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Subscribe Countryfish 240g Tank log
Countryfish
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The Stelatta ??? growing even more and getting a pink tip on one branch.

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Countryfish
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Close up of the Crypts at the base of the Driftwood

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Post InfoPosted 11-Sep-2007 13:56Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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A shot of the Annubia B. showing an old leaf covered in BBA which is browned off . Also showing a new leaf with no algae . Fingers crossed this continues ..

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Countryfish
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Thats it for the plants this week . Just a couple of fishy shots to finish . An SAE having a rest .

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Countryfish
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The Big Black Shark .

Thats it for this week . Probably be very little done in the tank next week .
Have done enough for the moment .

Garry

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Post InfoPosted 11-Sep-2007 14:04Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
TW
 
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Enjoyed all your pics, and like everyone else, also liked being able to sneak a peak at your smaller tank. Very nice tank, that. My fav shot this week is the one I think you said was an accidental shot, being the tank at an angle looking down the river.

Good that you seem to have beaten the algae - fingers crossed that continues.

There is nothing to complain about in any of your tanks & you've shown that you can grow plants so well. If I was going to wish for anything to change, it would be if you could find some way to hide the equipment that stands out so strongly on the left side of the tank.

Otherwise, everything is beautiful.

Cheers
TW
Post InfoPosted 11-Sep-2007 15:06Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Garry,

beautiful pics, as always. I particularly like the accidental shot of the tank! Your plants look gorgeous. Please be patient with the algae issue - the lighting regimen works. I hardly noticed until one day I looked at the filter intake and saw that it was completely clean. That was when I realized that almost all algae had vanished. I would not worry about little green spos, otos need something to eat as well algae are part of our hobby

BTW, your black shark looks close up a bit frightening, if I might say so. Beautiful animal, nevertheless

Claudia
Post InfoPosted 11-Sep-2007 16:44Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
FRANK
 
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Hi,
Cut off and discard that anubis leaf with the black
spot. I'd remove every leaf that has that stuff growing
on it as well as any that are yellowing.
Frank


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Post InfoPosted 11-Sep-2007 23:45Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Wingsdlc
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Hi,
Cut off and discard that anubis leaf with the black
spot. I'd remove every leaf that has that stuff growing
on it as well as any that are yellowing.
Frank
I second this.

For the green spot I would up for phosphates. That seems to do the trick for me and others here at FP. I think I had my phosphates up to about 3.something ppm 3x a week.

As for the scape. I would try and trim the back plants on the right to make them a bit more bushy. Other than that I don't know what else to say.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 12-Sep-2007 01:36Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
coop
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love the big bushy polysperma.still say you need snakeskin gouramis. i actually saw some festivus cichlids in the lfs. they where beutiful. im pretty sure they wll get along with most of your fish. they where in a 55g with angels and gouramis at the lfs.
Post InfoPosted 12-Sep-2007 01:57Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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If I was going to wish for anything to change, it would be if you could find some way to hide the equipment that stands out so strongly on the left side of the tank.

Robyn , Yes I've been a bit slack about coming up with a better solution for the UV .
The Fluval FX5 doesn't lend itself to adding a UV to the output unfortunately.
I've been looking at Resun Cannisters with internal UV . Not sure if they are ok or not .
But I must do something as that stuff bothers me as well .
Thanks for the compliments BTW.

Cut off and discard that anubis leaf with the black
spot.

Thanks for that Frank , I've been a bit reluctant to trim these guys untill they establish
themselves . I do trim that sort of stuff off in my other tank . Do you think its ok to do
that now? , they are only now just starting to send out new leaves . I don't want to
knock them about too much . Anyway appreciate your thoughts .

I think I had my phosphates up to about 3.something ppm 3x a week

Wings , Another thing I've been avoiding doing is adding to much Phosphate . I had
readings of over 10ppm because I used Neutral 7 . It's now down to 1 or 2 ppm .
SO if I understand you right you think I should up the Phosphate to get it to 3ppm .
I currently dosing twice a week btw. Interested in your thoughts ?

Coop Thanks for dropping by , Don't get many unusual fish up here unfortunately .
But thanks for the suggestions & compliments .


Garry
Post InfoPosted 12-Sep-2007 14:49Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Claudi , Thanks for that , I'm not that worried about algae. Just trying to be patient
Not easy .

The Black Shark is a pussycat . He's gone back to hiding again . It's really funny to watch
the Redtail chase him , Its like I'm the Boss opps your a bit big .
Blackie hardly seems to notice .

Thanks for helping with the lights thing , I'm sure it will work

Garry
Post InfoPosted 12-Sep-2007 14:56Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
TW
 
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EditedEdited by TW
I've been a bit slack about coming up with a better solution for the UV.
So is that equipment an internal UV, or is it a pump running the UV? If the later, why not get yourself one of the Eheim external pumps. I'm going to set up the UV in my African tank that way (the filter will have too high flow rate to attach UV to it). I have a spare Eheim in-flow & out-flow (the grey coloured version - not green)that I'll use to draw water from the tank, to the pump, to the UV & then back into the tank again.

If you have a black background in the tank, you don't even notices the filter pipes at all.

Just a thought.

Cheers
TW
Post InfoPosted 12-Sep-2007 15:00Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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I like the tank better after the trim. And I think I agree with you, that I like the driftwood better over the river.

Post InfoPosted 12-Sep-2007 22:40Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Wingsdlc
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EditedEdited by wingsdlc

Wings , Another thing I've been avoiding doing is adding to much Phosphate . I had
readings of over 10ppm because I used Neutral 7 . It's now down to 1 or 2 ppm .
SO if I understand you right you think I should up the Phosphate to get it to 3ppm .
I currently dosing twice a week btw. Interested in your thoughts ?


This is what I was dosing in my 40G with 5WPG and high CO2 (around 70ppm)

40-60 Gallons (152-227 litres)
30ml solution or 1/2 tsp KNO3(11.37 ppm Nitrate) (7.69 ppm ppm Potassium) 3x a week
18ml solution or 1/8 tsp KH2PO4 (2.87 ppm Phosphates) 3x a week
8ml solution or 1/8 tsp K2SO4 (1.84 ppm Potassium) 3x a week
10ml or 1/8 tsp traces 3x a week (in the form of Flourish) + Iron

The only thing I ever did test was the Nitrates. I ended up with about 10ppm at the end of the week before the water change. I really don't know what my Phosphates ended up being. I am guessing you can dose a bit more though.

This link might give you some more insight to what I was doing.

EI Explained

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 13-Sep-2007 02:51Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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EditedEdited by countryfish
or is it a pump running the UV? If the later, why not get yourself one of the Eheim external pumps
Robyn , Yep thats what its for , and was a temp solution running off the powerhead filter.
I like your idea , but shouldn't you have a filter on the intake of the UV? , thats what
everone advised me to do. As if the water is dirty the Uv isn't as effective . Which is one
of the reasons I was looking at the Resun Cannisters . Might be over kill but it would
also allow me to get rid of the Powerhead filter as well .

Anyway given me more to think about , thanks for the idea .

Patty Thanks for that nice to have our opinion backed up .
appreciate it
40-60 Gallons (152-227 litres)
30ml solution or 1/2 tsp KNO3(11.37 ppm Nitrate) (7.69 ppm ppm Potassium) 3x a week
18ml solution or 1/8 tsp KH2PO4 (2.87 ppm Phosphates) 3x a week
8ml solution or 1/8 tsp K2SO4 (1.84 ppm Potassium) 3x a week
10ml or 1/8 tsp traces 3x a week (in the form of Flourish) + Iron
Wings , I've read the EI stuff and seen lots of references in Ingo's and Jeffs logs about it .
The problem for me is we don get dry ferts around here and the only stuff I can get my
hands on that resembles it in any way is the Seachem liquid .So I've been following
( almost) their recomendations.
Ok I'll give you my 60g dosing,to keep it relative . I dose the same proportionally for the big tank .
5ml Nitrogen 2x week
5ml Phosphate 2x week
10ml Pottasium 2x week
5ml Iron 6x week
5ml Flourish 2x week
15ml Traces 1x week
Now based on what you're doing I should probably increase the Macros to 3 times a week,
and maybe up the dosages of the Phosphate and Nitrogen.
The tank tests at 10ppm for Phosphate ( neutral 7 again which I'm not using any more )
and 20ppm Nitrate .The big tank tests at 1-2ppm Phosphate & 5ppm Nitrate.

So what are your thoughts ???? I appreciate any input on this subject as its all a major
learning curve for me . I can't say that I've been unsuccesful in growing plants , but
there are plants that are not growing as well as I think they should .So any help and
suggestions would be greatly appreciated .
Oh and for those who asked Seachem did not reply to my email , I will try again .

Garry

PS i've just gone to 3.7wpg on the 60g and plan to do something similar on the big tank . And of course I use Excel instead of C02.
Garry
Post InfoPosted 13-Sep-2007 13:12Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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PS i've just gone to 3.7wpg on the 60g and plan to do something similar on the big tank . And of course I use Excel instead of C02.
Garry


Garry,

I would be careful increasing to that kind of wattage especially on the big tank. I haven't seen that really work without pressurized co2. The co2 will be the limiting factor for the plants and you have issues and issues in a 260g are big issues. Excel just can't fill the void. You might want to find out for yourself, but I would be surprised if it worked.





My Scapes
Post InfoPosted 13-Sep-2007 13:51Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
TW
 
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EditedEdited by TW
I like your idea , but shouldn't you have a filter on the intake of the UV?
That's probably best, but my filter runs far too fast for this particular UV. The pump I'm going to use is the next best thing. It sits outside the tank & has a sponge filter inside of it. Hope these pics show you what I mean.

Eheim Universal Pump Model 1046


Pump opened up, showing the internal blue filter sponge


These pumps are a little pricey. If you buy one, make sure you buy them on-line, as they will be a bit cheaper that way. They come in various flow rate sizes. I got one with a fairly low flow rate, to suit my UV's max flow rate. I use a more powerful version of the same pump for my water changes.

The problem for me is we don't get dry ferts around here
Garry, I'm fairly certain this place will ship to you, if you're interested. http://www.simplegrow.com.au/ In fact, it was FP forum member from QLD that gave me the name in the 1st place. I spent less than $5 per fert, more than 18 months ago. You can see by the pic I have heaps left. Of course, I don't know what shipping would cost, as I drove to pick it up. You are sure to have a hydroponics place somewhere in QLD, if shipping from this place is too costly.



Hope this helps.

Cheers
TW
Post InfoPosted 13-Sep-2007 14:26Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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If I had your two tanks this is what I would do. And again it's just my opinion and you of course will do what makes you happy and everyone here I'm sure will help you just the same. I would switch tanks. What I mean by that is put your existing plants and fish in the 240g and use medium lighting. Maybe increase your schools some, etc.

In the 60g I would convert this one to your high light tank with all the bells and whistles.

Jeff
Thanks for that note of caution , I'm actually following your advice from some time ago ,
which was to experiment with the small tank rather than the big one . Up till now both
tanks have been on the same fert& light plan . So now that the small tank has very few
fish and I'm planning on redoing the scape , I'm going to have a go at a few changes
and see how it goes .

There will be no change to this tank untill I'm happy with whats going on in the other tank .

Thanks again for you advice , very much appreciated and remember you still have the
right to say I told you so when and if I decide to do C02 .

Garry
Post InfoPosted 14-Sep-2007 02:07Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Robyn
Thanks for both of those things . I have a fair bit of Seachem stuff at the minute ,
but I've saved the website and if I decide to go all the way with C02 and EI then
it will come in handy . Certainly very cheap !

You use a pump for your Water change , what a good idea never thought of that !!!!!.
Do you do a gravel vac at the same time ? I suppose you wouldn't bother with the filter
material if you did?
I look into these at the online shops .

Thanks again for the help .

Garry
Post InfoPosted 14-Sep-2007 02:18Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
TW
 
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You use a pump for your Water change .....Do you do a gravel vac at the same time?
Better clarify that. I do gravel vac, so I don't use the pump for emptying tanks themselves. On water change night, I have a trolley with a 120L tub & I gravel vac into that. I have a (fairly) high capacity pump sitting in that tub with a hose long enough to reach outside. As my tub gets too full to hold more water (which it does with 3 tanks to change) the pump goes on & the water pumps outside onto the garden or into a larger container for use later on.

I have another trolley, holding another tub filled with fresh conditioned water to go into the tank. In this one I have a less powerful pump (still must be able to lift the water), a much shorter hose & an attached gravel vac with a diffuser on it. The reason for the less powerful pump & diffuser is so that the fresh water is pumped gently into the tank.

I've just purchased on ebay a 220L food grade plastic drum, which I'll use for fresh water for water changes. That way I won't have to wheel to & from the kitchen sink so many times for refills.

Hope that explains the pumps involvement in water changes a little more clearly.

Cheers
TW
Post InfoPosted 14-Sep-2007 09:43Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Week 14 Update .

After last weeks major changes , I was determined not to make too many changes
to the tank this week . Ah well the best laid plans etc

Robyn got me thinking that I'd been a bit slack in fixing my equipment problems
( thanks for motivating me Robyn )
SO off I went to the LFS and you know what happens when you do that .
Yes Yes , I know sucked in by Fishies again !!!!!

