[opt-e]

Got tired of the fast growing plants in my very shallow 12g long so I decided to start a new tank, much to the boss' dismay. I actually started this tank a couple weeks ago but was too lazy to post anything.

Obligatory specs:

Tank: generic rimless 26g (30 x 12 x 16")
Filter: Eheim 2232 canister
Light: Beamswork Hilumen Pent 30" and Finnex Ray2
Heater: Ebo Jager 150w
CO2: 10lb tank + Aquatek Premium Regulator + atomic diffuser
Substrate: Eco-Complete

Picked up the 26g tank for $35 of a member here. Got the Eheim 2232 and 2 Ebo Jager heaters of a guy on craigslist for $50. Dropped in a couple bags of Eco-complete and transplanted all the fast growing stem plants from the 12g long (mostly from Ray), and a bunch more plants from randyhelay.

At the moment it's running low tech with Excel and limited EI dosing as I'm waiting for bits and pieces for my CO2 setup from eBay. Its actually doing way better than I expected, surprisingly so. Getting good growth from the stem plants. Almost no algae when I was running just the Beamswork. I added the Ray2 later and I started getting algae on the glass so I'm going to leave it off until I get CO2 up and running.

Full tank shot.

Detail. I'm terrible with names and I have no idea what the name is for most of my plants. [EDIT: added IDs thanks to Reckon and randylahey]

Hydrocotyle Japan

Pogostemon Stellata

Hygrophila Pinnatifida

Ranunculus Inundatus

Rotala Rotundifolia

Ludwigia Lacustris

Rotala Green

Ludwigia Repens

 

[Reckon]

2) Hydrocotyle Japan
3) Limnophila Aromatica, been corrected - Pogostemon Stellatus!
4) Hygrophila Pinnatifida
5) Ranunculus Inundatus
6) Rotala Rotundifolia ?
7) Ludwigia Lacustris
8) Rotala Green
9) Ludwigia Repens

Looks great! I love the varying texture. I think if you trim the Ludwigias and bunch them a little bit you can accomplish little bushes - adds more depth to your tank and exaggerates the textures even more!
If you don't mind me editing your pic to show you...

 

[opt-e]

Hey Reckon thanks for the tips and IDs! I didn't really put too much thought into the scaping. Just basically threw all the tall plants in the back, middle ones in the middle and low ones in the front. I'm hoping that my red plants will actually be red once I get the CO2 going!

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[randylahey]

Oh reckon, So close! No. 3 is actually pogostemon stellata and that should be moved into the background. The stems to the left of the hydrocotyle japan is persicaria sao paulo.

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[opt-e]

LOL thanks guys. I will update the OP with IDs.

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[opt-e]

Few more pics of the flora and fauna that I didn't capture in my first post.

Bacopa.

Oto.

German Blue Ram hiding.

And the CO2 setup.

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[opt-e]

Got bored and took some pics with just the actinic lights on..

 

[Reckon]

I think that is bacopa colorata...
Yah, I have mixed feelings about actinic. It's nice to have a light on for the night but doesn't seem right for FW tanks. I was thinking perhaps it'd be a bit more appropriate if we used some sort of orange or red LED for sunset colors perhaps?

 

[opt-e]

Yeah I don't normally use it.. Red or orange would be nice for sure.

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[opt-e]

Did a major rescape, water change and cleaned the filter. It's still no where close to what I would really like it to look like but its getting a bit better, I think. Debating whether to get rid of the rotala sp green, and about half of my ludwigia lacustris.

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[opt-e]

Did some trimming and moving stuff around yesterday. Removed quite a bit of rotala sp green from the rear right corner. Removed most of the rocks from the middle and replaced with exceeds pygmy chain sword from my other tank. I really like how the left side of the tank is looking but not happy at all with the right side. Just looks like a random smattering of plants..

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[trixy]

how is the finnex ray2?

i was thinking of getting that for my next setup

 

[opt-e]

I really like it. It's brighter than my 30 Beamswork Pent with 0.2w bulbs. Only problem with the Ray2 30" is that it is the same LED unit as the 24" in a longer case, so there are no lights on the ends. Luckily the spread is actually really good, especially for LED. One other thing I don't like is that the legs are really terrible. They are very loose and made of plastic that can easily break. I ended up replacing them with bamboo skewers which fit nice and tight in the rails that the legs are supposed to fit in. The slim profile is really pretty on a rimless tank.

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[opt-e]

New inhabitants! Thanks Charles @ Canadian Aquatics.

Marble Hatchetfish

Pencilfish

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[trixy]

i was looking at the par figures and i am still not sold on it...r you having any success with the reds in the plant and the foreground plants?

I really like it. It's brighter than my 30 Beamswork Pent with 0.2w bulbs. Only problem with the Ray2 30" is that it is the same LED unit as the 24" in a longer case, so there are no lights on the ends. Luckily the spread is actually really good, especially for LED. One other thing I don't like is that the legs are really terrible. They are very loose and made of plastic that can easily break. I ended up replacing them with bamboo skewers which fit nice and tight in the rails that the legs are supposed to fit in. The slim profile is really pretty on a rimless tank.

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[opt-e]

I would say on my tank it's about medium light. If you want high light you'd probably want 2 units. I've got glosso in this tank and its growing pretty slow. I have a Beamswork tri 6500k on my 12g long and its growing way faster.

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[waynestractor]

We used to have some hatchet fish but they all jumped out! Our tank is about 70% covered and they still managed to find an escape...you may want to cover the top somehow.

 

[opt-e]

We used to have some hatchet fish but they all jumped out! Our tank is about 70% covered and they still managed to find an escape...you may want to cover the top somehow.

Thanks for the tip. Charles told me the same thing when I bought them. At night I cover the top with a towel until I find a better solution. I've been leaving the top open during the day and so far I haven't lost any thankfully.. Might have something to do with keeping the water level low for this very reason. Right now the water is about 3" from the top.

I used to have harlequin rasbora and blue king tetra in my 12g long tank and I lost probably 8 fish due to jumpers...

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[Reckon]

Hey where did you get the finnex?

 

[opt-e]

Hey where did you get the finnex?

Amazon.com and shipped to Point Roberts.

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