New Fluval Edge 12 Gal - updated 30/08/2015

13779 Views 22 Replies 8 Participants Last post by BMueller777, Jan 15, 2016

TLE041

Discussion Starter · Jun 5, 2015 (Edited)

10

Hi everyone,

After a two years hiatus from fishkeeping, I decided to start getting back into it again. My previous tank was an ADA Mini-M iwagumi:

I picked up a 12 gallon Fluval Edge on impulse while browsing a LFS. The plan was to go low-tech and low-maintenance. Since I'm going with the stock LED light, this will be a low-light tank. However, I'll be using an Eheim 2211 canister filter that I had instead of the included Aquaclear HOB. The 2211 will be connected using some Cal Aqua Lab lily pipes and heated with a Hydor in-line heater.

Substrate:

The hardscape consists of one large Manzanita driftwood and ADA Seiryu stones.

Since this will be low-light, I decided to go with trident java fern as the main plant.

The tank will be fertilized every 2-3 days with Pfertz fertilizers that I had from before along with Flourish Excel.

The tank after planting and water added:

Pipes and filter:

After cycling, the first fishes added (also currently the only fishes) is a school of Corydoras habrosus

This is where the tank is at right now. The scape should look better when the java fern greens up and fills in more. I plan to add a few more stones to the front area and some more Mini Christmas moss.

The next livestock to go in will be a shoal of CPDs (my favorite fishes to keep) and a bunch of crystal shrimps.

I'll continue to update this thread with the progress.

Thanks for reading. All comments are appreciated!

See less See more

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #2 · Jun 13, 2015

2

I've added Purigen to the filter to help clear up the yellow water caused by the Malaya substrate. The tank is pretty much crystal clear now.

See less See more

Planted_Edge

· #3 · Jun 14, 2015

Looks good, I used have a12g edge for a little over a year and now it's just sitting in the garage...I attempted to do a low tech recently but that went to waste...I just hated the small opening on mine...took the top off, but still, the tall and narrow tank makes it so hard to scape it or stock it properly...
Good luck with yours !

andrewss

· #4 · Jun 14, 2015

looks great! the scape is really cool and the dw works perfectly in the tall tank

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 17, 2015

Planted_Edge said:
I just hated the small opening on mine...took the top off, but still, the tall and narrow tank makes it so hard to scape it or stock it properly...

Yep, that little opening is a pain. Although, the good thing about it is it pretty much eliminates livestock deaths by jumping. I've lost so many jumpers in my last tanks because they were topless and rimless.

andrewss said:
looks great! the scape is really cool and the dw works perfectly in the tall tank

Thank you! I'm just glad the driftwood fits into the opening.

Planted_Edge

· #6 · Jun 17, 2015

Lol tell me about it, Last night I had a green tetra jump out of the tank right when the light turned off.i saw him on the floor and quickly threw him back in, only to find a dead one on the floor next morning...I bet it was the same adventurous fellow haha

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 20, 2015

3

Added a couple of new inhabitants to the cleanup crew...

Oto #1

Oto #2

Amano shrimp

For some reason the amanos are blue-ish. None of mine in the past have looked like this.

See less See more

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 23, 2015 (Edited)

2

The driftwood is now fuzz-free thanks to the amanos and otos

Amano with food (Mosura Excel)

See less See more

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 26, 2015

4

Some pictures with the DSLR

See less See more

andrewss

· #10 · Jun 26, 2015

very cool shots

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 26, 2015

2

Added a few black crystals to test the water conditions. It's been two days and they're doing well so far.

Golden bee

andrewss said:
very cool shots

Thanks Andrew!

See less See more

elljay

· #12 · Jun 27, 2015

Looks great,i really enjoy seeing the progression of tanks

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 28, 2015

Video of the tank progress so far...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U71RDAuLsFY

Reactions: 1

kimchilee

· #14 · Jun 28, 2015

looks great, i like it!

dukydaf

· #15 · Jun 28, 2015

Nince minimalistic hardscape. The pictures with the DSLR show the texture so much better. I like how the round rocks complement the roughness of the manzanita. The java fern should fill the back nicely.Do you plan on adding a carpet plant ?

I hear the Amanos will change their colour depending on diet, so maybe they were fed something with a blue pigment.
I see a window on the right side.Do you keep the blinds open ? How much sunlight does it receive ?

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 29, 2015

dukydaf said:
Nince minimalistic hardscape. The pictures with the DSLR show the texture so much better. I like how the round rocks complement the roughness of the manzanita.

Thank you!

dukydaf said:
The java fern should fill the back nicely.Do you plan on adding a carpet plant ?

I decided against a carpet in this tank because of the Edge's light. It's pretty much a spotlight that only focuses on the center of the tank, so the corners and sides will be very dim. I didn't want to add another fixture because that will ruin the tank aesthetics.

dukydaf said:
I hear the Amanos will change their colour depending on diet, so maybe they were fed something with a blue pigment.

The blue color turned out to be only temporary from the stress of being transported from the LFS. They've now returned to the regular clear/white color.

dukydaf said:
I see a window on the right side. Do you keep the blinds open ? How much sunlight does it receive ?

I keep the blinds on that window 90% closed all the time because of algae and also because of the TV. Otherwise, it is south facing and the tank will be an algae farm in no time.

Thanks for reading!

Planted_Edge

· #17 · Jun 29, 2015

I believe Monte Carlo will carpet under your light with Excel. It'll grow slow but steady...a carpet will make your tank look so much nicer..plus, the shrimp will love it.

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jul 11, 2015

Feeding time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2EffVXMtII

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #19 · Aug 16, 2015

2

To increase the filtration, I upgraded the Eheim 2211 to a 2213. I also changed the lily pipes to the spin types to accommodate the higher flow. The new outflows help to cut down the turbulence in the tank.

See less See more

TLE041

Discussion Starter · #20 · Aug 29, 2015

5

Some new pictures:

See less See more

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.