# A New Start - continued progress



## igirisujin (24 Feb 2020)

Hello! Thanks for looking 

I haven't posted an introduction yet, so I'll give brief one here. I'm from the UK, but have lived in Japan for the past 4 years. I have had planted tanks in the past, but in my last couple of tanks I had problems with plant health and algae. I haven't had a tank for the last couple of years, after visiting a local fish shop with my wife to get a goldfish, she encouraged me to try again with plants. This time my aim is to really keep on top of the maintenance, remove any decaying matter immediately and keep things healthy. I really want it to succeed this time.

I've had this small 25cm tank for a while now, and it used to house a Betta. So, keeping the budget as low as possible and using mostly bits and pieces from the cupboard, here we go again! Thanks for having me  

Tank: GEX 25cm normal glass tank. 
Filter: GEX HOB £7 thingy. 
CO2: Do!Aqua mini pressurised bottles, solenoid valve, glass bubble counter, CO2 airstone.  
Light: Lominie Asta 20 (Freshwater).
Substrate: ADA Amazonia (normal), cheaper brand powder, ADA La Planta Sand.
Hardscape: 'Seiseki' and wood from local store. 
ADA plants: Willow moss, HC, Hairgrass, Hydrocotyl tripartita, Crypt. lucens, Rotala 'green', Rotala rotundifolia (??), Anubias 'mini'. 
Ferts: Do!Aqua Be Green and leftover Green Brighty Special Lights. 

Here's where the tank will sit when finished. It's quite likely we'll chuck this cabinet, as it's a little small for the junk crammed inside it! But for now, it'll do. I've got the CO2 and ferts sitting on the shelf below.





Tank moved to the desk for planting. It's easy when it's so small!




ADA Plants. Expensive, but all plants are in Japan!




Wood out ready for moss. I had to use some small rocks under the wood for support, but they won't be visible once the wood is back in. 




Even though the light still hasn't arrived, it is due today so I decided to get on with the planting. I left the wood in a bucket of water last night, and I'm glad it did. It was pretty buoyant. 

I'll update again in a bit! Thanks again for reading 

よろしくお願いします。
igirisujin


----------



## Gill (24 Feb 2020)

Welcome. So lucky you have access to ADA plants and the upper eschalons of Planted Tanks


----------



## igirisujin (24 Feb 2020)

Gill said:


> Welcome. So lucky you have access to ADA plants and the upper eschalons of Planted Tanks



Thank you 

Yes, the average aquarium shop here is much more geared to the planted side when compared with home. We're right out in the countryside, so most shops here still only carry the cheap-end Chinese and Japanese brands and plants, but the majority have at least a small amount of ADA or equivalent gear. A couple of places have the odd few pots of Tropica 1-2-grow, too, which works out at about the same price as ADA, here. Decent wood tends to be easy to find (even in supermarkets), but you still have to search around for nice rocks. ADA equipment here is also significantly cheaper than in the UK (i.e., not offensively expensive!), and more comparable to other brands. Mostly still not in my budget for this tank, though! Next time...!

ADA HC


----------



## igirisujin (24 Feb 2020)

Time for the planting.

Substrate slope. This will be a triangular layout, higher on the right-hand side. The left side is about 6cm, up to about 8cm on the right.




Halfway there.




A little more... Just need to fill in the gaps.




igirisujin


----------



## igirisujin (24 Feb 2020)

Filling...


----------



## igirisujin (24 Feb 2020)

The light arrived as I was just finishing planting today. It's very solid, and comes with two lenses that disperse the light at different angles. I changed to the wider angle, to make sure the whole tank is lit. It's from a Shenzhen company and was pretty cheap, but seems to be good quality. We'll see how it goes. It's certainly powerful but dimmable, and gives a nice shimmer.


----------



## igirisujin (24 Feb 2020)

Planting is finished 

I've set the CO2 at around 1 bubble per 10 seconds. I wonder if that's enough? There are a lot of tiny bubbles going around the tank.

Also - I can't work out how to upload smaller images to imgur without losing quality. I managed it earlier on, but now I can't seem to do it!


----------



## alto (24 Feb 2020)

igirisujin said:


> set the CO2 at around 1 bubble per 10 seconds. I wonder if that's enough?


