The Planted Tank Forum banner

Fluval Ebi! Updates 6/26

11K views 114 replies 13 participants last post by  diwu13 
#1 · (Edited)
6/26/2012
Current FTS:



Livestock:
Loads of CRS & CBS







Plants:
Mini marimo moss balls
Dwarf baby tears
Anubias nana mini
Saggitaria Chilensis
Frogbit
Duckweed
Some moss,
And a couple other odd plants that made their way in here


--------------------------


12/1/2011
After lots of tanks with just rocks & driftwood I'm going to try and attempt to actually have a planted tank (hornwort randomly floating around a tank doesn't count xD) and my fluval ebi came on Tuesday and I spent the rest of the day filling it with water....JEEZ! Is that stratum really DUSTY or is it just me?! Took forever to clear up and then I went and planted and messed it up again!

It's horribly bare atm, all I have is some frogbit, HC and 4 little moss balls, but I have some anubias coming in the mail and hopefully there's a trip to the store this weekend for some more plants! Plus I have a bucket of driftwood soaking for later.

Planned inhabitants are lots of CRS and some CBS mixed in. Is it safe to ship these guys to PA in December? No pet stores around here have them :( so I have to order online.

But....here are the pix. I can't wait to get more green and turn it into an underwater forest :cool:






The plan so far is to have the HC completely carpet the front and then the anubias in between the two rocks, with a background of some seaweed-like plant, any suggestions? One or two pieces of driftwood might also end up in here, they're pretty small too.
 
See less See more
14
#7 ·
dragonsong93 said:
Planned inhabitants are lots of CRS and some CBS mixed in. Is it safe to ship these guys to PA in December? No pet stores around here have them so I have to order online.
Yes it is safe to have them shipped as long as the person you're buying them from knows what they are doing. Make sure they insulate the box and provide a 72 hour heat pack. Make sure to ask questions from the seller, if they aren't answering them I would suggest switching to someone on here.

Excel will work much better on the HC if you inject it directly into the substrate instead of dumping it into the water column. I recently ordered a 9" needle and syringe combo to do the trick. I'll be uploading some photos tomorrow if you'd like to see what they look like!

dragonsong93 said:
Hoping to fill the middle area with some medium sized plants, not sure what species (open for suggestions ), but ones that will make the transition from short to tall plants less drastic.
When the DW is done soaking you should lay that out first. Generally it will provide a good transition from your carpet plant to taller plants (unless you just stick the DW straight into the tank vertically haha). But if you can arrange the DW first it might be easier to help you with plant ideas. I would recommend not making a trip to the LFS for plants until you plan the scape with the DW. But you seem to be a little sick of DW :p
 
#8 ·
Yes it is safe to have them shipped as long as the person you're buying them from knows what they are doing. Make sure they insulate the box and provide a 72 hour heat pack. Make sure to ask questions from the seller, if they aren't answering them I would suggest switching to someone on here.

Excel will work much better on the HC if you inject it directly into the substrate instead of dumping it into the water column. I recently ordered a 9" needle and syringe combo to do the trick. I'll be uploading some photos tomorrow if you'd like to see what they look like!

When the DW is done soaking you should lay that out first. Generally it will provide a good transition from your carpet plant to taller plants (unless you just stick the DW straight into the tank vertically haha). But if you can arrange the DW first it might be easier to help you with plant ideas. I would recommend not making a trip to the LFS for plants until you plan the scape with the DW. But you seem to be a little sick of DW :p
K, will CRS be ok with the excel? Should I turn down the dosage to like 1/2 or so?

Yea the driftwood's been soaking for about a week and none of the pieces are sinking yet! And they're pretty small too!
 
#13 ·
Watching with interest to see how you end up decorating, I'm looking for new ideas, lol. My Flora came a few days ago and I just finished adding silicone to the backing and plastic back pieces. My plants have been shipped. I should be using this time to soak the 2 bags of stratum and driftwood. Is that one of those 10w preset heaters you're using? I'm debating what to do in mine, have a 10w Marina I just picked up but reveiws are horrid on those presets...such decisions. Will keep checking back to see your progress.
 
