GLA 6g Rimless 36-L - My First Iwagumi Inspired Scape Journal

[andrewss]

ya the flame moss is a great effect on your driftwood arrangement

[chou]

awesome lookin' tank!

[Brian_Cali77]

Thanks Andrewss and Chou!!!

Update: 11/17/12 - The Red Rili Shrimp have arrived!

Well I went away for a few days and when I arrived home with a bag of 10 juvie Red Rili Shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda var. Rili) my tank was out of whack again! Hair algae had grown super long, my HC had some hair algae, GSA on the glass here and there, and some of my Staurogyne Repens looked to be melting.... So as I was slowly acclimating my shrimp in a bowl, I went to work on my tank. I manually removed all the algae I could and spot treated with H2O2 what little was left. I then did a 50% PWC with RO water and dosed my ferts accordingly.

Here's my little work area and the shrimp acclimating... I feel like some sort of an aquatic surgeon with all my tools ...LOL


Some close-ups of the shrimp after introducing them to the tank:




I also ordered an el cheapo Glass Drop Checker from ebay for $10 shipped. I was worried it was going to look super cheap with thin glass... but to my surprise, it's pretty nice considering the price. :brows:


And my normal compliment of pics of my tank in its current state from various angles (sorry I'm a very visual person... so my posts and threads are usually picture heavy)... Couple of notes: My HC looks to be bouncing back now that I've implemented the PPS-Pro dosing method. It still has some spots that were damaged from prior. But hopefully if all goes well, my HC will fill in those areas with new growth. Lastly, I'm pretty happy with how my Pogostemon Erectus grew in the right. They're pretty tall now and provide some concealment with the equipment in the back.



I need to trim the Ludwigia sp. Red. I "might" be getting a new 36g bow front tank so I'm letting some stems grow long so that I can use them in the new setup.




Thanks for reading

[bitFUUL]

So what's been going on with the tank?

[Brian_Cali77]

Hey bitFUUL... Well since you ask, might as well do an update

UPDATE... 12/15/12

My tank is a mess right now IMO... I managed to clear out and control some Hair Algae I was experiencing, only to make way for a new and more resilient algae! This stuff is much harder to remove than the hair algae was...I think the algae that I have is Spirogyra Algae.

Here are some pics... please let me know if I'm correct and if you guys have dealt with it effectively. I need some advice and to formulate a plan of attack!!! It's going to be my next battle!

Pics:



On another note... my Flame Moss is growing out of control. I'm going to have to trim it down and remove some. It's practically shading a lot of my plants below and as a result, I have some bare spots. My Ludwigia sp. Red's leaves all fell off the bottom part of the stems. It's just not looking as nice as it was. I'd like to start selling some Flame Moss... what's the best way to remove the stuff and sell them? I'm thinking of getting some mesh and cutting them in to 2x2 squares.. Have them grown on there a bit and sell them off that way... Anyone have experience with that?

FTS...


I also removed the Pogostemon Erectus in the back right. I'm planning on the getting the lily pipes soon so I won't be needing its services in concealing the equipment... Now my tank is looking pretty bad IMO.

On the bright side... I managed to FINALLY score a crown (with a side shoot forming) of Pogostemon Helferi (Downoi)... Hopefully this plant does well for me and fills in that area



Please let me know about the algae problem and how to sell moss (or the best way to section pieces off).... Thanks for reading

[AUvet14]

Yup. that's what it looks like. Very difficult to get rid of. I just rid my tank of this. You need to quarantine your shrimp. API AlgaeFix will kill this but it will also kill your shirmp. I quarantined mine in an unused 10 gallon with only a heater, Aquaclear filter, and a piece of wood and a few of the old plastic plant decorations I had. It's pretty effective against spirogyra and doesn't require a ton of labor.

[MABJ]

Originally Posted by AUvet14

Yup. that's what it looks like. Very difficult to get rid of. I just rid my tank of this. You need to quarantine your shrimp. API AlgaeFix will kill this but it will also kill your shirmp. I quarantined mine in an unused 10 gallon with only a heater, Aquaclear filter, and a piece of wood and a few of the old plastic plant decorations I had. It's pretty effective against spirogyra and doesn't require a ton of labor.

Thanks for this note. Ever since I got a batch of plants with this spore on it, I've been fighting it little by little. It gets in every tank because I seed my tanks using filter media from the previous tank.


MABJ's iDevice used for this message :p

[AUvet14]

Originally Posted by MABJ

Thanks for this note. Ever since I got a batch of plants with this spore on it, I've been fighting it little by little. It gets in every tank because I seed my tanks using filter media from the previous tank.


MABJ's iDevice used for this message :p

No problem. It's a major pain in the butt. Tom Barr recommended AlgaeFix after my initial attempt at eradication failed.

[Brian_Cali77]

Is the AlgaeFix safe for the moss too? I'd hate to lose such nice and healthy flame moss.

[AUvet14]

Originally Posted by Brian_Cali77

Is the AlgaeFix safe for the moss too? I'd hate to lose such nice and healthy flame moss.

