Over_Stocked's 29g Crypt of Death Updated 09-07-08 pics and questions!

[over_stocked]

So, I have decided to finally start a journal on my tank, as it is finally starting to look like something I would show someone. I'll try to add some older photos too.

This tank started in May 2007 as a growout for a baby oscar I rescued. After a month I found a suitable home for the oscar and started my planted fiasco.

I made more than enough mistakes:

• I had bamboo in my tank, leaves exposes, still rotted quickly.
• Started with diy co2, but found it fluctuated so much it wasn't worth it. Took old kegerator reg from college days and used it. Works great. No solenoid to date.
• I have a cheap DIY light fixture. They are 24" t-12 20w bulbs with no refle
  ctors. 80 watts. I have to upgrade these. It just isn't cutting it!
• I started with random plants from a now defunct LFS. The selection was dismal at best and the snail population was out of control!

I at one point have had: pool filter sand, shultz aquatic soil, espoma aquaitic soil, and now play sand mixed with gravel. I like this look the best, though I'm not sure my plants do!

Tanks specs:

• 29g
• 80w T-12 lighting
• Pressurized co2 with clippard needle valve(being replaced by swagelok in picture below)
• Play sand, with some root tabs
• EI dosing for 20-40g tank.
• 2 HOB filters(1 penguin, 1 AC50)
• 1 Koralia N
  ano, it helps with diffusing co2(done through glass diffuser)

Inhabitants:

• 2 firemouth cichlids. Likely to go away.
• 6 Buenos Aires Tetras
• 1 Bloodfin(leftover from 2nd incarnation of this tank.)
• 2 Otos
• 3 Marble Cories
• 1 Clown Pleco
• Some MTS, a few ramshorns(look for more! Got any!?!?!)
• And soon to be 4 Drarf Crays from Miliac

Plants(to the best of my knowledge)

• 2 Assorted Swords. 1 Is tiny, 1 is huge(just pruned back to pretty much nothing)
• 2 Variations of Vals
• Crypts:
• Cryptocoryne balansae x 2
• Cryptocoryne lutea x1
• Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Brown' x1
• Cryptocoryne retrospiralis x1
• Cryptocoryne mioya x1
• A few other Crypts I'm not positive on.
  
• Sunset
• I have 2 Anubius Golden(though they are in fair to poor shape)
• A bunch of java Fern, and a few marimo balls.
• I have a few unidentified plants as well, though I'm sure I'll get some input once I tank proper pictures with something other than my Blackberry(my wife decided to use the Nikon as a soccer ball).

More pics will follow. Waiting for them to upload. Sorry for the lack of depth. Not a lot you can do with a blackberry 8330!

Battles I'm fighting currently:
GSA, Diatoms--on everything, some plants don't seem to like play sand, starting to rot away.

Questions:

• How Do I fix GSA?
• What about the Diatoms? I'm using purigen now to try and help with them.
• How would you change the scape?
• I've had wood in it, but the wood pieces were less than spectacular. Would you add any wood?
• More or Less Rocks?

I also have a TON of anubius clippings growing emergent right now that will eventually make their way back into the tank.

Tips? Tricks? Critics? Questions? Fire away.

[chris127]

otos will solve your aglae issues

[prettyrustyrobot]

some manzanita on the left hand side, maybe?

i think it looks good otherwise, but definitely needs some more hardscape.

[over_stocked]

I have two otos in there and they haven't barely touched on it!

I've been looking for that "just right" piece of manzanita.

[confuted]

Quadruple the plant mass - maybe some tall stems planted in bunches in the back or a corner. Try some easy, fast growing stems.

[over_stocked]

There is a LOT more plant mass in there than the horrible pics give justice. The numbers of crypts is by the POT, not by actual plant.

[over_stocked]

I removed the moss/marimo balls which made this bigger rock pop a lot more!

Please realize that the nature of a the blackberry's camera flattens things out a LOT. Hopefully I can borrow the rent's Canon DSLR since my nikon is in pieces.



Here is the needle valve that was shipped to me today: IT is the Swagelok SS-SS2-D

It is a double needle metering valve. I'm very curious to see how it will perform.

I got a crazy good deal on it. Here are some specs/diagrams.

[over_stocked]

Well, one of my firemouths is gone. HE decided to off himself by digging out under the big white rock in the pic above. If found him pinned there.

Too bad really. I had found someone to take them off my hands.

[over_stocked]

Can anyone tell me how much CSM+B I should mix into 200ml of water so that I can dose it in my tank?

Using EI 20-40g, I have a bottle that has 1 drop = 1ml. Thus, I'd like to know how much I can mix in to dose it using ML rather than dry. I'd like it for the others I'm dosing too.

[over_stocked]

You wouldn't believe how this valve feels. It just feels incredible compared to the stupid clippard.

Now If I can find 1/8th OD tube to fit the one that they screwed up and sent me... Can't complain too much at the price it was...