*Out of Service* Finnex 4 journal

[jahmic]

Tank looks great. Can't wait to see it once the moss wall fills in.

Can I ask where you found that LED fixture? I've been looking for something similar for my tank.

[demonr6]

eBay, I will PM you the link and the stand is a DIY made from IKEA parts.

Originally Posted by jahmic

Tank looks great. Can't wait to see it once the moss wall fills in.

Can I ask where you found that LED fixture? I've been looking for something similar for my tank.

[demonr6]

Some random pics I took this morning with the new LED in place. I was noticing the difference over the last couple of weeks. I started dosing with Pfertz medium tech a little over a week ago.

The pigmy chain is shooting new growth all over the place. The plant in the middle which I still cannot ID is really shooting up since the Pfertz dosing. You can see the new growth on that in the lighter color.

The CPD's are still active an happy as you can see. I also alleviated the surface scum issue by moving the outlet pipe near the water surface allowing more agitation. Moss wall is peeking out in a few places, not super fast growth but better than none or worse having it die on me.

[jimko]

Everything is looking healthy and green! If you want a nice carpet plant give HC a try in the foreground. It grows shorter and denser than HM. Keep the HM where it is, it's a good mid ground plant and it's filling nicely.

Moving the middle stem plant to the back left or right might balance out your scape a little. I have some java trident you can tie to the wood.

I haven't tried miracle grow so I'll be keeping a close eye on your progress!

[demonr6]

That middle stem I added a week prior to that pic and it absolutely took off more than I anticipated. This morning I had to trim back the pigmy chain sword because it had sprouted five plantlets that were along the front and beginning to move into the area where the dwarf baby tears are. That will need a trim soon too because that is turning into a forest. LOL

I have some small branches of Manzanita that I just got, I may tie off some excess moss I have and add that to break up that right corner maybe? I can always try it and remove it if it does not work.

[Lisa816]

Great job!!! This looks really nice. I love seeing the pictures of your progress and reading your journal notes. I'd like to find out about the led light too. Do you have a lid on the tank yet, or are you still planning to diy one?

[demonr6]

I completely forgot to post these pics. I took them yesterday and uploaded them last night.

There is a new piece of Manzanita I loaded with moss on the right rear about 2 inches from the right corner. I threw in a couple of stems of Pennywort as well, had them laying around so in they went. The forestation continues. I am going to let the dwarf baby tears grow in a little more then I am going to trim the tops. The same goes with the plant in the middle, I can use those clippings somewhere else.

The LED is doing well I think. I run it on the same schedule the other fixture was on. Unfortunately I cannot use the timer I have because I used a three prong grounded plug. I have to find a timer that will allow me to use this plug, till then it is manual for nine hours. The brown diatom outbreak from last week seems to be contained for now.

CPD's are still doing great, the two ghost shrimp are still alive. The stupid ramshorn snails that hitched a ride on one of the plants decided to reproduce, I found egg sacs on the moss wall. They were eradicated once I had clarification from someone as to what those things were. Now I have to catch the remaining two horny snails and make sure this nonsense stops now.

I think this next week I will be moving on adding some real shrimp into the tank.

[Ben.]

Why don't you plug the three pronged into an extension cord or a strip then into a timer?

[Karackle]

I bought a 3-prong ready mechanical timer for about $10 at either home depot or lowes I think

Also, I love this little tank! I love your choice of plants with small leaves to compliment the small size of the tank, if I didn't know it was tiny, I would think it was much bigger! (well in the close-ups anyway, I suppose the blinds would ruin the illusion in the farther away shots )

[demonr6]

I found a 3-prong timer at Lowe's today so the light will finally be on a timer.

[Karackle]

Originally Posted by demonr6

I found a 3-prong timer at Lowe's today so the light will finally be on a timer.

Excellent! Timers make life so much easier

[demonr6]

Agreed, finding the right one was my issue. LOL I did not plan on a 3-prong. I don't think a single timer in my house is a 3-prong. This is for that DIY LED and it required (or at least the instructions I followed) a 3-prong. By the way that LED is amazing. The plants are going nuts and I am going to have to trim soon. I will get a pic tonight and update.

[Couesfanatic]

Who made your drop checker?, looks nice.

[Karackle]

The plants like the LEDs huh? That's good to know. I've been looking for a desk light to use on my 5g to get a better spread of light than I have now, but I was only looking at fixtures I can put a CFL into, there are some nice LED desk lamps too though, maybe I'll try one of those instead.

[orchidman]

who did you get the lily pipes from?