[ipkiss]

2017-10b

So, as I'm waiting for my next light, I resign myself to just keeping the tank stable. A trim here, a nip there. Some slight reorganization to spread the color plants out. Trying to play up the contrasting colors a little bit.

2017-11

November finds me admiring @Triport 's tank and the cold glint of stainless steel inflows and outflows. I believe he has since changed his mind about them, but I haven't tried mine yet. I realized there were a ton of these that were probably made by the same factory and labeled under different brands. I got the one named 'Mufan'. Apparently not 316 stainless, but I'm not about to try to afford those. Here's the box and this is how they come packed. I hadn't mounted them yet because there's two problems for me.

1. The size of the plastic holders are not wide enough for a plastic rimmed tank. 20mm is necessary for that.

I knew this going in so I had some alternate ones on order.

2. The direction of the outflow would require me to hang it on the left side of the tank instead of the back as it is now. That left a bad impression on me. I also knew this going in, but I didn't want to order another outflow facing the direction I want because I'd have to buy another set. Apparently, even after my extensive search, the application that I desired is not addressed. I wanted a skimmer AND rotated outflow. Well, maybe there was one made of 316 stainless, but go back to earlier comment. I didn't want to 'afford' that one.

So, I over researched on how to cut stainless pipe. At the end of the day, my jigsaw, some files, and a couple of clamps did the job:

A quick snip of 5/8" ID tubing and some hot water and I've got what I wanted.

 

[agrasyuk]

hi ipkiss, beautiful tank, really enjoyed your story.

 

[ipkiss]

2017-12

So after parting with the Beamswork, a multitude of mental calculations led me back to the Current-USA fold. As someone mentioned on this site before, they have some pretty good sales on refurbished units on fleabay. So I sucked it up and shelled out for a refurbished "A" 24" Current Satellite Plus Pro. One of the reasons I chose this was that I can tap into my existing iAqua Lite Controller as I discovered the relevant IR codes used for the lighting cycle are the exact same as the ones for the Ecoxotic. This bodes well for not having to add unnecessary wiring. FYI, the IR codes between the Ecoxotic and the Plus Pro are roughly 90% alike. There's a few side buttons/functions that don't match up, but the important ones like M1, M2, Daylight, Moonlight, RGBW up and down, Power, etc do. This only applies to the Plus PRO, NOT the regular Satellite Plus. So why didn't I get another Ecoxotic and call it a day? Well, they don't make them anymore, and the Plus Pro has more color LEDs (9 vs 4) to help with color rendition. Thought about going with a refurbished B unit, but according to their own description, the B units have more hours burnt into them. LEDs last long, but I swear my Ecoxotic feels a little dimmer than when I first bought it. When the package arrived, the box was a little beat up but the unit itself was pretty pristine.

The white LEDs on the Plus Pro are definitely warmer than the Ecoxotic. I'm sort of happy about that. It's also brighter, but I'm just going to attribute that to age on the Ecoxotic. The color RGB LEDs feel a little colder so it makes for interesting colors being thrown between the two throughout the lighting cycle. The net result is a much brighter tank with a better spread. I tweaked the lighting cycle for the whites to 2 hours at max down from 2.5 just to head off a possible algae bloom. The other 5.5 is spent at an average of 25%. .. because it's almost always too much light -- until it isn't :wink2: Red plants, here we come!

 

[ipkiss]

2017-12b

Unknown crypt is getting pretty big. Might be due for a trim soon. That extra light is kicking stuff into a higher gear. Not too visible here, but the rotala macrandra is responding somewhat favorably. Just trying to fill the tank now. Realized things were a bit .. sparse.

2018-01

Did a small trim of the macrandra to tighten the look a little. Letting the others get a little taller before splitting and planting.

 

[The Dude1]

Tank looks much better with the plants filling in more. If you trim the lobelia cardinalis heavily it will really fill in and cluster nicely. It looks even better when you top them and just replant the tops.

 

[ipkiss]

Tank looks much better with the plants filling in more. If you trim the lobelia cardinalis heavily it will really fill in and cluster nicely. It looks even better when you top them and just replant the tops.

