With the reef tank no longer needing actinic supplimentation, I decided to put the 40w Satellite PC fixture to another use. I purchased a CurrentUSA Dual Daylight bulb, a bag of EcoComplete, BioWheel filter, some rock and a new 10g aquarium to complete the setup. Having seen pictures of Takashi Amano's beautiful Iwagumi style Nature Aquariums online, I thought I'd try my luck with one.
September 16, 2007
I decided to try a carpet of Java Moss by pinning it under plastic gutter guard with aluminum cable nails. I also added a Java Fern 'Windelov' to the rocks to add a little depth. A few Cardinal Tetras finished up the scape.
I decided to try a carpet of Java Moss by pinning it under plastic gutter guard with aluminum cable nails. I also added a Java Fern 'Windelov' to the rocks to add a little depth. A few Cardinal Tetras finished up the scape.
September 29, 2007
The moss grew surprisingly fast...as did the algae.
The moss grew surprisingly fast...as did the algae.
December 6, 2007
Algae was a constant problem but the moss kept growing. I decided to add Glowlight Tetras and moved the Cardinals to another planted tank.
Algae was a constant problem but the moss kept growing. I decided to add Glowlight Tetras and moved the Cardinals to another planted tank.
April 14, 2008
May 24, 2008
Swapped out the Java Fern for an Anubias barteri and to add some color went with GloFish. The tank was next to my reef tank, so I thought fish containing a fluorescing gene from reef invertebrates was appropriate.
Swapped out the Java Fern for an Anubias barteri and to add some color went with GloFish. The tank was next to my reef tank, so I thought fish containing a fluorescing gene from reef invertebrates was appropriate.
October 15, 2008
I finally got sick of the algae taking over the moss carpet and just ripped it all up. The 70w SunPod wasn't being used by the reef tank anymore so I put it on this tank for a short while.
I finally got sick of the algae taking over the moss carpet and just ripped it all up. The 70w SunPod wasn't being used by the reef tank anymore so I put it on this tank for a short while.
October 18, 2008
Decided I would try a more traditional carpeting plant and got a few pots of Hemianthus callitrichoides.
Decided I would try a more traditional carpeting plant and got a few pots of Hemianthus callitrichoides.
November 10, 2008
In an effort to speed things along I decided to go the dry start approach. Also went back to the 40w PC fixture.
January 28, 2009
HC starting to fill in nicely.
March 8, 2009
Filled up and added a Valisneria. Moved the Cardinals back while their tank was being renovated.
March 21, 2009
Added a group of young Tiger Barbs.
September 22, 2009
The HC died back a lot, but over the next year starting springing up. Started running a 10k/Actinic bulb to give the tank a cooler spectrum.
The tank continued to grow under benign neglect for the next year and I didn't take any photos of this or any tanks during 2010.
February 20, 2011
The HC became overgrown and with renewed interest I decided it was time to fight off the staghorn algae that had become pretty thick. I added a pair of American Flagfish and a couple Amano Shrimp to eat their fill.
March 29, 2011
Did a big trim of the HC and began experimenting with DiY yeast CO2 production and fertilizing regimens. Also went back to using the Dual Daylight bulb to light the tank.
April 16, 2011
With a new interest in Cryptocorynes and no other tank with room for them, I decided to make this a tank for them. From left to right: pontederiifolia, wendtii 'Red', x willisii 'Lucens' and retrospiralis. CO2 being diffused with a homemade cigarette filter wedged in some airline tubing and fertilizer being dosed with the Estimative Index method for marcos and micros.
May 6, 2011
Added C. wendtii 'Tropica' and C. lutea to the right side of the tank and got some Nerites snails.
June 6, 2011
The Nerites snails did an amazing job cleaning up the rocks!
July 14, 2011
Caught the killifish bug again and got a few species of Fundulopanchax for different tanks. In this tank I went with Fp. amieti.
August 14, 2011
They really liked the HC and spent most of their time digging under it to spawn, eventually uprooting all of it.
September 14, 2011
The tank after their furious digging. All the HC was moved to the greenhouse to grow out for later tanks.
February 22, 2012
Crypts growing in and sending runners out.
April 18, 2012
After turning the filter off for a week to give some of the fry a chance to grow the Crypts responded by melting back quite a bit. With the filter turned back on and fry removed, I decided to try my hand at a DiY LED light. I used 4 3w Cool White XP-Gs and 2 Neutral White XP-Gs ran at 700mA. Also finally got an actual drop checker instead of the homemade ones I was using before.
April 30, 2012
Crypts growing back from their melting and started getting Black Brush Algae on leaf edges.
May 15, 2012
Getting fertilizer dosing dialed in for the increased lighting helped a bit.
June 6, 2012
July 9, 2012
September 4, 2012
Did a major trim and separated the clump of C. x willisii 'Lucens' to cover the open area and moved the C. pontederiifolia to the 29g Crypt & Bicher tank. Also added some Osmocote pellets to the substrate to give the plants some root feeding. I'm starting to get what looks like dinoflagellates growing on the plants. I've only seen this in reef tanks but apparently planted tanks aren't immune to it. I started running the CO2 diffuser into a small powerhead to try the "mist" method of CO2 diffusion and get the levels a bit higher.
June 14, 2014
The last Fundulopanchax amieti died in December 2013. After that, I removed 2 of the XP-G Cool Whites and switched the driver to a 600mA one so I could use the old parts on a build for the 12g Reef Tank. On March 15 I drained the tank and put a glass cover on it. I also added more Osmocote to the substrate to grow the Crypts better emerged. I water weekly with a mix of MSU fertilizer and SuperThrive added to RODI water by sprayig down the whole tank.