8 entries · Page 1 of 1
Shrimp are out constantly now, grazing all over the hairgrass and bucephalandra. Danios shoal up tighter than I expected for such a small footprint, they seem to like cruising the same lap around the wood over and over. Tank's filled in nicely at this point, moss is thick, carpet's solid. Feeding is the fun part now, watching everyone scatter and pick through the same spot.
Quiet week, nothing to report.
Getting some green spot on the glass and a little hair algae creeping onto a couple of the older java fern leaves. Honestly think it's the light schedule, I bumped the WRGB duration up a bit a few weeks back and didn't dial it back down. Going to cut it back and see if that helps before I touch dosing. Carpet's mostly filled in now which is nice at least, just fighting this algae phase on top of it.
Did a water change and trimmed back the vallisneria, it was starting to lean over and shade the hairgrass patches. Hairgrass still has gaps up front, hoping it fills faster now with more light getting through. Moss is thickening slowly on the wood. Water level's a bit low in the photo mid-change, bucket still sitting next to the tank.
Added the celestial pearl danios today. Only a handful given the size of this thing but they make the whole tank feel different. Watched them for probably an hour straight, which for a 3 gallon is a little ridiculous. They're already picking at the glass and hiding around the bucephalandra. Good to finally see something moving in there instead of just plants.
Still cycling. Dosed some bottled bacteria again this week just to help things along, and been ghost feeding a pinch every couple days to keep ammonia moving. Plants are still tiny, hairgrass barely clumps, moss is thin on the wood. Lots of bare substrate showing which feels weird in a tank this small. Checked params, nothing dramatic yet, just waiting for it to mature a bit before I add anyone.
Water's in, filter running, nothing alive in there yet.
Spent way too much of the morning just rinsing controsoil, that stuff clouds instantly if you're not careful. Rinsed it about five times before giving up on getting it perfectly clear (it never fully is). Hardscape is in dry, no water yet. Wood and stone placed, might shift a little once flooded but I'm happy with the layout for now. Tiny footprint so every millimeter of placement actually matters.