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Hi,

It's been a while since I've posted anything about my
tank. The tank had been set up for 15 continuous years
and I was beginning to have difficulty controlling the
nitrate and the BGA. When we returned from two weeks
vacation back east we found the tank completely out of
control. The BGA had taken over nearly every bit of
the tank, and the only thing to do was add Erythromycin
to the tank and black it out.
A week later, the BGA was dead and had disappeared. The
plants were shot as they had been thickly coated with the
BGA and then the week without any light finished them off.
They were mush.

It was time to tear the tank down, overhaul it, and set it
back up. I decided to remove the UGF and stick with the
Flourite substrate. I purchased a couple of 5 gallon
buckets from Home Depot and transfered the fish. Then I
took nearly a day to scrub, and wash, and clean, the tank
and the gravel. I washed the gravel rigorously until the
run off was clear, and then added it to the tank and filled
it with water.

While the filter (an old Aqua-clear 150 with a piece of
sponge media) was running along with my Vortex Diatom Filter
(to remove the Flourite clay particles).

I went to the nearest pet warehouse and found four
very sad looking sprigs of Wisteria. That was all they had
for plants. I talked the sales person down to $2 for them
and a very sad looking Amazon Sword plant.
I carefully cleaned the dead and dying leaves and dead
roots from the plants and placed them directly under my
light in a straight line. I also placed the sword where
I wanted it to mature.

I chose the Wisteria because it is a fast growing plant that
will eagerly soak up any extra nutrients. I chose the sword
because I really like them and with the Flourite, I would
not have to worry about any iron deficiency.

I replaced my two year old CFL fluorescent light with a
65 watt, 8800K, CFL and set the timer for 10 hours lighting.

I expected that the Wisteria would grow vertically toward
the surface and that when it reached the surface I would
cut it in half and plant the tops elsewhere in the tank
continuing that process until I had the "look" that I wanted.

Once the plants started to grow, I resumed the injection of
bottled CO2 at a rate of one bubble per second (Bps).

Much to my surprise, the darned stuff grew along
the surface of the gravel sending up small shoots
and leaves along its way. Three months later, I have
a carpet of Wisteria that completely covers the bottom
of the tank. Its even filled in around the Sword
and growing up between its leaves. I've read that
a strong light can cause some plants to grow along
the gravel rather than straight up into it. But this
is the first time I've had it happen.

I salvaged several MTS snails from the tank before cleaning
but I feared that most were simply washed over the sides in
my gravel cleaning. I noticed some at night after the over
haul and was excited that they were making a return. They
do wonders keeping the gravel aerated. About the time I
had a complete carpet of plants, I started noticing that the
MTS snails were all over the sides of the tanks and on the
plants. To see them out during the daylight usually means
that the population is too large (fed by excess waste and
food products), or that the gravel has become too compacted
for them to burrow through, or that the tank gravel has
become clogged with detritus and is becoming toxic to the
snail. After only 3 months? Something else was wrong!

One day last week, I was trimming (lawn mower style) the
wisteria when I felt a cold water current. Where did that
come from? I explored, and discovered that the water
temperature below the plants was 60 degrees, and above the
plants was the normal 76-78 degrees. Wow! I realized that
the gravel was too cold for the snails and they were living
among the plant leaves, that was why I was seeing so many
of them. We keep the home at 65 degrees at night and a
max of 72 during the day.

I've also noticed that the plants, while looking perfectly
healthy, just are not taking off, the way I expected.
Especially with the injected CO2. I'm guessing that it
has to do with the cooler temperature of the gravel.
Even the sword, while producing beautiful green leaves, has
not put out any runners (at least no shoots have projected
through the wisteria leaves). So, now I have to figure out
weather to leave things as they are and see how things
progress, or to thin out the carpet and maybe allow the
gravel to warm up.

So, that's the saga, and here is the tank right after
a water change.

Frank


Attached Image:


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Frank

That is one advantage of the UGF it circulates the water through the substrate and keeps the substrate at the same temp as the water.

As for the cold substrate what is the glass bottom siting on if it exposed to the cold air there could easily be a heat loss that way.

Frank you have been playing around with tanks for years and you should know by now when it comes to plants expect the unexpected. It "could" be a different variety or just the conditions it is growing in.

If you have another tank put a piece into it and see what happens.

Personally I like the carpet effect now you might have to look for another backing plant.

Frank I have edited this about 2 hrs later.
I did a few water and substrate temp tests.

The 45lt HOB Cardinal & CR Shrimp tank the substrate was 3c cooler.
In the 5ft with the UGF & Eheim Pro11 canister it was so close to the same about .5c difference.

Also with your Co2 you would not have a strong water flow. I have a 6ins air wand in the 45lt tank as well.

Both tanks are sitting on 20mm styrene foam sheeting. this stops any loss of temp as well

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

that looks like a eels play house they would tunnel threw thoes plant like there was no tommarow.

Its great to see that you've started a journal of sorts after encouraging so many of us to start them Frank

WOW!!! what a change from what that tank used to be!! I recall another member's tank that had wisteria growing along the substrate, but I think in that case they expended a fair amount of effort to achieve a look that you seem to have effortlessly created.

What is your long term vision for this tank? I get the impression that the wisteria was initially going to be a stop-gap nutrient sink until you decided where you wanted to head plant & scape wise; is that still the case or are you going to stick with the wisteria field?

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

thats one of the funny qwerks about wisteria, if pruned low on the stem it sends out runners and spreads horizontally, if left uncut it shoots straight to the surface and soaks up all the light choking out most everything else, with that thick, lush carpet.... keep the pruners handy for when it really "takes off".
Lookin' good !!


J.

Hi,
Yes, I do need to come up with a plan for the tank other
than to let everything grow on its own.

This is the tank a week later. The vertical growth has
started, and I'm going to have to get out the lawn mower
on Wednesday when I have some free time.

To top everything else off, a friend of ours is moving and
stopped by with a very TINY "aquarium" with two Siamese
Fighting fish (males) and gave them to Susan while I was
out.
The darned thing barely holds two glasses of water!
If it had been only one fish, I'd have dropped it into
the tank and it probably would have thought it was
in heaven - until my savage Black Skirt Tetras saw
those long flowing fins, and decided on "target practice"

Wish I knew someone in the Denver area who would like them.

Frank

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-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Sounds like you need another tank for at least one of those bettas Frank - looking forward to the journal on the planted desktop nano

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

This is the tank yesterday.
I've got to do something about the bettas. I just don't
have room for a second tank! Darn it.
Frank


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-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--