Suga Shack - 55 gallon - Where is my algae hiding? :( (56K)

[150EH]

I guess you could try to place some moss in the bare areas after a trim, I bent a paper clip and use it like a Crochet needle and just pull a little through. My wall doesn't even come close to how nice yours is but I have some growth popping out of the water so I think it's just a matter of time before yours will fill in, plus I don't have CO2 in that tank.

BTW That was a great idea and if you document the next one and place it in the DIY section it will become the standard method, the gutter guard lets it so much light and flow the moss grows much better than other methods.

[sewingalot]

Just remind me Licfish. I have the others and tons of it, but definitely been looking for the one.

What is strange is the moss is still there, just growing super slow when I looked yesterday. I am thinking that I will be trading sides with them. Another thing I am noticing is the suction cups are now being slowly hidden as the moss fills out. Good idea on the DIY of it. I'll call it the Kara hybrid method.

[Karackle]

Originally Posted by @marko@

they often seem to enjoy squeezing themselves into tight spaces. i have had several who would spend a lot of time wedged in a hole in this piece of driftwood i have. and almost all loved to vanish into the stem plants.

Definitely a good point, if the moss wall does well again then I might just leave it be for him ........unless it starts shading out its own growth by the bottom, then I suppose I'll have to do a minor trim and hope for the best

Originally Posted by @marko@

and sometimes they do weird things. i have one female who will turn herself so she is vertical

Hahahaha I had a boy that did this but in the folds of a piece of fake coral I had in the tank (this of course was ages go before I went planted, yes it was silly to have fake coral in a fresh water tank but I also had purple blue and black gravel at the time so.....)

Originally Posted by sewingalot

I was trying to get a picture for days and then I notice the baby red claw that was put into the tank getting beaten up by the other red claw had clipped her tail. So I gently netted her out and alley-oop! she got a new home in the 55. Now she gets to pick on yellow shrimp. But she is much happier in her mansion and I'm keeping her stuffed full of flakes to minimize the carnage. She spent the first evening glaring at the other betta (her reflection) and puffing up ready to fight. It was too cute.

Oh no! Poor girl! I'm sure she'll recover quickly in her MANSION, and at least the tank is big enough with a lot of plant growth for the shrimp to hide in that I'm sure she won't decimate the population. And keep her well fed can't hurt

Originally Posted by sewingalot

I used this (picture from Lowes.com and idea from Kara):

I LOVE this stuff, (well mine looks a LITTLE different, but same basic idea) but I agree, it's a bit flimsy and rolly, that's why I made the "pouch" with it first and stuffed the moss inside and THEN did some sewing. However, I noticed that there were a few places where it was folded that it was actually breaking, so I'm thinking you're on to something with your hybrid method! If I make another moss wall, I'll probably try it your way!

Originally Posted by sewingalot

(as the reclaws snipped it right down the first try, lol).

SMART SHRIMP!

Originally Posted by sewingalot

What is strange is the moss is still there, just growing super slow when I looked yesterday.

They're probably just a bit in the shade due to the lip of the tank rim and that's why the moss is alive, but slower growing. I wonder what would happen if you just rotated the moss wall 180º so the bottom became the top and top became the bottom?

Originally Posted by sewingalot

Good idea on the DIY of it. I'll call it the Kara hybrid method.

I'm honored!

[150EH]

I had to pull out my moss wall today, I told you I cut the openings larger in the plasic mesh then pulled a wad of moss in with a hook and looked ok but the moss behind the plastic doesn't get enough light and dies which transfer to the front and it was all brown. The other thing is hanging it with paper clips made it too close to the glass so it was like a dead spot back there, although there were plenty of shrimp back there picking at it.

Now I'm going to try your method after I gather the materials and some new moss.

[sewingalot]

^ I can tell you that the moss under the center brace is almost completely dead. I was basically frondless (stringy) when I moved it. So if you stick one at that area, turn frequently! The good thing about this method is the fact it wants to grow toward the front. The other way, it was growing in both directions and did the same thing. The paper clips might help with fish not getting trapped behind there. So far, it's not been an issue, but when I put in the guppies for the winter, I could see this becoming one. I'd offer to send you gutter guard that I have left over, but it is sooooo cheap, you'd probably spend the same amount for shipping versus buying a new roll.

Good luck and let me know how it does for you!

