock. Secure the substrate with plants before introducing fauna.*
Finally, I've been battling high pH and KH in the tank. It seems to be stuck around 7.6 with a KH of 100ppm (~5.5 degrees). I'm guessing it is either the rocks, the sand, or the substrate, since I have no problems with my other tanks. It's not a huge problem, but my Rummynose Tetras came from a tank with a 6.5 pH and soft water and they are defintely not as happy (hence colorful) with the harder water. I will probably add another CO2 bottle to try to push it lower. I hear that even Amano's aquariums run into this problem, since the pretty rocks he likes to use often alter his water parameters. Final lesson:


*Prepare to battle water parameters when using non-aquarium specific rocks/sand/substrate.*

Ok, down to the 29. Much less new here, just a trim as it is beginning to mature nicely:










The Ludwigia near the right end behind the Micranthemum Umbrosum will probably go, it's too lanky and stalky. Maybe some Rotala Wallichi will replace it. The idea is to trim the right side down further once it grows in a bit to make more of a gradual slope to the hairgrass lawn on the right. Also, the Limnophila Aromatica on the left needs to be trimmed back, it's causing stunting on the Rotala Rotundfolia below it! Can you spot the Aphyosemion australe killi?

As for the 10, it's a mess. I had a huge die-off of my Cherry shrimp and I don't know why. It seems to be something to do with my water conditioner and CO2, but I think I only have 2 shrimp left out of 20+. Let this be another lesson:


*Don't change your water and your CO2 bottle at the same time during a heat wave.*
It seems the heat (86F) combined with the water conditioner and the surge of CO2 suffocated all of my shrimp. At least that's the theory. I was adding a new CO2 bottle because I had been neglecting it to work on the 20 and hair algae was taking over. My moss wall is covered in it. I picked out as much as I could but it's pretty hopeless. I also have a green dust algae outbreak, but I'm leaving that and following Tom Barr's advice on how to get rid of it (just leave it be). Since the last picture, I've removed all the P. Stellatus and put in some R. Wallichi that was getting mowed by my SAE so it can recover:










And finally, of rescuing fish! I stopped by Petco since I was in the area and saw they had some Blue Rams. I have a weakness for these pretty little fish, and I could see they were obviously not going to live long (although the employee assured me they were healthy and for sale!). Plus they had a few females, which are relatively rare and they were half the price they usually were. So I bought two females and set them up in their own quarantine tank with a seeded sponge filter and immediately added ParasiteClear. The next morning there were HUGE gross white feces all over the tank as they had obviously expelled all the nasty worms and parasites that were plaguing them.










Now, they're eating, recovering well and coloring up a bit! Hopefully I'll get a 15 gallon to put next to the 10 and make it a Blue Ram breeder (with plants of course!). I just couldn't leave these poor beauties to die neglected in a store, and having dealt with it before, I knew they had Bloat and I knew how to treat it.

*whew* :typing: Sorry for the length, but it's been a while! Will try to keep you updated more often in the future!


----------



## John N.

Great update! I just love these journals, and with yours it's a 3 in one combo! My favorite so far is the 29 gallon, but as soon as 20 long gets some plants and foreground, I'm sure that will be a winner in my book. I'm surprise how well everything filled in in such a short time. Looking awesome, keep us updated.

-John N.


----------



## LunchBox

I love that 29! :supz: 

makes me want to do evil things to my 29


----------



## jassar

Thanks alote for the tips. 
I love the way your tanks are maturing! and can't wait to see that iwagumi finished!
Good Luck.


----------



## Ownager2004

Great Ideas and tanks. I have a 10 gallon and I also built a very simliar DIY canister filter. However, I havent been able to find anything to make a wet seal on the lid and am very wary of hooking it up without one. The thread I got the idea from the guy said it was necessary. If you dont mind me asking what did/do you use?

Im also using glosso as a foreground plant in my tank. The carpet affect you have is what im after, but I find its really hard to maintain. When you took that picture had it just grown in like that or have you been maintaining it like that for awhile? If so any tips would be appreciated


----------



## xcooperx

nice tank, especially the moss in 29 gal. i love it! its like a forest mountain


----------



## DJKronik57

Thanks for you comments and compliments!

Ownager2004: I just used the canisters sold at Wal-Mart, they have a silicone ring to seal it. Mine works great with no extra sealant. I just have to clean it off after cleaning out the filter, because if there is dirt on it, it will not form a water-tight seal and it will drip slowly. As for the Glosso, I haven't really been maintaining it, it does have a few yellow patches, but it seems to be maintaining itself for the most part. It has been like that for a few months now. If I wanted it to look 100% perfect I would probably thin it out or just start over.

