Neoman's 20L Reborn- NEW Photos 10/26

[Neoman]

The tank you see in the first 2 pages of this thread is the same tank, about 2 years ago while I had it set up in chicago. I'm going to put a progression of FTS on this first post as I've seen it done before and it makes it a lot easier to follow along and see how the tank is progressing. Latest picture update on page 4















Most Recent:

[rrrrramos]

That't not Xmas Moss, it's Taiwan.
The tank looks better in person than it does in these pictures.

[rrrrramos]

When are you going to put those rocks in here? You should make the scape, and then arrange accordingly. Like I said earlier, I'm having a hard time deciding on which carpet plant you should use, because while the UG not only looks great but is growing amazingly, I REALLY like how the HM looks as a carpet in here. TBH it's really between those two, the HC just doesn't seem to go as well in here anymore...
I've got some pics from when it was growing emmersed if I get them off my phone I'll put them on here.

[rrrrramos]

Here we go, pictures from the dry start.

Limnophilia aromatica, HC, Taiwan moss, Needle leaf java fern and locally collected hairgrass:



HC


HM, Marsellia minuta, Ludwigia repens, Crypt wendetti


UG (I'm going to post some current pics so you can see how well this grew), HC, Dwarf Sag,



Closeup of the Limnophilia

[rrrrramos]

Alright, please bear with the fact that there is no scape to speak about whatsoever in here, I'm going to address that with the brosef most likely tomorrow. I took a few pictures today to show how well it is progressing. The amazing thing about all of this is how little maintenance is done to the tank. The Co2 is DIY through two 2L bottles, diffused via a Mini Elite. Ferts are dosed pretty much when remembered, and the light is on for varying times each day. Despite the HUGE algae outbreak this tank had for the first week or two after filling it, I'm really impressed with how everything is doing in here!

This is the part I'm most impressed with/jealous of. This is from exactly what was shown in the previous post. Just leftovers from when I planted my 5.4g.


Couldn't get a great shot of this, but this is the HM now. IIRC he started this from three or four stems that were salvaged from his old 20H:






I'm also really impressed that the Limno aromatica didn't melt at all after filling!

[Neoman]

Got my Co2 tank in! I'm gonna need it replaced though, its way out of date. valid for 05, so I think this is the last year ill be able to use it. Anybody know of somewhere that would replace one around my area?

Also put my 2 habrosus cories in the tank. I hope to get a small school of these.

I really don't know what to do with my scape. Things are just growing in , I'd like to have a carpet of the UG but the HC is spreading now, so im not sure if I should take it out. The HM is a little taller then I would like it to be for a foreground plant. I might leave it in there to fill in some areas in the back.
Anyone have any other plant recommendations, especially for that left side? I think I might move the limnophilia, and leave that side mostly just HC/HM/UG (whichever I plan to use)

[rrrrramos]

I'm surprised nobody has commented on this yet Max, I for one am proud of how we've got this tank to turn out with just scraps of plants.

[hydrophyte]

IT does look nice. Those are some cool plants in there.

[Neoman]

Not the best pictures, but hopefully better than before. I changed the scape around quite a bit, I'm hoping to make a somewhat symmetrical design, having both corners of the tank high with plants, gradually getting shorter as they come in towards the middle. I'm also pretty sure I'm going to be using the HC instead of the UG, it is spreading much faster and to be honest I just like the look of it better. I definately want to get rid of that l. aromatica, maybe replace it with more rotala, any other suggestions?

As far as the other empty space, I have no clue what to do :/

Cardinals, pictures are a little weird





Left Side, I like the slope



Right side, HC is growing really well



FTS, a little bright, exposure setting were hard to work with.

[justin182]

Very good start so far~!!!!

I've heard 5-6 is a good number for cories... definitely more is always better for schooling fish, when not restricted by tank size~

They might be too active and uproot your HC, though...

[hbosman]

It's coming along well. Is the light a Nova Extreme T5HO? How many bulbs?

[Neoman]

No, its not the nova extreme t5HO. To be honest, I don't even know what it is. I bought it from someone on craigslist and it doesn't even have a label. It can hold 2 65 watt bulbs, right now I've got one in. Gonna need to replace it soon though, I've had it for a while.

Im still confused as to what to do with the right side of the tank. I kind of want to make it somewhat symmetrical, but i don't know if I should put more rotala there, or a different plant.

[justin182]

You can try using symmetry and see if you like it.

I have always found asymmetry being the favor and it does look nicer and a lot more natural. There are a lot of good tanks here in the Journal and you could also visit this ADA site. Very good looking aquascapes!!!!!!

Good job with your tank so far! Keep it up!

[Neoman]

I went with the asymmetrical route. Added some driftwood and rocks, I'm reallly liking the way it looks! I cant wait till it clears up, and I can take some photos with the DSLR.

On a side note, I also added two sparkling gouramis yesterday. Interesting little fish, but I wish the smaller one would come out more.

[rrrrramos]

Post the new pics of the tank up with the rock and everything like you sent me, I wanna see how it looks with a better quality pic than a camphone pic. The HC looked like it was exploding and the UG looked great. Do it. Do it. Do it.