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**PRL in the Mist** - JULY Updates

58K views 207 replies 60 participants last post by  Cajun27 
#1 · (Edited)
Here are a few pics of my progress so far on my relatively lo-tech shrimp project. It will be a BKK tank, and I'm dry-starting the moss with a reptile fogger - Hence, "Gorillas (BKK) in the Mist (Fogger)".

Tank: ADA 90p
Substrate: Akadama Double-Red w/Osmocote
Lighting: 2 Current USA TrueLumen Pro Led bars. For the dry-start only, I am using a 150w MH as well with ADA bulb.
Fauna: BKK. May focus on WR. Will have a neo component as well. May be PFR, may be the very bluest of my blue pearls or blue rili. Not decided.
Flora: Mini Pelia carpet. Mini pelia attached to rock scape via dry-start. Willow moss for some branches. Belem in a few key spots. I haven't decided on any background stems yet. May pull from other tanks. Still a consideration.

UPDATE: Anubias nana petite,Golden Nesaea, Hydro tripartita

CO2: I will likely pump in CO2 post flood to prevent any chance of melting. Later, I will consider jettisoning this all together as the TrueLumen Pro may not put out enough PAR to make me excessively worry about algae.
Filtration: I nixed the UGF, and I'm going with a SunSun 403b coupled with two sponge filters that will be hidden. The SunSun will be attached to a Jaqno 1.5L external pre-filter for ease of maintenance and more bio. A steel pre-filter on the intake glass (likely acrylic) will further slow down flow.

ADDED: Purigen reactor via leftover RO/DI canister and parts.


Rocks: They are a combination of ADA and found rocks. Focused mostly on color for consistency. Obviously, since this is a 90p, all the rocks turned this from a 48 gallon to a.... great question. I don't know the size any longer. It could be more like a 25 now.

Plan: I want to dry-start this for a few months since MP is one of the slowest growers possible. Best-laid plans... so we'll see. I'm only a few weeks into it now. As I'm using an external reptile fogger to keep it uber-humid, it's not much of a hassle yet. The mini-pelia stays super damp on rocks, and not so much on branches. May use more willow moss then first thought.

The biggest part of the experiment will be to see how a dry-started moss like MP clings to the larger pebbles of the Akadama post-flood. For rocks? I've done this experiment already so I am not worried on that front quite yet. It will stick and flourish no problem.

***I should add that there is a handful of smaller, foreground rocks going into place soon that will be seen in newer updates. This is done to further tie the scape together and make it less disjointed.



 
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#48 ·
Thanks!

Surprisingly, the MP didn't cost a fortune for this one. Here is the "trick". First, I grew a carpet of mini pellia in a 60f. It took about 18 months or so to completely grow in. Now it's thick and huge. I harvested the MP from that tank, ripped it into the smallest shreds I could make with my hand, and literally just drizzled it all over everything in the tank. I dry-started this for about 6 weeks under a combination of TrueLumen Pro LEDS, and a 150W MH. Tons of light. It spread and took hold quickly. At first you could barely see that there was any MP on the substrate at all. Soon it took off.
 
#50 ·
Thanks CCP! I spent a lot of time last night making and connecting my Purigen reactor. I don't know if I'm happy with it yet though. Tonight I should have time to add my pre-filter. So far, it looks like the flow on my 403b is less than that on my 304b. Will keep monitoring it. Still no Nikon! ... only dumb camera pics.
 
#51 ·
Whoa this is beautiful!

I really like this tank! Especially because you're putting BKKs in it. It shows not all tanks for shrimp have to be function over form.

I just wanna mention this also because I didn't see it mentioned elsewhere but did you check to see if the rocks were inert? It might cause headaches later on if they aren't. Because a shrimp like a BKK especially won't appreciate a rise in Ph and hardness.
 
#53 ·
Here is what I haven't posted yet... My difficulties.

It has been over a year since I have set up a brand new, non-nano tank from scratch. I forgot about what a headache it can be. There's the cycle itself, the constant water changes, fretting over plants, hoping none melt. Basically, it's a ton of baby sitting for the first couple of months.

Luckily, I do remember most of the tricks that can get you through a cycle with as little harm as possible. Shortened lighting period, good filtration, high plant mass. Unfortunately, high plant mass really isn't much of an option in my tank right now. I have a bed of stem plants behind the rocks, but that's a small percentage. May have to buy some floaters temporarily to help with this.

Also, the rock on the left is just inches from the water surface, and my LEDs literally rest on the tank. This is a bad combination. I am getting some nice green sludge on the top of this rock now. May have to cover the light a little here and block out some LEDs.

I bought a 200w inline heater instead of a 300w because I live in a very old apartment that has issues and blows fuses when too much electricity is being run. However, this means that I have to mod quite a few hoses and use adapters, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 1/4... between my Purigen reactor, my pre-filter, and my canister, I seem to sport all sizes.

So far, I am having trouble dialing in the GLA Atomic paintball regulator. I can't get it to slow down for me yet and put out a normal bubble rate. Luckily, this isn't such an issue now since I want the CO2 high sky for the mosses as they transition from emersed to submersed.

That's about it for now. Does anyone know if Akadama would be prone to soaking in copper? I know it likes to retain nutrients so imagine so. It would be nice to help out my cycle a bit by supplementing a natural algae killer like this, but not if it will later wipe out my inverts. So, will just wait it out. Adding more flow tonight.
 
#54 ·
Follow-up to regulator issue:

After removing the cheap plastic tubing joint, and preventing the leak, the reg works like a charm. Ultra-fine mist with an easy to control bubble count. In fact, this bubble count is easier to control and seems like a finer option than my $350 dual stage regulator on another tank. Love this reg.
 
#59 ·
Yeah, I went nuts on steel pre-filters. I think I own 8 of them! Once this tanks sees some inhabitants, it will go on there. In no rush for the time being though. As for ammonia, all it takes is one dead shrimp and I could have ammonia. I figure it is best to introduce ammonia and allow the beneficial bacteria to breed.

Here is my lovely little pre-filter. Adds filtration, additional media, and makes maintenance on my canister much, much easier with its quick connects.


And here is a pic of my neat-and-tidy purigen reactor.
 
#61 ·
2 weeks post-flood. Still have a loooong way to go. The brown diatoms are expected. The scuds? Not so much. Threw in some pea puffers and some ottos. The ottos look like pigs in mud. The puffers are hit or miss, sometimes looking happy, sometimes less so. The plants are all doing well with the exception of the hydropiper. Not really so surprised that they didn't survive the brown diatoms though. No big as I have this stuff growing emersed elsewhere.

 
#70 ·
I circled some rocks around in a deliberate way to get the look I was going for, and then I back-filled that section with Akadama. Then I stacked rocks on top of the soil. I also stuck branches in between the first and second level of rocks so that they would flow down into the substrate.
 
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