I saw some good size Corydora's Sterbai . I've been wanting some for a long time
but they are always too small for my tastes . So I bought 6 ( all they had unfortunatly ) .
As well I've been thinking about having a large school of something a bit smaller.
And of course there was a big bunch of Lemon Tetras ( I bought 20 ) which fitted the
bill nicely .

So I had fun , and as an aside , I did decide to add another Cannister to the tank to
run the UV on . This time a smaller Fluval 305 with and adjustable flow rate so I
can keep optimise the the dwell time of the water thru the UV .

As far as the plants are concerned , I trimmed the Wisteria back quite hard . The
Algae covered leaves of the Annubia B, and Amazons were removed . The Ludwigia
( or whats left of it) was pulled out of the left corner and put in an open spot at the
front of the tank to see if I can get it to recover . Also Trimmed the Tennulus out of
areas it should not be in .

So as you can see not much happening .
I haven't had much time to take photo's this week , so only a few . Lets start with the tank last week .

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Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 13:36Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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The Full Tank this week , As you can see most of that ugly equipment has gone . The new Cannister pipes are behind the Hygro and I've planted another stem of Giant Hygro to cover the Heater & FX5 intake ( in time ). You can also see that the Wisteria is now shaped to allow light at the bottom of the stems. Hopefully that will encourage some leaf growth rather than just ugly stems !

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Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 13:42Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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THe Right Side

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Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 13:44Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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The Left Side

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Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 13:45Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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The River at an angle

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Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 13:46Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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EditedEdited by countryfish
Just a couple of detail plant shots this week . First the remainder of the Ludwigia

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Countryfish
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The Annubia B. area looking a bit better .

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Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 13:51Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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So just a few shots of the Fishies . The Cory's have been a bit shy so far . This is the only half way decent shot I've managed to get .

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Countryfish
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The Lemon Tetras.

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Countryfish
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A shot of one the Rainbows now displaying even more colour.

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Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 13:55Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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EditedEdited by countryfish
Last shot for this week , My mate watching me process the photos for this update . The Tank is right next to the computer and he likes to lie in the corner and watch me

Next week will be a quiet week as far as changes , I promise

Garry

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Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 13:58Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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EditedEdited by catdancer
Garry:

I have to give it to you: best fish shots on FP! The last picture is priceless. So you dared to get my most favorite Cory next to the quite similar looking C. haraldschultzi. They are pricey here and not easy to come by. I am looking forward to see more photos of these cute little guys. The plants are looking spectacular as well, love the thicket to the right but I agree with Robyn that the 'technical hardware' is taking some viewing pleasure away.
Of course, can't wait to see what you will do with your tank next week!

Claudia
Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 16:01Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
FRANK
 
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EditedEdited by FRANK
Hi Gary
Er.... MOST OF US, I dare say, think of "small tanks" in
the capacities of 30G and DOWN. Very few of us are
fortunate enough to think of a 60G tank as "small."

To maintain the carbon requirements of the plants in either
of those two tanks, particularly the 240G tank, you may
find you need to purchase some of those nutrients from
SeaChem in the GALLON or larger size bottles!
Were I you, I would also consider automating the
dosing with dosing pumps that we chatted about earlier.

Terrific Pictures and a great looking tank!

Frank


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Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 16:44Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Wingsdlc
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you may
find you need to purchase some of those nutrients from
SeaChem in the GALLON
I do that and my big tank is only a 55G

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 18-Sep-2007 23:24Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
fishmonster
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Garry

Sorry i havent replied on your posts for a while, kinda got lost there for a while, tank is looking good my friend i love the fishy shots.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html
Post InfoPosted 19-Sep-2007 07:24Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Hi Claudia , thanks for the compliment , I don't think my photography is up to scratch yet ,
the Wife is the photographer in the family . She just bought me 2 Camera Magazines
( hint hint ) , oh well I can only get better . I'm certainly trying lots of different settings
hence the different colours and exposures from time to time .

It's funny you should mention that part of the tank , its not on the top of my favourite
areas in the tank . The Wisteria was an after thought and it needs to move IMO. I've
just bought some new plants with that area in mind (so much for no changes this week ) .
Also I have so many baby Amazons they are begining to block the light of the parents ,
so between the 2 lots I fell a makeover of that part of the tank coming on .


Frank , Sorry didn't mean to sound cocky ( not sure thats the word I'm searching for )
I've finaly decided not to redo the 60g as I'm really happy with how its going in general .
Thanks for the compliments , still lots of work to do in this tank as it has diverged from
my original vision quite a lot . Now its settled I'm going to start making some alterations
back towards that original . May never reach that as I've probably changed my ideas a
bit , but we will see.

BTW , I buy my ferts in 2 ltr containers already . But Robyn showed me where to by Dry
ferts very cheaply so I may go over to them for the Macro's. Which of course still leaves
Excel and Flourish etc .

Wings and Frank Thanks for your support .

Shane , long time man , thanks for that . How goes your tank , I'll have to check you log ,
good to hear from you .

Garry
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EditedEdited by FRANK
Hi Gary,
I did not interpret your post as "Cocky."
Your "small" tank just happens to be twice as big as my
big tank, and I thought I'd tease you a bit.

Robyn has been using the dry, powdered, ferts for a while
now and should pretty much have that tucked under her wing.
I'd go with what she suggests.

My only caution is that I've read that some of them should
not be premixed too far out from use, and that some of them
interact so you would not want to put them all together in
one container too far ahead of time.

Frank


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EditedEdited by TW
My only caution is that I've read that some of them should not be premixed too far out from use, and that some of them interact so you would not want to put them all together in one container too far ahead of time
Wel, I didn't know that. But I mix them on the day I use them, so that's ok anyway. But how far in advance is too long? I was considering pre-mixing (a bottle for each day) when I go on holidays, to make dosing the tank easy for my daughter.

Cheers
TW
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EditedEdited by tetratech
I pretty much do what Robyn does. Most fertilize micros 3 days and macros 3 days, For example.

Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday: Macros (I use Greg Watson kno3,po4)
Monday/Wednesday/Friday: Micros (I use Flourish)
That's it. I don't dose so4(potassium) in my tanks that I'm dosing kno3 and po4). And of course there's no Excel dosing since there's Co2.
Saturday: Nothing

I take some tank water and mix the dry ferts in a cup and pull it in.

I might have missed this, but why no pressurized co2?

P.S. Tank looks nice and lush, but the co2 will help with some issues and fuller growth in some other plants.

My Scapes
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I did not interpret your post as "Cocky."
Your "small" tank just happens to be twice as big as my
big tank, and I thought I'd tease you a bit.

Thanks Frank , I said I didn't think it was the right word , glad to hear you were just teasing!!!!!

Jeff, Thanks for the compliment , means a lot coming from a " Guru " like yourself .
I might have missed this, but why no pressurized co2?


We had this discussion somewhere in this thread a couple of months ago , I think .
Not sure if I ever gave reasons .

Firstly , This was always meant to be a journey for me to explore and learn . One can
just take all advice and go with it or you can try things . I've read every log on this site
and many others including Tom Barrs and whilst its very obvious that using C02 is
successful , I found that nowhere could I find a lot about how to grow plants well
without it . This intrigued me and I wondered why . Was it just impossible or too hard ?.
I decided to find out by doing it myself and learning as I went . Probably a bit of bloody
mindedness on my part as well.

Secondly , as you yourself noted in an earlier post here , I'm an aggressive Fish stockist
as well as highly interested in plants . I'm reluctant to subject my charges to
conditions that are less than ideal . This may bring howls of protest from Plant Guru's
but this is my own feeling , I've no experience to back it up .

Lastly , I've an aversion to pressuried gas in any setting . I've seen first hand what
damage exploding gas bottles can do first hand and I reluctant to have them in the house .

So thats not to say I won't ever do it , I may . But I will have to be very convinced that
there is no other way to do the things I want to do before I relent.

Jeff , these are my opinions only , I don't mean to offend anyone or to cast aspertions
at other peoples way of doing things. This is the way I want to proceed for the moment .

Garry
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Week 15 Update

This week again started with a promise to do very little . Well didn't work again .
I always was lousy and New Years Resolutions.

I decided to address the other plant in the tank that was shoved in as an afterthought
to up the Fast Grower count: the Wisteria . As well I wanted to address the Amazons
which had been producing a prodigious amount of babies on spikes .
I went to the LFS (again) to look for some plants . I was mainly disappointed again
at the poor selection . However I bought a couple of small Crypts , some very small
Annubia Nana and a large Annubia Nana as well as what I think is a Sagittaria.

So in I went and first pulled up all of the Wisteria at the front right . I then cut all of
the baby spikes and removed all of the babies, a staggering 32 plants from 6 parents . .
I set about planting the babies in order of size at the front left and the new plants in
and around the rock group . I also trimmed of most of the old Amazon leaves leaving only
the quite prolific new growth . I then planted the Wisteria at the rear of the Amazons
to hopefully go wild and provide a backdrop for the Amazons .

So on to the Photos ,
Full Tank as of last week




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Full Tank this week

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The Left Side

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A shot from the left end of the Tank showing the depth of the rear plants . Also some good reflections of the fish on the front panel .

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The right side , will show some closer shots of the replanted area in the next shots .

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Replanted area wide shot

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Replanted Area High Shot

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The Amazon Babies

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The Rock Group with the new plants

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A few other detail plant shots , The Ovalis recovering and showing some nice Red .

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The Ludwigia doing the same , just !?

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Small Crypts continuing to power on . Can now be seen over the rocks on the river border.

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Stellata now sending out 2 more stems at the base of the plant.

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Annubia B. all flowering .

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New growth on the Annubia Nana on the Driftwood .

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The Java Fern Area

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EditedEdited by countryfish
Last Plant shot for this week is of the Unknown Sword? in the river . Just keeps powering on . This is the favorite spot for Dwarf Loach conferences .

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A few fishey photos now , one of the Corys .

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A lemon Tetra starting to colour up .

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A close up of A Dwarf Loach

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Angels ometimes we forget just what magnificent Animals these guys are

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EditedEdited by countryfish
Last shot for this week is another Angel shot . This one is very interesting . We've just noticed that this angel has a glowing blue spot under her chin . We've also noticed that when this spot is glowing , her feelers also take on a definate blue tinge as well. I've never seen this before .

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Thats it for this week , next week will be a quiet week with a bit of trimming of the
Hygros and some of the Algae affected Annubia leaves .
I have finally given up on getting some Red plants from the LFS's around here . I
ordered some plants online for the first time . Will probably take a week or so to
arrive . Will see how it goes getting plants delivered outside a capital city .


Garry
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Garry,

Sorry it has been such a long time since I posted last in your thread, all the time I had available I spent on just reading the gazillion posts .

I recently would have added a comment saying something like "reduction of the fast growers on the right to create a more permanent scape" but I see now that this has already happened.

One thing that always comes to mind when looking at your tank, and don't take this the wrong way, is that it seems really small for its size. The large fish and the environment being all filled up with plants make it look more like a 72 than a 240G. Not that I can think of one thing in particular that can alter this, but if it were possible to add something that allows a size evaluation of the overall tank then this might help.

Gotta go,

Ingo


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Sorry it has been such a long time since I posted last in your thread, all the time I had available I spent on just reading the gazillion posts .

Don't worry Ingo ,I know you are busy with life ATM . Thanks for the thoughts they are
always welcome .

The large fish and the environment being all filled up with plants make it look more like a 72 than a 240G.

Yes I've thought this my self at times , I think its because the tank gets its volume from
Height and Width rather than lenght . Have to work out some way to get the size accross
as the full tank shots reduce it to looking like any 6ft er .
If only I had room for the 8-10fter I really wanted .

Oh well will keep trying to think of something as well as researching more on Photography .

Thanks for dropping by

Garry
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Jeff, Thanks for the compliment , means a lot coming from a " Guru " like yourself

Well here I'm a "Fish Guru" which isn't really true. Planted Tank Guru, yeah maybe a junior one.

It's funny that Ingo said your tank looks like a 72g, because he used to say my 72g looked like a 20g sometimes.

I completely understand your views about the co2 thing and you should do it your way. Nothing wrong with having a none co2 tank. I'm just sharing some of my experience with you. If you do go to high light the carbon will be the limiting factor in terms of the plants using all that light and they won't grow correctly. This will cause algae to move in. All the Excel in the world won't make a difference. And of course too much wouldn't be good for the fish.

My Scapes
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Garry,

Fantastic shots of the fish as always (I know I keep repeatingmyself, but what can I do seeing your pictures )

I agree with Ingo (Little_Fish) re size and impression of the tank. It does look much smaller but you are certainly right as the width of the tank does not show well i pictures. Didn't ypu mention soething about hiding/changing the technical hardware or did I get that all wrong?

Red plants would be great in your tank! I hope your mail orders will arrive in good shape, I finally gave up hope to see some of the not so common plants at the 3 LFS I visit and will place an Internet order as well.

Claudia
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Jeff . I appreciate your advice , and I do take a lot of notice of it , believe me , you
in particular have given me some of the best and most important tips in my
learning experience .
I always listen , there are some things I want to experience for myself .

As always thanks for the candid advice !

Claudia , I did replace a lot of the intank equipment and the rest has had plants put
in front , it will be hidden in time .