Definitely increase to 1 bubble per 2-3 seconds 

All the tiny bubbles are just air (that was trapped in the tap water)

Tank looks great 
(as does the light)

I suspect that filter is slightly underpowered for the tank (it looks much like one I have), so try to visualize the current

With that CO2 set up stored below the tank level, make sure you have an effective check valve so that water cannot enter the CO2 regulator (initially I might leave the CO2 running at a low rate 24/7 ... I tend to do this on my Nano tank as it receives significant ambient light, plus kitchen lights)

It may be photo distortion, but the light seems slightly off centre - farther from the filter side, note that filter is likely shading significantly (again, my very similar filter does)


----------



## igirisujin (24 Feb 2020)

alto said:


> Definitely increase to 1 bubble per 2-3 seconds



There was quite a lot of mist from the airstone, but I'll have a look and bump it up a bit tomorrow - lights off now, we're 9 hours ahead  



> I suspect that filter is slightly underpowered for the tank (it looks much like one I have), so try to visualize the current



Very possible. I thought that when I turned it on. I was concerned it would disturb the sand at the front and blow it around as I've seen happen before, but it seems ok. Flow to the back-right corner is a little slower, so it's something to watch out for. 



> With that CO2 set up stored below the tank level, make sure you have an effective check valve so that water cannot enter the CO2 regulator (initially I might leave the CO2 running at a low rate 24/7 ... I tend to do this on my Nano tank as it receives significant ambient light, plus kitchen lights)



Should be ok on the positioning front. I have a new check valve one it (one of the few things bought new), and large loops in the tubing between the valve and the regulator that should keep water from entering it should the valve be iffy.  



> It may be photo distortion, but the light seems slightly off centre - farther from the filter side, note that filter is likely shading significantly (again, my very similar filter does)



Yep, the light is slightly off centre. Due to the wood shadowing the Rotala at the back, I adjusted the light position a bit to compensate. The filter is mostly in the shade, but shouldn't affect the light reaching the carpet. 

Thanks for the thoughts, they're appreciated


----------



## igirisujin (25 Feb 2020)

CO2 bumped up to 1 bubble every 2 seconds, starting at 9am. Lights on for 7 hours at midday. I moved a small amount of Eheim Substrat Pro over from the goldfish tank, just for a boost. The water surface was a little cloudy/oily this morning, so I did a 60% water change and re-dosed.  

Let's see how it goes


----------



## igirisujin (26 Feb 2020)

Day 3, and the plants look to be setting down. I'll continue the 60% water changes and dosing for at least a week, I think. It's pretty easy in such a small tank, but cleaning the glass will likely be a more delicate exercise. 

I watched Green Aqua videos on YouTube solidly for hours yesterday, and as a result decided to trim the emersed leaves off my Crypt. lucens above the crown. Hopefully some nice new leaves come back soon enough. I'm also not 100% on the placement of my Anubias nana 'mini'. It may stay, or it may end up just moss. 




Here's a shot from the top. As the light is a single LED spot, there is some shadowing (outlined in red) that I hadn't anticipated. Will be keeping an eye on it. I had hoped that the Rotala planted in that area would remain red and grow up to the surface, with the Rotala 'green' slightly lower in front.


----------



## igirisujin (2 Mar 2020)

Quick update. I put 5 Cherry Shrimp in yesterday. I know it's early, but I want to keep on top of waste and algae management. Previous algae battles have me really scared about messing up again this time. I'm wondering whether the shrimp will have a go at the white fluff appearing on the small piece of wood too. I was looking for a couple of Nerite Snails to eat the BBA that seems to have survived the wood-scrubbing from the previous setup, but I couldn't find any locally. Need to keep on top of that BBA to make sure it doesn't come back. 

I'm still doing daily 60% water changes before CO2 on, and dosing straight after. 

I'm struggling to keep the Do!Aqua CO2 stable. I set it to 1 bubble per 2 seconds, but when it comes on, it blasts hundreds of bubbles through in the first few seconds. Seems like a waste of CO2, but I don't know what to do. After that, it settles at 1bps. I'm thinking to just leave it at 1bps, but that seems like a lot for a 9L tank!









The HC, Hydrocotyle and stems pearl well




Side shot




Cherry Shrimp and white gunk on wood




Thanks for looking. As always, any observations, advice or comments welcome and appreciated!


