[Jdiesels]

So, my first attempt at aquascaping in my 10 gallon failed due to tons of algae and a nitrogen cycle crash due to an accident on my part :icon_sad:. So, with equipment from my 10 gallon, I switched filters between my 5.5 gallon and the 10 gallon to allow the cycle to start back up there, and bring more flow to my new plan for a planted tank.



Tank:

Normal De-Rimmed 5.5 gallon tank



Substrate:

Eco-Complete seeded with several Osmocote Root Tabs



Hardscape:

Had black lava rock originally, but then I took it out and thought about making my tank a dutch as I obtain more plants. Once I pick up some nice looking nano driftwood pieces, I'll add them to my tank.



Plants:

At the moment, the tank includes:

Rotala Rotundifolia

One stem of rotala green (leftover that I found and saved)

Dying stems of HC (they revived from my old tank, so I'm trying to re-grow them)

Hydrocotyle sp. Japan

Blyxa Japonica

Bacopa Australis

Staurogyne Repens

Baby Tears

Few stems of a Rotala species I do not know of (it's in the middle)



Fertilizing Schedule:

Liquid EI dosing with a 50% water change every week. Ferts come from nilocg

Excel dosed during water changes

Co2 turned on an hour before lights come on and an hour before they go off. Should be around 1-2 bps.

Photoperiod goes from 10 am to 6 pm



Fauna:

Cherry shrimp



When dosing through this method, I pay close attention to the shrimp to see if they react to the fertilizers. While the micros do contain copper, there is very minimal traces of it so I believe this shouldn't be a problem. However, I lowered the amount of excel I dose in the tank after water changes because the shrimp seem to be bothered by it.



Feb 25:



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March 8:



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Any suggestions on what to do further on the tank? Always open to suggestions .





March 19: Came back after Spring Break. Got massive pearling going on after I turned on the Co2



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March 32: Most recent tank shot. Messed around with the angle



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April 2: Starting to look nicer. Removed the HC because it was growing too much algae with little growth. Getting replaced with glosso soon.



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April 16: Before & After



Before

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After

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Cool tank! How do you like that finnex light? Mind linking of for me ?