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Aww’agumi (Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long Iwagumi)

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Aww’agumi (Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long Iwagumi)

6 10 2013 HC Carpet Hemianthus Callitrichoides Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long Iwagumi Red Cherry Shrimp

Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long

DSM had been going for well over 8 weeks.
Yesterday I found some really nice rocks and decided that it was finally time to scape this tank.

Easier said than done.
Replanting well rooted HC and moving substrate around to fit the rocks was no easy task! Luckily it wasn’t already flooded.
I really should have placed rocks in at the very beginning but to be honest I was unsure of what I direction I wanted to take with this tank.

After a few hours I ended up with the following and I’m quite happy with it actually! Slope is still intact and the rocks look like they were there from Day 1 .

Still looks a little incomplete so I’ll be off to find some more smaller rocks this weekend.

Raised the rocks higher:
Planning ahead for the growth of HC. It was pointed out that some of the rocks should be raised in height so they don’t eventually disappear.
Thinking I might angle the 1st and 4th rock lower tomorrow as it’s looking a little too similar to the 2nd and 3rd rock.
From this photo I can now see how much light the glad wrap is reflecting. Didn’t pick it up before!

Bit of a small update:
I stopped using the gladwrap on the tank for the past 1.5 weeks and have been misting daily.
The HC actually grew a helluva lot better than when I had the tank covered up!

I also added some UG in between the rock formations and they are growing extremely quickly compared to HC… new leaves sprouting the day after planting.

CO2 setup hooked up and ready!
Picked up a KegKing 2.6kg cylinder today. Bit of an overkill for a tank this size but I’m guessing I won’t be refilling for an extremely long time.

My wife and I decided to finally flood the tank tonight.
We covered half the tank in newspaper and proceeded to fill it with a slow flowing air-tube.

With the tank filled. We spent the next hour trying to prime the filter and get the water flowing through the pipes.
There was so much air trapped in the hoses and I’m assuming the Reactor and Heater as well!

I kept switching the filter off because I didn’t want to run it dry but my wife just told me to leave it on as she furiously shook the hoses.
Surprise surprise… it eventually worked and the air cleared. Listen to your wife, she’s always right. Hah!

Advice needed:
Filter and water has been taken from an established tank.

Plans for the next 2 weeks will be the run the CO2 on high and reduce the lighting period to 7-8~ hours.
No ferts and no fauna will be introduced during this time.

Is there anything else I should be doing and expecting?

I’m anticipating that there will definitely be a cycle of diatoms.

The HC has transitioned quite nicely.
It does appear to be pearling at the end of the 2 hour mark but only in the front of the tank and not in the rear. So far I haven’t noticed any melting at all *crosses fingers*
95% of the original UG however melted away in the first day. I have since replaced it today with a fresh pot and hopefully it will take off.
I have both CO2 checkers on opposite ends of the tank and they drop to a light lime green colour. Increasing the BPS from 2 – 4 doesn’t drop it any further.
I’m using the Cal Aqua Lab Indicator Solution… does anyone know if this is even able to reach yellow?

The only algae I have noticed at the moment is GDA on the far left rock. No algae anywhere else at all yet.
I haven’t done any major water changes yet as I’m assuming the plants will be fine with all the excess nutrients being leeched out of the soil.
I have been skimming surface scum daily though and replenishing with about 4l of tap water in the process (about 10% of approx total water volume).

I had shut down my other tank and had noticed that there were 2 RCS hiding out in the driftwood.
Not being in the best shape I threw them into this tank and surprisingly they have bounced back (one of them has even moulted earlier today).

HC has filled in even more and is spreading horizontally whilst also growing vertically in some patches.
This week I’ve also noticed an incredible amount of pearling compared to last week.
CO2 checkers are now both also indicating a very light green/yellow.
Lighting has been extended by an hour to a total of 8 now.

Tank is now officially cycled!
Ammonia/Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 5.0 ppm

Plants
HC is continuing to spread well. We have been trimming the longer stems and hoping to give it a full mow next weekend to encourage it grow back denser.
UG looks absolutely disgusting. Almost yellowing and no noticeable new growth at all. Hopefully it’s just in the rooting process but time will tell.

We’ve been thinking about what background plant to use and haven’t quite decided yet.
Hairgrass seems to be the usual suspect and Blyxa can look lush and natural (but can be quite overpowering).
We’ll play around a little as we are hoping to create something a little different.
We added some Lilaeopsis behind the rocks just to see how it looks and I think it will work quite well when kept low and used as an accent.

