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  L# LITTLE_FISH 125G Log
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SubscribeLITTLE_FISH 125G Log
LITTLE_FISH
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Here is a closer look just at the main island. I have to admit that this so far is my favorite setup of this tank and I hope that I will not regret the recent makeover and ligthing duration changes. So far, so good, I will keep my thumbs crossed.

Attached Image:

Island I



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Post InfoPosted 29-Oct-2006 14:43Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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And here is (already) the last shot, the main island in a more Matty-Style angle. Matty - I hope you are proud of yourself as you most certainly can take all the credit for any shot taken in these angles

I have to say that in this angle the island looks almost like a bird's nest

I am looking forward to the red plants growing just a little more to really fill in, in particular in height.

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Island - Matty Style



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Post InfoPosted 29-Oct-2006 14:46Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Wingsdlc
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LF,

Your tank looks pretty nice! I like the lay out with all the Anubias on the DW. That works really well for me. Things seem to be filling out quite well. The left side is a bit thin but you will soon have plenty of westeria to fill in the gaps.

Your rainbows are looking really good. I really love mine when I had them but for some reason they didn't do well. I am glad you have had pretty good luck with yours.



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Post InfoPosted 29-Oct-2006 15:07Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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Matty - If I understand the statement that you made about this plant a while back, then this should either change to single leaf per node or I actually have Ludwigia peruensis, which - by your statement - is not an aquatic plant.


If it doesn't end up with one leaf per node, then I have no idea what it is. The terrestrial plant I've seen in pics is very large and looks nothing like our aquatic plant. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that. I just meant to say that ludwigia peruensis is usually a false name for ludwigia glandulosa - but a name which is correct for a terrestrial plant.

Matty - I hope you are proud of yourself as you most certainly can take all the credit for any shot taken in these angles


I can't take credit, I didn't take the pic!. I'm glad I could make an impact on the angles you take your pics though. It's rare when people actually look at a tank from that dead on angle, so it's hard to get a feel for what your tank really looks like. Nice pics



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Post InfoPosted 29-Oct-2006 17:17Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Thanks guys for the input and comments on tank and pictures.

Wings - none of my anubias are planted/tied on the driftwood, they are are stuck into the substrate. Of course I made sure the rhizome is above the substrate, so don't worry
The Mother Barteri is shooting out about 3 new leaves every 2 to 3 weeks, I hope that it doesn't grow too big too soon.

Matty - Of course you can take credit, you made me do it In the same way, NowherMan6 can take credit for my pictures as he was my lens consultant

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 30-Oct-2006 00:28Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Hah,

I am glad that I am able to post the following picture. As you may know, one Oto went MIA during last weekend's makeover and spent about at least 1.5h in an empty sink (where I placed the DW before cutting it).

So, given that I overall had 6 Otos before, and that I added him/her back in and he/she swam away, and that I have not been able to count them all any time since, here they are

Ingo

Attached Image:



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Post InfoPosted 30-Oct-2006 02:33Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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Man look at how clean that filter intake is. Makes me want to take mine out and bleach it or something.



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Post InfoPosted 30-Oct-2006 03:27Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
TW
 
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Your Alternanthera Group is just stunning & I'm really liking the island setup.

Great shot of your otos - pretty cool to get them altogether like that.

Cheers
TW
Post InfoPosted 30-Oct-2006 12:52Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Thanks, you two

Matty - This is the intake of the newer filter, the one I added rather recently (maybe 6 weeks back, I don't remember). I will try to get a shot of the other one which is more in line with yours, I guess

Robyn - Yeah, it took me two hours until I had all 6 of them herded onto the clean filter intake and heater

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 30-Oct-2006 15:23Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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It's a classic case of "less is more" your no longer concerned with the confines of the tank where your putting a tall plant in the corner to cover the filter tubes, heater. etc. The Island looks even more impressive close-up. Nice tight groups, good constrast and manageable. If I had to nitpick (some things never change) it would be the anubias in the front is too lined up.

Are you considering changing the tubes, heater to all black so they fade into the background? With two filters on the tank that powerhead is also an unnecessary distraction IMO.

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Post InfoPosted 30-Oct-2006 19:19Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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I think tetratech went colorblind during his absence. LF's background is blue and his heaters are black.

I think LF is also using that powerhead to throw CO2 bubbles out to the other side of the tank and get more saturation.



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Post InfoPosted 30-Oct-2006 20:00Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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If I had to nitpick ...
Of course you have to

And it is always welcome, tetratech. Does that mean your bet is over and you won, or what? What are you getting out of this again? Ah yeah, a new tank

Anyway - Just a few posts earlier (or a few pages earlier) I mentioned that I may play with the background for a while. This means that any colors of heater and what not will have to wait. Also, yes - as Matty said - the powerhead is for the CO2. My way of dispersal in a 6 foot tank.

I have to see about the Anubias and a few other plants in the future, for now I am just glad that I got an environment that allows me to play with it without having to do a major overhaul.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 30-Oct-2006 20:33Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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I went to the LFS after work and bought 3 bunches of Wisteria, each having 3 stems and being about 6 to 10 inches long (they also has a pair of Apist Cacs "Double Red", but I resisted).

Once home, I proceeded to trim the stems. For one thing, I would like to keep the growth low, so 6 inches is not good. I made two sections out of each stem, the top and the next element down, which gave me 18 pieces overall. That was enough to cover the part of the left side that was still open.

Here is that area:

Attached Image:

New Wisteria



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Post InfoPosted 31-Oct-2006 03:00Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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This shot, of the female Apisto exploring if there is any food in the wistera, shows the very finely structured leaves of this growth:

Attached Image:

Apisto Looking For Food



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Post InfoPosted 31-Oct-2006 03:02Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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In comparison, here is my Wisteria from the right side of the tank. As you can see, most leaves are much broader that the new ones. Is that because of less light intensity? I need to consult the Wisteria Whipper

Attached Image:

Existing Wisteria On Right Tank Side



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Post InfoPosted 31-Oct-2006 03:04Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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And just for completion, here is the whole tank again. Now it is getting harder to avoid any glare in the pictures as the Wisteria is highl reflective of the tank light.

That's it for now,

Have Fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Full Tank



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Post InfoPosted 31-Oct-2006 03:05Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Wingsdlc
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As you can see, most leaves are much broader that the new ones. Is that because of less light intensity?

I think it has to do with light. More light the thinner the leaves. Less light the wider they get.

The wisteria in the last picture sure is bright. You should ask tetra how he does it!



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Post InfoPosted 31-Oct-2006 06:09Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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Since you just bought it, I'd tend to think the thin leaves might be an emersed growth form(as most plants are grown emersed at farms to avoid the algae problem and to max light and growth using sunlight). I've also seen very large leaves come into the store too.

I guess that's why they call it hygro difformis. Very tough to tell what does what to this plant.



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Post InfoPosted 31-Oct-2006 06:28Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Ah, I have never thought of the possibility that Wisteria is grown emersed. The stems seem way to fragile to support the plant weight out of the water. Not because they are so thin but because they seem to easily break when bent (at least the main stem of an upright growing plant).

Interesting, so much still to learn,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 31-Oct-2006 14:16Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Weekly Tank Update - Week 58

The week was rather eventless, with the exception of the addition of more Wisteria on Monday.

So here is a quick look at some stuff

The morning before the water change, when the tank was still dark, I had a chance to take a peek as the light on 29G next to it goes on first. I know that plants close shop when they have enough light and at night as well, but I did not know that this applies to Wisteria as well:

Attached Image:

Wisteria Closed At Night



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Post InfoPosted 05-Nov-2006 23:47Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Here is the Pearl Grass before trimming. It has grown very nicely and I could use the extra plants for the 40G. It is now pretty much as tall as it was two weeks ago and I was able to harvest 9 smaller bunches:

Attached Image:

Pearl Grass



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Post InfoPosted 05-Nov-2006 23:49Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Also, for the very first time ever I really cleaned the filter (the bigger older one). I removed even the content of the individual trays and rinsed them in tank water as can be seen here.

Left is the bio layers and right the mech stuff:

Attached Image:

Cleaning Time



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Post InfoPosted 05-Nov-2006 23:50Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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And, for comparison, here is the tank two weeks ago after this setup had been created. As you can see, it is still quite empty:

Attached Image:

Two Weeks Ago



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LITTLE_FISH
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And here is the tank earlier today. Not only does one notice the addition of the wisteria, but also some healthy growth in the Star Grass, Alternanthera, and Ludwigia groups. Also, the mother barteri developed quite a few new leaves.

Attached Image:

Tank Now



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Post InfoPosted 05-Nov-2006 23:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Nevertheless, not all is rosy. There is again some BBA, in particular on some leaves of the Alternanthera, Java Fern, and Anubias (just some leaves on that whole group). I am considering an Excel treatment.

Here is a closer look at the island:

Attached Image:

Island



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Post InfoPosted 05-Nov-2006 23:55Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Here is a closer look at the Wisteria group on the left side of the tank. The front section is the addition from last Monday. That should be rather obvious though as I never had this growth form in any of my tanks:

Attached Image:

Wisteria



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Post InfoPosted 05-Nov-2006 23:57Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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The Tenellus field behind it is still pretty messy, but I clearly see the development of submersed leaves and a few runners. I will give it some more time and then decide what to do with it in the first place. I am considering to replace the star grass with the crypts from the way left and make the whole area around the island wisteria (a la tetratech).

Attached Image:

Tenellus



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Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 00:00Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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And here is an add-on:

I went to the LFS this afternoon and got some fishies (see 40G Log ). While I was there I picked up another 6 bunches of Wisteria. It wasn't in super shape, so I only could use the top most section of each stem (unlike last Monday when I divided each stem into two reusable pieces).

I planted then in front of the Island and now have to left almost connected to the right. Almost there

That's it, have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

New Wisteria From Today



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Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 00:03Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Tank looks amazing Ingo. I was a bit surprised when you chose to steer clear of the Amano style. When you mentioned an "island" setup, I was expecting exactly what you have in the middle, but a clear cut line surrounding it of bare gravel. Hell, I would have bet sand would have made an appearance with this layour, at least in the foreground. But it looks killer either way. I'm thoroughly impressed!


Nice seeing you today, btw.
Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 01:42Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Well thanks Mike,

I appreciate the compliment

Yeah, it was nice seeing you today at the LFS and I am glad it motivated you to peek into my logs (responsive that is, as I know you do it as a reader only anyway).

Yeah, anything more than I did in this current redo would basically have meant to start all over again as I would have had to get rid of my well bacterialized gravel. So, that's as good as it gets

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 02:31Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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EditedEdited by mattyboombatty
Looks good LF, especially the tenellus(gosh I like that plant). It looks as if you're getting pretty good growth overall, should be fun to watch the tank continue to grow in. How's the ludwigia turning out? I'm really curious to see if that turns out to be the same as mine, or what else it could be if it doesn't.

I don't really have anything to nit-pick about. I like the setup, just needs time to fill in.

That's some nasty media BTW.



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Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 03:14Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
DeletedPosted 06-Nov-2006 13:34
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EditedEdited by tetratech
I don't really have anything to nit-pick about.

Well I do! That last pic is really beautiful!

My Scapes
Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 13:34Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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So - where is the nitpicking, tetratech ? I know there is much that can be done better, but I had to start somewhere. I think that this setup will allow me to play around with much less ecological interference. Thanks for the compliment on the last shot.

Matty - You sure like tenellus, don't you . The ludwigia is still growing in the same style, aka two leaves per node. Maybe the grand master of plants, aka Bensaf, could take a look and let us know what he thinks . And yes, the media was really . Maybe in about two weeks I should have the other filter undergoing the same treatment.

Ingo


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LF,

If you are doing major up rooting fairly often then you are probobly releasing tons of junk from the gravel. This stuff ends up right in your filter. Therefore its probably a good idea to keep them cleaned more often.

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Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 17:24Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
tetratech
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Ingo,

Looking at those nice pics, I forgot to ask. Are you seeing an abatement of your algae issues. I didn't see any "real" issues even from the closeup shot.

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Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 17:25Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Thanks guys for input and question,

Tetratech - right now I don't have a huge algae issue to report, but I see a ring of BBA around sicklish leaves on the Anubias and Alternanthera, and on the edges of leaves on the NL Fern, but they may have gotten damaged during the redo as well. Otherwise, only a little hair algae is growing on the glass, but not bad at all. I will try to give you an even closer look so one can see the problem

Wings - you, that's it, the redo will do that. But I decided to not mess with the filters right when I did the redo as I had upset the biofilter enough as it was. That's why I am doing it now, one filter at a time.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 17:48Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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that's it, the redo will do that. But I decided to not mess with the filters right when I did the redo as I had upset the biofilter enough as it was. That's why I am doing it now, one filter at a time.
I am with you.

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Post InfoPosted 06-Nov-2006 18:49Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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So,

Just to show you that not all is shiny shiny, here are two of the plants that have BBA problems (I couldn't get a good one of the Alternanthera).

Here is a leave of the Mother Barteri plant. Just a few leaves have algae:

Attached Image:

Anubias Barteri BBA



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Post InfoPosted 07-Nov-2006 01:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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And here is the Narrow Leaf Java Fern. Again, only a few leaves look like this, and I believe to identify that they are damages further down on the leaf.

That's it,

Ingo

Attached Image:

NL Java Fern BBA



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Post InfoPosted 07-Nov-2006 01:54Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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i had a BBA problem but my pearl gouramis ate it all.
i wonder why tours havnt eaten any of yours?
BTW my male pearl is almost full grown now, hes chest is a deap red orange, his dorsal & analfins stretch way past his tail fin and he has the most amazing turquise and olive green iridescences.
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coop,

I wasn't aware that Pearls are BBA eaters, I for sure haven't seen mine even touching it.

About 6 to 4 months ago, my male seemed well on the way to receive his orange underbelly, but now it seems more like he is moving backwards in the coloration department, except for the turquise and olive green iridescences on his finnage. It may have to do with the fact that there is 0 chance for breeding in this tank as the current would wash away any bubble nest. So he may think: "Why bother with all the color if I cannot use it anyway"

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 07-Nov-2006 14:33Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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I am loving your new island look. All is looking pretty slick. Like Matty, I'm a recent fan of Tenellus. Is there more that one form of tenellus? Mine look taller than yours, but so far they are all I've found. How tall would you say yours grow?

I agree with not cleaning out both filters at once. In fact, I have never done a 100% filter media clean. But for you, 100% cleaning of one filter = only a 50% clean, as you still have another filter to go. I would wait 3-4 weeks before you clean the 2nd filter, to allow the cleaned media to grow a new colony of bacteria.

Anyway, all is looking great

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your male pearl has a beter body shape than mine, mine has a more bulldog face too.
id say its colour is becauase of the current as my tank has 2 smaller HOB filters at each end. one is soruonded by a lot of wisteria where as the other has a big clump of sggitaria stimulatus in front of it, this makes the water surface in the middle of the tank fairly still which allows him to build his nest(wich is then purposely destroyed by my male blue ram).
i guess it makes him a fair bit more agressive. he is king of the tank except when it comes to the male german blue ram; about half the size of the pearl but twice as aggressive(i originally had 2 pairs of GBR's, because of the male GBR its now only 1 pair).
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coop - Yeah, my male Pearl is the king of the tank as well, not even my male Apisto truly challenges him. This comes as a surprise to me though as the male pearl is also one of the biggest chickens in the tank as soon as an "outsider" appears (meaning a person). By now he has figured out that me standing next to the tank is not harmful, but he darts into hiding as soon as another person comes closer. Not to mention that you cannot find him once my hand penetrates the water (maintenance stuff). I checked last night on his coloration and yeah, there is not one bit of orange left.

Robyn, yeah - there are at least two forms of tenellus, but the other one is actually smaller with thinner leaves that are turning a reddish color in bright light. Amano uses that one quite often and I once got a tiny plant by accident (didn't grow for me).
About the filter cleaning: I don't believe I destroyed the bacteria in the filter completely as I rinsed the media in tank water. Sure, whatever was on the filter walls and media baskets is gone, but the surface of the media itself should have contained most of it anyway.

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yeah mines a real chicken when it comes to "outsiders" and matenence. i recently gave my tank a complete makeover and the whole timt he was flapping around in the back corner. strangly though he eats algea wafers out of my hand
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Those buckets of dirty water got me thinking. Still having BBA issues ...hmmmmmm.

I think it's pretty much been shown that BBA is reliant on carbon to thrive. Organics produce carbon,in a form difficult for planys to access but somewhat easier for algae specifically BBA. A dirty tank will produce algae.

I'm surprised you've gone that long between cleaning filters. For some reason I always clean my canister every 4-6 weeks. By clean I mean I totally dump the wool media , clean the can but don't touch the bio stuff (ceramic rings/efisubstrat). I've always done it this way, no particular reason just habit. The likes of Tom BArr are always stating the importance of keeping tank and filter "clean" - maybe that's where I picked it up.

Wondering if the amount of organics in an old "dirtier" filter is helping the BBA?

Class discussion ?


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Organics produce carbon,in a form difficult for planys to access but somewhat easier for algae specifically BBA.


Can you explain this a little more, if you can?

And if it thrives on carbon produced by organics, then why is it said that LOW carbon causes BBA, as opposed to an organic form?

I always thought of it being more of a steady C vs. fluctuating C issue.


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I always thought of it being more of a steady C vs. fluctuating C issue.
Maybe the organic form is a fluctuating one?

Come to think of it. I was having some aglae issues a while back. I think I cleaned out my filter and it went away. I was having issues with staghorn though. Which is one of two, the other being GS, that I get in my tank.

Now if the filter is good and dirty is the bio filter working at top production?

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Wondering if the amount of organics in an old "dirtier" filter is helping the BBA?

IMO yes. Nothing works in a vaccum, everything is part of the whole. The more organics in the tank/filter the more you might have issues. If you have a tank that has no fish only plants, you could probably get by with doing an annual filter cleaning as opposed to one stocked with fish that would require monthly or bi-monthly.

Listening to the conversations here at Planted Aquaria the conversations are usually as much about fish as they are about plants. There's nothing wrong with that mindset, but it does bring about more algae issues. The amount of organics affects the amount of filtration, flow, co2, etc that one would need to maintain an algae-free tank.

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I'll agree, but can't say I'm a shining example of someone who keeps their filter clean. I get to it every couple months. At this rate I can't say I've ever noticed a correlation between algae before and after cleanings, but maybe I would if I let it go longer. IMO it's the same as the junk in the gravel bed or rotting leaves or anything else. If I could I'd gravel vac every week too.



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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
Oooooooh, the grand master gave me the honor of a few words

Anyway, first things first:
coop - When I read your entry I had to laugh as feeding the Pearls is really like you describe, they eat out of your hand. Not only that, the way they open and close their mouths on the surface while eating looks to me like they are singing some song.

Some may have seen my picture of an old Espei a few weeks back. I did not see him anymore 3 days ago but then found him again 2 days ago, minus half his body Rest in peace old man, you were a proud father of many.

Now on to the filter cleaning:

Bensaf, you may have misunderstood:
By clean I mean I totally dump the wool media , clean the can but don't touch the bio stuff
I do that too, it was just the first time that I even cleaned out the media baskets. As mine are stuffed with media there is always something left behind when not removing from the baskets. And this gunk is also partially based on the redo two weeks earlier.

Nevertheless, I agree, dirty media can, and probably does, have something to do with the algae. But like all the others, please elaborate on the carbon culprit.

Thanks in advance,

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EditedEdited by FRANK
Hi,
Plants can extract the Carbon from organic compounds.
The problem is how tightly the element, Carbon, is bound
into the compound. An organic chemist, I am not, but I
do know that some molecules hang onto the elements that
make up that molecule more tightly than others.

The CO2 gas that we inject into our tanks is the easiest
for plants to extract the Carbon from. It requires less
energy from the plant and is why plants seem to "take off"
when we start using injected CO2.

It is the same with other elements that plants need.
Fe for instance as well as the trace elements. They
need to be introduced into the aquarium in the form
that is beneficial for plants, other wise they build up
to possibly toxic levels or precipitate out.

This is discussed extensively in Diana's book,
The Ecology of the Planted Aquarium.

Frank


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EditedEdited by bensaf
And if it thrives on carbon produced by organics, then why is it said that LOW carbon causes BBA, as opposed to an organic form?


Frank pretty much nailed how organics produce carbon.

But lets clear one thing up. Low Co2 in and of itself is not a cause of BBA. Fluctuating carbon levels will. In a non Co2 injected tank one of the best methods to avoid algae is to avoid water changes or actually, to avoid putting in sudden short doses of Co2 (from tap water) which will benefit algae more then plants. In an injected tank relatively high and stable is the way to go.

In an injected tank the plants are getting there carbon easily and readily in the quantities they need. A lot of "dirt" will produce carbon that may only benefit algae.As Frank mentioned the carbon is not Co2, more in the way of carbonate molecules. The plants simply won't be bothered stripping down the molecules when it already has all their carbon needs readily available. But BBA is built to access carbon in just that way.

I pull tanks up completely every year as I've noticed that things tend to go downhill at bit at that stage. They look dirty and old. No matter how fastidious you are you can't get everything at the regular water changes - things get under the wood and rocks etc.

The only tank I've never had BBA in (or any other form for that matter) is the small non Co2 low light desktop tank. It really is a method that truly seems foolproof and is the reason why I'd never bother with more then one hight light Co2 tank. Need the patience of a saint though - it grows very very very slowly and the plants stay much smaller,

Don't get me wrong , not saying Ingo has a filthy tank or anything. I could be going overboard but I've never let the canister go more then 6 weeks without a cleaning.


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EditedEdited by tetratech
I pull tanks up completely every year as I've noticed that things tend to go downhill at bit at that stage. They look dirty and old. No matter how fastidious you are you can't get everything at the regular water changes - things get under the wood and rocks etc.


That's an acurate statement. Everything is relative to this buildup. A year could probably be stretched to 18 months if your really anal about things(feeding,fishload, water changes, filter cleaning) or can be shortened if your very overstocked, etc. I notice some BBA on some of the eco which was never there before. It's not a big issue but it's there. That's why I'm also pushing the low ishload, low feeding thing, because this will buy you more time before things get real bad. The majority of aquarist feed and stock too much not to have some algae issues in hi-light planted tanks. I want to repeat something. It's not that they are overstocked or overfeeding in general terms, but they are when it comes to controlling algae in planted aquaria.

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Well thanks guys for the detailed inputs on carbon and BBA. I guess I will have to clean my filters more often the, right (as a reduced fish load is not an option ).

On with the show, I got loads of pictures and no time.

Weekly Tank Update - Week 59

To start off, here is the tank 3 weeks ago when it was set up in this layout:

Attached Image:

3 Weeks Ago



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And here is the tank now, with a few additions of Wisteria and some growth.

I think it still looks pretty, but some pruning is needed. I just didn't have the time for that this weekend and also I don't know what I would like to change yet.

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Tank Today



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Now I would like to show you how the tank looks when I have only the second row of lights with 5,500K on. Doesn't it look much greener? I am considering of switching to the 10,000K that I have:

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With 5,500K Only



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Here is a closeup of the Pearl Grass right afte water change. As you can see, it really pearls , but somehow it does not really look like grass though

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Pearl Grass



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My Excel Treatment that I started this week to fight off the existing BBA is showing effects, the algae is beginning to turn red or pale, as can be seen in this closeup of an leaf of the NL Java Fern.

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BBA Dying



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For Matty, a 4 picture special

Maybe Bensaf wants to chime in, that would be nice.

Here is one of two shots showing the current growth of the Ludwigia Peruensis. This one is closer to the bottom of the tank and a small sprout.

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LP new Growth I



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And here is one from the tallest of them in the tank. As you may see, the gap between the nodes is really small and there are still two leaves per node. Also, it has gotten much redder. The beginning of the new growth section can be easily identified:

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LP new Growth II



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Then I looked at the plant right next to it, my Alternanthera. Doesn't that plant look very similar? I wonder if I have some form of Alternanthera there!

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Alternanthera I



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One of the differences is that the gap between the nodes seem larger than on the LR, although they are at equal height in the tank.

The LR also appears to have shorter new leaves, actually it seems a little stunted. Maybe I should add more K, but I for sure beefed up the micros from 20ml to 30ml as of today.

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Alternanthera II



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The Star Grass in the tank is still growing strong, but I don't think it is right for the spot that it is at. Its stem is too weak and it gets blown heavily to its side by the current in the tank.

Here is one of the more stable parts of it as the current in that section isn't all that strong:

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Star Grass



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Here is the weakest section of the tank, at least in my opinion. The whole left side needs something, and I believe it needs less of a plant mish-mash. Maybe all should be wisteria for now and later I could add some highlights to it. I could use the crypts as a border section in the Island, but the tenellus would have to move to other tanks.

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Left Section



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On to some fish shots:

Whenever I enter the basement and it is evening I get to see this. OK, the female Apisto is there only sometimes, but the Rainbows for sure are waiting for food as this is the spot where I feed the tank.

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Rainbows I



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Once they realize that I am only there to hold this black thingy (camera) in front of my face they tend to peruse the tank some more. Here they are on the other end of the tank.

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Rainbows II



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My Apistos are always up for a nice photo, and they seem to enjoy beeing the center of my attention.

Here is the female staring at me like "Are we done yet?"

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Female Apisto I



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After a while she had enough and starts to swim off, on to finding some food in the tank.

These days she is wearing her bright yellow wedding dress only on rare occasions, maybe 3 days out of 7

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Female Apisto II



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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
Make Sure You Look At The Pictures On The Previous Page That Start This Weeks Update



Here is the male Apisto swimming through the bubbles of the CO2 output.

It seems to me as if he is eyeballing the Espei in the bottom right corner. I wouldn't be too surprised if he got a tast for them by now, given that it was he whom I found eating the dead (old) Espei during this week:

Attached Image:

Male Apisto I



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The male Apisto (and his girl) are the least shy fish in the tank. Whenever I put my finger on the glass all other fish first swim away (and may or may not come back), but he doesn't seem to be worried at all. Actually I think he likes the attention:

Attached Image:

Male Apisto II



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Just to show off his nice colors again, here he is from the full side.

He is just as handsome as ever

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Male Apisto III



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Ok,

On to some off-shots, more in line with the things Matty likes, but maybe the others will enjoy them as well.

Here you can see how full my tank is

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Small Gap Left



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And here is a look accross the length of the tank, from the left side to the right.

Last week I filled up the tank (by mistake) so much that the duck weed got stuck at the crossbars.

Attached Image:

Surface Movement



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And here is a look at the tank from the left side, showing more the frontal section. Most of my sideshots are guesswork as I don't really have the space to squeeze my head behind the camera for that angle:

Attached Image:

Tank From Left



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And here is a look into the tank from the right side. This spot is even tighter and I barely can hold the camera in my hand into an almost proper angle.

Sorry if they are not the greatest pictures.

Attached Image:

From Right Side



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The last 3 pictures are of the main island. Here is the first from a slight angle when standing closer to the left side of the tank:

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Main Island I



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And here is a look at the island from a slight angle to the right. I like how the Espei tend to peruse along the front edge of the island, they go very well with the color theme

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Main Island II



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And here is a head on, but angled down, shot of the island. I know it needs some work, at least the Star Grass needs trimming.

As you can see, I have closed the frontal gap between left and right and now the island is surrounded.

That is it for today,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Main Island III



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Post InfoPosted 13-Nov-2006 03:46Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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Neet shots there LF. I can't say that I know for sure what red plant you have there. I'm not sure. It's nice whatever it is. My ludwigia gets those crinkled leaves on the new growth when I don't dose a bit of calcium at waterchanges. I'm not sure why that is, I have hard water, and would think I had plenty of calcium, but it's at least something to go on.

I really enjoyed the shots from the side, that was a cool angle we haven't seen much before. It really helps get the 3D feel for the tank. The shot of the center group with the espei was particularly nice as well.

I've decided recently that I can't handle floating plant. I ended up ripping out my water lettuce. It kept floating to the front corner that didn't get light enough for them anyways. I applaud you for keeping some duckweed in there for the fish. That shot also showed me how well your tank was levelled when you set it up .