----------



## igirisujin (2 Mar 2020)

As for the CO2 bubble balancing and issues with the solenoid, I had a reply from Green Aqua. Their advice was that the Do!Aqua system I'm using isn't compatible with solenoid valves, and can't handle the pressure buildup when it switches off. They advised to run the system 24/7, which I will do from today.


----------



## igirisujin (4 Mar 2020)

I'm starting to see some slight HC melt. Is this a normal adjustment process for a new tank, or is there something not quite right? I'll add some pictures. 









Otherwise, everything is pearling away nicely 





Thanks


----------



## igirisujin (8 Mar 2020)

I decided to get a new diffuser today, when I saw the new DOOA ones from ADA in the shop. It looks really nice - but I've decided I won't be using it. It's far, far inferior to my simple airstone I was using before, so I switched back immediately. The bubbles were so large from the DOOA diffuser that they just go straight up to the top of the tank. The small bubbles from the airstone get blown all around the tank, and through the filter. Very disappointed.

















Here are some videos for comparison:

Airstone

ADA DOOA Diffuser (10mm)

Just a couple of shots showing availability in two small local shops here. We don't have any main ADA dealers in South Japan.













The new lights are in, but mostly on an order-only basis.


----------



## CooKieS (8 Mar 2020)

Crazy...in 2020, Ada still can’t make some decent co2 diffuser...

bought one 4 years ago, it was like yours, big bubbles and made some annoying hissing noise.

do you have access to neo /twinstar co2 diffuser? They’re cheap and works like your airstone


----------



## alto (8 Mar 2020)

Did you presoak the diffuser?
 - 1 hour in a rush, overnight is better


----------



## igirisujin (8 Mar 2020)

CooKieS said:


> Crazy...in 2020, Ada still can’t make some decent co2 diffuser...
> 
> bought one 4 years ago, it was like yours, big bubbles and made some annoying hissing noise.
> 
> do you have access to neo /twinstar co2 diffuser? They’re cheap and works like your airstone



Yeah, it does make a noise. I guess that's why they called one of them the 'music glass'. 

I haven't see those brands here, but I'll keep an eye out. I'm using the airstone again now, but I'll see how it goes. It's quite ugly!


----------



## igirisujin (8 Mar 2020)

alto said:


> Did you presoak the diffuser?
> - 1 hour in a rush, overnight is better



I've never heard of pre-soaking a diffuser - I've always just put them straight in. I've tried two Do!Aqua ones in the past, and some cheaper options. All of them have been OK. 

I'll leave the new diffuser sitting in the tank today, and connect it up tonight to check it again. Thanks for the suggestion.


----------



## igirisujin (8 Mar 2020)

On a positive note, the plants are really starting to grow well now, and the stems towards the front are recovering from their first trim. The HC too has new growth where some parts melted away. The Hydrocotyle is going to be a handfull, I can tell!


----------



## igirisujin (10 Mar 2020)

igirisujin said:


> I've never heard of pre-soaking a diffuser - I've always just put them straight in. I've tried two Do!Aqua ones in the past, and some cheaper options. All of them have been OK.
> 
> I'll leave the new diffuser sitting in the tank today, and connect it up tonight to check it again. Thanks for the suggestion.



I left the DOOA diffuser to soak for 24 hours, and tried it again this morning, leaving it to run for a couple of hours.
 It's far inferior to my previous Do!Aqua diffuser, non-branded glass diffuser and even the airstone. It's noisy and unusable, so I have switched back to the airstone permanently. I will not be using the DOOA diffuser an anymore. I'm a big ADA fan, but it's not a good product. I'm glad it's not so expensive here in Japan.


----------



## alto (10 Mar 2020)

ADA should be embarrassed 
Return for refund


----------



## igirisujin (12 Mar 2020)

alto said:


> ADA should be embarrassed
> Return for refund



It's not worth the petrol money to take it back! Never mind, lesson learned!


----------



## igirisujin (13 Mar 2020)

Quick 'Day 19' update of the tank. The moss and HC seem to be settling down OK now. I've trimmed the Hydrocotyle twice already. It may need some drastic cutting back before long. Also, I made a cardboard frame for taking full-tank photos, and tried it out today for some update pics. This is when I wish I had a budget that could include opti-white glass!










