My planted 20L, suggetions!?! (56K i think)

That's an interesting discussion in the rest of the thread, there. I haven't been thrilled at the prospect of the ladder in my tank and was thinking of using a diffuser. How is this method working for you so far? :confused:
 
well. . . I just ordered a drop checker online, so I'll be able to give you a more definitive answer in about a month (shipping from hongkong can take a while i've heard) but so far it seems ok.

i do hear a little squirsh noise periodically from the larger bubbles.

I haven't done a ph test to see if the old fashoined kh/ph chart can tell me anthing, I'll do the tests tommorow afternoon and let you know if i get a higher ppm. I know the chart is considered inacurate due to other factors in changing ph however if it's the same or different from the reading I've had consistently with the old injection method I could reasonably conclude that my CO2 saturation is higher or lower with the new injection method). . . we'll see :)

cheers-K
 
mini update on the tank's evolution:
I need to take some new FTS's, the pearling weed is grown in nice and thick and is just starting to do the "draping" thing i intended it to. Also the lily is growing taller since i decided to let it put out the lily pads (hoping for a flower) however the height of it in my foreground is kind of bugging me so i might loose patience and cut the pads- we'll see.

Also since i started my new side job (see top 10 things you should know if you work at an LFS thread) i special ordered flourish phosphate- you should have seen the looks on the faces of the reefers in there- "you want to add phosphates?!?" yes that's right i do
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After i get my ebay items (seller:aquakh8) and i can better gauge what kind of CO2 saturation I'm getting, I'm considering upgrading my lights I think i would get an identical coralife T-5 and run a 10,000K bulb. i think i would probably just run the third bulb for a total of 54 watts- leaving one off. I've been really happy with the lidless/raised lights however i don't get the same intensity of red in the rotala indica that i did when it was right at the surface.

I still have to do that ph test to see where the CO2 is sitting- I'll get too it soon-sorry for the delay.

Also toying with the idea of adding moonlights. . .$$$ all these ideas are costly so we'll see how fast I'm able to dump money into my tanks. some day i should be a big kid and go pressurized. . .still too broke for that
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oh! i forgot last weeks exciting adventure! My fears about the open top came true! The cat fell in in the middle of the night. i heard a big crash/splash and ran out of the bed room to find a tidal wave had sprayed 1/3 of the dining room, light fixture floating on the surface of the tank and one soaking wet, horrified cat. needless to say i freaked a little. but letting the fixture dry for a day, lots of mopping and topping off the tank (3 gallons had to be replaced!) and everything is doing well, amazingly the light still works. there wasn't any major plant damage and everyone was present and accounted for the next morning when i did a head count.

I'm hoping she has learned her lesson and will drink out of the tanks that don't require such acrobatics. She really was freaked out, it was kind of funny-sopping wet kitty
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cheers-K
 
ok i just did the ph/kh tests: ph7.2, kh4 so a little over 7ppm right before lights on- think I have some gas off. . .but plants are doing well so. . .

interestingly, these are the same numbers I've had with the ladder too so I'd say this is working as well as the hagen ladder, I've been curious what a drop checker would say about my ppm b/c 7 seems unbelievably low considering the growth rate and general health of my plants. I know the ph/kh chart method has flaws b/c of the many other contibutors to these test readings. when i get the drop checker in the mail I'll set it up before i add the glass diffuser and see how the reading compares to my ph/kh estimate- then i can see how much better my CO2 saturation is with the glass diffuser too.

so Ill keep you posted
cheers-K
 
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Alright here are some pictures from 5/9:

kyle3-albums-20-gallon-long-picture1278-downward-angle-5-9.jpg


Right side:
kyle3-albums-20-gallon-long-picture1277-right-side-5-9.jpg

this larger lily really choked out the smaller one that was on the far right, i moved the bulb to another spot in the tank to see if it will make a come back but I'm thinking of filling in the dwarf sag on the far side so there's not so much empty space in the corner.

It's also developing some white spots on the leaves and my first thought was a fert deficiency but then i noticed the malayan snails i added from another tank a couple weeks ago are on it rather frequently- does anyone know if they could be damaging the leaves? I still haven't gotten phosphates . . . should look into the fert thing a little deeper still. if anyone has any experience with this please let me know what worked for you
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Center:
kyle3-albums-20-gallon-long-picture1276-center-5-9.jpg

pearling weed has thickened up really nicely, I'm pretty happy with it.

Left side:
kyle3-albums-20-gallon-long-picture1275-left-side-shot-5-9.jpg


kyle3-albums-20-gallon-long-picture1274-fts-left-angle-5-9.jpg


kyle3-albums-20-gallon-long-picture1273-fts-right-angle-5-9.jpg


kyle3-albums-6-5-gallon-picture1272-tank-stand.jpg

sorry this ones a little over exposed but it shows the whole tank stand so i thought it might be cool to see.

thanks for looking! hope this photo update was sufficient
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cheers-K
 
You've done a really beautiful job! :clap:
I noticed no cover on the tank: you're not worried about jumpers?
And what's the function of the little tank below? A hospital tank?
And don't worry about that open spot; my guess is that the wisteria will grow into it pretty quickly.
 
so far the only jumper has been jumping in. . .the cat. :eek:

I have considered the possibility of fish jumping out but so far i haven't had anyone do it, (to my knowledge none of the species in the tank are known "jumpers", although i know all fish can jump). I'm hoping to get some emergent growth out of the tank so that's why there's no lid- it's also very nice for viewing the tank.

the lower tank used to be a quarantine/"low maintenance plants" tank but has grown to be a tank of it's own. I've been slowly adding more and more to it as far as plants and tech. go. it houses 3 neon tetras and 4 dwarf chained loaches.

and you're right i constantly have to cut back the wisteria so if i leave it alone for a while it will take over that space :)

thanks for your comments!
cheers-K
 
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