6ft wide is 6ft wide I think , its the depth thats hard to get accross in the full tank shots.
As far as the red plants go , we will see . I'm trying very hard to get some success in
that area , I'm experimenting with higher light in the 60g tank , only early days ,
time will tell . Its probably the one thing that might convince me to do C02.

Lets hope the plants arrive in good shape , They only have to come from Brisbane ,
150ks away so should be ok .

Thanks for the compliments

Lastly a bit of bad news , we lost one of our Angels today. No obvious reason , no
disease that I can determine . Simply got worse from last night untill this evening .
Sad but thats life , probably suffered from the strife of the Breeding wars that break
out amongst the Angel group once a month or so . Will never know I guess.

Oh well life goes on .


Garry

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Awwww..........sorry for your loss Country! Don't tell me it was the one with the blue light!?
That "lighted fish" has to be the strangest thing I have ever heard of or seen in relation to FW aquarium fish! I can't believe no one else has commented on it! It's like something out of science fiction!
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What a pretty body,

I am sorry for your loss. You are probably right with the assumption that the fish succumbed to the stress of breeding in a community tank. I experienced similar myself, eg the big angel had a girl friend (and a very pretty one). I found her hainging snout first in the tenellus one evening with absolutely no signs of reduced health prior to her demise. How many angels do you have left?
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Oh, Garry, that's too bad. Sorry for your loss.

Cheers
TW
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I'm sorry for your loss. I have yet to experience the loss of a fish as I have only been keeping them for about 3-4 months, but I know it is tough to lose any pet.

On a brighter note, you have been an inspiration to me. The beauty of your tank has convinced me to attempt to plant my new 55 gallon. It will never rival the astonishing tank that you have but I hope it will brighten up the tank.

I noticed that you have some sharks in this tank and was wondering if you have any problems between the rainbow and red-tailed sharks. I am assuming you don't but was curious because those are two of my favorite fish.

Anyways, I hope that your success continues and you keep posting these beautiful photos for our viewing pleasure.
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Don't tell me it was the one with the blue light!?

Patty , Unfortunatley you hit the nail on the head . That indeed was the one .
How many angels do you have left?

Claudia , 5 originals all about the same size . I'm currently growing a couple of
Black ones in the 60g . Hopefully to join the group in time .
I noticed that you have some sharks in this tank and was wondering if you have any problems between the rainbow and red-tailed sharks. I am assuming you don't but was curious because those are two of my favorite fish.
Truestar , I love them as well . But it is a bit of a risk . I got them very young and grew
them up togeather . The Redtail in my group is the bully and does do a bit of chasing ,
they tend to be the most bad tempered IME. But of course they are the most beautifull
of all the sharks . In a 55 I would probably go with an Albino and A normal Redfin if I
were you . Be prepared though because there can be great variation in temper between
individuals .
On a brighter note, you have been an inspiration to me.
Why thank you , you've made my day I fell very humble .


Thank you Patty , Claudia , Robyn and Truestar for you sympathy , much appreciated


Garry
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Week 16 Update .
Well I finally did it I did nothing this week except mainaince . The new
plants haven't arrived as yet. Next couple of days I hope

So very boring as far as an update ,I will throw in a few more fish photos this week .
One point that I would make is that there is a definate improvement in the Algae
situation , especially the Black stuff . Claudia's system seems to be working well .
Thanks for the tip Claudia.
Ok on to the photo's , the tank last week .

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The Full Tank this week

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The Right side

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The Left side

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EditedEdited by countryfish
Just a couple of plant shots , first one the Unknown plants in the river is flowering . Heres a shot of the 2 plants . Notice the stalk coming towards the front.

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A close up of the flower stalk

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A shot of the Ovalis which is starting to power on , but is still not colouring up as I would wish .

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And the other problem plant , the Ludwiga , still looking a long way from full recovery

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Not much else on the plants this week . On to the Fishies . A shot of the Albino Redfin Shark for Truestar . Beautifull fish

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A couple of shots of the Angels .

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Another shot this time the dominant Male Angel in the foreground. He's mean , he bites me if I put my hand into his territory

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A few Shots now of the Lemon Tetras now , they are showing some really nice colours

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Another

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EditedEdited by countryfish
And Another slightly out of focus but have a look at the colours .

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Last Tetra shot of one eyeballing me .

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A few now of the older residents , a Golden Barb

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A Gold Tiger Barb

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A close up of a couple of Dwarf Loaches , These guys have done a good job keeping the snail population under control. I actually saw one of them eating a snail the other day , very efficent .

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One of the Sterbai Corys

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Well thats it for this week , hopefully the new plants will arrive SOON , and I'll have lots of decisions to make about the scape . We will see

And remember he's always watching ( Blackie that is )

Garry

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Thanks once again Garry, for sharing your beautiful pictures.

Cheers
TW
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I couldn't find dwarf loaches on our site, so I looked them up. They are critically endangered in Thailand where they come from. No new hauls have been made recently. It didn't make any mention of them eating snails, but apparently they do.

I really like your Golden Barbs. I didn't realize they got that colorful.
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I don't plan on doing the Sharks in the 55, I'm going with a pair of Blue Rams instead. The tank shots look amazing. I have to say the picture of the Albino is my favorite though(so what if I'm biased). The plants are great too.
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Wow, simply amazing photos. Your pics are so clear and crisp - you have real talent. Beautiful.


:jay

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Garry,

Glad to read that you didn't have too much to do with this tank for the last week, but I am certain it will bite you in the b*tt the next time you need to trim .

What I see is some very very healthy growth in your tank, always a good sign.

Hey, about your mystery plants in the river, didn't people already point out that they are swords? One looks somewhat like a Red Rubin.

Have fun,

Ingo

PS: sorry about the Angel loss, but we know that stuff like this happens.


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Thanks folks for all of your interest .

Ingo , I think thats the first time anyone has given me a thought about what they might be .
Thanks , I'll do some research .

Week 17 Update .

The new plants arrived . So, I hear you say what did you get ??? Heres the list
Rotala Wallichii, Aponogeton Crispus Green & Red , Bacopa sp. ,Ludwigia Repens -
Narrow Leaf,Myriophyllum scabratum (Giant Milfoil),Rotala Macrandra - Narrow Leaf
(Magenta), Crypt. Balansae.
They were in pretty good nick , only a couple of the Magenta's were a bit mushy.
Most seem to have come thru alright so far.
I ordered some Didiplus Diandra ( Blood Stargrass) , but as usual with this plant it was
out of stock .
The idea was to order enough of these more difficult to grow plants for both tanks and
compare the results of the different conditions .So in the interest of completeness ,
I'll give you all a brief comparision of the 2 tanks regimes
240g: ( this tank )Light: 2.4 wpg , Ferts: Seachem ferts inc Excel based on Manufacturers
reccomendations .
60g: Light: 3.7wpg , Ferts: double Excel , Double Macros , same micro's .
The plants have been in for a few days and I'll show a pick of the 60 g as well so we can
compare the differences ( there are already some I think ) .

The next task was to decide where to put all of these new goodies . I confess here that
I had planned to do a major overhall , but I simply chickened out .
Not enough courage for that amount of risk ATM.
Oh well I may do something like that later

So I simply shoved them all in where they would fit .

A couple of things happened while I was doing this . Firstly I got the St;s with the
Hairgrass die off on the left of the river , so it had to go , just stuck a couple of Crypts
and an Annubia there for the moment . I will have to decide what i want to do with that
area .
The Tennulus had just run riot so it was time for a trim , and once I started ,I just kept
going . Amazing there were some rocks under there .

Ok enough words onto the photos . The tank last week .

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The Full tank this week . I will show detail shots for all the new additions .

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The Right Side .

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The Left Side

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A straight on River Shot

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An Angled shot of the Tank

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On to the detail shots of the new plants , First a shot of the Bacopa , Ludwigia , Crypt Balansae.

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Rotala Wallichii

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Giant Milfoil and another R. Wallichii

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Magenta ,Rotala Macrandra on the right near the rock group

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So that covers the right side plantings , her is a couple of shots of the Rock Group general area. Wide shot first.

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Tall Shot

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As you can see I have not copmpletely given up of the Hairgrass , But if I do I may plant some more of these small crypts in this area as well as the main ex- hairgrass area .

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Ok on to other parts of the tank . The magenta and Ludwigia around the driftwood

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The Aponogeton's are all over on the left with the Annubia B. and the Giant Hygro's . I'll probably remove the Hygro if these prove succesfull . Sorry for the poor shot not easy to get this area .

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Heres another shot a lttle closer , notice the Barteri flowers BTW

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Thats it for the new plants . Doesn't seem that exciting looking at the photos .Its a big space and they will need to grow a lot to have an impact .
However when you look at them in the 60g ,the difference is startling . Heres a before shot which I posted alittle while ago .

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And now the 60 with its compliment of the new plants . Notice even after a few days that the R. Macrandra and R. Wallichii seem to be doing much better in here . Will keep you posted .

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A couple more shots of this tank , firstly a close up of the ex Hairgrass area.

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The Tennulus trimmed

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The Ovalis , really powering on .

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The Stelatta has divided into 3 heads as well as throwing out some extra stems from the base .

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Last Plant shot for this week is the "Rubin Sword ?" flower.

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Just a couple of Fishy shots to finish this week. Firstly breeding for the Angels is just an impossibility these days . The Lemon Tetra school just goes crazy for Angel eggs . The Male doesn't even get a chance to fertilise . Oh well bring on the breeding room

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A couple of the Sterbai Cory's, they are like Puppys. Seems they wag their tails at you .

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Its really hard to get a good shot of the Cory school , but here is about the best shot I've been able to get so far . The Golden Barbs love schooling with these guys , must be about the energy level's I think

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Last shot for this week is the best close up yet of one of the Lemons ( the wife took it .

Next week should again not see many changes other than a little trimming of the fast growers , but you never know .


Garry

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Very nice Garry,

I think I am kind of happy that you just "dumped" the new plant arrivals wherever you found some space (although I can see that you for sure used better judgment than just random distribution). In this stage, an awesome scape is secondary and looking at which plants of the new batch work for you and which ones don't, and then deciding on a more permanent spot or even a dump (as in "I don't like this plant at all" or "this one does not do too well in my setup" ) is the right thing to do.

One thing though: My personal experience with R. Macandra, and words from other hobbyists confirm this, is rather shaky. It doesn't like shading at all and I think they way you have bunched them will be too tight for them. On top of it all, it loves a certain fert condition, high in this and low in that (whatever this and that may be) that is not in sink with most other plants in a tank. It is such a nice looking plant that people try to adjust their ferting routine to please this plant, with negative effects on all others.

With this plant I learned a lesson from my fellow hobbyists: "Do not adjust your conditions for a single plant species while risking all others".

Hey, for all I can see from your tank, it may just work well, one never knows. But if not then keep that in mind.

With regards to the pictures, very nice as usual

Ingo


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Yes LF, you can't be all things to all fish and plants in one tank. Very true

Garry the tank looks good, I really like the pic of the two corys. Nice shot.

Rotala Wallichii
This will be a real challenge, sorry but I doubt it.

Didiplus Diandra ( Blood Stargrass)
I wouldn't bother.

See even if these plants survive they won't grow the way you invision them to. Sometimes people forget, plants not only grow faster with co2, they grow much fuller and lusher.

My Scapes
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EditedEdited by catdancer
They were in pretty good nick , only a couple of the Magenta's were a bit mushy


This is my experience with this plant! When I got home after my trip to the LFS 90% had already turned to mush. Your online dealer did a pretty good job getting them to you in such great shape.

I absolutely love the look of your tank. Would you mind coming by for the weekend to trim my underwater jungle?

I have didiplis diandra in my tank it is doing very well, however, my R. walichii looks constantly like it is on someones menu. Discus??? I am curious how yours turn out.

Oh, BTW, what is your water temperature? I am inquiring regarding the sterbai, they are my favorite cories

Claudia
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Garry

Im sorry i havent been able to comment latley, my comments are few and far between because of my jobs. I love the pics of the tank and fish, you got some georgous plants there mate.

I would love for you to give me some tips on photograpy and how you do it. I cant get my pics to stop being blurry. I have a hard time. Anyways mate again your tank is georgous.

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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i love this tank mate- you have made it look so alive! great shots of the corys they look full of character!
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Ingo and Jeff , Thanks for that advice . I've been avoiding those sort of plants up to
now . But what the heck I thought I'd have a go . We will see what happens .

Claudia , thanks for that , I've noticed a bit of nibbling on my R. walichii in this tank as well
Oh, BTW, what is your water temperature? I am inquiring regarding the sterbai, they are my favorite cories
Temp in this tank Ranges from 26c to 28c in summer and a constant 24c in winter .

Shane , Well there are whole books written on how to with photography . I'm a bit lucky
that my wife is a photograpy nut and has been all our married life (30 years ). So we
have a great camera ( Cannon 350D SLR)but more importantly the wife has invested
in a couple of very expensive lens which make all the difference .
I also think even with the best equipment it comes down to how many shots you take .
I would take 500 at a sitting each week and from that I might get 30 really good ones .
One of the tricks I use when trying to catch the fish is to use manual focus , as the
automatic focus is just too slow for most fish . I only use auto on the tank shots and
even then it can be a problem if theres lots of movement .
Anyway I could go on , I would buy a photography how to book and do some reading
and experimenting .
BTW your last shots of your Rams were excellent so you can do it
Thanks for the compliment.

