Absence

And Also...

2009-03-09T18:11:00.006-04:00

I forgot to mention a few things...

Two additional upgrades were made at the same time the stand was being built. For my birthday I received a set of Cal Aqua Labs Glass Lilly Pipes and I also bought a Hydor 200W Inline Heater. Just an attempt to get as much out of the tank as possible.

Also, you will notice that there are a lot more plants in the tank! After scrounging around the swap-n-shop forums on www.plantedtank.net, I was able to get Blyxa japonica, Echinodorus tennellus 'micro', Hemianthus callitrichoides and Heteranthera zosterifolia. I also got rid of the Cryptocoryne spiralis, and replaced it with another tall Crypt that I have not yet identified.

The down side in all of this tank work? Green Peas Soup! My best guess, is that in doing all the re-planting, moving the tank, and adding all the new equipment, I agetated the tank enough to create an ammonia spike and leave me with green water. The above pictures are of the tank after I did a 3 day blackout. The plants were quite pale, but are starting to come back once again. Unfortunately, I had planted the Stargrass right before the green water struck, and seeing as they were sitting in a box for three days, then got re-planted, and then got blacked out for 3 days, they didn't make it. I pulled them our right after I took these pictures. New stems are on the way however!

Also on the way; an Aqua Controller Jr./DC8 as well as 2 APT SP-100 Peristaltic pumps for my new auto dosing system!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One last thing I did add was LED Lights to the inside of the stand. These were lying around the house, who knows where I got them... They use a small magnet that when removed turns the lights on. I plan on attaching a wooden dowell to all three magnets, so I can turn them all on and off at the same time. The lights are attached using double sided mounting tape. Here are some pictures:

Taking Things To The Next Level

2009-03-09T17:39:00.009-04:00

I have been quite busy over the last month, which attributes to why I have not updated the blog in a while. All for good reason however, I did some major upgrades to the tank.

First and foremost, I built a custom stand! I got tired of looking at my old beat up table that I was previously using as a stand. I wanted to create something that could house all of my equipment and keep the stand looking sleek. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera when I decided to build it, so I have no shots of the building process, only shots after it was completed.
The design of the stand was quite simple. I used a combination of 4x4s, 2x4s, and wood screws to create a basic frame the slightly larger than the perimeter of the tank. I next used 2' by 4' sheets of MDF to create panels for the top bottom and sides. The cuts to the MDF were made using a circular saw and therefore needed a little help to get the fit right via a belt sander. These panels once fitted were then nailed to the frame using finishing nails and an air gun. In addition to the piece of MDF on the top, I added a piece of birch with a wider perimeter to create a lip. Once this was attached, I drilled 3/4" holes on the right side of the tank where I would be running my tubing to go down into the stand. I also drilled a 1/4" hole on the left side for my CO2 line. I ultimately decided to keep the back open for the purpose of running cables as well as ventilation to the equipment that would be stored down there. The front panel was cut in the same manner as the others, but I used the hand saw to take out a proportional rectangle in the middle. This was a bit tricky to do with a circular saw, but againthe belt sander came in handy to clean up my cuts. At this point in the build, the entire thing got coated in black spray paint. I applied very thin coats, and went through 4 cans of spray paint before it was finished. The next thing to do was to figure out how to mount the front panel to the stand. I wanted it to be removable so I could have easy access to the equipment. What I ended up finding were these little clips that cost 89 cents at Home Depot. I used 4 of these to attach the front panel and after I added some cabinet handels the entire front panel was now easily removable. I then stapled fabric to the back side of the front panel, to create a textured look in the hole I cut out. This was purely for looks. I just didnt want a plain piece of wood to stare at. On the top surface of the stand as well as the floor on the inside, I used spray adhesive to attach 1/8" black shelf liner, which would keep the water off the wood thus avoiding water stains. Below are some pictures of the final product. The pictures are not that great, but I'll try to snap some new ones soon.

Complete Overhaul

2009-02-15T22:28:00.003-05:00

The inspiration for this new tank is coming from here. I absolutely love this tank, so I am trying to create something similar.

New CO2 Manifold!

2009-01-22T19:31:00.003-05:00

Just got done making this today. Basically I used a 1/4" female T and three 1/4"->1/8" hose barbs to split the CO2 line. I glued this to a Hammond PCB Board enclosure that I had from when I made a DIY headphone amp. Then I through mounted the Fabco needle valves to the front panel and drilled holes in the back panel for the CO2 tubing to come out. After that it was just a matter of hooking up the hosing. I am using this to control CO2 on this tank as well as my high tech 10 Gallon.

