It's a sexy tank. You can't deny it. So I'm going to get one.
Tank: Mr. Aqua 12G Long Stand: Target 6 Cube Organizer Filter: UG connected to SunSun 3-stage (264GPH) Lighting: Odyssea T5HO 36" 78watt, using only one bulb, mounted 12" above tank Heater: Hydor 200W 5/8" Substrate: Black lava rock (small grain) Hardscape: Malaysian driftwood, Seiryu stone Flora:
First post here. Returning to fresh water after an exclusive decade or two with terrestrial species. Your tank piques my interest because I am starting with a 11.4 Mr. Aqua cube, IN SF!
Tank: Mr. Aqua 12G Cube
Stand: cabinet with doors
Filter: Zoo Med ...500 I think, not purchased
Lighting: DIY par30 ~50 watt 6000k single LED pedant
Heater: small?
Substrate: Black Diamond
Hardscape: NO IDEA
Flora: NO IDEA
Fauna: Tap water: CHECK
I don't plan to use an under gravel filter...
I plan to use a plastic spray bar that'll span the entire length of the tank top side.
Forget the SunSun. One of mine broke down after about a year and a half. Just replaced it with a Fluval 206.
I've been researching mini canisters for my 13g and the options look like a Zoo Med 501 and a TOM mini canister. Both have mixed reviews. So I'm undecided.
Wow Cool! I have a similar scape currently in dry start! The only thing I was worried about was having the rocks too close to the glass for cleaning purposes. It took me almost a year to find my stones. How long did it take you? But I'm definitely subscribed to this.
Didn't take too long. AFA here in SF has plenty of seiryu stone, as well as some bonsai shops. I've used these same rocks in several other scapes, so I've had them for a while.
I'm going to have to tear down this scape soon in order to setup the UGF; I was just bored last night and decided to mess around with the hardscape. Took plenty of pics to make sure I get it the same or as similar as possible the next time around.
Nice scape! That is a lot of rocks, I'm pretty sure it will raise heavy TDS... So I don't know about shrimp. I only has 2-piece (15lb worth) of seiryu stones in hoping it will not raise the TDS too much. As for the light I have the same, you might want to raise it atleast 5" above the tank. I have my fixture 7" above the tank right now. I will raise it again probably 10" above the tank so I can extend my lighting period at night. For the filter I used to run Eheim 2213 on my tank but find that a little lack of flow (because I place intake and out put on the same side I the tank). I use Eheim 2217 now and yes... It's a bit too much flow with 200+ gph. What I'm going to do is to load my 2217 with more cocoa puffs to slow the flow a bit.
Overall your tank is looking great! Can't wait till what kind of stand you are going to put on.
*just saw the vid. Hamster lol!
I only have 8 lbs of seiryu in there. They're all relatively small pieces. I plan to keep orange neos and possible OEBT, so higher TDS shouldn't be a problem, considering my tap has pH = ~7.0, KH = 0-1, GH = 0-1, TDS = ~30. I hung up the light fixture after making the vid; it's now about 10 inches about the top of the tank.
That tank is kind of messy at the moment, with an unsightly breeder net hanging right in the front of it. So no pics yet, but I'll be fixing it up real soon and will definitely take pics then.
Nice set up! I like how the wood and rocks blend together; they complement one another very well. Awesome video as well - looks very homey for the little guy in there
Did you secure your plants to the wood/rocks/substrate? Or are you DSM'ing and letting them attach?
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edit: saw that you posted "Day 1 of dry start." I gotta read the posts instead of just looking at the pics. Still awesome tank, looking forward to when it grows in.
I'm dry starting so the moss can attach naturally. We'll see how that goes. This'll be my first dry start, so I'm not sure how humid the tank will get. Hopefully it'll stay wet enough so the moss doesn't dry out, but not too wet where mold starts growing.
I've read that the moss can attach in as little as 3-4 days. I think I'll do 1-2 weeks just in case.
Not much to say, really. Obviously no noticeable growth, but don't really care for any as long as the moss attaches at some point.
Got these little white spots on some of the wood. Must be mold or something. It's not overtaking the moss, so hopefully nothing to worry about yet. The flood will probably kill it anyway.
I spray once in the morning before work at about 0600, once when I get home at 1800, and one last time before the tank lights go out at 2200. I was worried that during the day, twelve hours without a spritz would leave everything completely dried out, especially with the current heat wave in the Bay Area, but it actually stayed pretty moist. I don't think I wrap up the tank too tight, but maybe I did, hence the mold and whatnot. I'll flood soon, don't know when exactly. Maybe when work stops killing me with its endless crap.
Big fan of the hardscape, very well done. Excited to see it fill out, it's well planted as well. I like the hardscape so much I'd go as far as to say that you should try and keep everything nicely trimmed so it doesn't eat up the precise detail present in the hardscape :thumbsup:
So those little white spots on the wood are almost completely gone. Some of the moss is browning just a little, but I do think I see growth in most parts. I saw some stringy looking mold or fungus a week ago, but that seems to have disappeared as well. Not much else to report. SF temperature has fluctuated over the past two weeks, with my house getting as cold as 55F and as hot as 85F. I wonder what kind of effect this may have on the progression of the dry start. Hopefully nothing bad. I'm not completely convinced that the moss has attached to the hardscape yet, so I will probably hold off flooding after another week or two or three. Once I flood, I'll pump CO2 to the max for a week and slowly wean it off. I've got my orange neos waiting in another tank, eagerly waiting for their new home.
Thanks! I can't wait to see how everything progresses too. Really tests my patience.
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