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cEd's Mini-L Redo (7/16/2014)

2K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  ced281 
#1 · (Edited)
Redid my ADA Mini-L after a school year of neglect. Since school starts again in a few weeks, I've attempted to make this a low maintenance style tank with high lighting + CO2 and fast growing plants (Hygrophila augustifolia + Blyxa japonica). If algae becomes an issue I can dim down the lights with my dimmer.

Also, this tank does not have any Aquasoil in it as an experiment to see if I can grow these three species of plants in sand.

Size: ADA Mini-L (8.5 gal)
Date Started: 7/16/2014

Lighting:
Custom Dimmable LED Light Fixture
- 3W 9,000K LED x 13

Equipment:
- Finnex PX-360 Canister Filter
- DoAqua! Violet Glass Intake
- DoAqua! Violet Glass Outflow

CO2
- Pressurized CO2 (1bps)
- Ceramic diffuser

Substrate:
- ADA La Plata Sand S

Fertilization:
- Liquid Fertilization Q1W (K, N, Micros, Iron)
- Osmocote Root Tabs

Flora:
- Hygrophila augistolifa
- Blyxa japonica
- Staurogyne repens

Fauna
- Hyphessobrycon amandae x11
- Trigonostigma espei x8
- Otocinclus x1
- Amano shrimp x4
- Red/Gold Ramshorns
 
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#3 ·
Where did you get your rocks? Like their nice smooth surface and blue-ish hue
 
#6 ·
I actually picked up the rocks from a small stream on the way to Lake Tahoe... XD

i like the open space!

how do you like the finnex canister filter?
I actually think the Finnex PX-360 is a great deal. Works well, is priced well, and is pretty easy to clean once you have a good cleaning setup. The powerhead itself is pretty easy to clean--just need to release two screws and your set to clean out the interior and the blades.

My only caveat is that its flow rate decreases rapidly with elevation e.g. it works significantly less efficiently if your canister is even a foot below the outflow.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Update 2014.09.19

Hi All,

Here's a ~2month update on my mini-L:



Here's a link to a slideshow to see the other photos for this update.
http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums...ini-L River Scape/20140919_03_zpsc97d3091.jpg

- Hygrophila augustifolia has grown very well in the sand substrate
- Blyxa has all melted away... not sure if it was because of an earlier hair algae outbreak or if just doesn't do well in this environment; I'll be making another attempt soon after I've trimmed some from one of my other tanks
- Staurogyne pretty much mostly melted away; the plants you see right now are new additions from a recent trim from another tank
- My Trigonostigma espei are slowly dying off (presumably due to old age)
- I recently added in about 80 RCS culls... Didn't know what to do with them and didn't feel like flushing them down the toilet so I figured I might as well throw them in here and use them as live feed when I transfer some of my juvie angelfish over
 
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