Just Some Fish Pics...

2009-01-16T23:20:00.011-05:00

Checker and Drape-Fin Barb

Drape-Fin Barb

Finally An Update!

2009-01-16T23:08:00.010-05:00

So I have finally gotten around to updating the old blog...

Here are some new pics of the tank. The Giant Hygro was replaced with Sunset Hygro and in the foreground Hygro. Low Grow was added. In addition to adding these plants, I found the coolest Barbs I have ever seen, Oreichthys sp. "high fin" or Drape-fin Barbs. I bought all the last 3 the LFS had. I am hoping they get more in soon. This tank might turn out to be an all barb tank (minus the Otos)...

New Plants Arrived

2008-12-18T19:23:00.004-05:00

Got the Sunset Hygro (Hygrophila polysperma 'rosanevig') and the Low Grow Hygro (Hygrophila sp. 'low grow') in the mail today! They looked stellar, especially after being in a box for 4 days. The Low Grow Hygro is a bit bigger than I thought, but Im gonna give it a chance. Pics to come...

Re-scape!

2008-12-18T00:13:00.006-05:00

Much has happened since my last post!

I ultimately decided that the Riccia had to go. It was growing way too fast and I just thought that it did not fit. Most of the plants got moved around and I added some Nesaea sp. 'red' and a Hygrophila corymbosa 'kompact'. The Nesaea is unfortunately going to be leaving my tank I think to make room for some Sunset Hygro. I plant to put low grow Hygro in the open areas in the front. These new plants should be here tomorrow. So I will give another update then!

The fauna got changed up a bit as well. I moved the Norman's Lampeyes over to my newly established 10 gallon tank (A blog for that one is coming soon). In their place I added 7 Checker Barbs (4M/3F). I also plant to add 10 or so Rasbora hengeli.

If you are paying close attention, you will also notice that the diffuser is gone. Well, n0t gone but has moved. It is now located under the spraybar so that CO2 will get spread out better and so that it is not as visible.

Just a quick update...

2008-12-03T16:54:00.003-05:00

While preparing to do my water change this past Sunday, I noticed that there were Norman's Lampeye Fry! 6 is the most I have been able to count. The seem to be doing quite well. They stay very close to the top of the tank and like to hide in the Giant Hygro leaves. I plan on keeping them in the tank rather then removing them until they are full sized. The other fish do not seem to be bothering them so far.

I also just bought some Sunset Hygro and some Porto Vehlo Hygro. Some of this will be going in this tank, but most are going in to the 10 gallon. More aquascaping to come!

Updated Tank Shots!

2008-11-24T22:53:00.004-05:00

Full Tank Shot

Norman's Lampeyes

Oto's

Rex Grigg Finally Pulled Through!

2008-11-24T22:45:00.005-05:00

Rex Griggs 'Best Darn Aquarium Regulator'

Rhinox 3000 Glass CO2 Diffuser

After many weeks of waiting, my Rex Grigg regulator came and CO2 is up and running in the tank. This is HUGE! It is the last thing that the tank needed to be fully operational. It was a breeze to set up and is intoxicating to watch. I did some trimming on the wisteria and riccia. The plants are all flourishing and there is minimal algae!

Norman's Lampeyes!

2008-11-16T22:40:00.006-05:00

New Norman's Lampeyes (Aplocheilichthys normani)

13 added to the tank today! This will be their temporary home until the 10 gallon is up and running. They all look very healthy and have acclimated well. They are absolutely impossible to get a clear shot of. This is one of the better ones (out of the 200 that I took). Ill keep trying though...

I also took some shots of new growth...

Riccia Fluitans

Crypts

Aquariums are awesome.

Upgrades!

2008-11-15T23:09:00.008-05:00

I have been in a constant struggle as to what type of fish to add to this tank. What I did not foresee, was that trying to make this decision would lead to major upgrades for my tank as well as the addition of a second tank! What started all this was two different fish that I absolutely love; Hengeli Rasboras (Trigonostigma hengeli) and Norman's Lampeyes (Aplocheilichthys normani). Both are stunning fish that I knew I wanted to keep. It is my opinion that fish look best in large groups. That being said, in this tank, I did not want to have more than two types of fish (one of those being the 5 oto's that are in the tank already). After doing much research I realized that my tank fit almost 100% in to an Asian biotope. The only exceptions here were the oto cats and the Anubias barteri 'nana'. I also was happy to discover that Hengeli Rasboras that I love also fit into this biotope. This got my obsessed brain to thinking of converting the 20 Gallon into an Asian biotope. This thinking quickly turned into doing...

