Nano New Year Build!

Thanks Whoknows, never tried blue before. The opposite side of this sheet is blue, when I move the tank in a couple weeks I'll switch it around and see how it looks.

 

Black is the new blue. Don't fiddle with it.

 

Folks I did a thing.

Was watching the tank this week and I could tell my light wasn't pumping out the lumens/ par/ ect I was looking for. Even when running it flat taps. There was quite a bit of shadowing and darker areas in the tank. The box says it's 10w but the light itself says 9w.

It worked perfectly on my last tank but the difference between 23cm of water vs 34cm is substantial.

 

Light drop-off as depth increases follows a Brachistochrone curve iirc.

 

I had some store credit at Petmasters, so I took a drive there to see if I could find something to brighten up my tank.

I found a Hygger 24/7 planted tank light there for a good price considering what I've seen them go for online and I pulled the trigger. It's 14w, programmable and has a much better spread of the LEDs than my last light had.

It's no ADA but definitely a good upgrade for this tank. It looks sleek and just in the past few days of running it, I can definitely see some reds coming through better on the plants.

 

Show before/after pix.

 

Everything is packed away in the store room... should've thought about before/after pics beforehand

I'll pull it out during the week and take some snaps

 

And to keep the commentary happy, here's a one week update since first planting. The tank has really cleared up nicely and is filling out well.

I think I'll need to get some trimming in this week too, happy problems!

Pretend you can't see the fish, that's an update for a later day

 

It looks beautiful. It's very Ikebana. I love the separation from the sides

Oh and what feesh? I don't see any feesh? Anyway I think those invisible glassfish will be fine.

 

Thanks a lot! Ya the open sides are practical for cleaning and give it a different look to anything I've done before. Think "plant explosion" when it's filled in

 

Thanks. Yeah I'll trim and replant the polysperma in the back just to thicken up the middle section. I'm happy with the planting density of everything else. The Crypts, Alternanthera and Monte Carlo should fill in themselves with some time

 

I was at a braai on Sunday and noticed some really unique looking rocks in the hosts' garden. Me being me, could resist asking if I could take them home with him

I spent most of this evening trying to ID them but to no avail. Even Google image search couldn't help me out. I've got no idea if they're fish safe or not.

I've thrown them in the 20l for a lil mock up scape. It's come out really lekker, think along the lines of a blackwater stream. All that would be left would be to throw in a boat load of botanicals and maybe add some of that Hygrophila from the main tank to the background.

I'm considering filling it up and throwing in a tester shrimp... shame, I know, but according to my extensive geology knowledge (0), the shrimp should be fine

Thoughts?

 

Well I dunno. I think I would only be qualified to make a judgement once it is filled with water and plants and critters...

 

Okay folks at home, I did some maintenance this week. It physically hurt me chopping those lush, full stems of the Polysperma, but long term itll definitely be worth it to have "double" the amount of plants back there.

 

@Whoknows , I'm having issues uploading pictures. I get told that my file is too large to process. I've had it before but cropping the pictures seemed to work. Not working at the moment

 

As promised, here's the side by side / top by bottom comparison photos between the new Hygger 24/7 and the old Aluminium Alloy LED mini light.

Hygger: