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Raven_Wilde's 'Ebiwagumi' Edge (Updated Pics 6/6/2012)

35K views 79 replies 34 participants last post by  chan0482 
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATE: This setup is No More :(

Life has gotten busy and I've had to reduce my setups to two tanks. This one did not make the cut - it happens.

Fast-forward to my recent post if you are interested in my thoughts on the EDGE product after having one up and running for about two solid years.

Current Full Tank Shot (6/5/2012):


Original 1st Post:
Finally, I'm sharing with you all the project I've been obsessing over for the past few months....

Around about the beginning of summer I decided that I wanted to set up a shrimp only tank that I could use to develop a redder/higher quality line of Cherry Shrimp. I hadn't originally intended to purchase an Edge, in fact when they first appeared in stores I thought them rather silly little contraptions. But then, the more I researched the various nano tank setups available in my price range, the more I realized that I really loved the design of this little tank. Of course, it helped that so many people on this forum (and elsewhere on the internet) were doing amazing things with them. The modification possibilities and the challenge of keeping all the equipment 'behind the scenes' also began to appeal to me as well.

I had my LFS (Fish Doctor's in Ypsilanti) special order one in Pewter and since they do internet price matching I got a really sweet deal and did not have to worry about shipping! :)

I also purchased a red metal locker/cabinet from IKEA that I'd long admired to use as a stand, I'd say it makes for a pretty striking setup....


Pretty even when empty!

Setup occurred in early July and I spent most of that month cycling the tank (I used bio-media and water from my 30gal planted tank to kick start this) and collecting plants. I had a rough idea in my mind that I wanted to attempt an Iwagumi style tank- however, given the nature of the equipment that came with the Edge and because I wanted to keep it on the low-tech side so it would be optimal for shrimp breeding, I knew that I would never be able to grow classic Iwagumi plants like HC and DHG. I resolved then that I would create a moss carpet across most of the tank, and this is where I ran into trouble.


Collecting plants- Fissidens, Xmas Moss, & Crypto Parva

My troubles began when I went to my local hardware store and purchased some stainless steel mesh to tie fissidens to in the hopes that it would grow into some super lush carpeting. What I did not know at the time was that the mesh I was buying was zinc coated. So, a couple months and many shrimp deaths later I finally figured out (after eliminating all other suspects and making a call to the hardware store to confirm my suspicions) that I had toxic levels of zinc in my tank.

Utterly disgusted with myself I pulled all the fissidens (which hadn't done well) out of the tank along with the mesh it was attached to. What followed then was nearly a month of 2-3x weekly water changes. I also crammed a ton of ChemiPure Elite in the filter to help remove the zinc. After this I rescaped the tank, cycled it some more and added some 'test pilot' shrimp to the tank... these were a couple of my browner RCS from my 30gal. They ended up surviving and were eventually moved back to their old home. The tank's current residents are my three reddest adult females and a newly added colony of Sakuras I just received from Gordon Richards.

Here are some shots of the current setup- taken at the beginning of this week.




The parva has not done well... it had just started to settle in when I went and did my big rescape. As a result there has been a lot of melt. It also doesn't help that every time the nerite snail glides by he uproots the smaller plants. I just loaded the substrate with root tabs though so I am hoping that this helps.

Complete specs are as follows:

6.6 gallon Fluval Edge Aquarium

Lighting: 2x MR11 LED bulbs- I am planning on upgrading to the new Edge LED lightbar once it becomes available as a replacement part. I had toyed with the idea of building my own a few months ago, but now that I know this is an option I will just wait bide my time a bit longer. Anyway, I am not confident enough in my DIY skills to play around with electricity and water any more than I already do.

Filtration: Mini Aquaclear HOB that came stock with the tank. Stuffed with seasoned bio-media, Chemi-Pure and filter floss.

Heater: Hydor Mini crammed into the filter basket.

Substrate: Fluval Shrimp Stratum

Ferts: Light doses of the Seachem line maybe once a week.

Flora: Xmas moss, Mini Pellia, and Cryptocoryne parva.

Fauna: Red Sakura Cherry Shrimp and one Nerite for glass cleaning.

Parting Shot:
 
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#72 ·
Nice trims on the moss, only Edge owners will know the pain of working in such a small opening.
Fortunately I have pretty small girly-girl hands :)

You ever going to go hi-tech on your Edge?
I don't think so. The primary reason I got this tank was to display my highest quality shrimp. Since CO2 tends to complicate water parameters that would make things difficult if I ever decide to try my hand at some Crystal Reds.

That and when I do finally bite the bullet and get into CO2 it will be on my 30 gallon. That tank has been creeping along on DIY yeast for far too long.
 
#76 ·
#79 ·
Thoughts After 2 Years of Setup

Hi everyone!

I haven't been on plantedtank in quite a while - real life has intruded and I've been suuuuuper busy. I also have to report that this tank setup no longer exists :(

Basically I got tired of trying to maintenance and trim the moss through that silly little hole in the top. Also the mesh screen on the hood began to rust out last fall and that really made me mad - nice design there Hagen, an aquarium hood that rusts.

I'm happy with the experience I had with this tank but long term it was unfortunately not sustainable. Also, I'm taking evening programming classes right now so I've had to pare my number of tanks down to 2 and it was easy to say good by to this one- it had gotten super overgrown over the last year. It was basically solid moss up to the top glass- the shrimp LOVED it, but it wasn't much to look at. So, oh well.

Anyway - to answer any lingering questions:



I found them at a Michaels store. They were in little bags of about 12 a piece - on the lower rack, really cheap but they had them bagged by color so it was easy to get just black ones. I have no idea if they still carry them.

Have you upgraded to the LED bar yet?

I just upgraded my 6G 21 LED to the 12G 42 LED bar.
Doubling the LEDs made a big difference. In about a month I've noticed my mosses have grown a bit more then I was expecting.
I have an extra 12G 42 LED bar if you'd like.

Good stuff!
I did not- however I did end up purchasing the replacement LED bulbs sold by Hagen because the CREE LED bulbs that I had initially used began to corrode after about a year. I might have posted about that earlier, or I meant to. I would definitely recommend the Hagen bulbs - they are comparable to the CREEs and they are water tight.

Since we're on the subject of water damage to the EDGE, I suppose I should summarize things I have noticed after 2 years of continuous use:

Rust & Corrosion:

  • The mesh screen on the hood it totally rusted - which sucks and is a stupid design flaw. That thing gets constantly wet from back splash and evaporation - super dumb to not take that in consideration when selecting materials. This started to be noticeable after 1 year. At 2 it is now totally ugly & I would want to replace it.
  • I've also noticed corrosion around the pin-holes that the bulbs plug into. I'm not sure exactly how bad that is but it can't be good.

Filter
  • Held up pretty good - But then, Aquaclears usually do. Mine needed a really good scrubbing when I tore it down to get water deposits off but it's still in good working condition and will likely be re-purposed some day.

Tank
  • Also held up really well, except for a few places that I accidentally scratched it its in good shape. The only thing is that since its so darn hard to clean I don't know if I'll ever get it back to sparkling new. So there's that.

If anyone has any other questions about this tank or about the long-term use of the EDGE do let me know, I promise I will try to be better about checking back here ;)
 
#80 ·
Great journal raven_wilde!

I have had my edge running for about two years now as well. I did not experience the rusting on the mesh hood part that you did, however about a year ago I did put a zoomed 501 w/ spraybar which basically eliminated all the splashing the AC filter created. Beside that my experience has been very similar (including the corrosion around where the light pins insert :/ but the lights are still working fine for now) and mostly all positive. I like the aesthetic of these tanks quite a bit.
 
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