Fandan , Thanks Mate . The Corys are very much great characters , I think I said
some where else that they seem to wag their tails at you .

Thanks everone for your input .

Garry
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But what the heck I thought I'd have a go. We will see what happens


That's the spirit, Garry

In the worst case you can at least report to others that you did not have a good experience with this or that plant. In the best case you have a beautiful tank

Ingo


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Thanks Ingo , appreciate the support .

Week 18 Update.

I managed another week with little interference in the tank . Very proud of myself .

The only thing I did have to do is trim the Water Sprite which was shading the very
little hairgrass I have left, which may not last much longer anyway
I also had to trim the Hygro.p as it was also shading some of the Magenta and Ludwigia .

Thats it , well on to the photos . The wife bought some new lenses for the camera
this week , so I've had to learn how to use them . So far not very well I'm afraid ,
I will need more practise . Ah well all part of the learning curve .
So all that means is the photos this week are not as good as I would like .
The Full Tank from last week .

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Countryfish
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Full Tank this week

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Right Side, BTW the Wisteria at the back right has not grown that much . The Shark does not like it in that spot and keeps uprooting it, so its floating in this shot. I will win this battle I hope

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The Left side

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A closer shot of the rock group on the right where most of the new plants are for the moment .

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Some detail Plant shots now , firstly a couple of my favourite success's , The Ovalis :

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The Stellata , now with 7 shoots Also show the Wendti Brown doing very well

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A close up of the Plantlet growing on a stalk from the Sword in the River .

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Annubia 's on the Driftwood with new growth as well as roots winding around the wood .

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Now onto the new plants , First the Aponogeton Crispus, which seem to be doing quite well .

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Bacopa

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EditedEdited by countryfish
Now as promised a couple of comparisons of the R. Wallichii and Magenta between this tank
and the 60g . Remember the 60 g has higher light and higher dosing of Macro's .
Couple of comments , The increased light & Macros in the 60g have been going for a month
now , in conjunction with Claudia's split lighting schedule . The result has been a complete
elimination of Black Algae as well as virtually no Green spot Algae .So Thanks again Claudia.
However in this Tank whilst the black algae has declined a bit ( no longer present on the
Tennulus for instance ) it's not completeley gone and the Green spot is still very evident as
you will see from one of the fish shots later .

So it appears that lighting control alone will not fix my algae problems in this tank .
I will probably let the experiment run for another couple of weeks , but I think that I will
move this tank over to the same high light and macros as the 60 g at that time .

The reason for not going yet is these new Red plants which I've been told a number of times
can not be grown without C02 . I want to settle that in my mind and if they do poorly in this
tank see if I can bring them back .

Bit long winded , but this is something that really interests me and I hope all of you as well .

So now for some photos , First the R. Wallichii in this tank .



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EditedEdited by countryfish
60g R. Wallichii , I think you can see the difference, the first shot is not the best but you get the idea .

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Magenta in this tank

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60g Magenta , the difference here is startling .

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So you can see ,I think, what I mean . Here is a close up of the top of one of the Magenta stalks in this tank . There is still growth in this tank and it is red . But nothing like in the other tank .

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EditedEdited by countryfish
A few fishy photo's to finish .These were taken with the Wifes new Macro lens A couple of good ones but thats out of the 500 or 600 I've taken so far .

First a Cory complete with Green spot Algae

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The Red Tail Shark

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EditedEdited by countryfish
A Dwarf Loach on the rock in the river, also showing some Black algae on the old leaves on the Sword in the river . There's none on the new leaves of this plant .

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A great shot of one of the Rainbows , these guys are able to turn their colours on and off at will .

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A Female Tiger Barb giving me the Eye . Think she fancys me ?

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Thats it for this week , next week should again be see a couple of new plants.
I want a few crypts etc to fill up the old Hairgrass area . I have also ordered a
Bolbitis Fern cause I fell in love with "Bob" in Ingos 40g .
Not sure where its going to go yet ?

This last shot is my wife showing me how to use a macro lens.
I think its a fantastic study of a Kissers mouth .

Enjoy

Garry

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EWWWWWWW! A kissers mouth comes apart like that!?
Guess I don't know much about fish.
Great shot!

More plants?! Guess we have different planting styles.
They all look great though!
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nice tank and a nice shot of the dwarf chained loach.
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Patty , here's another with his mouth open . and yes I like alot of plants , But a warning
I used to be like you a long time ago so watch out !!!!??

clownloachfan , Thanks for that , love those guys they are so active .

Garry

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Patty - Don't worry, Garry will come around again and use quite a few less plant species in the long run - Wanna bet Garry?


Garry, what can I say?

- As usual, great shots, your wife for sure knows what she is doing as well.
- Plant growth is excellent, I like the fair comparison between your two tanks and the "red" plants. I know a guy with over 6wpg on a 125G and he had the reddest plants I have ever seen.


Ingo


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- Plant growth is excellent, I like the fair comparison between your two tanks and the "red" plants. I know a guy with over 6wpg on a 125G and he had the reddest plants I have ever seen.
I think the red is more due to nutrient levels than lighting. I think the higher light leads to a faster nutrient uptake by the plants resulting in more red. At least that is what Tom Barrs talks about.

Your red plants do look very nice by the way. Someday I might try my hand at a few of them.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 19-Oct-2007 22:50Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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Frank the tank looks really good. I like the left sides fullness and the swords on the river's edge. I think it would look even better if you tighten up the tall plants on the right.

Fish pics are amazing, that last one of the kisser reminds me of an old girlfriend

Wings, I agree that the nutrients have to be there, but the light I believe is needed to get the color. I mean most plants color up more as they near the light and the nutrients are available to the entire plant. Just my two cents.

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Garry, I've got a similar thing happening with my rotala wallichi. It's got a fair amount of colour in my 80G, but not in my 33G. I've got a similar amount of WPG in both tanks, so I'd have to agree with wings and tetra in thinking that it's a nutrient issue. At least in my situation that's almost certainly the case.

Jay.
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Ha Jay,

I think you got Wings right but Tetratech wrong, or I am way off. Wings blames the nutrients, tetratech says its the light as nutrients are in the lower parts of the plants as well but they are further away from a light source. Sure thing though, these plants like any plants don't grow without nutrients.

As to your experience, Jay: Have you heard about the different wattage needed for different tank sizes to achieve the same results? The smaller the tank the more wattage (wpg) is needed. So, if you had the same wpg over 80 than you had over 33 then you essentially had much more "light" on the bigger tank, and that is why your red plants did better there. This for sure would be influenced by many other things that may be different between your two tanks, but basically that's it.

Ingo


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Post InfoPosted 22-Oct-2007 00:34Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Folks , thanks for the compliments and the thoughts on ferts and light .

The 60g has got a lot more light (+1.3wpg) but also double the Macros so I'm not sure
which is responsible . Maybe I should have tried the increase's separately. But from
all I've read on all the other logs and plants sites one doesn't work without the other .
As Ingo says its about getting the right balance of Lights and Carbon for the particular
size tank to allow the plants to maximise the take up of the other available nutrients .
Then making sure that there are no deficencies in nutrients to limit growth .


I know that thats telling most of you how to suck eggs , but this is all a steep learning
curve for me and there is no better way to learn than experiencing it yourself .
Ask any teenager
Anyway I'm not going to let this run much longer as the R. Wallichi is not going to well
in this tank.
BTW I forgot to thank Wings in particular for helping with his fert regime which gave me
the ideas for the 60g .
Thanks Mate .
Ingo and Tetra thanks again for your insights and support .
Jay thanks for sharing always interesting to hear of others experiences .

Garry

PS Tetra , Hope the old girlfriend isn't a Fish person
G
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BTW I forgot to thank Wings in particular for helping with his fert regime which gave me
the ideas for the 60g .
Thanks Mate .
Don't thank me. Thank Tom Barrs and or Greg Watson. I took it from them!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 22-Oct-2007 03:15Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
plankton
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Heheh..oops!

Ingo, you got me there

You know, to get me out of this, I'll just say that I think you need both proper nutrients and lots of lighting. So I agree with both of them......sorta.

The need for more light in a smaller tank is a new one for me - My understanding was that for a taller tank you need more WPG as the light is diffused through the water of a tall tank spreading out the wavelength of the light, making it much less effective.

What is the thinking behind the need for more light in a small tank? Hmmm...very interesting.

At any rate, my smaller tank has a heap o' WPG's and the red plants aren't very red. The main differnece for me between the tanks is the substrate and the ferts.


:j
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Wings,

FWIW, his name is Tom Barr

Garry - "Ask any teenager"

Jay - How much wattage of what kind of light is on both of your tanks?

Ingo


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FWIW, his name is Tom Barr


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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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I think you got Wings right but Tetratech wrong

Yes LF is right. Wings you better stop misquoting me.

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Wings you better stop misquoting me.
I misquoted you? where?

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19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 23-Oct-2007 02:59Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Couple of things I forgot to comment on .
Don't worry, Garry will come around again and use quite a few less plant species in the long run - Wanna bet Garry?

Ingo , Maybe , but I doubt it . There are too many fantastic different types of plants that I haven't even seen in the flesh . So it will be a long time before I cut my selections down .
I think it would look even better if you tighten up the tall plants on the right.

Tetra , Spot on , plan for this week as well as some other suprises . Just finished actually . Will see what you think in this weeks review .


Garry
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So it will be a long time before I cut my selections down .


Garry,

That's why I said "in the long run". But I give you a year max, probably much less, until you come around

This does not mean that you will not continue to add new species to your repertoire, but the overall number of different species at one point in the tank will decline.

You sure are doing the right thing now though as you learn a lot about all the different options that are out there, you see them grow and you learn about their needs, you see what goes and what doesn't, and that all in a short time span.

Ingo


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http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/photo-album/50456-zero-water-change-20-75-update-5.html

See post #75

Just so I don't misquote someone!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 26-Oct-2007 01:28Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Ingo , Yep your probably right . I've already tried and discarded a couple of plant types
( Val's Sag's etc ) not my cup of tea..

Wings : Interesting ......

Week 19 Update

Well , Tighten up the right side said the Plant Guru ( junior). So thats exactly what I did ,
however to do that the rock group which was mostly overgrown had to go . So out it came .
I also decided to move the driftwood over the river ( and the attached Java ferns ) back a bit.
The Plants that I had out in the tennulus fields(Ludwigia Ovalis& Stellata) for recovery
purposes were moved into this area as well as the other Magentas and Ludwigias on the left side
were also consolidated to the right in the jungle .
The majority of the Hairgrass in front of the jungle is gone , so I added some Lilaeopsis as
well as a plant my LFS wanted me to try ( yes Ingo I failed to get the name again ). I cut back
the Water sprite to make it more of a foreground plant .
Whew sounds like a big change , but I'm not finished yet .
As I said last week I had ordered some other new plants and they arrived . So I then
moved to the left side of the tank and added the Rock Group back in a slightly different
configuration . Then added a couple of pieces of driftwood with an Annubia Paco and ....
wait for it... a couple of Bolbitus Ferns who I've named Bill & Ben the illegitimate sons of Bob
( just to save Tetra the trouble ).
As well I added some more small Crypts to the old hairgrass area .

Big breath ...... The Annubia I bought and attched to the rock group a couple of weeks
ago also went with the rocks .
Thats about the size of it , T'was a big day to say the least .

On to the photos , the Tank as of last week .

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Full Tank this week

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The Right side

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Left Side

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The Centre of the Tank

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An Angled Tank shot

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A couple of Shots of the new Rock group . Firstly front on .

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From slightly above

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And a Close Up

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Now one from the end of the tank showing all the Annubias in the same area .

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A couple of shots now of the Annubia Paco , from straight on close up .

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And from slightly above

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The Annubia on the rock

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Countryfish
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Now .... Bill & Ben the Bolbitus twins Firstly straight on .

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A shot from above and at an angle

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A close up

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Moving across the tank , a couple of shots of the Crypts beside the river .

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Closer shot

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The Sword Plantlets

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On to the jungle side . A wide shot first

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The Amazons

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The Ludwigias

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Magenta , now showing some colour .

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Bacopa

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EditedEdited by countryfish
Lilaeopsis

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LFS Plants

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Crypts in front of jungle

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Last Plant shot showing the river side of the jungle where the Stellata and Milfoil ended up . You might ask what happened to the R. Wallichi . It was doing so poorly I moved it to the other tank to try to recover .

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Just a couple of Fishy shots to finish . A rainbow showing amazing colours . Very hard to get in focus . This is the best shot we could get .

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An Otto in close up

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Cute Corys cuddling

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Last shot for this week of Ottos with a nosy Cory .

Next week should be very tame compared to this week . But you never know .


Garry

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Nice shots. That anubias is really clinging to the wood. That is a beautiful Bolbitis specimen you have there. I envy you.
Post InfoPosted 26-Oct-2007 05:40Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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Garry

Im sorry i havent had time to post in your log as much as i used to. Second job is killin me. Anyways I love the shots you have of your bolbitis. I wish i could get mine to grow the same way. I have some on the driftwood and its been there for quite some time but im having a hard time growing it. Any ideas or suggestions. Its right under the HOB for the flow also.

I really love your Nanas. In order to get a second or third could I cut the existing Ryzhome?

