Hey friends!
It's been a while. For those who don't know(everyone), I was all about the planted tanks back in the day. I started getting into the hobby in high school, and the best I came up with was a 29g I put together with donated parts, life savings, and Christmas gifts. Here's a poor quality picture, for anyone who through all this time might have remembered the thread, and because first posts are more fun with pictures:
That was something like 6 years ago, give or take. Since then, I've had a couple more freshwater tanks, put together a reef, and dabbled with amphibians by way of a poison dart frog terrarium. I carried them back and forth from college, and put up with that headache for four years. Eventually, after graduation, I took a trip overseas for around a month, where my parents agreed to care for my glass boxes. It was nice of them. Everything died.
I decided that was a sign. I packed it all up, and decided it would stay that way until my life had settled down a bit. Long story short, that's now. Or, it's not really now, but now is close enough and the itch is strong enough that I'm allowing myself/my girlfriend is permitting me to set up the relatively small Mini L. So...hooray!
Anyway, that's pretty much where we stand. I have the tank, and I have some plans:
I've decided to try out the Finnex Ray II for lighting, which Amazon will be providing shortly. Beyond that I'm thinking of using a Koralia Nano I had for circulation, and going filterless, and sans CO2. That move's motivated by this tank being pretty much in our kitchen, and me knowing that as little equipment as possible will keep things looking nicer out in the open. I'm thinking I'll just stock with shrimp, which should be just fine.
As far as tank innards, I'm not completely determined, but the current plan is to attempt an Iwagumi look, with the star being a glosso carpet. That's my concern, though. I've never grown the plant, and I'm not sure how it might fare with only Flourish Excel under the Finnex. If anyone has any experience here, I would appreciate feedback.
But alright, enough typing my life story. I will update as things come together, but for now here is a quick cellphone shot of where things stand:
Riveting.
And it's good to be back.
It's been a while. For those who don't know(everyone), I was all about the planted tanks back in the day. I started getting into the hobby in high school, and the best I came up with was a 29g I put together with donated parts, life savings, and Christmas gifts. Here's a poor quality picture, for anyone who through all this time might have remembered the thread, and because first posts are more fun with pictures:
That was something like 6 years ago, give or take. Since then, I've had a couple more freshwater tanks, put together a reef, and dabbled with amphibians by way of a poison dart frog terrarium. I carried them back and forth from college, and put up with that headache for four years. Eventually, after graduation, I took a trip overseas for around a month, where my parents agreed to care for my glass boxes. It was nice of them. Everything died.
I decided that was a sign. I packed it all up, and decided it would stay that way until my life had settled down a bit. Long story short, that's now. Or, it's not really now, but now is close enough and the itch is strong enough that I'm allowing myself/my girlfriend is permitting me to set up the relatively small Mini L. So...hooray!
Anyway, that's pretty much where we stand. I have the tank, and I have some plans:
I've decided to try out the Finnex Ray II for lighting, which Amazon will be providing shortly. Beyond that I'm thinking of using a Koralia Nano I had for circulation, and going filterless, and sans CO2. That move's motivated by this tank being pretty much in our kitchen, and me knowing that as little equipment as possible will keep things looking nicer out in the open. I'm thinking I'll just stock with shrimp, which should be just fine.
As far as tank innards, I'm not completely determined, but the current plan is to attempt an Iwagumi look, with the star being a glosso carpet. That's my concern, though. I've never grown the plant, and I'm not sure how it might fare with only Flourish Excel under the Finnex. If anyone has any experience here, I would appreciate feedback.
But alright, enough typing my life story. I will update as things come together, but for now here is a quick cellphone shot of where things stand:
Riveting.
And it's good to be back.