I just got back from vacation and came back to two perfect (aside from the hair algae in the 10g) tanks and one very bad case of green water in the 20g iwagumi. It's my fist battle with green water, so we'll see how it goes. I reduced the lighting to just one bank of 52W. Any other suggestions on how to combat green water? I've heard daphnia can clean it up in a breeder net, so I might try that, my LFS has daphnia for sale. A UV sterlizer might break the budget, so that's not an option. In the meantime, anyone want to buy some great daphnia food?  

Will keep you posted!


----------



## redstrat

Great looking tanks!! I love your journal.

The Best GW advice I have ever found is to make sure your ferts are balanced and keep your lighting to *8-10hr photo period. *
other tips are as follows: 
- Keep up on weekly 50% water changes to keep excess nutrients under control. 
- No overfeeding or over stocking
- Keep CO2 levels up so your plants have every advantage possible

These are all long term and *FREE* solutions.

quick fixes are a Diatom filter, UV sterilizers, and a several day complete blackout, and the worst one of all chemical flocculants and algecides.

Best thing though is Balance between light, CO2 and dissolved nutrients which is much easier said than done as I'm sure you already know.

Good luck


----------



## DJKronik57

Well I seem to have really gone and kicked myself in the shins because I inadvertantly triggered a green water bloom in my 29 gallon tank as well. Unaware that large disturbances can trigger GW, I decided to clean out my christmas moss, figuring the filter would take care of it. So now I have two tanks with GW. I've begun blacking out the 20L because it's been like pea soup for almost 2 weeks now, so we'll see how that goes. 2 days into a 4 day blackout. I can't wait to see ANYTHING again in my 20Long.

I'm also suffering from an empty pocket, so no UV sterilizer in the near future, unless I can borrow someone's. So it may be quite a while before my next aquascaping update. Sorry guys! 

:rain: :bored:


----------



## lailastar

DJKronik57 said:


> Most coffee packaging is mylar too. I like the mirror idea though it may be tedious getting them to fit correctly. An M shape is ideal with the middle point of the M right above the bulb. With mylar it may be hard to create the right angles so the light doesn't restrike the bulb. Maybe just glue the corners in and let the middle drape down?
> 
> What it all boils down to is that it's too much effort for something I don't exactly need right now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! [smilie=h:[/QUOTE]
> Has anyone ever considered using quicksilver paint? I dunno about any chemical reations or anything but it seems like quicksilver paint would be a reasonalby priced alternative...no? I think this discussion has inspired me to go to HDepot and try quicksilver.


----------



## DJKronik57

Silver paint would work, however it's not just the reflectivity of the surface, but the angle and position in relation to the bulb. You want a surface that is not going to reflect light back into the bulb. This is achieved by having a V over the tube so that light coming out of the top of the tube is directed to the sides and then down. Most hoods just have a flat surface which will result in a lot of light being bounced back into the bulb if painted (but it would be better than just stock). Never heard of quicksilver paint, it depends how reflective it is as well.


----------



## DJKronik57

Alright, the day when I add another tank to my collection is nearing and I'm wondering what the best equipment would be. First, let me explain the concept.

It's a 15 gallon tank (24"x12"x12") that will be going right next to the 10 gallon tank. I want a low(er) tech, low maintenance tank where I can raise cherry shrimp and just not have to dose ferts every other day and worry about CO2. I was inspired by Luis Navarro's 75 Gallon tank (http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...journals/9052-75-gallon-open-forground-5.html) and would like to create something similar. Mostly crypts, mosses, and anubias. Slow growers that don't need to be trimmed every week.

So what lighting should I get? Luis has 3.4WPG. I'm going to aim for around the same figure, and I've narrowed it down to the Coralife Single Bulb 65W or the AH Supply 55W. I don't want too much light, will the 4.3WPG the Coralife gives me be too much light for a non-CO2 low fert tank? What about the AH Supply's 3.6WPG? Arguably, more of the AH Supply light actually gets to the plants. What is the light threshold for needing CO2?

I think I'll try ADA Aquasoil, just for the fact that I don't have to fertilize or worry about water parameters as much for root feeders and it's not that much more than EcoComplete. Should I use Power Sand-S underneath the Aquasoil?

Thanks in advance for your help, I'll keep you posted on the move in date for the 15 gallon! :biggrin1:


----------



## lailastar

DJKronik57 said:


> Silver paint would work, however it's not just the reflectivity of the surface, but the angle and position in relation to the bulb. You want a surface that is not going to reflect light back into the bulb. This is achieved by having a V over the tube so that light coming out of the top of the tube is directed to the sides and then down. Most hoods just have a flat surface which will result in a lot of light being bounced back into the bulb if painted (but it would be better than just stock). Never heard of quicksilver paint, it depends how reflective it is as well.