Long lens




Wider lens








Pearling


----------



## CooKieS (13 Mar 2020)

Nice shots


----------



## igirisujin (21 Mar 2020)

So we're nearly four weeks in now, and I've started to see a little BBA and possible green beard algae. I'm attributing this to CO2 issues at the moment, as I know I've been struggling to keep the injection stable with the Do!Aqua reg. Whatever I did, it always crept back up to 1bps. I would then put it back down to one bubble per 2 or 3 seconds, so I've probably caused some instability.

I've since added another needle valve and tuned it to one bubble every 2 seconds or so. It seems a little more stable now, but I will need to keep an eye on it. 

I've been searching for a source of liquid carbon too, but I can't find any in Japan. Even drop checkers are hard to come by, so I haven't been measuring my CO2. People don't seem to use them here, but it would be possible to order one if I wanted ADA. HK brands are an option too, but take a month or so to arrive.


----------



## PARAGUAY (21 Mar 2020)

Your aquarium looks good despite your issues. Quite surprised by the lack of ADA in certain parts of Japan


----------



## Ady34 (21 Mar 2020)

Stunning aquascape with super healthy plants.
Cheerio,


----------



## igirisujin (25 Mar 2020)

Ady34 said:


> Stunning aquascape with super healthy plants.
> Cheerio,



Thank you  I hope it can stay that way. I'm trying to focus on keeping balance, and getting rid of that BBA! Don't want it to take over the hardscape.


----------



## igirisujin (25 Mar 2020)

I decided to give it a good trim today as the moss was about due, and the rear stems were approaching the top. I hacked back the Hydrocotyle, too, in hopes that it won't take over. I took off the Anubias leaves with the worst BBA, too. The HC is looking a little bit sad underneath, so I've bumped up the CO2 ever so slightly. Starting to see the Crypts poking through for the first time, now, too. 

I've also dropped the lighting 5% or so (a guess) in an attempt to stop this BBA. 

Still continuing with daily 60-70% water changes and dosing 4 hours before lights on. With today's trim, that brings it up to two 60% water changes and two rounds of dosing today. 

Before the trim




After the trim




As always, any advice and suggestions welcome.


----------



## CooKieS (25 Mar 2020)

I like the plantation and the lower part of the scape.

The tree might be tweaked to look more like an real one by adding branches like that (if you still got some hardscape);


----------



## igirisujin (27 Mar 2020)

Thanks for the idea  I still have some bits of wood, so I'll dig them out and have a look.

Right now, though, I'm really struggling with this BBA. It's growing fast and taking over the hardscape, Anubias and Moss. Also, The HC seems to be turning white and melting. There are diatoms forming too, now.

I added a second filter today to increase the flow a bit. I'm not sure what is causing these problems at the moment, but a little extra circulation can't help. 

Currently at:
Daily 60% water changes 3 hours before lights on
CO2 1bps
N+P ADA Special Lights 2ml daily
K+Micros Do!Aqua Be Green 1ml + CO2 Supermarket powder mix 1ml.
7 hours of lighting


----------



## CooKieS (27 Mar 2020)

Why so many water change?

BBA don’t like high co2, if Cuba is melting that is probably due to lack of co2 where the Cuba grows, so yeah, check the flow.

I would stop wc and just dose K for 2-3 weeks. Do just one 50-60% per week during that time and see 

cheers


----------



## igirisujin (27 Mar 2020)

Thanks - the reason was that mostly you read the more water changes the better, especially in the initial stages. It gets a bit of an oily layer on the surface too, so I suck that out. 

I’ll hold off for a bit, then, and see how that goes. 

I wonder, too, if I’m actually over-dosing. I tried a forum search, but are there negative effects from over-dosing?


----------



## CooKieS (27 Mar 2020)

It’s all a matter of balance. If you overdose one element, you can block another.


----------



## igirisujin (29 Mar 2020)

The speed of deterioration is now so quick that I don't think it will last more than a few days. The trimmed stems are just dying, the HC is melting and the moss/Anubias is just being overtaken by BBA. I don't understand why - the same thing happened last time. I can't see what I'm doing wrong.

In just a day, the diatoms have totally covered the sand and most plants. In about 4 days, it's gone from looking healthy (with a little BBA) to being almost beyond rescue.

I'm thinking about scrapping it and starting again (again), but it'll just happen again next time because I don't see where the problem is.


