# My FLUVAL Flora Journey



## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Well... now I can honestly say I officially have MTS again. I recently purchased a used Flora to set up specifically as a shrimp tank for my Blue Wizard Neos.

I have set it up with some rarer Crypts:

Cryptocoryne Affinis 'Red', 'Metallic Red', and 'Jerantut'
Cryptocoryne nurii 'taman negara'
Anubias nana 'Pinto'
Ludwigia sphaerocarpa
Barclaya longifolia

I am currently waiting for the tank to cycle using ADA Amazonia as a substrate. I originally was using the stock 13W CFL (not sufficient light for my liking), but it is now currently being lit by 2-12" Vertex Illumilux fixtures. One is a Dolce Rosso and the other is a Dolce Sole.

I currently am not using pressurized CO2 to help keep the parameters more stable in this tank. As usual, I am using Seachem Equilibrium and Alkaline Buffer as buffers. I am adding Metricide 14 as a liquid carbon source.

I originally hardscaped with Dragon Stone but switched it out for Koke Stone as of today.

Now a couple pics of the tanks progress over the last week.






















































































































Comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for looking!

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!


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## Dou (Dec 4, 2015)

Looking good! Will be awesome to see it covered with blue shrimps =). Just wondering - what are those 2 small plants up front with the tiny leaves? Do they stay at that size permanently?


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Dou said:


> Looking good! Will be awesome to see it covered with blue shrimps =). Just wondering - what are those 2 small plants up front with the tiny leaves? Do they stay at that size permanently?


They are Cryptocoryne plantlets. I suspect Nurii (but they may be 'Jerantut').

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!


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## jay (Apr 21, 2010)

just wondering, do you put dividers in the substrate so the gravel doesn't flatten out over time? or is it more or less okay with the rocks you have in there?


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

jay said:


> just wondering, do you put dividers in the substrate so the gravel doesn't flatten out over time? or is it more or less okay with the rocks you have in there?


There are some hidden rocks that help keep the substrate on the slope.

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Good evening all.

Another update from my newest tank progress. My ammonia is still very high (6-8 PPM using my API test kit). My PH slides back to around 6 a few days after a 50% watercharge. Using Equilibrium and Alkaline Buffer, I'm able to keep the GH around 4-5, but my KH and PH are still being buffered down heavily by the Amazonia.

I'm hoping to get some shrimp into the tank within a 2-3 week timeline, but I'll have to wait and see.

Here are some new pictures from tonight.























































Thank you for looking.

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!


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## jumpsmasher (Feb 1, 2011)

A rare crypt tank? love it!


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

jumpsmasher said:


> A rare crypt tank? love it!


This was a result of a friend who passed. I am paying his wisdom forward..... Hopefully.

Respectfully,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

My tank is slowly growing in now and I've added a few more plants to my scape.

I've added Sagittaria subulata (thanks Drew) and Mini Pellia (thanks Matt). Both of these plants can do well without CO2 and the Pellia was taken from a non-CO2 tank.

The Crypts are slowly growing (as expected) and the Barclaya longifolia is growing well. My Ammonia is still in the 1-2 PPM range with no detectable Nitrite.

Now on with the pics......
































































Thanks for looking!

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Good Evening BCA'ers.

Today I was able to pick up some more trial plants from Matt's (battmanh's) awesome RAOK.

I added a few stems of each of the following:

Pogostemon erectus
Ludwigia brevipes
Ludwigia 'red'
Alternanthera reineckii 'Rosanervig'
Hygrophila pinnatifida

I'm hoping these plant thrive with Metricide 14 as a CO2 source. We'll have to wait and see.

Now onto the pics......









































































Thanks for looking!

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Good Evening fellow aquarists.

It has been over a month since my last update and I finally have some fish and Matt's plants have settled in nicely. No gaseous CO2 has been used since the tank's inception.

I went to Aprils a couple weeks ago and picked up:
10 Boraras brigittae
3 Corydoras pygmaeus
2 Otocinclus vittatus

Here are some pics of the tank as of a couple days ago.
































































Thanks for looking.

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!


