Danakin's 10g Dealeo

[danakin]

Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4cTy...eature=related

Not my video, but the concept is the same. Bubbles keep getting shot downward with the current, but don't escape unless they get dissolved.

[sewingalot]

Wow, ugly co2 reactor is super. Those plants look mega healthy. I like the black substrate. Great progress.

[danakin]

So, I got a pair of bettas. Say hello to Caboose:



There's a lady there as well.


For some reason, they love hanging out in this lil bushy rotala here:


Ratty roots:


Top shot:


FTS (dusty and streaky)


Stand I've been working on:


Gotta have a light in there:


Note on building a stand: don't buy cheap 2xs unless you want it not to be square. Nothing seemed to line up right in the end, but i got it leveled on top, and stable all around. Some corner molding should hide the evidence...

To do on the stand:
-Put a door on (that'll be a treat...)
-Put corner molding on
-Paint hammered black
-Seal
-Put layer of foamboard on top

HC is filling in, some parts yellowing out, but for the most it looks alright.

[ZooTycoonMaster]

Are you sure the Bettas won't fight?

[danakin]

He chases her around a decent amount, but no fin nipping or truly aggressive behavior. If I put another male in there, that's probably a different story...

[imeridian]

Awesome betta!

[danakin]

Update sans pictures:

L Repens is growing pretty fast. Got a nice forest going. The rotala mini in the front right corner is a dense, large bush now, the kind I would like to think shrimp would love to play in...
HC is growing. Started to get a bit bushy, trimmed it down and its spreading again like it should.

Not sure what the plant on the left is (tall green narrow leaf one). Regardless, it's apparently acclimated to the water conditions and is now taking off.

The nessea isnt necessarily growing, but its not dying. Some little new leaves here and there that just stack up. It's a nice contrast between the red ludwigia and the green HC/rotala

[danakin]

Who knew the stand would turn out like this:


I was about to just use it as a tool cabinet, but the corner moulding helped. Painting it Saturday, as well as painting the back of the tank (FINALLY...)

Tank just got rejiggered. Cloudy, dusty pic!


Letting things grow out again. That plant on the left (narrow green leaves, stargrass or a rotala? I can't tell) grows like mad. I threw out about half of it today. Same with the ludwigia (duh). The rotala mini bush is also pretty painfree (other than pulling it to move it to its new position).

[demosthenes]

hey, the tank looks great so far! here are a couple of things i think you could work on though-

first of all, a male and female betta will eventually kill each other. At first they will be nice and try to mate or whatever it is bettas do (bubblenest... breeding them is a huge PITA), but after a little while, they will end up killing each other. You have to separate them at some point, they can't live together in the long term.

second, your 'rotala mini' i'm pretty sure is just HM. that is, if you mean the bush in the front right corner before, and now in the middle-background. Definitely HM (hemianthus micranthemoides, same genus as HC). It won't make a great background plant, but if you trim and replant, it can grow a REALLY thick, awesome looking bush. Amano uses it like that a lot. I think if you kept it fairly short in the middle and started to bring the trimmings up more and into the center of the tank and to the sides a little (so like, a little bit in front of the other plants), but still kept it short, it would look really good.

Also, the plant on the left is definitely stargrass. And, i've had similar a nesaea to yours, and they barely grow. you should just trim off the bottom part and plant the tops, because it won't fill itself in. Nesaeas are generally kind of a pain, they are really difficult to grow submersed.

Oh, and the HC looks great! mine is just starting to fill in a little bit, yours looks great though! If you want to keep it from turning yellow like that though, then you should probably upgrade your lighting. I used to have exactly what you have, but i upgraded to a 36W compact florescent, and it was the most worthwhile money i have ever spent on my 10g. i love it! its so much nicer than the old 2x15W incandescent fixture.

you are very well on your way to a beautiful tank though, i love the general feel of it, it looks really clean and natural.

[danakin]

My plan on the HM (thanks for the ID) is actually a midground plant. Behind it are some trimmed stems of rotala that are hiding that will come up and be a decent background plant. The HM is more there as a transition from the lowlying HC to the taller background.

The nesaea drives me nuts. I'm going to throw it in an emersed setup soon, and if it dies it dies.

The HC isn't too yellow really. Right now it has a fine dusting on it that's discoloring the shot. I upped the CO2 in the tank from the previous update with pictures and the HC greened up FAST.

After I get the stand to 100% complete this weekend, my next project is the hood. Although...work is about to get very interesting...so that simple project might take me until July to finish.

Any other thoughts from you fine, schmexy PT folks?

[danakin]

Got some "Scre you, I'm bloody orange!" guppies, wife now has the bettas. Stand needs a bit more paint before I move it over.

[Dollface]

the proper term is F YEAH I'M ORANGE, or FYIO for short.

[Aquamadman]

I got that Rotala Sp. mini too ! What is your experience with it and for how long is it in already? Im very curious since I got mine about a month ago and the top leaves are steadily melting with new growth from below.

[danakin]

The rotala mini, due to my ineptitude with plant id , is actually HM. And it grows great.

Dollface, these are slightly different from the FYIOs, they're not as cocky about it, but more angry about it and taking it out on others :-) The grafitti guppies from my wife's tank are also in there with them, after the first batch of fry I'll start selecting them for breeding.

[danakin]

Photo update finally:


Been negligent with the DIY CO2, things have been a bit duller since then. First paycheck from the new job goes towards a full setup (after paying my bills and throwing a chunk in to savings of course).

Added one lil jungle val, all by it's lonely, but I know it'll dominate if I let it. Also added some nana, which I think does something for the tank.

Moved the entire thing on to the new stand. Found out we have some baby guppies (no difficult task, but I'm happy regardless. If you can't get guppies to breed, you probably need to pick a new hobby).

HC or hairgrass? I kinda want to go back to the hairgrass, it roots in so much easier HC adds an area of open water though, and doesn't tend to accumulate so much algae.