----------



## igirisujin (29 Mar 2020)




----------



## Andrew T (29 Mar 2020)

@igorisujin, 
Please don’t give up.
Perhaps you did too many and too large water changes for too long that stripped off the nutrients from the water column. There was no surplus so to speak for plants to utilize. It’s alright to do daily WC but the way I see it they should be no more than 5-10% of the total volume with the weekly one at 50%.

But the most obvious issue is the Co2.
You’ve got to make that work. BBA is mostly (Or almost always) from fluctuating levels of Co2.
HC will melt from low co2. 

Most people have enough light over their tanks;
Ferts are easy as well. Plants usually tell you when they’re hungry.
But get co2 wrong, especially with light on the higher side and it’s all downhill from there on....
I hope you can get this tank back on track.
Good luck to you!


----------



## CooKieS (29 Mar 2020)

Agreed, it has to be co2 in your case. 

spot dosing bba with liquid carbon helps, diatoms are easily cleaned by shrimps and snails, good luck


----------



## azawaza (30 Mar 2020)

As advised by CookieS, use liquid carbon to spot-treat the BBA.

Excel works great, or 10% hydrogen peroxide.

Method: Use a syringe to uptake ‘payload’, bring it underwater as close to BBA. Release. Ahhhhhhhh. Watch them BBA turn colour.

Take some pics with your awesome camera for us here while doing so


----------



## igirisujin (3 Apr 2020)

Andrew T said:


> @igorisujin,
> Please don’t give up.
> Perhaps you did too many and too large water changes for too long that stripped off the nutrients from the water column. There was no surplus so to speak for plants to utilize. It’s alright to do daily WC but the way I see it they should be no more than 5-10% of the total volume with the weekly one at 50%.
> 
> ...



Thanks Andrew. I was working off the basis that the more water I change, the less ammonia is sitting there (from the aquasoil or deteriorating plants) for the algae to get hold of. I stopped changing the water for a couple of days, but due to the increase in diatoms I decided I had to suck them out. Once things have stabilised a bit, hopefully I'll be able to reduce the frequency a bit. a 5% water change could almost be done with a single scoop of a coffee mug!



CooKieS said:


> Agreed, it has to be co2 in your case.
> 
> spot dosing bba with liquid carbon helps, diatoms are easily cleaned by shrimps and snails, good luck



Yeah, I can't get hold of any in Japan - or at least I haven't seen any available. I would normally ask family in the UK to send some bits over, but I won't do that right now. Not a good time to be asking family to send a fish tank care package across the world!! There may be a similar product here that I just haven't found yet, but the Japanese-language BBA guides don't mention it. They focus on dirty tanks and CO2 (or plug the ADA BBA remover stick thing). Another thing that was mentioned was vinegar (酢), but I haven't tried it yet. There was a warning on that blog that it can damage surrounding plants.

Anyway, I sat down for a couple of hours yesterday with my tweezers, tediously removing as much as I could from the rocks and wood. If it comes back, I'll know I haven't solved the problem yet.

The stems are starting to recover from their trim 10 days ago, which is a lot slower than the last time. But at least the new growth seems OK, even if each stem is growing at a different rate. I may do well to replant the stems near the front, as they're not so pretty in the lower parts. 






As I said, I spent a long time on the BBA/diatoms. It's a lot better than it was, but there's a way to go.





The HC is pretty ugly (with a few healthy nodes), but the hairgrass seems to be doing OK. It won't be the end of the world if the hairgrass takes over this section completely. The new Hydrocotyle leaves aren't too bad either. I cut off the vast majority when they diatomed-up and melted.

The moss isn't too bad - a little bit of diatoms tangled up in there and it's not as green/clean as it was, but it's not too bad. Hopefully at the next trim the new growth will be nicer.





I'll wait and see now how the situation goes this week - if the algae returns and if the plants continue to recover. 

Changes made since plant melt and algae outbreak:

Added second HOB filter (ugly, but cheap and makes water move). 

Switched back to the DOOA diffuser, but as I have a second filter now, I was able to put it directly in the flow. I also increased the bubble rate to compensate for it being less efficient than the airstone. It's just prettier, and I want to use it if I can.  

Lowered the N and P dosing back down to the minimum one squirt, and hoping that the Aquasoil is sufficient.

Lowered the Do!Aqua K/Micro dosing down to (1ml/day). I had been slightly overdosing, as I was told to do so by the shop here.