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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Garry:

I am really interested how the R. wallichii will do in your tanks! Apparently you had some issues in the large tank yourself? I am very curious how the plant will do in your 60 G. What do you think is making all the difference? WPG-wise you do not have such a discrepancy between the two tanks, but could it be the amount of light reaching the bottom as the 240g is rather tall? I have ordinary R. rotundifolia in both the 72g and a 20g long and it does nuch better (color as well as growth wise) in the smaller tank, although there is a slightly lower WPG and less fertiizers added. Any thoughts?

Lovely pics and I envy you the shots as always.

Claudia
Post InfoPosted 29-Oct-2007 00:57Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
TW
 
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EditedEdited by TW
Cute Corys cuddling


Beautiful pictures Garry, as always. So crisp and clear. No need for words, but just in case, I will say that your tank is beautifiul, as it always is.

Cheers
TW
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Week 20 Update

Hi , folks . I'm logging in from a friends computer in Sydney this week ,down for another
wedding .
I made a few changes to the tank before we came to Sydney , but didn't get a chance to
take photos .
So I will update the log early next week .

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments .

Claudia , The R. Wallichi is proving to be a challenge . I'll show you some things next week .
I think Tetratech may be right about this plant , starting to look really difficult to grow.
The R. Macandra ( Magenta ) is flourishing in both tanks now , and with different ferts and
light , interesting .

Shane , I'm not an expert on Bolbitus ,this is my first attempt . If I remember correctly from
LF's 40g log this plant takes along time to get established and then takes off . But again I'm
not an expert on these ferns , try asking Ingo .

I really love your Nanas. In order to get a second or third could I cut the existing Ryzhome?
As far as Annubias are concerned , I pretty sure thats exactly what you can do.


The other thing I started this week was to bring this tank onto the same increased light and
fert (macros) as the 60g . Big move , but the 60g has been very stable and growth patterns
much stronger so I thought it was time .

Anyway a mini update , will be back to normal next week .

Garry
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TW
 
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Well, if you are in Sydney, you can visit SimpleGrow. Have a nice time at the wedding.

Cheers
TW
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Week 21 Update

Back from Sydney , but unfortunatley Robyn I was allowed to stray from the plan .
So no Fish realated visits I'm afraid .
So what happened in the tank over the last couple of weeks .
Firstly I decided to do something that the "Guru" said I should do a long time ago .
I turned my main driftwood piece ( looked like a sawn tree stump) up side down to make
it look more natural . Secondly I moved the Bolbitis Ferns apart , and added some more
rocks to the rock group to give it more height . Still not happy with that part of the tank
though , it was supposed to be a mountain with a tree like effect leading down to the
grassy bank of the river . Not there yet , maybe one day .

After rearranging the jungle area I've let it grow with out any trimming so its starting to
look wild again , however the foreground of that area has proved a little difficult to keep
planted due to the efforts of the Sharks and Corys ..
I've moved all the Annubia's to the Rock group and will probably add more to soften the
area (maybe ).

Well thats about all I can remember so on to the Photo's .
The tank as of a Fornight ago .

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The Full Tank This week

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The Right Side

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The Left Side , I forgot to mention that I took the sissors to the Hygro that dominates the centre rear of the tank . I think this plant has run its course . It may not last much longer in its current position .

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Now a couple of Angle shots , firstly looking down slightly .

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Now an angle looking up .

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EditedEdited by countryfish
A couple of shots of the Rock Group, firstly from straight on .

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Rock Group from slightly above

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EditedEdited by countryfish
A couple of shots of the Driftwood turned upside down , firstly the whole lenght which also shows one of the Bolbitis moved to the right .
This shot also shows 2 new flower spikes coming from the Swords in the river

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A closer shot of the end which used to look like a tree stump . I think this end looks a bit more natural .

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So a few detail shots of the plants starting at the left end of the tank . Firstly a shot of the Giant Hygro and Annubias , also the favorite hiding place for the Golden Barbs

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A front shot of that area , also showing the Apon's and the Golden Barbs again !

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EditedEdited by countryfish
A close up shot of the 2 Bolbitis Ferns

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EditedEdited by countryfish
A wider shot of the general area around the Ferns

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The Crypt area on the left of the River

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The First Sword Plantlet , looking bigger and better every week

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The Milfoil and Stellatta on the right side of the River

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A wider angle shot of the Jungle at the right of the River

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Now a front on shot of the jungle

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A closer shot of the front of the jungle

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A closer shot of the problem foreground area in front of the Jungle .

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Lastly a couple of shots of the newer plants in the jungle area , firstly the Magenta

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The Ludwigia's , Ovalis and Narrow

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EditedEdited by countryfish
a close up of the Bacopa

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Thats it for the Plants this week , a few Fishy photos now . The SAE's love the new rocks ,almost like an unit block

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And while taking that shot ( the SAE's wre very patient) , the Lemons came over to see what I was doing . This is the most I've ever got in one photo and they are nearly all in focus

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So I followed the Lemons for a while taking a lot of photos and got this one as well. There are 30 of them but they seem to have formed into at least 3 separate groups during the day . Interestingly I've seen that after dark the groups seem to come together into one large group , maybe for a feeling of safety .?

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While this was going on I got this shot of the Tigers who are always curious and come to the front when I'm around . But like the tetras they dart around so much its hard to get a good shot of the entire group . This shot is the most I've managed to get in one shot . It has 10 of the 13 in the group .

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Thats it for this week . Not much time available next week so should just be some trimming and general maintaince .
Last shot is a close up of my Avatar fish , just for Brengun .

Garry

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Hey you thought of me, good onya Countryfish.
That is a great photo of your Gourami. I don't comment on your plant thread as you just bamboozle me with all the plant names. I am just learning all the fishy names.
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Hi Countryfish

This tank is looking stunning as ever. I like the new rock formations and I think the look of that area will continue to improve as the plants grow in around them and they get a sprinkling of algae for that aged feel.

You mentioned the "problem foreground area in front of the jungle"... what problem? I like the occasional glimpse of substrate and don't consider that to be a problem.

If you really wanted to fill that area with greenery you could try attaching some anubias nana or similar to some river stones and either place them in the empty area, or partially bury the rocks in the substrate (leaving the rhizome uncovered of course). Then the fish could bulldoze to their hearts content; the plants may end up in a different spot, but they won't end up floating.

As always though... it's your tank, in your home... do with it what will make you (and your fish) happy

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.
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Beautiful as usual. Love your blue gourami
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I love rock caves, & so do the fishies /:'
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Hello Folks , Thanks for the comments and compliments .

Bren , you think you get confused , Ha you should try getting into a conversation with LF,
Tetra and Wings , they have my head spinning ,

GT , thanks for stopping by and for the suggestion , got me thinking about tying up more
than Annubisa and Java's . Very good idea and a good excuse to add more rocks .
Thanks again for that,

Patty , of course you would like the rocks Thanks for dropping by

Thanks CLF , shes a beauty .

Garry


Garry
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Bren , you think you get confused , Ha you should try getting into a conversation with LF,
Tetra and Wings , they have my head spinning ,
Sorry my fingers don't always type what my head is thinking.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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wow garry... your tank, and the photos are just breathtaking! I cannot get over how clean your plants are... I get this layer of brown diatoms on my wisteria which is a shame as they are so vibrant.

I LOVE the lemons... when (and if) I ever get around to setting up my 55g, lemons are a must! They are so delicate, and the red eye, wow!
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tetratech
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EditedEdited by tetratech
Gary
Tanks looks very good. I'm impressed with the look of the plants. Must be something in that water down under. Looks better with thicker growth on the right if you could get thick healthy groups on both sides in th back it will look even better.

If I'm being honest I don't love the cave on the left. It looks too man-made for my taste (but that's me). I almost expect Fred Flinstone to walk out of the front.




My Scapes
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Wings Yeah me too .
Scott , Thanks , the Lemons were an after thought in this tank . I wasn't going to have any
small fish , but both the wife and I thought something was missing . So we decided to try
to get a big school of small fish . The Lemons fit the bill and they were on special !!!!!

Tetra , Thanks for that , I think I stated I wasn't very happy with the rocks yet . So I agree ,
thats just the way the fit together for the moment . I want to build a mountain , I think, and
need more good gear to do it: so watch this space .

Thanks for dropping by.

Garry
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I want to build a mountain
Sounds like someone is going rock hunting. When I set up my 55G I got my rocks from a landscape place. Dirt cheap. 40lb for about 4-6 dollars.

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Week 22 Update .

Very busy week with life but not much in this tank , did a little corner makeover in the 60 g
which made me happy .

So other than a little tweak here and there , not much to report . Only real changes were
some trimming of the 3 main plant groups in the jungle ( Magenta ,Bacopa & Ludwigia )
and planting the tops in the foreground of the jungle , and the tying of a couple more
Annubias to the rock group .
So on to the Photos , the Tank as of last week .

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Full Tank This week

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The Right Side

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The Left Side

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The River with Shark

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Another Angle shot this time from the opposite side of the river showing the Swords and their now multiple babys

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A close shot of the swords and offspring

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The Original Sword baby now getting quite big

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The Jungle foreground ...a wide shot

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The New plantings in front of the Jungle with the Water sprite cut right back

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The Lilaeopsis in front of the jungle

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Now a couple of shots of the Rock group ...A wider shot

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A closer shot showing the new Annubias

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A shot from the end of the tank looking down

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A shot of the Bolbitis

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The Crypts now establishing themselves despite the beat efforts of the sharks and corys

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Thats about it for the plants this week , I took lots more photos but they are all about the same and even I'm getting bored posting them
So a few fishy photos to finish . First a close up of a Cory , love the wrinkly skin

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A Dwarf Loach on the meeting rock in the river

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A nice shot of a Lemon Tetra

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Redfin Shark patrolling his territory back left of the tank

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Last shot for this week is of one of the Big Boys
And in answer to your post , yes Wings I am looking , but not having much success as yet.

The only changes currently in train is the removal of the Hygro in the centre, It's gotta go , I'm over it . Either going to replace it with the Giant Hygro or wait for the Bolbitis to grow a bit like LF's . Not sure I can wait that long however . We will see .

Garry

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Wow, this tank has come a long way since I last checked in. It looks great. Nice pictures too.



Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients
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Really great shots this week. Not that past weeks have been bad but this weeks are quite nice.

The tank is filling in incredibly nice. My only suggestion is to tighten up the stem groupings. That takes some time though.

I think the anubias will look quite nice on the rocks once they start to grow. I need to take some pictures of mine. I love how the roots grow over the rocks.

55G Planted tank thread
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[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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Great shot of the kisser, Garry!
What became of the R. wallichii in your smaller tank? Did it do better there, I've thrown mine out as it was nibbled down to the stems (could serve as an intersting display in a tank "blazing sun over the aqua desert", though)

What are your plans to replace the hygro sp. with (I am sort of lost regarding the placement of this hygro in your tank as well as to the exact species of hyfro). You got to provide us with a front shot!

Claudia
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Hey Matty , thanks for checking in and for the compliments .

Wings , Thanks for that , I actually thought the photos this week were a bit "ho hum"
I actually started taking photos lying on the floor for a bit of a change . I didn't post them though.

Claudia , the Walichii is still in the other tank ( all of it ) . Its doing poorly but still alive
with a few bits looking like growth . I'll post some picks later in the week .
The Hygro in the centre is Hygrophila polisperma and it was only included in the tank
to up the count of fast growers . But I think I have enough other fast growers and I
really like the Giant Hygro . It looks like a forest and thats want I was aiming at on
that side of the tank " order " versus "wild " on the jungle side .
I will post a before and after later in the week .

Garry
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EditedEdited by catdancer
Ah, so you have H. polysperma as well! A fantastic grower that keeps the scissors busy and there some nicely colored varieties and a reddish creeper available but no chance to get them in the US. At least not through a dealer as the plant is considered an obnoxious weed. This is also the reason that I want to hold on to a small colony of mine. LFS are eager to get them from hobbyists and that is our chance to get some deals.
I had H. corymbosa myself but did not like it too much. However, your tank is bigger and you have a particular scape in mind. I am looking forward to photos!

My R. wallichi had some nice growth too but I lost my patience ... I've read that the plant requires specific water conditions (pH and hardness) to do well in the long run. I don't know what your water is like but mine is (according to the article) not becoming so I ditched the plants. Do you or someone else who happens to read your log have any experience with Myriophyllum tuberculatum? This is one species I am interested in.

Claudia
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fish patty
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I love your rock group Garry!

But I don't envy you trying to keep that area clean.

I'm glad you're having such fun with that tank...... the fish & the plants. You definitely have a country jungle going on there!
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Do you or someone else who happens to read your log have any experience with Myriophyllum tuberculatum?

Claudia , no haven't had this one yet ! The Wallichi is an issue as I will try to show later .
Patty : the rock group will expand , rocks and new plants have arrived . They are both
soaking ATM. So the new rock group will be next week .
Thanks for the compliments .

Week 23 Update .

