Did a water change and trimmed back the rotala and Monte Carlo, was getting leggy in spots. Replanted a few cuttings to fill gaps. Tank's looking close to where I want it now, ngl pretty pleased.
After trim + water changePhoto Date
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lfs run
Cycle finally read safe so grabbed a small group of cardinal tetras from the LFS today. They settled into the hardscape almost immediately, colors already looking great under the WRGB. Really happy with this batch.
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film layer
Two weeks into cycling and getting a thin diatom film on the glass and sand, pretty normal for this stage tbh. Plants are still tiny sparse clumps, lots of bare substrate showing. Water's staying clear otherwise.
Cycling, still sparsePhoto Date
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filled up
Water's in and the sponge filters are running. Bit of substrate haze but nothing crazy, should clear in a day or two. No plants or fish yet, just letting it settle.
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dry start
Placed the hardscape today, no water yet. Went with a diagonal stone line and some wood to break it up, took longer than expected to get the balance right haha. Substrate's in, just waiting to fill now.