Quicksilver paint is what they use to make mirrors, behind the glass- but I have never had to buy it before...don't know how huch it costs. BUT- I went to walmart today and found this new kind of tape I have never seen before called foil tape...unlike foil it is not easy to crinkle and make refracting wrinkles in, its nice and firm and smooth and shiny. I am going to try that on top of some flashing but only if I can find a really light weight kind, cause regular flashing is heavy and hard to work with. DO you think it will work? I also found this site http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001/group_id/568/Hygloss-Mylar-Roll.htm where mylar is like 3 buck for a roll- but its thin less than a mil, the good stuff is 2mil. So an experiment is coming- I can smell it. DO you have any suggestions as to what I can use adhere the mylar? Silicone maybe? I am worried about chemicals releasing that close to a heat source...


----------



## xcooperx

any update for the iwagami scape, im really inspired you 20L and planning to do also the iwagami scape but im gonna use glosso and some riccia instead of HC


----------



## redstrat

XCOOPERX you should start a journal for it if you do it.

and 

DJKronik57 I have to agree with xcooperx it would be really cool to see an update on your tanks seems like its been a while.


----------



## DJKronik57

Alright, I'll work on posting some new pictures as soon as I get back from my vacation this weekend. Due to green water though, the iwagumi is almost unchanged, and my 29g is pea soup! I used a blackout on my iwagumi but I've ordered a UV sterilizer to try on the 29, I want to see just how effective they are. Look for an update Monday or Tuesday!


lailastar - I've never worked with mylar, so I don't know. I would assume silicone would be fine, it's not toxic. Hot glue maybe?


----------



## bioch

how do you maintain the tank?


----------



## xcooperx

just wondering why your having a Green water, it seems that your tank is already establish and its impossible to have GW, do you think its on your Lighting or ferts


----------



## Steven_Chong

wow-- this is pretty impressive man


----------



## DJKronik57

Okay, here's a long awaited update. I'll start from the top:










The 20 long is still recovering from the green water outbreak. The HC is rooting slowly and recovering (it was yellowish green right after the black out) but I don't have both sets of lights on, so there is only 52W on the tank right now, for fear that the GW will return if I crank it up again.










I've found the ADA Aquasoil that Niko included with his HC is a pain in the butt! It's much lighter than gravel, and tends to roll down the hills and spreads out on the sand. No matter how many times I put it back, down it rolls again. I wish I could take it all out, but that would be really time consuming.

As for the 29 gallon, a picture is worth 1000 words:










Green water has consumed it. I'm still patiently waiting for my UV sterilizer to come in the mail, but I'm so tempted to try a black out. I just think it would hit the plants very hard in this tank, since most are relatively fragile high light plants. That breeder net is filled with the daphnia in a lame attempt to clear it up a bit. Instead, my killi keeps leaping over and feasting on daphnia. I've scooped him out twice already. Smart little fish!

The 10 gallon isn't doing so well either, came back from vacation and all the thread algae I removed is back but ten times worse.


























Any ideas on how to get rid of this stuff? It is impossible to remove completely by hand since it is quite strong and rips up anything if you try to pull it off. What does it feed off of? Am I dosing something wrong? I have tons of CO2 in the tank, so I know it's not that. I've also noticed my glosso is now stretching, after growing fine and flat as a carpet for 6 months. I recently thinned it out since it was getting overcrowded and yellowing. Why is it all of a sudden reaching for light? I've moved the brighter lights directly over it in an attemt to flatten it out again.

To answer the questions:

I got GW in the 20L because it had just started up and I added the fish all at once. This caused an ammonia spike. In the 29 Gallon, I decided to clean out my Christmas moss tree and didn't realize that stirring up large amounts of debris would cause a GW outbreak if a waterchange wasn't done immediately. But you're right, it's a mature tank, but even mature tanks can fall victim to GW if given the right circumstances.

As for maintaining the tanks, I do a weekly 30-40% water change, dose fertilizers every other day, and clean out my filters once every 3 months. I prune weekly on the 29 gallon to keep it looking nice.

I'll post another update when I get my UV sterilizer. I can't wait to watch my tank clear up before my eyes...op2:


----------



## DJKronik57

Yay! I received my UV sterilizer today. I bought it on eBay and paid for a Jebo 9W but received an 11W, which I'm not sure how it happened, but I'm not complaining! The system seems like a great bargain for $25-30 (that's for the 9W) and everything seems solid.










It comes with a powerhead, so all you need to do is hook up tubing. I decided instead to make it a HOB unit so I can switch it between my 3 tanks if needed. I saw plans elsewhere on this board for making such a HOB system, and went to Home Depot and bought PVC pipes and fittings. Here is the finished result:










I used some tubing to connect the PVC to the barbed fittings on the sterilizer and the powerhead. Everything else is just regular 1/2" PVC. And here it is in action!



















