My 10g

[rclover]

http://s91840723.onlinehome.us/john/aqua/tank.jpg
What do you guys think?

John

[gigahertz]

I always wanted to set up a tank with lush ground covering but the fear of food getting trapped inside the plant before the shrimps can get to it always stopped me from doing it.

I guess I can always get up patches of foreground plants and then leave an open feeding area for shrimps. :huh:

Nice tank John! How many tanks you got?

[rclover]

oh, don't worry there is no such thing as food getting trapped, shrimps will always find a way to clear it out, that's why it houses more that 40+ shrimp. :)

[amber2461]

Wow ! My hubby is 'green' with envy lol lol lol

[Walter]

Bro, this is a really beautiful set-up! Very well grown plants and obviously very healthily green! And about food getting stuck I think you should worry about that if you are keeping fishes in there. For shrimps, just like what rclover mentioned, no problem man. Shrimps can hunt the food scaps very effectively! :D

Care to share what shrimps are in there? :)

[GunmetalBlue]

Hey John, my plastic plants look almost as good... *joke! :D Your tank is gorgeous.

-GunmetalBlue

[rclover]

thanks guys for the wonderful comments. I'll now tell you guys some tank specs:

6 month old tank
38 liter
diy co2 diffused by boyu glass diffuser
ferts everyday
50% change on sundays
turtle canister filter stuffed with filter floss only

11 cardinal tetras
40 + shrimp (cherries, bumblebee, tiger, amano, chinese zebra, malaysian no hybrids so far)

riccia
taiwan moss
hairgrass(2 types)

For more info and pics, go to glassaqua.tk

John

[gigahertz]

Are you using tap water or RO water? I think the water where you live is similiar to mine which is ROCK HARD! :(

[rclover]

tap water all the way, no formulas no nothing, just that piece of malaysian driftwood. It leeches tannins which is the bad part but helps soften the water a lot.

[gigahertz]

tap water all the way, no formulas no nothing, just that piece of malaysian driftwood. It leeches tannins which is the bad part but helps soften the water a lot.

What is the ph of the water in your tank?

[rclover]

it is about 7.2 I would like it to be 6.8 though.

[gigahertz]

That's not bad with our tap water which is very hard. Consider that you're using DIY CO2. I am keeping my tank water at around 6.8 with CO2 injection. My substrate buffers a bit.

[Walter]

thanks guys for the wonderful comments. I'll now tell you guys some tank specs:

6 month old tank
38 liter
diy co2 diffused by boyu glass diffuser
ferts everyday
50% change on sundays
turtle canister filter stuffed with filter floss only

11 cardinal tetras
40 + shrimp (cherries, bumblebee, tiger, amano, chinese zebra, malaysian no hybrids so far)

riccia
taiwan moss
hairgrass(2 types)

For more info and pics, go to glassaqua.tk

John

That's a nice variety! :D Hope to see pictures of the shrimps soon, haha although I know it is difficult to find them in such a densely planted set-up. :joking:

[rclover]

most of my rare shrimp come out at night, I often find them there in the morning with lights off, so hard to take pics :). my substrate buffers my ph.

[livionakano]

rclover,

Are you planning to do any kind of prunning for these Riccias?

Sometimes, when they grows too much, their bottom becomes shaded and rots easlily

Otherwise, you have a beautiful tank, seeming to be at his better shape

Regards,

Livio

[simcb]

Yes ricca is nice but will cause problems for me in the long run. Like mass rotting, fouling water, frequent trimming and traps a lot of debris. End up I replaced ricca with moss cause it has been giving me too much work lately. I regret not making my planted a low maintance one. I lost the battle with algae. Must be the base fert leaking somewhere.

[rclover]

the thickest part of riccia mat i have in that is about 4 inches thick, it is will bright green and not rotting away like it's supposed, but I trim it every week.

[livionakano]

So, your close maintenance and frequent prunning must be avoiding this kind of problem...

Unfortunately, I was not able to have such a good routine in my tank

But I still consider Riccia as one of most beautifull plants in a planted tank, despite its needs for frequent prunning

[rclover]

Riccia needs that frequent prunning which is why I'm changing my scape soon, I'm going off to college with a smaller tank due to room space and I'm leave this 10g to the care of my parents, so hairgrass, no co2 and lower light will come sadly... But rock scape is next!
http://onfinite.com/libraries/460719/4a3.jpg will take a better picture once I remake the aquascape.

[stmoo]

man.. your this riccia tank is nice :joking:
my next tank will be riccia too, even knowing the trouble and maintenance that needed, still will go for it.
:joking:

[rclover]

so sad, this tank is now taken apart new pictures will be posted soon.

[nevada]

really salute u rclover u can maintain ur riccia into that level ... great job & nice tank there!

[rclover]

http://onfinite.com/libraries/489301/ec9.jpg
It's not that bad...

[rclover]

http://onfinite.com/libraries/528379/c8f.jpg
Hairgrass background
taiwan moss and riccia midground
hc foreground

[nevada]

Its gonna be a great tank, trust me ... good combination of plants too!

[rclover]

http://onfinite.com/libraries/543345/bb5.jpg
Ok, messed with it a little.
Took out the Riccia because I thought it would contrast too much with the dark moss green. And it was growing too fast, I will try again when the moss grows a bit thicker, which is already what it has done it just a month with out co2 and ferts, amazing. Hairgrass also has many runners now, a lot of the hc as been pulled out by shrimps, so I decided it to grow it out in a tank and then put in bigger clumps of it. So this is it of now.