Zoom's 38l Nano

I'm not sure I like the white stones, because they'll eventually go green, but it's a nice concept. Are you going to pack some moss inbetween the stones?

 

This is where i differ with a LOT of people's opinion on algae. If it's growing on the glass, and effects my viewing pleasure, take it out. If it's growing on the plants, and making the plants look horrible, take it out. If it is making the entire tank go green, sort it out. Algae is a sign of imbalance of something in the tank... algae growing on a rock, or on the driftwood is perfectly fine for me.

I prefer to have the more natural look, and in the wild... algae is natural. Granted I keep it under control. I am hoping the algae will overtake those rocks because the white is a little harsh. I also believe that algae provides a natural source of food for some fish to supplement their diet. I don't feed my fish twice a day. I only feed in the evening. And every Tuesday and Friday I skip the feed completely. So my fish are only being fed 5 times a week. Am i being cruel... many people will think so... but my fish are all healthy. I haven't had any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate problems in over 8 months. And I often find fish grazing on the algae...

Anyway... that's just my opinion on it...

Regards

 

The ground coverage is beautiful!

Love it!


EDITH: The black gravel looks really good.

 

I agree with you on the feedings, fish can go for a week without food, as they would in the wild. That's why mine only get fed in the mornings on weekdays. Weekends they have to feed themselves.

I have found that if I feed too little, my Marimo algae dies down. So that's more or less my indicator of whether I'm feeding enough

 

Thought I'd update based on the fact that I have planted the Glosso.

You will notice the rock wall has changed slightly. It actually fell apart when I was taking it out to do the planting of the Glosso... but to be honest, the current layout fits in better with my tastes.

I have been adding Flourish Excel for the past 2 weeks, and growth has almost doubled in 2 weeks. Last night I actually "mowed" the lawn in the hope that this may encourage vertical growth.

 

why would you want glosso to grow vertically? isnt it better horizontally to form a carpet?

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looking good btw

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or are u talkin abt the hair grass?

 

Got some exell friday for some of my tanks. What quantities are you dosing in you 1ft ?

 

Sorry... mowed the grass to encourage HORIZONTAL GROWTH. My bad.

I'm actually putting in 1.25ml on day one and 4. Not exactly according to bottle, but how do you measure 0.0something of a mil for all the days when all you have to play with is 11litres. Not practical

 

Looks good! Tell me, are those eyes at the top of the 1st pic? Or bubbles?

 

Wow that is creepy. Does looks like eyes, TroyFish.
@Zoom, your tank looks really good. I also prefer the natural look and thats why I like your tanks so much.

 

Wow! What an awesome looking pico!

Zoom I just wanted to comment on an earlier post of yours. You said you were getting fine thread like algae, but where mystified by the lack of any nitrates, ammonia etc on your test kits.

This is a very common and well known phenomenon in the marine fishkeeping world. The algae simply uses all the waste products as it grows, so there is nothing left when you test for it. The algae itself however is an obvious indicator of excess waste.

 

zoom, considering you like the algae on rocks and wood, perhaps you should start a little green water tank outside in the sun.. it takes a week or two to get the algea growing, you can just pop your wood or rocks in there for a bit and when its nicely covered in algae, move it back to your tank for your fish to graze on? this way you have a sustainable algae source for your fish as you can always "refil" by putting your stuff back into the outside tank to re-grow the algae?

and also it would look REALLY natural completely covered in the thick green stuff

in fact, i think i should try that with my mopani wood.. i've got a small piece i can experiment on and i've already got the green water tank so i'll see if it takes!

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hi dane, so you saying algae is good for keeping the water in good condition, but just not so nice for the look of the tank?

 

Thanks Dane. I thought as much. Also bear in mind that I actually HAVE NO FISH in this tank at the moment. I decided to double dose the fertz last week after the waterchange just to see the effect... and the algae isn't half as bad.

Whilst I don't mind the look of algae on rocks and wood.... I can't stand it on my plants, or on the glass. Putting stuff into green water outside and then putting it back into my tank is asking for a disaster. Just a single spore of green dust algae with the correct lighing and nutrients in the indorr tank will bloom in about a week to a green tank. Not something I'm wanting to risk. I'll let it grow naturally in my tank for now.

 

Really cool nano Zoom , looks wicked ! Gives me an idea with a 50 ltr rimless nano I have standing around.

Agree with you though , playing with algae is like smoking next to a petrol pit, but yes dane is correct in his explanation (howzit Dane)

@ mydummyname , in essence yes algea is "good" as it assists with nutrient export as Dane said BUT please note that in marine fishkeeping this is Macro algea, not the fine green stuff. Also in Marine's we dont have plants to assist in using nutrients and thus this is used in the sump on a reverse lighting cycle...oops here I start rambling.

Back on topic..Zoom the only crit I have is the piece of wood....seems like its giving me the finger

 

Thanks Franssny.This tank has been running for a few months, and only now am I feeling happy with it's progress.
Now that you mention it, that wood does look a bit "rude".

