[Kernowmcrae]

Massive update 8th June... Cracked tank, replacement and re-scape, new LED assembly with pics

Latest look:

Previous Updates:

NEW SHRIMP, new Plants, new kit! ***Couple of new piccies***

Here's the new look:

Previous intro:

Hi guys, I've been visiting the site frequently over the last few weeks to try to research my latest venture, and thought i'd finally sign up, say hello and share what i've been up to!

I have had larger tanks in the past, running a planted community tank previously, which sadly due to a heater failure, turned into some very cold, dead fish.. needless to say, with moving house too, I decided i'd like something smaller and neater - The launch of the 46l Fluval Edge got me thinking!

Currently I've been planting more to fill the space than anything, but will be reporting back on how the experience of growing in an edge goes - in particular, whether the LED system is up to much!

Anyway, here's the pics and spec:

JBL Taifun Co2 Diffuser Replaced with Tunze Co2 Reactor
JBL Ferropol at water changes and JBL Ferropol 24 daily
Standard Fluval LED Lighting Array
Co2 Welding Gas bottle with JBL Regulator
JBL Plant substrate
Purigen 100g in HOB Filter, along with Standard Bio/Mechanical stuff
100W Hydor Theo Heater @ 25 Celcius

Just made a custom intake tube for the Edge filter from Clear Plexiglass tubing, the standard Fluval item was ghastly! (second to last picture shows the difference!)
Now back in the tank, the last one melted whilst trying to make it fit better, but the replacement is vastly superior!

Stocked with:

10 Galaxy Rasboras
5 White Cloud Mountain Minnows
2 Sterba's Corys (The only survivors from the big freeze!)
6 Amano Shrimp Cardina Multidentata


Planted:

Pogostemon Helferi (never managed to grow these in the past, but this time looks promising!)
Amazon Sword
Twisted Vallis
Straight Vallis (removed Since growth was insane!)
Unidentified Cryptocoryne

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Just a quick update- I've received a couple of exciting packages in the post- both from tunze!

One is their powered Co2 reactor, the other is a truly tiny nano powerhead- this thing is microscopic, but should still flow up to 300lph!

I'll get them in and update this with some pics tonight.

 

[150EH]

That's a cool little tank and a nice layout, have you ever noticed your wood looks like a seahorse or water troll, I swear it looks like it has a long snout with an ear on the left and it sitting with it's legs folded under it's bum, spooky.

Oh, welcome to the forum.

 

[Kernowmcrae]

You're right, I hadn't seen it before, but it's affectionately become known as the elephant in the tank! I'm planning on growing some moss type affair on the top, ideally to disguise the elf effect- just worried it may look like a chap with an Afro if done wrong!
Does anyone have any experience of white hair type algae growing in their co2 permanent test intakes?

 

[fusiongt]

Looks good, I always like the Fluval look. What kind of fauna are you going to put in there (noticed you did have some but guess all but the corys died, sorry to hear!)

 

[Kernowmcrae]

I've always loved the look of the galaxy rasbora (celestial pearl danio), so having researched and researched some more, I went for ten of these little guys- they were incredibly shy though, which I expected- so Ive got 5 white cloud mountain minnows- similar sized, but far braver- since introducing them the tank has come to life!

Here's the guys in the tank:
YouTube video

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Thought i'd snap a couple of pics of the new inhabitants this evening - their colours are stunning, and IMO blend nicely with the Corys patterning - they just move so fast... Quite tricky to snap them, but here goes..

By the way, the Tunze Co2 diffuser won't stay attached to it's powerhead - i've left it for now, because any work on a Fluval Edge requires draining the tank slightly, and I tried countless times last night to keep it on there!

Thanks to some awesomely prompt customer service though, I've got a replacement part arriving tomorrow in the post.

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Looks good, I always like the Fluval look. What kind of fauna are you going to put in there (noticed you did have some but guess all but the corys died, sorry to hear!)

The Fluval thankfully has never seen a fatality, my last tank was stocked with Rummy Nose Tetras, Harlequin Tetras and Neons, (typical first tank, lets buy anything I like!) and that suffered a heater "mishap"... these guys are doing great!

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Just a quick update- the problem with my co2 diffuser turned out to be a slightly mis-formed rubber grommet/disc thing- a phone call to Tunze later, and a replacement assembly arrived in the post the next day, fantastic service.

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Evening ladies and gents - just a quick update, I noticed that I haven't been seeing a lot of growth in my plants, dispute the Co2 and ferts regime, so I decided to dust off my old Arcadia Gro tubes and give the plants a few hours of proper light - I'll keep this up for a week and see what difference (if Any) it makes...

Here's what I need help with though... What is the white stuff "growing" in my Co2 bubble checker, and secondly, are these Pogostemon Helferi doing really badly? They were in terrible shape when I first got them, but appear to be throwing out new babies, I just can't tell whether they're actually growing, or even the right colour...

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Hey everyone, another update tonight...

The white fluffy cotton candy looking growth in my CO2 bubble checker has vanished - I'm wondering whether an adventurous Cory or the snails are responsible... either way, i'm chuffed, it looked particularly difficult to remove!

