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Mars 2212…..(Major 56K Warning!)

8K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  B16CRXT 
#1 · (Edited)
100 Years after the Genesis.....


Just a Teaser video: :biggrin:

Segment:

1—Magnum 350 C02 Reactor
2—Pearling/C02 infested crypt.
And Tiger Barbs
3—UG and Tiger Barbs




Tank re-setup—7-08

55g
48” Catalina T5HO 4 x 54w = 2x 6,700K + 2x 10,000K….1.5hrs @108w + 6.5hrs @ 216W = 8hrs total
Black Flourite + Black Flourite Sand
XP3 + sponges, floss and purigen
Pressurized C02 dual outlet = Magnum 350 reactor + powerhead mist
Auto-dosing (daily)
Auto-water change (daily)
Eheim 3581 Auto Fish Feeder

Plants (currently):

UG
Crypt ‘Green Gecko”

Plants soon to be added:

Anubias nana 'petite' (-added)
Poaceae Sp. 'Purple Bamboo' (-added)
Red Tiger Lotus (-added)
Lobelia cardinalis-small form (-added)

Fish

Rainbow Shark-1
Tiger Barbs- ~22
Columbian Tetras-8
Red-eyed tetras- ~8
Serpae Tetras- ~8
Black Molly-male-1
BN Plecos-2
Chinese Algae eaters-2


1 long-term algae problem = GSA, but I think I’ve just about got it sorted out. I can keep it away for 10 days to 2 weeks, maybe a little longer….then it starts coming back.

The crypts went through a melt when the tank was set up. I did a quick cycle which was hard on both the crypts and the UG. I lost a lot of UG by adding some spixi snails that were apparently crosses and not pure spixi’s. The UG is finally starting to fill in completely. Another month or 2 and every square inch of available space should be covered with a thick mat of UG. UG really loves the “Wonder Gro” tabs. :thumbsup:

Also a minor on-going battle with Ca/Mg. The water is hard, so adding extra MG has always helped. Things are not bad, but I would like to get them a bit more sorted out….

Here’s another teaser shot from just before the Genesis:



I’ll post some real pix once the UG finishes filling in and I get things cleaned up a bit….
 
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#4 · (Edited)
Ok, Ok, tough crowd…tough crowd! :biggrin:

Let’s see…..we’ll call this 50 years after the Genesis…….

I’ve got 3 more types of plants on the way….still looking for a 4th: Lobelia cardinalis—small form, so if ya got any….Please let me know. (found it. :thumbsup: )

The short version is: This tank is a high light experiment for me. I was running around telling everyone how to run their high light tanks, yet had not walked a mile in those shoes. What I had learned was academic, not from experience. So, it was time for me to put up….or shut up. Plus I’ve been busy with many other things….

There’s 3.9 wpg of T5HO lighting….sitting on the rim of this tank. No light hangers, no legs…it’s sitting on the tank rim pounding light into the aquarium =

0.5hr @ 108w >9hrs @ 216w >0.5hr @ 108w. 10hrs total photoperiod. (12-30-08)

C02 comes on 2hrs before the lights come on and goes off 30mins before the lights go off.

Short term issues..initially..with string/thread/hair algae…not sure which, but got rid of it and hasn’t been back. Long term issue with GSA, but I think that I’ve got that about sorted out….we’ll see.

Slow start for the reasons listed in the first post. The crypts look kind of raggedy, but I trimmed a lot of the older leaves that had small spots of GSA and/or were deformed and/or showing white streaks/areas. They looked much “fuller” prior to a trim, of course, but this is an experiment/learning curve. Even some of the leaves remaining still have issues. I have a Ca/Mg issue with this water. Adding extra Mg has normally taken care of it. But these plants are sucking up a lot of nutrients, so I’ve been having a few issues trying to find the overall “Balance” of this tank (hence the GSA). I’m getting there. And I consider this tank and its progress a success at this point.

Spent ~4hrs last night trying to get some decent pix…..and that’s all I got. Nothing Good, Great, etc….just decent. W:icon_eek:W! How these folks get some of those shots—I’ll never know….

So, on with the show…..

The tank:



For those of you wondering if UG is difficult:


That’s the foam pre-filter to the Magnum 350 that I am using as a C02 reactor.


