[oregon aqua]

Some really bad pics coming below lol

decided to start my rescape on my 46 gallon despite some problems i have with my filter.

Equip at the moment is
2x 40watt cf
1x 15watt N.O. fluorescent for sunrise sunset
1x 13watt cf moonlight
this is all going in to a hood setup soon maybe with or with out a MH setup

2x 200 watt heater will switch out soon to hydor in line

magnum 350 HOT, supposed to be a fluval 204 but that not go so well. Will switch to a eheim or rena some time.

substrate: AquariumPlants.com's own: Freshwater Plant Substrate. Wanted to try it out and the price was in my current budget. so far i am happy they shipped it fast it looks pretty good and i have extra.

CO2: need a bottle have a reg

ferts: not yet, but pps-pro. Im trying to get a new micro mix i am going to test. as i have been having trouble getting csm+b for my store im going to try to get some one to make me my own micro and use this tank to test.

Plants: at the moment none of these are permanent at all! just out of my emersed set up to make room for some UG im going to grow out and stuff that was already in tank.
crypt sp tropica
micro sword
hornwort
crypt sp?
hygro aug.
some free floating x-mass moss im trying to catch

fauna: i was going to do discus but ive nixed that. (for now)
soon crs shrimp
corys
otos
neons? or some other cheap school (always like neons want a big school what ever i choose)

not much of a start really but im on vacation so i will be playing around alot with the hard scape, plus i have a pretty big slope im going to see how big i can get it to stay, this is such a hard tank for me to scape it really helps with a extreme slope. I might even go higher after it clears when i can get a better look i will decide.

i would like comments but as you can see..... you cant see its to cloudy but its getting clearer so i will have new picks soon.

 

[oregon aqua]

Just some better pictures more cleared up.

Yes they are green severums, yes the like to eat plants.LOL

the hornwort is temp as is the plant placement. im thinking a lot of crypt sp. and some hygro's i dont know im just happy to be working on a scape lol my 55 is just plugging along and doesn't need me much anymore

 

[cs_gardener]

Is that a pentagon? I have one and it's such fun getting light for it and figuring out how to plant things to look decent. I went with mostly crypts, ferns, and anubias and a Crinum calumistratum for interest. It's neat because the Crinum's leaves have plenty of room to twist around.

It looks like you have a good basic layout. I hope the slope stays for you and doesn't level out quickly. What other plants are you thinking of using?

 

[oregon aqua]

thats the shape/ sizes. it has been a interesting tank to scape and light indeed!

for the slope i have 2 very large rocks under the substrate to make it so high. the slope is holding up mostly i can see the mts causing little slides but other then that i think im safe. when plants grow in better roots i think they should hold it up?if it does come down i will make some barriers to hold it up maybe out of that stainless steel i have.

for plants im thinking of mid ground crypt tropica, crypt Mi Oya, fore ground Lilaeopsis mauritius, Pogostemon helferi, back ground Weeping moss, Microsorum pteropus 'Windeløv' or maybe narrow or even both on the wood and still thinking of what else if anything.

at the moment im stuck with the crypt tropica and lilaeopsis as the few plants the severums wont eat. Im looking for a new home for them and as soon as they are gone i will put my order in to aquabotanic.

AND Echinodorus vesuvius i think to

 

[cs_gardener]

I like the sounds of your plans. I have cories in my tank and they leveled my modest slope quite effectively. I don't think the MTS would do that much damage, at least not quickly.

I hope you can find the severums a good home quickly. They're cool looking fish but much too limiting for a planted tank.

 

[oregon aqua]

I like the sounds of your plans. I have cories in my tank and they leveled my modest slope quite effectively. I don't think the MTS would do that much damage, at least not quickly.

I hope you can find the severums a good home quickly. They're cool looking fish but much too limiting for a planted tank.