Good advice! I was thinking of resplitting them and putting the bottoms to the left between the java fern and the red ludwigia just to fill in the gap there. The hydrocotyle was supposed to do that but for some reason they have a mind of their own once they got there. Just wasn’t being obedient like it was everywhere else. Haven’t found what I want to add to the tank yet so the loebelia has to do double duty. It’s a shame that I threw away a lot of it before. Good thing it’s one of my more easy plants to grow so I can farm up some more and use them for fillers.

 

[ipkiss]

2018-01b equipment updates

Man, just as I was enjoying my new light, one of the RGB leds started acting weird. When cold, it would light up properly, but when it gets hot, it seems like the RED channel would drop off. @Current USA stood by their product and sent me a new unit after some troubleshooting. Here's a shout-out and thanks to them.

In other news, I got an algae scraper off AliExpress (the new fleabay) that I'm pretty happy with:

"Magnesium Alloy" eh? Well, I don't know about that part, but the rod is a firm all black piece of metal that lets me apply good pressure to it. It's plenty long and I don't even need the short extension piece to get to the bottom of my 20G high without barely getting my hands wet. I suspect with everything attached, it should reach the bottom of a 45G. The head is plastic, and you unscrew the back plating to attach a razor blade, but I like my credit cards so I rigged a piece of plastic card back into it.

Glass so clear that all these vain fish can admire themselves in.

 

[ipkiss]

2018-01c Fish Shots

Still lingering in January updates. For today, I have some fishy shots. I never seem to give them attention. Truly a planted tanker I am. Plants first. Fish second. Sorry fishy lovers

These are the only fauna that matter that are currently active in the tank:

Cardinals

Glowlight Tetras (excuse the algae on glass. serves me right for not cleaning it first )

And my Siamese Algae Eater ( still occasionally faithful to it's purpose of sucking on surfaces, but clearly has no taste for aforementioned algae on glass )

 

[JJ09]

Funny, I use sample credit cards to scrape the glass, too

 

[ipkiss]

Funny, I use sample credit cards to scrape the glass, too

Pshaw. That's no sample. That card was real! You've clearly not tried a real card. They work way better.



:hihi:

Naw, but really, what IS better is this simple rod/extension. Due to my fat hands, I was uprooting all sorts of stuff every time I went to the bottom with my cards. This contraption allows me to get to everything with minimal uproots.

 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hi @ipkiss,

A suggestion if you would like to see some healthier plant growth in your tank; start adding some Seachem Equilbrium to your tank. I suggest an initial dose of 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons. Thereafter when doing a water change add 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of new water added.

 

[ipkiss]

Hey @Seattle_Aquarist

Thanks for the advice! I currently use some sort of GH booster I made from 3:1 CaSO4 and MgSO4. Admittedly, I've dosed it pretty haphazardly (meaning quantity wise) per biweekly water change. I've toyed with adding it weekly (once in between the water changes) but I didn't stick with it. I shall break out my GH test kit and reconsider that upon your advice. Equilibrium does have some other cool stuff in it, but I have such big bags of magnesium and calcium left

 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hey @Seattle_Aquarist

Thanks for the advice! I currently use some sort of GH booster I made from 3:1 CaSO4 and MgSO4. Admittedly, I've dosed it pretty haphazardly (meaning quantity wise) per biweekly water change. I've toyed with adding it weekly (once in between the water changes) but I didn't stick with it. I shall break out my GH test kit and reconsider that upon your advice. Equilibrium does have some other cool stuff in it, but I have such big bags of magnesium and calcium left

Hi ipkiss,

Your DIY booster should do the trick just fine. If you dose 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons as an initial dose it should provide 17.9 ppm of Ca and 4.1 ppm of Mg and will increase your dGH by about 3.5 dGH. Thereafter when you do a water change dose 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of new water added.

Is there a water softener being used in your home?

 

[ipkiss]

Hi ipkiss,

Your DIY booster should do the trick just fine. If you dose 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons as an initial dose it should provide 17.9 ppm of Ca and 4.1 ppm of Mg and will increase your dGH by about 3.5 dGH. Thereafter when you do a water change dose 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of new water added.