I'd say that something like a rock or non green plant would look good in the open area, but it sounds like you already had something like that in mind. I agree though, it could be a bit better on that side, maybe simpler would be better, maybe not. At least it's something easy to play with, just don't kill those tenellus movin' them around too much or I'll come after you....I know where you live.



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Post InfoPosted 13-Nov-2006 05:30Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
bensaf
 
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Have to say the tank is looking better then then ever.

Probably because it has more order and tighter groupings.

One minor quibble, I'd tighten up the red plant grouping a bit and pick just one species ( personally I prefer the Reineckii, the Ludwigia can be a pain to grow). Red beside red doesnit work and they slightly different shape of both makes it look untidy.

Nut the island formation looks good amd the tank finally has a distinct look rather then a mish mash


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LITTLE_FISH
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Bensaf,

Before I race off to work, can you tell me what kind of plant you think this "Ludwigia" is. It was sold as peruensis, but Matty thinks otherwise and I have no idea.

I will comment on your entries more later,

Off to the races,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 13-Nov-2006 11:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Well,

I guess I missed Bensaf's presents here at FP by about 5 min . He will never let us know what plant I have there

Anyway, on with some comments:

Matty - Yeah, crinkled leaves and calcium, I thought about that. But I am adding already one tsp of Equilibrium weekly so I do not want to make the water any harder. Instead, I hope that upping the micros will help out. You may remember that I used to feed 50ml dosages of TMG, but with the new stuff I went to 20ml, as instructions from Tropica suggest. Now, with 30ml, I should see some changes, hopefully not in the amount of algae

About the leveling: well, I have to give credit for an almost even concrete floor, but thanks anyway. Overall, the tank is a little higher on the right than on the left, maybe a difference of 1/3 to 1/2 an inch.

Also, I will not try to kill the Tenellus, I promise . And yeah, the left side will undergo slooooow changes. For the first time in quite a while I look at the tasks at hand with excitement and not as a necessity.

Bensaf - Thank you so much, very nice of you to give me (or my tank) such praise. With regards to the Ludwigia, I assume you identified the plant then, right ? What makes it so hard to grow? Does it have specific requirements in nutrients, like loads of Iron or something like that? In either case, I will keep your words of mixing these plants in mind when I have enough of them (Alternanthera) to fill in the whole area.

Thanks for the input,

Ingo


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Wingsdlc
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EditedEdited by Wingsdlc
I could use the crypts as a border section in the Island,
I think that is a really good idea. Then maybe a rock or something coming out of the wisteria would look nice as Matty has said.

Overall your tank is looking quite nice. I like the shots from the side too!

55G Planted tank thread
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Post InfoPosted 13-Nov-2006 15:20Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
FRANK
 
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Hi,
I throughly enjoyed the photo tour. It's no wonder that
the high point of the dollar two ninty eight tour of the
house begins and ends in the fishroom!

As far as the lighting is concerned, the tank (to me)
does not seem "greener" with the 5500K lights so much
as the light seems "yellower." It is lower in K and
will tend to the yellow, and then the red end of the
spectrum. While the 10,000k seems so bright that it
starts to "washout" the green colors. That's why I,
personally prefer the 6700-8800K bulbs.

Frank


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Post InfoPosted 14-Nov-2006 01:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
bensaf
 
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About the ludwigia, I didn't recognise the name 'til I found out it was another name for glandulosa. It needs a lot of light to look it's best which should be a deep purple. It's also very picky about nutrients, any slight shortage and it stops.Like most Ludwigia's it can decide just to melt away when trimmed.

When it's a deep purple it's too strong and distracting and is best as an accent.

I don't like the way it grows -straight up , never branches- the bottom leaves drop easily and it lloks like an umbrella. If it's not the deep purple there are lots of other plants that are better looking and easier to grow - like the Altherena. So why bother ?

I wasn't sure it LP you had from the pics but the close up show the leaves seem to be in groups of threes at the node which is typical for this plant. Kind of a star formation, so it probably is the ludwigia.


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Post InfoPosted 14-Nov-2006 15:51Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
illustrae
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Wow Ingo, I havn't looked at this thread in a few weeks, and my how it's changed.
I absolutely love the island! All that anubias with the lush sections of Alteranthera, pealgrass (something I've never had any luck with, and I'm envious) and still the ever-present stargrass looks absolutely great.
However, you have an awful long tank, and I agree that the sides need something... I wish I could help you with what that something may be

It's hard to believe based on your pictures that you have an algae problem. I'm battling algae in my planted right now, too, and I have to say that your trials have helped me out a great deal.

The dwarf rainbows are amazing! They've grown so much, getting that deep-bodied look of mature rainbows.

A question that was probably answered way back when, but just occurred to me is do you keep the tank covered at all? Do you have a canopy, or plain glass covers, or anything on this tank? If not, do you have a problem with jumpers? I know that I ocassionally find tetras and rasboras dried up on my floor just from leaving the lid slightly open on my tanks, and was wondering if that ever happens to you.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...
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LITTLE_FISH
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Ok,

Thanks for all of the entries, here are my responses in order of entry:

Wings - Right now the tank gives me more options that I can even think off, and I can think off quite a few . Albeit I haven't made any changes yet, I am looking forward to some playtime in the tank. This is a fist in a loooooong time.

Frank - You are right, it is more yellow than green . I have the 6,700K as my all-day lights and turn the others on only for mid-day-lights. I may switch them to the 10,000K lights that I have lying around though, just for the fun of it.

Bensaf - Thanks a lot, my friend. I will have to do more research on the LRs, but from what you describe and from what I observe in the tank (stunting) it strongly appears as if you are right on. What else would I have expected anyway ?

illustrae - Thank you very much for stopping by and making an entry, I appreciate it . I am glad that my trials (and errors ) have helped you out, better learning from somebody else's mistakes than making them yourself .

Yes, I do have 3 glass panels on top of my tank, no canopy though. I like the glass/elevated lighting unit look, it has some high tech flavor to it. I have no doubt that the rainbows and pearls would already have been on the floor if I didn't.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 15-Nov-2006 15:10Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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EditedEdited by coop
i love your apistos, i want them so bad but the LFS only get cockatoo apistos and apistogramma borelli, dont like them.

Post InfoPosted 16-Nov-2006 08:40Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
FRANK
 
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Hi,
"A couple of THOUSAND gallons?" Now those pictures
I'd love to see!!
Has he posted them anywhere?
Frank


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Post InfoPosted 16-Nov-2006 08:57Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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EditedEdited by coop
firstly he is 84 and doesnt know how to use a computer, the net or a digital camera.none of wich does he have. its actaly 1 thousad gallons with angels and discus. and secondly i only see it about once a year(when get to see him)
and finally it will be sold by this christmas for $10,000 or there abouts
so i will try and get or find a photo by then. if not
(sorry about the edit on the post above, people will think we're crazy coz of that. i couldnt sell the pearls, they're to buetiful, instead m getting another female and a powerhead with a spray bar to try and stop aggression.)
Post InfoPosted 16-Nov-2006 10:34Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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OK,

I don't know what the two of you (Frank and coop) were talking about , but fine with me. Coop, more apisto shots are on the way further down.

Weekly Tank Update - Week 60

It was a busy week for me and as such I did not have a lot of time to care for the tank. All had to be done this weekend and now I am in a mad dash to get the Update in before other duties call me away again. I will respond to all your threads during the week, I promise

Here is the tank before the water change and fixes:

Attached Image:

Before Water Change



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Post InfoPosted 20-Nov-2006 03:17Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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As you can see, the star grass has grown way too tall by now, and the alternanthera is pretty much reaching the top. Also, note the green layer on top. My tank must have seen great growth during this week, or at least the duckweed did. Here is a look at the top where the duckweed forms a solid and non-moving carpet in the middle section of the tank. Not good for the plants below:

Attached Image:

Darn Duckweed



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Post InfoPosted 20-Nov-2006 03:19Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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And here is the tank after maintenance and water change.

Some things have changes, a few of which will be shown later. Here, I would like to mention that all crypts have been moved either to the island or to the 40G.

Attached Image:

Tank Now



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Post InfoPosted 20-Nov-2006 03:21Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
PLEASE LOOK AT THE FULL TANK SHOT ON BOTTOM OF LAST PAGE

The fish, BTW, are not swimming on the surface because of the CO2, but this shot was taken when it was feeding time.

Here is a closer look at the new left side. All is now wisteria with the exception of a group of Blyxa that I got from a local planted tank friend. It is huge, compared to the one in the 40, although he is the source for that one as well. I hope this one will keep in shape.

Attached Image:

Left Side



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Post InfoPosted 20-Nov-2006 03:23Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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One more plant picture, then I will show some fishies. The Star Grass in this shot almost didn't make it back in the tank. I intended to replace it with pearl grass, but that plant is way too "bendy" for the current in that area. Also, its leaves are a little too small to make for a good mid-level plant in the island.

Bensaf - I don't think that Ludwigia is grandulosa as I still have new growth with only 2 leaves per node. All other things you describe fit though, picky about ferts and loss of lower leaves.

In the end, I kept some star grass, here it is:

Attached Image:

Star Grass



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DeletedPosted 20-Nov-2006 03:31
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LITTLE_FISH
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On to some fish.

The ones that worry me these days are the Espei. You may remember that I talked about the old one that died, well - now another one died and he may have been old too. And so is another one that is still alive, but seems to go the same way. But then there is also this one, he will be dead within this week. He seems much smaller and really really skinny, not like the other ones that live and died so far.

I hope there is nothing going around.

Attached Image:

Skinny Sick Espei



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Post InfoPosted 20-Nov-2006 03:32Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Either my computer is giving up or FP has issues, I just did a double post for no reason and it seems to be really slow in responding.

Anyway:

Here is the male pearl, followed by the female. He has some nicer color these days.

Attached Image:

Pearls



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And here is a closer look at one of my Rainbows. They play "who is the boss" all day long. I am sure they can participate at the Olympics with all this racing training they get in a 6 foot tank

Attached Image:

Rainbow



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LITTLE_FISH
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On to the Apistos, for coop and all others that may care.

Here is the female, looking pretty in her wedding dress. The reason why she is colored up is because the male is near by and clearly in the mood for some fry making

Attached Image:

Female Apisto



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LITTLE_FISH
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And here is the man we were talking about, the male Apisto. I always tend to show shots of the full fish, but I thought I might try a closeup to give you more details about him.

Good idea?

Attached Image:

Male Apisto I



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LITTLE_FISH
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And here he is again, in this last shot for tonight. Here he has his fins standing out as the female is near and he needs to show that he is in good shape. And he sure is !!!

And that's it for tonight, hope you like it,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Male Apisto II



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Post InfoPosted 20-Nov-2006 03:41Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
TW
 
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Your apisto girl chose a very nice wedding dress indeed. Very pretty. I hope she is able to tempt her groom and has more sucess than my nigrerian red girl. She is trying very hard to tempt, with little response from her intended groom.

Looks like you've had a lot of growth & the wisteria has really grown in. I take it you removed some of the duckweed to let in more light?



Cheers
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Post InfoPosted 20-Nov-2006 03:52Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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Wow, LF that first shot of the male close up is so focused that you can see the cephalic pores on it's head. Nice

I have to say that I disagree with bensaf on the ludwigia glandulosa. In your tank by now it should be deep red top and bottom with one leaf per node, not two. Ludwigia glandulosa may drop its leaves, which is common of high light demanding plants, but it's not picky about nutrients. If it were, there's no way it would be so red for me. Mine transformes rather quickly maybe in two or three weeks it was really deep red top to bottom, look at my tank log now to check out what it looks like. That's par for what I've seen on the web...some are even more purple.



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Post InfoPosted 20-Nov-2006 06:26Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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EditedEdited by coop
love em. beutiful fish. those rainbows are praecox right?
just wondering coz i want some for my next set up(once i get a bit more money) wich is actually gonna be a 35G paludarium(is actually ment to be a frog tank but im not really into frogs).

my 55g was nearly half filled with wisteria, but i removed all of it when i did a fuul makeover, didnt really like it but it works good in yours.


me and frank were talking about the first post that i edited, it said that i was gonna sell my pearlscoz of aggression(couldnt do it)and i had a brag about my granpas 1000gal that inspired me to try a SA theme.

good photographer LITTLE_FISH
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LF,

This tank looks quite empty after your trim job. Once again I will have to say that you need to find some rocks for this tank! A few stuck in the center mound and then some in the open space to give it some contrast and hight.

It seems you have taken some lessons from tetra on how to grow wisteria. Too bad he doesn't have the guts to show his tank off in the past couple of months.

55G Planted tank thread
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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 20-Nov-2006 17:55Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Thanks folks for the input

Robyn, yeah the female wears a beautiful dress rather often and I think they have eggs rather often, but ACIDRAIN once mentioned to me that his viejita are lousy parents in the community tank, and so are mine.

Matty - I guess that means the Ludwigigia question is open then again. What if you don't have grandulosa either as bensaf mentioned 3 leaves per node?

Coop - yup, this are praecox, but I don't think they would be happy campers in a 35G paludarium. Too small, not enough water for a small school.

Wings - Slooow changes, young grasshopper (better than babe, right?) Maybe one I day I will add rocks, maybe not, time will tell. The base for a nice tank is set, all other things will take time.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 21-Nov-2006 00:57Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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EditedEdited by mattyboombatty
Matty - I guess that means the Ludwigigia question is open then again. What if you don't have grandulosa either as bensaf mentioned 3 leaves per node?


That's why I said I didn't agree with Bensaf on the ID:

I have to say that I disagree with bensaf on the ludwigia glandulosa. In your tank by now it should be deep red top and bottom with one leaf per node, not two. Ludwigia glandulosa may drop its leaves, which is common of high light demanding plants, but it's not picky about nutrients.


Glandulosa for sure has only one leaf per node. Quick take a look here]http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_Ludwigia_glandulosa.php[/link], [link=here]http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/images/Onagraceae/Ludwigiaglandulosa.jpg[/link] and the second pic [link=here. They all stagger one leaf per node in a star shape upwards around the stem. I did a lot of lookingwhen I bought the plant to figure out what I had. Oh, and you won't find peruensis unless you are looking to buy a plant...for some reason dealers use a false name.



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Post InfoPosted 21-Nov-2006 03:19Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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oh, thats to bad(just adding that the tank is actualy 55 G but with 30-35gal worth of water in it.)
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Well Matty, time will tell what it is that I have in there. If I don't remove the plant first, that is
Did you see my entry in your tank log where I mention that maybe neither you nor I may have Amano Pearl Grass?

coop - Well, that may work for you then, 35G of water should allow you to have 6 of them and still give them some space to swim around. That would be a 4 foot tank, right?

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 21-Nov-2006 10:45Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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courrect, i might want to put a couple of golden panchax in now though. thats well in the future though, havnt even started the thing.

i think your tank looks heaps better now, more like professional aquascaping or sumthin.

i used to think my tank looked great but then i changed it around so that i have an island at each and of the tank and a space in the middle, looks heaps better now(still got crappy lookin driftwood but)
Post InfoPosted 22-Nov-2006 09:10Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Coop,
so that i have an island at each and of the tank and a space in the middle
Hey, you should take a look at tetratech's log as he just has shown us the first picture of his new setup, with two islands and a space in the middle.

Can we get a link to a picture of your tank sometime?

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 22-Nov-2006 10:37Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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yeah thats the same kind of thing, but at eiver end of mine the plants reach the surfac and the gap in mine is less centred(more to the right)
Post InfoPosted 23-Nov-2006 01:37Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Once again coop,
Can we get a link to a picture of your tank sometime?



Your tank for sure sounds very interesting and I really would like to see a picture of it. Then we all can go and take it apart . Or steal some ideas

Just kidding, we will not rip it apart, of course.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 23-Nov-2006 13:08Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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EditedEdited by coop
yeah sure, but i need to get a new charger for my digital camera(i accidentally stamped on it and braoke it)

oi,my anubias nana has now got 3 flowers on it, lookin good!!
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my anubias nana has now got 3 flowers on it
On one rhizome? That beats my heavy flowering nanas and barteries easily. Now you really have to get a charger fast as I would really like to see a shot of that

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 24-Nov-2006 04:21Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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EditedEdited by coop

yeah on one rhizome, i just had the best oppotunity for a great photo, but i couldnt take it

it was the male GBR dipping his head down to one of the flowers with the other two in the background, looked like a humming bird or sumthin. that gets me soooo angry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


i was, just then, looking through this log(im bored)just randomly clicking on pages and i clicked on page 48 i think. position no.4 of the driftwood is exactly what i want in the right hand corner of my tank. where did you get that?LFS or self collected?
id have that crawling with nana's (not grandmas, anubias. damn im funny) from the one i have now.

i dont even have co2 in my tank either(cant get any co2 systems excepty for liquid co2, which can cause massive ph drops) im having a bit of a problem with plants, pretty sure its nitrate deficiency, 20ppm. some have yellowy brown dots on the leaves.

just wondering, what do you do for tank maitenance and what do you feed your fish?
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Coop,

Nice description of a photo that could have been

The driftwood that you describe from page 48, or something like that, does not exist in this form any more. Immediately after identifying how it should go in the tank I had to cut it into 2 pieces as it was too large even for a 125G. And now, with the last redo, I cut it down even further into many little branches that now border the island. I got this wood from EBay and payed way too much for it (). Somebody found it in some river down in Texas and sold it on the web, and the last minute bitting was a pure war of nerves. NowherMan6 was the person who pointed it out to me.

What do you mean with liquid CO2 and causing massive ph drops? Never heard of that. Do you know Flourish Excel? That is a liquid carbon solution and quite a few people use it to have C in their tank (like me, for my 2 low tech tanks). But it is of course more expensive (in the long run) than a CO2 system.

Your nitrates are 20ppm? That is not a deficiency at all, that is the desired level for planted tanks. BUT - only if all other nutrients are at their proper levels as well, and if one follows Tom Barr's Estimative Index (EI). Otherwise, the value would be considered high. Have a look at Chuck Gadd's Nutrient Deficiency list to see what may be wrong in your tank.

What do I feed my fish? Mostly, I would say 95%, flakes. The rest is the occasional treat of freeze dried foods like tubifex worms, bloodworms, brime shrimp, all small stuff.

So, that's enough for this entry,

Ingo


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No. 3000

Yeah!



Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 24-Nov-2006 11:51Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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on the liquid co2, i was talking on another forum about it and blackwater extract. someone told me that the liquid co2 causes your ph to drop...the same person who told me i have a nitrate deficiency and it should be around 30ppm. i hane a feeling they had no idea what they where talkin about.

Driftwood:yeah i noticed it was a bit chopped up now

but if that peice was about L 20" W 12" and H 16"
it would be perfect
did you treat it yourself? if so how?....... i cant get any good wood around hear so ill have to try and get some from down at my river.

do not know of flourish excell, ive only started proper aquascaping and planted tanks in the last 4 months or so(been in the hobby for about 2 years now) they sure beat my other bad looking tanks i started with.
i think its either manganese calcium or potassium in conjuction with hungry pearl goramis, its mainly in the giant hygro and the polysperma.

well thats all i have to say for now


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i hane a feeling they had no idea what they where talkin about.
Could well be, or they knew too much and didn't share it all with you. In either case, WRONG!

I relied on the person that I purchased the driftwood from to tell me if I would have to treat it. She said no, and as such I only soaked it for a week or so in the bathtub, plus the occasional scrubbing like a madman.

Wood that is in a river for just a short period is not qualified for a tank (bugs and critters) and most of the time will take forever until it will stay down by itself and stop leaching tannins.

Check into Excel for a CO2 substitue, I think it is available in your country as well. Also, I doubt that it is a potassium issue, although you may well have a low in that department too. I would assume you have a general lack of micro nutrients. What is your fert schedule?

Ingo


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coop
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i weekly dose with a liguid fert with N,P,K(2.6,0,5.0)
and trace elements including chelates of iron, copper, manganese boran and zinc.
my rooed plants such as echinodorus also have JBL 7 Balls wich are like a pellet wich slowly releases iron and trace elements throughout the year.

any suggestions for other ferts?

most of the DW in the river(brackish) has been there for decades except for a couple of fallen over trees that have been there for about 3 years or more.
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dose with a liguid fert with N,P,K(2.6,0,5.0)
Uh, here is something that you can teach me: What do the numbers in the brackets mean? I would say it must be some concentration level measure, but why would P be zero? And is that right that there seems to be twice as much K than N?

Ingo


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From what I understand those numbers represent the percent of each of those in the fert. So if his numbers are correct there is no "P" in the fertilizer.

Congrats on 3000

My Scapes
Post InfoPosted 25-Nov-2006 15:19Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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EditedEdited by coop
n= nitrates p=phosphorus k=potassium
it means there is 2.6 parts nitrates to ) parts phosphorus and 5.0 parts potassium.

the dont add phosphorus becuase it is what algea thrives on
and yes there is twice as much potassium so that there isnt a huge amount of nitrates going in to your tank.

after this weeks water change im gunna dose liquid ferts daily so that the nutrients are there on a daily basis instead of just a massive boost once a week. im looking in to buying the liquid co2 now,BTW i just added six home bred and grown honey gouiramis, they are mostly males though. i was worried the pearls would attach them but thhey havnt yet so all is good.

enough about my aquarium though, i feel like im kinda steeling your log.

BTW, i think your due for a weekly update



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I think your due for a weekly update
- Right, I will do that in a second, but first some input to your fert entry:

You are waaaayyy off! Read This Article for more information on ferts and dosing, it may give you some ideas.

And here it is, albeit not much to write about:

Weekly Tank Update - Week 61

Not too much has happened during this week, most of my concerns where related to stuffing Blyxa back into the substrate. Every time when I get some new plants of this species they come without roots and tend to float like mad. So, for 4 days in a row, I had to shove between 2 and 4 of them back into the gravel. By now they seem to stay down though.

The Wisteria is growing nicely, and so are most other plants.

Here is the tank after the island was created, 5 weeks ago:

Attached Image:

5 Weeks Ago



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And here is the tank last night. I am still wondering if I should give the pearl grass a trim as it has reached its peak height (although it can grow taller, but that is as tall as I would like it to get).

Also, because the island has become more dense with trimmings from the alternanthera and the inserts of crypts, the lower parts of the star grass seem to be too dark and wither away. I may trim them as well.

Attached Image:

Tank Last Night



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Here is a closer look at the left side. The tank light and the camera make the blyxa blend in more with the wisteria than it is when viewed directly, so don't even comment on that fact

Not visible in the picture are one or the other tenellus plantling that I did not see when I removed them all to add them to the 29. I will keep them in there for a while, we will see if they make it in the wisteria jungle.

Attached Image:

Left Part of Tank



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It seems like my Apistos are filing for divorce, at least that is how I interpret their facial expression and body positioning in this picture.

Not the best shot, but better than none

Attached Image:

Leave Me Alone



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Already the last shot for this log today (waaayyy more will come in the 40G log), a closer look at the Island.

The one thing I am trying out (as of yesterday) is having my light further back than I used to. Before, it was pretty much in the middle of the tank depth, now it is about 2/3 back. I don't need that much light over the Wisteria in the front and I think the island and blyxa will profit from it. What do you think?

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Island



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Post InfoPosted 26-Nov-2006 13:48Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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EditedEdited by FRANK
Hi,
I do love that tank! With the shift in the light toward
the back of the tank, I suspect that you will change the
dynamics of the plant growth and the leaves may tilt in
the new direction. The Wisteria, in particular, may
change leaf "texture" and you may wind up trimming a whole
lot more as they stretch up instead of out toward
the shifted light source.

My Wisteria grows on stalks nearly a 3/8 inch thick and
sends out runners parallel to the gravel. The central
plant grows an unbelievable root system, and I nearly
up root everything else in the tank when I try to remove
it. So, I stopped trying. I let the three main stalks
stay where they are and snip off their tops and
either replant them elsewhere, or toss them.

Frank


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Post InfoPosted 26-Nov-2006 16:59Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Thanks Frank for the input and the compliment on the tank itself, I appreciate it.

Yeah, the wisteria can develop quite some root system, I experienced that in the past when I had it too settle the tank and when I had it dispersed throughout the tank as a nutrient sucker. I will have to talk to tetratech about the details on creeping-wisteria-maintenance

The leaves should not change direction too much as the light shift was maybe 2 inches at most 3 inches. I guess we will see the difference in a few weeks when I make another comparative update.

Thanks again,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 26-Nov-2006 17:20Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
TW
 
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Very nice looking LF

Re the light move. Your lights are probably so good, that no-matter where you position it, all your plants will still be very happy. But re-positioning my blyxa in the best possible light spot sure helped mine out.

I'm sure your blyxa will thank you for the extra light.

Cheers
TW
Post InfoPosted 27-Nov-2006 23:44Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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what am i way off about?
sorry dont have time right now to read the thingy.

i no im right about the N,P,K because thats what we were taught in Agriculture.

ive been treating daily since friday, all synptoms seem to have gone except for a couple of ugly leaves on one of they giant hygro's.

one of the anubias flowers died


looking good
Post InfoPosted 28-Nov-2006 09:41Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Thanks Robyn for the re-assurance on the light move, when I look into the tank now from the side I can see the light straight above the middle (in depth) of the main island.

Coop - maybe at some point we should discuss your ferts in a separate thread that you could create. In general, adding N but no P is way off, plus all the other stuff.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 28-Nov-2006 11:22Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
slickrb
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Ingo,

The tank is looking good. I really like how it is developing. Always love the pictures!

Rick
See all my pictures at Google Web Albums
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Thanks Rick,

The next set of pictures will have to wait until at least tonight as I did not take any yet (although I have done the water change). Too busy

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 62

This week has seen some inconsistency in the fert schedule as I had no chance on two days to fert the tank, given that I spent them at work. So, first I missed a micro day and did it the following day, then I missed the next macro day and skipped the 3rd "feeding" completely. We will see if it has a negative impact.

Not much happened otherwise, I did some wisteria and star grass trimming.

Here is the full tank shot:

Attached Image:

Full Tank Today



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Here is a closer look at the left tank side, trying to show that there is really another plant, the blyxa, in the middle of the wisteria lawn.

In reality, the color difference between these two plants is a little stronger.

Attached Image:

Blyxa in Wisteria



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And here is a look at the right edge of the main group. The red Wendtiis are not doing to well and undergo quite a bit of melting. The NL Java Fern is doing ok though, but it tends to be the first plant that develops signs of BBA on its tips. The wood is beginning to be a host for hair algae again.

Attached Image:

Right Part of Island



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Here is a close look into the center of the island, showing the various colors that are present there.

In addition, the crypt shown in this picture is the one that I think tetratech has.

Attached Image:

Center Look



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Here is a look at two of my rainbows,they are fine week in and week out. Just like Matty's, they always are up for a chase amongst themselves, including some stand-off to identify "who is the boss". Every day anew.

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Rainbows



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Here you can see my female viejita again, she is soooo nice. In this shot though, she is spreading her fins, I wonder why?

Attached Image:

Female viejita II



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And here is the answer:

The male was near by and they were showing to each other. I often think that she must lay some eggs somewhere, but is just not commited enough to actually take care of the fry.

I wonder what could be if I would place them in a separate tank (which I don't have).

Ok, that's it for this weekend,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Pair viejita II



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TW
 
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EditedEdited by TankWatcher
In reality, the color difference between these two plants is a little stronger.
This blending of greens in camera shots .... know exactly what you mean. I can imagine all the subtle differences in your tank when viewing in real life.

I like your middle shot, showing all the different colour details. My hubby doesn't understand why I am so desperate for better lights, so I can have colours like yours. On Saturday he said "he wished he could get through to me not to change a thing". Ahhh, but to have nice reds like you He just doesn't understand.

And I agree, your viejita girl. A most attractive lady. And, Yes, Yes, Yes - get them a separate tank & see what happens. What fun. I'll pop straight over to your Christmas present thread and put that suggestion in in BOLD CAPITALS. No doubt, your management won't give permission, but still.....

Cheers
TW
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No doubt, your management won't give permission
You got that right Robyn
Why would my management be any different than yours

I think the nicest red plant that I had so far was my Rotala Macandra, but that group at some point decided that it doesn't like my tank anymore and it melted away. I don't know why up to this day.

Ingo


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TW
 
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Why would my management be any different than yours
I know, I know, I know.