CO2 has been reduced to 1bps with the drop checker reporting 30ppm after the end of the lighting period.

Algae and SCUM
Had some hair algae make an appearance on the glass earlier this week. Took a toothbrush to it and it hasn’t dared to return.
Typical cycle of diatoms which is difficult to manage when we’re using tap water for top ups (having an open top and all )

Surface scum has been so frustrating and we just can’t get it under control. Because the lily-pipe directs the flow of water downwards; surface agitation is virtually non-existant.
I’ll siphon the oily surface out every night and sure enough it’ll make a return the next night.
It’s unsightly to see CO2 and Oxygen bubbles trapped beneath it!

Fish, Glorious fish!
We have introduced the following to our tank:

  • 5 Darwin Algae Shrimps
  • 12 Chili Rasbora (Boraras Brigittae)
    Juveniles but they do have a little colour on them. We lost one last night because it decided the grass was greener (and much drier) on the other side.
    Will possibly add another 11 to the current group at a later stage.
  • 4 Clown Killifish (Aplocheilus Annulatus)
    Beautiful looking specimens. There deep blue eyes are just stunning. Can’t wait to see them mature further and see the tails in the male colour up more
  • 3 Pygmy Cory (Corydoras Pygmaeus)
    Terribly cute. My personal favourite so far! They are so playful, school tightly and leave my plants well alone. Thinking to add another 2-4 at a later stage

We’re thinking that we will have to consider a skimmer soon. Plants seem to pearl quicker and more consistently on days that I siphon the surface scum out. So I’m assuming that it could be restricting light penetration and oxygen exchange.

Just a mid-week update.
I haven’t topped off the tank for a few days now to encourage the Diatoms to disappear.
Tonight the water level was looking quite low after I siphoned out the surface scum.
After a quick trip to Coles and 4L of Pureau Water later the tank is replenished!

Neat little discovery tonight!
The position of your lighting can change the impact of your scape.

Specs

equipment

  • Mr Aqua 12G (3ft Bookshelf – 90 x 21 x 24cm – 45litres~)
  • UP Aqua Pro Z LED
  • Eheim 2217 (with 2215 Impeller)
  • Hydor ETH 200w
  • DICI Professional 2-Stage Regulator
  • KegKing 2.6 kg Cylinder (1 bps)
  • Max Mix CO2 Reactor (Medium)
  • Cal Aqua Labs Lily-pipes (F2 Outflow and X1 Nano Inflow)

aquascape

plants

  • HC (Hemianthus Callitrichoides “Cuba”)
  • UG (Utricularia Graminifolia)
  • Lilaeopsis

inhabitants

  • 12 x Chili Rasbora (Boraras Brigittae)
  • 4 x Clown Killifish (Aplocheilus Annulatus)
  • 3 x Pygmy Cory (Corydoras Pygmaeus)
  • 5 x Darwin Algae Shrimps
  • 2 x Red Cherry Shrimp

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Aww’agumi (Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long Iwagumi)

6 10 2013 HC Carpet Hemianthus Callitrichoides Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long Iwagumi Red Cherry Shrimp

Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long

DSM had been going for well over 8 weeks.
Yesterday I found some really nice rocks and decided that it was finally time to scape this tank.

Easier said than done.
Replanting well rooted HC and moving substrate around to fit the rocks was no easy task! Luckily it wasn’t already flooded.
I really should have placed rocks in at the very beginning but to be honest I was unsure of what I direction I wanted to take with this tank.

After a few hours I ended up with the following and I’m quite happy with it actually! Slope is still intact and the rocks look like they were there from Day 1 .

Still looks a little incomplete so I’ll be off to find some more smaller rocks this weekend.

Raised the rocks higher:
Planning ahead for the growth of HC. It was pointed out that some of the rocks should be raised in height so they don’t eventually disappear.
Thinking I might angle the 1st and 4th rock lower tomorrow as it’s looking a little too similar to the 2nd and 3rd rock.
From this photo I can now see how much light the glad wrap is reflecting. Didn’t pick it up before!

Bit of a small update:
I stopped using the gladwrap on the tank for the past 1.5 weeks and have been misting daily.
The HC actually grew a helluva lot better than when I had the tank covered up!

I also added some UG in between the rock formations and they are growing extremely quickly compared to HC… new leaves sprouting the day after planting.

