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Version 2.

4K views 26 replies 9 participants last post by  mistuhmarc 
#1 · (Edited)
hi everyone!
it's been a while since i last had a journal going.
i decided to start fresh with what i'm calling version 2 of my finnex 4 gallon tank.
it's been up and running for about 5 weeks now but after 3-4 scapes i'm happy with where it's at right now.

Here's the details, cause everyone loves them as much as I do!

Tank: 4 gallon finnex
Light: 13w cfl pointed vertically down 12 inches from substrate (should be medium light and may consider moving to 23w for high light if necessary)
Substrate: AS
Plants: Blyxa Japonica, hydrocotle japan, anubias nana, very few glosso and h.m.
Helanthium tenellum
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Marsilea quadrifolia
Bacopa monierri
Staurogyne repens
Rotala sp. 'Colorata'
Ludwigia arcuata
Ludwigia arcuata x repens
Persecaria sp 'Kawagoeanum'
Hygrophila sp 'Bold'

ph: 6 (normally my ph is around 6.8)
amm: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5
TDS: 53

dosing macro and micro 3 times a week.
co2 on 24/7 around 1 bps.
lights on 6 hours for now - i have to see what's right for the tank.
have been water changing nearly every 2-3 days for the last few weeks, i think it's a bit more stable now.
i may go another week of water changes but will likely be just once a week from now on.



a small dw i kept from tom barr's batch

you can see the hydrocotle in the back

instead of using rocks i planted just the roots of my anubias. it wasn't easy at times because the roots were fairly short on some of them.

i love fishing lines!



let me know what you guys think! i'm ready for fish but would like to give it some careful consideration. i like the idea of getting some chili rasbora but to me...they're rather boring. the red does pop but they're kinda...dull.

i was looking into the dario darios but for some reason most people are out of them right now. and i don't want to pay $50 for a pair.. haha kinda crazy to me!

additionally, i'm looking for some tips or ideas on additional plant placement or moving of current plants. i'd love to mix in some redness into the tank!
 
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#5 ·
haha i was considering least killifish but i think the tank is a bit small for them.
as much as i want german blue rams, i don't think it'll be the best habitat for them. plus, i won't see the full german blue ram behaviors in such a small tank.

i'm trying to locate some scarlet badis pair. i know someone sells them on this forum but the cost is very high IMO. don't shoot me for making that statement. lol

as for shrimp, it depends. i have co2 and am dosing so probably not likely. for now i really want to get good at maintaining a planted tank well first. i want my lush tank!
 
#9 ·
having trouble deciding on fish. i don't know if i want chili rasboras.. they're colorful but seem a little..dull when i look at some clips of them online.

the other consideration is a pair of dario dario. they might prove to be more engaging? not sure.

anyone have any other suggestions on nano fish? i really wanted GBR but tank's too damn small. ugh might have to start a 20G just for them.

i've had aru 2s, gilbertis, and CPDs before.. but never in high numbers. maybe ill try chili rasboras for that reason. i think 10 should be ok in this tank?
 
#10 ·
sorry for terrible photo but..got some fish!

and it's feeding time! the raok i got from meowschwitz, which happen to be great for many nano fish type is awesome so far.
they definitely stay longer in the water column and my fish love them. I was hesistant about chili rasboras but nope - i love them.

the tank's seems a bit of algae here and there but nothing crazy. as a precaution i did the following.

changed out my lightbulb to 13W pointed directly down, for 7 hours.
co2 is now only on for 8-9 hours since i have a solenoid. i might as well make use of it.

the anubias nana keeps on coming up from substrate since i didn't plant them all the way down to their rhizomes. it's a little annoying as one or two pops up daily but i've definitely seen the roots growing. on a happy note, my Blyxa Japonica sent its roots ALL the way down. i mean 3 inches deep down into my substrate. i wish it'll take off now and grow me some lushness.

started to dose every 2-3 days of macro and micros. and water change weekly now.
 
#18 ·
got me some new plants from scott (pweifan)! Super nice guy and very helpful.
One thing to note, either I got the old version of AS where it turns to mud or I suck at planting. Wouldn't be surprised if I'm terrible at planting but I'm not going to move my plants around for a while. I hate dealing with the damn sand/dust storm I get.

New plant addition in no particular order and size:
Helanthium tenellum
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Marsilea quadrifolia
Bacopa monierri
Staurogyne repens
Rotala sp. 'Colorata'
Ludwigia arcuata
Ludwigia arcuata x repens
Persecaria sp 'Kawagoeanum'
Hygrophila sp 'Bold'

time for pictures! I've been messing around with off camera flash and it makes a nice difference but I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. Give me a few posts to get it nice as speedie's.. I hope.









 
#19 ·
just noticed that the hair algae is getting a little concerning in the top portion of my fissidens on the drift wood on this photo. everything else is rather algae free but considering that it's much closer to the light than everything else...what can i do?


i thought about increasing my co2 ever so slightly but frankly.. i won't know how much until the effects may be too much.
 
#20 ·
took out all my anubias nana. bba was growing on them rather rapidly and i didn't want to risk losing them. was thinking about moving them to my low light new shrimp tank anyway so it works out.

other plants are doing really well.
what i believe to be Persecaria sp 'Kawagoeanum' (i'm still getting the hang of the names of the plants and identifying them) are taking off and showing real nice reds. i love them.

as for my foreground plants, i'm not sure. right now i have a lot planted (glosso, h,m., & brasilian micro swords) to culture them but not sure how I want to go about the scape. Soon enough when they begin to spread runners I have to either separate them or rescape the front -_-
 
#22 ·
updated front shot.


plants are growing well, not too fast not too slow.

took out all the anubias nana since they were growing bba. they are moved to my new shrimp tank which at this point, they're recovering real well.

having some algae issue - this is bba also right?

hoping some of the so many fans of this journal will chime in and help out with suggestions.:icon_wink

this algae came just about 3 days ago. I increased the co2 ever so slightly..and when I say increase, I used bps as my gauge. Not the best I know, but I have to start somewhere.
 
#25 ·
had a bit of a... long day. first my co2 tank went empty on Friday in about a month of use. something doesn't sound right.

i couldn't refill it on Friday so had to wait till today and came home to lots of algae galore.

went to refill it, plugged it in, and left for few hours to run errands.

come home, tank is empty.... so much for being super careful.

went back to get it refilled, double checked all leaks with the bubble test and everything is peachy. so far so good.

used the hydrogen peroxide to get rid of all the algae i got from the last 2 days. maybe i got syringe needle trigger happy but.. let's say i lost some fish. im not happy about it. i did some massive water change and am hoping it'll do some good.

so all in all, i got more bba in my tank, likely a co2 leak, lost few fish, and oh.. some algae left still. i'm tempted to start over but few lessons learned if anyone would like to know.

1. have an extra filled co2 tank ready.
2. don't underestimate your syringe with hydrogen peroxide. it's cool to use it to kill algae. not your fish.
3. have an extra filled co2 tank ready. none of this would've happened if i did..

sometimes i don't like this hobby. :(
 
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