Lljdma06's 10g

[lljdma06]

loveley little set up, and if it suits your lifestyle then thats even better.

I cant imaging leaving my tank for 5 minutes without a catastrophe waiting in the wings

And this is why I do not do what you do. What you do is especially lovely, but I do not have the time to be constantly fiddling with my tanks. Can you imagine singing in an opera, being gone for a couple of weeks at a time, and trying to maintain a high-tech setup? That would be crazy.

I also want people here to see that low-maintenance is a fine option for someone will limited time and resources, and if you're smart about it, your tank will be properly planted and look lovely too. People who make that decision shouldn't feel like they have less of a planted tank, just a different kind.

No HC carpet, I like looking at the corydoras too much, and they are mighty cute. Will post pictures of them after I take some photos tonight.

llj

 

[lljdma06]

Will post pictures of them after I take some photos tonight.

llj

They are harder to photograph than I thought. I will hatch out some brine shrimp, that will get them towards the front of the tank. Everybody loves shrimp.

llj

 

[lljdma06]

I just noticed this tank gets direct sun. It happens for about 2 hours in the early evening. While I do not mind, I'll have to adjust the photoperiod accordingly, I don't want the sun and the lights on at the same time. I do like the sunlight, though, it is good for diatoms, which I like to grow for otos.

Yes, on occasion, I like growing algae.

 

[lljdma06]

The dead have risen! Geez, this plant refuses to die. I found 2 little Nymphaea zenkerii bulbs in my 36g sprouting and I moved them to this tank. The lily's had about 4 years of daughter plants and the original plant has long died. This is may be 4th generation daughter plants. I doubt they will get very big, so they'll be fine in this tank.

They are sprouting new leaves, so I think the move was good for them.

llj

 

[lljdma06]

I was cleaning the wood on Monday and forgot how I had previously arranged it. Needless to say, I'm not pleased with the result. It looks rather stupid. The wood, however, is now quite clean. I have to got to a petstore today and see if I can find some more wood and fix this mess.

I do have 2 melon swords in there now and the little lotus bulbs are doing great. Here is a photo of the lotus. I didn't think I had any. Excuse the hair algae. They are doing extremely well in this 10g. The tank is more shallow and there is more light.

This is the 10g with direct sunlight. Notice the tank lights are off. I'm up to an 8 hour photoperiod with this tank, but the sunlight accounts for 2 of those hours. Even in cloudy weather, the lighting is pretty intense. This is the lighting under full sun. Pretty sweet, and I've not seen an increase of algae. The entire tank has experienced a signficant reduction in algae, especially since my photo period has been lowered. If I had soil, more plants, and did less water changes, we'd have a Walstad tank.

I'll have to adjust this setup once Fall comes. The lighting is nowhere near this intense in the Fall and Winter months and I can use the tank lighting then. In the Spring and Summer, though tank seems to benefit from the natural light. Plants grow faster and the corydoras really like it and I can save some electricity because I have some consistant natural sunlight.

Thanks for looking,

llj

 

[lljdma06]

Big sigh of relief. I fixed the wood. While it doesn't have the penache of the initial scape, it is certainly more natural than what I had the last time I posted.

I am receiving an order of C. pygmaeus and C. habrosus today. You can never have enough little dwarf catfish. They are like little ants, constantly moving around the tank. Absolutely delightful and a fine complement to the platies.

I really need to get some BBS started. Everybody will love it.

I'll post pictures as soon as the catfish settle.

llj