Well i think i found the severums a home. So they will be gone tomorrow and the can breed ans eat some one else's plants. For fish im going with some endlers. something easy and nice AND SMALL. Im excited about the small part! my main has large fish and i love them but they eat all the smaller fish and shrimp and snails i want so endlers are going to be cool. As for the pair of cory's in the tank i think they will stay for now as they are very happy and are fun to watch, i think when i try shrimp again they should be safe? For shrimp im just going to do cherry if i can get a large amount for cheap, I have not been able to keep shrimp for more then a month so im hopeful i have it figured out! and then otto's the LFS always has them for 5 for $10 so i probably get $20 worth and if they have those black one i might get those to.

Will have my final plant layout done when the severums leave and theplant i orderd arrive.
Orderd Lilaeopsis mauritius, Pogostemon helferi(trying one more time) Weeping moss and Echinodorus vesuvius from aquabotanic along with some Limnophila sp. "mini" and Hygrophila difformis "variegated from Inspire91. I not sure what tanks are getting what for sure yet, but that brings me to the end of my budget for the rescape portion of my tank.

In a month or so i need to get going on the DIY portion, the light set up and the manifold. And i really need to figure out what im doing for CO2, I guess if no one buys the aqua-tek from my store i can "test" it on my aquarium and write it off, its hard to have all this stuff and not want to use it myself LOL would be hard to sell it though. Until i figure it out its going to be excel for awhile.

My next thing i have been worried about is dosing the PPS-Pro, as of now i have dosed once after water change and again tomorrow. im thinking every three days until i get more plants in the tank and established. Not sure its never been to good at the start up part.

Will have new pics when i get the new plants.

thanks for reading

 

[cs_gardener]

I'm glad you've found a home for the severums. The endlers sound like a good plan, I'm sure they'll happily fill the tank for you in no time.

As long as you have plenty of dense plantings I think your future shrimp should be fine. They move so quickly and randomly when startled that my fish (an angel, lemon tetras and black neon tetras, cories, and female bettas) all have totally failed at catching a shrimp. The fish now just kinda eye the shrimp as they go about their business without actually going after them. They might have better luck when there are more shrimp, especially young shrimp, but for now the adult and sub-adult shrimp are doing well.

I'd wait for a couple months to get shrimp. I had a lot of trouble keeping them in a relatively new setup tank that was about 6-8 weeks old and had cycled with guppies. After a few months the last of my cherry survivors started breeding and populating the tank and have done very well since then. I did have soil with bark bits in it as an underlayer and that may have caused some of my problems. If you wait a while you'll also have better cover for the shrimp and any shrimp babies.

I'm really interested in what you end up doing with this tank. I finally went low light and hardy plants and have been mostly happy with it. It'll be good to see what someone else does with a pentagon.

 

[oregon aqua]

well little update:

added endlers
also added "blueberry" shrimp i got from six THEY ARE GREAT!!! The endlers are scared to death of them LOL.
Front

right

left
new foreground is just starting to root
shrimp and my new needle leaf jave fern

another shrimp and my sunset from TexGal wow it looks so much better in this tank!!!!!!

 

[oregon aqua]

well its been a long time since i have posted, lots of stuff has happened. But i wanted to post an update of my corner tank. it took a big hit after the move lost all my endlers. most of my shrimp, and a lot of plants.

here it is now as it sits, replaced endlers with green neons and some tetras.

 

[zer0zax]

I like your substrate slope and the way you stacked your driftwood! Looks like a cave/mountain, and once the ferns grow it will look like there is a ton of depth. Have you thought about adding a moss wall to the rear sides? The flame moss I got from Medred is taking off like a rocket! Keep the updates rolling8)

 

[Church]

Looking good!

 

[cs_gardener]

It's looking great. I like how you've layered the plants to really use the depth of the tank.

 

[oregon aqua]

Looking good!

Thank You

It's looking great. I like how you've layered the plants to really use the depth of the tank.

Thank you so much. I was really tryin to make it look even deeper then it is and give plenty of places for the shrimp with out having ugly holes in between the plants (still workin on that) plus i wanted a big slope, i got it with the plants but the substrate did not hold its slope at all with the MTS, cories, and the fact it was way to lite weight when new.

well i updated my 55 so here goes my 46.

