Bud's 11.4g Rimless Iwagumi-Style Journal

[bud29]

So, this was supposed to happen months ago. I got this tank in September of last year, hoping to set it up in October. Issues with equipment came up, and I became so busy with other things that it sat on a shelf....until now

Tank:
11.4g Mr. Aqua rimless - 40 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm

Filter:
Aquaclear 20 - long story

Substrate:
ADA Aquasoil Amazonia - got some last year when ADG was clearing out their ADA products

Lighting:
Current USA Satellite LED+


I've already been toying around with some hardscapes, this is probably my best one so far:



Zoomed out a bit



Some other goodies




I'm thinking of just doing a straight HC carpet. I may or may not add something like blyxa japonica in the far right corner - I'll most likely play it by ear. Any other suggestions for plants or layout? If you know me, you know that I'm not the most talented scaper ever

Stocking is also open to suggestion, I've been investigating some micro fish options and nothing has really struck my fancy. The one thing that I do kind of want is a shoal of panda corys - love those guys I'll just need to be sure the HC is well developed before adding them, so they don't uproot everything. Suggestions and thoughts welcome - I'm new to the world of rimless tanks

 

[Brookster123]

I like your style man.. gas rig looks proper.. pandas are cool, I.was thinking about a troop for my recent setup.. i found something else though... habrosus dwarfs would be cool too, you could rock 12 or so and they're small enough to root around the carpet but not big enough to do damage.. are you thinking about any upper water species?

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[bud29]

I like your style man.. gas rig looks proper.. pandas are cool, I.was thinking about a troop for my recent setup.. i found something else though... habrosus dwarfs would be cool too, you could rock 12 or so and they're small enough to root around the carpet but not big enough to do damage.. are you thinking about any upper water species?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Habrosus corys are an idea...I'll have to think about those.

As for mid-top dwellers, I've been doing a bit of looking but haven't found anything I want for sure right now. I'm thinking about CPDs or Chili rasbora possibly, with some type of centerpiece - maybe like a dwarf or honey gourami. I've heard CPDs are better in sheltered, dim tanks though, so I'm not sure how they would fare in my setup. I've also had issues finding chili rasbora for sale. Msjinkzd and wetspot both don't carry them.

 

[Brookster123]

I went with these.. the Habs are in the 20..elegans corys, they spend a good chunk of time free swimning..

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[bud29]

Got a plastic placemat from walmart and cut it up into strips to use as substrate supports. I'm hoping this will help the slope retain its shape.

 

[schoeplein]

Dunno if I would go with a DG in a ten. Territorial, and worse when "cramped".

Maybe a school of neons? I like your scaping thus far. Interesting idea with the plastic supports.

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[NanoJack]

Following.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Sweet! The rimless build is up! I almost forgot about this. Following

 

[bud29]

So today I got some HC from peabody's paradise. I got quite a bit, and it covered much more than I thought it would - not like that's a bad thing though Since the HC there is grown emersed, I opted to do DSM to get a faster carpet and better root system going.

Some pics:

 

[Sk3lly]

Yea looks good. Subscribed

 

[fishenthusiast]

Awesome looking tank! Keep up the good work ?

 

[Ndefil]

Looks awesome

 

[fishenthusiast]

Some Ember Tetras might contrast the HC well. If room would permits, some Ghost Glass Shrimp would be cool as well.

 

[bud29]

Some Ember Tetras might contrast the HC well. If room would permits, some Ghost Glass Shrimp would be cool as well.

I was thinking that a red fish would go nicely with the green carpet, that's why I was drawn to chili rasbora - still can't find a seller though. Maybe one will pop up by the time I flood the tank. I really, really like purple pencilfish and would love to get some, but they're so expensive I'll probably pass. One could easily blow $100+ on a good sized school of them.

 

[fishenthusiast]

I was thinking that a red fish would go nicely with the green carpet, that's why I was drawn to chili rasbora - still can't find a seller though. Maybe one will pop up by the time I flood the tank. I really, really like purple pencilfish and would love to get some, but they're so expensive I'll probably pass. One could easily blow $100+ on a good sized school of them.

Those Rasboras would be a nice addition. Maybe some Badis would be nice to have with them, but I think they're hard to find in fish stores.

 

[bud29]

Today I added a finnex fugeray to beef up the lighting situation a bit. I was wary at first, but since I will have pressurized CO2 I feel a bit more confident. I'll be getting around 75 PAR on the substrate.

I'm getting varied results from the HC. Some spots look pretty nice:



Other spots are not looking so hot:



The issues might be due to fungus, so I sprayed a bit of h2o2 on the bad areas. Hopefully I caught it early enough to at least salvage the root systems of those pieces.

FTS:

 

[Old Scales]

Hey Bud! Looks like the start to a winner! Following. OS.

 

[bud29]

Hey Bud! Looks like the start to a winner! Following. OS.

Thanks!


So - a little change in plans....

Even after doing another round of peroxide treatment on the HC fungus, it actually got worse overnight. So, since the fungus will die in water, I flooded the tank as a last resort. I'll be dosing glut for the first day or two - since I wasn't prepared to flood so soon, I didn't have the CO2 tank filled yet. Depending on how well the HC grows submerged, I may just keep it submerged - I do have the option of draining the tank again in a few days (after the fungus is killed) and returning to DSM. I'll just have to play it by ear.

 

[bud29]

So another change in plans....This setup is just full of surprises...


I went to the welding supply shop today to get my paintball tank filled - wanted to get that done as soon as possible, since the glut just didn't seem to be cutting it. There was a sign on the door that said "Effective June 1, no more paintball co2 refills." I called around and there is not a single place in town that does paintball refills. Just my luck

So, I now have a 5 pound CO2 tank on the way. The welding supply shop still does regular sized tank refills, just not paintball. (Not sure why they quit, paintballing is pretty popular around here). The tank should get here Monday.


I do hope I can get it up and running soon, the HC really is not doing so hot Part of it may be due to the lack of CO2, part of it may be due to the fungus. Quite a bit of it is brown and mushy. Any thoughts on that?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Where do you live? I think sports authority refills paintball. I actually get my refills at an Airsoft store.

Was the HC purchased as emersed grown? I wouldn't flood the tank until you can get the CO2 at adequate level.