I also noticed that my supposedly fast growing Vallis wasn't looking great, and had barely moved in size since I planted it, leave alone the poor pogostemon, which was really struggling... I decided to dust off the old plant tubes from my last tank, with incredible results.. everything's sprouting and shooting up, and pearling like nobodies business!

What does everyone think of my super stealth install of the lighting?? I take them off in the evening, and pretend the LEDs are good enough!

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Just felt I should add an update to this having been using the larger lights - The growth on the vallis is amazing!

I've ordered a single 10w LED unit on eBay, 6500-7000k, hopefully should so the same job....

 

[RipariumGuy]

Looks good! Nice job! Though, have you thought about possibly adding a background?

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Just a quick update - a full week of the upgraded lighting, and what a difference.... Getting some Thread (Fuzz) algae now, but nothing a few Amano Shrimp won't handle - am I right in saying they'll be happy to sort that problem for me? It's just a tiny bit around my plants and on the glass/wood etc, but it's not taking over (yet!)

The Helferi is looking good, and the vallis is touching the waters surface now... wondering whether I could reduce the light time to slow these down?

I've also got a 10w LED, heatsink and power supply on order, so hoping to get some decent lighting in the standard edge canopy without too much modification - the stock led rig will have to come out though, I think!

@RipariumGuy - I've resisted a background so far as I like the Water Cube effect - with the standard lighting, I don't think it's noticeable, and it only just lights the wall up - I'd love some different wood to hide the heater more, but I'll hold out until I spot the perfect piece!

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Another update this evening - i've finally managed to get some Amano Shrimp back in, and they've been busy stripping the algae from my Vals already... such fun to watch too.

I've also planted some unknown Crypts today to add some more cover for the Galaxys - has anyone got a clue what they are?

Can anyone identify this shrimp though, is he an Amano waiting to moult, or another breed?

I've also had a lot of boisterous behaviour in the tank over the last couple of days, and the reason has become apparent - we've got spawning! The Galaxys have been performing their little spiral mating dance, and the white clouds have been flaring their fins all day - this evening, a male and female started to spawn in the Vallis!

Can't wait to get my LED light in the post, just got to wait for it to arrive from Hong Kong.

 

[Kernowmcrae]

This evening, I had to post a couple of pictures - my new Crypts have gone in and started melting a bit, but I can already see new growth - the thing that shocked me was the colour of the Helferi, and the speed that my poor fin nipped Galaxys have started healing with an added dose of Melafix... the White Cloud in question is still not in my good books, but he's trying...

Anyway, on with the pics!

Main siting pic of the tank.. Yes, that is a Proton Pack!

A bit closer in, Co2 in full swing..

Galaxy Rasboras have taken the Vallis as theirs

Shrimp Shell - they're obviously growing!

Amano Shrimp hard at work:

slightly melting Crypts - new shoots though after one day

Pogostemon looking happy, must have finally found the nutrient substrate

These poor guys barely had tails a couple of nights ago, recovering well

That's it for now, i've been experimenting with light levels, and should be ready to fit my DIY LED fitting soon.. Thanks for looking!

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Evening all - Another quick update - the Crypts appear to have thrown a bit of a wobbly, and have shed almost all their leaves - It wasn't unexpected, but after a day of being in the tank??

Here's a before and after, can't quite believe how they've died off!

A couple of hours after planting:

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A few hours later:

And this morning:

There weren't as many leaves floating around as i'd have expected, so I can only assume my Amano shrimp have been enjoying some greens - even caught my Corys having a nibble too!

My Pogostemon appears to be flying along, and going from strength to strength - having had real problems with them melting and yellowing in my previous tank, I'm justifiably proud of these.

I've also added another Male Galaxy Rasbora, 2x females, and 3 more female White Cloud Minnows - I lost one of the smallest Galaxy Rasboras to bullying from the White Cloud males and fin nipping, so adding some more females appears to have given him something else to do for now.

thanks for looking!

 

[madness]

I don't really know what type of scaping style this is called (though you see similar scapes around) but I like it. Sort of half way between a Dutch style and one of the more technical styles.

Reminds me more of what freshwater areas look like in the non-tropical areas of North America.

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Hi madness, thanks for your comments, I'm not sure either- if I'm honest I've always liked the style of Amano style tanks, but haven't ever had the time/funds/patience to pull one off! As long as it looks right to me, I'm happy! (I'm half dutch too, maybe that's where it's creeping in from...)

 

[Kernowmcrae]

Evening Ladies and Gents - it's been a while since my last update, so thought i'd show you how it's progressing. I've been through Green Water, Beard Algae, all sorts of stuff, until I realised the tank was getting far too much light from the 50w T5HO lights I was using before installing my LED!

Having blacked the tank out for three days, and checked my tap water nitrates had reduced again (had an almost 20ppm spike!), I am back in business - just got to tidy the last of the BBA off the wood and the Heater.

I have also seen a lot of new growth on my Crypts, but i'm shocked at how dark they are - is this nutrients or light?

Thanks!

Shrimper and a huge snail:

Posing White Cloud, dramatic face:

Growing in well, light cube effect with 10W LED:

As it is now: