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Raven_Wilde's 'Ebiwagumi' Edge (Updated Pics 6/6/2012)

35K views 79 replies 34 participants last post by  chan0482 
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATE: This setup is No More :(

Life has gotten busy and I've had to reduce my setups to two tanks. This one did not make the cut - it happens.

Fast-forward to my recent post if you are interested in my thoughts on the EDGE product after having one up and running for about two solid years.

Current Full Tank Shot (6/5/2012):


Original 1st Post:
Finally, I'm sharing with you all the project I've been obsessing over for the past few months....

Around about the beginning of summer I decided that I wanted to set up a shrimp only tank that I could use to develop a redder/higher quality line of Cherry Shrimp. I hadn't originally intended to purchase an Edge, in fact when they first appeared in stores I thought them rather silly little contraptions. But then, the more I researched the various nano tank setups available in my price range, the more I realized that I really loved the design of this little tank. Of course, it helped that so many people on this forum (and elsewhere on the internet) were doing amazing things with them. The modification possibilities and the challenge of keeping all the equipment 'behind the scenes' also began to appeal to me as well.

I had my LFS (Fish Doctor's in Ypsilanti) special order one in Pewter and since they do internet price matching I got a really sweet deal and did not have to worry about shipping! :)

I also purchased a red metal locker/cabinet from IKEA that I'd long admired to use as a stand, I'd say it makes for a pretty striking setup....


Pretty even when empty!

Setup occurred in early July and I spent most of that month cycling the tank (I used bio-media and water from my 30gal planted tank to kick start this) and collecting plants. I had a rough idea in my mind that I wanted to attempt an Iwagumi style tank- however, given the nature of the equipment that came with the Edge and because I wanted to keep it on the low-tech side so it would be optimal for shrimp breeding, I knew that I would never be able to grow classic Iwagumi plants like HC and DHG. I resolved then that I would create a moss carpet across most of the tank, and this is where I ran into trouble.


Collecting plants- Fissidens, Xmas Moss, & Crypto Parva

My troubles began when I went to my local hardware store and purchased some stainless steel mesh to tie fissidens to in the hopes that it would grow into some super lush carpeting. What I did not know at the time was that the mesh I was buying was zinc coated. So, a couple months and many shrimp deaths later I finally figured out (after eliminating all other suspects and making a call to the hardware store to confirm my suspicions) that I had toxic levels of zinc in my tank.

Utterly disgusted with myself I pulled all the fissidens (which hadn't done well) out of the tank along with the mesh it was attached to. What followed then was nearly a month of 2-3x weekly water changes. I also crammed a ton of ChemiPure Elite in the filter to help remove the zinc. After this I rescaped the tank, cycled it some more and added some 'test pilot' shrimp to the tank... these were a couple of my browner RCS from my 30gal. They ended up surviving and were eventually moved back to their old home. The tank's current residents are my three reddest adult females and a newly added colony of Sakuras I just received from Gordon Richards.

Here are some shots of the current setup- taken at the beginning of this week.




The parva has not done well... it had just started to settle in when I went and did my big rescape. As a result there has been a lot of melt. It also doesn't help that every time the nerite snail glides by he uproots the smaller plants. I just loaded the substrate with root tabs though so I am hoping that this helps.

Complete specs are as follows:

6.6 gallon Fluval Edge Aquarium

Lighting: 2x MR11 LED bulbs- I am planning on upgrading to the new Edge LED lightbar once it becomes available as a replacement part. I had toyed with the idea of building my own a few months ago, but now that I know this is an option I will just wait bide my time a bit longer. Anyway, I am not confident enough in my DIY skills to play around with electricity and water any more than I already do.

Filtration: Mini Aquaclear HOB that came stock with the tank. Stuffed with seasoned bio-media, Chemi-Pure and filter floss.

Heater: Hydor Mini crammed into the filter basket.

Substrate: Fluval Shrimp Stratum

Ferts: Light doses of the Seachem line maybe once a week.

Flora: Xmas moss, Mini Pellia, and Cryptocoryne parva.

Fauna: Red Sakura Cherry Shrimp and one Nerite for glass cleaning.

Parting Shot:
 
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#35 ·
also, I'm thinking of removing the crypts and replacing them with moss carpeting. Reason: while they are growing, they are growing slow and I feel that they will probably do much much better in my 30 gal.

Maybe I'll get some flame moss and put that in the back behind the rocks.

What do you all think?
 
#42 ·
Hi, Love your tank! I just set up one of the new Fluval edge 12 gal. tanks. Not overly happy with the LED lighting as it just does not seem enough for the depth of the tank, I am supplementing with a 26w CFL.

As far as plant choices to go with the moss I am using some different varities of Anubias to offset the flame moss and mini pellia along with some java fern and Ludwigia repens which I have been told are easy lower light plants.
 
#43 ·
BTW - Bought this light and a 10K bulb off eBay and could not be happier - looks like it was made for the edge and really suppliments the LED light - have not used the 50/50 bulb that came with it.

For $40 total it is exactly what I was looking for!

[Ebay Link Removed]
 
#45 ·
Thanks for the tip... but I'm not looking to upgrade my lights at the moment. Its in a pretty good balance right now and I think if I were to up the lighting then I would need to start injecting CO2 somehow. Anyway... since the main goal of this setup is to breed shrimp I want to avoid CO2 at this point and just focus on keeping this tank as clean and healthy as possible. :)
 
#49 ·
Update: 3/7/12

I know a few of you have been bugging me for an update and I do apologize for the delay - its been a busy first couple months for me this year and sometimes hobbies have to get pushed a little to the side ;)

So, without further adieu.... my update!

Pictures from 12-31-11

These were the 'before' shots that I took prior to the big rescape that I performed during the first week of January. As you can see, the moss is crazy overgrown....






Sadly, I failed to capture any 'after' shots following the rescape. I do however have photos that I took today and as you can see, some things have changed...

Pictures from 3-7-12



Notable changes:
  • C. parva was removed to my 30 gal where it continues to not really do any growing.
  • I added flame moss (which is super crazy and I love it) to the back corners to get some 'height'.
  • Many of the moss carpets ended up getting destroyed during my rescape- it turns out that you have to be super careful when trimming moss because it very easily pulls away from whatever it is attached to. This goes for rocks as much as it does nylon mesh. However, I do suspect that my moss carpeting fell apart as easily as it did because I used cotton thread to stitch it together. I think if I go back in and make new carpets I will try nylon thread and see if this helps make them more structurally sound.


Probably time for a trim again.


Side shot so you can appreciate how truly crazy flame moss is... also, how I've sloped my substrate.


Some idea of how much the moss has grown.
 
#50 ·
Some thoughts...



Kinda cool to see all the frontal shots together like this. I feel like I'm finally pulling this aquascape together - or at least I feel like I know exactly what to expect from each variety of moss; I am now confident of my palette.

And that is comforting, because I am beginning to suspect that sometime this summer I may be redoing this tank completely. This is largely because I am beginning to suspect that the petrified wood is raising the ph in the tank higher than I would ideally like it to be. The shrimp seem fine for the most part, but I have noticed that they do not seem to be breeding as prolifically as they did several months ago.

I am thinking that when I do eventually launch a total rescape of this tank I may do something along the lines of Tom Barr's Manzygumi. Not only am I thoroughly intrigued with the idea of taking the design concepts behind iwagumi and applying them to non-traditional material, but I also think that having a wood only hardscape in this tank would be beneficial to both the moss and the shrimp.
 
#54 ·
They are Sakura-grade Cherry Shrimp that I got from a member on this forum. I do find babies all the time and they breed for me quite readily although I have noticed that they seem to be less prolific than they once were. I culled some of the duller colored ones out tonight and sent them to colonize my 30 gallon, I'm hoping that the freed up space will entice the remaining shrimp to breed more.

EDIT: do you have fish in your tank with your shrimp? If so, that is probably why you are not finding any babies.
 
#55 ·
I do have fishes but I realize that all my shrimps are "berried" and are female. I got them all in the same place and the person only sells females due to their higher colour.

What do you dose for dry fertilizers? Did you run into any problems regarding Nitrates?

Thinking of upping mine to 40 ppm from 10 ppm.
 
#57 ·
I do have fishes but I realize that all my shrimps are "berried" and are female. I got them all in the same place and the person only sells females due to their higher colour.
If they are berried that must mean that you have at least one male in there knocking them all up.
What do you dose for dry fertilizers? Did you run into any problems regarding Nitrates?

Thinking of upping mine to 40 ppm from 10 ppm.
I don't dose ferts in this tank. I was dosing small amounts of Seachem ferts when I first set it up but it hasn't seem necessary lately so I stopped doing it. Moss appears not to care - one of the reasons I love it so much.

The different mosses add such a rich variety of textures to this tank. Gorgeous scape!
Thanks! I really love watching all the different varieties grow and develop, it really is a joy to have in my home :)
 
#58 ·
really nice its beautiful
 
#61 ·
If you go through the other earlier posts in this thread you can find a pretty thorough description of how I secure the moss in this tank.

When I rescape I lower the water a few inches but keep it deep enough that the filter can still run properly. This way, any dust or plant bits get sucked up into the filter. I also tend to work very slowly and gently so that the shrimp are not disturbed too much. :icon_bigg
 
#63 ·
I don't really know how many watts my MR11s are... but its my understanding that when it comes to LED lights wattage measurements are pretty useless. Take a look at the lighting forum for more info on this.

As for my nerites... they have no problem finding the airhole, in fact I've often found them making trips into the filter and up inside the hood :)
 
#64 ·
Update: 6/6/12

Some updates from the past few months....

3.23.11


I was ready to try and redo the moss carpet but I decided to do it a little different this time. Instead of laying down weighted nylon tulle I devised some moss plugs using plastic needlework mesh, glass beads and fishing line...




Mini-Pellia plugs. I also made some with Xmas moss and Flame Moss.


Mini-P plugs deployed.

4.12.12

Feeding Frenzy.

6.5.12


Some Growth Comparisons...

Mini-P Plugs. I had to move them off to the side because the outflow from the filter kept blowing the substrate out from under them.


Mini-P, Xmas, Fissidens and Flame Moss growth patterns over time.


PRETTY
 
#67 ·
Yes. Not as much as some rocks might but this tank does ride at about 7.2-7.6 which is considerably higher than my other tanks.

Straight from the tap my water is about 7.6 with about 2 degrees KH and an astronomical general hardness. Since my other tanks all have driftwood in them the ph drops down to anywhere from 6.8 all the way to 6.0 (I have A LOT of bogwood in one of them right now).

I use RO water in my breeding tanks as needed and I've tried using it in my Edge to bring the ph down but I've found that I can't get it to stay down for very long. It would seem then that the rocks are acting as a buffer and since the shrimp don't seem to mind the higher ph I've decided to let it be as I feel that its better the parameters be stable.

However, I do think that it has affected their reproductive rates (the shrimp in my Edge produce relatively fewer offspring than those in my breeders) so at some point this summer I am planning on pulling the tank apart and replacing the rocks with driftwood.
 
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