Cut the lights down a bit. I can't give a percentage, but the visible intensity is reduced. I'll leave it like that and see how it goes. I don't know the PAR rating. 

Thanks as always


----------



## igirisujin (4 Apr 2020)

[Sorry for the photo quality!]

I decided to spend another couple of hours this afternoon sorting out the decaying plants (mostly HC) around the wood. I had been resisting pulling the small piece of wood out, but now I'm glad I did. There was quite a lot of work to do tidying up that area.





I then took the opportunity to rub off as much BBA as I could from the branches, and gave the moss a good trim. The moss had grown right underneath it, but was brown and nasty. Got rid of all that. Now I think of it, I should have taken the small front stones out to bleach too, but that might have caused an undesirable Aquasoil landslide.













I'm not sure whether it can be seen from this photo, but I took out a large amount of melted HC. There do seem to be some new green leaves, so there is hope. Also, strangely, the small patch of HC directly under the filter inlet seems to be very healthy.





Finally, a full tank shot - looking slightly cleaner again.


----------



## Ghettofarmulous (4 Apr 2020)

Mate this is a nice tank. I really hope you persist with this. It will come together my man.


----------



## igirisujin (7 Apr 2020)

Ghettofarmulous said:


> Mate this is a nice tank. I really hope you persist with this. It will come together my man.


Thank you, yes I won't be giving up unless it really goes wrong. I can tentatively say that things are going a little better. Some of the HC seems to be growing better so I'll be trying to cut out the damaged bits to make way for the new growth, hoping it will continue well. Diatoms are still there despite the lower light and cleaning but it's manageable. I would love to have a decent external filter on this, but it's not possible now. I've got the next project in the planning stage, and it will likely have an Eheim 2211. 

I think the flow may actually be too strong on the right hand side now, as the stems are taking a pummelling. I don't want to reduce it really though, if I can help it - it's distributing the CO2 better than before. 

I'd also like to get some more shrimp, although I haven't actually seen the 3 cherries I have now eating any algae. I wanted some Amanos really, but I think they'll be too big for this 25cm tank - they'll look awkwardly huge! 

Finally, I received some BBA advice from a shop owner here yesterday. It seems that in Japan, as we don't have specific products like Excel available, they use a type of vinegar(?) (it's written as 木酢液, and the character 酢 means vinegar) and apply it directly as you might with liquid carbon products. I'll try it later today if I have time.


----------



## rebel (7 Apr 2020)

vinegar can definitely kill BBA. Just squirt it directly on the spot with the filter turned off. Turn on the filter in 5 minutes. Don't put too much though because it could be bad for the kH and then pH. ADA phyton git is also ok I hear, esp in Japan. Elsewhere we can't really afford most ADA stuff.


----------



## igirisujin (7 Apr 2020)

rebel said:


> ADA phyton git is also ok I hear, esp in Japan. Elsewhere we can't really afford most ADA stuff.



Yes, the shop owner recommended Phyton Git first. It's still expensive here - around £20 - so then he suggested trying that vinegar from the home centre next door. It seems it's usually used to treat wood and stop fungus (and apparently also clean cat litter trays!!), and I wonder whether it's the same stuff they use for treating the stylised 'dead branches' on bonsai.


----------



## igirisujin (7 Apr 2020)

Well this stuff certainly turns BBA red...! Shrimp showing no interest yet. Will see how it looks tomorrow. 

Also, I read several people saying ADA Phyton Git smells like smoky bacon - so does this vinegar! It smells very strongly of the Walkers crisps, and it's all over my hands! I wonder if the Phyton Git is just this stuff rebranded and priced up?


----------



## igirisujin (8 Apr 2020)

New guys at work  

You might be able to see the HC recovering a little, too.


----------



## igirisujin (13 Apr 2020)

Quick progress update. Sorry for the picture overload! Also, the sharpness of images seems to drop when I add them to the forum. I've tried Flickr and Imgur so far. Any ideas why?

Narrow angle full tank shot.


[/url]

Wider angle full tank shot.




















Finally, a little shot of the next tank I'm working on. You can probably see the Mini M in the above photos. I'm taking my time fixing the hardscape for the next project, while saving up for the equipment and plants!! 

