FresH2O's 20g planted rescape

[Fresh2o]

Touch the perfection... Touch it!

Very nice work on the total rescape! Seeing this might just be the nudge I needed to pull all my plants and rescape my tank, which is long overdue. I might have to take another day off sometime after the holidays just to have enough time.

I like your solution to shorten the intake plumbing. Seems like a perfect fit. I just attached the strainer to the piece it's supposed to connect to, and slid that piece over the piece shown in your photo. It's somewhat loose-fitting, but it works since the seam is underwater. Otherwise it would probably draw in some air.

Thanks! The segment of tubing is only 3/4". I made four triangle cuts on the end of the tubing near the strainer to allow the tubing to "shrink" a bit and be more accepting for the strainer. Still, the strainer is at the substrate level. I like how the intake and spray bar attach to the green tubing. Just not happy with the length of the intake.
I was concerned with the green hoses being curled up so I ran very hot water through them as they sat in a sink full of hot water. I attached the spray bar, intake, and canister quick release / shut off valves at the time. I then moved the tubing to the shower and ran cold water on them to allow them to stiffen while straightened out. Next (yes, I did) I allowed the tubing to hang outside a window to cool them off even more.
I can't recall if I already mentioned this, but I cut off a short length of tubing to carry into the hardware store in case I need more tubing and to see what connectors fit best (in case I DIY something).

No room for the canister!?!?! How will u fix that Griggs reactor aswell!? Haha

The reactor will have to wait. At the moment most of the co2 is going into the canister and no bubbles are coming out. The only ones I see are from the plants. Looking forward to what the new diffuser will produce.

 

[Fresh2o]

Here's a video of the new setup (about a week old). I was curious about the bubbles floating around the water. Were they from the diffuser or the plants? With the filter on it was hard to tell. I'd say most are from the plants. Enjoy! [YouTube] http://youtu.be/-5jlNZP3mhQ[/YouTube]
http://youtu.be/-5jlNZP3mhQ
Same video/ two links

 

[Delapool]

No impeller damage from the bubbles going into the canister? Always wondered on that one.

 

[TMaier]

The bubbles look like they are coming up from the substrate sometimes. Got some old fashioned composting underwater?

Tank looking awesome by the way! Your old plants/my new plants were planted yesterday. I still have a few left to plant. I suck a getting roots into the sand big time.

 

[Fresh2o]

Thanks!
Some of the HC Cuba are partially buried in the substrate and it would appear that the bubbles would be coming from down under.
Just ecocomplete and years of fish poo.
As for the impeller, the bubbles must travel through the filter media before getting to the impeller, which is located at the top of the canister. Since they are tiny to begin with, I imagine they are dissolving completely somewhere along the way.

 

[Caliban07]

Looks pretty awesome in video form. That light does it proud.

Could you afford any extra length on the spraybar?

 

[Fresh2o]

Looks pretty awesome in video form. That light does it proud.

Could you afford any extra length on the spraybar?

Thanks! I'm running the Planted+ and 24/7 on this tank now. The 24/7 is in 24/7 mode at the moment.
I'm having second thoughts about feeding the CO2 in the canister. I think I heard it burp today. Plus, after tilting back and forth, you could hear the canister purge bubbles. So I've decided to allow the current to dissipate the bubbles. First off, got a new diffuser. At first it produced quite a few larger bubbles and then later the bubbles were smaller.

I suppose I could get another section of spraybar and add to it. One thing I did find that when the spray bar was along the back, it really did not influence the bubbles from the diffuser when it was at the side of the tank. So I removed one of the spray bar sections and mounted it on the right side of the tank. It's doing a much better job at moving the bubbles.
I was cranking the CO2 and just now I've dropped it from 3+ bps down to 1 bps (DC is very yellow). We will see how it is doing tomorrow.

 

[Caliban07]

Thanks! I'm running the Planted+ and 24/7 on this tank now. The 24/7 is in 24/7 mode at the moment.
I'm having second thoughts about feeding the CO2 in the canister. I think I heard it burp today. Plus, after tilting back and forth, you could hear the canister purge bubbles. So I've decided to allow the current to dissipate the bubbles. First off, got a new diffuser. At first it produced quite a few larger bubbles and then later the bubbles were smaller.

I suppose I could get another section of spraybar and add to it. One thing I did find that when the spray bar was along the back, it really did not influence the bubbles from the diffuser when it was at the side of the tank. So I removed one of the spray bar sections and mounted it on the right side of the tank. It's doing a much better job at moving the bubbles.
I was cranking the CO2 and just now I've dropped it from 3+ bps down to 1 bps (DC is very yellow). We will see how it is doing tomorrow.

Good stuff. Sounds like co2 and flow is on point.

You know I feed my co2 in to the outflow side of my canister throw my inline diffuser. My canister burps throughout the day so either the water column is so saturated with co2 it's causing problems with burping or I'm drawing air in somewhere.

 

[Fresh2o]

Was trying to avoid the "mist in the water" look. How effective is the inline? I meant to also check with kuhligurl on how it is going with her inline diffuser. Do you still see bubbles come out of the spray bar/return and, if so, how much?
I'm not trying to be a CO2 Scrooge but if I can get a green to green-yellow DC using 1 bps that would be great. So glad I have not moved the fish in yet (with the disruptions to the tank).
I've been pushing the substrate up around the HC Cuba to make sure it stays rooted. Slopes erode easily on their own and will continue to do so until the carpet grows in. I am using substrate supports here and there but they don't control shifting in the upper 5 mm.
Oh, I am seeing new growth with larger leaves on the HC Cuba, Ammania bonsai, and pogo erectus. I sold off two batches of HC Cuba and still had some left to tie to SS mesh and place onto the crevices of the stones.

 

[Caliban07]

Was trying to avoid the "mist in the water" look. How effective is the inline? I meant to also check with kuhligurl on how it is going with her inline diffuser. Do you still see bubbles come out of the spray bar/return and, if so, how much?
I'm not trying to be a CO2 Scrooge but if I can get a green to green-yellow DC using 1 bps that would be great. So glad I have not moved the fish in yet (with the disruptions to the tank).
I've been pushing the substrate up around the HC Cuba to make sure it stays rooted. Slopes erode easily on their own and will continue to do so until the carpet grows in. I am using substrate supports here and there but they don't control shifting in the upper 5 mm.
Oh, I am seeing new growth with larger leaves on the HC Cuba, Ammania bonsai, and pogo erectus. I sold off two batches of HC Cuba and still had some left to tie to SS mesh and place onto the crevices of the stones.

You still get mist but you have be pretty close to see it as the bubbles are very fine. Finer than those you see coming up from the bottom of a pint glass of beer but this does help to create that mist effect.

I could have put the inline on the inlet flow to potentially eradicate all bubbles but after warnings in the canister manual and instruction specifically to place on the outlet side of the canister flow in the diffuser manual I opted for the outlet. I've had too many instances where the 'ah it'll be right' phrase has come back to bite me recently so I decided to follow instructions this time.

I know you are a little skeptical when it comes to co2 build up in canisters damaging them so there's nothing stopping you from putting the inline on the inlet side?

 

[Fresh2o]

I've changed things up slightly. I've placed the spray bar on the right side of the tank (with the flow going right to left along the top) and put the new diffuser in the lower left side. The water is rushing sideways, slightly downward where it hits the diffuser. It is upstream a bit from the filter intake and some bubbles might get sucked in. The majority swirl around the tank and make it to the spray bar. Bps is steady at 1-2 and the DC eventually turns green.
As for the lighting, I have it in 24/7 mode and set back 3 or 6 hours. At 1 AM it's still pretty light in there. I think I will set it back to no delay and have the other non-dimmable light come on around the same the 24/7 has peak intensity (~11 AM - 3 PM) and adjust the CO2 times accordingly.

 

[Bert2oo1]

I've changed things up slightly. I've placed the spray bar on the right side of the tank (with the flow going right to left along the top) and put the new diffuser in the lower left side. The water is rushing sideways, slightly downward where it hits the diffuser. It is upstream a bit from the filter intake and some bubbles might get sucked in. The majority swirl around the tank and make it to the spray bar. Bps is steady at 1-2 and the DC eventually turns green.
As for the lighting, I have it in 24/7 mode and set back 3 or 6 hours. At 1 AM it's still pretty light in there. I think I will set it back to no delay and have the other non-dimmable light come on around the same the 24/7 has peak intensity (~11 AM - 3 PM) and adjust the CO2 times accordingly.

Sounds good fresh, have u planted anymore at all?

 

[Fresh2o]

Sounds good fresh, have u planted anymore at all?

Nope. At one point I was not going to plant anything else besides the HC Cuba but I broke down and planted the stem plants along the back.
Currently waiting for the carpet to fill in. Here are some corner shots:

 

[Bert2oo1]

Nice! I love the view from the right side, looks really good! Are u happy with the way it's coming together?

 

[Hoobfoob]

I love the color contrast. It looks awesome so far! I like the stem plants in the back, their different textures look great

 

[Fresh2o]

Nice! I love the view from the right side, looks really good! Are u happy with the way it's coming together?

Yes, pleased with this build. It's a departure from "throw in some plants and grow them". The hardscape was a challenge, as well as trying to find the right flow with a new filter, settling on a lighting schedule, and diffuser position.
Now it's the waiting game on the carpet. I'm going to order some curved scissors and be diligent with trimming the HC Cuba. Neglect lead to the demise of the carpet in the previous build; got too thick and started to lift out of the substrate.
I did bring a piece of canister tubing to the hardware store to see what parts i need to build a reactor. How is yours going?

I love the color contrast. It looks awesome so far! I like the stem plants in the back, their different textures look great

Thank you!
In the previous build, I tried a green/red alternating pattern for color contrast and tried to pair up broad leaves next to needle leaves for a texture contrast. The results were good but the maintenance was a pain in the rear. I'm hoping this one requires less hands on time.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Ah yes good idea with the reactor! Mines all finished and in the new cabinet not going to use it untill I set up the 60g. So a few weeks away yet but overall it was easy to build and I'm sure it will work

 

[Autumnsky]

Pretty impressive side shots there, it looks really good for just a baby! The stones look great: the color is nice with contrast of the substrate and the stones.

 

[Fresh2o]

Yes, the stones turned out nicely.
Starting dosing glutaraldehyde to combat the BBA that got transferred to this tank. The HC Cuba is continuing to spread out ever so slowly. I do see runners appearing from each patch I planted.

This Pogo erectus stem clearly shows the adjustment phase from the old tank, the holding tank, and the new tank.

The Ammania bonsai tips are pinkish which is a good sign

Downoi is just hanging out in the back

Finally, the FTS

 

[fishenthusiast]

Looks good! Ammania bonsai was one of my favorites when I was running high light on the 30 gallon tank.