But sometimes, deals can be struck

Maybe one day. For now, I will just have to be satisifed with reading about the activities of your cacs in the 40G I guess.


Cheers
TW
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EditedEdited by tetratech
What to get for XMAS? How about what to get for your Birthday?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

My Scapes
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Thanks tetratech,

I haven't even had the time to think about treating myself for my birthday, I guess I will have to spend more money when I treat myself for Xmas then

Ingo


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TW
 
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Oh, I didn't realise.

Happy Birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Ingo
Happy birthday to you

Hip Hip Hooray

Sorry I'm late.

Cheers
TW
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Happy Birfday, Lf

Also, nice fish pics, very pretty apisto pair. I'm sure they steal attention away from the rest of the good looking crowd.

Back to the paper



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happy Birthday!!!

I get bored with saying <- this smiley does not poke its tongue out enough!!!!

Your tank looks fantastic.

I saw those fish in my LFS a couple of weeks ago. yours look better.

going now.

humph.

GFG


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HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Frank

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Thanks everybody for the Birthday wishes and comments on the tank/fishies

GFG - My pair of viejita II looked nothing like this when I got them from the LFS, all gray and rather boring. If it wouldn't have been for the nice employee (whom I trust as we have had a few fish-conversations beforehand) I would not have shelled out the $80 they cost at that store. In the end, I am glad I did as this is a very nice looking, pieceful, and enjoyable couple.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 05-Dec-2006 15:03Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
NowherMan6
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n the end, I am glad I did as this is a very nice looking, pieceful, and enjoyable couple.


Well, despite the ensuing divorce, that is...

Happy birthday, belated of course.

As for presents, enough with this fish stuff, you KNOW you want to expand that Canon lens selection!


Back in the saddle!
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fish patty
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE FISH!

I don't keep up with logs very well........ I'm not that advanced. But I do peek in occasionally to see the pretty tank pics.

Oh.......... NOW that you have me leery of being bitten by little fish, you change your logo!

Out of curiosity, what little fish is it that bit you one time to make you used to have that logo?
Post InfoPosted 05-Dec-2006 16:59Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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you KNOW you want to expand that Canon lens selection
Yeah, I wouldn't mind a lens for the real real close ups. The wife got me a photo printer for my birthday (Epson R800, I think, no idea if it is any good, but so far even 8x11 pics look nice) and I really would like to get some great ultra-close-ups. Any suggestion?

what little fish is it that bit you one time to make you used to have that logo?
fish patty - glad to see that some others than the usual gang is looking into my log(s) once in a while. No fish bit me though . My name is here is LITTLE_FISH and my siggi line made it clear to all that one better does not mess with me by assuming that a little fish can be pushed around. So, if forced, I would have been the one doing the biting

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 05-Dec-2006 17:40Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
fish patty
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EditedEdited by fish patty

OHHHHHH! That explains a lot! DUH!

Well, I'm so glad to hear that! And here I was thinking you were just somewhat of a woos! (sp)

Ok, now that I know, I won't mess with the LITTLE FISH.

I'm sure we would all be surprised if we knew how many people looked in on our threads! It's only the smallest fraction that might comment. I look at ALL the recent threads, but only scan the SW, crustations, logs, etc., things I'm not really interested in.

The logs are waaaaaay past me since I'm just a beginner & it's all I can do to keep up with water quality, especially since I have a 55 gal.. Hoping to get a python some day.

I'm one of those people that get interested in things & then dwindles off. I wouldn't be surprised if I dwindled off FP some day. I noticed from old posts that a lot of people come & go. So, we'll see.

All this talk about ferts., substrate, special lighting, co2!? Ummmm no thanks!
Don't think I ever want to get to that point. But I have noticed many posts with people like me that have regular low lighting & regular gravel & want to make do with what they have & still have some live plants. I may go that route that some day.................
meantime I will just keep reaping the benefits of the hard work people like you put in & just view your tanks from where I sit. (lurking in the background with the others)
Post InfoPosted 05-Dec-2006 21:24Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
goldfishgeek
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80 dollars?

My God. they weren't expensive here at all. thy were just a bit more expensive then normal but not 80 dollars.

wow. am glad I live near Europe for the first time ever!!!

Fish Patty - I hear you on the ferts malarky, I too am a fan of the good pictures, my tanks survive on the basics!

GFGxx


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Post InfoPosted 05-Dec-2006 22:49Profile Homepage Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
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fish patty - Sorry to read that you are an "Interest-Looser" , maybe this hobby can maintain your focus for a while as there are so many facets to be explored. About the siggie line, I think GFG's line just above is stating more clearly what mine was (more or less) implying)

GFG - My LFS is known to be on the more expensive side of things, I am most certain that you can get this fish (as a pair) in other areas of the US for half the money.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 07-Dec-2006 15:31Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
jase101
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belated birthday wishes, ingo!

i was just doing a bit of a catch-up on this thread, and it occurred to me - if you didn't fertilise so much, have such good light etc, maybe you wouldn't have to prune and maintain so much!!!

justin
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DeletedPosted 09-Dec-2006 09:38
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Ha Ha Justin



Well, if I didn't have soooo many ferts, and less light, and maybe no CO2, yeah - less pruning would be required. But ups, that would be a low light low tech tank then

Actually, these days with the new layout, the pruning is much less then it was with the old setup where fast growers were dominating (given that there is a difference between the fast growers, as Wisteria in the tank is growing less fast than Star Grass).



Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 09-Dec-2006 14:06Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Gang,

Sorry to say that my weekly tank updates will have to wait at least until tonight.

I have been very busy hosting this month's NJAGC meeting and that took all out of me, preparing the tanks on Thursday and Friday, hosting on Saturday, cleaning and adding new plants to my tank(s) on Sunday - including another Ingo Style makeover on the 20G QT

But it has been a blast,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 11-Dec-2006 16:22Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Wingsdlc
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I was starting to wonder what happened to you! At least you were having some plant fun!

As always I look forward to seeing the new pictures.

55G Planted tank thread
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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 11-Dec-2006 16:26Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
NowherMan6
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Allow me to be random for a moment, because your av. reminded me of something I read recently on APC. In an article about anubias, the writer said that higher levels of phosphate seem to lead to flowering. I know you have higher levels of P - could this be the reason why your anubias seem to flower so much more than others'??? Just putting it out there randomly, my apologies if this has already been discussed to death.


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Post InfoPosted 12-Dec-2006 23:49Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Wingsdlc
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EditedEdited by Wingsdlc
Interesting point Nowher. I don't think that has been talked about here. I might have missed it though...

Mine flowered once back this spring. I have no idea what I did special for it either. It just happened. I might start doesing some P in the tank its in now just to see what happens. The tank already has my flowering crypt in it so why not add another plant to the list of flowers.

55G Planted tank thread
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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 13-Dec-2006 15:05Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Thanks for the P info, makes a lot of sense, as I have about 3 to 5ppm of it

Weekly Tank Update - Weeks 63 and 64

First of all, sorry for my lack of participation lately. There have been two main reasons why I was slacking off:

1) I hosted the second meeting of the NJAGC last weekend (see siggie line)
2) I have been killed with work, 15 hour workdays plus 3 hour commute were pretty much normal (and may continue for the next two weeks, at least)

The first was a treat that included a lot of preparation, including early water changes so that the tank is in a more normal state (not crazy pearling, for example) during the presentation). As a result of that meeting, I was left with quite a few plants from our usual plant swap and had to find a home for some of them (one I still haven't placed).

So, without further details, here is the tank last week:

Attached Image:

Last Week - 63



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Post InfoPosted 17-Dec-2006 15:27Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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I managed to add my ferts during the week, usually at 4:30AM as I came home way too late at night to do it then. As a result, fish have not been fed 3 times this week

Plant growth was strong nevertheless, but by Friday I also ran out of CO2 and had to get a refilled bottle on Saturday.

Here is the tank before some trimming yesterday:

Attached Image:

Yesterday Morning



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Post InfoPosted 17-Dec-2006 15:30Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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There are two new plants in the tank right now, I will mention them a little later. A third is in the net breeder.

This week, I only trimmed the Wisteria in the foreground as it was beginning to grow rather tall.

I know that quite a few plants are in need of a trim, but I am worn out and didn't want to spend too many hours of my off-time on the tanks.

Attached Image:

Tank Now



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Post InfoPosted 17-Dec-2006 15:35Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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One of the new plants is a lilly, but I don't even know what its name is. It was a leftover from the plant swap and I couldn't throw it out, it was too nice. I placed it in the tank where there was some space and where it would kindoff fit in.

I think I saw a few days later that tetratech added the same or a similar lilly, but I swear that I had mine first

Attached Image:

Lillies



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Post InfoPosted 17-Dec-2006 15:38Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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The other new plant is also a lilly, I think it is called a Tiger Lilly. It has large leaves of which some melted away from being in a bag for too long. It was also given to me during the plant swap.

And that is it for this tank and this weekly update,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Lilly



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Post InfoPosted 17-Dec-2006 15:40Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
dan76
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hi ingo , been away for a while , the tank looks great


cheers dan










onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnineteneleventwelvethirteenfourteenfifteensixteenseventeen, thats all you need

OH TOLEEDY!
Post InfoPosted 18-Dec-2006 04:48Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
jase101
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ooh, ooh, i know those ones!! finally, a plant you own that i know! they're all varieties of tiger lotus - the second picture is a particularly gorgeous variety that i own - very dark, thick stems, gorgeous patterned leaves, and sends strong lily-pad style leaves to the surface once established. heavy root feeders, don't like being moved at all, very strong root systems, propogate by pup, yadda yadda yadda... i'm sure you could have just looked that up on tropica!!

hope your hard work ends soon ingo, and gives you some time to enjoy your family and your tanks!!

have a merry christmas, too.

regards,

justin
Post InfoPosted 18-Dec-2006 09:58Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Thanks Dan for the compliment and Justin for the input on the lotus. I somehow thought it must be a lotus, and not a lilly as I wrote, I guess the last week really wore me down, .

I had to move the strong lotus twice, I hope it will forgive me for it.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 18-Dec-2006 16:44Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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Both tanks are starting to look nice and full. They are really starting to look great Ingo, I wish I could say the same for mine. I just trimmed my plants for the first time in a few weeks and pulled a basketball sized amount of stargrass and pearlgrass out . It looks like you are able to treat your tanks a little better than me, even though you are busy. Looks great, keep it up/:'



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Post InfoPosted 18-Dec-2006 17:12Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
tetratech
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I think I saw a few days later that tetratech added the same or a similar lilly, but I swear that I had mine first

Since you broght it up, mine was featured in my makeover Nov 21 (Pg. 85) of my 72G log.

It is also known as a tropical lilly. BTW the tank looks great Really like the Wisteria Wizard influence

My Scapes
Post InfoPosted 18-Dec-2006 17:14Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
NowherMan6
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Glad to see you back, LF. Despite the busy work week I hope you at least are able to enjoy a few days off around christmas.

I second (or third.. or fifth..) everyone's thoughts about the tank.

The one thing I really noticed though is how large your dwarf rainbows have gotten! They appear almost as large as the pearls! How nice to see the kiddies really growing up...


Back in the saddle!
Post InfoPosted 18-Dec-2006 17:30Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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I hope you at least are able to enjoy a few days off around christmas


Unfortunately it we will have some family over on Xmas, and then I got to go back to work. If things turn out not too good then I may even work on Xmas and New Year itself. But so far, I think I will have at least the weekends and holydays off.

Thanks all for the compliments and input:

- tetratech, I guess I was not the first with the Lotus then, or is it a Lilly, or can one use either name ?

- Matty, I think my Wisteria is not as well trained as Tetratech's as it starts to grow upwards now (or it is just too crowded on the bottom already). I should have trimmed some more this weekend, but I was too tired.

- NowherMan6, the downside of having your little ones all grown up is that they enter a later stage in their lives, and eventually die

Thanks again,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 18-Dec-2006 18:47Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
tetratech
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Matty, I think my Wisteria is not as well trained as Tetratech's as it starts to grow upwards...

It takes a while. The longer you do it the more readily it grows horizontially. It also helps you plant it on an angle to the substrate. This will force more roots along the length of the stem.



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LF,

The tank still looks nice. It hasn't really changed much in the past few weeks but that isn't always a bad thing.

Congrates on becoming a member of NJAGC. I wish we had something like that around here but I can't fathom it happening anytime soon.

Best wishes these next couple of weeks with work.

55G Planted tank thread
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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 18-Dec-2006 19:44Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
jbe0404
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LF,

It's been a while since I've visited the web-site. I've been real busy as of late with school and work. The first thing I did when I visited the site tonight was to check the status of this tank and I must say that you are an aquascaping genious. I wish I had the money and the time to invest into my tanks. All in all, you have a very beautiful tank.

jbe
Post InfoPosted 29-Dec-2006 09:48Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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jbe0404 - Thanks for the compliments, keep on checking on the log, I appreciate it.

I myself did not find the time to update the log in almost two weeks now, or even longer.

SORRY ABOUT THAT!!!

And I am super busy at work, barely finding the time to do the basic maintenance on the tank. In fact, there have been at least 4 not-done fertilizer days, and just as many non-food days. And I have to say, the plants seem to do rather well with it.

My work situation is not getting much better just yet, tomorrow will be a work day from 6:45 AM to 3:00 AM as we go live with an important new product (software).

K, so here is some update, in just a few pictures:

Weekly Tank Update - Week 65 and 66

Here is the tank about a week ago, week 65:

Attached Image:

Week 65



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And here is the tank today. Last week saw the trimming of the main group, this week has seen more trimming of the Wisteria (was needed in 29G, update there will follow).

Tank Now:

Attached Image:

Week 66



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Post InfoPosted 01-Jan-2007 22:51Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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The Tiger Lilly for sure seems to like it in my tank, it has grown at least 5 new leaves since added about 3 weeks ago.

Here is a close-up:

Attached Image:

Tiger Lilly



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Post InfoPosted 01-Jan-2007 22:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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And the carful observer for sure has seen the net thingy in the last picture's foreground.

Yes, I have started my first Riccia Rock, what a PISA to get a larger rock covered with pieces and then wrapped in a net. Well anyway, it is starting to grow out now, one week after creation:

Attached Image:

Riccia Rock



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Post InfoPosted 01-Jan-2007 22:55Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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The last picture is of the Blyxa group on the left Wisteria field. Here, I always have to watch out that the Wisteria is not growing too strongly over this plant, because of shading. But so far so good.

Well, that's it for now, over to the 40 and 29 tank logs.

Sorry again for my lack of participation,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Blyxa



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Wingsdlc
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LF,

Even though your life has been crazy the tank looks quite nice. I am glad nothing has gotten out of control on you.

The Lilly looks quite nice and how do you think tetra is going to feel about you having riccia too?




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Post InfoPosted 02-Jan-2007 00:42Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
TW
 
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Your tiger lily is looking really good, as is everything else.
how do you think tetra is going to feel about you having riccia too?
Well, LF is not the only one. I have it too & don't you as well, Wings (or am I thinking of someone else)?

Cheers
TW
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EditedEdited by slickrb
Ingo,

I continue to enjoy this tank. It looks great even with everything going on. Just try keep your head above water at work!

Rick
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Wingsdlc
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You are right Robin. I have it too. Very neat stuff!

55G Planted tank thread
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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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slickrb
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Well, LF is not the only one. I have it too & don't you as well, Wings (or am I thinking of someone else)?


First Wisteria and now Ricca, apparently Tetra's plants are contagious.

**Cover's Mouth **

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Thanks all,

Mostly for the wishes about the work thing. It is 2:20AM (and I am here since 6:40AM) and I am still in a conference call resolving release issues. No idea when I get out tonight.

It will get better and then I have some more time to chat

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 03-Jan-2007 09:23Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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The Lilly looks quite nice and how do you think tetra is going to feel about you having riccia too?


Well "imitation is the greatest form of flattery"

My Scapes
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just came by for my regular Drool session



big hugs to hard working man!

hope everything goes well with the software malarky!

GFGxx

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EditedEdited by coop
not much going on here. hows your male pearl going? coloured up much more? a picture maybe? anfd your viejita to plz i bought a new camera soonce i get a couple of new plants and try to send some photos. tanks looking great. oh i changed my ferts so now i use tetra florapride and flourish excel, plants are looking great.
im likeing your 40G tank better now days.

oh i just read what you have written on the last couple of pages(bored). your worken huh, im still a student so im on holidays........its summer hear in Australia and today(one of he unusual days where im not at the beach)its about 38-40 degrees, butiful day. im really angry coz no one will take me to the beach i guess its better than being stuck at work though
Post InfoPosted 09-Jan-2007 12:03Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
RNJ_Punk
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LF,

I have been admiring your apistos.

Are they also known as Double Full Red Cockatoo Cichlid?
If so I put myself on a waiting list so I will know when they get them in...here is the link http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1664&emailconf=1664

thanks
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LF,

Hope everything is going well. It has been a while since the last tank update. I'm sure everything is fine because it is in your hands and you are an aquarium master. Hope to see an update soon.



JBE
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Garofoli
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Wow... This tank is amazing. This thread has been around for several years now. Like since I started at FP. It is a wonderful Tank. How's it treating you now?

Chris
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Sorry folks,

I know it has been quite a while since my last update, but I have been really busy this year (so far). And when I was not working I had other things to do.

Anyway, the tank is doing fine, even with a certain amount of neglect. I even skipped a water change for the first time, and had over one week with no ferts addition. Nevertheless, nothing bad happened. Makes me wonder if all the usual effort may be overdoing it anyway.

So, here is the tank from last night, I think this is now week 70.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Tank in Week 70



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Post InfoPosted 29-Jan-2007 00:44Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Rob1619
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Thats awsome mate..really nice aquascape and very healthy plants...well done



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Post InfoPosted 29-Jan-2007 15:22Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Ingo!!

Glad to see you are still hanging in there!

The tank is looking very nice. This last layout you have here as filled in very nicely. I'm glad that this layout has been very resilient with your busy schedule. Hopefully this tank is becoming a little more low maintenance (Well as low maintenance as a high tech tank can get ).

Is there any hope of you returning to a more "Normal" work load? This place has been awful quite lately.


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Post InfoPosted 29-Jan-2007 16:18Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Thanks for the input guys,

Is there any hope of you returning to a more "Normal" work load?


That's what I am hoping for, but today is already another day from hell. It only can get better though.

See ya soon,

Ingo


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Ingo,

Glad to see you around best of luck with work and all!


Back in the saddle!
Post InfoPosted 29-Jan-2007 20:29Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Nice lookin' scape, LF. You should slack more often. How do things look on the small scale?



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That is one awesome looking aquarium, hope everything works out well for you.

17 years experience with freshwater.
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Contrary to looking neglected, it actually appears to be, IMO, the best aquascape this tank has supported thus far.
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Thanks everybody for the kind comments, I appreciate it

You should slack more often. How do things look on the small scale?




I guess you are right, slacking seems to be better for my tanks than too much messing around (eh, I guess I should have known that).

Weekly Tank Update - Week 71

I will first show some full shots before I go into some details, although not too much is there to report about.

Here is the full tank this week:

Attached Image:

Week 71



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And here is a look at the main group only:

The only thing that begins to bother me about it is that the mother barteri is even outgrowing this tank and is dominating everything else. I am considering removing it or cutting it up.

Attached Image:

Main Group



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 14:38Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Here is the latest addition to the main group, some Pennywort. I always liked that plant and I regretted having thrown it out in one of my changes to the tank. It for sure grows fast though, maybe that was the reason I let it go in the first place, I don't remember:

Attached Image:

Pennywort



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 14:40Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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The Red Tiger Lotus (Lilly) has grown really strong and has by now a few runners above and below the substrate.

One downer of it is that it grew so much that the Riccia rock is not getting enough light anymore and will need to be moved soon or all will die.

Attached Image:

Red Tiger Lotus



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 14:42Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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The Wisteria is now very dense all over and pretty much forms a solid mat with about 2 to 4 inches in height. Here I will have to do some messing around as well, maybe cut off the tops, dispose the bottoms, and replant. We will see.

Attached Image:

Wisteria Carpet



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Another addition to the tank was the Water Lettuce, and that plant is growing fast as well. I kept some duck weed on the surface to see what will happen, but the Water Lettuce seems to suck up all the nutrients before the duck weed can get to it.

For now, I like the hanging roots though.

Attached Image:

Water Lettuce



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 14:45Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Here is a look at the area of the tank that I had a chance to mess with this weekend, the Blyxa.

I removed that mountain effect by taking out the tallest plants (which, btw, were not that tall but floated like 4 inches above the substrate being held in position by the other plants) and placing them closer to the main group, essentially connecting to it.

Attached Image:

Blyxa Group



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 14:48Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Not all is that great in the tank, I am seeing quite a bit of BBA on the exposed parts of the wood. It is not growing very fast and I have it now for a while. Just this weekend I started a small treament with Excel to make sure it stays checked.

Sorry about the bad quality of the shot:

Attached Image:

BBA



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On to some more fish shots, but not too many.

As I rarely get to capture a Pearl up close, here are two shots of the male, you pick which one you like, if any LOL.

Number 1:

Attached Image:

Pearl I



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 14:51Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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And here he is again, this time in his more natural level within the water column. I wonder if they like the water lettuce because they can swim trough the roots, but they are up there as often (or little) as before.

I guess they don't care.

Attached Image:

Pearl II



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 14:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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All fish in the tank seem to be doing well, with the exception of some Espei that I see dying. I never find a body, but all indications are that one or the other is gonna be gone within a few days of observation.

I am not too concerned about it, actually I am not concerned at all. I believe that the dying fish are from my first generation and have reached the end of their life span.

Anyway, here is a shot of the Apisto Couple:

Attached Image:

Viejita II



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 14:56Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Last shot for now, again of the Apisto Couple. I am very glad I got them as they are really beautiful fishes.

Anyway, that's it for now, I hope you liked the pics,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Apisto Pair



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 14:58Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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That's a really nice shot of the apisto pair, LF. This tank is also appreciating being left alone I guess. I like the consolidation of the blyxa group, but I think the island could use some consolidation as well. It looks like if it gets much bigger it will take away from the nice effect you've worked towards. I feel like the red tiger lotus is starting to get too big and not make it look like an island at all, but you may be going for that. I think it would look great within the group of plants there somewhere.



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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 16:18Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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but you may be going for that


Right now, I think I am going for "not too much work"

I was actually thinking about integrating the lotus into the main group, but I haven't found a good spot for it yet. Maybe to the left of the NL fern as I cannot move it close to the mother barteri, the leaves are too equal in size (but not color, so maybe this would be good as well, hm).

Thanks for the input,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 04-Feb-2007 17:28Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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tanks looking great, those apistos ar the best. i dont mean to be mean but your male pearl is a shocker. it should be a darker brown with blue spots and a red orange chest and the fins should be hanging behind the caudal fin.

it is a very female looking male, in fact i would have mistaken it for one but i notice the small filaments coming off its fins.
Post InfoPosted 05-Feb-2007 08:28Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Another Gender Confusion !!!

I hope that not, as I had this going for a while with my Apistos for the 40G (I don't know if you know that coop).

Although I for sure cannot be certain, I am more convinced that this pearl is a male than I was with my Apistos. I have him, and another one that is a female, since they were very young and can pretty much say that they are of equal age. By now, he (one will hope it's a he) is quite a big taller than the other one, and the fins are for sure longer and more elaborate. For a while, when growing up, he had some oranging of the chest area, a sign for a male. Once he got a little older he lost most of this color. I don't know why, but I assume it has something to do with the fact that my tank is rather unsuited for Pearl breeding as the strong surface current would not permit the building of bubble nest. So - why shine if there is no way to successfully mate? At least that is what I came up with.

Don't worry coop, I would never think that you are mean

And thanks for the compliments on tank and apistos,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 05-Feb-2007 15:12Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Hey all

Been lurking from time to time, but spending more time at a forum dedicated to aquatic plants. LF I think your group has a thread over there. I've seen another of our group there as well. Much more inspiration to take it to the next level.

Anyway to your tank. The center group still looks great and the plants healthy. As Matty, pointed out the lotus looks weird in the corner. Either you know that and your simply to busy or are more a collector plants and just want to experience them. The Blyxa (which looks much better than mine) also seems to be there just so you can have the plant. Maybe you and Nowher can teach me how to grow Blxya.

I'll probably put a few updated photos of my tank in my log soon. Hope all is well

My Scapes
Post InfoPosted 06-Feb-2007 15:21Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Thanks Jeff for the input

Yeah, our group has an account over there, that's right, but I haven't been there in a long time, except to look at pictures of myself

You are most certainly right, quite a few plants in my tank are there because "maybe one day I will use them properly." For example the blyxa - one day I may make that whole left area (or most of it) all blyxa instead of wisteria, but that would be boring as well, I guess

I have no idea why blyxa grows, but I can tell you that most of the stems in that group that have not been moved in a while actually hang onto the substrate just by a thread (aka one small string of root) while the rest is floating. I am actually not too wild about that part, this means that as soon as you somehow mess with the group (like thinning it out and such) you have a bunch of floaters.

Can't wait to see a few new shots of your tank,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 06-Feb-2007 18:34Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Been lurking from time to time, but spending more time at a forum dedicated to aquatic plants. LF I think your group has a thread over there. I've seen another of our group there as well. Much more inspiration to take it to the next level.


That's too bad. For awhile I thought we were actually going to build a nice group of planted tank enthusiasts on this site. 'tis a shame.



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Post InfoPosted 06-Feb-2007 18:53Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
NowherMan6
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Het matty, we're all still around here. I know personally I'm just going through some burnout right now. Also been frustrated in my attempts to start up my 65G tank which I bought 6 months ago so my interest isn't where it would be if I had, ya know, an actual large tank to take care of.

LF, you tank looks great considering the schedule you've been on. It's strange to see you settling on a layout...


Back in the saddle!
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EditedEdited by Wingsdlc
For awhile I thought we were actually going to build a nice group of planted tank enthusiasts on this site.
We really did have a nice group of planted tank enthusiast for quite some time. Couple of years? Tetra and LF's logs well and prove that. It seems though, that the community we have here falls apart without the backbones of LF, Tetra, and Ben. No one on here can seem to match their posting power. Maybe life is just to bussy right now for us all. I know things are still pretty crazy for myself.

It's strange to see you settling on a layout...
Right...I think that LF just doesn't have time to mess with it like he used to. Or maybe he is actualy happy with what he has going on. I know that I am starting to get to that point with my tank.

55G Planted tank thread
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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 06-Feb-2007 22:37Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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Guys,

It is not Doomsday, chill

I am still here, but tank related items had to come a little short when a workweek is somewhere around 80 hours. In my spare free time I has a choice, post here or maintain the tanks. If I don't maintain the tanks then there is nothing to post, except disasters, and I didn't want that to happen.

I am still around though.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 07-Feb-2007 19:19Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Funny, and Scary Short Story:

Every night when I feed the fish in this tank, the larger ones (apistos, pearls, and rainbows) come to the top left corner of the tank where I add the food. The usually very shy pearls allow me to even pet them while they are eating (too greedy to be irritated by my fingers, LOL).

Once in a while, they scare each other during that feeding process, maybe when one of them darts for a flake and another didn't see him/her coming. This concludes in the startled one swimming off really fast.

So, two nights ago during the feeding, one rainbow got so startled that he leaped out of the tank and flew a good 4 feet before he hit the ground

It took me a little bit to realize what has been going on, but the silver shine of the fish during his flight made it easy for me to see his landing spot. I carefully pushed him with one hand into the cradle of the other, and placed him back into the tank. He first sat only on the ground (I couldn't help but draw a parallel to a dove that hit a glass window and sits there all confused), but later his urge to eat was stronger and he continued feeding session. But - always below the top 5 inches of the tank, LOL. I guess he learned his lesson for that day, albeit I am sure he has forgotten all about it by now.

That's it,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 09-Feb-2007 18:38Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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When I feed at the store the oscars almost always jump out of the water to get the food, sometimes leaping out of the tank. I've gotten use to it now and have grabbed a few mid-flight. We have three verticle shelves of tanks, the fish that jump out of the lowest 2 usually survive. I think 5 feet is about the max drop to a non-cushy floor that a fish can normally take.



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Post InfoPosted 09-Feb-2007 19:36Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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I think 5 feet is about the max drop to a non-cushy floor that a fish can normally take.

