6.6 build, beginning first aquascape (lots of pics)

[HybridHerp]

This is going to be rather interesting. I've thought about what it would be like to do refugium on a freshwater tank. I'm very excited.

[Vandiggity]

I meant to ask, what would be a good stem/moss plant to place in the refugium that would suck up the nitrates/bad stuff quick? I use duckweed in the big tank (55gal)and pull out about a cups worth a week. As of yet (3 years)I have only had one algae issue (green hair)and that only lasted a week after i cut the lights back to 8 hours. The duckweed makes good garden fertilizer but I do not want duckweed in this tank.

Essentially i am looking for a plant that I could partially remove from the refugium on a weekly basis that would assist in keeping the parameters in check.

[jarvitron]

Anacharis grows fast.

[Vandiggity]

Ok, got the plants in there. Dwarf baby tears for the most part and regular baby tears in the back left. I've read just about everything I could find about HC and it seems that it does better when planted stem by stem? Wow, talk about tedious!

The HC I got was in one of those cheap plastic potted plant deals that you get at the LFS. They had just gotten the delivery when I got there and it looked great. But obviously it wasn't submersed during shipment and I suspect while being grown either? I have had the pot in my big tank for two weeks about 8 inches under the light(in a breeder box) and it looks like the leaves that were on it when I got it are wilty, but there is new growth on the tips that looks good(and small). Is this normal? This is from one pot from the store after careful separation.

It looks better in person, more vibrant and green, but my camera phone sucks.

[somewhatshocked]

Nice job spreading all the HC out. That's the mistake a lot of people make in the beginning - not separating things as you have done.

The HM in the back is going to look great once it bushes up. How much of it did you plant?

[Vandiggity]

I have 4 HM "cuttings" as they were called at the lfs, each were about 3" long. I would have gotten more but the prices there were prohibitive. I think with the little HC pot and the cuttings I was just under 20 bucks after tax. Hopefully it takes off.

[somewhatshocked]

It all looks to be in pretty good shape. As long as you provide CO2, light and ferts, you should be fine.

The plants you chose are the perfect scale for the tank and should look pretty great against those rocks once everything grows in.

[Exceliber]

Consider me interested. Using the refugium like that is pretty sweet!

[Overgrowth]

What are those rocks--are they seiryu? If they are, then you should take them out. They raise the KH, pH, and GH, so the water won't be suitable for CRS with them in the tank.

[Vandiggity]

Well, it's been about a month since the last picture. I have this big heater in the tank since my mini heater died, but a new one should be here any day! Got a little more HC to seed in and bam, it took off! For some reason the HC keeps coming loose on the left side where the substrate is deeper......or it doesn't like the rocks or something. Dumped the hagen co2 unit (need to find a use for it now) for an aquatek paintball unit. What a difference that made!!!!! Still injecting it into the refugium intake seems to work pretty good. got a couple of those little black fluval diffusers on standby just in case though. I kept the rock on the right. As suggested by someone here, it really does look cool now. Had a short fight with brown algae that I triumphed. Now there is a "little" GSA. The ramshorns don't seem to bother the HC which is nice. Yes, my camera still sucks.
Current inhabitants:
Mr. Grumpy the Betta
One RCS (test pilot)

[Conrad283]

That HC looks great, but the right side is lacking in height IMO.

[manzpants92]

awesome growth

[tryank]

Looking good, and I bet it's even better now...
If the HC is still loose (it's been a while so it might not be a problem now but still...) you could "pin" it down. Break a paperclip up so you have little "V" shapes and anchor parts that are coming up. I did it in my tank and the HC rooted great.

[Silmarwen]

I love the refugium idea on a tank so small! It's certainly something to add to my "Hmmm. Maybe..." list! Looks pretty good so far; I can't wait to see it fully grown in!

[Rob in Puyallup]

Hey Vandiggity, looking at your pic in post 14, curious about what all is in your refugium...

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