the rotala rotundifolia has properly bushed out, probably tripled in mass since the last trim. carpet's filled in nicely across most of the front now too. wood's finally got that aged look i was going for back at the start.
Update shotPhoto Date
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inkbird cost
picked up an inkbird temp controller for it, wasn't expensive but adds up when you're doing it for a 5g lol. worth it though, don't have to guess if the heater's actually cycling on and off properly anymore.
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quiet week
work's been mental so this tank basically just ran itself this week. topped off evaporation, glanced at it a couple times, that's about it. nothing to report really, which honestly is fine by me at this stage.
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water change day
did the usual water change and a light trim on the rotala. found a whole amano shrimp exoskeleton stuck in the driftwood, freaked me out for a second until i realised it was just a moult. tank's looking decent, substrate still nice and dark.
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first fish
added the celestial pearl danios today, letting the bag float to acclimate before i let them out. tank actually feels alive now instead of just a scape with water in it. carpet's still patchy and short but having fish darting around the wood makes it feel like an actual tank finally.
First fish going inPhoto Date
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two weeks in
cycling along, rock and wood still look pretty bare tbh. the monte carlo i planted in is barely holding on, a few melted bits floating around. crypt hasn't really moved either. slow and steady is the name of the game with amazonia i guess, just waiting on the bacteria to catch up before anything really grows.
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topped her up (day 3)
filled the tank up and got the aquaclear running. dosed prime for the dechlorinator since its all tap water, no fish in yet so nothing to worry about ammonia wise for now. just letting it run and clear up.
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dry start
got the driftwood placed how i want it, took a while to get the angles right without it looking like a pile of sticks. amazonia's in, no water yet. going for a bit of a bonsai look with the wood which is basically the whole point of this tank so wanted to get it right before flooding it.
