Rhsoto94 7g Build Journal

[rhsoto94]

Just fooling around with the aquascaping till the light gets here

Oh and the heater came in we'll see how it does.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Looking good, man. Curious to see the final placement of the stones.

BTW, how long ago did you buy and plant the problematic DHG in the 20 long? What are the details of that tank? Where did you get the DHG and do you know the species? Didn't want to hijack that other thread. LOL

 

[andresdeo]

Looking good, like those sharp edges on the hardscape! Following

 

[rhsoto94]

Yeah i thought scraping would be easier in a small tank but it's not for me. I also have a piece of driftwood that wont sink that's in my 40 that I want in the cube

As far as the hairgrass I got it from petsmart picked out the greenest one. Probably been 2 weeks I dose flourish and double dose of API booster and it's dirted I have some metricide coming in today and if that doesn't help I'm pulling it

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Okay.. that's what I thought. I wish they'd put that warning on the package. But since the DHG was grown emersed, it will go through a "melt" as it acclimates to being grown submersed under new conditions. It basically sheds it's old leaves that were ideal for its previous environment and grows new ones that are better adapted to your tank.

Mine did the same as it originated from those gel packs at petsmart.

 

[rhsoto94]

Yeah I kind of forgot about that but I didn't think it would completely die. That happened with my wisteria. I just haven't seen any growth and it's floating all over the tank should I just be patient then?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Yeah I'd be patient. It would do much better with CO2, even DIY. Or DIY + glut (api booster). But the liquid carbon should suffice, especially when you dose a little heavy.

Here's a time lapse progression of my old tank and petsmart DHG (e. Parvula) from planted, to ugly yellowish die-off, to new growth.

 

[rhsoto94]

What would you recommend for a DIY co2 diffuser I tried a few things and they didn't work. But wow I guess I'll jus be patient you think my lighting is ok as Dhg is highlight?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

DHG is more like medium light, maybe even medium-low... but high is okay of course. It's more forgiving than HC, Glosso, and UG for instance.

What's the lighting again? Finnex Planted+ over a 20g Long? If so, then that's more than enough.

Edit:
Take my 6g rimless with a Fugeray-R clip light. It only gets 25 PAR @ 12". I think I'm roughly 11 to 12" from light to sub and my DHG is actually doing well. No CO2 or Glut. My knowledge from before this would have strongly doubted that this was possible. But it is... Still, better light + co2 + ferts will really give DHG the ability to flourish.

 

[rhsoto94]

Really I keep reading conflicting info on it then because I read it was high light and hard to keep I just took a shot in the dark because I liked the look. But your experience really shows that it isn't that hard I'll just be patient.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Conflicting because there's probably a lot of variables not accounted for. I think my DHG is surviving in my low-tech 6g because of the magical properties of ADA AquaSoil. Otherwise, I think it would have turned yellow by now because I hardly dose that tank and no co2.

But, I did start the DHG in my 6g with the FugeRay-R w/ co2 + pps-pro ferts. I have a pretty good 2 month comparison photo on page 10 (post #93):
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/brians-gla-6g-rimless-v-2-rescape-journal-279155-10.html

And then transformed to "low tech" shrimp tank on post #100. I left a little bit of DHG to see if it would survive. To my dismay, it's surviving and growing slower. But still growing nonetheless. I do see runners here and there. This defies my old conventional wisdom on this.

 

[Fresh2o]

Brian - for some reason the link you provided points to a thread entitled "Cannibals" from 2002. Weird. Interesting insight on the DHG though.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

That's strange. I just tried it on the mobile app and it's not going to the thread, just says some strange permission issue. I had to switch to web view, and then click the link.

I'll try again... lol

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/brians-gla-6g-rimless-v-2-rescape-journal-279155.html

Edit.. this link worked on my phone. Just navigate to page 10.

 

[rhsoto94]

The light is here time to go out and get some plants I think I want the hard scape something like this

 

[rhsoto94]

I'm kind of having a problem with the heater though I have it cranked passed 87 and it's barely at 80 I had it at 83 and found it at 74 this morning.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Tank and light are looking good. Better hardscape. I like.

That's strange about the heater. I think they're rated for 8g's and under. Mine stays steady in the 6g no matter how cold it gets in the house. I do keep it at 78 though. Maybe something is wrong with it or perhaps they're rated less than their stated 8g's. In that case, might need a 50w. Did you get it on Amazon? If so, contact customer service and complain. They'll pay to ship it back for an exchange since it's not working up to par.

 

[rhsoto94]

i think I've settled on this hard scape.

But yes I'll give it a day I remember my aqueon heater did the same thing but now works perfect.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

In terms of the hardscape, you can either do the same thing but flip it so it helps conceal the sponge filter and heater, or move the filter/heater in a manner it is partially concealed and not so distracting. Just my 2 cents. Then again, plants can help conceal too, depending on species of course.

Edit.. like that stone in the back right, it's perfect height and size to block the view of the sponge.

 

[rhsoto94]

Yeah I was going to do some stem plants in the back I want star grass but no where online that I buy from has it in stock. I might just do water sprite.

 

[rhsoto94]

There wasn't really any space behind the rock and there is a slope so I couldn't move the filter there. But this inspired me to cover the filter here's what I got.