I can almost already see an improvement in the water clarity. I'll take pictures at intervals and post them so you can see how effective it is. It doesn't have any baffling or "twists" inside the unit, so it's less effective than more expensive brands, but it should still work. The powerhead that came with it is a 275gph pump, so it's a little strong. I'm hoping my DIY spraybar on the end helps to slow down the water flow and make the unit more effective. It also came with no cover or protection over the powerhead intake and I didn't want any fish being sucked up into it, so I put a sponge over the intake to keep debris and fish out.

Die green water, die!:laser:


----------



## xcooperx

you got a good deal with UV stuff, im also having green water right now, nut im going to blackout method, UV and Diatom stuff is too expensive


----------



## SKSuser

Sweet!
Factor in the power head and thats a smokin deal in my opinion.


----------



## pineapple

Has anyone said this already? I give you $2000+ worth of advice free: get that computer off the floor now and make sure your surge bars etc are also off the floor. You might have insurance, but if anything leaks and you get a fire started by a short circuit, you're a gonner. Otherwise, I have used racks like this and find them to be very convenient, especially for photographing tanks. But I am moving more toward minimalist cabinets now. Racks like that conduct electricity so you should also install a GFCI outlet.


----------



## DJKronik57

Don't worry, the computer has long since been moved off the floor, that was just shortly after moving in, and everything is on a GFI outlet. All the power strips are mounted on the legs with drip loops to prevent short circuits.

So I decided to take a few more pictures and post them. First, I've begun another attempt to breed my Blue Rams in the 10g tank. Both have already taken to each other after adding in the male lastnight. The female has already taken on motherly behavior, attacking my Mag-Float when I tried to clean the glass!










They're both beautiful fish and I really hope this time I'll be successful. In the past, the either the male failed to fertilize the eggs or the female was just an inexperienced mother and ate the eggs a few days after laying them. The tank itself is a mess and I was going to trim it back and clean it up, but I don't want to stress the female out now and I'm guessing she'd attack my hands as well!










Interestingly, the male has already cleared a "pit" in the substrate, even pulling out some loose glosso stems.

Here's a picture of the 29. The green water has gotten thinner, I can now see a good few inches into the tank.










I think the flow is a bit too fast for the bulb to be most effective, but it is clearing it slowly.

And here is the 20 long and my rummynose tetras, which have since colored up very nicely. Previously the pH and KH in the tank were really high and the tetras were barely red at all, but since both have come down. I think the sand I used may have affected the pH slightly.










The glosso is slowly growing now, most plants have rooted into the substrate and now will begin spreading out. I can't wait till it carpets everything! I'm still a little nervous about green water coming back, so I'm keeping some floating plants in there and only using one light bank.










That's it for pictures for now!


----------



## xcooperx

IM excited for the HC to fill up the whole tank, im also gonna do that on my 20L the only difference im gonna put some stargrass on the back. how much you spemd for the rocks?

Oh im planning to do Glosso at the front and HC at the back what you think?


----------



## DJKronik57

Cooper,

I think star grass, glosso, and HC will look great together, but have you considered dwarf hair grass instead of the star grass? It will make it look more like a meadow and make the tank look larger. They are all carpeting plants (except the star grass) though so you have to make sure they don't spread together too much, but a little bit of spreading into each other helps blur the transition between the plants. Lots of Amano's tanks use different carpeting plants.

As for the rocks, they were free! I picked them up at the local reservoir. I still have some left over, but shipping them will be very expensive since they are so heavy. I don't know what the geography is like around where you live, but usually you can find good rocks near sources of water. Just make sure you sterilize them before you put them in your tank. I boiled mine for half an hour, you can also soak them in bleach.


----------



## SKSuser

Haha, shipping for a rock from Boston to West Covina..... I don't even want to think about it.

Cooper, if you took a road trip north to the mojave you could probably find some awesome rocks. A day mucking around in the desert is always fun.

California geological survey. (Look for the red. It signifies lots of granite.)

I'm sure there are other great rocks you could get, but I picked granite because its easy to identify and is ok in a fish tank.


----------



## xcooperx

we can use the USPS Flat priority mail $8.10 of any weight, my only concerned is i still dont know the size of the box.


----------



## DJKronik57

Haha, well I forgot about flat rate boxes, I picked some up by accident one day and have some laying around. That will really make the USPS eat their own words when I hand over a box that's 50lbs!

"What the heck do you have in here?"

"Oh, just rocks."

ound: 

Cooper, I'll send you some pictures of the rocks I have left over, see if you want any of them!

