..well its a mess at the moment (and theres a leak in the top left corner, you can probably see the water marks down the side), but I'm proud as its the only tank ever that I've never had an algae problem with! I dont even have to clean the front glass!!
Its a 5 gallon, with three bronze corys, one oto, and Verity a female betta (the one that jumped a while back) ..shes the queen of the tank



I really need a new camera.. I took 117 pics last night and only got about 7 good ones

I'm going to be sorting this tank out sometime soon.. I just need to change a few plans, I was going to have a carpet of hairgrass but I think it would get a bit tall in such a small tank and I'd en up trimming it leaving just horrible yellow undergrowth or something. Those swords are coming out.. I only put the bottom bits with no leaves in there to see if they were still alive.. turns out they are!
Theres bits of odd homeless plants everywhere...

Heres a few pics of Verity





She was in the perfect position for this one, but slipped behind a leaf as I clicked the camera!



Here's one of the corys, they hide a lot.. probably because theres more space to hide that to come out!

Lucy, that's a gorgeous tank, the plants are so cool and your close-up pics of Lucy and the cory are excellent. Congrats.

I love your mess. It looks great and the fish seem to love it too. I have a planted 5g bow front I wish looked that good. Think Ill go rob my piggy bank and go get a couple plants.

awww thanks maybe I should stick with the jungle theme then, just make it a bit more of an organised jungle.. I was gonna go Amano style

Edit: actually I have wonderful things I forgot to say about that tank, its an all in one thing, with an amazing filter in the compartment across the back, the heater's built in there too http://www.aquariumsuperstore.co.uk/mall/underworldtanks.asp
Its my mums actually.. I kinda 'borrowed' it from her for my fry when she gave up, then realised how cool it was an moved everyone over.. I'll have to give her some money for it
The only annoying thing is that its all built into one plug, which is good for multiple tanks as theres limited plug space.. but annoying that i have to turn everything off if i just one to turn one thing off, so i cant keep the light on to do a water change.

Some of my tanks are like that but the AquaOne brand and they don't have a built in heater. The lights and filter are on seperate power leads but I still need to turn the lights off when I do water changes because I need to lift the hood up.

lol yea I still lift the hood up, but the light helps me see what im doing as its in a shady place in the room

If I had the lights on with the hood up I'd need to wear sunnies.

ah. lol mine isnt very bright, it needs a clean, got hard water mark all over it.. I hope thats not whats stopping the algae!

That looks really nice, Lucy. Nice and healthy plants and fish!

Thanks awrieger.

Lucy! It looks fab hun!! i'm gonna have to get you to come over and plant some of my tanks!

haha thanks
I just got bored (you can probably tell.. I've posted thousands of pics on kokos today ) so i went and cut back that stem plant which makes most of the mess in the middle and re planted the bits i cut off to make it thicker. I'm too scared to take any of it out incase it happens to be the plant thats stopping algae. Its a little less messy.. I also discoverd some moss balls I forgot were in there.

So we get a new picture?

Its hardly different.. ok, hang on..

Hey Lucy, it looks great! Not a mess at all, just a beautiful healthy-looking planted tank! The fish must love it I wish I could keep live plants, I just can't make it work

I have a feeling this tank is going to go horribly wrong at some point, you're not alone there!

ok Heres some more
see.. it doesnt look different!


Right side


Left side (you can see a goldfish in the distance!!)


Verity posed good for me this time
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/fis...ntededed010.jpg

The oto showed up..
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/fis...ntededed011.jpg

and another cory says hello
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/fis...ntededed006.jpg

..I've started using links before I get told off for posting too much.. I must go do something productive

The lighting looks great! Whats the wattage?

That last Cory picture is sooo cute! They look like two grumpy old men!

The tank pics are great! I love the look! Your plants look nice and healthy!

Hehe
I just checked and it says 1x11W ..I'm guessing that means there is one 11 watt tube?

Beautiful tank Lucy, I'm so jealous of people that can make those beautiful planted tanks work.

Great job!

Thanks Justin, haven't seen you around in a while

yea, i got a new job still adjusting to the hours.

Lucy, what kind of filter have you got there?

Wow lucy, great tank! It looks so nice...I'm jealous. My tropical jungle isn't doing well and isn't a jungle anymore Do you have a plant substrate? Do you add ferts and CO2? I want mine to look like yours...I feel like I'm growing bg algae instead of plants here.

Kissy, i find the best thing for planted tanks is a CO2 canister, mine really thrive with it Fertaliser is also good, but i find that once the get over a certain hight they just keep growing what kind of lighting system do you have on there?
i also have algae probs in some of my tanks, and have started using these little bags that stop algae growth and they work really well

Congrats on the new job then Justin

I just have regular sand as a substrate, no CO2 yet, I was going to do a little DIY one.. but it doesnt seem to need it I chuck in some iron base fert thingy when i remember.. hmm, that one http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_freshw...zer.asp?CartId=

I think its the filtration that is helping with the algae, as i figure it, algae sucks up ammonia before it would go for nitrates right? so if you have really efficient bio filtration there is hardly ever ammonia for it to suck up so it never gets a chance to grow.
Riz, all the heating and filtration is in the back in this compartment
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/fis...s/filter001.jpg

A view inside, to the far right theres the heater and at the bottom is where water goes in, the next bit is empty at the moment but you can buy carbon things to fit in there, or put anything else in there really.. I'm getting some bioballs for that bit next is the sponge to catch big bits, then theres an internal power type filter thingy full of filter floss.. and the water comes out that through that slit at the top left.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/fis...s/filter003.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/fis...s/filter004.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/fis...s/filter005.jpg

I think that the tank looks lovely.Everything is lush and green.Sometimes that "Jungle Look " appeals to me. Keep up the good work Hun.

Thanks Devs