Fluval Edge Aquascaping Help

[WBAC88]

Alright, so it's been a few weeks now and I've added some RCS and things are starting to grow in a bit. I'm really liking the look of it so far, but the mosses should be coming from another AA member this week, so I'll be updating again when that happens. My CPDs are much happier and are venturing out a bit more as a school, and there have even been a few sightings of the elusive sparkling gourami. As it is, here's the tank:

 

[Tcal01]

Alright, so it's been a few weeks now and I've added some RCS and things are starting to grow in a bit. I'm really liking the look of it so far, but the mosses should be coming from another AA member this week, so I'll be updating again when that happens. My CPDs are much happier and are venturing out a bit more as a school, and there have even been a few sightings of the elusive sparkling gourami. As it is, here's the tank:

Don't forget to break up that hairgrass How are your sparkling gouramis with the cpds? I had a pair of those with a school of cpds and they killed them all

 

[MABJ]

Why break up the hairgrass, Tcal?

And WBAC, I think the grass in the middle takes away from the aquarium. The way to work is negative space. Put it towards the outside and work it in a line towards the middle as it propagates!

 

[Tcal01]

Why break up the hairgrass, Tcal?

And WBAC, I think the grass in the middle takes away from the aquarium. The way to work is negative space. Put it towards the outside and work it in a line towards the middle as it propagates!

If you break it up, then it spreads faster and equally

 

[Austin.b]

Why break up the hairgrass, Tcal?

And WBAC, I think the grass in the middle takes away from the aquarium. The way to work is negative space. Put it towards the outside and work it in a line towards the middle as it propagates!

i also feel the exact same way, maybe try putting some in the back left corner and some in the front right side? however if you were to do that, do you think it would get sufficient light?

 

[MABJ]

Thanks Austin .

TCAL, thanks, how do you know when it is ready to separate. I've got grass that is growing and is creating daughter grass.

 

[WBAC88]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I didn't forget to break up the grass, it's been a combination of things:

1) Laziness, first and foremost, it's such a pain to work in an Edge with only that small opening at the top to reach in through that I've been putting it off.

2) I'm trying to figure out where I can put it without it blocking everything else. In a tank this small, it really seems almost more like a mid-background plant. Maybe I'll ditch the rock that's just to the right of it and spread it out along there. Thoughts?

3) Lighting. Someone else mentioned this, but I've yet to get another light to supplement the tiny ones that come with the Edge, and I know that it won't get enough light as it is if I move it from the center.

So, once I take care of those three things, I'll get the grass split up. Also, as a practical question, I've re-planted small plants like this before and had trouble keeping them from floating up out of the substrate. Is this likely to happen with harigrass, too? How do you keep it secured long enough for the roots to develop?

Don't forget to break up that hairgrass How are your sparkling gouramis with the cpds? I had a pair of those with a school of cpds and they killed them all

I've had no trouble with them at all! I rarely see the gourami, it tends to hide in the very back of the tank in a little grotto I made for it. It's pretty much the same size as them, and I've never seen an aggression from it. That's terrible, though, I'll be on the lookout.

 

[MABJ]

Well... I'm pretty sure you should do what your light supports

That is a downer about the edge. You might consider a plant that runs in a line across. They're pretty cool.

What would you do about your lights? Is it the 21 led system?

I've not had issues with my grass (idk what kind it is) floating up. It happened once, but I planted it a little deeper. That's also when I noticed I have a few nematodes now >_<.

My grass is sending off daughter grass and idk what to do either, so I hope we find out.

 

[WBAC88]

Well... I'm pretty sure you should do what your light supports

That is a downer about the edge. You might consider a plant that runs in a line across. They're pretty cool.

What would you do about your lights? Is it the 21 led system?

I've not had issues with my grass (idk what kind it is) floating up. It happened once, but I planted it a little deeper. That's also when I noticed I have a few nematodes now >_<.

My grass is sending off daughter grass and idk what to do either, so I hope we find out.

Haha, yeah. I have a little time next Sunday, so maybe I'll just roll up my sleeves and do it. I'll get an outside light and replant everything. I replaced the halogens with two small LEDs that someone here recommended on another Edge thread. I'm thinking that maybe I'll grade the substrate a little more so that if the grass is in front, it won't look so tall in comparison to the plants in back.

I've only had issues with it floating up when I was re-planting it. It was a different grass from hairgrass, though, so maybe hairgrass is easier to keep down. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[Tcal01]

Definitely separate it when you get the extra light. Hairgrass grows dead slow if it is not supplemented with ferts and co2 so it may take a while for roots to take hold. How deep is your substrate?

I think my gouramis were more aggressive because i had a pair of them :/ that's the only reason i could think of why they would kill such a cute, peaceful little fish

 

[WBAC88]

Definitely separate it when you get the extra light. Hairgrass grows dead slow if it is not supplemented with ferts and co2 so it may take a while for roots to take hold. How deep is your substrate?

I think my gouramis were more aggressive because i had a pair of them :/ that's the only reason i could think of why they would kill such a cute, peaceful little fish

My substrate is about 2-3" deep. TMS over flourite. I dose excel and comprehensive. No CO2 yet, maybe when I have more time this summer. I'm definitely going to separate them, it's just a matter of when. Do you still have those gouramis? What do you keep with them now?

 

[Tcal01]

My substrate is about 2-3" deep. TMS over flourite. I dose excel and comprehensive. No CO2 yet, maybe when I have more time this summer. I'm definitely going to separate them, it's just a matter of when. Do you still have those gouramis? What do you keep with them now?

Make sure you don't put the plants too deep in the substrate. How do you dose the excel and comp? I just got some and IM curious on how others do it. I don't have the gouramis anymore. Currently i have a betta with Harlequin rasboras, pygmy loaches and otos and IM going to be reading out the betta for some rams

 

[WBAC88]

Make sure you don't put the plants too deep in the substrate. How do you dose the excel and comp? I just got some and IM curious on how others do it. I don't have the gouramis anymore. Currently i have a betta with Harlequin rasboras, pygmy loaches and otos and IM going to be reading out the betta for some rams

I trimmed the roots, so I couldn't put them in too deep even if I wanted to! I dose a tiny bit of excel every day. A fraction of a capful, whatever the dosing instructions say. For the comprehensive, I dose once a week after my PWCs, same thing, just a tiny bit. Sounds like a good stock! What size tank is that?

 

[Tcal01]

I trimmed the roots, so I couldn't put them in too deep even if I wanted to! I dose a tiny bit of excel every day. A fraction of a capful, whatever the dosing instructions say. For the comprehensive, I dose once a week after my PWCs, same thing, just a tiny bit. Sounds like a good stock! What size tank is that?

It's good that you trimmed the roots. My tank is a 20g high, pretty fully stocked. I found a 3g Ada nano Rimless tank on Craigs though for $50 with everything included so that will be my next project. Ill have to get some inspiration from this build. I know you mentions grading in your last post. Grading, to me, is always good. It gives a tank really good depth and increases the surface area for BB to land on. I think a higher grade on the right and left side of the tank would look nice. Maybe a little in the back too

 

[WBAC88]

It's good that you trimmed the roots. My tank is a 20g high, pretty fully stocked. I found a 3g Ada nano Rimless tank on Craigs though for $50 with everything included so that will be my next project. Ill have to get some inspiration from this build. I know you mentions grading in your last post. Grading, to me, is always good. It gives a tank really good depth and increases the surface area for BB to land on. I think a higher grade on the right and left side of the tank would look nice. Maybe a little in the back too

Yeah, I have a slight front to back grade already, but I think I'll increase it a bit to see if it helps with the grass. That sounds like a great project. 3G is pretty small, would it be an inverts tank? That's definitely a challenge. I tried a 2.5g while my first tank ever was cycling and it was a disaster. It would probably be less so now that I have some experience, but still, smaller is harder that's for sure. I'll be on the lookout for your thread on it!

 

[Tcal01]

Yeah, I have a slight front to back grade already, but I think I'll increase it a bit to see if it helps with the grass. That sounds like a great project. 3G is pretty small, would it be an inverts tank? That's definitely a challenge. I tried a 2.5g while my first tank ever was cycling and it was a disaster. It would probably be less so now that I have some experience, but still, smaller is harder that's for sure. I'll be on the lookout for your thread on it!

Yes it will be an invert tank and maybe a small school of some nano fish. Smaller is so mich harder because any mistake u make is magnified due to its small volume of water. What made yours a disaster?

 

[WBAC88]

Sorry it's been so long, but I've been busy with work and life in general, but things are progressing with my Edge. As you can see, the plants are starting to grow in and the moss that I got from a member here has started to bush out as well. I split up the hair grass and it's beginning to send out runners. I'm going to be picking up a desk lamp to give it some more light. The biggest success so far have been those leafy plants in the back that have exploded and filled in the middle of the tank. I like the look of things as they come in, but I'll be doing some trimming soon to try to bring it under control just a little. Thoughts?

View attachment 97045

 

[tiger terror]

Sorry it's been so long, but I've been busy with work and life in general, but things are progressing with my Edge. As you can see, the plants are starting to grow in and the moss that I got from a member here has started to bush out as well. I split up the hair grass and it's beginning to send out runners. I'm going to be picking up a desk lamp to give it some more light. The biggest success so far have been those leafy plants in the back that have exploded and filled in the middle of the tank. I like the look of things as they come in, but I'll be doing some trimming soon to try to bring it under control just a little. Thoughts?

Looks Great!

 

[MABJ]

Very nice! Dwarf hair grass?

 

[WBAC88]

Very nice! Dwarf hair grass?

Yep, it's starting to take off only now. It's sending out runners and growing up quite a bit. Any body have any advice on trimming it? How often, how much, how to get the clippings out of the tank? That kind of thing.