As an update on the UV sterilizer, I've determined the powerhead that came with it is way too strong. It only cleared the water a little overnight. The flow rate was still way over 100gph even with my homemade spraybar, and there was no way to throttle the 275gph the pump put out. So I've moved it to my Eheim 2213 exhaust and it seems to be a much more modest flow rate (probably under 100gph) which will make the UV sterilizer much more effective. Will let you know if this solves the problem. Any suggestions on a good flow rate for a 11W sterilizer? My guess is under 100gph to really kill stuff. Anyway, will keep you guys posted.


----------



## DJKronik57

Woo-hoo! I'm finally free of green water! It only took about a month and buying a UV sterilizer. Seriously though, the UV sterilizer was the best $28 I've ever spent. To be able to control accidents like this (one outbreak was caused by me disturbing the tank too much) is fantastic, and the water is extremely clear now. Now all I have to do is focus on nursing my plants back to full health and refining my scapes after a month of neglect! I'll post some pictures as soon as I get a chance!

By the way, I bought two new filters: an Eheim 2217 and a UniMax Pro 250. I'm going to try these on the 29 and see if they keep it cleaner. The UniMax has a UV sterilizer built in (coool!) so I'm excited to see how it performs. They were both great deals on eBay. Who knows, I may even end up selling one on here for cheap if I don't use it...


----------



## jassar

Good to hear you got rid of that nasty green water! 
pics man, we need pics!!!
-Jassar


----------



## DJKronik57

Here you are, pictures! I have the UV sterilizer on the 20 gallon now, so I've turned on both banks of light. Hopefully now the HC will have a chance to spread and I can take out the floating water sprite.










The rocks have a nice patina to them now, but as you can see, the HC has taken a hit from the reduced light and green water. I've been fertilizing less afraid it would come back. The old growth dies off but is always replaced by new growth.










And here's the 29, newly cleared of GW! The plants look scraggly and dirty due to the long bout with green water, but I've trimmed them back and they should grow back. I have to trim the moss soon, it's creating a big black hole on the left side of the tank underneath it and it's almost broken the surface.










I don't know if it's just me, but the fish seem much more active than they were before the GW outbreak. Almost like they're happy to see me again, or just happy they can see *anything* again...the rainbows used to stick their faces up against the glass to try to see me through the pea soup! [smilie=l:

[IMG]http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/6408/img2726dk3.jpg[/IMG]










And finally, the first floor, the 10 gallon.










It's a mess still. Now, the thread algae is subsiding but the female has spawned and has become VERY angry at anything that enters the tank, including my hands. She can't really do any damage, but I worry about her damaging herself! She nibbles on my hand and will even slam her body into me! It's kinda cool, I can touch her and she isn't afraid at all, but I haven't trimmed because I'm worried she will hurt herself and don't want to stress her out unnecessarily. That pearl weed on the left is a mess. I'm going to have to get in there sometime...maybe at night?

Anyway, all is well again in the aquarium high-rise!


----------



## John N.

Messy but I LIKE IT! Such crisp photos and wonderful moss mountain. Glad the green water battle woes are over. Now just to get rid of the dust algae bit on the glass on the 20 long. Are you using the "do not touch" for 4 weeks method to get rid of it? 

-John N.


----------



## xcooperx

nice, congrats man, im also ready to show my Iwagumi Tank maybe next week. still working on my filter and co2. Thanks kronik for the rocks


----------



## DJKronik57

John N: The 20g is still unstable when it comes to algae since there aren't many plants in there (Hence the floating water sprite). I'm hoping it will go away as the HC spreads. Oh, and all my pictures are taken with an ancient Canon Powershot A10 with *drumroll* 1.3 megapixels. Seriously need to upgrade that! So I think the crisp pictures are because of the UV sterilizer alone.

Cooper: No problem! Don't worry about sending the ones you have left back, it isn't worth the shipping. Can't wait to see your tank!


----------



## turtlehead

So did you get rid of the thread algae yet?


----------



## DJKronik57

The thread algae in the 10g is definitely not doing well, which is good. Since I've been overdosing Excel, it hasn't grown although it is now very brittle, so manual removal is even more difficult. I'm hoping continued Excel overdosing and increased competition from plants will help to eliminate it with minimal manual removal.


----------



## xcooperx

hey how many bottle you are using on your DIY co2 --- 20L Iwagumi and what kind of Diffuser, can i also know what filter are you using? thanks


----------



## DJKronik57

I'm using one Hagen unit and one Ocean Spray juice container (the short round ones, not the tall square ones). They feed into a powerhead intake. That powerhead pumps water through my DIY filter (see previous posts for pictures). The water then goes through the 11W Jebo UV Sterilizer and into my tank via a DIY PVC spraybar.