CO2 setup hooked up and ready!
Picked up a KegKing 2.6kg cylinder today. Bit of an overkill for a tank this size but I’m guessing I won’t be refilling for an extremely long time.

My wife and I decided to finally flood the tank tonight.
We covered half the tank in newspaper and proceeded to fill it with a slow flowing air-tube.

With the tank filled. We spent the next hour trying to prime the filter and get the water flowing through the pipes.
There was so much air trapped in the hoses and I’m assuming the Reactor and Heater as well!

I kept switching the filter off because I didn’t want to run it dry but my wife just told me to leave it on as she furiously shook the hoses.
Surprise surprise… it eventually worked and the air cleared. Listen to your wife, she’s always right. Hah!

Advice needed:
Filter and water has been taken from an established tank.

Plans for the next 2 weeks will be the run the CO2 on high and reduce the lighting period to 7-8~ hours.
No ferts and no fauna will be introduced during this time.

Is there anything else I should be doing and expecting?

I’m anticipating that there will definitely be a cycle of diatoms.

The HC has transitioned quite nicely.
It does appear to be pearling at the end of the 2 hour mark but only in the front of the tank and not in the rear. So far I haven’t noticed any melting at all *crosses fingers*
95% of the original UG however melted away in the first day. I have since replaced it today with a fresh pot and hopefully it will take off.
I have both CO2 checkers on opposite ends of the tank and they drop to a light lime green colour. Increasing the BPS from 2 – 4 doesn’t drop it any further.
I’m using the Cal Aqua Lab Indicator Solution… does anyone know if this is even able to reach yellow?

The only algae I have noticed at the moment is GDA on the far left rock. No algae anywhere else at all yet.
I haven’t done any major water changes yet as I’m assuming the plants will be fine with all the excess nutrients being leeched out of the soil.
I have been skimming surface scum daily though and replenishing with about 4l of tap water in the process (about 10% of approx total water volume).

I had shut down my other tank and had noticed that there were 2 RCS hiding out in the driftwood.
Not being in the best shape I threw them into this tank and surprisingly they have bounced back (one of them has even moulted earlier today).

HC has filled in even more and is spreading horizontally whilst also growing vertically in some patches.
This week I’ve also noticed an incredible amount of pearling compared to last week.
CO2 checkers are now both also indicating a very light green/yellow.
Lighting has been extended by an hour to a total of 8 now.

Tank is now officially cycled!
Ammonia/Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 5.0 ppm

Plants
HC is continuing to spread well. We have been trimming the longer stems and hoping to give it a full mow next weekend to encourage it grow back denser.
UG looks absolutely disgusting. Almost yellowing and no noticeable new growth at all. Hopefully it’s just in the rooting process but time will tell.

We’ve been thinking about what background plant to use and haven’t quite decided yet.
Hairgrass seems to be the usual suspect and Blyxa can look lush and natural (but can be quite overpowering).
We’ll play around a little as we are hoping to create something a little different.
We added some Lilaeopsis behind the rocks just to see how it looks and I think it will work quite well when kept low and used as an accent.

CO2 has been reduced to 1bps with the drop checker reporting 30ppm after the end of the lighting period.

Algae and SCUM
Had some hair algae make an appearance on the glass earlier this week. Took a toothbrush to it and it hasn’t dared to return.
Typical cycle of diatoms which is difficult to manage when we’re using tap water for top ups (having an open top and all )

Surface scum has been so frustrating and we just can’t get it under control. Because the lily-pipe directs the flow of water downwards; surface agitation is virtually non-existant.
I’ll siphon the oily surface out every night and sure enough it’ll make a return the next night.
It’s unsightly to see CO2 and Oxygen bubbles trapped beneath it!

Fish, Glorious fish!
We have introduced the following to our tank:

  • 5 Darwin Algae Shrimps
  • 12 Chili Rasbora (Boraras Brigittae)
    Juveniles but they do have a little colour on them. We lost one last night because it decided the grass was greener (and much drier) on the other side.
    Will possibly add another 11 to the current group at a later stage.
  • 4 Clown Killifish (Aplocheilus Annulatus)
    Beautiful looking specimens. There deep blue eyes are just stunning. Can’t wait to see them mature further and see the tails in the male colour up more
  • 3 Pygmy Cory (Corydoras Pygmaeus)
    Terribly cute. My personal favourite so far! They are so playful, school tightly and leave my plants well alone. Thinking to add another 2-4 at a later stage

We’re thinking that we will have to consider a skimmer soon. Plants seem to pearl quicker and more consistently on days that I siphon the surface scum out. So I’m assuming that it could be restricting light penetration and oxygen exchange.