And what happens to the fish when it is higher? Is he/she dead right away or dies slowly?

My stand is 28 inches, the tank 24 inches = 52 inches
So, if he didn't jump all that high then he should have fallen about 4.5 feet downwards, plus 4 feet horizontal. Must be a record for a dwarf neon rainbow, I guess

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 09-Feb-2007 20:10Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Not much to report for week 72

I did some minor changes only, in particular I removed the oldest baby of the Tiger Lilly as a trade for our plant swapping in the club. I left it with the host for the meeting as I was a week too early in my schedule.

Here is the full tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Full Tank - Week 72



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Post InfoPosted 12-Feb-2007 03:03Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
aquapickle27
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The tanks are looking really good, just had a quick question though, do you get your driftwood online?

†Aquapickle†
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Wingsdlc
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Looks good. How about moving the lilly just to the left and front of the NL Fern? Might look nice there as it is a different leaf shape and color.

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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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mattyboombatty
 
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Is he/she dead right away or dies slowly?


They usually start spinning spirals. Those weird loops that when on a rollercoaster make you a bit sick....Sometimes they straighten out, sometimes they die pretty quick.

As the lotus stands, it looks much better than before. I like wings' idea, it might look great in front og the NL fern.



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Post InfoPosted 12-Feb-2007 04:56Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Thanks for the input,

aquapickle27 - This driftwood was once a big trunk like structure, all in one piece. I bought it at EBay and you can read more about it approx. 70 pages earlier in this log (LOL).

Wings and Matty - I am not so sure that moving the Lilly more forward and center is such a good idea. It is a pretty large plant,at least when considering the leaf diameter. I will have to think about it

Ingo


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aquapickle27
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Ok, i was just having trouble finding driftwood that i liked. I really like the drift wood you have in your tanks.

Thanks!

†Aquapickle†
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aquapickle27,

I had trouble (and still do) finding the right driftwood as well, it takes time and luck to come accross a nice piece (or pieces) that fits your tank dimensions.

I just checked my log, if you want to then you could see how these branches looked like when they were on one trunk on page 48.

Have fun,

Ingo


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aquapickle27,

Check out this site.

http://manzanita.com/

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 73

I had to do a little maintenance on this tank this weekend, some Wisteria needed trimming, all Star Grass needed trimming, so did the Alternanthera and the Pearl Grass. On top of it, I had it with the Riccia, it is just not my thing.

Here is a look at the full tank:

Attached Image:

Tank Week 73



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Here is a closer look at the island group in itself. I arranged the Star Grass and the Alternanthera a little different, not in layers as I had them before. This time, the Alternanthera is forming a small street that reaches the edge in front of the island.

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Island



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If the Star Grass would grow much slower then it would be a truely beautiful plant, at least for me. Here is a look at the new group just a few hours after the water change, that's why it pearls so much.

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Star Grass



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I am glad that I added some Pennywort to the tank again, although it is by now growing so fast that I have to remove one to two stems each week. Half by itself and half with my help it is wrapping nicely around and through the Anubias Barteri plant.

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Pennywort



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Here is a closer look at the Pennywort after the water change. This plant tends to pear nicely, I remember that it was the first one to ever do so in this tank a long time ago.

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Pennywort Again



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And as I usually show shots of my Pearls, Rainbows, and Apistos, today I will show one of the other fish in the tank, beginning with an Oto.

They are probably all still in the tank, although I haven't counted them all (6) since the last layout change a while back.

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Oto



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Last series of shots is commited to my Espei. They are slowly reducing in numbers although I for sure still have about 30 in there.

Here they are in an area where they usually never hang, above the Blyxa on the left side of the tank.

Attached Image:

Espei I



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Here is a closer look at some of them. It is interesting, albeit sad, to see how they age. Once old, they become rather skinny and breath hard. And then, one day they are gone

I have seen this about 6 times so far.

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Espei II



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Here is another group shot over the Blyxa. Note the two Espei on the right of the picture. They are males sparring off the identify the boss. But only the boss of the current fight as I happen to know the real boss of the school personally and these two are not it, LOL.

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Espei III



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Last but not least, this is the real boss. In the current tank layout he occupies the area above the Star Grass. Here, he fends off any other male and flirts with the females. Strategically, this is a great spot for him as the way to the underside of leaves is really short.

That is it for this week,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Espei - The Boss



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Post InfoPosted 19-Feb-2007 14:46Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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EditedEdited by TankWatcher
While it look good before as well, the new "street" is such an improvement. Enjoyed the fish pictures too.

Cheers
TW
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Thanks Robyn,

Glad to see that someone likes the street. Unfortunately it will be short lived as the Star Grass grows way too fast and the look of this area will be changed within a week or two all by itself.

Glad you liked the pictures,

Ingo


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LF,

Nice shots of the tank. It looks like you still have some algea but I would like to find someone without any. Even one of the Amano tanks had GSA in it from a TFH mag.

I like the shots of your Espie. I don't think you have showed them off in quite some time. I went over to some one of my customers/friends house last night. They had some H. Rasboras that looked quite nice too. Much nicer than my Briliant Rasboras.



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Post InfoPosted 19-Feb-2007 23:01Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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Thanks Wings for the compliments/comments

Yeah, I once in a while have some BBA issues, and some green hard spots on the glass, but nothing that concerns me at all. One week of Excel takes care of any major BBA and the green spot can be scraped off.

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 74

Nothing much happened to the tank during the week. I guess the one thing worthwhile mentioning is that I reduced my dosing. Not by amount but in frequency. I only dose now twice a week. I do this since about a month and haven't seen an issue yet, but I think it would be too early to assume all will be well with this schedule.

Here is the full tank this weekend:

Attached Image:

Week 74



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Post InfoPosted 25-Feb-2007 18:25Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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The one major trimming I did this weekend was to start the replanting process of the wisteria. Wow, I greatly underestimated how long this would take. All I did was to remove all wisteria in the area shown below, trim off old bottom parts and low leaves on the new clippings, and then I replanted them. It took me over one hour to do so.

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Trimmed Wisteria Area



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Hey,

did you see the male Apisto in the last shot? Well, here he is again, a little burry, in front of the center group and flashing to his girl. I like when they do that:

Attached Image:

Center with Fish



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The next two shots are all about the male Apisto showing him in two modes.

First off, this shot was taken right after he flashed to his girl, but she took off in the meantime. Take a look at his face:

Attached Image:

Male I



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And this shot was taken a short while later. As you can see, the bar under his eye is much more dominant than it was in the last shot. This is his "stay away from me" mode. Most Apisto people knew that, but hey, maybe someone not so firm on this fish may be peeking into this log as well.

Attached Image:

Male II



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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
Already here comes the last shot. It shows the Blyxa group on the left side of the tank. This plant is such a floater

The sole reason why there are a few plants that look taller than the others is because they become loose and float upwards, just to be hold back by either other plants or one or two tiny roots that still stick in the substrate.

Anyway, that's it,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:



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Looks good Ingo. Everything's looking healthy. I'm still waiting for you to move the lotus

That's funny I recently uprooted all my wisteria, but only did one side and it took me a few hours only because I did it very slowly and keep removing water as things got stirred up. Only had to do this every 6 months or so, depending on how high you want the wisteria to grow. If you want it really low like a carpet you might have to do it more often, but mine sort of acts as the side of a mound so I can accomodate the height for longer periods of time.

Sounds like you have the same issue with the blyxa that I do. A small root system so the plant has a tendency to float up. I'm gonna try putting some root tabs right under the blyxa and see if it helps develop a bigger root system. I believe the ADA substrate works better in this regard, as I think nowher can atest to.

Nice apisto shots!

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Post InfoPosted 25-Feb-2007 18:51Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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I'm still waiting for you to move the lotus




Well, I am holding back with this effort so I have you come into the thread more often and check if I finally have moved it

Yeah, the wisteria replant is time intensive. I had to redo mine because I used a lot of tops as plantlings for the 20 and the 29 over time. The new growth looked funny with the strong main stems and then the thin new tops coming out of it.

Root tabs sounds good, just this morning I was considering to order a few for some of my plants, Blyxa being the main one. Any particular brand in mind there, tetratech? I am thinking Seachem Flourish Tabs.

Ingo


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Well, I am holding back with this effort so I have you come into the thread more often and check if I finally have moved it



Boy this is like old times. Unfortunately nowher is nowhere, matty is probably around somewhere and bensaf, well you know that bensaf. Anyway as far as the tabs, yes I'm using the flourish ones, I just put them in so well see, I think nowher also thought those were the ones to get.

Switching gears, I just saw the pics from your meeting. That's very impressive with the dosing computer, etc. Looks nice. I was looking at the setup that was a tek T5HO light right? That substrate separater was that also from ADA. I'm not sure how there going to keep the two substrates separate. Definitely no bottom dwellers and especially no kuli loaches. The loaches go through all the rock crevices and tend to mix the substrates, but even without them I would thing the substrates will still mix with too much current or water change situations.

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Yeah tetratech,

Just like the old days, kind of at least

Anyway, yes - this guy's tank is truely high tech, from automatic water changer (10% daily) over automatic fertilizer addition to ADA stuff (including the tank itself), he has it all. Very very impressive!

So far, his tank looks really good, it is planted now (not final of course) and we will soon see how the separation of sand/soil will hold up. You may not have noticed it, but there is a line of rocks on the border between the substrate types.

Hey - did you see the last shot at the event review? I assume you have figured out who's hand that is there in the tank

Ingo


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You know I didn't notice the last shot with the hand. Tough to miss the orange sweater from the shot before and make the connection. Yeah I saw the rocks, but it doesn't take much to mix it. There are always little crevices, etc. So 'bout the lights are the Tek T5HO?

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From his log:

Teklight T5 4x54W

Whatever that means

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 25-Feb-2007 21:09Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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I'm always somewhere tetratech. Things are just getting busy as I'm finally wrapping up my college years.

Teklights are very nice fixtures, though I would say that they might in fact be too much for most planted tanks, as they are more than plenty for most reef tanks. Since I switched out my icecap ballast, I now have a kind of DIY tek fixture on my reef tank as I'm using the same ballasts. I like



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Post InfoPosted 26-Feb-2007 04:33Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Glad you still around. Congrats on the college thing. One chapter closes and another begins.

From what I'm hearing planted enthusiasts are using the tek T5HO lights because they have the power to be suspended above the tank and still penerate the WC very well. Any thoughts on that?



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They look pretty darn sweet too!!!

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Post InfoPosted 26-Feb-2007 20:42Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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IMO they will penetrate a little better than most other tube style lights because of the better reflectors. More light simply enters into the tank. It's the trade off of a consistent spread of light(uniformity), that penetration suffers. If penetrance(I'm making up words here, bear with me) is desired, a focused single source type of light should be used instead....like a metal halide. Pendant styles are very common here for a good reason.

OTOH you can suspend any light fixture you want with a drill and some wire, and if bright enough it will penetrate just fine. So I think the fact of the matter is just that they are bright enough and compact/light enough to raise off the tank a bit. Still, my choice for an open top aquarium would probably be a halide for convenience and expense. If quality of light is a concern, T5HO are a little better IMO than halides.



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OTOH you can suspend any light fixture you want with a drill and some wire, and if bright enough it will penetrate just fine. So I think the fact of the matter is just that they are bright enough and compact/light enough to raise off the tank a bit. Still, my choice for an open top aquarium would probably be a halide for convenience and expense. If quality of light is a concern, T5HO are a little better IMO than halides.
As you probably know I'm not exactly Mr. DIY. So if I want a suspending light over a 60cm what would you recommend that's reasonable. I see the T5HO 24" Sunlight is like $250 plus the hanging equip. I could probably get a better deal on a single 150 MH. Two feet would probably be mix width for one MH bulb, correct. My apologized to LF, but I think he's cool with this.

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Yes and no on the 2ft per halide bulb. First, the rule was created for much higher light requiring organisms...corals. I think that it could be stretched to 3-4ft with a very interesting lighting effect and a thought out selection and placement of plants. It also depends how high off the surface you have the pendant. Think of a flashlight here. Obviously it won't be as bright as high up, and there will be more light spray outside the aquarium(this may be a good thing for emersed growth?), but more of your aquarium will be lit, and light levels can be adjusted with a higher wattage system (a 450w bulb could be several feet off the aquarium and light the aquarium and houseplants around it). Also the shape of the pendant will have an effect - round vs. square/rectangle.

I agree that you could probably find a better deal on a halide setup if you keep your eyes open. Also used halide setups are more abundant, as they are older technology. Lightly used halide setups can be found pretty cheaply on the reef forums....that would be the route I'd go as I'm a poor college kid.

I'd say it would all depend on what affect you wanted as to what system you should get.

And sorry to Ingo for thread hijacking.



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Post InfoPosted 27-Feb-2007 00:49Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Hey,

No being sorry needed for this discussion, I am thinking about lights in general as well.

My concern is more with my 40G than this one though, but we can talk about it here as the pre-cursor is already in place.

The problem I see with MH or PC lights is its limited angled spread. Doesn't make sense I guess, so I try to explain:

As you know, I have a single 96W PC fixture over my 40G. Logically, it is in the middle of the tank. Giving the tree tops of the Bolbitis and NL Java Fern groups, many plants on the sides that are lower are beginning to be severely shaded. If I had a light that has less wattage by bulb and had more bulbs to make up the difference then I could have light shining in even on the plants at the sides. That's where I find the T5s come in handy.

The Tek Light is 11" wide, with a tank width of 18". If I primarily would have the outer lights on and turn on the center ones at "Midday" then I should get a better spread.

Or shouldn't I?

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 27-Feb-2007 14:31Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Though you won't believe me until you see it for yourself, T5HO bulbs may be less wattage, but put out more light. LF, a 4X39w setup would be more light output than a 2X96w PC fixture, probably more like a 3-4X96w PC fixture.

It won't be like your analogy of less wattage more spread. You'll get more spread, but you'll be at least tripling your light output at the midday 4 bulb peak. People who haven't used the T5s are still underestimating them, I know I did. This is just so you don't jump in unprepared, I know you could handle the extra light cause you have the CO2 and plant mass, not to mention the experience.

If you want less wattage bulbs with more spread I think you'd be limited to NO fluorescent bulbs, say 4 30w bulbs, or you could just tack on another NO fixture to what you have now.



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Post InfoPosted 27-Feb-2007 17:47Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Interesting info. Not all T5 are created equal, right. Your talking specifically T5HO right. Also the T5HO lights like TEK that have 4 bulbs across are wider than the 2x96 CF lights and thus look better when hung, right?

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EditedEdited by FRANK
Hi,
I guess the problems I have with the metal halide lighting
are these:
The tank must be open, so you run the risk of dried fish
on the floor.
The pendant lights, at the normal height above a tank give
about a 2 foot "footprint" of light. This means that a long
tank would require more than one pendant.
They are heavy and must be secured into joists/studs,
and frequently the support is not located over the tank.
That requires an additional cross member that could disrupt
the "flow" of the ceiling and room.
metal halide lights give off a large amount of heat and
cumulatively, can affect the room temperature.

Use caution when purchasing the lamp and bulb. Most of the
time metal halide lamps are used for saltwater reef tanks
and come with very high "K" rating bulbs 20,000+.

Here is a site on aquarium lighting specifically the metal
halide bulbs, but along the left hand side are links to
the other lighting systems and their characteristics.

http://www.aquarium-lighting-guide.com/metal-halide-ansi

Frank


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Post InfoPosted 27-Feb-2007 18:01Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Tetratech, the important thing to get with your T5HO are the individual parabolic reflectors. Use a single reflector over the group of bulbs and your lights are now no better than any other HO bulb. They would be equivalent to PC or VHOs without the individual parabolic reflectors. I know tek lights have these, and the housing is VERY sleek. A definite bonus. I think they would look good hung...I think they would look good, period . And yes I think the light spread is wider, but also better deflected downwards due to the better reflectors, so I think moving them off the surface would look better as far as light spread goes too.

Also there are the icecap systems. The icecap ballast pushes the bulbs even harder than those found in other systems. I think it's referred to as ODHO. In conjunction with the icecap individual parabolic reflectors, these systems are brighter than the sun . I fried my corals with it. I'd only recommend these for deep tanks with very high light requiring organisms, and fish with sunglasses.

So all T5HO systems are not created equal. I think the Current fixture has a single reflector and normal HO ballasts. The Tek lights have individual parabolic reflectors and normal HO ballasts, and the icecaps have individual parabolic reflectors and ODHO ballasts.



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Glad we have that discussion as it most certainly put some doubts on me having a Tek Light over the 40G

The double unit of 96W from Coralife may not work for me, except if I could hang that one as well (I am not sure if I would have to do some DIY contraption for that, yuk).

I will investigate, but feel free to advise.

On a side note, I skimmed through my log yesterday in search of a shot from my Macandra and noted that somewhere in the middle pages (between 50 and 70, I think) all my images are missing. Given that I embedded them in the posts and that they are hosted by FP I am not a happy camper.

Ingo


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Frank,
Thanks for the info and link. That should be really helpful. It is a pain and your right about the the hanging issues. As far as the fish jumping out, you know us planted tank folk, we always put the plants ahead of the fish. I actually had tetras, cichlids and kuli loaches and shrimp in an open-top and never lost one to jumping in about a year, but certainly some fish will jump so you need to keep away from those.

Matty,
I'm definitely going for looks so as I said I think the Tek lights look good suspended vs the coralife's which as you pointed out can be suspended by simply cutting a hole in the top and using wire. I will never buy another Current USA product. I had one hood the ballast went just outside of a year and the company had really poor service. The 192watt reflector also had 4 plugs (2 for the bulbs and 2 for separate fans (that BTW were noisy from the getgo) If Teks are the BMWs and Coralifes are the Toyotas than Current USA are the Chevys (no offense Chevy owners)

LF,
Why wouldn't those lights (tek and coralife work for your 40g). Sorry must have missed something. I hope your pictures aren't lost.


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EditedEdited by mattyboombatty
I'm pretty sure that coralife has a hanging kit. All their fixtures should attach to it.

About the pics...I'd post something up in the site feedback forum, Adam might be able to recover those. Bummer though. That's why I use photobucket AND backup everything on my hard drive, I now have like 3-4gigs of pictures. I think that happened to me on a site upgrade one time.


EDIT:didn't see your post tetratech, I think LF didn't want something a lot brighter, like the tek lights will be. I said I thought he'd be able to handle it though, he's got the equipment. I wish they made 3 bulb units, each independant, but that would require 3 ballasts and be extra pricey. Just having a three bulb fixture at all would be nice I think.



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Post InfoPosted 28-Feb-2007 17:01Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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I checked into the coralife hanging situation. They do sell a hanging kit, unforunately it only works with the pro and plus lights not the regular or deluxe ones.



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Post InfoPosted 28-Feb-2007 17:11Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Oh, I see how it is. *shakes fish at coralife* Well I guess that leaves my drill and wire method.



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Post InfoPosted 28-Feb-2007 17:18Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Oh, I see how it is. *shakes fish at coralife* Well I guess that leaves my drill and wire method



As far as the Tek lights for LF, he could run 2 or 4 bulbs with the timers, so I think he'd be already if he wanted that look. He could always play around with the wattage.

Matty, do you know if you can stick a coralife fixture inside one of these or would you have to order the kit from AH supply. I'm thinking you could put the light in one of these and hang the canopy over the tank.

http://www.ahsupply.com/finished_enclosures.htm

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Most likely the coralife unit won't fit under there. They do give the exact dimensions though, so you could measure. But I know usually the coralife unit slips over the edge of the aquarium to prevent it sliding off one way or the other. And I think those sit on the tank edge.

The ones that all glass sell are held up by little studs in the corner and have a small gap between the tank and the hood. The coralife units fit uner those pretty well. Although the back is open, so it wouldn't work for LF's two-view tank. Might work out for you though. They are pretty similarly priced I think.



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Weekly Tank Update - Week 75

Not much has changed during the week with the tank, I am continuing the trimming process of the Wisteria and this week removed and replanted the section in front of the island.

Here is a shot of the tank in Week 60, 15 weeks ago, the first week with the Wisteria in place all around.

Attached Image:

Week 60



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And here is the tank now this weekend, 15 weeks later, after the trimming.

As you can see, the Barteri and the NL Java Fern have grown like mad. The Barteri in particular is reaching a point where I don't know how much longer I can maintain it as such. I may have to cut it up and replant only half of it.

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Now - Week 75



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Otherwise, I have only one more picture to show. Around this time of the year there is a brief time period in the mornings when, given that the sun is shining, some light falls through the window (after bouncing off the neighbor's window) and into the tank. I think it looks pretty nice. It all lasts for maybe 10 min.

That's it,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Morning Mood



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You're right, that morning shoot is pretty cool looking.

Your layout is at one and the same time, both lush, healthy & full looking as well as making the tank look large and open. Your fish enjoy the best of both worlds - plants to swim around in as well as lots of open space for swimming around.

You have Lucky Fish, LF

Cheers
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Thanks Robyn for the compliments

Yeah, overall no doubt on this being my best layout in this tank's history, and the most stable on top of it.

Ingo


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Interesting to note that those stems are headed straight for that beam of sunlight. I've been learning about the proteins that cause plants to grow towards the light. Pretty interesting stuff. However, with how short the phenomena is, I doubt that's the cause of the plants growing that direction.


It's great to have that problem with slow growers like barteri and j fern. I'd personally just hack out a few leaves on the barteri every week or two to maintain its size, as right now it's rather pleasing.



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I'd personally just hack out a few leaves on the barteri every week or two to maintain its size

Hm, I will have to think about this as an option. See, the mother plant has quite a few rhizomes growing all over the place, including one half way up in the water column. This means that leaves from that rhizome will always come up very high in the tank, not so pretty when the leaves from the lower rhizomes would be trimmed off.

Ingo


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Yeah, you may have to cut back adventurous rhizomes too then. But hopefully you won't have to rip the sucker out.



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Just wanted to say the tank looks great, Ingo. I don't post comments in this area often as my knowledge is limited in the planted realm, but I pretty much read all of the posts when they are made.

Jim



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Thanks Jim,

Feel free to post any comment you have, and don't be shy about it. If you have a question about the tank then feel free to state it as well. And who says that my knowledge is not limited?

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 76

Well, doesn't look like I did a lot this weekend, but I did quite a bit.

During the week, half the Blyxa floated up. So I removed any Wisteria that used to be planted behind the Blyxa and stuffed all pieces of Blyxa in this extended area.

Overall, the tank is not doing too well. Neglect in ferting is probably the reason why the Star Grass is not growing that well, although it looks nice in the picture. And the Barteri is getting bigger and bigger, that cannot go well much longer. Let me tell you folks, if you have a barteri like this one you better have a 200G tank if you want to keep it for a few years

That's it,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Tank Today



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Let me tell you folks, if you have a barteri like this one you better have a 200G tank if you want to keep it for a few years
I think a lot of plants can get that way if you give them what they want and need!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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Weekly Tank Update - Week 77

Not done anything to the tank during the week except for the 2 x dosing routine. I think the Star Grass does not like the reduction.

But I noticed yesterday that the tank looked a little more yellowish that I believe to remember how it looked in the past. This was during high-light time, so I thought that maybe the 5,000K bulbs are at the end of their usefulness. So, this morning I replaced them with 10,000K bulbs that I had since I set up the tank and never used.

What a difference in color of the tank. Soooooo much more blue compared to the green before.

Here it is at full light, with all the 6,700 and 10,000 turned on, compare it to the picture above from last week.

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Week 77



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Here is the male Pearl during the water change, a phase in which I only have the midday lights on, meaning the 10,000K as of today:

Attached Image:

Pearl



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And here is a shot of the center of the tank, with the Apistos firting and the Espei looking on.

With regards to plants in the shot, the Star Grass is not doing to well, the Pennywort is doing too well, and the Barteri is still a giant,

Attached Image:

Tank Scene



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Last shot for this series, the Pearls and some of the Rainbows during the water change.

I wonder what they are looking at, or what they are thinking (if anything) while looking at me with that camera, LOL.

That's it,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Rainbow Pearls



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The color looks a lot more realistic IMO with that 10,000K on there. That's the mix I have on my tank, one 6700 and one 10000. I really like that combination, though I am used to the actinic/10000K that I use on the SW tank. That tank looks white to me, and the planted tank looks a little yellow, but I s'pose that's the way it's supposed to be, right?

Nice clear pics BTW. love the shot of the apistos and espei.



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Actually,

Let me add this zoom of the female Pearl from the last shot, it is rare that I get them in such a nice angle. I think she is looking right at me

Ingo

Attached Image:

Female Pearl



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Ah Matty,

Only now do I see your input, thank you very much. Yeah, I must have gotten lucky on these shots, or maybe the light made a difference as well. BTW, none of the shots were taken with the zoom lense.

Thanks,

Ingo


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Looks good Ingo. Looking at the pic, how 'bout bringing the Blyxa more to the midground, breaking up the fern on the right and putting it where the Blyxa was. Add some wood into the giant Anubias area for constrast. It looks very good as is, just throwing some ideas out there from where I'm sitting. The pic of the tank scene is really nice.

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I wonder what they are looking at, or what they are thinking (if anything) while looking at me with that camera, LOL.



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I think she honestly likes me , it is not all about food

Tetratech - I think I have to part at least with some of the Barteri as it has reached its maximum size tolerable for this tank layout. I could certainly convert the tank in an Anubias only tank, but that is not my intention.

Once cut up I think I can see better what and how I can make the island more appealing.

Thanks,

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 78

This weeks update is earlier than usual as I took yesterday off from work so I have enough time to work on the Barteri.

And so I did , for better or worse. I needed the wife to help me with getting the huge plant out, then I trimmed off all bad leaves and cut the sucker up into about 10 pieces.

Here is the tank last night:

Attached Image:

Tank After Trim



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I also trimmed the Star Grass and some of the Alternanthera. In addition, I added some small stems of Hygro back into the tank, they may or may not stay, I don't know yet.

Here is a look at the new Barteri group (as now they are more than one plant I assume it is a group):

Attached Image:

Barteri



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And - because I was done earlier than I expected I decided to stop by the LFS and see if they have something of interest.

This is what I found:

Attached Image:

Cories



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I don't know in which tank I will eventually place them, for now they are of course in the QT.

Maybe I keep them in there for a while (like a few months) or as long as I don't get any other fish for QT.

Attached Image:

Cory I



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These cories have been labeled Corydoras julii - does anyone believe they are of a different species? I know quite a few cories look rather similar, so speak up.

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Cory II



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I saw them in the LFS in a tank further up. Out of the 10 or so that were in there 3 were active and the rest was hanging out in a corner.

I think the sales lady and I managed to get the active ones, but because 3 is not enough I asked for one of the lazy bums as well.

Attached Image:

Cory III



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So - since adding them late yesterday afternoon I mostly see 3 of them perusing the tank, usually as a team (that's what I was going for). But the 4th one is mostly hanging out and only once joined in.

Attached Image:

Cory IV



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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
For most fish I would take this as not so good of a sign, but I will give it a few days to see if he/she perks up.

BTW, I am not referring to any specific fish in any of these pictures, they all still look alike to me, with one exception as one of them has a slightly different dorsal fin marking (can be seen in the pic above where they are in the bag).

Attached Image:

Cory V



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Last but not least,

The only shot so far that I got with more than one of them in the pic and at least half way in focus

I guess the macro lens will not do it for such kind of shots.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Cory VI



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Post InfoPosted 24-Mar-2007 13:36Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Hi Ingo,
I think I'd be concerned about the "lazy bum" one. They
should be swimming, as a group, all over that new tank
investigating and looking for food. If the one is just
hanging out, I would suspect some illness.

Frank


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I think you are right Frank, and I am concerned.

I will give him one more day to "catch up" with the other ones. This morning he is still not swimming, actually he is breathing harder than yesterday.

I am not into treatment, so I may have to take action sooner than I thought.

I should have listened to my instincts in only getting the swimmers, but then I was worried that the FPlers will jump down my throat because I was not getting enough of them.

Ingo


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I was worried that the FPlers will jump down my throat because I was not getting enough of them.