Did a full 2 filter and UV clean at the water change this week which did not go well .
First the water was a very milky colour out of the tap . The PH spiked to 7.5
(normally a steady 7.1), then the UV leaked . . I didn't put it back together
properly " Idiot " is a word that comes to mind.
So not much change to the tank as I ran out of time

One point I would make is that the Tank is still not stable when compared to the 60 g ,
algae is still a problem and whilst growth is strong and water params a were very good
up to this week there is still a lingering bit of a clarity problem with the water . When
comparing the 2 tanks the 60g looks like the fish are suspended in mid air whilst in the
240g you can still notice the water especially towards the back of the tank .
I've cleaned the Main filter 4 times in 23 weeks so about every 6 weeks so far .
I am going to clean them every 2 weeks for a while and see if that makes a difference .
Ok enough whinging on to the Photos, The Tank as of last week .

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The Full Tank This week

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EditedEdited by countryfish
I think I lightened up that full tank shot to much . Went a bit overboard thinking about the advice I gave to Claudia

The Right Side

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Left Side

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Just a few Plant Shots , A close up of Annubia Paco and Barteri

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The soon to be added to and changed Rock Group

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One of the Bolbitis . Not sure these are doing to well as yet . Getting some black discolouring on the leaves , doesn't look like BBA . Will have to wait and see.

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The Swords in the river

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The Hygro .p that should have been gone and will be next week

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The Magenta in the jungle still doing very well

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Jungle foreground and Cory playground

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Now a report on the R.Wallichii , all 4 bunches are now in the 60g . The original 2 from the 60g are doing much better than the 2 from this tank . However I wouldn't say either are flourishing . The shots are not great but you should get the point . They are all now sitting on the beach in the 60g right under the light .They have 2 Root tabs right under their feet , So if they don't do well there then I guess they are not for me .

First a wide shot of the 4 bunches

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A closer shot showing the 2 from the 60g doing ok I suppose .

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A close shot of 1 from this tank , its hard to see but this one looks very sick .

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Anyway time will tell for the Wallichii.
Just a couple of fishy shots to finish : a Female Tiger Barb

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EditedEdited by countryfish
That shot was courtesy of the wife without the aid of the macro lens . Last shot for this week is an Otto one a sword spike .

Next week will see the addition of the following plants :
Fontinalis , Water Rose , Banana Lilies and another Annubia Paco . All of these are intended to go in and around the reformed Rock( Mountain ) group . Should be fun .
Oh and of course the Giant Hygro will rplace the Hygro p

Garry

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Week 24 Update .

Well week 23 was a popular update ! Never mind nothing much happened I suppose .
This week however .... well ...where to start . Firstly the new plants arrived and some
new rocks .
So the first thing was to get rid of the Hygro p. and replace with Giant Hygro . Second was
to remodel the rock group into "A Mountain" . Lastly add some more small plants to the Jungle
foregroud .
That was the plan anyway . As I was pulling up the Giant Hygro hiding behind the Jungle I
also pulled up a Java Fern I'd forgotten about , so that was added to the driftwood on the
left of the river . Then I started thinking about the Driftwood over the river and its accompaning
Java's . The Javas had become completely obscured by the jungle , so I reversed the driftwood
to bring the Javas out from behind the Jungle . I then planted the Giant Hygro in place of the
Hygro p.. Tick first objective with some minor variations .

Next it was on to the Mountain . I added the new rocks to the base then tied on the Annubias
and Fontinalis to the current rocks . I also tied another A.Paco to the driftwood which already had
one A.Paco . Then I built the Mountain . This proved to be a little tricky and I can't say I'm overly
happy with it just yet which means it may change shape again sooner rather than later .
objective 2 Achieved ...sort of

The jungle foreground has continued to annoy and frustrate me , so I added 2 more Liaeopsis ,
2 Water Roses and another Crypt . In the process the Water Sprite was shown the door and
some Bacopa was moved further over into the main jungle area . I also took one of the main
Ludwigia's and moved it the left side behind the mountain, mainly because after 4 weeks it
had kept floating up
The Banana Lilies Just didn't fit so for the moment they are parked in the river untill I get some
inspiration
objective 3 Partially achieved. If I was doing an Annual Performance review on those results
I'm not sure I'd give me a pay rise
Just as well this is a hobby and I do it for the love

Onto the photo's ... The Full tank as of last week


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The Full Tank this week

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The Right Side

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The Left Side

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A River Shot

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EditedEdited by countryfish
A few detail Plant shots , Firstly the Mountain , Showing The Fontinalis , Annubias, Annubia Paco and the Ludwigia behind . BTW the caves are still there just better disguised .

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The Banana Lilies in the River

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The Crypt area in front of the Mountain coming on nicely

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A close up of the Fontinalis

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The Ludwigia and Bolbitis behind the mountain

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EditedEdited by countryfish
Next acouple of shots of the centre of the tank without the Hygro p. First a wide shot

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A Narrow shot of the old Hygro P area

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The Java ferns have all grown markedly in the 24 weeks this tank has been going .

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On to the Jungle area now . First the Magenta and Stellata both powering on

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The Bacopa Ludwigias and Amazons doing quite well with the Wisteria going wild in the background

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Right foreground of Baby Amazons and Crypts . I'm pretty happy with this bit of the foreground .

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Left foreground which I'm still not very happy with . This area is proving very difficult to get right perhaps for a number of reasons . The bottom dwellers love digging in this area as well as a lack of light from the over hang . Anyway will have to see how it develops .

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A close up of the Water Rose

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A close up of the Crypt that replaced the Water Sprite and one of the new Liaeopsis clumps

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Thats it for this week , a lot of changes . Couple of points . The PH went back to a more normal 7.2 this week with no ill affects on the residents .Thanks Goodness . The Water quality improved a fair bit but is still not right so I will go ahead and clean the filters again next week ( in tank Water of course) .
Algae is still a problem . So i will continue to review the fert Schedule to try to get the balance right .

Next week will be given over to maintaince as I said and maybe some changes to the Rock group and Jungle foreground if I get time.

A last shot for the night of one of my sharks looking over my shoulder while I process photos.

Garry

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Personally I would like to see the river area cleared up more.....but you know me....I like some clear areas in my tank.

I love the cute little banana lilies. Very different looking!
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Patty Thanks for dropping by, I might just agree with you on that except I keep
running out of places for the plants I want
Update Week 25 : well there wasn't one as we were away and only a bit of
maintaince was done before we went.

Update Week 26 . I can't believe 6 months has gone past sooo quickly
Anyway I thought it appropriate to do a quick review of the development of the
scape and then do my normal shots .
So lets go back to the start ( well almost) . Here's the tank after 1 week .

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Week 5

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Week 9

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Week 14

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Week 18

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Week 22

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Week 24 which is effectively the last photo I posted

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The Full Tank This week ... the only real change is that I was over the Tennulus in
the left front corner near the rock group ...it was srtarting to look fairly patchy.
In the end Tetratech and LF were spot on when they said that it would be very
difficult to grow ground covers at a depth of 32 inches.
I replaced it with some clippings from the top of the Magenta , and placed the
Banana Lilies in front of them .

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The Right side

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The Left side

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The River

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A close up of the newly planted area in front of the rocks

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Just a couple of plant detail shots , I planted a couple of the Baby Swords next to their mum ... also shows the Crypts doing well in the old hairgrass area

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A shot of one of the Bolbitis ... not doing very well at all .

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The Stellata and Magenta after a trim

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A close up of the Banana Lillies

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The wisteria , Bacopa and Ludwigia still doing well in the Jungle ... also the Baby Amazons and Crypts in front of the Jungle

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Thats it for the plants this week . A couple of new inhabitants were added this week . Some Dwarf Gourami's and some BN's .
Heres a BN on the rock in the river

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A Flame Dwarf

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A Coral Blue Dwarf

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Well thats it for another week , again I don't envisage a lot of changes next week .
Remember he's always watching


Garry

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Thanks for sharing your pictures again, Garry. Also makes for great viewing.

Cheers
TW
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EditedEdited by bubblebrain
ive been watching this log for quite a while now and havn't bothered to post until now and i must say that even though im not too deep into the planted setups i absolutly love this setup. the selection of fish are exellent and the recent additions look great. i love how the tank is arranged into different areas. 240 gallons is a great potential for any type of tank be it a planted system or a non planted system. you have truly done a wonderful job on this setup. well done garry!



hi
woot woot woot woot woot woot
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Hey how many BN did you get?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
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Garry,

do you have any idea what BN you got? Are they snowflakes?
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Garry,

Nice review of the first 6 months of this tank, growth during that time has been excellent which means you must be doing something right .

The one thing I am wondering about is "where does it go from here?". Your tank is full of lush plants and you are doing rather minor tweaks, for example with the non-working ground cover.

Otherwise, you must spend an enormous amount of time trimming this sucker, plus water changes and what not. How are you feeling about the work-load? I am once in a while very sick of trimming just the 125G and I am, at these moments, very tempted to convert that baby into a low tech setup with much less maintenance.

So, in short, what's your vision for the next 6 months?

Ingo


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Hello folks , Haven't done much with the tank over the Xmas break . Just dropped in for the first time in over a week .
Will update and answer questions in a day or so . Especially your question Ingo , a real poser ?????!!!!!




Garry
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lovely set up!!!

can we see a FTS?

and a list off everything in there?

i know it is alotto ask as there must be enormous amounts of stocking in a tank so large!

looks great and thanks for sharing!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"
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Happy New Year to everyone at FP .

Thanks BB , appreciate the comments .

Wings , I got 4. I think they are 2 different types however , I bought them from different places . They have slightly different markings especially on the fins . I will eventually try to get photos of them to try to pick the types .
Claudia , I think at least one pair are that but I'm not sure . Will find out in time .

Otherwise, you must spend an enormous amount of time trimming this sucker, plus water changes and what not. How are you feeling about the work-load? I am once in a while very sick of trimming just the 125G and I am, at these moments, very tempted to convert that baby into a low tech setup with much less maintenance.

Ingo , Interesting .... While I've been busy over christmas with family and other things those thoughts have occured to me . I've even tried a couple of different things like backing off ferts and water changes and these have lead to disasters. It is a lot of work and I've had a few things happen that have discouraged me a bit .

So in the end I suppose with a large undertaking like this you go thru motivation issues from time to time and I've just gone thru a biggy ! Hopefully when life returns to normal I'll get my desire back to full steam ahead .

My vision for the next 6 months is another interesting subject obviously affected by the above . So to say that its a little vague at the minute is probably and understatement .... But here goes
1. I'm not happy with the overall design of the river ,I think it should go straight back and that the driftwood over the river should be higher and have thinner branches .
2. The Amazon Swords on the right have been a dissapointment and I think the whole jungle area will need to be need to be redesigned .
3. Having said that , I'm also less than happy with the left rear as well .
4. Where does that leave me ... I hear you ask ... well all of the above will mean a pretty large redesign and replanting .

So thanks for your very astute questions Ingo . The above things might even get my motivation back on track .

brandeeno. Update Following this post. As for the stocking , I haven't done a count for a while .... I was planning to do one soon so I'll post it know when I do .


Garry


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Update week 29 ( None for week 27 or 28 )

Well the only real difference in the tank over the last time is the addition of some crypts that got too big for the 60g and the removal of the Wisteria for the moment due to the base getting rotten from lack of light . Will be replanting it next week .Also the addition of a couple of new Angels and some new Gourami's.

On to the Photo's , the Full Tank from week 26

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Full Tank this week

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The Right Side

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The Left Side

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The River

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The Left from the end of the tank

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A shot of the Rock group on the left showing the cuttings of the Magenta growing well .

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Crypts and baby swords doing very well

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Banana Lily's are also going quite well

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Stellata and Magenta on the right of the river have grown back very well after being trimmed

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The Jungle foreground just to the right of the river is filling in finally !

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So thats it for the plants , a few fishy photos . My new Male Angel . Very fiesty lad this one !

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He's hooked up with Stumpy ( female) who was always an outcast of the Angel group ...Ahhhhhh...ain't love grand

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And he has the dominant male bluffed so far ..... here they are facing off while the females look on

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I got a new morph of the Opaline Gourami ( wife loved them ) they are a very pale yellow which looks very white under bright light , Here's a couple of shots .

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Another shot , a Male I think?

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EditedEdited by countryfish
A couple of shots of the Dwarf Coral Blues , This ones a female

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Another shot of the female

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A Male Coral Blue

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Last shot for this week is a Flame Dwarf male

Next week will still be a little busy with life so no major changes are planned other than the Wisteria going back in .


Garry

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catdancer
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Happy New Year Garry!

I really love the shot showing the left end of the tank. Very interesting and nicely done layout! the new angel is absolutely gorgeous and I hope that it will settle in well (also with respect to 'stumpy').

Sorry to hear that you are dissappointed in your layout but there is always a different or 'better' solution imaginable. I hope that you overcome it quickly, I don't want to miss your contributions on FP. An alternative idea: I am not happy with my scape and plannted a major change but my fish took care of that! Here is an option for the bored enthusiast to get more of a thrill: get a few delicate species of fish and your interests in the hobby will change rapidly from the aesthetics of aquascaping to side effects of medication, treatment duration and treatment strategies in fish as compared to humans, etc

Post InfoPosted 02-Jan-2008 16:27Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Happy New Year to you to Claudia , Thanks for your words of support , I really appreciate it .
It's not that I'm bored exactly , probably "Frustrated" is more the word . Don't worry I've had my
share of those experiences . I haven't made comment in my log but I've recently lost 5 cories,
a Gold tiger , and a bunch of Lemons in this tank and even more fish in the 60g for no apparent
reason . All the tests were fine, no visable disease, only 1 water change missed .
Maybe with all the rain were getting here ATM its affecting water quality but I can't see it in the
tests .
I never worry if I loose new fish as that is just part of the risk you take , but when I loose long
term residents (6months or more) I get worried and a bit depressed . Add to that being a bit
frustrated with the scape and the development of the plants and you can see why my mood
hasn't been the greatest .
So sorry about the long rant but I think a major redo will lift me back to where I was before the
setbacks .
Thanks again for your support

Garry
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EditedEdited by catdancer
You are very welcome, Garry!