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## Gaia (Jun 20, 2016)

Very nice! What type of filtration are you using? Do you have 2 or am I seeing something else? Looking at these tank journals is making my eyes bugged eyed lol. I'm seeing so many different types of equipment I've never seen before. I think it's time to leave my comfort zone (surrey - chilliwack) lol. 

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## knucklehead (Dec 27, 2013)

If I not mistaken, Stuart just has 1 filter. The second one is just a reflection.

What is he single plant in the middle beside the rock?


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Gaia said:


> Very nice! What type of filtration are you using? Do you have 2 or am I seeing something else? Looking at these tank journals is making my eyes bugged eyed lol. I'm seeing so many different types of equipment I've never seen before. I think it's time to leave my comfort zone (surrey - chilliwack) lol.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


There are 2 Eheim Mini Ups as filtration in this tank. It is a high light non CO2 tank.



knucklehead said:


> If I not mistaken, Stuart just has 1 filter. The second one is just a reflection.
> 
> What is he single plant in the middle beside the rock?


It is 2 filters and the plant is Ludwigia sphaerocarpa.

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankful in Vancouver!


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## Gaia (Jun 20, 2016)

CRS Fan said:


> There are 2 Eheim Mini Ups as filtration in this tank. It is a high light non CO2 tank.
> 
> It is 2 filters and the plant is Ludwigia sphaerocarpa.
> 
> ...


Thank you. It looks great!

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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Good Afternoon all.

It has been a while since my last update. A lot of things have changed over the last 5 months. I added a paintball CO2 system about a month ago with drastic plant growth. I added some Murdannia keisak, 4 Amano shrimp to stave off BBA, removed all Weeping Moss and Mini pellia (they did not like this tank). I also added 6 donated Dwarf Neon Rainbows (that spawn regularly) and I have several babies growing in different tanks now.

I will now move onto some pictures of the tank after a water change and a trim.

Top down shots:














































Shots from the front:























































Thanks you for looking!

Best regards,

Stuart

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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

What a transformation. Great job Stuart


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## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

It's amazing to watch an empty glass box turn into that. Excellent work.


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## Jousters (Jan 16, 2014)

Awesome looking tank Stuart.Are the Dwarf Neon Rainbows from Laurie?


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> What a transformation. Great job Stuart


Thank you Anthony. I'm liking the way it is growing in.



Mark Brown said:


> It's amazing to watch an empty glass box turn into that. Excellent work.


Hello Mark. I'll be updating this and some other tanks more often hopefully.



Jousters said:


> Awesome looking tank Stuart.Are the Dwarf Neon Rainbows from Laurie?


Yes, Jody, those are some of Laurie's hitchhikers. I now have several fry at different growth stages. The largest one is about 1/2" and definitely a male.

Best regards,

Stuart

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## fraggalrock (Apr 21, 2010)

Great looking tank! I just filled one of my cubes last night, this gave me some great ideas. I like the rocks and think I need to find some interesting and safe ones for my tank. I was thinking driftwood but the piece I have is too big. Im not going to bother with C02 so I welcome suggestions


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

fraggalrock said:


> Great looking tank! I just filled one of my cubes last night, this gave me some great ideas. I like the rocks and think I need to find some interesting and safe ones for my tank. I was thinking driftwood but the piece I have is too big. Im not going to bother with C02 so I welcome suggestions


Hello Sherry.

Long time no see! I have a bunch more of the same rocks here (they are Koke - I believe). I got them a while back through a friend and have way too many. If you just want mosses and Anubias, I would also add some suswassertang for shrimp hideouts (especially if you also want to add fish).

Best regards,

Stuart

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## fraggalrock (Apr 21, 2010)

CRS Fan said:


> Hello Sherry.
> 
> Long time no see! I have a bunch more of the same rocks here (they are Koke - I believe). I got them a while back through a friend and have way too many. If you just want mosses and Anubias, I would also add some suswassertang for shrimp hideouts (especially if you also want to add fish).
> 
> ...


Thanks Stuart  
Sent you a pm 

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## charlie1 (Nov 27, 2015)

Awesome job Stuart!, i visited this build from the start and enjoyed the journey.
Congrats


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

fraggalrock said:


> Thanks Stuart
> Sent you a pm
> 
> Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


PM replied!

