Marko's ADA 30C - Reboot (4/14/13)

[@marko@]

Originally Posted by Geniusdudekiran

I think an iwagumi scape would be great. Can be hrd to pull off in a cube but can be done for sure.

would have a lot of open space. but thats not necessarily a bad look...
im pretty confident i want to incorporate some r. fluitans. i love the way it pearls. beyond that, no clue.

also, im tired of cherries. they are gone come december. ill use a different neocard, and try out some CRS to see how they do. i have an RO unit, so i should be able to tweak the kh and gh by mixing RO with tap. id rather if i could stay away from the expensive shrimp remineralizers.

Originally Posted by ad3hybrid

Love your tank! Mind sharing how you keep your Downoi healthy? Mine always melt..

thank you.
i wish i could give you some secret on how to make it thrive, but there isnt one.
just good light + CO2 + fertz.
i never had any issues with it. i just put it in the tank, and it grew. they way i set my tanks up, there are very few plants that give me trouble. but it took a lot of time and dead plants to figure out how to do that. getting your CO2 right is usually the key to this.

[@marko@]

safe to say this tank has run its course. hasnt been doing as well as it used to for months now. substrate is kicked. it looks different, its just grey dust that roots nothing and has little nutrients so the plants grow slower. and then the power outage from sandy killed the filter, and thus the shrimp. now its gone a week without CO2.
here is the cumulative result:



in a few weeks i will totally redo the tank.
right now im running it just to keep the a. petite happy (it becoming algae infested, but i dont think it minds, and a quick 2 min dilute bleach dip will clear it right up) as i figure out where to put it.

[marioman72]

too bad to see such a beautiful tank come to the end of its life. but thats just how aquascaping goes! you have any ideas as to what you want to do next?

[parrottbay]

I am sorry to hear this!

[greenman857]

Trying for the silver lining...
It looks like you've got lots of plants that look pretty healthy to start over with!

[@marko@]

ug has been demolished, but i have a 2x2 pot in my emersed setup. downoi and e. parkeri are hanging in, but i dont really care, i have tons of both emersed and some in my 20 long.
anubias is covered in algae, but a quick bleach dip will fix that.

however none of these plants will be used in the next scape.
im thinking about hc, riccia, lileopsis, and s. repens. i might keep a small bit of downoi in there as an accent.

[amphirion]

@marko: im looking to get rid of some of my lilaeopsis chinensis. let me know if you're interested.

[parrottbay]

What is UG? I have read it a lot in posts lately and I am lost...

[@marko@]

Originally Posted by amphirion

@marko: im looking to get rid of some of my lilaeopsis chinensis. let me know if you're interested.

sent you a pm about it.

Originally Posted by parrottbay

What is UG? I have read it a lot in posts lately and I am lost...

utricularia graminifolia
its the foreground plant i used for this tank. here is a link on it: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/my...a_graminiflora

[parrottbay]

Thank you for explaining it again, It saddens me to see that this happened to your tank

[@marko@]

dont be sad. every tank runs its course. now i will get to start over with a brand new scape, which is exciting.

[IWANNAGOFAST]

it's always sad to see a good tank end but gives you a chance to try something new! I usually get bored after a few months and tear down the tank anyhow

[@marko@]

teardown:
the tank


deplanted and drained:


empty:


the anubias taking up an entire 3 gal bucket:


now i need my nylon CO2 seals to arrive from GLA, and then i can set the tank back up.

[@marko@]

alright, here is the redo - note: i used my droid camera, so the pics are crappy.
clean tank:


magic MTS and hardscape:


sand cap:


planted and filled:


you know, i missed HC:

[karmen626]

How long do u have your co2 on? Does a pt like yours need co2? Awesome tank!!!!