Instead it will be because apparently julii cories don't exist from what I've read, not in the states anyways. I THINK they(the cory people) always say that what you are buying is the trilineatus or something like that. I'm not much of a cory guy though. Do a search on julii cories in the bottom feeders forum and you'll see what I mean.

I like the hacked down version of the anubias barterii. Looks great with the wood poking through again.



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Post InfoPosted 24-Mar-2007 17:45Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Ah, here's a link for ya with a little back and forth on the subject. I'm not sure why it's necessary to argue the point. The two species are so nearly identical that dissection would probably be needed to tell two apart. Honestly, those that say they aren't can't be sure they aren't either. It's like a lot of the saltwater coral arguments.



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Post InfoPosted 24-Mar-2007 18:10Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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They definately look more like C. Trilineatus to me. I have a group of five of them. I like them alot and they are freindly to my panda shoal. They are alot hardier than my pandas also. I think you will enjoy them.
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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
Thanks Matty for the comments on the tank and the info on the Julii. Yeah, I don't care either what Cory mine are, as long as they look nice and don't cost me a fortune.

About 5 min ago I removed the lazy one, he didn't make it. He must have died within the last 2 hours or so as that was the last time I checked on them. He seemed to display some reddish streaks internally on the left side, mid-body, only.

So, down to 3 now, but they are party boys

Ingo

EDIT: Thanks PP as well, must have added your entry while I was typing


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Sorry about the loss, Ingo. I've come to trust my gut whenever selecting a fish for myself or a customer. My mind will notice something I can't point out about the behavior or look of a fish at the store and 9 times out of 10 I'll be pulling it out later in the day. Most of the customers I frequently wait on have come to trust my gut too .



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Thanks Matty,

Yeah - should have trusted my guts as well I guess. I am kind of glad that I trusted them (the guts) when I did NOT buy the male Cac Double Orange that they had in a tank as well. He was at least twice the size of mine (the addict, that is) and would have made an end to the bubble eater in no time.

So, back to the cories, now I am worried whenever I see one just sitting on the substrate as I assume he/she is the next to go. This happened last night, but after feeding I saw all 3 digging for food, good.

Ingo


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EditedEdited by tetratech
I know what you guys mean about the "gut" thing. After a while you just know. I've had mixed success with Corys even though some say they are the easiest to keep. For a while I couldn't keep any alive, but I blamed that on the corrupted eco with all of this word po4 levels. I'm sure for corys that was a nightmare. I did have one live at least 18 months, but even that's not that long. Interesting during the last water change I found 6 otos and 6 amanos. The otos have been in there a really long time.

Just goes to show you everyone's tanks are different for fish and plants.

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I actually was scared of getting Cories a while back as I heard that they should always be added to a settled tank (as they don't show signs of illness that quickly).

Well, this morning the three remaining ones are doing fine, at least that's what it looks like.

I will add a few entries to the 20G QT log with new pictures of the tank.

Ingo


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EditedEdited by TankWatcher
The tank looks good after the trim. Much nicer (not that it the "before" wasn't nice). You've good a good shape going there at the moment.

I like the corys. I have sterbais, but whatever yours are, they are much prettier.

I've had pretty good luck with my sterbais & I hope you do too. I have quite a bunch in mine, but despite what I was told, they don't all hang out together, even though they are all the same breed. They hang out in sub groups & sometimes singularly. As they all look alike, I can't tell if the sub group combination is a constant or if they chop & change.

Sorry for the loss of one poor guy

Cheers
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Thanks Robyn for the compliments on the tank and the fishies. I don't think that sterbais look worse than juliis (false ones, ), they have a very similar appearance.

Ingo


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Nice corys LF They'll be a good addition to your tank.

I've had similar experiences with seeing inactive fish in LFS tanks. But I do applaud you for trying to keep them in a big enough school. Keep an eye out for them whenever you go to the LFS, maybe you can eventually build the school up to 8-10 healthy individuals. Then they'd be in full frat house mode






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Thanks NowherMan6,

Yeah, if the 3 that I have pull through just fine then I may add a few more, time will tell.

Strange thing is, I checked the one of my catalogs (the Dr's) this weekend and saw this fish offered for $8. Given that my LFS (AF) is usually way overpriced, I have to consider that they sold me a "bad" batch, as they charged me only $5 a fish.

Ingo


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Strange thing is, I checked the one of my catalogs (the Dr's) this weekend and saw this fish offered for $8. Given that my LFS (AF) is usually way overpriced, I have to consider that they sold me a "bad" batch, as they charged me only $5 a fish.
Not always the case. Sometimes the deals get passed on. I know thats how its works with my store at times.

Very nice fish by the way. I used to keep corries but its beena while. I never had problems with them. Cute fish. I think I like Loaches better though.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/sidn1.jpg

55G Planted tank thread
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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 29-Mar-2007 18:10Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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Nah Wings,

Nothing is cheap in that LFS without a reason, and passing on rebates is not a known entity there.

That loach in your link is nice, a Chain Loach? Do you have them (as I assume one would buy a school)?

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 29-Mar-2007 18:46Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Looks like a monkey loach to me. Small, active, and expensive loaches. And yes, I'd get at least a few of them.



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Post InfoPosted 29-Mar-2007 21:35Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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I do not have them. We have them at my store but I can't really buy anything right now. I graduate in a month and may or may not be moving to who knows where. Someday I would like to have a nice group of them though.

The ones at the store are called Monkey botia's but I think they go by many different common names. Right now I think they are going for about 8 bucks.

Loaches do, do best in groups. Quite social creatures.



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Weekly Tank Update - Week 79

Not much to report about this tank, all thoughts are with the 20QT which seems to have caught an illness, 2 fish dead this week and 2 more suffering (see log).

About this tank here: I cleaned the 2028 filter this weekend, haven't done this in quite a while (at least 2 to 3 months ago was the last time).

Otherwise, I found the 5th Nana Petite (buried under some Pearl Grass) and put it in the 20QT (before I started to panik about the tank).

Here is the tank this weekend,

That's it,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 79



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Weekly Tank Update - Week 80

Just like in the log for the 40G, here is a quick summary of the tank development over time, in this case in 20 week intervals from the start.

Here is the tank after setup:

Attached Image:

Week 0



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20 weeks later, there was quite some growth, wood had been added, rocks had been moved, plants had been moved, algae had come and gone and come again, in short - one may call this the Dark Ages of this tank

Attached Image:

Week 20



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By week 40, the Dark Ages became very dark, the tank was in its least organized stage. Things were going ok, but nothing great was happening. I believe that at least 3 Ingo-Style makeovers had happend at that stage already.

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Week 40



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By week 60, the tank had reached its current layout, I can't believe it was that long ago that I had the last make-over. I would like you to look at the Narrow Leaf Java Fern and then compare it with the next shot after this one.

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Week 60



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Now here is a shot from this weekend, week 80.

As you can see, the few strands of Fern have turned into a solid bush, even after I trimmed quite a few pieces off to propagate in the 40 and 29 (and trade at the NJAGC).

The Barteri also had to be trimmed (last week) and cut into various pieces, only now do I notice that the group is actually wider than it was before. Also, I notice that the tall Alternanthera stems could use a trim.

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Tank Now



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Here are a few detail shots of the tank, not too many, I promise:

Beginning with the Blyxa - This plant is a blessing and a monster at the same time. It looks very nice as a group, if it stays down. My gravel substrate is not very good for holding the plants down, and every week I have to stick about 10 to 15 of them back into the ground. There is almost never a day when I don't have to do this.

Attached Image:

Blyxa



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Here is a look at the center of the center. The Star Grass is not doing too great, although this doesn't show itself too well in the pictures.

You may note the re-occurance of Hygro, I saved some from the 20G when I redid that tank and planted it back into this one (where it originally came from). I know I cannot really maintain this plant in here as it is too close in shape (and color) to the Fern.

Attached Image:

Center



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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
The fern in itself has become the main hang-out place for the Espei, or the area around it to be more percise. At nighttime I see some Rainbows and a Pearl "sleeping" amongst the leaves, seems like the fish appreciate its protecive nature.

It is due for a trim though.

Attached Image:

Fern



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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH

PLEASE LOOK AT THE PREVIOUS PAGE FOR FULL TANK SHOTS OVER THE LAST 80 WEEKS AND MORE DETAIL SHOTS

Here is a look at my diffuser, based on a comment I made in tetratech's log. As I noted there, last week I gave it the first bleach bath in quite a few months. I haven't had the plate this shiny in a looooooong time.


Attached Image:

Diffuser



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The last shot for now shows you the most colorful of the fish in the tank, the male Apisto. He is swimming on the left side of the tank where I have the most intense bubble collection from the diffuser. All bubbles in this shot are CO2 as it has been taken before the water change and I only see O bubbles right after the water change (with the exception of the NL Fern that bubbles in the evening).

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Apisto in CO2



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The tank looks very good. Are you planning any changes soon?

Beginning with the Blyxa - This plant is a blessing and a monster at the same time. It looks very nice as a group, if it stays down


Very jealous of your Blyxa even if it does float up. This is one of those plants that simply doesn't grow in my tank. I think it actually looked better under my previous lighting system 2x96 instead of 4 x 65.

Stargrass - Didn't you say you were dosing less these days, I think that will show in stargrass very quickly.

Diffusor - I'm gonna start trying your excel idea I always forget at water change. Are you lighting the end of tubing to secure it to the diffusor? What's with the rubberband?

Is there any algae issues at all these days.



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I was going to ask about the algae too, but I assume we'd hear about it, so I would guess things are going well.

Nice little recap LF. It's always interesting to go back and look at how you got here. That fern definitely does need trimming. I guess I would say I liked the compactness more around week 60 than 80. This week just didn't look much like and island anymore. I dunno where you are going with it though.

I was looking back to the beginning of my 50G. Oh, you guys were so very against the fishless cycle, especially bensaf. It worked out really well IMO. I never saw any real amounts of algae.



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Didn't you say you were dosing less these days, I think that will show in stargrass very quickly

I have thought about that, as around the time when I reduced to two doses per week the decline started. But I think I can handle the tank without it, if need be.

Are you lighting the end of tubing to secure it to the diffusor? What's with the rubberband?

That is only to hold the hose in place, and the rubberband is to attach the not-so-well fitting Air Tube suction cup to the diffuser, it previously always fell off.

Is there any algae issues at all these days

None in particular, there is a little hair stuff on the wood and old anubias leaves, once in a while a little BBA (spot treatment once kills it right off), and some green spot on the glass.

It worked out really well IMO

- Good for you. Oh wait, is that the tank where loads of the fish died?

Ingo


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Yeah, loads of fish died...during a prolonged interval starting more than a month after I put them in the tank. I'd think they would have died sooner if they had a problem with the cycle.



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i know this is a thread for people unlike me but i have to say i wish my plant was as nice as all of yours! ive been having trouble starting with my plants any ways goood job with the aquarium!!!!!

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i know this is a thread for people unlike me



No platy boy, this is a thread for everybody. If you read through the massive amount of info in the last 130 pages you will see quite a few sections where this tank and its plants didn't do all that well (based on my impact, while learning).

Anyway - All,

Sorry for not posting in a while, I had replaced the viewing of my tanks with a more Amano like landscape as can be seen below. Tank updates will follow sometime later

Ingo

Attached Image:

Iwagumawuma



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Weekly Tank Update - Week 82

There was no update last weekend as I went on vacation (see above). Just like with the 40G, I did not do a water change this weekend either as I will do one later in the week to prepare for the next Club meeting at my place the coming Saturday.

Seems like all fish are well, but when I came home there were maybe 20 Blyxa stems floating around the tank. They sure stick lousy in gravel

Here is the tank this weekend (after putting all the Blyxa back in),

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 82



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I came home from work today ad half mine had come up. I dunno what's up with that. They just don't seem to root at all. Mine are turning a bit red, so they may be worth it in the end.

The tank is looking very healthy, very nice.



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i would just like to say your tank looks awesome and tommorrow on my day off im gonna have a look throughthe whole thread from start to finish to see how it all came about!
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fandan,

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. I noticed that for whatever reason there seem to be some images missing around page 50 or so, but the text is all there (with some minor issues in the beginning as it was written in our old site and certain characters did not carry over into the new one).

Take you time with reading all of this, and enjoy the lighter notes of the Plant Crazies ().


Matty,

As I mentioned in the 40G log, the red also seem to mean less vertical growth. I am not so sure if I like it that much, it almost looks stunted

Ingo


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I have only had my blyxa for a couple of weeks now. I reallyl havenet had any floating issues.

Do you happen to have any close ups of how this spreads? Does it just get bushy?

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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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Hope your holiday was fun

I've been lucky too, with non floating blyxa. LF, this tank doesn't have Eco Complete, does it? Do you have the same issue in 40G breeder, which I think does have the Eco?

Cheers
TW
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No Wings, I don't have a close-up right now. My Blyxa spreads by growing multiple stems (branches) on one base stem. These stems have no roots, of course, and when one of the bigger ones comes out then replanting it often means that the branch breaks off. So - on I go and replant the two sections seperately, which causes the float (mostly).

Robyn, to my regret, this tank has plain gravel (with Laterite in bottom part) and not EC. But that is more for looks than the Blyxa. It does not do too well in my 40G either anymore and I believe this started with my light changes there. Some is floating up while others don't grow as fast as they used to. What can I say, Blyxa does not seem to be my fortune, or I have to use the weights on each stem in the future (and I have about 20 to 30 stems in this tank).

Ingo


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Thanks for the blyxa info LF. Right after saying that I haven't had any float ups... I saw one in my tank this morning. It can stay there until I do my water change....

So far it hasn't been too bad for me. I got most of the blyxa with a good set of roots. It think that helps matters.

BTW!
I have new pictures!!!!

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 83

Not too much to report about this tank, the blyxa keeps on floating up and all attempts to settle it conclude in smaller and smaller stems.

I told the gang at yesterday's NJAGC meeting that I begin to be bored with the tank layout, I think nothing much has changed in about 6 months now, like 27 weeks straight with the same concept. Maybe it is time for a change soon.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 83



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EditedEdited by mattyboombatty
I told the gang at yesterday's NJAGC meeting that I begin to be bored with the tank layout, I think nothing much has changed in about 6 months now, like 27 weeks straight with the same concept. Maybe it is time for a change soon.



I was wondering when the next LF tank makeover challenge would take place. I really like the current layout, but as always, I can't wait for the new one!



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Post InfoPosted 30-Apr-2007 04:13Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Maybe it is time for a change soon.
How about adding some rock work and a different forground plant?

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How about adding some rock work and a different forground plant?


That would not be a makeover that is worthy the "Ingo-Style" classification

It will be a while until I have a solid vision on what to do, so far I only have a concept for maybe a 3rd of the tank.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 30-Apr-2007 18:23Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Actually...
I vote for another tank, and leave these the way they are.


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Maybe something small...

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I told the gang at yesterday's NJAGC meeting that I begin to be bored with the tank layout, I think nothing much has changed in about 6 months now, like 27 weeks straight with the same concept. Maybe it is time for a change soon.


It's about time!

I think start out by removing the black background. That's very 1990's Amano, it's time to go 2000's Amano style


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Hi Ingo, I just recently picked up your thread and I thank that your tank looks GREAT! I like the idea of a change, but I like it just how it is. (But I'm not the one who has to look at it everyday )
As for me, I dream my tank up, put all the plants in there, and let it grow, grow, grow (at least I hope they do!)

Great job and keep up the GREAT work!


~Morgan~
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I think start out by removing the black background. That's very 1990's Amano, it's time to go 2000's Amano style
What is 2000 Amano? White?

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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH


Haha, I guess all I have to do is to threaten another Ingo-Style redo to get some entries and life back into this log.

NowherMan6 - yeah, what is 2000 Amano? White, no background, rimless, or what?

MoFish - Thanks for the input, I always appreciate comments from people as it shows me who is actually still looking at my tank logs (and who is new to them). I am basically doing the same then you do, think up my layout and the let it grow.

Wings and Frank - I don't think small changes will keep me occupied for long . I will perform some changes this weekend though, most certainly I will dump almost all of the Blyxa and add some of the Ferns from the 40G in that spot.

Actually, changing the background of the tank is easy enough, all I would need is some new cardboard in another color. Maybe I will do this some time soon as well.

Thanks to all so far,

Ingo

EDIT: Did you guys see that I added new entries to the 20 and 29 log last weekend? I guess the info there doesn't interest you at all


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most certainly I will dump almost all of the Blyxa
Want to mail me some???

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Wings,

Trust me, you would not be happy with the package. I pretty much lost any root system these plants ever had, the constant replanting caused serious damage to the stems. Over time, these plants have gotten smaller and smaller on me instead of growing. I believe that even the strongest and tallest of them right now are maybe half the size they were when I got them a few months back.

Packing this stuff and sending it to you would be a waste of my time and your money for shipping (I would not charge you for the plants anyway).

Ingo


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Ok. No problem. Thanks for being up front about it.

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I am so up front that I even tell you that I would not dare to swap these plants at our NJAGC meetings, that how sad they are

I say - Out in the garbage with them

Ingo


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Pretty sad I must say. I guess I will have to try and talk to my other guy.

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 84

This week saw a continuation of the Blyxa floating contest, I said enough alright!!!

So, this weekend, after a half-major redo of the 40G (report will follow in a few min), I took all Blyxa out and placed some narrow leaf Java Fern on a piece of wood and filled that space (btw, the fern on the right, it turns out, is not narrow leaf but needle leaf). On top of it, the redo of the 40G also allowed me to add some Anubias Nana in front of the fern and all the way to the right of the tank.

I am most astonished how little was needed to remove the entire Island Effect.

Here you go:

Attached Image:

Week 84



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Here is a closer look at the new Fern group. It did actually not take long until the Espei decided that this is an excellent spawning spot. But I think I have seen them eat the eggs.

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Fern



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And because all is so pretty, here is, for the maybe 20th time since introduced, the male Apisto viejita II, as colorful as usual, LOL.

Attached Image:

Apisto



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And - at least as often as I have shown you something like the viejita did I show you something like this, a flowering Nana.

But I found this one very nice, as the background is better than green or black.

That's it for this tank, now on to a smoke and then the 40G.

Oh, and look at the 20G log for new Cories in the QT, if you haven't done so already.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Nana Flower



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I am most astonished how little was needed to remove the entire Island Effect.


I personally think it looks even better. My suggestion for what it's worth, add some large size rocks right in front of where the anubias meets the new fern group on the left and maybe one large rock somewhere on the right. This will break up all the green created by the wisteria carpet and add additional depth to the tank. Looks good!

My Scapes
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~I am with Tetra with the rocks idea. You seem to have a lot of green!

~I also like the looks of the tank now better than before.

~It would probably look a little better if you grouped your Reds a little tighter.

~How often are you getting Anubias flowers? My nana is starting to pump them out fairly often now. It is at its 3rd one in the past couple of months. Once they open up they really don't seem to last long in this tank. Maybe a couple of days at most then they close back up.



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The higher the tech the shorter the lifespan of an Anubias flower, at least in my experience. Makes sense anyway as all plants grow faster.

Yeah, I am not so certain that I understand the rock positions. Also, I don't think this is a long-term solution in the first place. I didn't even intend to "modify" the tank, all I wanted was to throw out the darn floating Blyxa and save some of the Fern

Ingo


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EditedEdited by MoFish
I like the change Ingo; it looks nice more "spread out". I am also with Tetratech with some rocks. Me personally, I like having big rocks that get bordered by some plants, but tetra's idea sounds better for your tank than mine, it seems too drastic. But then again, that's just up your alley, isn't it?
I am going to go out on a limb here, but I think you should keep the tank just how it is, it looks great...but from what I gather from the people here, it is going to change MUCH more than that!


~Morgan~
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Morgan,

I gather that you know about MTS, and redoing my tanks is fighting this habbit. I already have 4 tanks and under moderate conditions they occupy me more than I like. But once in a while I get the crazy idea to add another tank, but eventually I come to my senses (ok, so maybe I add some day a nano).

But when things go well, the maintenance and worries go down and then I get bored. The same is true for a setup where the final version has been reached and all that is left is trimming it back into shape each week. And all that while there are soooooo many nice setups that one can try.

As you can see, I am trying to convince myself that these redos are good , hope it works (so far it did),

Ingo


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EditedEdited by tetratech
Ingo,

I just got through looking at the sixth meeting of the NJAGC. Whoever put that little summary together on the website did a really nice job. Wonder if nowher was in attendance

I have to say the 40G was more impressive to me in those pics for some reason. I like the transition shot, but I think it's in reverse. The plants didn't grow since the last meeting, they got scalped.

Anyway good stuff!

My Scapes
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Thanks tetratech for the input,

Yeah - Joe is doing a great job on taking the pictures during the meetings and then throwing together a humorous little story about the event. And he makes the HTML tables too

I can't tell you if NowherMan6 was in attendance, he is always incognito,

The meetings are always a lot of fun and it for sure is worthwhile to join the club if you live in the area. Next meeting will be this Saturday (already) and I will trade in some of my Java Ferns (narrow and needle) that I had left over from the 40G trim (scalping, ).

Ingo


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I can't tell you if NowherMan6 was in attendance, he is always incognito
He must be the guy in the mask...

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Wow, it looks a lot different, even though not much has changed. I also like it this way. Very cool, have fun at the club meeting. I wish we had a good club 'round these parts.



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Yeah Matty,

I was actually shocked how different it looks now. I could not have imagined that the simple addition of the fern and a few Anubias will completely alter the appearance. It gives me new ideas on what I can do with the tank without having to go the Ingo-Style Redo route, although - the 2 year anniversary of the tank will be in September and what would be better than to start all over

Ingo


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I can't tell you if NowherMan6 was in attendance, he is always incognito,

The meetings are always a lot of fun and it for sure is worthwhile to join the club if you live in the area. Next meeting will be this Saturday (already) and I will trade in some of my Java Ferns (narrow and needle) that I had left over from the 40G trim


First of all, I put my picture up on the NJAGC site, now the whole world can see my ugly mug.

Second, if I knew you were giving away some of your NL ferns this weekend I wouldn't have booked this trip to Michigan!


Back in the saddle!
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now the whole world can see my ugly mug.



I don't think so, albeit I haven't tested it, I think you have to be a member to see the member listing (and the forums anyway, or not?)

Anyway, NowherMan6, what are you after, my narrow leaf (on left in this tank now) or my needle leaf (on the right)? The latter I can have you pick up during this coming week, the former may have to wait a little. If you could make certain that you will pick some up then I could withhold either or from the swap (or bring in less).

Ingo


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I wouldn't have booked this trip to Michigan!
Where at in MI? You are now on my grounds!!

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 85

Well, the tank is showing a few minor, and maybe one major change this weekend, maybe you can spot some of them in the full tank shot, otherwise I will make mention in the detail pictures:

Attached Image:

Full Tank - Week 85



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Here is a close look at the major change:

Besides the trimming of the Star Grass, and the replanting of some of the Alternanthera stems, I added about 12 stems of Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba' - formerly known as Ludwigia sp. 'Cuba'. The tops of most of the stems seem to have recently received not enough light, the leaves are to broad and short and green. I will see how the plant does in my tank.

To support the growth I added 3 plant sticks in the center area.

Attached Image:

New Center



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That last shot was taken pretty much as soon as planting was completed, btw - for a change this plant was not a trade but a purchase.

Here is a wider and better look at the main part of the tank, a day later.

Attached Image:

Center



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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
Here is a look at the left side of the tank, the change there is that I added even more of the narrow leaf java fern to make the group deeper.

Also, on the way left in front of the diffuser is a crypt (only one leaf visible in the shot, sorry), don't remember its name, that I got two NJAGC meetings back and had hidden underneath the Anubias forest.

Attached Image:

Left Tank Part



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Here is a look at the right side of the tank, the main fish hangout area as you can see

Changes here include the stripping of the needle leaf java fern babies of the leaves, and the move of the Hygro out from the center all the way to the right.

Attached Image:

Right Tank Part



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Here are a few detail shots, first up is one of the Otos. If I am not mistaken the 6 survived the initiation about a year and a half ago and it seems like at least some of them are still around. Of course it is impossible to find all of them at once in this tank.

Attached Image:

Oto



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Here is a close-up of the new Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba'. This stem has maintained the leaf structure all the way to the top, but overall I think the plant will hopefully be a little more pinkish/reddish on top.

Attached Image:

Cuba



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Here is a lone Espei in front of the right group, I think it is a female. Just check her body color, it is of an orange with a yellow tint rather than a red tint that the males have.

Attached Image:

Espei



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Lastly, for now, here is a shot of the daytime hangout spot for quite a few of the Espei, in the leaves of the Needle Leaf Java Fern. The give a nice contrast to the green leaves.

That's it for now, I have to add hundreds (ok, maybe 20) pictures to the 40G now as something bad happened there during the week.

Also, check the 20G and 29G logs for updates,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Peek-A-Boo



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Post InfoPosted 14-May-2007 00:17Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
MoFish
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Nice work, I like it a lot - more spread out and a "lush" look to it. Initially the first thing I noticed is the redish/pinkish plants seemed closer together. Don't know if you changed this or not, but that's what I saw (it was probablly because I haven't checked the log in a while and I didn't remember the last layout.

I still am surprised, though, that you haven't done a major redo yet. I'll bet that the "regulars" are all on their toes waiting for the big change.


~Morgan~
Post InfoPosted 14-May-2007 00:25Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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I still am surprised, though, that you haven't done a major redo yet. I'll bet that the "regulars" are all on their toes waiting for the big change.


Morgan,

You sure seem to know me well by now

The red plants have been moved together, that is correct. They are Alternanthera reineckii, I have one in my 29G low tech as well as an experiment.

And about a redo "Ingo-Style" - I don't want to promise too much, but something may be coming up in a while, maybe not as major as a complete strip down. As you can see, I went out and actually bought a new plant species, something I haven't done in a while. That is a sign that I am "experimenting" and of things to come.

Thanks for the entry,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 14-May-2007 00:47Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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Cool pics LF, I'm interested in seeing how that ludwiggia does, and if the plant sticks help. I've thought about using some in the area I keep my red plants. I'm not real thrilled with how the eco complete supports the plant growth compared to flourite I've decided.



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Post InfoPosted 14-May-2007 03:50Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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I'm not real thrilled with how the eco complete supports the plant growth compared to flourite I've decided.

You know, I never had Flourite, but I think I can say the same for Gravel with a layer of Laterite. I don't know why, my only current assumption is the high density of the substrate and the struggles for roots to push their way through them. Just thinking out loud,

Ingo


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I haven't ever tried Eco but I really do like my flourite. Other than the initial set up with it.... Rinse rinse rinse... rinse the flourite.... rinse the flourite....

Opps, didn't rinse it enough and I had chocolate milk for a week!

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Post InfoPosted 15-May-2007 13:58Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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Yeah Wings, that and the color of Flourite are the reasons why I will not add it to my tanks. As a matter of fact, I am currently debating (with myself, that is) what substrate would be the best for the 125G if I wish to make it more "show" like.

Seems like there are only 3 options:

- Eco
- ADA Substrate
- Black small Gravel with Laterite

Ingo


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So you don't like the color of Flourite? I think it looks pretty nice. You really don't see it much once the tank is filled in anyways.

The bucket method of rinsing it is for the birds but you can put it in a fine mesh net and rinse it with ease with much better results.

Have you looking into this?
http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Onyx%20Sand.html

You have a pretty low PH/KH right? This might help with that as it's full of calcium.

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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 15-May-2007 17:07Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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hmmm, seems like eco is falling out of favour with some of the planted gang now. Wish I hadn't rushed in & bought it already. Agree with LF about Flourite - both the need for rinsing and the colour. Many people like the colour, but I am stubborn for black and can't imagine another colour substrate creeping into any of my tanks.



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Weekly Tank Update - Week 86

Not much has happened with this tank either during the last week, except that I added a few plants in temporary positions. I will mention them a little later on.

To compare, here is a shot from last week again:

Attached Image:

7 Days Ago



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And here is the tank last night.

I wish to point your attention to the group of Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba' in the center of the tank that was planted a week ago. Do you notice the growth. I have to say that it surprised me quite a bit.

