Finally starting my small aquarium.
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I havn't been on in quite a while, frankly life got a bit crazy. I was forced to neglect the tank as well, and right when I got my first big big algae bloom too. For a while I had black beard and green hair duking it out. Most of my java moss was engulfed in the fight. I finally got around to cleaning it out and starting my water change regiment again. I had to cut out most of that lush growth I was seeing. I think the clumps I originally tied on there were too thick anyway. I am left with some sparse bits but they are anchored right into the wood and hopefully will have a nice come back. I'll get some pics up right quick. ***Any advice in my battle with the algae would be helpful***
Looks really nice. There's just something bonsai-like about keeping small tanks. I just got a 5 and a 10 gallon recently and i haven't set up the 10 yet, so I'm really interested in what you're doing with yours.
Yeah, I suppose you hit the nail on the head, I know my light isn't what it should be. Its just a basic fluorescent 18in bulb (for plants). I've been able to do a planted tank with one before but in those cases I was starting with lots of fast growing plants that beat out the algae. This time with the sword, anubis and the moss, they aren't doing it. I was gunna add some more plants which might help some. Truth is I havn't been able to bite the bullet on a better light just yet, finances are a bit tight. If anyone knows of any good deals that would work for me on a small compact or something, let me know.
Here are some quick pics of the tank post deconstruction. I know, looking a bit sparse. Hopefully I'll be picking up some more plants soon. In the last picture you can see I got a second val coming up. I want them to fill up that corner.
Well its been over a month since I've reported in. Some things have changed a bit. I had quite a battle with this blueish fuzz that was covering my moss and driftwood. I finally got that under control for the most part but I lost almost all my moss. I have little bouts with other algae types as well. I picked up an oto cat but he died mysteriously two weeks later. In the past if I get an oto cat to start eating, that means they'll do alright. He seemed to be eating a lot but I lost him none the less. My livestock now includes one guppy a.k.a. Tank, and 5 red cherry shrimp with lots of baby shrimp hiding about. There is also three types of snails breeding in the tank now, trumpet, ramshorn and pouch. I've filled in with plants a bit more as well. Let me know what you think.
I've also made some technological advances with the tank. I remembered that I had a busted 12 gal. bio-cube tank with a nice light built right in. It was for s/w so it had a 10,000k bulb and and actinic. I replaced them with two 18w, 7500k bulbs but then the tricky part was sawing it down to sized to fit on my tank. I also added a DIY CO2 system to boost growth a bit. The biggest change was in the dwarf hair grass. I was having a hard time getting it to root in. With the new light and CO2 the grass is now starting to spread.