Yeah. It's safe for the moss. It didn't affect my fissidens at all. Here's a thread you can read up on about algaefix and moss: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=197452

I read through that to make sure it was safe before I used it. It killed the algae but didn't have any noticeable effect on any of the plants or the fish. According to Tom Barr's experience, it will kill inverts, so it's best to try to remove them for the duration of treatment.

Excel, on the other hand will kill at least some mosses. I know it nearly wiped out my fissidens a few months ago.

[AUvet14]

Btw, I love all the pics. I'm a very visual person as well so my journal threads tend to include a bunch of pics too. Glad I'm not the only one. Lol. I don't like reading comments and discussion on something I can't see. Pics are always helpful, at least IMO.

[Brian_Cali77]

Update - It's been about 4 months since planted!

Well... I managed to get the algae under control for the most part. There's still some left but not much. I didn't resort to chemical warfare... I just did some good old fashion scrubbing and adjustments to photoperiod / co2 levels, etc. The FLAME MOSS has pretty much taken over this tank. I've been tempted to trim it back down but it looks so healthy and I know a bunch of folks might need some (got a list already going), so I figured I'd let it grow out some more.

Secondly, I finally placed an order for the glass lily pipes! I'll finally get this tank looking the way I want to soon. Now I'm just waiting for this Rili Shrimp to breed already so I can get some CPD's in here!

Here's some pics in its current state... Forget calling this tank anything else other than a "FLAME MOSS TANK" ....LOL :blink:







Wow... and to think the Flame Moss started as this not too far back!!!

[/QUOTE]

[Brian_Cali77]

Oh... AND FINALLY, got my Cal Aqua Fluxus 13mm Lily Pipes





Went to the hardware store today for some 1/2 ID (5/8" OD) clear vinyl tubing to fit the Fluval 106 and these 13mm lily pipes... After install comes some serious manicuring of my scape... Let the labor of love begin!

[Brian_Cali77]

UPDATE (PICTURE HEAVY POST... you've been warned! LOL) -
CAL AQUA Fluxus Lily Pipes - 13mm / INSTALLED!

FINALLY.... I got my Lily Pipes and got them installed. :brows: Sorry in advance for the LOOOONG post. I feel that I reached a milestone in this build and it deserves a little extra of everything (words/pics)..

(Feel free to skip this section below about my rationale in equipment selection if you just want THE PICS)

Extra FLUFF starts here...
So after some searching around online, asking questions, I got the right clear tubing and the right lily pipes to fit the GLA 36-L with my Fluval 106. This was sort of a tough one so I hope that it will serve to help others who might follow the same path as I did.

What I found in my research prior to entering the rimless ADA-like arena of planted tanks, is that most hobbyist tend to go with the Eheim Classic Canister line as their main choice of filtration to follow the Mr. Takashi Amano tradition. Although Eheims are tried-and-true and work great (from the reviews I read), I wasn't too pleased with its, (IMO) to put it so lightly, antiquated design (hence the "classic" in classic canister)... First of all, there's no flow control and if you wanted to throttle the flow rate down, you had to put a spray bar or close up the quick-disconnects a bit - but the latter could harm the motor and shorten the lifespan. This could be problematic in a nano tank depending on what you're trying to house in there, like a Betta who wouldn't appreciate a strong current for instance. Further, there's no self-priming feature and all the media is stacked and not separated which can make it cumbersome to access. Yes I know, some can argue that it's a great feature because there would be little bypass of the media. But to me, the cons outweigh the pros and I was looking for more. Well, I get everything I wanted in my criteria and more from the Fluval 106 and I'm happy with my selection.

I've only had the Fluval 106 for about 5 1/2 months now, but I love it! The 106 is super quiet (even so it's in the open under my office desk), has flow control, has an modular design for easy access to media for customization, and a self priming handle... and to top it off, it comes competitively priced (lower than most Eheim models). So when I wanted to add the lily pipes, the problem is, since this isn't the most "popular" option for ADA-style tanks (partly because it's newer and the whole culture behind having to have "ADA this and Eheim that," there's little info floating around) it was hard to find the right sized Clear Vinyl Tubing to fit the Aqua-stops on the 106 and to fit the 13mm lily pipes. Well perhaps that trend will change (or not) but this is for those who are looking to implement the 106 with 13mm lily pipes as I did.

Extra FLUFF Ends here...

• I got 10' of Clear Vinyl Tubing (1/2" ID & 5/8" OD) at Home Depot for less than $5.

Let me tell you, it was SUPER Tough to get it on the Aqua Stops of the Fluval 106. I had to run HOT water on them and really force them on there.. But sure enough, they fit and form a tight seal! I performed the same steps when attaching them to the lily pipes with little effort.


Now for the Picture Heavy part...

Note: First 4 pics are taken with my GS2 phone. With the exception of cropping/resize, there's very little if any post-photo alterations. The pictures below the first 4 are taken with a DSLR with a custom white-balance setting. Again, no post-photo alterations other than resize & cropping.









DSLR pics (experimenting since I'm new to photography)....







Thanks for stopping by everyone!

[AUvet14]

Dang dude! Looking nice. Looks like you need to hack back that flame moss. I just got my HC planted in mine and I'm gonna dry start it for maybe 2-3 weeks, depending on how quickly it roots, before I flood it. It looks like you got the algae issues under control. That's nice to hear