firestorm Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 This journal is a step by step process of my 5 gallon planted tank I will be hoping to enter into the 2009 international aquascaping contest. I did most of it today, have a few more details to add in but you can see for now each step I took Size: 5.5 gallon Tanks inhabitants: will be 6 galaxy rasboras, looking for 3 pygmy cories and maybe i'll transfer my snowball shrimp as well. Theme: A day in the mountains Plants used:Eleocharis acicularis (dwarf hairgrass), trying to get some fire moss or christmas moss to use on the rocks Lighting: Coralife 9" mini freshwater aqualight 2x6700K 9W which gives me a total of 18 watts so about 3 1/2wpg. CO2 source: 4L DIY canister using yeast method Ferts: dosing by the EI using KNO3, P2SO4, KH2PO4, iron, chilate (trace) Substrate: Seachem fluorite black sand, about 2" deep Tank before Cutting the silicon Cleaned and ready to go Added substrate and water Hairgrass Placed in the tank Rocks added, but going to get a bit more rocks for stacking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Cool! I look forward to see how this develops... How are you going to mount the light? If you separate the clumps of hairgrass a lot more they will fill in the area much faster. A pair of nice pointy tweezers should help get it into the gravel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Neato, :smokey: the rimless look is awesome bw, is it true that snowball shrimp females 'glow' when they have eggs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Thanks guys, I am actually getting more dwarf hairgrass today from April, so I will also add that in. I have about 8 mths for it to fully grow in so I am not entirely worried about it. Have to get more rocks to stack up, placed the sponge filter behind the rock as well as a heater, worked out perfect and I couldn't have found a better rock....got them at BA's. Next I have to photoshop a picture from one of my hiking trips of the mountains, and use that as a background. I really wanted to find some small species of flowering plants, because as most know the fields on top of the mountains are covered with grass and pretty flowers, but I don't know of any species that will do the trick. I might go onto the entries for last year and look through photos and see if I can find anything. I have the light resting on a piece of glass on the top of the tank for now, have to find something I can use to mount the light above it, or I will get a different type of fixture that will clamp on. To get a rimless tank, just remove the black trim from the top, I was thinking about removing the bottom one as well, but decided against it. I wouldn't suggest doing it for larger tanks though since the black trim helps with support a bit. Snowball shrimp don't really glow when they are carrying eggs, they have saddles which is where they produce their eggs, and they turn a solid white when the eggs are forming. It is easy to sex snowballs because the females only have the white saddle, and since their shells are almost clear it's easy to see the saddle. I guess you could say they are glowing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 And here is an updated pic with the lights on the tank. I might add some fast growing stem plants for now as well to prevent having an algae outbreak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneiroid Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Neato, :smokey: the rimless look is awesomebw, is it true that snowball shrimp females 'glow' when they have eggs? The white pigment (or non-pigment, rather) in both the femal and male snowball bodies reflect light like I've never seen in any dwarf shrimp (with the possbile exception of the yellows) that give the appearance of a milky glow. I don't think that the eggs emit more or less of a glow, but because they are so white they definitely stick out in a tank. For instance, you could readily spot berried females from across a room if you've got line-of-sight of them in the tank. The fry are just as bright and are easily spotted on dark substrate or backgrounds. One of my favourite shrimp types for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignose Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 When you took the plastic trim off your tank did the glass have sharp edges? I was thinking about doing that once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted March 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 The glass actually wasn't really sharp at all, but I am sure you can probably sand it down with a special sand paper if you needed to. Ok so an update, sorry this has taken so long. I removed the stem plants a week ago so I am left with the grass and some christmas moss. It's not the best of shape right now but it is due for servicing. Right now it holds my new betta I bought from Big Al's, and he was worth the money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009 What a gorgeous Betta! Nice job on the scape! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignose Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 I like how you piled the rock. Are you going to plant something in the cracks between them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 I'm jealous!! Please tell me how you keep the ****king hairgrass in the sand. Mine is always floating off and I'm close to crazy gluing it to the glass. Let me know. Congrats on the new betta. I love dragons!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeska Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 your tank looks great! Love the betta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted March 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 (edited) Thanks guys.....if you want a betta like him there were a few that looked almost identical at BA's in Calgary here, not sure if they sold them all or not though. I fell in love with him the first time I saw him, didn't care he cost me over $20 lol. He harrassed the 2 blackskirts I had in there before so I had to take them out. I don't know my secret to getting the hairgrass to stay, I just made sure it was buried good, and maybe the fluorite sand is heavier than your regular sand and finer too. The rocks I also picked up from BA's, I piled a few pieces in the corner and have another sitting in the middle of the grass which you can't see right now. As for plants I plan on using the christmas moss and attaching it to the rocks and hope it fills in. The sponge filter and heater are covered by the rocks. I think I got a few hitchhiking plants with the hairgrass though, not sure what some were but I am sure one is part of the bladderwort family. Edited March 29, 2009 by firestorm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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