10 gallon low-light with dirt

[Marconis]

Thanks guys. Jon, we are onto something. Dirt is the way to go. I mean come on, look how quickly everything is growing in mine. I know that Water Sprite is a characteristically fast grower, but still, everything is doing superb. Algae popped up in mine, but it's mainly on the sand.

Fort, I am going to look for my spare AC30 intake and paint it black so that it blends in more. I want to keep my filter on that side so that the flow isn't constantly pushing my taller plants forward. I'm wondering if I should seek out another plant, or just let this baby roll straight from now on. Hopefully the Lilaeopsis will send out enough runners all on the left side so that I can maintain a low-growing grass area all over there. I'll just have to keep trimming it.

Thanks again for the input fellas. In a few days I'll post a clean pic. Things tend to look weird and nasty after a water change, haha

 

[fort384]

Makes sense. Didn't think about the flow. Duh.

 

[Marconis]

I'm bad, just bad. A lousy day, a day off from class, and procrastinating for an exam leads to only one thing: a massive rescape. I flipped the driftwood back to how I had it a long time ago. I'm going to have a Rotala/Sprite jungle on the right, and lower growing plants on the left.

 

[fort384]

I like it better like that. Keeps it very triangular, which is good

 

[Marconis]

Thanks! Yeah, the driftwood is angled so that there is a pocket for my "jungle", and a pocket for open space low growers on the left. Should work out great. I wasn't liking the fact that you could barely notice I had driftwood in my last scape.

 

[jenatron]

Definitely liking the new scape. Good job.

 

[Marconis]

Do you think my Rotala may not do as well now since it isn't under direct light? My light, as you can see, doesn't span the diameter of the aquarium.

 

[Aspencer]

When you rescape, does that mean you are pulling up the plants and moving them and replanting them?

 

[Marconis]

Yep. In terms of a dirted tank, it also means making a huge mess .

 

[mfdrookie516]

Yes... I can attest to that! I just pulled 3 swords out today... Oh my what a mess! I've found that when re-arranging, a water change immediately following is a great idea.

 

[neilanh]

Looking Good!

 

[Marconis]

Looking Good!

Thanks Neilan. Good to see you finally step into my thread! .

I took another video of my tank, added some music this time as well. The ambience in the song and the outside noise of NYC sounds kind of like an ocean, ha! Enjoy, and be sure to watch in HD.

YouTube - 10 Gallon Low Light with Dirt; Rescaped

 

[fort384]

Wonderful.

 

[Marconis]

Thanks. You can't really see in the video, but I have a bit of algae, mostly brown...could be everlasting diatoms, although it looks clumpy in areas. Will need to take care of it.

 

[Marconis]

Plants arrived today from Jon (mfdrookie). Beautiful. These, unfortunately, are the last plants that will be going in this tank. I ran out of room.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Glad they made it there in good shape. They look very good after their journey, just a little on the droopy side. Hope you enjoy them! You'll be trimming stems off soon enough.

 

[Marconis]

Can I get an algae ID? I'm thinking diatoms, but they have remained for quite some time and are a bit clumpier than I recall diatoms ever being. They have inhabited my Java Fern for a very long time and are spreading to every plant now it seems. Also in the Fern pic, that's a root, not a piece of hair algae. Just want to make sure it isn't some other kind of brown algae. Thanks!

 

[Marconis]

Quick snapshot I just took:

 

[fort384]

Awesome!

 

[Marconis]

Thank you Fort!