----------



## xcooperx

oh same with me, im using 1 unit of Hagen and 1x 1.89L Juice bottle, each bottle has each Bubble ladder but im thinking of replacing the Diffuser with this reactor, but the disadvantage is it will eat some space inside the tank

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/2923/2006915ae4.jpg
Photo is courtesy of Shawn


----------



## DJKronik57

*Babies!!!!*

I never thought it would happen, after trying time after time, but my rams have spawned and the eggs have hatched! I noticed when I came home tonight the female was in the midst of a cloud of little bug like things.

Unfortunately, a few days ago I lost the male. When that happened, I pretty much resigned and said no more, after 4 out of the 6 I've ever bought have died. Of course, as soon as I give up, I have baby fish everywhere. I didn't even know they had spawned again. They hid the eggs very well. It's such a shame the male died though, he was so pretty! I guess these are his legacy. Hopefully some will survive.

What should I be feeding them? It's a well established tank with lots of little bugs and infusoria swimming around and lots of moss, but I've heard these fry are notoriously hard to feed. I have Hikari First Bites but I don't want to pollute the water with it (it's a fine powder) until I'm sure they can eat it. How long does their yolk sac last?

This is so exciting! Forget all my algae woes, I've got a family to feed!


----------



## frozenoak

I don't know weather to say congrats or I'm sorry for your loss. Sounds like a lot is going on over your way anyway. 

dale


----------



## lailastar

MAybe Artemia? Or Daphnias? Thats what I feed my frys or ground flakes...


----------



## SOLOMON

Is it possible that the female killed the male? female blue rams usually take care of the spawn, and she might have been protecting the eggs from the male?

My bolivian rams spawned last week and for the first three days free swimming, the fry wre eating infusoria and have now progressed to ground flake food, you could try the smae, if not i think BBS would be the best.

All the best with your fry!!!


----------



## FazTeAoMar

Hi DJKronik57!

In the first 2 weeks I fed my baby rams a liquid food from JBL. I then proceeded to inject microworms and they doubled the size in the following weeks. BBS should be fine too. I didn´t do it because I was a bit lazy in preparing the eggs to hatch.

As for the spawn, I wouldn´t get too exciting. It seems that it is the first spawn and generally, females are quiet obsessive about it! Altough you don´t have the male around to induce a new spawning, I would suggest capture the fry with a big syringe and put them in nursery, in the same tank. On the other hand, if you get lucky, your female will be a good mother and will take good care of the fry. Who knows...

As to what has been said, ram males are the ones who take care of the fry, not females. In apistogramma gender, it is the female yes. In my case, all the spawnings that took place ( and they were a lot, around 10, with baby fry every time) had a terrible ending: the female would eat their fry when she was ready to spawn again. This occured in the 7th day, when fry were already free swimming. I could only salvage the little ones by capturing them with a big syringe and putting them in a nursery, so the female couldn´t eat them. It was quiet frustrating seeing fry being eaten. :S

P.S.: the batch of fry that I have salvage in March already reached the adulthood and the have good colours, just like their parents 

Regards and good luck,
André


----------



## DJKronik57

Unfortunately, the ram fry were eaten by the female. Oh well...I'll keep trying.

Alright, well I've been busy this weekend and did a few major trims. First, the 29 gallon:









Before (August 06)









After (October 06)

I decided to do a major trim of the Christmas moss and took out a mass as big as my head (now for auction on Aquabid). The previous "Christmas Tree" look was pretty but the moss was collecting a lot of dirt and debris and the moss on the top closest to the light was attracting algae. It was also starting to choke out everything underneath it (note the scraggly Rotala right in front of the driftwood!). It also wasn't even attached to the wood anymore. I just grabbed it and it came right off. I left a few handfuls in the tank but tucked it behind the driftwood where I hope it will attach more. I'm also trying my hand at Java Fern again. Supposedly a plant that anyone can grow, mine just seems to fester and rot, although it is one tough plant. All of mine was enveloped by the moss and surprisingly survived on little or no light! I've placed what remains of it on the driftwood hoping it will grow back bushy and green. The "Before" picture is also before my green water outbreak, so that's why there is so little change in 2 months. The tank is just now recovering. At least the fish seem to like the open area a little better!

For the 10 gallon I trimmed it way back as well:









Before (September 06)









After (October 06)

Since the Ram's spawn was eaten I figured I'd better spruce up the tank now that I don't have to worry about disturbing them. I gave the Hemianthus micranthemoides a bit of a flat top on the right, but I'm trying to get it to make a compact bush. The needle leaf Ludwigia in the center is growing well, as is the needle leaf Java Fern (unlike the Java Ferns in my 29 gallon!) I also added a planting of Micranthemum umbrosum on the far right to add some color to that side. The moss wall was trimmed back as well. The Glosso in the front is not doing well and I have no idea why. It used to be a thick carpet, but it slowly died off and is now reaching for the light. I'm thinking about replacing it with something else, maybe HC or dwarf hair grass.