The first thing to do was to replace the Anubias. After many hours of looking online at aquatic plant species from the Asian biotope, I chose a handful of possible plants and headed to the fish store after work to see what they had. To my surprise they actually had many of the plants on my list. I ended up choosing two; Cryptocoryne wendetii 'red' and Cryptocoryne wendrtii 'green gecko'. I also happened to pick up another thing while there - a Eheim Classic (2213). I had been eyeballing this for some time and had actually planned to use a credit I had from drsfostersmith.com to buy it. Whilst eyeballing this, I came up with the idea that rather than putting the two Penguin Bio-Wheel filters on the shelf, I could eventually set up a 10 gallon tank that would be of the African biotope for the Norman's Lampeyes.

A quick note on this Asian biotope - All the plants in the tank are now native to Asia: Hygrophila corymbosa 'siamensis', Hygrophila difformis, Cryptocoryne wendetii 'red', Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia, and Riccia fluitans (Cosmopolitan). The Fauna will be almost 100% Asian once the Hengeli's are added. I plan to keep the oto's in the tank although they are not Asian. This is mostly because they are the only catfish/tank cleaners that I really like the look of... Water parameters and lighting are within the biotope conditions as well!

Well, my obsessive mind took over... Since I only needed one of the two Penguin Bio-Wheels I decided to make an attempt at exchanging one at the store for a 10 gallon tank and hood...

Big Pet Store Chain One - take one: I went in and got myself a new tank and hood and got online to make the exchange with the original receipt. No success - my receipt was over 30 days old.

Big Pet Store Chain One - take two (a different location): I went in without the receipt and asked if I could exchange it. I almost had the cashier convinced until she noticed that the box had stickers that this store did not have. No success again.

Big Pet Store Chain Two: I didn't buy it from here, but as long as they carried the model I figured I had a shot. Success! I peeled the price tags off and happened to get a very nice cashier who let the exchange slip by.

I should note that I feel no remorse for doing this. The big pet stores not only put local pet stores out of business, but they treat their animals horribly. For proof watch the link below... Support your local pet store!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ltIFL8rY4M&feature=related

Anyway, back to my obsession...

Major score! I got a new tank and hood to go with my extra filter for my new setup! Since I bought the Eheim at the fish shop this opened me up to use the credit I had at drsfostersmith.com to use for two bags of Eco-Complete substrate and a 50 watt heater. So, in essence for the price of a filter upgrade for my 20 gallon I got all the essentials for a new 20 gallon setup. Only thing left to figure out is lighting and CO2... I'll save that for the beginning of my 10 gallon blog...

New planting 1

New planting 2

Closeup of new Crypts

Phewww...

So here's where I stand now... The Anubias are currently in m sisters tank (which is cycling) anchored to some rocks until my new ten gallon is up and running. The new crypts are in the tanks and looking great so far. I went to my local fish store to see if they could get me Hengeli Rasboras. Right now it is looking like a couple weeks. Just my luck though, I happened to spot a fresh batch of Norman's Lampeyes in one of their tanks. Seeing that they don't come around often, I am going to pick them up tomorrow and keep them in this tank until the new tank is ready. I'll get picks of them up asap!

Things Are Starting To Come Together!

2008-11-11T20:33:00.006-05:00

I added two more rocks with Riccia on them today and moved the lone Amazon Sword to my sisters tank. All the plants are growing nicely! See pics below...

Hygrophila Difformis - New Growth

Riccia Fluitans - New Growth

Hopefully my CO2 regulator will be in by the end of the week. It should ship either today or tomorrow. Also, all 5 Oto's are eating and doing great!

Time to let things fill in...

The Tank Is Clear!

2008-11-11T17:04:00.005-05:00

The tank has finally cleared up! The layout and details of the last two posts are finally visible. I have added a DIY CO2 system (the blue tube in the background) temporarily until the regulator I ordered fro Rex Grigg comes. It has been a month since I ordered it from him and because of whatever reason it has not shipped yet. I have heard from him today though, and he assures me it will be shipping today or tomorrow. As for now I am dosing with the Seachem line of products. As soon as the regulator comes, I will be switching over to the EI method. Today I have also added Seachem Root Tabs around all of the plantings.

The plants are flourishing to say the least.

The Riccia has started to grow up towards the light and is filling in,the Wisteria is developing strong roots and new growth is coming from both the top and bottom of the plant, and the Giant Hygros are developing roots and growing up as well. I have had soem trouble getting the anubias to stay down in the substrate, but after multiple plantings they have finally took and are starting to grow new roots

I have also added Oto Catfish (Otocinclus macrospilus)!!

