Hello,
I haven't posted here for a while. I've been busy with my university position and singing. I still have the 20g, and the scape has again morphed into something that I can be happy with, especially with the lack maintenance that it requires.
It really doesn't make any sense to make this a journal proper. It is a low-tech tank, so any changes are going to occur over a long period of time. I can probably post a picture 6 months from now and the tank will probalby look pretty much the same, maybe the crypts will cover more area. Other than letting things be, the scape is basically done. Some of the plants have been in the same position for over a year, so it is a long-term scape. The crypts are spreading by sending daughter plants and has formed a dense patch. Some stats for you.
Tank: 20g high, age 3 years.
Substrate: Laterite with a mixed top layer of gravel and sand. There is substrate mixing.
Filtration: Two aquaclear HOB filters set to maximum flow, filter media rinsed in tank water.
Lighting: Same old Coralife 2x14W T5 fixture, giving me 28W. Bulbs are changed every year, give or take.
CO2: No injection since about early 2007.
Ferts: Only rootabs for the crypts and Vallis nana.
Hardscape: Mopani wood and other wood types.
Plants: Vallisneria nana, Cryptocoryne wendtii (red, green, bronze, I don't know, all mixed in), and anubias.
Livestock: 10 Trigonostigma heteromorpha, 7 Rasbora pauciperforata, 10 Corydoras aeneus, 1 oto (will be adding more)
Maintenance: Weekly water changes 25-50%, monthly trim of Vallis to make sure it doesn't overun the crypts.
I won't lie, there is a little algae, but it doesn't overun the tank by any means. I personally don't mind, if it means I can cut down on the maintenance. I think trying to be perfect and have no algae will only lead extra work. There is no perfection, and I hate working. I am very lazy.
A picture for you.
Thanks for looking.
I haven't posted here for a while. I've been busy with my university position and singing. I still have the 20g, and the scape has again morphed into something that I can be happy with, especially with the lack maintenance that it requires.
It really doesn't make any sense to make this a journal proper. It is a low-tech tank, so any changes are going to occur over a long period of time. I can probably post a picture 6 months from now and the tank will probalby look pretty much the same, maybe the crypts will cover more area. Other than letting things be, the scape is basically done. Some of the plants have been in the same position for over a year, so it is a long-term scape. The crypts are spreading by sending daughter plants and has formed a dense patch. Some stats for you.
Tank: 20g high, age 3 years.
Substrate: Laterite with a mixed top layer of gravel and sand. There is substrate mixing.
Filtration: Two aquaclear HOB filters set to maximum flow, filter media rinsed in tank water.
Lighting: Same old Coralife 2x14W T5 fixture, giving me 28W. Bulbs are changed every year, give or take.
CO2: No injection since about early 2007.
Ferts: Only rootabs for the crypts and Vallis nana.
Hardscape: Mopani wood and other wood types.
Plants: Vallisneria nana, Cryptocoryne wendtii (red, green, bronze, I don't know, all mixed in), and anubias.
Livestock: 10 Trigonostigma heteromorpha, 7 Rasbora pauciperforata, 10 Corydoras aeneus, 1 oto (will be adding more)
Maintenance: Weekly water changes 25-50%, monthly trim of Vallis to make sure it doesn't overun the crypts.
I won't lie, there is a little algae, but it doesn't overun the tank by any means. I personally don't mind, if it means I can cut down on the maintenance. I think trying to be perfect and have no algae will only lead extra work. There is no perfection, and I hate working. I am very lazy.
A picture for you.
Thanks for looking.