Is there a water softener being used in your home?

No water softener. Any irregularities in GH are from the tap or my irregular dosing -- or maybe sucked up by a piece of driftwood that is hidden deep within the tank. Man, I was just using 1/4-1/2 teaspoon for 20G. I will rectify. Thanks so much for piping up!

 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

No water softener. Any irregularities in GH are from the tap or my irregular dosing -- or maybe sucked up by a piece of driftwood that is hidden deep within the tank. Man, I was just using 1/4-1/2 teaspoon for 20G. I will rectify. Thanks so much for piping up!

Hi ipkiss,

Keep us posted as things progress!

-Roy

 

[Phil Edwards]

Seconding Roy's recommendation.

And for the record, no, it didn't put me to sleep and I read the whole thing.

 

[ipkiss]

2018-01d finally, a tank shot

For today, I have a final belated January update.

Re-org'ed a few things. Like @The Dude1 pointed out, those loebelia cardinalis were just getting overbearing again so I moved them to backfill the left side gap between the java fern and the red ludwigia. Cleared up some ground for another try at some sort of carpeting plant. I was preparing to pick up something hopefully at the Gold Coast Aquarium Society 2018 expo. If I can't pick out all those silly blue gravel pieces (don't ask, old mistake), then I'll cover them! Didn't like the "shape" of the December tank when I stood back, so I'm still playing around with it. I've pushed the "accelerator" down a little and the hairgrass is responding. Perhaps, more so that I'm now also consistently trimming them to stimulate them to send out runners as well.

That "dwarf sag" on the left which I'm learning is probably more a jungle vallisneria is spreading over the surface. I used to trim it hard, but it seems okay this way too. Especially after someone was disappointed the last time I cut it back. It's also disrupting the return surface flow a bit to allow some random floaters to hang on to existence. Time will tell if I leave it this way. Along with the java fern, this plant is just doing too good for me to eliminate.

I had some java fern 'windelov' hiding in the back right. I tried to tell myself it was for 'negative space' but in reality, I just didn't know what to do with it. It also falls into the above category of growing too well to rid. Yes, yes, I know... I'm a certified hoarder. So now I brought it to the left front to sort of fill the gap between the hydrocotyle and the regular java fern. This way, it looks a little cramped, but you don't see any java fern rhizomes. Maybe someday, I'll get some alternanthera reineckii to try again to break up that mass of green.

If you're reading this in sequence, this is still pre sage advice from Phil and Roy about GH Booster a few posts previous so please excuse the sad plant growth. I apologize for backfilling my journal and leading to this sort of confusing out of sequence of events.

 

[The Dude1]

I really like what you did with the windolev and the lobelia cardinalis. It's difficult to pull of that cohesive look, but you did it.

 

[Phil Edwards]

Regarding your Hydrocotyle. I know it's a total PITA, but when you replant, do individual plants or tiny groups of two or three at a time. That'll encourage flatter growth and spreading. This method's worked well for me since the days of Glossostigma.

Bump: I just thought of something. You're in Florida. What's your GH and KH out of the tap?

 

[ipkiss]

I really like what you did with the windolev and the lobelia cardinalis. It's difficult to pull of that cohesive look, but you did it.

Yea, thanks, my hoarding forces me to think about it a lot. It also helped that I started visiting more people's journals and slowly I'm able to visualize what looks decent or not. Now if I can just break it up with some red. But first I have to keep my plants alive and healthy!

Regarding your Hydrocotyle. I know it's a total PITA, but when you replant, do individual plants or tiny groups of two or three at a time. That'll encourage flatter growth and spreading. This method's worked well for me since the days of Glossostigma.

Bump: I just thought of something. You're in Florida. What's your GH and KH out of the tap?

Huh, so no shortcut to decent looking plants I'm hearing. I guess I'll have to tear them up and redo it. They HAVE been getting a little ratty of late and I just sort of push them back upon themselves and keep hoping for the best. As for GH and KH, I've been meaning to test it since your advice yesterday, but didn't get around to it last night. Will try to do it tonight or at least this weekend for sure. It's water change weekend!