Please note that every single one of the stem plants you see in this picture will be removed once the tank is established. The ultimate plan for this tank revolves around plains grasses. I like to start a new tank with hardy stem plants like those pictured. Ultimately, I'll remove them to other tanks to make room for the final design.

Now 12 days old, the 20g is doing fine. Two days ago, I noticed a small breakout of slime algae on the lower of two Christmas Moss clumps on the driftwood. To combat this, I did four things:

• I did a 50% water change yesterday and then a 10% water change today. I will do a 20% water change every other day until I see an abatement in the slime.
• Using long pincers, I manually removed larger clumps of the slime algae. During the water changes, I used suction from the hose to gently dislodge and suck away the remaining algae. Luckily, slime algea, although opportunistic, is very easy to remove.
• I stopped adding Kent Freshwater Plant, which contains Potassium, a nutrient largely unecessary in an immature tank. In a moment, I'll talk about what I plan to use instead.
• I added a large clump of fast-growing Rotala indica. Although I have nearly three dozen individual stem plants in the tank to assist with its establishment, I figure it can't hurt to add even more. The more stem plants available to suck up nutrients, the fewer nutrients available for opportunistic algae.

The Rotala indica I mention above I bought from Aqua Forest Aquarium. Steven recommended that instead of the Kent liquid nutrients, I try ADA's Green Brighty Step 1, which provides only specific nutrients required for plants to "get started."

When I reach the two week mark, I'll post more pictures.

Now 5 days old, the 20g tank is doing very well. Today, I installed the Lily outflow pipe, which, I must, say, is a gorgeous addition, replacing the hideous outflow tubes that came with the filter canister.

I also hooked up my CO2. The cylinder now pumps CO2 through a check valve and into the tank, through a glass diffuser. The way the water rotates in the tank led me to position the diffuser in the lower right front corner, allowing for maximum CO2 "stirrage," I word I just made up. I plan to replace the gray suction cup with a clear one, and the blue silicon tubing with grey tubing. All in the name of minimizing the visual intrusion of tank accoutrements.

The throwaway stem plants are thriving, with minimal die off. The pH, which was steadily sinking, now hovers around 6.0, and the ammonia is still quite high. The die off in the Christmass moss is less than I'd imagined, which, I think, is good. Between the ample light, constantly refreshed water, and, now, CO2, the moss should thrive in time.

Here are some pics of the tank and its new accessories.

A visitor asked me how much I had invested in the 20g tank I set up recently. I'm not done with the investment, but the following table is a good snapshot of my costs. Keep in mind that I bought items that I didn't need, for that extra aesthetic oomph.

$110.00	ADA tank
$69.99	canister filter
$120.00	CO2 regulator with solenoid/bubble counter
$26.00	test kits
$28.00	ADA power sand special
$36.00	ADA amazonia aqua soil
$38.00	glass CO2 diffuser
$35.00	amano driftwood
$56.00	plants
$120.00	CO2 cylinder, full
$19.00	Cycle and Amquel
$109.00	ADA Lily pipe (outflow)
$6.00	check valve
$22.00	100-watt heater
$11.00	suction cups and tubing
$805.99	TOTAL (so far)

How much do I expect to invest beyond this? Not sure. Rare livestock and uncommon plants could reach the $200-$300 mark. Although I'm mostly done with equipment, I can imagine spending another $200 for a glass inflow pipe and other stuff.

As I've mentioned below, I want the new 20g tank to be as lovely a technical contraption as it is a conserve. Because I'm aghast at how hideous the inflow and outflow tubes for the filter tank are, I took my case to George Lo at Aqua Forest Aquarium.

Should I be surprised that he turned me on to ADA's lovely Lily pipe? It's an all glass outflow tube, with a sunken cup that resembles the mouth of a Cala Lily. He didn't have any inflow pipes, but promised he'd have one by Christmas. At $100+ per pipe, I think I can wait.

I also liked that he uses very small suction cups to keep the CO2 tubing vertical and snug with the tank walls, so I bought a bunch of those. And some ADA check valves designed for use with CO2.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. As my ham bakes, I'll play around by installing my new goodies. Will post pics for your pleasure.

Today, I dropped by AFA, but Tuesdays they are closed. So, I bopped over to Justin at Ocean Aquarium to see what he's up to. I just wanted two female Checkerboard cichlids to keep my beautiful lone male company, but his batch was still so young, he couldn't tell males from females. He urged me to try again in two weeks.

Not to be thwarted, I picked up some items for the 6g and new 20g:

• A 100-watt heater for the 20g. I'd been using a dinky extra 25-watt I had lying around, which was not up to the task.
• Another glass CO2 diffuser, this one even smaller and cuter than the one I bought for the 20g. I installed it in the 6g, replacing a relatively enormous Vortex reactor that served me well for a couple of years, but was just too prominent in so small a tank.
• A healthy, thick bunch of -- oh, I forgot to ask what they are! -- anyway, they're bright red, with curly-spinach-style leaves. I got these ultimately disposable beauties only to more densely populate the 20g while it establishes itself.
• A nice zippered case containing extra long pincers, shears, and a double-ended substrate spoon.

I also talked with Justin at length about my plans for livestock. I trust him without reservation when it comes to this kind of advice. The lovely fish and shrimp I've used -- at his recommendation -- in Asgard (6g tank) over the years have been a joyous balance between rare specimens and very small fish that can flourish in so small a space.