Attached Image:

Tank This Weekend



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Here is a closer look at the tank's center area showing you the Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba' stems. Notice that some of them did not grow by as much as others did. Also, there is some Star Grass between this group and the Alternanthera, but this one is not doing too well and quickly falling out of my favor.

Attached Image:

Center



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Here is a shot from the top of the tank looking down onto the Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba'. The tall stems all show signs of having been at least half way grown emersed, the leaf shape is oval and much greener. As such I conclude that this is the reason why they grow faster.

Attached Image:

Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba'



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Here is a shot of another addition to the tank, made on Wednesday, called Hydrocotyle verticillata , the pennywort that grows flat ().

I put it for the time being in small groups mostly on the left side of the tank, I will eventually - if it does well - place it as a midground highligh group somewhere.

Attached Image:

Hydrocotyle verticillata



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Here is another plant that I added, but sadly it was in an aweful state when I got it, Pogostemon stellatus'broad'. It pretty much lost all leaves in the transport, but I decided to plant the 5 stems anyway. It appears as if at least 3 of them may be able to recover.

In the background in this shot, barely visible, is another addition. This one seemed to have been grown all emersed and I don't know if it will transition ok, Lobelia cardinalis 'sm form'. We will see ...

Attached Image:

Additions



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Last but not least, a shot of 4 of my 5 Neon Dwarf Rainbows. These guys have been a stable entertainer in this tank for quite a while now, I am glad I got them.

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Rainbows



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Hi,
Beautiful tank...
Re, the discussion about Flourite. In reading the July
issue of Aquarium Fish International Magazine,
Seachem has an ad for Flourite and it now comes in black
dark red, the customary red, and black sand.
So, they have listened to their consumers.

Frank


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Post InfoPosted 21-May-2007 02:25Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Thanks Frank for the compliment on the tank and in particular also for the info on the Flourite. I will have to check that out!

And I see that my two year membership bar has appeared, excellent. Happy Anniversary to myself

Now I will soon have to extend my premie, right tetratech?

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 21-May-2007 02:54Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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LF, i find it interesting that to my eyes your tank seems to be coming full circle. It's become very reminiscent of the tank when first set-up and grown in. The current java fern group spreading left reminds me of the Apon group that used to be there.


Back in the saddle!
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EditedEdited by Dr. Bonke
The tank is looking very good Ingo, I think I like it better than the island you had for a long time. The hydrocotyle is a cute plant, I had it for a while when I first set up my tank, but in the light setting I had at the time it didn't do very well and got quickly covered in algae. I hope it'll work better in your hands.
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Thanks guys for the input

NowherMan6 - Yeah, seems like the tank has come full circle, at least from the distance. Upon close inspection, the plants are not the same (like the Apon that constantly shot out flower stems to the surface and eventually didn't grow any new underwater leaves) and in particular the algae is not the same, as in "I don't have a major problem right now."

But nevertheless, full circle it is, as such it will be time for a change soon

Dr. - Thanks for stopping in, doesn't happen too often that you place your comment in my log(s). How was your light when you had the hydrocotyle and it didn't do well? Too low, too high, or plain wrong?

And how is your tank coming along?

Thanks again,

Ingo


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Dr. Bonke
 
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Hey Ingo,

I haven't been posting much at all in the last few months, and with an upcoming month-long vacation I probably won't be posting much in the near future either. I don't have terribly much time these days for internet and reading these forums and a couple of other things is often just what I manage. As you guys are in general well on top of things with good and helpful replies, I generally have been nodding to myself and moved on to the next thread without taking time to write something if I didn't feel that I could add something more useful. Recently, I figured that this atitude may not be the best way to keep people here since the place will seem "empty" without many people posting, so I'm going to try and change that a little (with the exception of my one-month America tour next month ).

Anyway, back when I still had some hydrocotyle I had only 72 watts of light (with reflectors) over my 65g tank. So it was a fairly low light setup, I also didn't really fertilize and didn't have CO2. All in all quite different from the way you're running your tank, so I expect you'll have a better experience with it.

Currently my tank is going fairly steady, there haven't been many changes since I last wrote something in the log. Some of the fish are getting old and start to show it, like for example the rummynose tetras, which have been there for 2½ years now and slowly they are starting to die off. My plan is that after the summer vacation I will transfer all the fish to the smaller tank where I used to have the angels (I brought those to the LFS three weeks ago and gave that a thorough cleaning) and then empty the big tank for a remake, since it's really starting to show its age. My wife has become obsessed with Discus fish and I think I'll remake it in such a way that it'll have a good look for the big fish. Still many plants, but less like the Dutch way. I still have to think on it. I'll probably write down the progress once I get to that point.

Post InfoPosted 22-May-2007 15:49Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Hey Ingo,

I like your tank. I hope you don't mind, but there is no way I am reading over 300 pages! Hygrophila difformis as a foreground plant is something you don't see every day! Your Ludwigia cuba doesn't have any color to it. Its all green! I am suprised you are not going with HC as a foreground like so many other people now. If you ar a member of the New Jersey Plant club, I'm surprised you don't hang out at APC... or do you?

Nice job on the tank.

Best regards

Robert Hudson
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Thanks for the input guys

Dr. - I can't wait for the display of your new not-so-Dutch layout. I also will follow the Discuss development in your tank with great interest, not because I want to have some myself but because it will dramatically change your tank-involvement. I would assume that way more maintenance, aka water changes, will be required, plus all the feeding of goodies, like beef hearts and stuff.

Robert - Thank you so much for your compliments and input on the tank. Here are a few comments with regards to your statements:
- The Cuba is still new in the tank and has been grown at least partially emersed when I got it. It is starting by now to show some changes in leaf structure and color, I will try to post better pictures here once the change has become significant enough to notice in a photo. In the meantime, I am sure I will have to trim the group at least once, the fist stems are almost breaking the surface by now.
- I wish I could take credit for the Wisteria foreground idea, but it was tetratech (a member here and at APC, if I am not mistaken) who showed me the way. I more or less copied him with this approach.
- When I created the current design of the tank I needed fast growers to help me settle in asap. The wisteria foreground was introduced for that purpose. HC, albeit an awesome plant, would have taken way too long to fill that huge area, not to mention that I have my doubts it would have done well in my gravel substrate. Once I switch over to a finer substrate (maybe someday) I may give it a shot, although it is barely growing in my 40G high tech (another 300 page log, ).
- When you say New Jersey Plant Club, do you mean the NJAGC, the newer club founded in October last year by Jay L. and Mike F.? yes, I am a member of that one, actually I am a core member.
- I think I am a member of APC, and you are no stranger to me. I usually don't post there though, only rarely and not in a long time do I actively participate. I have a tight association of my progress in planted tanks with an awesome group of people on this site here (some of which are not on this often anymore ) so I did not see the need to involve even more people in telling me what I should do with my tank instead, . Actually, the main reason for a lack of participation at APC is time. As a member of the NJAGC (see link in my signature) and this site I spend more time than my family likes me to on this hobby.

Again, thank you so much for your input,

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 24-May-2007 14:41Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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EditedEdited by tetratech
Boy Ingo, you get Drs, Owners (Aquatic plant dealers) and Sith Lords to visit your log. How do you do it?

Well my log has no pics in it anymore

My Scapes
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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
How do you do it?

I have no idea, maybe my humble way of communication () is the key.

Anyway, come on tetratech, shell out the twenty bucks and become a premium again, for the sake of all the Sith Lords that would like to see the pictures. In my opinion, your tank looks better than mine, and I think quite a few people share this opinion with me

Ingo


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In my opinion, your tank looks better than mine, and I think quite a few people share this opinion with me
In my opinion... I think both tanks are very nice in their own way. Tetra's is just more flashy.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 25-May-2007 14:38Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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Anyway, come on tetratech, shell out the twenty bucks and become a premium again, for the sake of all the Sith Lords that would like to see the pictures


I'm not sure why they remove all your historic pics from your log when your premie runs out. Isn't that taking away from other members enjoyment and education. Unless can it be true, they really are sith lords

My Scapes
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hi ingo -

not logging on much at the mo, but yours is always the first thread i check! i just love this tank - the lush, verdant quality, the fish selecion, everything - i just hope you get the time every now and again to just sit down in front of it and enjoy it!! my tanks are all doing well, planning on a major redesign of the 6footer in a couple of weeks... if i can get round to it!!!

anyways, it's gorgeous. hats off to you.

justin
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Boy Ingo, you get Drs, Owners (Aquatic plant dealers) and Sith Lords to visit your log. How do you do it?


And the occassional itinerant Irishman

Being busy as a one legged man at a butt kicking contest.

Only get to write this cos I have a 5 hr layover in Dubai and they have wi-fi in the smoking lounge

Tank looks great. The bigger groups of a smaller amount of soecies works much better.


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Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.
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Well, this is the big praise page, Robert Hudson was here, Justin popped in, the regular gang says its nice, and even the Great Bensaf popps in from an airport and tells me it looks good!

Well, toooooooooo late!!!

It was time for a makeover, Ingo-Style. I guess I am not happy once all is done and a tank runs itself more or less. I need panick, messes, algae, all the good stuff

So - here is the tank yesterday in the morning (this is not a weekly update):

Attached Image:

In the morning



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Post InfoPosted 27-May-2007 14:09Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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All started with the preparation of buckets filled with tank water for the various sized plants, actually I eventually needed another one of these big round red ones.

Attached Image:

The Buckets



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Post InfoPosted 27-May-2007 14:11Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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The it was time to remove the plants and place them in the buckets, one for tall stems, one for the wisteria, one for the Anubias, one for the small plants like the crypts, pearl grass etc., and one for the ferns.

Here is the tank with only the ferns left:

Attached Image:

Almost empty



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Post InfoPosted 27-May-2007 14:12Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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The it was all empty, it is probably not too hard to identify all the gunk in the water.

BTW, I found 5 of the 6 Otos that I added almost 2 years ago, I don't know what happened to the 6th.

Attached Image:

Yuk



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Here is a shot after a 50% water change. It is getting quite a bit clearer in the tank, but still not as good as I would like it to be.

Attached Image:

After First Water Change



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Post InfoPosted 27-May-2007 14:15Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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So I removed even more water, I would guess overall about 70% had been removed by both changes together. Of course I vacuumed the gravel at both, quite some gunk in there.

Attached Image:

Getting ready to replant



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Next, the hardscape was put in place, including the big wood with plants attached to it. I think I will call the new layout "Down by the old tree"

Attached Image:

Hardscape



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Post InfoPosted 27-May-2007 14:19Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Then the tank was refilled and all middle and background plants were placed back into the tank. I was contemplating leaving it like that, but decided that I need some fast growers to stabilze.

Attached Image:

With mid and background plants



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Post InfoPosted 27-May-2007 14:21Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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And here is the full tank, sorry about the bad quality and about the bad color, only the 6,700 Ks were on at this time of the day and I was too tired to turn the other ones back on.

Overall, it all took 12 hours. Some tweaking will still be required, but that's what it's all about anyway

Ingo

Attached Image:

All Done



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LF,

Nice "Thing"!



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Post InfoPosted 27-May-2007 15:01Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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Well, i like the new look - but I also like the old look too. You have too much energy for me LF. I long for a tank that I'm happy with and only have to "tweak" here & there with minor changes. I hope to reach that stage when I (finally) have the new tank up & running. But you were / are there already, with your beautiful tanks.

Still, all your changes make for an interesting log & a good read. Looking forward to seeing what your "tweaking" brings about - but it's very nice as it is.

Cheers
TW
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Nice "Thing"!



Revenge is sweet Wings, isn't it

But, as future pictures will show more clearly, this "Thing" has waaaaay more character.

Robyn, just wait until you are all done with one of your tanks, you will see/feel what I am talking about
I believe even tetratech is in sink with me here

Ingo


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Yeah, I see that's how it is for you & tetratech.

I think the new layout gives added length to the tank. I think your tank now looks longer than in some previous layouts.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing it growing in.

Cheers
TW
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Looks great LF . My only complaint is that all the other driftwood pieces are aimed straight at the front of the tank and parallel to each other. It doesn't look quite natural that way. This might be included in your plans for tweaking though.



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Post InfoPosted 28-May-2007 08:03Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Ingo , I'll give you this you have lots of courage as well as energy . Love the look especially the bare gravel in front of the driftwood , looks like a river with the rock border.Just in the process of setting up my 6fter and as always you give me inspiration .
Thanks
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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
Thanks Robyn, Matty, and Garry

- I am with you Robyn, I also think the tank looks longer now. I attribute this to the smaller groups of plants, in particular the needle leaf fern and the Anubias group have been reduced and spread out some more. I am also looking forward to the growing in process.

- Matty, you are sooo right, the sticks are too straight and yes, I tried to tweak this a little, but so far not to my satisfaction.

- Garry, thanks for the input, always glad when my tank helps to inspire others with their tank, even if it would be only for identification on "what not to do" . You certainly identified the river theme very well, I may use a different substrate for that area once all has settled a little (sand comes to mind).

Weekly update will follow shortly,

Thanks again,

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 87

Well, it has been well documented in the previous posts that this week was again another big week for the tank, a major Ingo-Style redo was performed. Nothing was wrong with the tank as it was before, I just thought about changing things around "a little"

To start off, here is a shot from yesterday in the morning, just after lights on:

Attached Image:

In the morning



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Well here's my 2.5 cents,

I think the main wood is too centered and it's hard to work the thinner longer pieces in to the setup. I like the plant groupings and it will look better once grown in. Sorry 'but there's no way that anubias works as a corner plant in your tank. Please move it or I'll have to photoshop it out and renew my membership to post the new pic.

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And here is a shot from around 8 PM the same day. For one thing, I have done some minor tweakings here and there, mostly by adding some accessory plants and by leaning the sticks a little to one or the other side.

What you may notice is the different color of the photo, somewhat more brown. This would be because of extreme tannins release into the water column. The wood had been soaked for two weeks, but I guess that was not long enough. I may throw in an extra water change or two per week in the beginning. The fish don't mind it though, the Espei are extra busy . I am more concerned about the lack of light penetration.

Attached Image:

At night



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I will ignore tetratech's input for the time being and get back to it once I am done with the update.

So - let's walk through the tank from left to right.

The left is still a little unorganized, but time (and more tweaking) will change that.

Attached Image:

Tank Left Side



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Here is the center. The spot where the Espei is in front of the black hole marks the true focal point of the tank, not the big chunk of wood. Once the wood is more planted one will notice the hole even more. I tried rather hard to get a good shot of that area, but the camera settings either make the hole black or all other areas really bright. I guess I should try the flash.

Attached Image:

Middle



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The right side of the tank is probably the currently most successful section of the tank, maybe because it hasn't changed all that much. I reduced the needle leaf java fern group by about half, it was really taking over there in the old layout.

Attached Image:

Right side



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Here is a closer look at the two main stem plant groups in that section, the Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba' and the Alternanthera Reineckii. Once the cuba has grown some more the stick will not be such a focal point anymore. We will see ...

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Stems



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When you look at that group from an angle (downwards) you can already imagine the lesser importance of the stick. The tops of the cuba grow by now much tighter nodes and I assume it is becoming a fully aquatic growth form now.

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Cuba on Angle



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Here is the Alternanthera at its best. Somehow, it turned out to be an almost Dutch Street arrangement. This plant was once a maybe 3 inches tall single stem that I got during a shippment by mistake, a long long time ago.

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Alternanthera



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I also added some of the Najas Indica to the way left and right of the tank, here is the small group on the right. I am not certain if it works, but I wouldn't find out without trying.

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Najas Indica



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On the left side of the tank, in front of the smaller Anubias and behind a piece of driftwood, I worked in a small Tiger Lotus. I will see how (and if) it grows and what it will do to that area.

Attached Image:

Tiger Lotus



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The "Thing", as Wings calls it, has quite a bit of character. For one thing, it is hollow and has openings in front and back for fish to swim through. For another thing, it has branches (I will try to get different angled shots later) on which I tied some Nana Petites, as can be seen here:

Attached Image:

Nana Petites



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Only two more shots, of some fishies. First up is an Oto. As I mentioned, I counted 5 Otos during the redo, which means one was MIA. I am sure the Otos will like all the new wood to eat off.

Attached Image:

Oto



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Lastly, my male Apisto viejita II, partially because I like him so much, partially to point out the color. As you may see, he looks more yellowish that in previous shots. No, he hasn't changed, but he is swimming now in English Breakfast Tea, or at least that is how I would describe the color of the water as of last night (haven't seen the tank today yet).

And that concludes the update, one more entry will follow in reference to tetratech's comment.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Apisto viejita II in English Breakfast Tea



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Please move it or I'll have to photoshop it out and renew my membership to post the new pic.

If that's what it takes to get you to become a premium member again, I will leave it right there

I hear you tetratech, but I was trying to work it in somehow. This are 4 remaining parts of my huge Barteri group and I am not so sure if I like it at all in this tank. But, for the time being, that's where it will stay. This way, I have a few months to tweak and change and stuff before it gets boring again.

I think the main wood is too centered and it's hard to work the thinner longer pieces in to the setup.

Agreed, I am also not too happy with the thinner wood, but I also vote for "letting it settle" before deciding on its future position, angle, or presents.

I like the plant groupings and it will look better once grown in.

Thanks that you found at least one good thing about this setup, I will make sure to destroy that area as soon as possible,

Thanks for the input, keep it coming, and go get that premie-ship,

Ingo


Oh - quick question: Amano Shrimp and my Apisto Viejita - will that work?


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Post InfoPosted 28-May-2007 13:38Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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I think the shrimp would work out if they are purchased at a reasonable size. Say as large or larger than an adult cherry shrimp.

I think that if your focal point is going to be the black hole then you have the big DW in the right place. Otherwise it would look a little better more to the left.

Other than that I just think it needs to grow in a bit and be subject to further tweaking. It's always a little unfair to judge one of your tanks too much at the start.

Great shots BTW, nice and clear and well focused as always.

One last thing. A major dose of carbon in your filters will take care of the tannins. That may or may not be easier than repeat water changes.



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Post InfoPosted 28-May-2007 17:45Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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The shrimp are about 1 inch to 1.5 inches long, so I guess you think it would work then Matty, right?

Hey, I thought I show you quickly these 3 shots. I just did a water change to the tank (easier than adding 500lbs of carbon to my 2028 and 2026, ) and found this sequence very interesting.

Check out the tank half way through the refill. As you can see, the water goes in on the right side. Do you see the difference in the water color, or at least the brightness of the light?

Attached Image:

Filling



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Post InfoPosted 28-May-2007 21:35Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Here it is even more obvious, with all the air bubbles reflecting the light and such. Looks almost as if it would be raining on the right side. I swear, the light is on on both sides of the tank.

Attached Image:

Raining



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Here is the tank after a few minutes and adding the macros, baking soda, and equlibrium with the filters turned on. As you can see, all is mixed up now and I have to say that I went from a tea where the bag was sunk in the cup for 5 minutes to one where it was in there for only 2 minutes. I guess I will do another one of these in two days.

Ingo

Attached Image:

All Mixed Up



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Post InfoPosted 28-May-2007 21:40Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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LF,

The Alternanthera and Najas shot are great. Everything looks healthy, very nice!

Getting back to your shrimp question, I think they would be O.K., unless the Cichlids get very hungry from not being feed for a while. The amanos do get quite big.

That's pretty cool with the water change pics how the camera pics up the lighter colored bubbles and makes the water look much brighter.



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Post InfoPosted 28-May-2007 21:58Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Thanks tetratech (or Jeff, but I guess only Bensaf gets the honor to have your name at the bottom of an entry ), I will try to add some shrimp sometime this week, or maybe next weekend (I have about 30 in my QT).

Thanks for the compliment on the plants and the photo of the rainfall on the right side of the tank, I am surprised how well the visual experience translated into the picture. Unlike the big hole in the tree, which in pictures seems to be just a black spot. I wish I could bring that chunk of wood across the way it looks when you are in front of the tank, maybe some angled shots will do.

Ingo


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Thanks tetratech (or Jeff, but I guess only Bensaf gets the honor to have your name at the bottom of an entry


Oh, stop I know I've signed "Jeff" in your log or in one of our logs as we conversed.

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So the hole is going to be the focus... I was going to say to have you place the Anubius on the DW in that place. I guess thats out for now or maybe the roots hanging over the hole would look like hippie beads.

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Ingo, that's Alternathera you have on the middle right of the tank, yes?

What kind of requirements does it have in particular? I've got it in my tank, and it hasn't grown at all while just about everything else has taken off. But it's still just a few inches tall and shows no sign of new growth. :/

Listen! Do you smell that?
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LOL Wings, yeah - no hippie beads for me for now.

lysaer - yes, the red one is Alternanthera. It took a long time in this tank for the plant to get going, in particular because I did not knew what it was and had it shaded for the first few months. But it didn't die either. As a matter of fact, I added one stem a few months back to the 29G low tech and it was stagnant for quite a while, but then it started growing there as well.

Ingo


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i like it heaps better than how you had it before, looks great. your apistos dorsal fin is massive!!!

my 55G is the best ive ever had it , but im gunna rip it apart so i can get a 200 but on the plus side im getting a 200G
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Thanks coop for stopping by and for the comments on the tank. It must be pretty exciting for you to set up a 200G tank, sounds awesome. Will it be planted? If so then you for sure have to show it off here


Question: who knows of a finer grained whitish (but not bright white) substrate, but not too fine (as in sand)? I am toying with the idea of placing it in the open space (aka the river).

Thoughts, input?

Ingo


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Question: who knows of a finer grained whitish (but not bright white) substrate, but not too fine (as in sand)? I am toying with the idea of placing it in the open space (aka the river).


Easy one, POOL FILTER SAND!

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I am with tetra on this one. I have it in a couple of my tanks.

50LB = $8 I think....



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As I have no pool, and as such no pool filter sand, what is the size difference between sand and the pool filter sand. Is it actually not sand at all but small gravel?

Ingo


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i have the same "river" thing down the middle of my tank. i use the pool filter sand. i was pretty bright white when i got it though. it isnt white any more coz of the tanins in my tank. any way you can pick it up a yor local pool suply shop or hardware shop. the grains are more like the size of coars rive sand, so i guess you would call it coarse sand or fine gravel.
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As I have no pool, and as such no pool filter sand, what is the size difference between sand and the pool filter sand. Is it actually not sand at all but small gravel?


I have a pool, but it doesn't have a sand filter it has a DE filter. My pool is cleaned with Diatoms

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Thanks for the sandy input

I looked around the web a little in search for what this pool sand is supposed to be and also found some Diatom stuff and some stuff with chemicals. I think I have to be careful picking the right one. I also saw mention of Silica "free" and such, I totally forgot for a moment that Sand = Silica = Diatoms.

In other news, I did another 50% water change last night to remove some tannins, seems to be much brighter in the tank than when I did the same thing two days earlier.

During that process, I found all 6 Otos, although I counted only 5 even with all hardscape and plants removed from the tank during the redo. I wonder where that one guy was hanging out during that process, as I inspected each and every plant/wood that was removed/added.

Also, when I did the redo I put the old wood in a sink and left it there. Last night I looked at it and saw mold all over the parts that had been covered with algae (hair) while the wood was submersed, yuk. I used an algae pad to scrape it off and gave all the pieces an Excel bath in which they still reside. Interestingly, after having had this wood in the tank for maybe a year (would have to go through the thread to find out exactly how long), one of the thinner branches was still floating. Talking about wood needing a long time to water log.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 31-May-2007 13:29Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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I looked around the web a little in search for what this pool sand is supposed to be and also found some Diatom stuff and some stuff with chemicals. I think I have to be careful picking the right one. I also saw mention of Silica "free" and such, I totally forgot for a moment that Sand = Silica = Diatoms.


The bag of sand I have just says - 'filtration sand' on the front and on the back it says - Ricci Bros. Sand Company, Port Norris, NJ 08349 - Not for industrial use

In other news, I did another 50% water change last night to remove some tannins, seems to be much brighter in the tank than when I did the same thing two days earlier
.
You could also use Purgien I think, but water change will do the same thing.

During that process, I found all 6 Otos, although I counted only 5 even with all hardscape and plants removed from the tank during the redo. I wonder where that one guy was hanging out during that process, as I inspected each and every plant/wood that was removed/added.


That's funny because I was able to count 6 otos in my 72g the other day. I noticed they were all hanging together and I hadn't done a water change in a while. I believe they hang together during stressful situations and I thing it was high co2 levels. I noticed that the flow looked very strong coming off the diffusor.


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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
Thanks tetratech for the info on the sand, I will check into that.

Also, it would cost me a fortune to fill my 2 filters with purigen, LOL. Honestly though, I am way too lazy to open up my filters and mess with the media, which would mean that I have to remove some of the existing media to place something else in, and that would mean cleaning, and what not.

Otos hanging out together seems to me to be part of their daily routine. We know that they are social animals and as such it doesn't surprise me that they have a meeting once in a while per day. Albeit you may be on to something with the CO2, it could also simply be that there is a certain pattern to their social habits, like "let's discuss the day after dinner" kind of thing.

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 88

This week has seen two additional water changes, on Monday and on Wednesday. It wasn't so much about tannis from the new wood were bugging me, but I was a little concerned with enough light hitting the plants.

Here is the tank from a week ago, as a comparison:

Attached Image:

Last Week



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And here is the tank now this week.

You may notice the slightly brighter color of plants and water column, a result of less tannins.

I also dug out some of the substrate in the open "river" section. Growth overall is ok, but not really strong.

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Tank Last Night



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One of the plants that had really slowed down in the growth is the Cuba, but its new growth form is more submersed. Leaf node gaps are really small, the leaves are very narrow, all as it should be. But, compared to last weeks growth of quite a few inches, this week has seen maybe one inch.

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The Cubans



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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
The last and next picture have been taken during the water change, btw.

I was wondering if this plant is a heavy root feeder and I remembered that I put some plant sticks in the gravel when I initially planted them. Now, having been relocated, they were no longer "over" these sticks, so I added two more yesterday.

Attached Image:



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The next two shots are some closer looks at tank areas from different angles. First is the look at the section in front of the wood and to the right of it.

Here you can see a sword (smaller sword type, forgot name) getting used to submersed growth, some pearl grass, and a bunch of crypts, namely wendtii and lucens (or lutea, always get them confused):

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Detail I



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Next is a look at the 3 sticks to the right, with plants in front and back and in between and on it, LOL. Also, some of the rocks that I added there are showing.

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Detail II



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Next up is a series of 3 shots trying to make the best of the tree trunk in a sense on showing you its details.

Here is a shot from the section above the big hole, with a branch coming off it on the left (with Nana Petites on it), some pennywort growing over it, and a hole just below the latter. Holes are everywhere on this wood, connecting front and back.

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Wood I



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Here is the best shot I got so far from the big hole/gap that I got so far, I guess I need a fancy flash to show it better.

Also, note yet another hole on the right.

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Wood II



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Last of the wood shots is higher up, with an Oto on some wood with ripples.

I hope it gives you an idea that this is not just a chunk of wood but some wood with character

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Wood III



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The last two shots are commited to the newest additions to the tank, 10 Amano shrimp. They have been in the QT (with about 20 others) for the last two weeks and were added to this tank last night.

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10 Amanos



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As they are rather juvenile shrimp of maybe 1 inch, I was a little concerned about them being eaten by the Apisto male in general.

After adding them I kept an eye open for him, but he seemed to be more focussed on chasing them away. The female Apisto, on the other hand, appeared more in the mood of stalking them. It seems like she would like to take a bite, we will see.

That is it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

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2 Amanos



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What a surprise this morning,

After finding a dead shrimp in the 40G, I went to look if I can find any of the 10 in this tank. Well, I found overall 6, and that is pretty good, given the tank size and number of invisible spots in the tank.

But the good, I may say shocking, news are a branch that was left in the tank as it was overgrown with the needle fern on the right side of the tank. That branch was full of hair algae, about half an inch long threads were covering the entire lenght of about 5 to 6 inches. Well, this morning it was totally clean. I cannot show it in a picture as it is in the midst of the fern, so you have to take my word for it. These shrimp, by the time I checked 5 had moved on to the heater behind the wood, sure can eat their share of fluff, wow.

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Very nice shots of the tank, as usual, Ingo.