I had baby shrimps!!!! first time ever! looks to be both blueberry and maybe some cherries to. I was shocked when i found them, specially since some where already medium sized so had been in their for some time before i saw them. Since the tank is so tall its hard to get in their and do anything so im sure they had been having babies for a bit considering all the different sizes in their at the moment. Other then that i have added 2 violet cories to make friends with the large one who survived the move, they seem to getting along nice and leaving the shrimp alone.

the grass is gone did not take at all but i replaced in with ranaculis? forget name.

As far as dosing regimens i dont know if i ever said what my plans where but at the moment im doing 1 dose PPS-Pro solution every monday, no Co2 or excel (tho i may start a little excel soon) And 10% wc a month. The only tanks i do less to is my npt iwagumi (sp?) and nano. so i am really happy with the substrate and the tank as a whole. grows in nice, water stays clear, and slow but healthy growth, so i dont have to prune or scape much.

sorry kinda blurry batteries dien in camera so i was in a hurry

 

[cs_gardener]

Looking very good and congrats on the shrimp babies! The plant you have as a foreground is Ranunculus inundatus, it may take a bit to get established but then it will send runners out wherever it can.

 

[oregon aqua]

Looking very good and congrats on the shrimp babies! The plant you have as a foreground is Ranunculus inundatus, it may take a bit to get established but then it will send runners out wherever it can.

thats the name! thank you. I believe its from your tank i got it from Robert. It got crowded out in my 55 but seams to be starting to gorw now in the 46=0)

I was super excited to see the shrimp. I think their is a new hatch now to as i just saw a shell from a really small one floating around, Im amazed at how many their are i counted 25 juveniles at feeding.

 

[oregon aqua]

Just a new shot Merry X-mas

 

[oregon aqua]

Finally found my charger for batteries. So i could take some time and try and get some close up shots of my new shrimp babies. Also a shot of fish. I think most of the shrimp babies are the blueberry as i have herd they don't get their color for awhile. The cherry shrimp took the hardest hit on the move, so their are not many babies from them but i did find some=0).

I so wonder if these shrimp can mix breed since i have seen some what look like blueberry with red in them? anyone know?

 

[oregon aqua]

WOW what can i say its almost been a full year since setup and forever since my last update

Nothing much has changed in the tank. The slow growers are still growing, the fish are happy, and the shrimps are still having babies. I haven't added anything new or taken anything out.

Just did my 2nd (or maybe 3rd) Water change since setup, i cant believe how well the tank is doing all the test are within spec and the java ferns are the only plants just now starting to show signs of deficiency, since i haven't dosed the tank with micro or macro in 4 or so months and never added Co2, i think its amazing.

I hurt my hand pretty bad and have not been able to reach in and trim or clean up the MTS shells and such so sorry for the kinda overgrown dirty look.

Just did WC so pics a little cloudy sorry. when it clears up i will take better pics and worry more about camera settings lol

CENTER FULL

Center close up

Right side

MISC

Still waiting for my foreground LOL

My cory after he chased all the shrimp away from the food so the big fat pig can eat it all himself, or so he could get in the pic

 

[cs_gardener]

It's easy to lose track of time with such a low maintenance tank, isn't it? It's filled in quite a bit and has a nice untamed look going.

I hope your hand heals quickly.

 

[oregon aqua]

It's easy to lose track of time with such a low maintenance tank, isn't it? It's filled in quite a bit and has a nice untamed look going.

I hope your hand heals quickly.

It is way easy to lose track lol. It looks so much better in person then in my horrible pics. im kinda bummed the Ranunculus inundatus never took, it would start then stop then i would loose it and it would come back. Then one day it was just gone. Sure the corries had their way with it when the lights where out, they really really enjoyed playing on/in it.

Untamed is not what i wanted but it has worked and i find it very nice to look at and watch.