When I told him I wanted lots and lots of very small schooling fish (a dream I've been unable to realize in my smaller tanks), he showed me Jellybean tetras, which are cool, but not as striking as what I'm after. Then he showed me the astonishing Rasbora pauciperforata, or Red-line Rasbora. In dim light, it's rather unremarkable, but under bright light, a strong red line runs horizontally from the snout along the lateral line, terminating at the caudal fin. They look like fish who'd swallowed itty bitty glow sticks. More on my livestock research as it develops.

My original plan was to completely redesign the 10g freshwater tank, but yesterday, I took the plunge at Aqua Forest Aquarium and bought a whole new tank, replete with some pretty spectacular gear.

MATERIALS

• An all glass 20g ADA tank.
• A Rena Filstar xP1 canister filter.
• An MA957 CO2 regulator with solenoid valve and bubble counter.
• A 5 lb. CO2 tank.
• New ammonia, nitrite, and pH kits.
• ADA's Power Sand Special.
• ADA's Amazonia Aqua Soil.
• An exquisite little CO2 diffuser, made entirely of glass.
• Several feet of blue silicon tubing (for CO2).
• A bottle of AmQuel and a bottle of Cycle.
• Two large bunches of Christmas Moss.
• Three bunches each of Rotala indica, Ludwigia repens, and a third Rotala type.
• A not inexpensive piece of Amano-style driftwood.

DESIGN CONCEPTS

Below are diagrams and a sketch that demonstrate what I'm trying to design.



I've always been fascinated by the concept of the Golden Section or Golden Mean. I wondered what sort of spaces two opposing triangles would create. In the diagrams, you'll notice that the driftwood slashes the tank's visual space in the region left behind by two opposing triangles. I now have a strong left right, top bottom opposition.

The space characterized by the upper right triangle, pointing down, is one of height and flow. This is where I'll install large, flowing stem and bush plants. The lower right triangle, pointing up, defines the ground. A lot of unobstructed light reaches this parcel, so it lends itself to small, plains-style grasses and shrublets.

To dramatize the driftwood slash effect, I'll smother it with closely-pruned moss. This is the centerpiece, visually, of the tank. I like that with only moss and its position, I have a fixture I can easily monitor and maintain, having my way with the real estate all around it. I prefer topiary moss, which makes preserving the slash even easier.

THE PROCESS

How long did it take? About 6 hours, although if I hadn't taken all kinds of food, phone, cigarette, and potty breaks, it might have taken 4. I won't bore you with a step-by-step walkthrough of the installation (unless you're interested), but I want to share some things I encountered:

1. A beautiful tank deserves esthetically correspondent appliances. The industrial inlet and outlet tubes for the canister filter are hideous: grey and silvery blue, thick and very visible. I'll be going back to AFA in the next few days to purchase lighter, less visible materials.


2. I'm not accustomed to so much GPH power in a filter. It's both alarming and exciting. Real water flow that makes plants waver in the currents. When I upgrade the inlet/outlet tubing (see above), I'll do so with the specific goal of positioning the outlet nozzle at or around surface level, adjusting for a balance between oxygenation agitation and noise.


3. The Rotala and Ludwigia are throwaway plants. I just stuffed them into the substrate so they can contribute over the next couple of weeks to the tank's establishment.


4. Don't forget to buy silicon tape for the sealing of your CO2 regulator to its tank.


5. The guys at AFA recommended placing a plastic sheet of some kind on the substrate when you're first introducing water. This helps prevent the substrate from blasting all over the place. I used a large square of Cling Wrap for the first 4 or so gallons. After that, I switched back to the ever reliable saucer, which allows for a faster pouring rate.


6. Tubes and power cords ain't pretty. This tank is visible from all sides, so I'll probably go out of my way to acquire precious appliances that minimize the ugliness of -- stuff -- hanging out of your tank. I suspect this won't be inexpensive.


7. I'm so excited about establishing a new tank that I haven't even considered livestock. Shrimpies, of course. I'm smitten. I'm leaning toward a visually arresting mass of very small fish, for that schooling effect none of my smaller tanks can support. Say, 20 Rasbora maculata, or 20 Rocket killifish. I also learned of the freshwater puffer (about the size of a small lima bean with a tail), which I haven't ruled out as a celebrity presence in the new tank.

DESIGN INSPIRATIONS

It's hard to believe that in July, 2003, I bought my very first tank, the very same 10g tank I'm about to retire to make room for my new 20g.

During that summer, I did loads of research, turning often to the web for photos that would give me some idea of what's possible. Following is a very specific photo that always moved me. It reminded me of a primordial branch that could have been under water. Or down in the shade of a Pacific Northwest forest, where ferns live. Didn't matter. The moss configuration draping over a single piece of fallen wood has stuck with me for over three years.


From Jason at Nature Aquarium

Last fall, when I started watching Peter Jackson's video diaries illuminating the production process for King Kong, an image struck me that, as you can plainly see, drew me back to the primordial branch above.


Production still from Peter Jackson's King Kong

DAY 2 PHOTOS OF THE NEW TANK

Here is the new tank (left) and the tank (right) it is about to replace.

Throwaway plants in the background. You can see why I'm irritated by the tubes and pipes...they clutter and crowd the glass.

The driftwood and its moss nets. Much of the mature moss will die while new growth attaches to the wood and flourishes under new conditions.

Stay tuned for more, soon.