[sewingalot]

Pictorial update. I did like the downoi, but it was growing too quick in this tank, so I sold most of it off and left a few baby pieces. Only, the snails tend to like to eat it when I get lax on feeding. So, the plantlets are slowly recovering now that I'm keeping the mystery snails fat and happy with food.

I haven't updated in a while (our doggie isn't feeling well), so be forewarned. There is a lot of pictures in this post.

Shrimpers


This little guy jumped right out of his skeleton after this shot. Pretty neat to have caught the initial splitting of the exo


Snails




Betta:






Otos being cute:


Murky due to uprooting lots of crypts, stems, etc:






Mid water change because I want to include this picture


Betta coming out to inspect the progress












Oto feast (soilent green is awesome!)




Meeting of the minds:




Mid scape:




At an angle:


Some diy:


Giving the java some height:


Attaching with rex-lace:


More shrimp






Placing in the heightened fern:


More diy:


Back (sorry for the blurriness):


In place:




Only, I don't like it. I lost that distinctive triangular shape. So my plan is to do a little adjusting. But that'll come later.

Notes: I hate marineland powerheads. I've replaced it with a aquaclear that I've had for years. This 660r was supposed to be more powerful, but isn't, is louder than the aquaclear and clogs quickly. Plus it has no controls despite the description on the website I got it from (not that it would matter).

The moss wall was flipped to help grow in the moss that was under the brace. All but a space on the now bottom (that was underneath the brace) grew in quickly. But now the other side is getting a little sparse. So I'm going to have to flip it again or find another way to get light in that area. Maybe one of those stick on LED lights will work, I don't know. The white suction cups have all but disappeared except in the two bare spots. I figured I'll take it down on next cleaning and weave in some moss if it doesn't grow back by then.

I also think I need to sell of some ferns. I just have too much and it's not working in the space. Some of the java I got earlier this summer is still looking ratty because there isn't enough light in the corner.

Subwassertang is an excellent hole filler. It's a great way to hide problem areas in the tank.

[fastfreddie]

It looks great! I know those fish are happy with all that room to hide in there!

If you sell some Java Fern (or others) like you mentioned, will you send me a pm? I'd like to buy some. I really need some low tech plants. Our poor aquarium just hasn't been the same since my little boy was born. I need to make it more of something to look at.

We have another baby on the way in October, so that should be interesting!
I have not been on the forum much as you know, but I've been missing TPT over the last few weeks.

[Karackle]

Your tank looks AWESOME Sara!!! It's just so lush and gorgeous and I agree with FastFreddie (congrats on the kiddos by the way) that the fish must be VERY happy!!!

I am in LOVE with your moss wall, can you come and redo mine so it looks that good?

I love your DIY stuff, but I have to agree with you, I think the tank looked better before the java fern wall was put in. Don't get me wrong, the Java fern wall is a SUPER cool idea (and something I think I might try in the 5g because the moss wall isn't growing in so well this time so maybe i'll try something different ) however, I think the tank had a really nice "side of creek-bed" slope happening after the installation of the java on PVC but before the java wall was put in. We all know i personally love the jungle look, so I think you could leave it either way, but I thought I'd put in that I agreed with you that it looked better before (which is sad because again, java wall, such a cool idea!)

[BoxxerBoyDrew]

WOW Sara!!!

You have some of the BEST LOOKING Java Fern I have ever seen!!!! I WISH I could grow it like that! I SUCK at Java Ferns! I too like the look before the wall was put in! But either way it is a BEAUTIFUL Tank of green!!!Shrimp are looking very good too!!!

What is the Green Wafer that your ottos are eating on? I did a google search and all I got was a Metal Band!

VERY SORRY about the Doggy troubles!!! We have been there, and it is a very hard thing to deal with, both mentally and financially! I pray everything gets better soon!

Keep up the awesome work, and I can't wait to see what You do next!!!
Drew

[Mahlady]

Inspirational.

[driftwoodhunter]

I don't know how I missed this thread - what a beautiful tank! I've never tried to grow moss and I know nothing about it, but I am crazy in love with your Java Fern and Subwassertang. I have a little bit of regular Java Fern, I'm going to get in that tank this week & see what I can do about encouraging it to propagate! (and I'm going to look up Subwassertang's needs) ; )

Any updates on this tank?

[nonconductive]

sara, come out come out wherever you are

[Chaos_Being]

^ agreed, I came back and posted after a long hiatus, it's your turn now