So, would you say the amanos are better at algae eating then the cherry reds?

Cheers
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So, would you say the amanos are better at algae eating then the cherry reds?

Oh, I could have told you that even without the feast that happpened last night. Both for sure are busy bees, but simply the size difference, an adult Amano is twice the size of a cherry shrimp, speaks for that.

Ingo


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I'd say both are miracle workers. Pound for pound I'd say they work the same. You can probably get amanos cheaper.....but then the cherries sure are prettier. I move the nana petite over to the 5.5 for a cleaning......spotless.



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And Cherries have an advantage --> they reproduce

On the other hand, they also fit easier in the mouth of a hungry Apisto

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Very nice shot of the tank. I think the colors and contrast are great.

Glad you discovered shrimpsters. They'll definitely help keeping the main wood especially clean. I actually need some more for my 72g I think I only have 7 or 8.

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Hey tetratech,

For some reason, most of the regulars are no longer frequenting my low tech tanks, as such I assume you haven't seen today's update there yet.

I think there is a threshold on how many shrimpsters a tank can handle before they start to munch on the plants. Two weeks of 30 juveniles in the 20G was enough to clean the entire tank and then some --> namely the eating of my Najas indica, nice thin juicy leaves .

I am not certain if I wish to have more than 10 in the 125G, given that the Otos would like to have something to eat as well.

Ingo


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I am not certain if I wish to have more than 10 in the 125G, given that the Otos would like to have something to eat as well.
I do not see a problem with my shrimp eating plants but I wonder if their population explosion has resulted in my missing Otos. I am 99% sure I am down to one from five. My shrimp on the other hand are doing great. I still have 4-5 Amanos and a ton of Cherries. My guess is that the shrimp ate the food and the Otos didn't have enough left. The solo Oto seems pretty happy though.

Life goes on. Now is not a good time to replace much of anything as the Wife and I are looking to move wherever I can find a teaching job.

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Wings,

Good point, I actually up to this weekend have never thought about shortage in food with regards to shrimp and Otos.

It sure makes sense that these two groups od species compete for similar foods, although there are for sure preferences that are not shared, I have never seen an Oto eat my hair algae and I have never seen a shrimp eat of the glass.

Ingo


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I have never seen a shrimp eat of the glass.
Mine will walk the glass and eat off of it at times. Lately they have been on the plants at the surface of the tank. I think they may like flakes I feed the fish...

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Mine will walk the glass and eat off of it at times. Lately they have been on the plants at the surface of the tank. I think they may like flakes I feed the fish...


You must have some really nasty, stringy algae on your glass. I could see those shrimp swinging like Tarzan from one algae string to the next.

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I've seen that as well, Wings.

I've never seen Amanos go after the long stringy stuff already there, they seem to eat it as it grows. So to me it means that the hair algae is just starting to form on the glass, which is kind of like a warning bell that something is off. They let you know that algae is forming where it shouldn't before you can even see it.


Back in the saddle!
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I still have 4-5 Amanos and a ton of Cherries. My guess is that the shrimp ate the food and the Otos didn't have enough left.
Hmm, just as I thought I will try to hunt for some of these shrimpsters, now I just don't know. I like my otos, very very much. They are the acrobats of the tank.

Also, would the shrimpster be quick enough & bold enough to eat guarded apisto eggs or fry?

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Robyn,

I think the balance that needs to be achieved would allow for sure for a handful of Otos and shrimp, in particular if the latter are Amanos as they will not reproduce for sure.

About eating Apisto fry: I can see that, depending on the specifics. Shrimp can be rather fast, using a burst to get out of harms way. if the mother/father are not tight guardsmen then some eggs can easily become shrimp food.

Ingo


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I agree with LF, that given the opportunity the Amanos or maybe even the Cherries would steal the eggs and have a nice brunch with them. If you ever drop an algae wafer into a tank with Amanos, it's hilarious as the Amano hold the wafer as the fish chase it around the tank.



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Funny that you mentioned the wafer. I used to feed the Cories in my 20G a sinking wafer that I broke into 4 pieces. Once I added the Amanos to the tank there was no chance for the Cories to grab a piece, the Amanos rushed to them before the Cories could even blink and dragged them off to safer grounds to chew away

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So I had a little time today and paid a visit to the pool shop. Yup, I found Pool Fiter Sand, but it is unacceptable. It pretty much is as fine as Play Sand, as such way too find in comparison with the tank's ordinary gravel that makes up the rest of the substrate. I know exactly what this would lead to, namely:

Me putting in the Pool Fiter Sand, then realizing that it is nice but somehow doesn't match the other gravel, and then replacing the other gravel as well.

No way in hell I am going to do this though (well, not within the next few months, there it would be time for a redo anyway )

So, the search for a light colored inert substrate of larger grain size is still on,

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So I had a little time today and paid a visit to the pool shop. Yup, I found Pool Fiter Sand, but it is unacceptable. It pretty much is as fine as Play Sand, as such way too find in comparison with the tank's ordinary gravel that makes up the rest of the substrate. I know exactly what this would lead to, namely:


I'm confused. Sand is going to be finer grain than the gravel. What't the problem?

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Tetratech,

The way I see it, the substrates would clash too much. The gravel with its size of maybe 1/2 inch would start to look like boulders next to the pool filter sand. I have no doubt that I would like the sand, but it most likely would mean that I have to replace the gravel to match the sand, avoiding such a clash. If I had the densest of all jungles then the gravel would not be visible anyway, but I think the current layout of the tank will always reveal some substrate.

Makes sense?

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 89

This week has seen no water changes during the week, although I was very tempted to have at least one, because of the tannis from the new wood. But by no means was it as bad as last week.

Here is the tank yesterday in the morning before the water change:

Attached Image:

Before Water Change



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And here is the tank right after the water change, before any goodies were added (equilibrium, baking soda, and ferts).

As you can see, the tank seems much whiter.

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After Water Change



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Growth in the tank was ok, some plants grew more than others.

For example, the Najas indica on the right grew very well and needed to be trimmes. Here is a close-up before trimming:

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Najas indica



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The Pennywort on the left grew very well too, also needed a trimming as the plant reached the surface and started to block the water lettuce from freely flowing across the surface.

Again, a shot from before the trimming:

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Pennywort



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The plant that did not grow too well was the 'Cuba'.

Here is a shot from above made during the water change. One can clearly see the different leaf shape between the tops (submersed form) and the lower parts (emersed form):

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Cuba I



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The difference becomes even more obvious when viewed from the side. One can see that the top 2 inches of most stems show how the plant is supposed to look like. But, these 2 inches is all I got so far, from a plant that is supposed to grow really fast (and it did in the first week after being added). I assume that the emersed parts of the stems have used up their stored energy.

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Cuba II



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Last shot for this round, another full tank shot taken last night, about 10 hours after the water change. The tank is getting more tannins already, albeit the comparison to the previous picture is not fair as only the 2 10,000Ks are on in this picture.

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Full Tank - Week 89



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I think the tank looks really good. The wood definitely adds dimension, focus, contrast and the overall tank is crisper. Again I don't think the Anubias is a good corner plant, but I think you know that.

The tops of your cuba, look like my L.Aromatica when it's not growing well.

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Ingo the tank looks sensational as always , the tannins from the wood are not all that noticable from the pics.

I'm reluctant to comment on the scape other than to say that I love the beach/ river theme ( I wonder why )

I think I agree with the idea of a lighter substrate in that area , maybe not sand just a finer pale gravel .

Anyway just my 2c for what its worth. Love this tank and the photos look great .
Garry
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Again I don't think the Anubias is a good corner plant, but I think you know that.

Well then tetratech, how about if I put it all the way to the right of the tank, between the glass and the fern? And at least for the time being keep the left side a little lower?

I'm reluctant to comment on the scape

Garry, don't be! Any input is welcome, I can handle it when people tell me that this or that is not what they really like. Hey, what is the worst? I can always ignore the judgment and pay a price for it later

Ingo


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EditedEdited by tetratech
Well then tetratech, how about if I put it all the way to the right of the tank, between the glass and the fern? And at least for the time being keep the left side a little lower?
Isn't that still a corner? You guys from Jersey

P.S. I drove to Plainsboro, NJ yesterday. Fun trip, especially with the increased traffic from the P.R. Day Parade.

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Isn't that still a corner? You guys from Jersey

See, that is why you have the tank of the month and not I

Somehow, I got hung up on the left corner, ignoring that you were speaking of corners in general.

I guess that means that you actually cannot see a place for the large barteri anywhere in the tank, right?

And yes, I stay away from the Metro Area whenever there is some kind of Parade

Ingo


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See, that is why you have the tank of the month
Your probably right.

I guess that means that you actually cannot see a place for the large barteri anywhere in the tank, right?
It's size is the problem, so I think the only solution would be to keep it as small as possible and put it somewhere off-center near big wood.

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It's size is the problem


Honestly, I was contemplating of not adding it back into the tank when I did the last redo for exactly that reason. But attachments to this plant, as it has grown so well for me, kept me from disposing of it in some form (either throw it out or give it to some NJAGC members as a trade in).

What already seems like a large plant is actually only 4 of the original 12 equal sized "clippings" that I created a while back when I had to cut up the one mother Barteri as it was getting way too large for the last layout.

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 90

Well, this week had seen the death of one group of plants, the cubans. One could see it deteriorate by the day. Here is a shot from Friday showing part of the group. You can see that only the tops are in submersed growth form, and that little part is the result of three weeks:

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Cubans I



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A closer look reveals that some of the heads are actually dying off at the spot between old emersed and new submersed growth. Here is a look at one stem on Friday night starting to bend over:

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Cubans II



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And here is a look at the same stem from Saturday morning, all bent out of shape. By that time, 2 other stems had lost the tops completely, two more had brown tops, and a few others were still hanging in.

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Cubans III



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Having not changed ferts, even having Seachem fert sticks under the plants, having not changed the ligh duration, the culprit seems to be the light as it is reaching the plant. The pictue below shows what I mean. This water is taken from the middle of the water column, no gunk or such was added. The tannins, I assume from the large wood, make the tank tea colored and greatly reduce the light that reaches the plants. Cubans do need quite some light, I have seen shots of some that have come in the same delivery batch than mine under 6wpg in a 75G or so, and they are beautiful.

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Tea Anyone?



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And that was that for them in this tank, currently the few survivors part of a rescue mission in the 40G, updates there later.

Oh, at the same time when I took the shot of the bending head I also caught the Wisteria waking up, top still closed:

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Sleepy Wisteria



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So, to counteract the tannins, at least for a day or two, I performed 2 50% water changes, with about a 1 hour break between them to clean the 2028 filter. Here is the full tank after the second water change:

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Water Changes Done



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As you can see, the spot of the Cubans has been reclaimed by Narrow Leaf Java Fern. I had them in a bucket ever since the replant, replacing the water every week with "fresh" tank water. I am glad now that I didn't throw them out or gave them away.

Here is the fern:

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NLJF



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Another thing that the careful observer may have seen in the full tank shot is a change in how the "river" looks like. I received some plants during the week and basically parked them in the river. I kinda like it, so it will be parked for a little longer. This are 20 !!!! Nana Petites on 2 sticks.

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Nana Petites



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Here is another impressionist shot of the same area, as you may notice the male Apisto has been in both shots. The Apistos like that area as the female often slips into a personal gap in the big wood.

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Center of Attention



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Here is a closer look at the male, albeit not the best I ever took. I am glad that at least for one day I was able to view him without the tannins as they make him look rather pale and yellowish:

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Da Man



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The next two shot are typical (at least in my tank) courtship pictures. Male and female apisto take turns swimming in front of each other, or better said stand in front of each other. Then the one in front folds up the tail and slaps the other in the face with it

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Courtship I



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Here is the reverse with the female slapping the male. As you can see, she is really folding up that tail fin. I once have seen the male actually bite her in the fin during this courtship, and pulling her backwards, but no damage was done, no piece was missing.

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Courtship II



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Last but not least, the official tank shot for week 90, taken yesterday in the evening. I have to say that I value this shot very much, it has been a few weeks since the green in this tank appeared as lush as it did without the load of tannins.

I only hope that the tannis will wear down soon, I am not ready to counteract with Purigen yet as it would mean that I have to remove other media from the filer to make space for it.

Thanks for looking,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 90



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EditedEdited by tankwatcher
Hi Ingo

Hope the tannins settle down for you. Those 2 water changes must been a bit of an effort. the new nanas look good in the river area. I also really enjoyed the "tail slapping" antics of your apistos. Very cute. Mine have never done that.

Cheers
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also really enjoyed the "tail slapping" antics of your apistos


Thanks Robyn for the input and comments.

My Cacs in the 40G have shown a similar slapping thing as here, but by far less often and only half hearted. Well, we all know what kind of a looser the male in that tank is though

Ingo


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Hi L_F,
now I dare to give you a bit of input. First of all, great update as always!
I have to say that I do like the 'light breakfast tea color' of the tank but that is just me and I realize your concerns about diminished light penetrating and affecting light sensitive plants. Anyway, here it goes: IMHO one of the nicest plants in this tank is the Alternanthera and this group appears a bit diminished in the most recent pic. Overall, the addition of more Java fern to replace the ailing Cuban creates a bit of a 'curtain look'. A great addition is the group of nanas in the foreground as they create a focal point that is missing in this section 9the forefront of the tank) a bit. The wisteria is nice but it gives the appearance of a nicely trimmed English lawn (fish golf? ). I am thinking a minor interruption in form of another 'hole' or a smaller rock would be nice?

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now I dare to give you a bit of input.

How dare you criticize my tank!



Just kidding, of course,

Your input is much appreciated, here is the breakdown of your comments and my response:

- "great update as always!" - Thank you very much .
- "and I realize your concerns about diminished light ..." - Brown water is not my favorite, I like it clear better. I received quite some compliments during the last NJAGC meeting at my place when all members were astonished how clear my tanks are (were, in case of this tank, for the time being).
- "one of the nicest plants in this tank is the Alternanthera" - I couldn't agree more, and guess what --> growth of this plant stopped with tea water as well. Another reason why tea water is not so good.
- "creates a bit of a 'curtain look'." - I take it you mean that in a "not-so-good" way, and here I agree as well. My options were a) add the plants I have or b) leave a big open hole. Being a preacher of "stuff the tank" I would never leave a spot open that is not in the design as open. I have that fern on some wood and when it is time to fill the area with some other plant it will take about 5 seconds to remove the entire replacement group.
- "A great addition is the group of nanas ..." - Yeah, it is , and I actually had these planned for another tank that is undergoing its make-over in my head right now. I think I will remove them from this tank once I have made up my mind and find time for the makeover though. Just thinking of the market price for 20 Nana Petites and consider me buying a replacement to maintain these in this tank makes me shiver.
- "the appearance of a nicely trimmed English lawn" - what would be wrong with Hyde Park? Where would you suggest the hole?

Thanks so much for the input, much appreciated,

Ingo


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I was bored, so I manned the camera, attached the macro lens, and took a few shots. Nothing special came up though, with one exception being the last of these 3 shots that I am going to present.

Number one would be the No 1 in the tank, the Male Apisto:

Attached Image:

Male Apisto



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Next up would be:

Yes - I do have snails in the tank, but few and between. A sign of proper feeding, good plant health, and enough predators.

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A Snail



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Last but not least, when I was about to put the camera away, I saw this. An Amano on top of the glass below the light, roasted

He must have jumped out in the small open area in the back part of the top where the filter flows are entering the tank.

Who would have thought!

That's it,

Ingo

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Shrimp Cocktail



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Sorry for the shrimp and thanks for the education - I will disapprove of tea water in the future as well . It never entered my mind that this could be detrimental to the Alternanthera. What I meant with the lawn reference: the right side of the tank (foreground) appears very uniform with the Wisteria covering the gravel entirely. I was thinking that a small group of a different plant (nothing tall!) or a rock could create another focal point to disrupt this. Just a thought and there is nothing wrong with Hyde Park
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Guess I've been lucky I've never had that happen to any of my shrimp, although I guess they could have jumped out and fell behind the tank unknown to me.

Tank looks good as I said I like the big wood focus, but I think you could still build more midground around and make it more natural looking.

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Makes sense catdancer, I will think about what can be done.

tetratech - the midground is in the makings, it just has to grow . There are about 15 crypts on the right of the wood, in front of the area where the cubans were. And some other plants in smaller numbers as well. Maybe I will also use the pearl grass further back.

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Ingo , your Photographic skills never cease to amaze me.Wish I could get my macro lens to perform like that ?!

I showed your Pics of this tank to a few friends last night and they were blown away . It continues to look fantastic

However , a couple of points .
I actually think the removal of the cubans is a good thing. IMHO they looked out of place .

The Anubias in the river to me spoil the look of it and the black area behind and underneath the driftwood . I think that area creates focus and depth .
It certainly draws the eye into mysterious interior
and if I were you I'd be reluctant to clutter it up .

I'm sorry to hear about your Shrimp .

Keep up the great work , Well done again
Garry
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Hey LF. I gotta say I'm in the same opinion as you about tannins. I like a bright tank. It's a bit unnatural to have perfectly clear water in a planted setting I guess, but brown water just screams water change to me.

I like the look of this setup so far but I think there needs to be a bit more midground. I feel like there is a wall of stems and fern behind the carpet. Could just be the head on angle the picture was taken though. I know how hard it would be to get a decent angle shot of a 6 foot tank, and front on shots tend to be the most informative as well, so I'm not blaming you there.

I have to say the nana petites are a wee bit unnatural looking there, but still nice. I guess it won't matter either way since they will be moving. And I sure am jealous about 20 nana petites.



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Ingo,

This latest revision of the tank is looking very nice. As always I love watching this tank evolve from one layout to the next.

-Rick

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Thanks guys for the input, and constructive criticism ,

Yeah yeah, everybody want everything right away

Now that I have become a preacher of patience , I cannot go ahead and move things around constantly. Time, my children, time will change things .

Well, you get my point. I am with you on many things you have said, and that includes tetratech's Nana barteri comment, but I redid the tank and used what I had to set it up. A major advantage, IMHO btw, because none of the plants were stressed from shipping or different water conditions.

This is the great thing about such a redo. just like in the last one, you start of somewhat rugged, but over time you adjust little things here and there, and voila, the tank looks better and better. Once all is done, meaning you reached the limits of your talents for the current scape, you start all over again

I think the master would be very proud of me right now, but I have to assume that half of the readers here don't even know who I would be referring to

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, much much appreciated,

Ingo


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Yeah yeah, everybody want everything right away
Hasn't this tank been around like two years.

I think the master would be very proud of me right now, but I have to assume that half of the readers here don't even know who I would be referring
Oh stop, your making me blush

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Oh stop, your making me blush

-

Otherwise, I am speechless

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 91

Not much happened during the week with this tank. The tannins are not as bad but still cause growth issues, the thread with which I strung some Anubias Nana Petites on the spread out branches came off and some floated about the tank.

I did a 75% water change (wanted to do 2 x 50%, but got caught up in the Bolbitis removal in the 40G).

That's it, gotta go,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 91



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Ingo , Tank looks fantastic as usual . I see the Anubias are still on the river . .

You are obviously busy , but thats the shortest update I've ever seen from you .

Hope everything is all right

Garry
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Thanks Garry, here is another short one

Weekly Tank Update - Week 92

Nothing special happened this week, just very busy at work and such. I think I see some visible growth for the first time since the makeover, the tannins are still there but maybe weaker.

Here is the tank before the water change:

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Before Water Change



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And here is the tank a few hours after the water change. It is quite a bit brighter I think. Pearl Grass and Alternanthera show the growth from a week ago, everything else is the same old,

K, I will follow the entries in all other logs, but I am short on my time and as such will not be able to contribute too much,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 92



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Looks good LF. Looks to me like your alternanthera grew the most .

Hope work calms down for ya



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Ingo , Looks like the tannins are abating , certainly looks a lot lighter in the photos .
Your right I don't think I've ever seen this tank with less growth .

Hope work lightens up for you .
Its very quiet around here without your fascinating posts to read

Garry
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Thanks guys for the input

Weekly Tank Update - Week 93

Not much happened during the week, tannis are still there and hinder the growth. I also think now that the removal of the gunk in the substrate may slow down new growth as I took away some plant food.

One of the Rainbows has an injured pectoral fin but seems otherwise fine. Nana petites are one after the other coming off the wood as the thread is disintegrating too early.

I ran out of CO2 within two weeks of hooking up a new 10lbs bottle and I think I cannot get a seal anymore. What do you guys do to keep a seal? Tetratech - do you have a perma seal?

Enough for now,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 93



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I use plumbers tape to help create a tight seal.

Nice shot with the espei .



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Yeah, I second that. Great shot with the espei in front the wood!

If you mean betwen the cylinder and the regular I use teflon tape. Haven't had any leak problems yet.

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Thanks guys for the Espei comments and the tips on the regulator.

The guys at the welding shop explicitly stated that no teflon tape should be used between the regulator and the cylinder as the brass part of the regulator will seal very tight. I think my problem is with the white plastic fitting on the foot of the regulator and that this part is no longer capable of a tight seal. I used to use a common gray washer between the white seal and the cylinder but I was informed that the doubling up of seals (white and gray) would for sure cause a leak (and so it did the last time around).

Ingo


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They just say that because they don't like to remove the tape when someone brings the cylinder back. I can't imagine it does any harm. I've had problems with the one at work with no teflon tape, but not at home. We use the same type of regulator and everything.

I also use just the one white washer that came with the regulator instead of doubling up. Hopefully the leak is at the threads, where you can do something about it and not at the seams of the other parts. Use a soapy water solution to find the leak next time. Bubbles!



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Post InfoPosted 09-Jul-2007 14:16Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Ingo , Great shot as always , how many Harleys do you have now BTW.
Another quick question if you don't mind .
What is the plant in the back left ?

Garry
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The only part that would really cause a leak is the white washer. Take a look at how it connects together.

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EditedEdited by LITTLE_FISH
Thanks guys again for the input on the leak, it seems like it holds the pressure this time so I am not going to touch it now (of course when I come home from work it will be empty now that I said that )

Garry - to your questions:

* how many Harleys do you have now
Actually, this are not Harleys, this are Espei, Trigonostigma espei. I currently have about 25 left, but you may know from this log that I once had about 100. About 60 had been traded off and about 15 died so far of probably old age. This fish is my specialty - go and check the August 2006 issue of TFH for details.

* What is the plant in the back left?
Hm, in the way left is a group of cut up Anubias barteri of which I had a huge plant in the left center of the tank in my last layout. Right next to it is some Pennywort climbing up and over.

Thanks,

Ingo



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sodaaddict84
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first off awesome tank. i drool with envy every time i see it. but one question, in the last pic posted i see plant mass at the top of the water. is this floating plants or just a reflection

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"
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sodaaddict84
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first off awesome tank. i drool with envy every time i see it. but one question, in the last pic posted i see plant mass at the top of the water. is this floating plants or just a reflection

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"
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sodaaddict84,

There is a plant type on the surface, it is commonly know as Water Lettuce, aka Pistia stratiotes I think. It is a really fast grower and needs to be thinned out weekly to avoid too much shading and it is a highly dangerous weed in nature (killing entire water ways). It is though an excellent nutrient sucker.

To move on:

Weekly Tank Update - Week 94

Not much happened during the week, so here is a full tank shot showing the few things that did happen during the weekly maintenance:

Attached Image:

Full Tank 7/14/2007



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LITTLE_FISH
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As tetratech will notice right away, the Barteri group on the left is gone, he wore me down

In its place I added a collection of Najas indica stems that I had grown in the 29G and in various spots of this tank. I also trimmed some of the pearl grass and spread that out into the left side as well.

Attached Image:

New Left Side



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Although the last shot was for the Najas, the Espei seemed to have found there a new hangout spot.

So here is a shot showing the Espei a little more in focus:

Attached Image:

Espei



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The focus are of the tank, currently hosting the "Nana Petites on a Stick" is not so focussed anymore. The disintegrating string made quite a few of them come loose and I simply stuck them into the open substrate. That is where they will stay until I put them wherever they will end up for good.

Also, greetings from the Apistos:

Attached Image:

Focus Area



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The last picture for now shows the highly unorganized area to the right of the large driftwood, an area that I may "clean" a little during next weeks maintenance. For now it has to do.

And that is it for this week,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Unorganized Middle Section



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Oh my lord I haven't been here in AGES and your tank still looks amazing!

I want to come and live at your house Little Fish!

GFGxx

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GFG

Long time no see, glad you are still peaking in once in a while. Thanks for the compliments, the tank is just starting to settle after its latest LITTLE_FISH style redo and things are looking up by now (slowly).

Thanks again,

Ingo


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As tetratech will notice right away, the Barteri group on the left is gone, he wore me dow


No comparison, so much better and that Naja was a really nice choice for the left side. Great shot with the Espei swimming past.

I think you need to tighten up (bunchier and shorter) the red group and it will look more organized on the middle right.

My Scapes
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I think you need to tighten up (bunchier and shorter) the red group and it will look more organized on the middle right.

I am all the way with you on this one, tetratech

But given that the last redo was only like 4 or 5 weeks back I decided to take it slow and do one area per week max. So the red group section will be done maybe next weekend, if time permits. I am planning on moving (and of course trimming) the alternanthera to the right of the large driftwood, the spot currently occupied in the back by the narrow leaf fern. And that fern would move to the right of that alternanthera group, for the time being, until I feel comfortable to replace it with something else (was meant to be the cuba stems, darn).

Ingo


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Well that makes perfect sense, the slow redos, I couldn't agree more. Wow we are really agreeing on alot.

BTW - Spent the weekend in Albany at the Empire Cup where my son's soccer team beat some Jersey Elite Select Team.


Just thought I'd throw that in there!

My Scapes
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Ingo , as always your sense of whats right for your scape is spot on .
The Naja is a favorite of mine and it should look senastional when its fully grown .
I agree with Tetra on the comment about the red group , it would look fantastic if it stood out more .
Can't wait to see what you do there .

I see that the Nana's are still in the river
Still think it detracts from the effect .

Great shot of the Apisto's BTW .

The thought of you doing things slowly gives me faith that I also may be able to change in the future
As always a pleasure to read your logs .
Garry
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where my son's soccer team beat some Jersey Elite Select Team.





Yeah, I sometimes have the patience to wait with my changes.

Garry, the nanas will stay there until I have the time to redo the tank where they will eventually end up in, and that is going to be a while.
The Najas will soon start to be a problem as they grow so fast that they will be blown over by the small power head and the spray bar very soon. Frequent trimming will be a must.

Thanks for the positive comments,

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 95

I don't have too much time, but I will try to catch up with all your threads maybe on Monday at work, so for now just a quick update on this tank:

Here is the tank before the water change:

Attached Image:

Before Water Change



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As you may see, the Najas on the left is truly a fast grower, I doub't that I will keep it all that long in the high tech tank, way too fast.

In this close-up you can also the the diffuser on the left. I tried to clean it during the water change and what can I say, it slipped out of my hands into the sink and crash - 1000 pieces . I am glad I had a replacement one handy, same kind.

Attached Image:

Najas indica



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Here is a shot showing the amount of Water Lettuce that I remove weekly, this is on the top of a 5G bucket lit. In comparison, these are 5" tweezers on the left:

Attached Image:

Weekly Water Lettuce Removal



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After the water change I added another 9 Amanos from the 20G QT, there are now around 4 left in that tank. I was worried about the Apistos in this tank with the Amanos, and albeit I never see all od the 8 or 10 that I added a few weeks ago I see at least a few of them.

Attached Image:

Another 9 Amanos



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Last but not least, a full tank shot after the water change. You may notice that I moved things around a little in the area to the right of the big wood, nothing special though and for sure not the final design (nothing is final anyway).

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Tank Today



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Beautiful as always, L_F,
but what is going on with A. reineckii? It is still a small group. Is it still affected by 'black water' as you suggested several weeks ago?
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To me it looks wider, and not as tall. Must be doing some growing to get a trimming.

Looks great LF. I had similar problems with my water lettuce.



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Post InfoPosted 23-Jul-2007 05:21Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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No design or scape is ever final with you Ingo . Or me either for that matter .
I like what you've down on the right , and I'm sure you will improve it further yet .
The Tank looks very good as always .