#14 ·
Yea the stratum's really dusty, I didn't know and just gave it a quick wash.....3 water changes later I could finally see the back of the tank. :eek:

The heater's been relatively good, and the tank has been at a stable 77F, although it did take a while to actually heat up. It was in a tiny bowl before (maybe 3g?) that I used to store some extra plants.
 
#15 ·
Those DW pieces look really great! Will you be removing some of the rocks when you add the DW though? And the frogbit really takes off well, very nice long roots. Makes me really consider getting some.
 
#16 ·
That's funny because I was hoping the roots wouldn't be this long! But I suppose it'll be better for the shrimp, more room to hide & climb. :D

BTW! This tank might actually temporarily house some orange eye blue tigers which I might be getting if I'm lucky, fingers & toes both crossed! Super excited!!

Some work done today, added one of the pieces of stubborn driftwood, it's only staying in place because of the rock and the filter holding it down. The other more round piece I think I'm going to put on the right, it looks really nice by those two rocks. Speaking of rocks, I think I'm going to remove the one on the left and replace it with some kind of medium sized plant, it's going to look a bit too cluttered when everything's in place. Also seeded the tank with the filter from my 55g to get it cycled.

Ordered some saggitaria and that's going to arrive Friday at the latest.
Tank today, with the driftwood.



Ps- let me just say I HATE that filter. It works fine, but it's just filling up that whole corner and....ick. Anyone know any suggestions for a less intrusive filter?
 
#17 ·
Your parameters have to be really stable for OEBT's. But I assume you know what you're doing since you wanted CRS and CBS :D! But that's great! I'm still to scared to attempt anything expensive as I don't have buffering soil or RO water. That limits me to neos... lol! Trying some regular tigers at the moment as well. If those work out I might try a few green caridina as well.

The only time I would trim the frogbit roots are if they start rooting into the soil :p. Other besides that its great for sucking up those extra nitrites in the entire water column! I'm definitely getting a few haha. You convinced me with another photo. I have a question though, do they multiply fast? Am I going to have my entire top of the tank covered?

To be honest, that driftwood does a great job of hiding your filter haha. I didn't notice it until you pointed it out. If you're pleased with the filtering job its doing maybe you can hide it with taller plants and some moss tied on the driftwood? I use internal filters myself since they seem to work fine for me.

Sounds good for taking out one of the rocks for a DW though. Or you're not gonna have much planting room along the bottom of your tank. Looking forwards to updates! And maybe those OEBT!
 
#19 ·
The frogbit is probably the fastest growing plant I have right now, the roots are going about 1/2" to 1" a day or more, it's definitely noticeable. If there's too many you can always just toss the extras or keep them in a random bowl of water (like me lol)

I'll see what the filter looks like once I get the saggitaria in there (3 large plants just shipped today) it works good I just don't like how it's taking up the corner space *is used to big tanks with larger spaces*
 
#18 ·
New to the forum and haven't gotten my Flora set up yet (still playing with silicone) but you can swap out to a sponge filter, esp if going with shrimp, tons of different sized/shaped ones and totally low maint as well. Just a thought.
 
#20 ·
Yea I understand the feeling since I'm running internal filters myself. I like how it lets me put the tanks right up against the walls in my room. Can't do that with a HOB filter. How's the intake on that filter? As airangel said you will have to cover up the opening with some sponge or stocking to stop baby shrimps from getting sucked in.

Good news on the frogbit. How do you stop it from covering the entire top though? Or does the roots mostly grow longer and it doesn't really multiply?
 