I'm going to let this current tank run its full course, and see how healthy I can make it after all the issues. When that's done, I'll start up the Mini M  I'm currently trying to decide whether to use the current spot LED light on the Mini M, or go for the ADA light (not RGB, that's very expensive, and seemingly currently unavailable in 36cm). The concern with the spotlight is that it would cause significant shading under the rocks - this wouldn't be an issue for the ADA strip light. I'll probably start a new journal for the Mini M soon.  




Thanks


----------



## alto (13 Apr 2020)

Tank is looking good 

Balance light cost, but I really like the ADA Aquasky - the build quality is excellent, the clear fame allows the light to “disappear” 

I’ve a couple of older units, and the newer G version - I thought I’d like the G better based upon description, but still quite like the older (original?) model
I do think that the new black Aquasky 60 RGB looks gorgeous in the Green Aqua photos/video, especially with that new stand (but the stand will never be available in Canada as the ADA representation is far from professional, and even the Aquasky 60 RGB was never considered for sale here this year   )

I have ONF’s flat nano + that I use on an ADA 30C, I really like the aesthetics and color rendition of this light 

Was that just 5% vinegar that you used on the bba - I’ve never thought to use this 

Re the image quality - bring this to the attention of ukaps administrator @LondonDragon


----------



## igirisujin (14 Apr 2020)

alto said:


> Tank is looking good
> 
> Balance light cost, but I really like the ADA Aquasky - the build quality is excellent, the clear fame allows the light to “disappear”
> 
> ...



Thanks  Are they dimmable?



> Was that just 5% vinegar that you used on the bba - I’ve never thought to use this



I just squirted it in straight at the affected area (carefully)! I'm not sure how different regular kitchen vinegars would be - this type is typically for garden use here.


----------



## igirisujin (14 Apr 2020)

While the BBA and diatoms seem to be receding, they are being replaced by long, green hair algae - also CO2 related?


----------



## igirisujin (21 Apr 2020)

The algae is much more under control now, and the plant growth is much better. The BBA is still growing, though - it's not totally dealt with yet unfortunately. 

Anyway, I managed to persuade my wife to let me put an external filter (Eheim 2211) on this, as we were going to need to get one when we make the switch to the Mini M, anyway - and I also said her beloved Cherry Shrimp would appreciate it! We have Cherry babies now, too. 

The tank looks much better without the two HOBs on the back glass.


----------



## igirisujin (22 Apr 2020)

I found out yesterday that some of the under parts of the moss have been dying off. I wonder whether that might have been contributing to some of the issues. I had a good go at cutting out the dead parts today.


----------



## igirisujin (4 May 2020)

Very quick update. Seems to be going OK, overall. The HC and hairgrass are growing much better now, but I'm struggling with the moss. The underneath parts of the moss seem to be rotting, and I wonder if it might be a cause for some of the BBA issues in the moss? Anyway, the new growth that's creeping up the wood is healthy, but the older parts are gradually pulling away from the wood. 

I was running low on the ADA/Do!Aqua ferts too, so I've switched to EI using salts I bought from CO2 Supermarket 3 or so years ago. I've mixed and am dosing according to their guidelines. Compared to the ADA ferts I expect it's a big increase in ppms, so It'll be interesting to see if it changes anything. CO2 sitting steady at 1bps, which seems a huge amount compared to what other people are injecting.  

On the right-hand side of the picture is a Mini M I picked up a few weeks ago. I've been working on an Iwagumi for the next scape. I made a thread a while ago about lighting but I'm still undecided, so haven't bought one yet. I was worried that using the spotlight from the 25cm would cause too many shadows, and would leave too many patches in the tank where I couldn't grow plants. It's a toss-up between the ADA light and the ONF Nano now - the ADA being the cheaper option here, but I'm just not convinced by the colour and lack of adjustability.


----------



## igirisujin (9 May 2020)

Just a couple of shots to show the continued progress. Since switching from ADA to EI powder ferts, the HC and moss seem to be improving. The older parts of the moss are still a little brown though, and I think without re-tying it there's not much can be done. Still, the new growth looks good 

BBA is also still appearing despite all the changes and heavy maintenance. I'm hoping it will be easier to control in my next scape. I have made sure to use silicone on the hardscape, and won't have any wood. I regret not securing my hardscape down this time - the wood is quite precarious!


----------



## igirisujin (12 May 2020)

Quick stem trim. Really need to work on my technique - I'm not quite getting it right, I don't think!! 