I initially put 3 in the tank, followed by 6 more the next day. As some of you are probably well aware, Oto Catfish are very hard to acclimate and seem to die for unknown reasons when moved to a new tank. Out of the 9 that were put in, 5 are left. The remaining 5 however, are showing signs of positive acclimation!

*A Quick Note - I have chosen not to cycle this tank in the traditional way. I am instead using the method that Rex Grigg describes on his website. The basic idea is that in a heavily planted tank, you can gradually add fish without having the risk of ammonia or nitrite build up. The reason being is the the plants love the ammonia and therefore consume it before it gets to a dangerous level. While it takes the bacteria column a longer time to develop, one can have fish immediately. As of right now my ammonia readings are at 0ppm and have not seen them go higher than 0.25ppm, nitrites are at 0, and nitrates have been between 0 and 5.

Still not fully satisfied with the aquascape yet... I am debating what to put within the 'horseshoe'. I am thinking Glosso or perhaps some more Riccia...not sure yet though.

New Plants Added!

2008-11-11T15:35:00.009-05:00

Cloudy.

Clear! ...well clearer

After work today I stopped off at the fish store to pick up some new plants! I got a Hygrophila Difformis (Wisteria), another Hygrophila corymbosa (Giant Hygro), and more Riccia.

After taking some time to look at the aquarium, I decided that the Giant Hygro would be better suited where I was currently housing the Amazon Sword. After pulling out the Amazon Sword I moved over the Hygo and added the additional one I bought. The Wisteria was put where the Hygros were originally, and the Amazon Sword was put into a pot for now. I added the Riccia to the other side of the rock horseshoe, making the entire thing covered in Riccia.

More to come!

"The beginning is the most important part of the work." - Plato

2008-11-11T11:12:00.020-05:00

Some Prelude:

Two weeks after setting up and aquascaping a 10 gallon tank, I had an opportunity to get my hands on a 20 gallon tank. It was a big decision whether or not to break down the 10 gallon and upgrade to a 20 gallon because of all the work I had put into getting the scape just right, but ultimately this would allow me to have more fish and a bigger scape. I sucked it up and started siphoning water...
(The 10 gallon was running a Marineland Penguin Bio-Wheel 150, a 50 watt heater, and a 40 watt Single Satellite Compact Light. The substrate was Seachem Flourite. It was originally planted with Anubias barteri var. nana, Hygophilia difformis, Echinodorus amazonicus, and Potamogeton gayi.)

Certain upgrades were necessary to switch from the 10 to the 20 gallon.

Filtration: Rather than upgrading to a large filter I decided to get a second Penguin Bio-Wheel 150. The reason for doing this was to not only increase filtration, but to encourage more water movement as well as have two sources of biological filtration that way filter cleanings can be alternated. By doing this, the hit the bacteria would take during a cleaning would be minimal.

Heating/Lighting: For heating I considered getting a second heater, but decided to upgrade to a 100 watt. The only reason for this was aesthetics. I upgraded the lighting from 40 watts to 65 watts. This was actually a downgrade in wpg from 4 to 3.25, but considering the plants I am planning to grow this is adequate.

Tanks setup began with adding substrate and brainstorming ideas. I had a wide selection of rocks that I collected from the coast of Maine and a nice piece of driftwood that was in the 10 gallon tank. I had originally planned on making the driftwood the center piece of the scape, but quickly abandoned that idea and dabbled with making the entire right side of the tank elevated. I did this by using large pieces of rock to hold back the substrate. I then decided to put the piece of driftwood in that section. To add to the topography of the tank I used another large rock to create a slightly lower elevated section in the back left corner of the tank. I had now created drop off in between these two elevated sections. I used some smaller pieces of rock to create a 'bridge' between the two sections The final effect looked like a horseshoe rock formation that was integrated into the elevated sections of the tank.

I planted the Anubias from the 10 Gallon around the drift wood and added a Giant Hygro to the elevated section on the left side. Riccia Fluitans was added to parts of the rock horseshoe. The Amazon Sword was planted behind the driftwood in the back right corner to block the heater and filter intake from view.

In the pictures below you can see the tank setup...
(My apologies for the cloudy pictures, but it is very hard to fill a tank with Flourite without mucking up the water. Once it clears up I will add new pictures.)

Anubias from the 10 gallon being planted on the elevated side

My very cloudy tank...

The scape still has a long way to go. I need to take some time after it clears up to look at it and see what it needs.