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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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#78 ·
Very nice job putting this together. I always think that the rock configuration on the left is one rock!! Very nicely done, the mosses look very natural on the "mountains." :D

So many great threads lately! My Subscription list has gotten so big!
 
#79 ·
Thanks LS. I am definitely going for the natural look. I think this tank will look entirely different 2 or 3 months from now as it's just getting started. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to stock it with though. I am pretty on the fence about BKK right now and may go another route. I will stick a few in there, for sure, but it's unlikely to be my main shrimp.
 
#87 ·
Thanks! I tried to go out of my way to do something different and challenging. Making a "pretty shrimp tank" sounds like a contradiction in terms, I know. I won't be able to get away with what I would get away with in a hi-tec tank, but it's fun to push the boundaries.

This is definitely one of my favorite tanks. It must be awesome for you to walk into the room and see it.
Yes, it's in my bedroom. The GF was none too pleased when I first told her that a tank was going in the bedroom, but she's warmed up to it some.

Gawd Dang! Your tank is looking really really good. I love all the stuff growing out of the rocks. You're going to need a ton of shrimps to fill that bad boy out. You should enter this into the IAPLC 2012 contest.
Thanks! I am planning to shoot this one up for a contest. Maybe they will give me a pity prize for lo-tec. ;-)

Very nice indeed.

Have you considered PBL's?
PBLs?

This might be the prettiest 'shrimp' tank that I have seen. It maybe stretches the definition a bit but if you end up with high end shrimp in there then it will still qualify I guess.

Incredible looking even compared to high tech and plant only (or plant focused) tanks though.
Thanks so much. Appreciate the feedback as this is what I was going for.

Sorry if I missed this, but did you use any ferts?
Barely. I throw a squirt of K and a squirt of P in there a few times a week, just to keep the plants honest. That's it. Hard to say how the plants will do long term.
 
#85 ·
This might be the prettiest 'shrimp' tank that I have seen. It maybe stretches the definition a bit but if you end up with high end shrimp in there then it will still qualify I guess.

Incredible looking even compared to high tech and plant only (or plant focused) tanks though.
 
#94 ·
No reason to keep my diffuser in the tank any longer now that I'm not running CO2. The intake lily pipe on the right is the first one I ever made. I used stuffed it with salt and spun the acrylic on a heat gun. Turned out pretty well.

Also, found the source of my algae problem. The open window, about 10 feet from the tank, has a gap in the current opening. It has been getting direct sunlight for over an hour a day. I think that's all it takes.

 
#97 ·
Well, I have only recently begun to cut CO2. It's low light either way, but I have no PAR data as of right now. I will have to borrow a meter from someone in my club. I have been getting some blue/green algae, but It is only in very specific places. Today I realized that the sun is finding a distinct crack in my curtain and hitting the tank dead on from about 10 feet from the window. So, there's my culprit. Going to work to cut the light from that window going forward to see if that helps. BTW, it is two TrueLumen Pro LED strips dimmed to about 75%. If the algae disappears, I will up cease dimming.

Sweet dude. I couldnt even tell you how big this thing is if you paid me. The scale is perfect and I mean, wow what a nice job.

Also curious about the lighting.
Thanks. Yeah, it fools people for sure. It takes a massive amount of rock to fill a 90p like this. What once was 48 gallons is probably more like a 30 now.
 
#101 ·
Coming together really nicely .
 
#103 ·
Thanks guys!!! I have just a few more finishing touches left, and then I'll be ready to shoot it for the IAPLC I think. I am not expecting anything at all, but if I could somehow sneak into the top 200 I'd be thrilled. Just a lot of wishful thinking at this point though...
 
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