Bill's 12 Long - A Rimless Iwagumi Build

[bud29]

Tank looks good! The brown stuff on the sand is most likely diatoms - especially likely with all the silicates from the play sand.


I think your girlfriend's a keeper

 

[Billbug68]

Looking good! Your new girlfriend is pretty.

Thanks! She was way cheaper than my wife, too... :rotfl:

 

[Billbug68]

Tank looks good! The brown stuff on the sand is most likely diatoms - especially likely with all the silicates from the play sand.

I think your girlfriend's a keeper

Thanks! I'm giving the sand time to hopefully get better, but in spots it's actually turning orange...

 

[bud29]

Thanks! I'm giving the sand time to hopefully get better, but in spots it's actually turning orange...

Yeah, diatoms can definitely get worse before they get better. Play sand is one of the worst diatom-inducing substrates I have found - in my 55g with blasting sand, I had a minor case on the glass for about a week. In my 29g with playsand, everything was coated for months.

 

[Billbug68]

Do you think mixing it up would be a bad idea?

 

[Fresh2o]

Do you think mixing it up would be a bad idea?

Have you considered adding an Amano shrimp? I Googled "Diatom Amano Shrimp" and the first hit was a TPT thread mentioning Amano shrimp as an oto alternative. I know removing the cause is probably a better route of action but amano's are good at what they do.

 

[bud29]

My plecos seemed to like to munch on the diatoms. But, in a 12g, a pleco would wreak havoc on water parameters. Nerite snails and amano shrimp eat them, I think otos do as well, but I would imagine you need several to make a difference. There are also some FW gobies (Stiphodon sp.) that will eat diatoms, they're fairly uncommon but very cool.

 

[Billbug68]

Well, I do have 5 otos in the tank, and I have one Amano shrimp left. They both spend the majority of the time in the plants and on the wood. I've been wanting to add more Amanos, pygmy corys, some nerite snails, and assassin snails. Unfortunately, I do not have the funds to order all of them any time soon.

 

[Billbug68]

You'd think the tank would be overstocked with 20 fish already in it, but after dosing heavily for a week, nitrates tested at 10ppm, and phosphate at 1ppm.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Hey Bill... since you're more on the minimalist side of things with your 12L, maybe you should try out the new Current-USA Sat+ on your tank. You can run it longer and also have controlled output on the color. I'm sure someone would be willing to buy that Finnex off of you, which would help offset the cost of a fixture change...

Check out the latest post on this thread I stared on TPT. He just posted a killer looking 12L w/ the Sat+ on it.
Satellite+ Club: Showcase your Current Sat+ Tank! Links to journals & more! - Page 3

 

[Billbug68]

Hey Bill... since you're more on the minimalist side of things with your 12L, maybe you should try out the new Current-USA Sat+ on your tank. You can run it longer and also have controlled output on the color. I'm sure someone would be willing to buy that Finnex off of you, which would help offset the cost of a fixture change...

Check out the latest post on this thread I stared on TPT. He just posted a killer looking 12L w/ the Sat+ on it.
Satellite+ Club: Showcase your Current Sat+ Tank! Links to journals & more! - Page 3

Very cool tank, and very bold choice of stones! Looks awesome.

I've a got a few questions... Do you still have to run a timer, or is the fixture programmable? I'm dying for a good led fixture that I can at least hook up to some kind of controller. I want the ability to slowly have the lights ramp up over a set amount of time, then dim to moonlighting in the evening, then slowly ramp down until they're off... Is that too much to ask? I'm not sure if I'll upgrade fixtures until I can get one that is controllable...

BTW, I love the fixture, hate the legs.... guess I could always hang it...

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Current just announced three Ramp Timers. They're having a giveaway contest now in their sponsor forum on TPT. There's a downloadable PDF I attached in the first post on that thread I linked to about the Ramp Timers. So yes, programmable, plug-n-play, and affordable. I'll be getting the Ramp timer too when they're released in the coming month.

 

[Billbug68]

Current just announced three Ramp Timers. They're having a giveaway contest now in their sponsor forum on TPT. There's a downloadable PDF I attached in the first post on that thread I linked to about the Ramp Timers. So yes, programmable, plug-n-play, and affordable. I'll be getting the Ramp timer too when they're released in the coming month.