I had no idea that frustration is the problem and not boredom with the aquascape (which you can easily change, you have the talent!). I can certainly relate to frustration as I am sitting here typing and watching my poor little discus girl in her hospital tank v

At least I know the cause of the disease although it is no consolation at all. Unexpected deaths are probably even more frustrating (I better refer to my frame of mind as depressed). Rain after a draught could affect the water, maybe you got some nasty bugs?

I wish you and your tank a speedy recovery - your aquaria are beautiful and the collection of fish fantastic. I forgot to compliment you on the nice shot of the blue dwarf gourami next to the Sterba cory! That being said I don't think that you have to do a major redo but if it's that what you want - I am on pins and needles waiting to see the result


Claudia
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EditedEdited by countryfish
Thanks Again Claudia , you are always upbeat and I think I'm back

Ok A stocking list was requested here we go

Number / Fish / Size(Total inches)
Sharks
1 Albino Shark 5.0
1 Black Shark 10.0
1 Red Tail Shark 5.0
1 Red Fin Shark 5.0
Catfish
5 SAE's 20.0
12 Sterbai Cory's 18.0
4 Bristle Noses 8.0
5 Otto's 5.0
Loaches
6 Dwarf Loaches 6.0
Angels
1 Grey Angel 3.0
4 Gold Angels 16.0
Barb's
10 Tiger Barb's 15.0
1 Gold Tiger 1.5
7 Golden Barb's 10.5
Tetra's
10 Lemon Tetras 5.0
Gourami's
2 Blue Gourami's 8.0
4 Kissers 20.0
4 Pale Gourami's 8.0
7 Dwarf Gourami's 14
Others
4 Blue Rainbows 6.0

Plants
Giant Hygro
Wisteria
Bacopa
Narrow Leaf Ludwigia
Ludwigia Ovalis
Aponotegon Crispus (Green & Red)
Annubia Barteri/Paco/Nana
Java Fern
Pogostemon Stellata
Rotala Macrandra - Magenta
Banana Lilies
Amazon Swords -3 varieties
Pennywort
Crypts- Balansae
Crypt -Wendti Brown / Green
Crypts - Various
Tennulus - Pigmy Chain sword ( Not much left)
Bolbitus Fern

Thats it I think , Hope thats what you wanted

Garry

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Upbeat, me? Well, I try to be though it is tough right now (my little discus ...)

Thanks for the list but your C. sterbai is 18 inches long? I am a bit confused as I had assumed that you would give me the size per fish (gourami with 5 inches and a shark with 10 makes sense to me) but a cory with 18??? Hey, AUS is also using inches instead of the metric system?

Garry the man with the giant cories ... the biggest sterbai I see here are 2.5 inches and round in the middle. Please clarify but I guess that your individual cory is 1.5 inches, correct? Anyway, I really envy you the C. sterbai, they are quite pricey here (at least for cories) and I am always tempted to get a little school but the worry regarding the water temperature scares me, although these cories are recommended for discus tanks. You are apparently a fan of gouramis and I have to admit the more I see these fish the more I get tempted to try some myself, especially the dwarfs are so beautiful (maybe for another tank )

Have you ever tried C. spiralis? Absolutely gorgeous, those slender slightly bronze colored leaves! After unpacking my new C. balansae i realized that I have C. sprialis in the tank and quite franky, would have prefered more of these plants. Another plant for you to try (should you be in the mood for it) is Limnophila aromatica, absolutely gorgeous and not difficult to grow if you have some nice substrate and decent light (and Excel). Or Crinum calamistratum or any other crinum except thaeanum. Hey, I try to cheer you up, there are so many exciting plants!

I hope you are back to your cheerful mood - you should be with a tank this beautiful.

Thanks again for the list!

Claudia (one of these days I will update my log as well)


Post InfoPosted 04-Jan-2008 05:57Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Hi,
I think Country is giving the inches of fish so that
one could total them all and see how many inches of fish
he is housing in a 240 gallon tank (the idea of x number
of inches of fish per gallon).

12 Sterbai Cory's 18.0 would mean that the total number
of inches of Sterbai Cory cat fish in the 240G tank is
18 inches. Now some could be an inch or some could be
three inches but all together that species takes up 18
inches.

Frank


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Post InfoPosted 04-Jan-2008 09:03Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Good thing you aren't charging for this entertainment Country as we'd all be broke.
You scored a female dw gourami, well done. I think every single one of mine are male.
That red flame is very nicely marked. Mine don't have the yellow dots at the base of the tail.
I have managed not to kill my magenta and it may at last be actually growing. Don't hold your breath tho.
Post InfoPosted 04-Jan-2008 13:09Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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I think Country is giving the inches of fish so that
one could total them all and see how many inches of fish
he is housing in a 240 gallon tank (the idea of x number
of inches of fish per gallon).
I didn't double check my work but I to 189 in. It sure seems like a lot of fish but when added up it fits. Are all the fish measurements set at potential size or current size?



55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric
Post InfoPosted 04-Jan-2008 13:27Profile AIM PM Edit Delete Report 
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EditedEdited by catdancer
Oh boy, I apologize for adding a bit of humor ...
Post InfoPosted 04-Jan-2008 16:28Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Apologies Claudia for not being clearer . I think I said at the start of this log that I kept fish
30 years ago ....so while I might not have the experience of Keith and Frank .....I've been
around long enough that my thinking is a bit old fashioned . Hence in think in inches
rather than ml .... Gals rather than litres....even though Miles is a long distant memory .

I also always have the inches per gal rule in the back of my head so Frank is spot on .
When I first started BTW I was told that you could keep 3 inches per Gal if you aerated .
and that was after taking off the head and tail . My how things have changed .

I copied that list from my Excel Spreadsheet that I use for my Maintaince log . So Wings is
exactly right( as you would expect from a teacher) 90 Fish at 189 inches is the stocking
level and I also divide them up into Top , Mid and Bottom ...trying to make sure I don't
overstock any level . So 12 Corys @ 1.5inches = 18inches total .

As far as the measurements are concerned Wings ...they are current with a bit of possible
future growth built in where I think its likely . I revise it every couple of months ....
Too much time on my hands

So happy we all got a giggle out of my archaic thinking .

Thanks everyone for brightening my day .


Garry
Post InfoPosted 05-Jan-2008 03:31Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Ok now I've read the posts properly I'll answer the other bits .
Claudia , I haven't tried any of those I think . I have quite a few Crypts in both tanks which
I'm not sure of the exact name . I saw one at The LFS the other day which I liked that had
short crinkled leaves , trouble with the LFS's around here is they don't know the names of
the plants ... so unless I buy online I'm guessing .

I am a Gourami Fan on and off . I bought some Bronze and Gold Honey Gourami's for
the 60g . They are very small and the colours are stunning . If I can ever get them to stand
still I'll post a pick or 2 .

Bren thanks for your thoughts and I hope your Magenta starts growing for you .


Garry
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Garry,

I was teasing you and joking (which others took serious) about the size of the cory! On the other hand, a C.sterbai of 18 inches would be too cute. Here I am serious, I love cories.

Know what? I never ever considered the G/fish rule, it is BS for a whole lot of reasons that would turn this posting in a lecture, which I do not give in private life. However, I have seen tanks that made me think about stocking guidelines for people without a scientific background (heck, what am I writing here, a colleague of mine has an awfully overstocked tank).

I am relieved to hear that AUS uses the metric system, it drives me nuts having to convert metric to whatever unit is in use and F to Celsius ...

APC has a quite nice listing of plants that can asist in determination of the species growing in your tank in case you are interested. Hopefully, tomorrows shipment will complete my plant order and than I will update my discus tank log again.

Have a great weekend and enjoy your tanks!

Claudia
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Wow, Garry... I havent come by to check on your tank in awhile. I must say that you've surely got an incredible set up going there. And those blue gouramis, wow!

Anyhow, thanks for sharing your tank with us, you're an inspiration to those of us who are new to the hobby!

Keep up the awesome work!
Post InfoPosted 06-Jan-2008 15:55Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Hi Gary,

I haven't checked in here for a while... the tank is looking great, although it sounds like you are in the mood for some pretty drastic changes in the near future. Look forward to seeing what you do to get your enthusiasm back.

The new pale gouramis you have are sold in LFS here under the name "Platinum Gourami" - the title seems to fit them pretty well IMO, especially once you've seen them under the right light. I have one of them in my 180g atm.

I seem to recall that you were having some issues a while back with some Rotala wallichii. Did you end up getting it growing properly?

Great pics as usual. Looking forward to the next installment...

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.
Post InfoPosted 12-Jan-2008 15:27Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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Hi folks , thanks for all the comments , the update is a little late this week . I replanted
the Wisteria at the right hand rear of the tank and I've been having a running battle
with Blackie as he doesn't seem to like where I've put them . He keeps digging them up .

So the last week has been.. I plant it in the morning ...turn the lights out for the afternoon
siesta ....turn lights back on in the evening ...all floating this has gone on for
4days .I usually only plant at water change due to the depth of the tank ...but this
week my glasses have become goggles trying to bury these darned plants as deep
as possible at the back .
I haven't been able to take any photos so far due too this little battle of wills .
Hopefully tonight


I seem to recall that you were having some issues a while back with some Rotala wallichii. Did you end up getting it growing properly?
GT yep you are right , its still alive ...barely.. I'll take some photos tonight .

Scott thanks for those very unexpected compliments , much appreciated .


Know what? I never ever considered the G/fish rule, it is BS for a whole lot of reasons that would turn this posting in a lecture, which I do not give in private life. However, I have seen tanks that made me think about stocking guidelines for people without a scientific background
Claudia ... Ahh the ever vigilant scientific mind ... actually you would probably do the
hobby a favour if you came up with a rule that was a proven fact instead of just folklore

Update tonight ...I hope... Blackie you orny little


Garry
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Week 30 Update

Only a few new things in the tank this week . I've discussed the replanting of the Wisteria
in the post above .
I cant' believe I forgot to mention that the central group of Crypts Wendti (brown ) in the
60g had got to big for that tank ...so the group ( about 6 plants ) has been replanted into
this tank . No other changes to the plants .

On the Fish front I've added 3 new Angels to the herd ...another Silver and 2 blacks .

Growth in the tank is still solid ... the Jungle foreground is now looking very lush ...
just need the Wisteria and the Amazons too fill in the background .

The Magenta and Stellata have been trimmed again ..so that area is starting to fill out .
The Crypts and swords on the left of the river continue to grow well .
I've planted 2 more Sword babys in the river on the right .

Thats about it so on to the photos ...the Tank last week ..

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Full Tank This week

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Right Side ...you can see my Friend the shark has started to dig up some of the Wisteria again ( floating in the centre ) ....as I sit here typing he's knocked up another piece ... He's trying my patience.

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The Left Side

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The Rock Group

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The Annubias from the end of the Tank

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EditedEdited by countryfish
The Crypts Wendti from the 60g... you can just see one of the Bolbitis Ferns rotting away ...They have been a big disappointment so far.

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The Crypts and Swords to the left of the river

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The Replanted WIsteria at the right rear ....Java ferns in front of them

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The Magenta ans Stellata to the right of the river

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The Jungle Foreground

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Thats it for the plants ...I apoligise for the quality of the pics .... I'm still having trouble getting used to the wifes new wizz bang lens and I think I over processed them .

Now on to the new residents ... The Angels ..First the 2 Blacks together

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The Bigger Black

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The Smaller Black

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The Grey I got a few weeks ago

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The New Grey

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Ok ...now onto the Wallichi issue ... for those who don't remember I purchased some Rotala Wallichi just to give it a go . I put some in both tanks but in this tank it did very poorly so I moved it to the 60g to see if I could save it . Well the bunch I moved from this tank did not recover and had to be thrown away .
The Bunch that was already in the 60 g has gone down hill after doing ok in the first month or so .

So first here is a full tank shot of the 60g

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The Wallichi as it was after a few weeks in the 60g

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As it is today ...not so good . Not sure why ... it sits right under the light .. and has root tabs right under its feet .. ... Its growing but only just .. Oh well we'll see what happens .

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Last shot for the night is of the Bronze Honey Gourami in the 60g ..a better shot than the one I posted in Photo booth .

Will be very little happening in the tank this week , just maintaince .


Garry

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wow......you & your plants.....so many! Great looking tanks though! I especially like your rocks.
Congrats on the new fish, they're beautiful!
Sorry for your problems. Yeah, it's frustrating to loose established fish.
I wish you luck in the new year! Looks like you're staying on top of things though, despite it all.
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Thanks Patty ..appreciate the thoughts !

