[Danimals]

Found some CRS at my LFS today while I was browsing for some driftwood to put into my Ebi and I couldn't resist. My tank's been pretty much sitting around doing nothing but housing two guppies while I was saving up for/planning my tank but after seeing the lil guys I caved and picked up 3.

I've been lurking the forums for a couple of weeks now and read all the tutorials and I have a rough idea on how to scape my tank but I'm constantly changing it up and can't seem to get settled into any set position for my wood/plants.

In the end what I'm trying to accomplish is a piece of driftwood with moss covering it and a carpet of Dwarf Baby Tears surrounding the immediate vicinity and then some sort of leafy plants and maybe a single rock on the other side, possibly a Dwarf Hairgrass carpet on the rest of the tank?

This is a pic of what I have so far...

Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[somewhatshocked]

Troll your LFS and find a nice, large rock - maybe something large enough that you could add a bit more of your substrate and create a bit of a slope going up behind it. It'll look nice with your existing driftwood.

If you want to grow HC and such, you'll need higher light. I'd snatch up 1-2 more of those Fluval clip lights from Amazon if I were you.

Plans for CO2? DIY yeast bottles would work well for a tank that size if you want to save cash.

 

[Danimals]

2-3 extra lights?! I don't even think I'd have room for them hahaha, are there any other alternatives to hanging a light off each edge of my tank? I'm actually pming one of the other forum members about buying one of his DIY kits...but wouldn't the C02 adversely affect the water too much for CRS?

 

[Danimals]

Also, do you have any tips for me when I wanna start sloping my substrate without kicking up an epic brown cloud in my tank?

 

[somewhatshocked]

1-2 more, as I said. That'd bring your total to 2-3. What you have is 13 Watts and delivers light that's far too low for you to adequately grow HC. You'll also need CO2 and ferts to grow it well.

You'll want to read up on CO2 and shrimp (check the Shrimp section and/or use the search function on the forum) to make the decision yourself but most folks keep shrimp happily in high-tech tanks. I've got multiple tanks with shrimp in every one and have never had a problem with CO2.

Do you mean a paintball or standard CO2 system? When I said DIY yeast, I meant a system that you create yourself with a 2-litre bottle. DIY is a great method to try before taking the leap to paintball or standard-sized CO2 rigs.

You won't cloud the water if you work slowly.

 

[Danimals]

I'll have to see what I can come up with as far as lights go, do you know of any similar HOB lights that provide sufficient wattage without resorting to multiple units?

I was referring to a paintball C02 setup, I was under the impression that paintball and true DIY is identical except one has higher capacity?

 

[HiepSTA]

i have two of the fluval clip on lights on my ebi (just like the one that comes with the tank)

my mosses and plants grow FAST with the extra 2nd light. check out what 8 days did for my riccia

9-10-11

9-18-11

 

[HiepSTA]

this is what the dual light setup looks like

 

[somewhatshocked]

The multi-light set up looks great on the Ebi/Flora, in my opinion. And it's cost effective.

I alternate between 3 and 4 on the Ebi in my office, depending upon need, and thoroughly enjoy it. Lots of folks complain about replacement bulbs coming directly from Fluval/Hagen, but I've never had a problem getting them from online retailers like Foster & Smith for $7.

 

[Danimals]

Actually the dual light setup doesn't look too bad, I just placed an order on Amazon for an extra one.

Wow, Hiep that is some crazy growth in just a few days!

 

[somewhatshocked]

I think you're making the right call - both for the health of your aquarium and for the way it will look. And the best part? You can always order another if you find 2 isn't enough.

Can't wait to see how your tank turns out. Makes me want another Ebi (this is me giving you the evil eye for making me want one!) and I may just jump the gun and do it.

 

[freph]

Why do I want an Ebi now? Great tank btw, holy cow.

On topic: Put some branchy wood in there and throw some moss on it like this guy did if you want to go a wood route. If you want to go a stone route, look around outside or at a storm drain and grab a few granite rocks and bust them up with a sledge hammer if you want a cheap diy (always ask for permission if it's on someone's property) and maybe put some tall/medium stems in the back/sides hmm. Do you want a carpet, or a bare floor?

i have two of the fluval clip on lights on my ebi (just like the one that comes with the tank)

my mosses and plants grow FAST with the extra 2nd light. check out what 8 days did for my riccia

9-10-11

9-18-11

 

[Quentin]

Those Fluval tanks look so similar to Finnex ones. I would mix up some more planting techniques and maybe try the DW in different places. And move that moss away from the center. Just keep playing around with ideas.

 

[Alyssa]

How big are these guys?? Love the tanks!

 

[somewhatshocked]

Alyssa: They're about 8 gallons once the foam background is removed.

Roughly 12" x 12" footprint

 

[Alyssa]

Ooo nice! Thank you!

 

[somewhatshocked]

Danimals: Any updates?

You've got me hooked/nearly ready to snatch up another Ebi. Found myself piecing together various rock and plants this morning-- like the tank nerd living inside me knew it'd be able to convince me to order one. So am looking forward to see how your tank turns out.

 

[Danimals]

Danimals: Any updates?

You've got me hooked/nearly ready to snatch up another Ebi. Found myself piecing together various rock and plants this morning-- like the tank nerd living inside me knew it'd be able to convince me to order one. So am looking forward to see how your tank turns out.

Sorry for the lack of updates! Been pretty busy with exams and other personal stuff :icon_smil

Took the advice in this thread and made up a super simple DIY C02 system (I'm getting about 20-25PPM C02) and Amazoned another 13W Fluval light fixture to slap on top!

So far it's been about two days with the C02 and extra light running in my tank and I'm noticing the plants *SEEM* more lush and greener but that could just be in my head...too early to tell what kind of difference it's making.

I'm debating whether or not I should add another piece of driftwood into the tank or maybe some rocks...overall I think I wanna go for a really "crowded" look...lots of plants and a nice carpet of Dwarf Tears taking up the empty spaces, anyone got some plant suggestions?

 

[somewhatshocked]

The dwarf hair grass will overtake the baby tears in what will seem like an instant to you. It grows like a weed and will shoot all over them in no time. Takes constant trimming and taming in my tanks - and that's even with plastic dividers in the substrate.

S. repens always looks great in Ebis and is a nice way to transition from shorter to taller plants in your scape. If, for some reason, HC doesn't work out? Glosso and UG are particularly nice plants for ground cover.

 

[Noahma]

look into the smaller species of Rotala, like rotundifolia, and rotundifolia green. They get very bush in short time with aggressive trimming. I have found Pogostemon erectus works very well in these tanks in size and bushiness. I trimmed my 4 stems a couple times, and now I have it spread between two tanks lol.