vvDO's Mr. Aqua 7.5g cube... Golden rams pics added 5/19/13 UPDATE

[vvDO]

S. repens didn't do so well, only 1 stem remaining, I will probably flood it soon once I have my CO2 paintball setup for this and transfer plants over from my 20L.

[vvDO]

Dry start was killing me, only thing growing well were a small bit of HM and bacopa australis. DHG wasn't growing much, S. repens almost completely melted. It needed a drastic change. Thanks to my friend for hooking me up with some stems of S. repens, r macandra Japanese and a single stem of a bacopa. Well here goes... Oh and I filled the sucka. Paintball tanks also filled, have a cool paintball setup that I want to try more to follow on that.

FTS:


Right side


Riccia stuck well on my lava rock

[ctls]

I have the same size tank but its by deep blue. I've been looking to replace the fluval mini powered compact light with something more powerful.

Tanks looking nice by the way.

[vvDO]

Originally Posted by ctls

I have the same size tank but its by deep blue. I've been looking to replace the fluval mini powered compact light with something more powerful.

Tanks looking nice by the way.

That was one of my thoughts, and I would have probably placed 2 of those over the tank. I'm not sure this light is strong enough to get the colors I want however it does look nice. I took the pics without the moonlights on. There's a bit of a glimmer especially with water movement from the output bar.

[vvDO]

Had some issues getting CO2 to work, tank was leaking from the relief valve and I tried tightening it however no change, hopefully I can return it. I have another idea for setting up my paintball CO2 but I need to have a working tank of course. Also my JBJ bubble counter's check valve already gave way and I hope the water didn't ruin the reg setup. Waiting for everything to dry until I try with my 2nd bottle.

S. repens loves to melt until cycle is over. I am surprised this tank is taking this long to cycle since I added medium from my 20L. At least nitrites are coming up which means the cycle's end is coming. I hope to stock soon and will likely try my hand at shrimp once the tank matures some.

Here's an update...

[mosspearl]

Nice start, and your son is adorable. How did you get the riccia to stick to your lava rock?

[vvDO]

Thanks, he's growing like crazy.

Nothing special really, during dry start it sat there for about a month and when it filled I was surprised it was stuck on.

[vvDO]

YAY... CO2 is working with my other tank and I also received word my paintball is going to be replaced and Empire is also covering shipping to return my tank.

Here's the setup. I bought a paintball regulator made by RAP4 which attaches to my ASA on/off valve. This reduces the tank pressure to 50psi. I also modified a paintball setup from Nilocg to add a more accurate needle valve and a solenoid. I was afraid to use the original setup nor let it go to waste/sell it off, I did a lot of research on adapters etc and this seemed to be the most reasonable. Better to play with 50-100 psi than 800. Major problem is the gauge has a large scale so I can't see where my output pressure sits. I am looking into buying a smaller scale gauge to replace one of the 2 gauges and may plug the other.

[vvDO]

Once it finally cycles this tank will be a temporary home for this guy...

[vvDO]

I've decided not to add the betta, tank has been running plants and snails alone. Minor changes... Added hydrocotyle from my 20L however it's overgrowing and will likely come out. Bacopa and R. Macandra Japanese are growing well. The Finnex is pretty bright however does not bring out the reds as much as in my 20L.

[vvDO]

Not bad... A little over 2 months on a 20 oz paintball CO2 canister. I bought 6 juvenile long finned golden rams and added end them last weeks. They are juveniles and are aggressive eaters. Plan is to move half of them out once I have a better idea on sex and to see which fish pair off. The rest I will likely sell or move to another tank that I'm planning. Pics to come once they are a bit less skittish.

[vvDO]

Pics as promised, if you have an idea on gender, please feel free to comment...