Garry
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Hey Ingo,

Yeah I know what you mean about the Najas, sounds like the stargrass that grows so fast it only fits in for about 15 minutes until you have to trim. One of those plants I guess you use in a photo op when the timing is right, but not practical to keep long-term.

Tank looks very good. Tough to see any small changes in a full-tank shot since it's a 5-foot tank.

My Scapes
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This is turning into my favourite all time look for this tank. Very nice LF

Cheers
TW
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Wow, that looks AMAZING!!

How much time do you spend on it every week, would you say? I'm guess it takes a bit of work...
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Haven't visited your thread in a while, ingo, but man, looking good .
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Not you. The tank.
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LOL,

Really funny Cup, glad you like the looks of my tank better than mine, haha. Thanks for the compliment.

I am a little in a rush, but here are a few answers to the previous posts:

- catdancer - Matty is right, the Alternanthera had been trimmed when I moved them.
- Matty - Thanks.
- tetratech - Thanks for the compliment on the tank. I can't believe though that you don't remember that this is a 6' tank and not 5', LOL.
- Robyn - thanks so much.
- fishnewbie - These days I spend about 5 min feeding and ferting per day, and between 2 to 4 hours of maintenance on one day of the weekend, usually Saturday, on the tank.

Next post is a quick weekly update,

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 96

Not much going on, very good so as I don't have any time anyway.

Overall, the tannis are lessening, and plant growth is fine. I forgot to mention last week that I replace the two 6,700K PCs with new one, I somehow think the old ones were almost two years on the tank.

I did only minor trimming this weekend, one group of pearl grass and the Najas Indica.

That's it for now,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 96 - 7/29/2007



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Post InfoPosted 30-Jul-2007 00:03Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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If you get a chance next week while taking pics, I'd like to see some closer shots on the tank, like in thirds or something for more detail. It's a little hard to tell what's going on separate from the whole. In that aspect, however, it does look good.

Were the 2 year old bulbs the ones that run all day or only for a short burst?

My short burst bulb is probably 2ish years old now and I don't see too much problem with that. I'd want to replace the one that's on all day at a year.



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Post InfoPosted 30-Jul-2007 02:09Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Ingo , I agree with Matty .
I know you're busy but a few more detail shots would be great .

Garry
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Hi,
I have two CFs on my tank. One is on for 10hours/day and
the second for only 4 hrs/day. When I replace them, I
put the 4 hour light in the 10 hour socket, and the new
bulb in the 4 hour socket.

Frank

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fishmonster
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Love the tanks ingo, keep up the good work

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html
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Thanks guys for the input, detail shots have to wait until I have more time and until the last remains of the tannins are gone and growth is back to normal. Until then:

Weekly Tank Update - Week 97

All looks ok, nothing special going on in the tank. By now I have found 3 shrimp outside the tank, dead of course. Inside the tank I cannot find even one of the about 20 that I added overall. Probably went into the category "food".

That's it for now, will also post a shot of the 20 and 29,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 97



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no more updates?

Star of the stormy sea of my mortal life, may your light shine upon me so that I do not stray from the path that leads me to heaven.
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All looks ok, nothing special going on in the tank. By now I have found 3 shrimp outside the tank, dead of course. Inside the tank I cannot find even one of the about 20 that I added overall. Probably went into the category "food".


Amanos are pretty crazy shrimp. As you probably have noticed they can walk around on dry/slightly wet surfaces. Most other shrimp I have had to net don't do that. When I put all my cherries in the little tank along with my Amanos, the Amanos came up missing. One was found in the back of the filter but the rest where gone. I am guessing they tried to relocate. I never did find any bodies either...

BTW I am in NC now. The move was not fun. I will explain later if you want some of the details.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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no more updates?


Sure, more updates to come, but I have been in the home country for almost 2 weeks and just got back this weekend.

So quickly:

(Almost) Weekly Tank Update - Week 99

As mentioned, I have been away and the neighbor took care of feeding and fert adding. Went pretty well, the tank sure showed some growth. In particular the Najas indica was all over the tank as the strands got too long and floated around and got stuck in the other plants.

Here is today's shot, after the trimming, nothing special:

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 99



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fishmonster
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Ingo

I hope ya had a good time in the home country, we missed ya updates my friend. Tank is looking good. Glad nothing went wrong while you were gone.

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
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Ingo , welcome home . We certainly missed you around here . Hope you had a nice trip and glad to see everything went well with the Tank.
Garry
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Thanks all, now I am late again as I spent the weekend on the beach and have to do the updates today:

Weekly Tank Update - Week 100

Not such a special week, and I have one shot only anyway, no time for more.

Not much changes, one already bad looking Rainbow is MIA, I think he went to fish heaven (and belly of others).

I trimmed the Alternanthera and the pesky Najas indica, and that was it, plus water change of course.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 100



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What did you do with the beautiful Alternanthera? The little red bush looked so nice.
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Weekly Tank Update - Week 101

catdancer - The Alternanthera is still there, it just needs some trimming once in a while and when that is done, like last week, then it is not visible for a while.

The tank has finished its hosting of the Nana Petites for the 29G - that tank is redone now (go check if you haven't yet). So the sticks and plants are out from the opening, Pearl grass has been trimmed (pieces are also in 29), and that was that, besides the water change.

Here is the tank today,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 101



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Tank is doing well i see Ingo, Glad to see the Alternanthera is comming back.

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
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Weekly Tank Update - Week 102

Thanks fishmonster for the input.

Not much happened to this tank this week as well, just some minor trimming and the planting of some baby swords (previously at the shoot on the sword in front of the Alternanthera) in the open valley. All is getting a little messy by now, ferns start to shade the anubias to the point that they die off. Trimming needs to be done, but I have no time for it.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 102



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Weekly Tank Update - Week 103

Nothing happened, a little trimming here and there, and that was that, LOL.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 103



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Your tank is starting to look pretty wild. I understand the lack of time thing. The Brazilian Penny Wart looks pretty neat. I am tempted to try it in my set up. I feel like I need a few stems in it.

What is the report on the fish in this tank?

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 104

First of all, thanks for the input, Wings

Fish in the tank are getting less and less as I let the group of Espei die out. I think it is an old age thing as these guys are with me for up to 2 years now. I wait until the group is really small, then I may actually replace the substrate in the tank. This way I don't have to store too many fish in other tanks.

On to the weekly thing, not much happened. Just some minor trimming and a water change.

Here is the shot,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 104



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From here, I really like the look of what's going on in the center/just left of center. I'd like to see what's going on there in some detail. Looks very neat. Nice and healthy.



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Ingo , yes I agree with Matty , a detailed look at all parts of this tank would be fantastic,
when you get some time .
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Fish in the tank are getting less and less as I let the group of Espei die out.

Uhm, I thought the espei are breeding in this tank and this way should replemish the pool of younger fish or did I miss something?
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Interesting about the fish. I wonder why that's happening. Probably because your not a beginner anymore

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Probably because your not a beginner anymore


No, that is not the reason, although I actually was hoping that I went from beginner to intermediate like about a year ago.

I simply want to reduce the hassle if I should decide to do an all-out makeover.

The Espei have been breeding in this tank with great success, but since adding the Apistos and Rainbows less and less fry made it to adulthood. Apistos are excellent hunters for small stuff, they stalk the food first and then shoot forward.

Also, over two years with the same large school is getting boring.

Detail shots - nah, not at the moment. I need to change quite a few things before I believe that details should be shown.

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 105

Not much has changed this week in the tank, I did some minor trimming and a little more on the Pennywort which seems to have become too much (shading of other plants).

See, with all that stuff, I completely forgot that the tank celebrated its 2 year anniversary on the 24th of September. This means that tetratech's 72G is also 2 years old, congratulations!

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 105



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Wow! I can't believe you have had this tank for two years. It has gone through a ton of changes. Would you happen to have time to highlight the different stages for us?

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Ingo , And I read everone of those entries befor I started my Tank
Congrats on the anniversary .

Garry

PS , A recap would be fantastic , great suggestion Wings .
He said hopefully
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Weekly Tank Update - Week 106

Ok, based on popular demand, , I give you a quick review. I decided not to search for the prettiest pictures of the last 106 weeks, but to go strickly in 10 week intervals (with the exception of week 100, where I didn't even have a picture, there I selected the week earlier, 99)

Here we go:

This is week 0, meaning the tank had just been set up:

Attached Image:

Week 0



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What can I say, it was a classic beginners layout, typical plants, and what not. AND OF COURSE NOT ENOUGH PLANTS.

So the next ten weeks were spent in algae control, adding and removing fast growers, and what not, LOL.

Here is week 10:

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Week 10



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By week 20, the tank has changed for the umptieth time already, I always had to mess with it. based on NowherMan6's suggestion I added some wood to the tank.

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Week 20



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I cannot believe that it is already over 85 weeks ago that I got this wood, time goes by when you are having fun (or you are busy).

By week 30, loads of Star Grass were growing in the tank, just to keep it stable. Maintenance meant trimming of this plant every other week, with the complete removal of the stems and throwing out the old bottoms. What a pain!

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Week 30



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Conceptually, week 40 saw still the same tank, the most stability ever since setup.

I added a few more plants, but the structure stayed.

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Week 40



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By week 50 I started playing with the scape a little again, trying to make it look somewhat good. I don't think it worked to well, but it kept me busy

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Week 50



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But not for too long, as by week 60 the Island layout was already established, .

I just now notice how much Alternanthera I had in there, and this gigantic Barteri.

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Week 60



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More plants have been added by week 70 and the island became more integrated with the rest of the tank. The Blyxa on the left is just floating up, it wasn't really that tall.

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Week 70



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Week 80 is still similar to week 70, another period in the life of this tank that hasn't seen too many changes in short sequence.
Note how much the needle leaf fern has grown in the last 20 weeks.

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Week 80



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Every period of rest (aka stabil tank) has a period of change (aka redo), that is the Ingo way of having many tanks in one box.

Week 90 saw the currently last major redo, with the addition of a giant chunk of wood and such.

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Week 90



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Not too much has changed then over the next 9 weeks, so here at week 99 things are still similar, with the exception of the removal of the last remains of the previously glorious Barteri (last shot on the way left).

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Week 99



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And last but not least, here is the tank today. Still very similar to the previous 19 weeks, I just don't have the time to rip it apart again. Or to actually scape this monster.

Hope you enjoyed the review,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 106



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Thanks for posting all the pictures! It is pretty crazy how much our tanks change. My personal favorite is week 60. I think that it was a well designed layout.

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Ingo,

Thanks for showing the changes in the look of the tank over the two or so years you have had this going. Im glad that you and garry made me realise that putting both previous shots and new shots together you can really see the difference it makes each week or month.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
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Ingo , Thank you , Thank you , Thank you . Like a trip down memory lane .
I actually love all the stages of this tank . I'm constantly amazed at how
good hardscape can disappear in even very well planned tanks . I must
admit that Wings choice is very stunning , I do like the island effect .
However my ( and I think yours as well ) constant need to meddle and try
new things means that the empty ( realitively) spaces get filled up in time .
Nothing wrong with that , its fun .
Can't wait to see what you do to change this scape in the future .

Thanks again for taking the time to do the review

Garry
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Thanks guys for the comments and your display of appreciation of the "Summary Effort"

Yeah, I for sure am not at a stage with this tank yet where I could give it a long rest and not bother messing with it, if it weren't for time limitations (need a whole day at least per makeover) and actually the concern of having fish. If I had no fish in this tank then I would redo it even more often as I would be able to take breaks during the process. And no, don't suggest that I could get holding tanks for the fish, I would get in trouble.

New ideas are forming in my head recently, but it is too early to speak them out loud.

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Update - Week 107

Not much maintenance has been done on the tank for yet another week, as such it is no wonder that it looks more and more like a jungle.

2 of my dwarf rainbows seem to reach the end of the line, similar to another one about 2 months ago. They are more or less just hanging and breath rather heavy. When this happens in small fish then it is usually a matter of days, but with the last rainbow it was an entire month. I will see.

Other, all is the same,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 107



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New Ideas , Ingo , come on lets us in on your thoughts
Surely you can house your fish in one of your other tanks .
There not over stocked from what I can see.
I can feel the 'Ingo" style redo can't be far away .


Garry
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2 of my dwarf rainbows seem to reach the end of the line, similar to another one about 2 months ago. They are more or less just hanging and breath rather heavy. When this happens in small fish then it is usually a matter of days, but with the last rainbow it was an entire month. I will see.
Sorry to hear about your rainbows. As you might remember, I didn't have great luck with them. It was a shame as I think they are really cool fish. How old do you think yours are? I wonder if they have short life spans.

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 108

Garry - it will take a while until an Ingo-Style make-over is coming up, I will have to change the 40G first and only then would find time for this one. Maybe within the next 5 months though.

Wings - My Rainbows (one died this week, 3 left and one looking poor) are about 2 years old. I do think that they don't have a long live span, at least not in my water settings. I have done no research though.

On to the tank:

I spent 3 hours on Saturday to get just the small left side in order, not really prettying it up, just making sure it does not become a total jungle. In particular the trimming/replanting of the HM took a looooong time. Next week I will try to do the mid/right section, but I am not sure if I will have the time for it.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 108



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Ingo , sorry to hear about your Rainbow . Understand the time issue , Just wanted
to know what you could possibly do to improve this marvelous scape .

Garry
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Ingo

Sorry about the rainbows man. I have seen some upclose and they are really interesting fish and have some awesome color. I do like this scape. Infact im at the opposite of garry on this one and I think you should leave as is.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
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Ingo, this is what I found:

Life span of rainbow fish: depends a bit on what you really have but the average estimate is 3 to 5 years with the bigger ones like the Boesemani topping it. It also depends where the fish are coming from and how inbred they are (inbreeding is only good for color, otherwise ...) and the conditions they were raised in (food, hormones, etc). Another factor might be water temperature: some rainbows require rather high temperatures like discus, while others stay healthy at moderate tropical aquarium temperatures. I don't know which ones you have. The Baensch, part 2 has some nice listings

Claudia



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Weekly Tank Update - Week 109

Thanks all for the input and concerns about the Rainbows. Claudia, I have Neon Dwarfs, as the name says they are small and as such probably on the shorter end of the lifespan scale. Another one is going to bite the dust rather sooner than later, but that is the way it is, we all have a limited lifespan.

Anyway, I was way too busy at work, I literally worked 26 hours straight (ok, I napped 20 min) into Saturday and as such found only time for the water change.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 109



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Weekly Tank Update - Week 110 and 111

Didn't have time to update last week, so here are both weeks. (seems like nobody cares anyway)

Week 110

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Week 110



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And here is the tank this week. Don't worry about the plant group in the open spot in the front, it is "on hold" for trading at the next NJAGC meeting this week.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 111



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Nice job, what species of Hydrocotyle do you have growing in there?
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(seems like nobody cares anyway)

Ingo , Oh we care . We're just waiting for something to happen .

Garry
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(seems like nobody cares anyway)
I think that we all know how busy you are.

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I bet it would look spectacular in person. I doubt the FTS give it justice. Too much going on to take in one shot.



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Post InfoPosted 16-Nov-2007 02:14Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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They say it's a lifestyle and this tank reflects Ingo's. Busy and wild with a sort of reckless abandon. I'm envious

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Terrible having to work such long hours but at least you get to come home to a really cool and peaceful looking tank. I can only dream of having a big tank all fully planted like that.
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Weekly Tank Update - Week 112 and Week 113

Thanks guys for the input.

You will have to live with FTSs for a while longer, I am just not in the groove to get the details all worked out, LOL.

Here is a shot from week 112, a week ago from today. As you can see, more of the same "Busy and wild with a sort of reckless abandon", right tetratech?



Attached Image:

Week 112



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And here is a shot from today, week 113.

As you may note, a few things on the right side have changes, I will let you do the detailed comparison.

Let's just say that "other changes" made me do it.

Have fun,

Ingo

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Week 113



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Post InfoPosted 26-Nov-2007 01:20Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
lotec25
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EditedEdited by lotec25
The tank looks Gorgeous. I am new here so i don't have a lot of input. I like the look of all the the pictures i have been reading this thread for 2 days now. And i am going to steal some ideas from you.
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Wingsdlc
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What did you do with all of your ferns? Are they going to the club? The right side looks much better. I am not sure what the other changes are though....

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Countryfish
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Ingo , Very tidy , dare I say it a very different look on the right compared to the left . Still thats right up my alley so I love it .


Garry
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Weekly Tank Update - Week 114

Thanks guys for the input.

lotec25 - Welcome
Wings - I guess you figured out by now what the "other changes" are, aka 40G
Garry - thanks for being so patient and giving me your input although I shine with neglecting your thread

Otherwise, nothing new, didn't have the time to tidy up the left side, maybe some other week.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 114



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Dang that's a stunning tank !
That last pic is great and it's interesting how you're almost back to that island thing except it's shifted over. The first island shot is my fave. I'm having a hard time finding needle-leaf java fern around here.

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 115

DaMossMan - hi there, long time no see

Actually, I think this tank resembles a Dutch layout the most of all my tanks, although not fully.

On to the uptate itself:

I did manage to put the left side of the tank into a more ordered layout, with new plants being Rotala clippings from the new 40G layout and Bolbitis from the old 40G layout, having been stored in a bucket with water for over 2 weeks. It is still rather small and may not take off at all, but we will see.

Here is the full tank:

Attached Image:

Week 115



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I am aware that the middle section now needs to be "cleaned up", but I am not in a rush.

Here is a closer look at the left half,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Left Half



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lotec25
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Little_Fish,

What are the red/green plants on the right and left side? i am looking for something like that for our 55 gallon to add some color to it.

Tank looks amazing i have been looking for a local aquarium group in my area still have not found one. I look how your tanks look just don't know if i want to run CO2 yet.

Rob
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LF,

The tank looks a lot better with the left side cleaned up. How many different plants do you have in there now? It seems to be getting to quite a few.

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Hi LF!

This is the first time i've seen your tank + log and lemme tell ya! It is Very Gorgeous. The closest thing im going to have to that is my Nano tank im setting up after christmas. This tank is an inspiration and i hope you keep it up!

Sincerely, Goby

Ps; Sorry for the loss of them rainbows! Thats too bad that they live <5 yrs! Hope they breed for you, and habe generations of rainbows!

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Thanks for a detailed shot LF, that is one whopper of an apisto in the front there. It's much easier to see what's going on the left side now. Looks great to me .



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Ingo , Ahhhh...our friend has reappeared ( I'm not game to use his name after your
comments in your 40 log). I must say this scape is now taking on a very different
aspect from the last few months . Could this be a new Ingo ... graudual change over
instant redo ... I don't believe it yet
Anyway enough fun I love the look, there is some focus again , but if I may be
permitted a small criticism...gulp... it still needs more IMO. Not sure what you have
in mind , but after seeing the amazing things you've done in your other tanks ,
I can't wait to see what you do next . Looking forward to it

Garry
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Weekly Tank Updates - Week 116 and 117

Thanks guys for the input, here are some answers to your questions:

lotec25 - Rob, the red plants on the left and right are Alternanthera reineckii, I hope that's the plant you meant. Yeah, a local club is a good thing, I hope you find one.

Wings - No idea how many plant species are in there, maybe around 15, but I am just guessing.

GobyFan2007 - What? This is the first time you see this log? How can one miss it? LOL - Thanks for the input and the compliments though, I hope it helps you with your setup.

Matty - The apisto is of course my male viejita II, the pride of this tank. He and his lady are truly beautiful fish and I am glad I bought them based on the advise received from a knowledged employee at the LFS, there they were all gray and sad looking, about 2 years ago.

Garry - Given that you have done a great job on your super-sized tank you are permitted to "a small criticism" any time . LOL. The reason for smaller changes on this tank rather than one monster change is very simple: TIME. It would take me way too long these days to redo the tank completely, but trust me, I have thought about it. At some point I may do this, but not now.

Here is a shot from last week:

Attached Image:

Week 116



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Basically, I did nothing with regards to the plants over the last two weeks, instead I let it all settle. As such, this weekend's shot is the same than last weekend's, but with some plants showing some growth.

Thanks again for the input,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 117



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Weekly Tank Updates - Week 118 and 119

Week 118 has not seen many changes at all, just some trimming of the Rotala and the Alternanthera. I didn't get around to do something about the HM hedge on the right front.

Here is the picture:

Attached Image:

Week 118



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Now this week I did find the time to trim the HM, and I added a few more bunches of Nana Petites to the layout. They are probably not in their final spots though as I did not have the time to think it through yet.

That's it,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 119



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EditedEdited by saltnewbie
lol i remember this thread like 2 years ago when is topepd posting here.

good to see its still going.

edit, wut happened to taht other thread that was almsot as long as yours little fish??

his name was tetra tech or something. he had a 90 gal i think.
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LF,

Your tank is looking much less like a jungle and more like you are planning things out. I like it!

55G Planted tank thread
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Wings ...I agree ...looks much better . I still like to see the river/beach cleaned out . Would bring back the focus that the tank had a while ago.

Still the most beautifull tank I've seen at FP however .

Garry
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Weekly Tank Update - Weeks 120 and 121

Thanks folks for the input, saltnewbie - that was tetratech's tank, he moved on to better things, LOL.

Wings and Garry, thanks for the compliments!

Week 120 has seen no changes except a water change, here is the picture:

Attached Image:

Week 120



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During the current week I added some bunches of R. rotundifolia from the 40G as I had then left over after making more ground for the HC there.

I also removed a few plants from the open spot as they went to the NJAGC meeting with me for trades.

Here is the tank for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 121



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Ingo ...Nearly ... just a bit more out of the beach . Looks fantastic as usual.

Garry
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bratyboy2
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l,il fish omg wow i have not been on the site in so long and just glanced back to see the tank now i can honestly say it has never looked better wow i wish i was you lol
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Weekly Tank Updates - Weeks 122 and 123

Garry and bratyboy2 - Thank you guys so much for the feedback!

Well, lots of nothing happened in the last two weeks, some minor trimming happened on the left section of the HM, and that was all last week. Here is the shot:

Attached Image:

Week 122



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And even less happened this weekend, LOL. As in: absolutely nothing, not even a water change (no time yet).

Here is the tank from this weekend,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 123



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Ingo,

I really like the tank as it is (especially the A. reineckii spreading out). The only plant I would trim is the HM hedge in front if I am allowed to suggest.
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LF,

I haven't responded to your logs in a while though I do stop in pretty often.

Do you happen to have any tricks up your sleeve for growing Alternanthera reineckii. I got a few stems about a month ago and they don't seem to be doing really well yet. When I first got them the lost quite a few leaves. Now the new leaves are growing in pretty small. How long after a trim does it take for them to settle in?

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Weekly Tank Update - Weeks 124 and 125

Thanks catdancer and wings for the input. Some answers will follow, but upfront a word on A. reineckii:

I do not have a trick up my sleeve, sometimes mine grow well and sometimes they don't. I currently have a situation where difformed leaved stems grow side by side with beatiful stems, no idea why.

Update week 124:

Not much happened that week, the Rotala on the left grew way too tall and had to be trimmed. And while I was at it I gave the HM some haircut, but not too much.

Here is the tank last weekend:

Attached Image:

Week 124



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Then came this weekend, and I had a little more time available. I used it to re-organize most of the right side. Here is what I did:

Remove, trim, and replant all tops from the Alternanthera
Remove, trim, and replant all tops from the Lobelia cardinalis (small or normal form)
Remove, trim, and replant all HM on the right side of the tank
Remove, trim, and replant most of the Wisteria on the right side
Trim the Narrow leaf fern on the right side
Trim the Narrow leaf fern just a little on the main piece of wood
Trim the Pennywort on the main wood

Took quite a few hours, I have to say, as it also included a replacement of the head gasket on the 2028 which was leaking when the filter was turned off, an issue that some people already had as well. This of course also meant cleaning the filter itself, for the first time in months.

Here is the tank this weekend,

That's it,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 125



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Post InfoPosted 18-Feb-2008 15:28Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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The side you got work done on looks fabulous! I know how long that HM can take to trim, remove, and replant. That's why I got into the habit of lawnmowering it. Looked horrible for two days, but I think it's a fair trade for the easy route.



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Post InfoPosted 18-Feb-2008 17:30Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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LF

Im really impressed with this tank and some of the plants you have named off I am really impressed with and I think i am gonna have to go back and see what else you have added to this tank.....The question i do have is, could you give a detailed explanation on what you use to trim your tanks and some steps on how you achieve that or are those a LF Secret??? LOL

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
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Matty - yeah, I often use the hair cut method as well, but it is messy, in particular when having floating plants and a 125 where both arms are submersed to the arm pits,

In addition, after a few haircuts the bottom sections don't look all that good anymore.

fishmonster - Thanks for the compliments. What I use for trimming? A secret? No, not at all, but all plants need different styles of trimming, from simple cutting off stems to rhizome separation. All is common (aquatic) knowledge and can be read about on the web all over the place. Nothing special, for sure

Ingo


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Nice job with the clean up of the right side. Also thanks for the info on your A. reineckii. I am getting some new leaves in on mine but they are way smaller than the ones that melted off when I got it. Maybe they just need more time to settle in.

Up to your arm pits? I so understand what you go through! My 55G is the stand I made for the old 40 long. Lets just say I have to stand on a chair and hunch over to take care of my ET. It's a pain but it's slowly paying off. Maybe someday I will get pictures of it.

55G Planted tank thread
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Ingo ...Nice job..the tank is looking as good as I've ever seen it . Well done .

Garry
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Thanks guys for the input and compliments!

Now I just need to find enough time to beautify the left side a little more, at least the HM needs the same routine than the one on the right had last weekend.

Ingo


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Weekly Tank Updates - Weeks 126 and 127

Last week had seem the redo of most of the plants on the left side of the tank, similar to what I did the week before on the right side. It didn't take all that long though as less of a space needed to be handled.

Here is the tank last week:

Attached Image:

Week 126



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And this week the tank saw the final mayor trimming, this time it was the Rotala group on the left that was taken out and got the bottoms cut off before replanting.

I see already that the Alternanthera is getting to large again, so parts of the cycle will have to be repeated
Great!

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 127



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Ingo

That Anthera is looking awesome. Also after what you said about looking online i found the ADA toolset but they were waaay to expensive.. What reasons are there for using those tools??

Is the emphasis on this tank almost like a mountain range of plants so that there is a large peak in the middle then dips, smaller peaks to the side then dipping again. That is what i am seeing from this tank.



Thanks for your input as always, Shane
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Weekly Tank Updates - Weeks 128 and 129

Shane - Good tools go a long way in a planted tank, in particular good tweezers and scissors. But they don't have to be from ADA.

The tank has not seen any major changes for last weekend:

Attached Image:

Week 128



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And again no changes done for this weekend, except some minor glass cleaning for the NJAGC meeting.

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 129



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EditedEdited by countryfish
Ingo ...looking spectacular as usual ...don't know if its the glass cleaning but thats the sharpist photo of this tank in some time .

I still think the beach / river needs more defination , but other than that the Alternanthera looks amazing and really gives this scape a fantastic lift . Still my favourite .


Garry
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Weekly Tank Update - Week 130

Thanks for the comments Garry,

I am not sure what I would like to do with the river in the medium run, it ends at the wood now anyway as the road to the back is blocked by Nana petites.

Workwise, the tank has seen the trimming of ONE stem of Alternanthera, now that is what I call convenient maintenance, LOL.

Here is the tank today,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 130



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Post InfoPosted 24-Mar-2008 00:28Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Wingsdlc
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I am guessing that it is just the picture but the tank looks extra dark.

I am really quite surprised that this tank hasn't seen a make-over in quite a while. I guess you have been too busy with other things.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 24-Mar-2008 13:21Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
LITTLE_FISH
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Yes Wings, the tank is not really that dark, but having larger plants now then a few weeks back for sure makes a difference. and that is being picked up by the camera 10 fold.

Also, I still play with post-shot processing

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 24-Mar-2008 14:53Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Wingsdlc
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Yeah that was kind of my guess. I can't wait to see an updated picture. It has been quite a while. Hope all is well!!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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