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## Olive (Jan 28, 2016)

CRS Fan said:


> Good Evening fellow aquarists.
> 
> It has been over a month since my last update and I finally have some fish and Matt's plants have settled in nicely. No gaseous CO2 has been used since the tank's inception.
> 
> ...


Those crypts have established themselves nicely. Looks beautiful!


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

So this tank is still up and running. Here are a couple photos after a waterchange and a trim.























































Thanks for looking!

Best regards,

Stuart


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## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Looking great !

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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

arash53 said:


> Looking great !
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk


Thank you, Arash!

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## tredford8 (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks for the update! The H pinnatifida looks healthy, should look nice once it grows in.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Here is the rebirth of my tank. I literally regenerated it 2 days ago. I'm going to go back to it's original roots with a cryptocoryne dominated tank. I also replaced the existing rock work with Dragon Stone from J&L Aquatics. I revamped my crypts through EDGE (Eric).

On with a few pics.





































Thanks for looking!

Best Regards,

Stuart

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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Here are a few more pics as of tonight!

A closeup of Anubias 'pinto' and Cameroon Moss (thank you Reckon)









The left side of the tank with Crypt Affinis, Crypt Denerle (thank you EDGE), and Fissidens on Dragon Stone.









Tank from the front.









Tank from the left side.









Tank from the right showing Barclaya longifolia, and Crypt Nuuri,









Top down view.









Another top down view.









Thanks for looking.

Stuart

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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

The tank is slowly growing in, so a few more pics from tonight......
































































Thanks for looking!

Stuart

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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Hello BC Aquaria.

It has been quite a while since an update was done on this thread. I had an ammonia problem after putting in some DIY root tabs in this tank. My ammonia rose to 2-4ppm for about a week. I had to do once/twice daily water changes for about a week and added SeaChem Stability (at initial dose recommendations) after each WC. Luckily our water here is soft/acidic (so ammonia is converted to ammonium). With the daily Stability and Prime additions, I had no fish casualties and the fish showed no signs of distress. My ammonia is back down to 0! 

I’m happy the Crypts did not melt during this process. They did melt quite a bit after my surgery as I was unable to perform maintenance for 3+ weeks post-op. The Cameron Moss and NL Moss (Rose Moss) are growing in well.

I will update with pictures after a WC today!

Best regards,

Stuart


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## Otocinclus (Aug 31, 2012)

What size is this tank?


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Otocinclus said:


> What size is this tank?


It is an old FLUVAL Flora/Ebi tank. They are 7.9 gallons (https://www.fluvalaquatics.com/us/flora/). The only stock items are the tank/lid. The newer versions have LED's (mine originally came with the old 13W Power Compact light and the bulky Fluval internal filter).

I upgraded to a heater, 2 Eheim Mini Up filters (bought used from Ray), 2-12" Vertex Illuminex LED's, a GLA Paintball CO2 system (bought used from Marshall), and ADA Aquasoil.

Best regards,

Stuart

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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Here are a few pics as of tonight:

Front view:









Right side view:









Top down view showing S. repens:









Left side view: 









Fissidens Fontana's (Phoenix Moss):









Cryptocoryne affinis and 'Denerle' spreading:









Anubias Pinto and NL Moss (Rose Moss):









Cameroon Moss:









Thanks for looking!

Best regards,

Stuart

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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Hello BC Aquaria!

I added some Staurogyne and a few clumps of Blyxa to the tank (from cyber_ecco). Here are a few recent pictures:























































Thanks for looking!

Best regards,

Stuart

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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

So today I took off 1 of the Vertex LED’s. I’m wanting to see if this is why I’m getting my ongoing GDA, very small leaves on my Crypt ‘Denerle’, and getting a lot of red pigmentation in the new leaves on the Blyxa. I have run this tank with 2 20W fixtures for years, but want to see if I can get better growth with less light.

I will keep y’all posted!

Best regards,

Stuart


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

I did another lighting switch on my Flora. I had an original ADA Aquasky 17W LED fixture that I swapped out for the 20W Vertex Illuminex. It has less wattage but better spread. I'll see what difference it makes with GDA control and plant growth. Here are some pictures as of today.




























Thanks for looking!

Stuart

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