and... SCORE! lol

[beckdg]

who cares what he thinks. you're the one that has to look at the tank, lol.

looking forward to the new pics.

[froggsong]

I decided not to work on the canister filter ATM (I'm really tired from all the lifting and bending... my back is still not what it used to be, and it never was good. ), so it's going to be a while before the water clears enough to get a good pic.

I'm thinking I liked it better the way it was (bummer), but it's still good, as far as I can see. I left a big open spot for the amazon sword that is still alive, and there's another open spot where I planted a really short bit of a plant that gets really tall.

I'd like to get new bulbs, but we'll have to wait on that.

I can't wait till I get the big tank set up and I can use 4' bulbs. Those suckers are SOOOO much better than shorter bulbs. I've only got fixtures for the bowfront that take a 24" bulb and an 18" bulb...

[beckdg]

i forget who said it (username, i remember who, just can't remember the username) but whenever i think of short t8/t12 bulbs i'm always reminded of (i want to say his real name is paul) when he mentioned attending a lecture and the lecturer said 6" at either end of the bulb produces less light and to put your higher light plants near the middle. my first thought is that say you had a 2' bulb... 6" at either end is 1'... half the bulb. if you have a shop light (any length) that's been in use for some time you can look at the bulb and substantiate that claim by the blackened ends yourself. i don't know if that accounts more for the quality/brightness of the lights than just the fact that their more in demand but it's definitely a big factor IMO.

that's it... i think it was pavel.

using short shop light bulbs bothered me before then but more so since. that's for sure.

i think that might account for a shorter use time also since it'd be directly related to heat and heat would be directly related to usable life. i may be over-thinking that one though.

[froggsong]

I surely need to do something else for the tank... If it weren't a bowfront, I'd build a hood for it and install a bunch of the new ultra thin CFL bulbs. I've got some that are SUPER bright at only 15 or so watts, and they are really small. I could use 4-6 of them to get great results, I think, and they were only (get this) 25 CENTS a piece!

Anyway, got to run for now. I'll post pics of the tank in the morning. I LOVE how it turned out. We went to get a new test kit (gh and kh) and I picked up what I need for the DIY CO2 (I'll start a culture in the morning), and Chris let me get three new plants! I got a small pot of dwarf sag, some ludwigia, and a... a bulb plant, with arrow shaped leaves... They are a GORGEOUS purple. The one I wanted fell apart when she moved it, but this one looks like it will be the same color. I need to take a closeup pic of it so you guys can get a good look at it.

[Nighsliv]

Looking forward to those pics. Curious to see how it looks...

[beckdg]

Originally Posted by froggsong

a bulb plant, with arrow shaped leaves... They are a GORGEOUS purple.

nymphaea lotus aka red lotus aka dwarf lily aka tiger lotus aka Nymphaea caerulea? if so, i have one too. mine seems to want to do it's best under lots of shade. i'm pushing that theory again, so we'll see how that goes. the first 2 times i let it have some light it almost died. all the leaves melted off almost. i'm trying again since i have no other choice the way i've re-arranged the tank.

i was cheap and got mine from the "dwarf lily" bulbs at walmart. too bad not every one produces plants.

[froggsong]

yeah, beck. It IS too bad they don't all produce plants. And it's just a hassle to send them in for new ones. I might pick up a couple of packs of them though, this time if they don't produce I'll send them in for replacements. According to the package, they will replace them until you get some that will grow.

That's the right name on that too, This one isn't red or green though, it's purple. I hope it turns out the same color as the one that fell apart at the store (we couldn't even tell where the bulb for that one was).

I have to upload the pics, then I'll post them to the thread here. I really wish I hadn't forgotten the before pic...

The way it is set up now is very dynamic, and I really really like the way it turned out. There isn't enough visual interest up towards the top of the tank though, but I'm going to put in a moss wall. I picked up the plastic canvas yesterday. Of course, I forgot to get suction cups... Oh well, I might have some. Seems like I picked some up when the local pet store closed their branch in town.

Anyway, as soon as I read all the new posts, I'll get those photos uploaded and posted. I couldn't get a great one because of reflections (and I still need to read the manual on the camera), but I got a couple that are good enough to see what's going on.

[froggsong]

Here's a before (just not right before, lol):

and here's a full tank shot now:


It looks tons better in person, I'm going to try to get a better pic now that the water is mostly clear.

[froggsong]

Come on guys, I require your approval, lol...

[Nighsliv]

How much more will those plants grow? If they grow much more they will hide your fish.
Right now it looks pretty good, did you remove a bunch of drift wood or is it just hidden?