#21 ·
I already have a makeshift filter sock/cover which I'm going to put on....whenever I feel like fishing it out of that corner. I think the frogbit does multiply.....a lot, I'm going to have to scoop some out soon and just leave the little ones.
Last week:

THIS WEEK:


GOOD NEWS & bad news, I'm probably not getting the OEBT's because I was outbid, but I did order some CBS and they're going to be here by the end of the week, and my anubias arrived! Also, I broke down and put the driftwood in the tank, using a HIDEOUS contraption made out of two rocks and string. Yea. It's pretty ugly lol....I hope it sinks soon. The smallest piece still in the bucket did today so the others should follow. Once it's off you can see how pretty it is, can't wait till there's some little shrimps scattering all over....


HC is growing a little bit

 
#22 ·
Holy crap that frogbit multiplied like crazy haha... I might have to make a little pen with straws to keep it in place or something. I wouldn't want it covering the light for the other plants.

Too bad about the OEBT. You can always try your hand at them later on! Or you can wait for tigers cause one of mine is berried :D!

Did you boil the DW? I find that if I boil it, it sinks much faster. If you get some moss and cover the rocks and part of the DW you could potentially keep that as a permanent scape. It looks pretty mountain-like in that corner there!
 
#23 ·
I need to thin down on the frogbit soon lol, I'm keeping it in for water quality's sake until I get more plants for the rest of the tank. I was looking into tigers...which means another tank....and another shelf....and less space for me xD

Today my saggitaria arrived in town and is sitting in the post office till delivery tomorrow (was just stalking tracking numbers)...and MY SHRIMP ARE ON THE WAY! Should have 5 or 6 lil CBS in the tank by this weekend. Part of me wants to just have a swarm of crystal black shrimp but I think I'll end up adding some red into the mix because they're so pretty.

I think I'm going to replace the filter with a sponge filter because it'd be just way easier for me to clean and has a lot more surface area than this filter. But with any luck it should start looking a bit prettier with a background of taller plants and some shrimp :D
 
#24 ·
If you do decide to set up another tank make sure to start a journal for it! You could always just make lots of tibees :D! AND MY TIGERS ARE BERRIED!!!! Two of them are so far. Hoping those breed out!! Snapped a few pics in my journal haha.

At least that isn't as nerve wracking as having the shrimp shipment sitting in the warehouse. Then I'd be tempted to drive and pick those up lol. But congrats on the shrimps arriving soon! After they arrive you'd wanna keep the tank renovations to a minimum if you want lots of breeding. When you start getting babies you can renovate all you want afterwards!

The filter change is really up to you. My shrimp tanks work fine with a HOB. But then again I'm not willing the shell out more money for sponge filters. You could actually keep both the sponge and internal filter inside your tanks and have two sources of beneficial bacteria for when you have to clean one out. But it's all up to you :]!!
 
#26 ·
The shrimp have left Cali! I hope they get here ok, we just had a flash snow storm last night, the trees were really pretty this morning.:)



Congrats on the berries!! Renovations are done for a while now, saggitaria came and I'll snap a few pictures after the water clears. I have room for maybe one plant, I'm thinking of just adding some java moss to the driftwood and then everything's got to grow in.

Wow. How did you get them that way. I have a huge Marimo ball mat, so should I pinch some off and roll it into a ball or something? : )
Yea basically that's what you do!

I bought 3 small ones but one was kinda lop-sided so I broke it and half and rolled it into two balls to make the really tiny ones.
 
#28 ·
#32 ·
Back home and as promised, pictures of the shrimp! Now all I have to go is get some red ones, and wait for it all to grow in...


Side view:

The shrimp! The nicest looking one is staying in the back so all I have is a few blurry pictures, but his white & black look painted on, it's so awesome.



Staredown...






My favorite, but shy, shrimp:

Find the hidden shrimp


Two mysterious plants I got from buying other plants, I think I'll keep them. I'm pretty sure the floating one is fairy moss.



Finally it looks acceptable! :icon_bigg
 
#33 ·
Went into the room this morning to find some frogbit over the side of the tank and some water so I think my cat was either drinking water (REALLY MESSY, she scoops up water in her paw then laps it up that way...kinda odd lol) or she forgot there's no lid and accidentally fell in. Either way, everyone is still ok and the plants are undamaged.
 