Just a mid-week update.
I haven’t topped off the tank for a few days now to encourage the Diatoms to disappear.
Tonight the water level was looking quite low after I siphoned out the surface scum.
After a quick trip to Coles and 4L of Pureau Water later the tank is replenished!

Neat little discovery tonight!
The position of your lighting can change the impact of your scape.

Specs

equipment

  • Mr Aqua 12G (3ft Bookshelf – 90 x 21 x 24cm – 45litres~)
  • UP Aqua Pro Z LED
  • Eheim 2217 (with 2215 Impeller)
  • Hydor ETH 200w
  • DICI Professional 2-Stage Regulator
  • KegKing 2.6 kg Cylinder (1 bps)
  • Max Mix CO2 Reactor (Medium)
  • Cal Aqua Labs Lily-pipes (F2 Outflow and X1 Nano Inflow)

aquascape

plants

  • HC (Hemianthus Callitrichoides “Cuba”)
  • UG (Utricularia Graminifolia)
  • Lilaeopsis

inhabitants

  • 12 x Chili Rasbora (Boraras Brigittae)
  • 4 x Clown Killifish (Aplocheilus Annulatus)
  • 3 x Pygmy Cory (Corydoras Pygmaeus)
  • 5 x Darwin Algae Shrimps
  • 2 x Red Cherry Shrimp

Share this on:

Aww’agumi (Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long Iwagumi)

6 10 2013 HC Carpet Hemianthus Callitrichoides Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long Iwagumi Red Cherry Shrimp

Mr Aqua 12 Gallon Long

DSM had been going for well over 8 weeks.
Yesterday I found some really nice rocks and decided that it was finally time to scape this tank.

Easier said than done.
Replanting well rooted HC and moving substrate around to fit the rocks was no easy task! Luckily it wasn’t already flooded.
I really should have placed rocks in at the very beginning but to be honest I was unsure of what I direction I wanted to take with this tank.

After a few hours I ended up with the following and I’m quite happy with it actually! Slope is still intact and the rocks look like they were there from Day 1 .

Still looks a little incomplete so I’ll be off to find some more smaller rocks this weekend.

Raised the rocks higher:
Planning ahead for the growth of HC. It was pointed out that some of the rocks should be raised in height so they don’t eventually disappear.
Thinking I might angle the 1st and 4th rock lower tomorrow as it’s looking a little too similar to the 2nd and 3rd rock.
From this photo I can now see how much light the glad wrap is reflecting. Didn’t pick it up before!

Bit of a small update:
I stopped using the gladwrap on the tank for the past 1.5 weeks and have been misting daily.
The HC actually grew a helluva lot better than when I had the tank covered up!

I also added some UG in between the rock formations and they are growing extremely quickly compared to HC… new leaves sprouting the day after planting.

CO2 setup hooked up and ready!
Picked up a KegKing 2.6kg cylinder today. Bit of an overkill for a tank this size but I’m guessing I won’t be refilling for an extremely long time.

My wife and I decided to finally flood the tank tonight.
We covered half the tank in newspaper and proceeded to fill it with a slow flowing air-tube.

With the tank filled. We spent the next hour trying to prime the filter and get the water flowing through the pipes.
There was so much air trapped in the hoses and I’m assuming the Reactor and Heater as well!

I kept switching the filter off because I didn’t want to run it dry but my wife just told me to leave it on as she furiously shook the hoses.
Surprise surprise… it eventually worked and the air cleared. Listen to your wife, she’s always right. Hah!

Advice needed:
Filter and water has been taken from an established tank.

Plans for the next 2 weeks will be the run the CO2 on high and reduce the lighting period to 7-8~ hours.
No ferts and no fauna will be introduced during this time.

Is there anything else I should be doing and expecting?

I’m anticipating that there will definitely be a cycle of diatoms.

The HC has transitioned quite nicely.
It does appear to be pearling at the end of the 2 hour mark but only in the front of the tank and not in the rear. So far I haven’t noticed any melting at all *crosses fingers*
95% of the original UG however melted away in the first day. I have since replaced it today with a fresh pot and hopefully it will take off.
I have both CO2 checkers on opposite ends of the tank and they drop to a light lime green colour. Increasing the BPS from 2 – 4 doesn’t drop it any further.
I’m using the Cal Aqua Lab Indicator Solution… does anyone know if this is even able to reach yellow?