Ahhh.... Well then, they may just have my money soon... Any idea how much the timers are gonna cost? And I'd just need one, right?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

The single ramp timer has a msrp of 40$, the dual ramp is around 60-70'ish, the pro is around 100'ish. They haven't released the msrp's that I know of other than the cheapest, single timer.

The single does a gradual on and off...whereas the dual also adds in the moonlight. The pro does it all including storm, clouds, etc.

I think Dr. Fosters has a sale on the fixture.

 

[Billbug68]

The single ramp timer has a msrp of 40$, the dual ramp is around 60-70'ish, the pro is around 100'ish. They haven't released the msrp's that I know of other than the cheapest, single timer.

The single does a gradual on and off...whereas the dual also adds in the moonlight. The pro does it all including storm, clouds, etc.

I think Dr. Fosters has a sale on the fixture.

Well ****, you know I'd have to go with the pro... $$$

 

[Billbug68]

So I think what I'm seeing on the sand now is GSA, I'm starting to get it on the glass too... I was running the lights 7 hours, just cut them back to 5. I need me some nerite snails, and that current satellite fixture! I was also considering adding a school of false juli corys to hopefully keep the sand moved around... Any opinions? They are supposed to only get 2 1/2" but I don't want the tank to look TOO busy or unproprtional...

 

[bshenanagins]

So I think what I'm seeing on the sand now is GSA, I'm starting to get it on the glass too... I was running the lights 7 hours, just cut them back to 5. I need me some nerite snails, and that current satellite fixture! I was also considering adding a school of false juli corys to hopefully keep the sand moved around... Any opinions? They are supposed to only get 2 1/2" but I don't want the tank to look TOO busy or unproprtional...

Maybe raise your lights if possible? How much light is over the tank? Co2 level? What about phosphates?

 

[aquandrew]

corydoras trilineatus are pretty active and get kinda chunky why not some corydoras pandas? they max out at 2"

 

[Billbug68]

Maybe raise your lights if possible? How much light is over the tank? Co2 level? What about phosphates?

Raising the lights, unfortunately, is not an option with the way and where I have the tank set up at the current time. I am running a layer of window screen over the LEDs to cut down on intensity, though. I've been slowly adding time to my photoperiod lately, I think I just passed the sweet spot for my current setup. Hopefully at 5 hours, things get better. About the phosphates, I've been dosing 4mL a day, when PPS pro technically calls for 1.2 mL. I tested last week and they were at 2ppm before my water change.

corydoras trilineatus are pretty active and get kinda chunky why not some corydoras pandas? they max out at 2"

Hmmm, I was purely basing my choice on what Live Aquaria states as max size. They state false juliis at a max size of 2" while pandas at 2 1/2". I like the pattern of the false jullis as well. I thought about pygmy corys, but I'm not sure if they spend as much time as a true bottom dweller as other corys. A lot of videos I've looked up of them, they would be swimming a lot at the same level as my neons.

 

[bshenanagins]

Raising the lights, unfortunately, is not an option with the way and where I have the tank set up at the current time. I am running a layer of window screen over the LEDs to cut down on intensity, though. I've been slowly adding time to my photoperiod lately, I think I just passed the sweet spot for my current setup. Hopefully at 5 hours, things get better. About the phosphates, I've been dosing 4mL a day, when PPS pro technically calls for 1.2 mL. I tested last week and they were at 2ppm before my water change.

Hmmm, I was purely basing my choice on what Live Aquaria states as max size. They state false juliis at a max size of 2" while pandas at 2 1/2". I like the pattern of the false jullis as well. I thought about pygmy corys, but I'm not sure if they spend as much time as a true bottom dweller as other corys. A lot of videos I've looked up of them, they would be swimming a lot at the same level as my neons.

Yeah pygmys are not true bottom dwellers they are more mid level. False Julie's stay around 2 inches and I agree I like their size. Maybe look into loaches as well? Shrimp? Are your LEDS dimmable? You could get an aftermarket dimmer.