Here’s the bulk of the powerhouse—xP3 intake/output, heater, powerhead #1 for auto-drain cycle, powerhead #2 for C02 mist, Maxi-jet powerhead for flow. In addition to this is the intake/output of the Magnum 350 toward the other side of the tank….flow is better than good:

 
#5 ·
Soon to be King-of-the-tank. I just added this guy ~10 days ago. He’s starting to build up his courage. Nothing like a wussy shark, huh? :tongue: I’ve had plenty of these over the years. In 1 month he’ll be all over the tank all day long. In 3-4 months he’ll get “Moody” and go through fits of chasing anything and everything out of his “territory” in his darkest of rages. He loved teasing me while I was trying to get some decent shots of him…..almost like he knew what was going on.:












Not sure why everyone says these guys don’t do anything and are aggressive. They really are no more aggressive then the rainbow shark while in its “mood”. I’ve always found CAEs to be good little workers and have always taken care of low light, new tank diatoms, etc. These guys are fat and healthy and spend a ton of time working:



A couple of Buds hanging out together:
 
#6 ·
And then there’s some of the Tiger Barbs. These guys are cool. Not hard to tell that they are what’s left after all the “selective breeding” for Green, Albino, etc. They are not very clean in appearance, which I don’t much care for….. The local fish store has some that are Very clean, so I may be adding some more:




A couple shots of 1 of the calico BN plecos:



 
#11 ·
Thanx, ebb! It seems to be doing ok these days, but, Yes, it is growing in hard water. I haven't ckeck the specs in a long time, but traditionally they are about Gh18, Kh 14, pH 8.0-8.1. But this UG is a funny little bird....:thumbsup:

That UG carpet is awesome. Looks like this plant likes to be blasted with light. Mine failed miserably...
Thanx, Wasser! I'm starting to get happy with it. Needs to fill in some more before I'll start being satisfied. :thumbsup: It definitely likes light. Not sure how much of a requirement that is, but it will soak the light up if it's available. Honestly, I have no idea how UG does in lower light. I started it in a tub with ~8wpg of F + CF and high C02. It did the typical 2-3 week settle-in, and then started to grow, but it's somewhat strange. When it's happy it grows like a weed. But then it's not always happy. Personally, I think it likes a lot of nutrients. The stuff can be somewhat fragile, but on the other hand--it seems really tough too. Kinda hard to explain, but I don't watch all of my parameters worrying about the UG. The sponge pre-filter was not by my design....that's just a fluke of strands that found themselves a home. I've pulled a lot of "plugs" of UG from it and planted them in the substrate.

I know the spixi crosses did a number on it.....:mad:

After I get things further down the road, I plan to reduce the lighting (incrementally) in order to slow things down. But until then I'm going to keep pounding it with light! :biggrin:


The shots of Crypts from above are nice too.
Thanx! Amazing to me that the better pix are down through ~18" of water then through the glass. But whatever works, huh? Overall, I think the pix would have come out better if I had not trimmed the crypts. I didn't do it for the pix....it was done ~10 days ago, but it would have helped things look much more mature.


Now how about getting all that equipment out of the tank? :flick:
Equipment? What equipment? :biggrin: Not sure if you mean for everyday or for the pix. But either way, I had considered it. For everyday I would have had to drill the tank....and with my luck.....it would have shattered or something. For the pix, I decided not to worry about it. These pix were just kind of an "update" on the tank. I don't have any intentions of ever entering it into any contests, so that's a moot point. But I would like to get some really nice shots once it finishes filling in. :thumbsup: For that I will remove the equipment and clean things up "for the shoot" so-to-speak. First I have to spend more time learning how to use this frickin' camera. Great point and shoot--which is what those top-down shot were....but beyond that...I have a harder time. I understand the effects of apeture, shutter speed, etc.....just doesn't seem to work out. :icon_redf I'll keep trying though....:thumbsup:
 
#19 ·
Agreed, fishman. :thumbsup: I've grown to really like the novelty of it myself. My first instinct was to remove it and get it planted in the substrate, but I realized soon enough that that was a futile effort. It actually roots down into the foam. If I remove the foam from the housing, UG roots are grown into the middle area where the water passes through...:thumbsup:


Received some more "Wonder Gro" tabs as stated before. Placed a lot (probably ~40-50) 1/4's in yesterday and took some pix of the areas that still need to grow in. Expecting to take some more pix and do a comparison.
 
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