Week 31 Update

This week went exactly as predicted ...maintaince only . At least the WIsteria stayed down ...well most of it

So I won't bore you with a long entry ...not much to tell

Last weeks Fulltank shot

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Full Tank this week

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Right Side

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Left Side

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EditedEdited by countryfish
River /Centre...No plans for any changes next week ...should be dull again .


Garry

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Garry- I am just blown away at your artistry and scape design... You really have a knack for this stuff... How long have you been doing this? I have a hornwort question I will post in a different topic.

Awesome!
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EditedEdited by Gone_Troppo
Thanks for the update on the R.wallichii Garry.

I have some in my nano atm and thought it was doing OK, but over the last few weeks it seems to be looking less full and pink.

Could it be that it doesn't like the Excel? I'm pretty sure that mine started it's downward slide within about a week of starting to use the excel on that tank, prior to that it had been there for a bit over a month and seemed to be doing well receiving only a general purpose liquid fert and no carbon supplement.

It could also just be that it doesn't like being trimmed too... the lower portions of the stems I have trimmed are definitely the worse looking of the lot; the new growth from the old stems isn't too bad and the re-planted tops are ok, but the the older parts of the plants are just bleh!

Whatever it is I'm glad I'm not alone with this frustrating plant. It seems such a shame ... when it's doing well it's a really gorgeous addition, but when its not it can really bring down the look of the whole tank. I'd love to get mine growing well again, just need to work out for sure what causes it to decline and rectify that.

As always I'm loving your tank and great pics.

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.
Post InfoPosted 20-Jan-2008 16:40Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
Countryfish
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Scott...Actually I had planted tanks 30years ago ...but had no idea about scaping
as there was no FP back then
So ....really I've only learned the principles from this site and other fantastic info
sites in the last 2 years .

Thanks for the compliment BTW ...but I still think I have a long way to go ..both
in scaping and getting the right plants in the right spot so that when the tank
grows in it actually looks the same as I planned .The plant growth thing is
probably the biggest challenge ...just because the book says that a plant
grows to a certain height does not mean it will in your conditions .
Just look at the Amazons on the right side of this tank..they should dominate the
jungle with huge waving fronds ...but they have degenerated into very small
plants ...probably because they were emerse grown .

Anyway enough rambling...Thanks for stopping by

Could it be that it doesn't like the Excel? I'm pretty sure that mine started it's downward slide within about a week of starting to use the excel on that tank, prior to that it had been there for a bit over a month and seemed to be doing well receiving only a general purpose liquid fert and no carbon supplement.
Troppo ...Actually during the first month that mine went well in the 60g I used
Excel ..so I don't think its that . I've noticed the trimming thing as well ..your
right ...you might want to throw the bottoms away . But I've noticed recently
that there is new growth coming from the trimmed bottoms ...its very slow
but its there ...its green as well ???? maybe this plant just goes through stages ...
or it uses up its stored energy when you get it and then takes along time to settle ?
Don't know ???

But I'm going to let it alone and see what happens ...I have a feeling that this
might be one of those plants that reacts badly to being moved around .
We will see .

Thanks for the compliment and for dropping by .


Garry
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EditedEdited by catdancer
Garry, you made me laugh:
Claudia ... Ahh the ever vigilant scientific mind ... actually you would probably do the
hobby a favour if you came up with a rule that was a proven fact instead of just folklore


I wish I'd have the time to do so but the result would be complicated involving many parameters. This calls for a detailed study by people with lots of tanks! Where are they? Sorry, scientific 'snobbiness' is a side effect of being many years in the trade (invasive thinking permeating private life).
Now, onto your tank: I think I have already mentioned how much I like the two grey (zebra) angelfish. They are awesome!
R. wallichii turned inot a disappointment in my tank as well. After seeing your initial success with high dose Excel and ferts I increased mine as well - everything else but the target plant improved.
Later I came across a reference which mentioned that the plant requires soft and acidic water for long term success. I know that my water is NOT acidic and blamed the demise of the plant on the pH. What is your pH?

Claudia
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Sorry to learn of your fish losses. Always sad to lose friends that have been with you a while

I'm sure you'll get your motivation back soon. A planted tank the size of yours must surely be a lot of work. Though you may not be entirely happy with the scape, your delighted viewers/readers think it's just great But of course, it has to be you that's happy with the look. As for me, I'm a bit over stem plants that grow fast & require constant removing / trimming / replanting. More & more, my tanks will be dominated by slow & lower growers. There are stems, but they are in the minority. I've even trained my wisteria to be a low plant that doesn't require the removal & replanting cycle. I keep it low & reguarly trimmed & it's growing thicker, with leaves on the bottom of the stems again. Needs trimming every week or two, but I've not pulled one wisteria stem out & replanted it since setup of the divided tank. Much easier. Maybe if you looked for plants that make your tank less work, but still beatiful, that may work better for you. Just my two cents.

Your new black angels are very pretty. I see you are partial to angels, as you have quite a few.

Look forward to your next round of photos.

Cheers
TW
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Claudia ...The PH in the 60g is on average around 6.9 ...GH is 7d to 8d (100-200ppm)...
so slightly hard ...slightly acidic ..may not be the right conditions for this plant .

Robyn , thanks for your nice thoughts and compliments ...as always its really appreciated .
I also appreciate the advice...some interesting ideas ...I've already decided that Wisteria
is now a background plant ...will see how it goes there .
I'm also searching around for bigger plants to fill the height of this tank better ...thats
proving to be a major challenge .

Any way I'll keep trying to improve as time goes on .

Thanks for your help ..both of you .


Garry
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Update Week 32

Once again not a lot happened in the tank this week . A little trimming of the Magenta ...
cut back one of the Bolbitus ferns to the rizome to see if I can get it to respond ...
trimmed a lot of algae affected Annubia leaves .

Finally found some very large Swords for this tank ...I bought 3 ..One is submerse grown ..
2 are emerse grown ..will be interesting to see how they develop.
They are all soaking ATM ..will plant them next week .

Bought some new Flame Dwarf Gourami's to make up for the losses ..
now have 6 Flame Males, 2 Blue Coral Males and 2 Blue Coral females .

On a sad note I lost my last Gold Tiger Barb this week ..no obvious reason ..probably a
victim of the Tiger Barb wars . Also lost one of the Large Female Tigers ..she blew up
like a balloon ..didn't look like dropsy ..maybe she was egg bound ..only lasted 48hours
after she blew up .

On to the Photos ...The Full Tank Last week ...

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Full Tank this week

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Right Side

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Left Side

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Angle Shot

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Rock Group

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The Annubia's after a heavy trim

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EditedEdited by countryfish
Swords and Crypts next to the River

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Jungle Foreground

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EditedEdited by countryfish
New Swords Soaking ...been there for 4 days.. they are over 24 inches in height ..should look good .

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Thats it for the plants this week ...a few Fishy photos ... First the new Black Angels ..This is the big one ..over 6inches in height

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Smaller Black Angel

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A Bristlenose on the rocks

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The Cory hangout

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A Sterabi Cory close up

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Loach Central ...under the swords in the river

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Part of the Tiger Barb herd

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Last shot for this week is the Redtail shark at the back door to his cave ...left end of the tank .

Will plant the new swords next week ...this will mean some rearranging ..not sure yet what I'm going to do .. very unlike me , I normally have a plan . Oh well have to be seat of the pants


Garry

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EditedEdited by TW
Hi Garry, as always, looking good. Especially liked the crypt in the pic labelled "Swords and Crypts next to the River" What type of crypt is that reddish brown one?

It's always good to pick out some new fishy friends. Hope they enjoy their new home. Will check in when I get back from Surfers.

Cheers
TW
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What a pity that it is impossible to ship plants to AUS! My amazon swords would have made such nice additions to your tank and I know you would take good care of them!

I am looking forward to see what you are doing with them - I need an inspirtion what to do with the gap tha will be created should I remove the last sword. Should I?

Claudia

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EditedEdited by countryfish
Claudia ...don't do it... swords ( at least one ) are a must IMO.
Week 33 Update .

Well I tried to do something different with the swords that I showed last week ..
they were just tooo big . Wouldn't fit in any of the other places that I thought
might be impactfull . So they went into the rear of the jungle which of course
was the original plan way back at the start ...bit boring I know .

In the process of mucking around trying to fit the swords in I removed some
Giant Hygro and found the base of all the stems was browned off and brittle .
So I had to take off the bases and replant only the healthy tops . Then I didn't
like the unevenness of the look so I did the lot ..ugh doesn't look so good ..
but its a fast grower so should only be a week or 2 before its back to the surface .
I'm going to have to stagger the trimming and replanting of this plant to avoid
this in the future .

In the process of uprooting the Giant Hygro the Annubias Barteri which were a
bit hidden behind behind the Rock group came up so I repositioned them in front
of the rocks to boost the Annubia's around the rocks .

All in all a very busy day of changes without too much change in the overall scape .

One thing I've learned from this excersise ...If I ever get around to doing a complete redo ..
Its going to take a couple of days.
Just a few shots this week ..Full Tank last week

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Full Tank This week

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Right Side ..showing the new swords . I removed all the baby swords that were not rooted down to get these new swords in . Got 12 fairly advanced plants that I don't have room for ...I need a grow out tank You can see the Wisteria starting to poke its head up at the back of the jungle . ...Oh and lots of Giant Hygro floating that the Shark and Kissers have knocked up .

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The Left Side ..Ugly but will recover quickly

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The Rock group with the Annubias added

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A closer Shot of the Gaint Hygro trimmed down

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A closer shot of the Jungle

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Thats it for the plants this week ..A few fishy shots to finish ...A Platinum Gourami

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New Grey Angel

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RedTail Shark

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Flame Dwarf Gourami

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Redtail And Redfin Shark confrontation in the new swords

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Thats it this week ... Next week should not see too many changes ..just some replanting and maybe a few slight tweaks .

Last shot ...remember he's always watching ...Da..Dum...Da...Dum

Garry

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i havent seen all of this log yet but do you have C02?
ps.i love the pics and that shark is amazing!

33 gallon 7 neon tetras-5 platys-3 bleeding heart tetras-2 corys-1 rainbow shark-2 L83 gibby plecos
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No ... Flourish Excel ...Thanks for the compliment ...He's a big baby and annoying as hell when he digs up my plants ..but I love him .

Garry
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..but I love him
To each his own, he is special, no doubt!

Garry, thanks for the advice, I will refrain from getting rid of the last sword in my tank! Nevertheless, I will have to do a lot of trimming, when I compare your planting to mine I see that the fish in my tank don't have enouigh room to swim.

The left side does not look bad ar all and the hygro will recover quickly. Do you have tiger lotus? this is a very nice and easy to grow plant. the only action required is cutting off the large leaves that shoot up to the surface. The dwarf version is even prettier and an extremely nice ground cover.
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Your ever changing tank!

Amazingly beautiful pics Garry!

Your red tailed shark has lips.
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I've wondered how is the water circulation and filterage within the forest planting?
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country fish wow i love the tank and the fish are amazing im quiet jealous!!! keep it up
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i wish i had a tank like that. and that shark. keep it up!

hi
woot woot woot woot woot woot
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Claudia...Glad to help ..even if it's only an opinion ! No I haven't got a Tiger Lotus... they are very expensive ..which is why I asked your opinion ..didn't want to buy one if it was going to be a dud .

Bren ..no issue for me with 3 filters pouring flow around the tank . I have the 3 outlets placed to create flows in different parts of the tank .

Patty ,bratyboy2 & Bubblebrain ...Thanks for dropping by and for the compliments ..much appreciated .


Garry
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EditedEdited by catdancer
Garry:

you could buy the tiger lotus as a bulb - much less expensive. The plant will develop within short time (I could see first signs of germination within a week). I am trimming the large leaves that try to reach the water surface and the plant develops plenty of leaves that stay within 8 to 12 cm of the substrate. However, I still have to trim once a week a leaf which 'escaped'. The dwarf version which I had bought as 'variety of dwarf water lilies' is extremely beautiful, a very shiny dark red and stays small (2.5 cm long leaves) and does not show any tendency to grow towards the surface.

Claudia
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EditedEdited by jase101
garry, your tank is beautiful. the fish look really happy, and it must just be a pleasure to sit down in front of that tank and watch it.

not sure where you are in aus, but you can pick up small tiger lotus for 5 - 10 bucks sometimes (in sydney) and if you plant them, don't move them (they hate being moved) and feed them with undergravel tabs, they will not change for about a month or two, then before you know it you'll have a majestic, hardy plant. i've never seen bulbs for sale in aus, have you? i let mine send up surface leaves cos i like the lily-pond effect, and all my fish feel more secure with the cover. i can have up to 8 or 10 leaves on the surface plus a crown of 5 or 6 about 20 - 30 cm high.

if you want to move a mature plant it will lie dormant for another month or two after the move. i've discovered that rather than uproot it, i 'drag' it through the substrate to where i want it - but i pretty much learnt to consider the lotus the feature plant and work around it!!

anyway, as i said, gorgeous tank. well done.
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Claudia and Jase ...Thanks for that ...the only place I seem to able to get them is online
and they are $50 ea . Don't mind paying the price if it survives ...but I've had a lot of
failures from expensive plants . So I might give one a go .

Update Week 34

Not a lot happenned this week ..just maintaince ..no tweaking ..pretty dull ...good growth
from the Hygro and Wisteria and the Algae .

Last weeks Full Tank Shot

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