[musrusticus]

As promised I have pics of my two NPT's. The 29 gallon is still fighting some BGA, which you should be able to see and there's still a little in the 5 gallon but not enough to concern me.

There are lots of plants in the 29 gallon but they're still pretty small, so it doesn't look like much yet. Hopefully they'll fill in well but I'm open to suggestions of plants to try. I'm not sure that there'll be much room for any other plants in the 5 gallon before too long, though.

 

[musrusticus]

Pictures. First is the aquarium after a few months of neglect and the others are after a recent trim and PWC.

 

[musrusticus]

Thanks for the comments.

Yes, I know maintenance is a good thing. Normally I'm a bit of a doting aquarist, but I finished college in December then moved and started a new job in January and things are just now settling down enough that I can devote some much needed attention to the NPT's.

Last night I ordered some red cryptocoryne wendtii to plant in both tanks. They should be arriving on Thursday. After the crypts get settled in I may add some neon tetra to the 29 gallon, but we'll see. Anyhow, wish me luck with the crypts and I'll post some more pics after they get planted and established.

 

[musrusticus]

I've been trying to get pics but my camera has taken a turn for the worse, so none for now. The crypts didn't fare well, they pretty much melted away within the first week and didn't come back.

However, some duckweed hitched with them and that stuff is doing great. There's been a bit of a java moss growth spurt also which looks like it may end up carpeting both tanks if I leave it be. I'll try to post some pics if I can get my hands on a working camera.

 

[musrusticus]

Right now I have 3 100 watt CFL's. One in a desklamp about six inches above the surface and the other two in a floorlamp probably 18" from the tank. The light setup is pretty inefficient, hence the high wattage. The room it's in is also a solarium. It was a greenhouse but has since been converted to an apartment so it probably gets more light from sunlight than anything else for most of the day.

Light comes in on all sides, I've actually been fighting off most leafy growth in the bottom half of the tank because that's where the catfish usually hang out and I like giving them plenty of room to move about. They seem happier that way. The plants that are there routinely go to seed and there are all sorts of seedlings floating around that I've been trying to get planted along the back of the tank.

 

[musrusticus]

The water is now close to the top of the tank. I had it that low to allow the bacopa to grow above the surface without growing into the hood. I've since removed the hood (really a better solution, I think).

I'll do my best to get my hands on a working camera soon so y'all can see.

 

[musrusticus]

So, update. Both of these aquariums are gone now, I've moved to Florida and didn't have the room to bring them with. They were donated to a friend. I do have more recent pics from before the move if anyone is interested, though.

After being without a tank for quite some time, I've started a 10g NPT. Nothing doing yet, but I'll probably start a thread for it after there's actually something to talk about.