The only algae I have noticed at the moment is GDA on the far left rock. No algae anywhere else at all yet.
I haven’t done any major water changes yet as I’m assuming the plants will be fine with all the excess nutrients being leeched out of the soil.
I have been skimming surface scum daily though and replenishing with about 4l of tap water in the process (about 10% of approx total water volume).

I had shut down my other tank and had noticed that there were 2 RCS hiding out in the driftwood.
Not being in the best shape I threw them into this tank and surprisingly they have bounced back (one of them has even moulted earlier today).

HC has filled in even more and is spreading horizontally whilst also growing vertically in some patches.
This week I’ve also noticed an incredible amount of pearling compared to last week.
CO2 checkers are now both also indicating a very light green/yellow.
Lighting has been extended by an hour to a total of 8 now.

Tank is now officially cycled!
Ammonia/Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 5.0 ppm

Plants
HC is continuing to spread well. We have been trimming the longer stems and hoping to give it a full mow next weekend to encourage it grow back denser.
UG looks absolutely disgusting. Almost yellowing and no noticeable new growth at all. Hopefully it’s just in the rooting process but time will tell.

We’ve been thinking about what background plant to use and haven’t quite decided yet.
Hairgrass seems to be the usual suspect and Blyxa can look lush and natural (but can be quite overpowering).
We’ll play around a little as we are hoping to create something a little different.
We added some Lilaeopsis behind the rocks just to see how it looks and I think it will work quite well when kept low and used as an accent.

CO2 has been reduced to 1bps with the drop checker reporting 30ppm after the end of the lighting period.

Algae and SCUM
Had some hair algae make an appearance on the glass earlier this week. Took a toothbrush to it and it hasn’t dared to return.
Typical cycle of diatoms which is difficult to manage when we’re using tap water for top ups (having an open top and all )

Surface scum has been so frustrating and we just can’t get it under control. Because the lily-pipe directs the flow of water downwards; surface agitation is virtually non-existant.
I’ll siphon the oily surface out every night and sure enough it’ll make a return the next night.
It’s unsightly to see CO2 and Oxygen bubbles trapped beneath it!

Fish, Glorious fish!
We have introduced the following to our tank:

  • 5 Darwin Algae Shrimps
  • 12 Chili Rasbora (Boraras Brigittae)
    Juveniles but they do have a little colour on them. We lost one last night because it decided the grass was greener (and much drier) on the other side.
    Will possibly add another 11 to the current group at a later stage.
  • 4 Clown Killifish (Aplocheilus Annulatus)
    Beautiful looking specimens. There deep blue eyes are just stunning. Can’t wait to see them mature further and see the tails in the male colour up more
  • 3 Pygmy Cory (Corydoras Pygmaeus)
    Terribly cute. My personal favourite so far! They are so playful, school tightly and leave my plants well alone. Thinking to add another 2-4 at a later stage

We’re thinking that we will have to consider a skimmer soon. Plants seem to pearl quicker and more consistently on days that I siphon the surface scum out. So I’m assuming that it could be restricting light penetration and oxygen exchange.

Just a mid-week update.
I haven’t topped off the tank for a few days now to encourage the Diatoms to disappear.
Tonight the water level was looking quite low after I siphoned out the surface scum.
After a quick trip to Coles and 4L of Pureau Water later the tank is replenished!

Neat little discovery tonight!
The position of your lighting can change the impact of your scape.

Specs

equipment

  • Mr Aqua 12G (3ft Bookshelf – 90 x 21 x 24cm – 45litres~)
  • UP Aqua Pro Z LED
  • Eheim 2217 (with 2215 Impeller)
  • Hydor ETH 200w
  • DICI Professional 2-Stage Regulator
  • KegKing 2.6 kg Cylinder (1 bps)
  • Max Mix CO2 Reactor (Medium)
  • Cal Aqua Labs Lily-pipes (F2 Outflow and X1 Nano Inflow)

aquascape

plants

  • HC (Hemianthus Callitrichoides “Cuba”)
  • UG (Utricularia Graminifolia)
  • Lilaeopsis

inhabitants

  • 12 x Chili Rasbora (Boraras Brigittae)
  • 4 x Clown Killifish (Aplocheilus Annulatus)
  • 3 x Pygmy Cory (Corydoras Pygmaeus)
  • 5 x Darwin Algae Shrimps
  • 2 x Red Cherry Shrimp

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