#34 ·
Hm... I'd keep your cat out of the room with the fish tank to be honest. You wouldn't wanna risk having a shrimp on the frogbit, getting scared, and jumping out of the tank. Also, I've read many horror stories where everything in the tank would die if the cat had a lot of kitty litter stuffs on its hand.

Hope the shrimp enjoy their new home :D! More pictures when they color up some!
 
#35 ·
Spent a long time stalking the shrimp around the tank with my camera, and finally got some ok pictures of the really dark ones.


And the one who has thus claimed that driftwood as HERS.



You can see two of them in this pic:

Really likes being on the saggitarus


One last pic of the plants for good measure ;)


I think they're coloring up quite well considering this is their...third day in the tank. I'm also pretty sure I have three females and two males, only time will tell though!

CRS on the way soon! S & SS grades :cool:



Yea, I don't normally have them in there but one is going to the vet and I can't give him food for 24 hours prior to the surgery (neeuuuutering :icon_eek:) and if I did that with the other two I would be followed by two furiously mewing cats until they are fed.
 
#36 ·
Great looking pictures. Glad they're adjusting to the tank well. When are the CRS coming? And yea, it's MUCH harder to tell which tigers I have are male/female. I still am only sure I have 2 females, and at least one male that knocked them up haha. No idea what the others are. Just happy they're all alive and well!

Also, what are the parameters of your tank? Will you be doing water changes with RO water?

And poor cat... neutering :X!
 
#37 ·
Thanks! The place I got them from ships on Mondays so either this week or next.

On the tank right now the temp. is 74F, ph is 6.5, and gh is 5. Water comes out of the tap really soft like that so I don't think I'd need RO water. Been using the shrimp water conditioner as well as the minerals that came with the ebi setup
 
#38 ·
Hm... hope they come next week or they'll get stuck in the Christmas delivery rush.
Everything seems good with your parameters. What's your kH? That'll be pretty important to keep low for CBS and CRS. (You should update the first post with flora, fauna, and equipment if you have time!) I think tap would degrade your fluvial stratum pretty quickly?
 
#40 ·
First post has been updated :icon_cool



I think they'll be here tomorrow! Checked the tracking number and they're in the state :biggrin: With any luck 12 new shrimp will be joining the herd!!

Haven't a clue about the stratum though, but this weekend I'm off to the store to buy a kh test kit, and some excel, maybe some java moss...there's a big space under the filter that gets barely any light and I want to put some kind of plant back there.

I started reading this the other day but had to deal with the girlfriend wanting to go out and do something fun, before I had a chance to comment. This is a really good scape for round rocks, I normally don't see a scape done well with them. I really like what you did. Kind of "calming" for lack of a better word.
Hehe thanks!! They're really the only rocks I have for my tanks, I always collect them when near streams, rivers, and lakes so I've got quite the stockpile lol
 
#41 ·
NICE! Beat out the christmas rush for shipping. Not sure if you have one already but I would get a TDS meter online if you start to notice breeding issues. No real need to get it early if it seems everything is alright.

Just be a bit careful with excel. I've never had problems with it and shrimp, but many people have had shrimp die due to excel usage. However, I dose my excel straight into my flourite, which absorbs it right away. Other people just dump excel into the tank so that might be where the issue comes from. If you need I can recommend you to a guy that sells 9 inch needles + syringes so you can dose excel straight into your substrate as well.

Moss would be a good choice for places where there's low light. Just make sure to secure it so it doesn't clog the filter intake!
 
#42 ·
And I was right!! The crystal reds came today and I have to say, wow! Their color is already good I can't wait till they get settled into the tank. And as for how they breed in my water, we'll see soon...the biggest has a saddle!!

The most high-grade one of the batch, the white is like paint and they aren't even colored up yet!





And an update on the CBS, this is one of the most black ones, three have a slight reddish tint, and two are like this.


Crystal reds are going in the tank as soon as they finish eating, they were HUNGRY!!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top