As for the 20 gallon long, I'm wrestling with a bit of the notorious BGA (blue green algae) so it's not all that pretty right now. Plus I haven't scraped the algae off the glass in forever...it's still balancing out (it was started about 3 months ago). I'll post pictures once it's decent!

That's it for this update, leave me some comments on the tanks!


----------



## DJKronik57

Alright, well I've been staring at this 29 for a few days and I've decided it's time for the ugly driftwood to go. With much cursing and maneuvering and not-so-gentle coaxing I managed to get the driftwood out (it was in the tank when the tank was set up on the rack, I had no intentions of removing it then...). I moved the rotalas into the "group" and this is what I have now:










The left side still needs to grow in a bit since the wood was there and I have to figure out what ground cover to put on the left side as well. I'm thinking I'll try glosso, but if I don't like it I'll rip it up and put dwarf hairgrass there as well like the right side. What do you guys think? Like it better?


----------



## cs_gardener

Its like its a completely different tank! I do like it as its much brighter and doesn't feel as cramped. Are you going to keep the right the same? Its a rather hard line right now. It does need to fill in over on the left as you mentioned, but overall its quite nice.


----------



## DJKronik57

Well on the right behind the Hemianthus micranthemoides there is a little bit of Micranthemum umbrosum which I'm hoping will grow out and break up the edge a little bit. I also have a little bit of mayaca that I will keep low to help blend the scape into the hairgrass. I've also thought about using plants like E. tenellus or H. difformis. Any other foreground-height plants that might go well around the edges? I could always just spread the Blyxa japonica all the way around, but that may make it look too "fenced in."










I certainly am pleased with how the tank is looking, even with a bare side. I've never seen the H. polysperma look so nice and bushy! It makes quite a nice center-piece. Before, I was considering replacing it with the L. Aromatica once it got big enough, but now I'm not sure I want to.

I've also been considering adding some thin driftwood branches, if I can get my hands on them. Just a simple layout with the branches coming out from the center of the taller plants, maybe with some moss on them. The problem is getting just a few branches without order a whole bunch from manzanita.com!

In other tank news, the female ram that had the fry got sick and died yesterday. I tried to help her, she looked like she had dropsy (all puffed up and not eating) but even with medication she didn't make it. I've decided to give up on Blue Rams for now, the ones I can get easily are just far too fragile. I've never had any survive very long. I'll wait till I can have a dedicated tank set up for them and get strong healthy fish from a breeder. Such pretty fish though, it's so hard to say no to them.


----------



## cs_gardener

I'm sorry to hear about your ram, such a disappointment. I hope the next time you get rams you'll have better luck.

Now that you've kicked the green water your plants should fill in a lot faster so I suppose patience is the order of the day. I don't think you need to change out anything since it all looks so nice and healthy. 

Have you considered trying Ranunculus inundatus (I think that is the Ranunculus that I have). It has such a neat leaf shape and once established it grows very easily by runner but only gets about 2 to 3 inches tall for me. I have it in a 20 gal tall NPT and it does just fine with 65 watts of light, no CO2 and rare fertilization. 

I like your idea of thin driftwood branches and moss. Will it be too much trouble situating driftwood in an already planted tank?


----------



## redstrat

have you had any updates on your hi-rise, or have I missed it??? I liked your tanks and I'm currious to see how they are now-a-days.


----------



## DJKronik57

Well I've been pretty busy with my blog and work, but I just did a complete rescape of the 29 and the HC in the 20 is finally filled in (now if I could only get the damn rummy nose tetras to swim around instead of cowering all day). I'll post some pictures once the 29 has filled in a little bit, probably in a week or two. Again, I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but there's plenty of other cool stuff on my aquascaping blog (link is below)! I'll post soon...


----------



## redstrat

Thats cool man take your time, I'm glad to hear the HC is finally working out  

by the way, I really like your blog!!!


----------



## DJKronik57

Well I know I *really* took my time, but I figured I'd give you all an update on all three tanks and how they've changed over the past few months.

First, for all of you who never saw the 20G Iwagumi in all it's glory, here it is at it's height:










Soon after, in an attempt to get rid of the persistent hair/cladophora algae, I did a 5 day blackout which didn't kill the algae, but killed ALL of my HC. Oops. :doh:

So I ripped it all out, and as a last desperate measure used an algaecide. Low and behold, it worked like a charm and cleared out all the algae. Then I rearranged the rocks a little bit and cleaned it up. I wasn't sure what I was going to put in it, but then I decided to change my 29 gallon from this:










To this:









(excuse the bubbles, it was right after a water change)

So I had a lot of blyxa japonica left over. I figured, why not, and tossed it in the 20G:










Since then it's filled in much more and I definitely like it. So do the fish, which were always scared and stressed when it was just HC. Now they swim in and out of the blyxa stands through the back and are much happier.