Also just switched over to the ONF Flat Nano+ while my I'm waiting for my Mini M plant order. Much better colour than the spot light.


----------



## igirisujin (22 May 2020)

Little progress update. Stems are starting to wake up after the last trim. It takes about two weeks for the new buds to open. Is that normal? It seems a little slow. 

Still struggling with BBA, but all other algae is pretty much gone. Just manually removing the BBA each week, which is quite a task. I'm glad I've secured the hardscape down better for my iwagumi! With this one, a slight knock and it'd be game over!!


----------



## si walker (22 May 2020)

Very nice.
Thank you for sharing.


----------



## Ray (22 May 2020)

igirisujin said:


> Well this stuff certainly turns BBA red...!
> 
> View attachment 147902



Looking fantastic - I really like this tank. How did you dose the vinegar - treat the whole tank or spot dose with a pipette?


----------



## igirisujin (28 May 2020)

Ray said:


> Looking fantastic - I really like this tank. How did you dose the vinegar - treat the whole tank or spot dose with a pipette?



I spot dosed with a pipette. It's not great for the surrounding plants, so you need to be very careful. I lost some moss when I tried.


----------



## igirisujin (28 May 2020)

I had a go at what might be my final shot of this tank this morning - although I may let the stems grow out and try again in a week or so. Will see how it goes! For now, I'm fairly happy with this. Far from perfect and had a lot of issues in the process, but I'm pleased how it's recovered. 

Thanks to those who have helped along the way  

Also, yes, I bleached the rock on the right-hand-side, and the algae is yet to come back! It looks a little odd.


----------



## CooKieS (28 May 2020)

Nice shot but you may use an wide angle lens next time


----------



## CooKieS (28 May 2020)

CooKieS said:


> Nice shot but you may use an wider angle lens next time


----------



## si walker (28 May 2020)

Funny thing is that I really like the way this looks with those two HOB filters. I enjoy seeing what keeps these ticking over to an extent. 

I was wondering if you would let nature take this one over now or do you have other plans for it?
Simon.


----------



## LondonDragon (28 May 2020)

Shared on FB page!


----------



## Ady34 (28 May 2020)

Love it, the stems may look better with new growth to soften the cut edge for final photo if time allows


----------



## igirisujin (3 Jun 2020)

CooKieS said:


> Nice shot but you may use an wide angle lens next time



Thanks - I actually took shots at several different focal lengths, but I tend to like longer lengths for small tanks - maybe it's just me! Here's  a wider shot. After I took it, I wished I'd waited until the stems had grown in more. Maybe I'll shoot it again soon, but it's looking a little overgrown now. 







si walker said:


> Funny thing is that I really like the way this looks with those two HOB filters. I enjoy seeing what keeps these ticking over to an extent.
> 
> I was wondering if you would let nature take this one over now or do you have other plans for it?
> Simon.



I need the filter and CO2 unit for the Mini M that's currently in the dry-start phase. My wife wants to keep shrimp through, so we may drop the lights right down and keep it running low-tech. Might have a little re-design though.  



Ady34 said:


> Love it, the stems may look better with new growth to soften the cut edge for final photo if time allows



I think you're right. My stem-trimming technique leaves a lot to be desired. I can't get them to grow at the same rate, even after four trims. They keep doing their own thing. The lower stems take about a month to produce new leaves, but the top stems are much quicker - just all slightly different!


----------



## Sheepy90 (4 Jun 2020)

Your tank looks great! You should definately keep it running. Looking forward to seeing the mini M.
I have just set up a 10l aquarium and I’m struggling to find a filter to run on it as I only have 12cm depth at the back due to the raised substrate at the rear. 
Would the Eheim fit as I’m running a diy foam filter currently which isn’t great.
Also what co2 system are you using? As I want to ad co2 to my tank without it taking up lots of room. 
This is the tank Iv just set up. Hope you don’t mind the questions?


----------



## igirisujin (5 Jun 2020)

Sheepy90 said:


> Would the Eheim fit as I’m running a diy foam filter currently which isn’t great.



You can make it fit. If you use the original plastic pipes, you can cut the intake to whatever size you need. 



> Also what co2 system are you using?



I'm using the discontinued Do!Aqua set with disposable bottles. I couldn't find a proper CO2 reg and large bottles locally.


----------