 

Only kidding Zoom...really looks cool , i need to find some "lawn" for my tank , the finger just caught my eye LOL

 

sorry for the slight OT, are you guys telling me there's no such thing as marine plants?

zoom i think i could definitely understand your fears, you wouldnt want to ruin that cool setup of yours after all the hard work you put into it...

 

It's not that it will "ruin" the tank. You made a very valid point in your suggestion... and I think it's something that should be explored a little further on TASA because we all understand the value of green-water. The only thing you obviously need to be aware of is that the risk is high. I've just finished a Project Management course that gives you a very different way of interpreting risks. You plot everything against a Probability vs Impact chart (Matrix). By using green water in your indoors tank there are the following risks that I can identify:
The green spores could multiply and foul up you tank
There may be something inside the water (from outside insects etc) that could be dangerous to fish
Unless you have total control over the tank outside, you have no idea of what else could have gotten into that tank.
So now you plot that on your chart. The PROBABILITY of at least one of these three happening (or other issues) is fairly high. Now you need to determine if the IMPACT will be low, medium or high. In this case, I would go with medium to high. Where this point lines up on the graph, will determine the SEVERITY of the risk... and you thus determine if it's a risk you are willing to take. Would the benefits out way the severity of the risk if the risk was NOT to happen. If the risk happens, have you got a contingent plan?

If I had control over the green water outside, and fry in the tank, I would be prepared to take this risk... because I would have a fairly good idea that the water is ok, and that the fry are going to eat and benefit from the algae. However I don't have fry in this tank, or ANY fish at the moment... so I do not see the benefit of it at the moment.

 

Pictureless update

I'm not going to bother with pictures this time, because not much has changed in the tank except growth... but I'll document the changes in my routine that I have done.

First let me say that there are NO FISH in this tank, so there is no danger to any fish. I would not recommend anyone to try this if you have fish in your tank. I am purely doing this as experimental.

CO2
The Yeast DIY CO2 is definitely not the correct way to go. I actually believe that going this route in tanks causes more problems than help, and I advise against this in any tank with fish. The main problem with this type of CO2 is the pH fluctuations that occur from day to night, and that you actually cannot correctly monitor and control the amount of CO2 going into the tank. HOWEVER, my Nano has got a 1litre bottle of a Yeast reactor DIY CO2 attached to it for the past 3 weeks, through an airstone. I have also turned the spraybar of my filter to face down, so that that there is NO surface agitation. THIS IS DEADLY for a tank with fish, because now there is no O2 in the water. (According to my logic).
I have also started dosing with Flourish Exel. The problem with having only 12 litres of water is that you are suppose to add something like 0.05ml of flourish every day... now explain to me how this is done??? So I simply add 1.25ml after the water change, and leave it at that. Again, this is deadly for fish, as the bottle clearly instructs you NOT to overdose!

WATER
It has been determined that the jo-berg water is not "ideal" at the moment, as there is a big imbalance between Mg and Ca. So this week I used bottled water which has a better balance of the 2. (And 80% of bottled water actually comes from the cape, where the Mg to Ca ratio is better). I also need to ensure that the water is from a natural source, and not from a RO source. (You'd be surprised how much of your bottled water is just simple tap water that has gone through a filtering system!!)

FERTZ
Again, DO NOT DO THIS WITH FISH IN THE TANK. I am using the Professor's DSD ferts. According to the bottle instructions I am suppose to add 1,2ml (new tank) or 1ml when I do a water change, (I change 10litres at a time). For the past 2 weeks I have DOUBLED that dosage to 2 ml!

LIGHTS
Nothing changes. Photo period of 8 hours a day. 1 x 8w CFL, 6,500K globe.

FINDINGS
Over the past 3 weeks my plants have grown REALLY well. It would appear that the algae is not growing so viscously anymore. I am now on day 4 after W/C, and usually the tank has a fair amount of algae on the glass. This is not the case.
I "mowed" the hairgrass about 2 weeks ago... it has grown back to the same height within 2 weeks. The glosso has started new runners.
Over the long weekend, I did a 3 day blackout to try and eliminate the remaining algae, however I don't think this was a bright move. When I uncovered the tank On Sunday, I noticed that the Glosso had taken a huge "knock". It looks like it's pulling through. A lot of leaves have died, but the runners are starting to grow now.

Anyway... that's what's happening in this tank now.

 

i see your point, a very technical way of checking pro's vs cons.. but makes very good sense..

i think perhaps the reason i speak so easily about just chucking in a piece of wood with algae on it is because i havent experienced any algae outbreaks, so obviously i'm quite oblivious to the problems you guys have faced...

when i first bought my 1,2 the glass was covered with algae, which i just scrapped 99% off and never had a problem since, so to me it wasnt a big deal.. but i think my tank is located really in an ideal spot away from direct sunlight, lucky me!

so for me it seems like such an easy thing to try, whereas you guys have of course been there and had to really battle with getting rid of the algae ...

so for me the risk would be low, and for others the risk would be high!

makes perfect sense!