As for the 10G, well I took the nuisance moss wall of the back, it ended up just being an algae magnet and took up too much space in the tank. Since then, I think it's evolved to a sort of "rain forest" theme where there are so many plants mixed in it looks like a jungle. I've replenished it with Cherry Shrimp which are doing great now that I figured out that CSM+B kills them. I also got some Tiger shrimp and a few Gertrude's Rainbows. These help to keep the planaria population down and won't eat shrimp since they're so small.









(again, right after a water change, so things are a bit messy and bubbly)









A male and female Gertrude's Rainbow.









A tiger shrimp.

You can see a few more pictures of the Gertrude's Rainbows on my blog.

And finally, I'll leave you with a picture of the full high-rise at night:


----------



## John N.

Beautiful scapes, and very inspirational with the rocks/sand layouts. I also love the fish and shrimp photos. 

-John N.


----------



## redstrat

wow what an update! nice pics and tanks. I can't believe how the first pic of the 29g makes the gouramis appear to be 3D, pretty cool.


----------



## Quantronghoang

yup. the new layout with blyxa look good, I love it.
Why don't you try to have you blyxa grown in many different heights? thought that would be great!


----------



## UG Dude!

I've just read the last 9 pages! It's incredible what all your tanks have gone through during this thread! Well done!


----------



## FishandTurtleJunkie

Sorry for the thread jack. 

"I figured out that CSM+B kills them." 

Yikes, I am getting some RCS soon and dose this. Thanks for the heads up. Is there an alterative that is shrimp friendly for iron and other micros on the EI regimen ?


----------



## NatalieT

With that many tanks on the stand, do you have to worry about the floor underneath? It looks like all the weight is resting on those 4 small legs, which would make it pretty concentrated on the floor.


----------



## DJKronik57

I'm not sure about fertilizers, but I haven't been dosing trace ferts in my shrimp tank for a while now with little side effects. I think Flourish may be safe, but I know there are other threads on this topic if you do a quick search.

As for the weight, it is a lot, but if you think about it, if your floor can support 4 people standing in the same place, it can probably support three tanks. It's roughly 600lbs, or 4 average size people. It depends greatly on your floor though.


----------



## Felf808

DJKronik57 said:


> I'm not sure about fertilizers, but I haven't been dosing trace ferts in my shrimp tank for a while now with little side effects. I think Flourish may be safe, but I know there are other threads on this topic if you do a quick search.
> 
> As for the weight, it is a lot, but if you think about it, if your floor can support 4 people standing in the same place, it can probably support three tanks. It's roughly 600lbs, or 4 average size people. It depends greatly on your floor though.


No matter how your floor is designed or what it's made out of, the weight will cause the floor to sag over time. If you want to distribute weight evenly then place a thick piece of wood under the rack and try to line it up perpendicular to the floor beams (try to get it to span across several beams if possible). I've heard of people placing car stands and extra pieces of wood in the basement under the tank (which is on the first floor) to support the extra weight but since you're not putting it on the ground floor, you'll really have to think about where it's gonna go.


----------



## FishandTurtleJunkie

I really like the variations in different scapes you have going there. Very nicely done.


----------



## dawntwister

I love the lanscaping of the 10 gallon tank. What plants are in there?


----------



## foofooree

hey, are these still growin?


----------



## Revernance

I like that you're a smart man. You think of every little way to do something. Case in point, the wire ties for the light. 
 (It's not supposed to be sarcastic, i'm trying to compliment.) The internet is a hard place to do so.

I just realized the thread maker hasn't been online since 2/28. Bummer. I was really looking forward to an update.


----------



## DJKronik57

Well, the high rise is no more. Space requirements meant I needed to get rid of it and put a desk in its place. However, I wasn't just going to part with my fish, so I found a 46 gallon bowfront tank on Craigslist...


----------



## chicken_soup

Gratz on the baby rams  One day .. Ill bread rams, Gotta get a lill experience first _ Again , Nice tanks


----------



## theaznguy808

I think I have the same rack (or at least one that was made to imitate that one...)

The design looks exactly the same (the wire on the sides, etc), unless that is a common design.

I got mine for about 20 dollars, and it seems....flimsy. In other words, I don't even see it holding up a 29 gallon (maybe with plywood...I don't know, it seems risky).

I'll follow this to see the progress (in the highly unlikely event that something bad will happen).

Nice aquariums though!


----------



## MKD

Those are great


----------



## Tex Gal

You guys know this thread is 3 years old?


----------

