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Hey Guys, Thanks for the input.

I have increased the Ferts to every other day and using all 3 ferts.

I am using Iron, Phosporus and Excel currently as those were the ones I am using. I am adding 1 cap of each which is for 10 gallons on the excel and 30 gallons on the other two. I am having my mother in law add the liquid ferts as its just filling up the cap and dumping it in the tank. She has been really good on the food and has understood my instructions perfectly. She even called me today to make sure she was doing it right.

Also Ingo, im dumb and not sure what you mean btw....

Garry, what do you mean by?

Sound's to me like your plants need some Macros at least .I've been keeping my
Nitrates at about 10ppm ocassionally 20ppm .
As Ingo intimated you at least need N,P,K , taken care off to use up the
Excel( Carbon) your increasing .I use Seachems Ferts as well as excel and it seems to be working well .

Also how do you keep up the nitrates apart from holding off on WC's?

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Also Ingo, im dumb and not sure what you mean btw....

Shane,

You are not dumb, you just don't do you research. Seriously read up on macros and micros (ferts, that is).

Enough with the harsh words

I was reading your evaluation on plant growth and tank stability. There is a direct correlation (or at least it seems like there is one to me from what you wrote) between the two, meaning you had growth while being not stable and none when stable. For me, that clearly indicates that your stability is not in favor of the plants. Don't think I am saying you should be unstable, instead you should evaluate what made the plants grow in the prior state and then correct the current state to accommodate these needs without making it unstable again.

Makes sense?

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Shane , N= Nitrogen ie nitrates , Seachem make a Nitrogen fert , K= Potassium.
Seachem also make a pottasium fert . You should go to the Seachem site and have a
look at their suggested fert schedule . It will help . You don't have to follow it exactly .
You will also need to take care of the micros through either the use of Florish or
Florish Traces .

So to Recap N= Nitrogen , P= Phosphates , K= Potassium are the macros you must have .
I judge both Nitrates and Phosphates by testing . API and Seachem make good test kits
for both of these . Potassium & micros is judged by watching for deficiencies in your plants.
It's a bit of science and a bit of an art .
Of course if you want to go all out at it you can read the EI system that a lot around here use .

The above works for me , hope this helps .

Garry

Thanks for the input guys....

Ingo, i seriously did not know what was meant by macros and micros. It could have been economics for all i knew. Know you guys have told me and which ferts are in which group i can research them more.

Just so you guys know I am dosing Excel, Iron and Phosporus every other day right now. I am seeing growth on the plants with brand new leaves and different places on the plants. I am also seeing new plantlets on some of the Ludwiga and on the Wysteria.

So right now the ferts i have seem to be working well. I did my first WC in two weeks and the Nitrates were barley above 10ppm. The Phosphorus was minimal and 0 nitrites and ammonia.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Hi Monster,

Seems the tank is doing great and you arel learning alot! I am very proud.

About the rams,

They look amazing! very healthy! and it looks like you ahve a pair. Love may soon be in the air.

PUNK DUDE!!!!

long time no talk....

You think i have a male and female there? I cant tell myself. Anyways yeah the tank has come along way. Im hoping to see some good healthy increases with the added ferts.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

So just a quick update this week. I am continuing to Dose the Ferts every other day. I am seeing slight melting in the Vals from the Excel but nothing to be really worried about.

So here was the last image i have



Here is the new Image



I am especially impressed with the growth in the Wysteria which is where I was worried the most.



As you can see i am getting alot of new leaves on the wysteria and the swords in front are doing better also.

I am seeing a lot more growth now. The ludwiga is doing really well and i am seeing a lot of new shoots.

Its interesting to see how the tank went from this


To This


Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Oh yeah! Vast improvement! Beautiful tank! I definitely want to see pics when it's all grown up.

Shane , Good stuff mate , sounds like your on the way to a nice lush looking tank . Shouldn't take too long either .

Well done .

Garry

Thanks for the input guys, i really appreciate it all. I have some questions tho. The Vals are getting rather long and they need to be thinned out some. What would be the best course of action for these as i know you dont cut the leaves down.

Also The wysteria. Should i be removing the longer section of the stems so that the roots that are growing out of the upper section of the plant dont have as far to reach the substrate?

Thanks in advance

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Hi Shane:

The Vals are getting rather long and they need to be thinned out some

That is exactly why I want to replace mine with C. balansae! Okay, this is what I did today: I removed the longest leaves from the bottom of the plant (hope you understand what I clumsily try to explain). If you have a lot of runners, you may want to remove the tallest and oldest plants entirely and just keep and replant the runners (clip them apart). However I am not sure what you are referring to regarding the Wisteria. Are the stems long and thin without much leaves at the bottom parts? I would cut those and replant the shortened stem. Otherwise, you can trim Wisteria like other stem plants (hmm, at least that is what I keep doing).

Hope this helps, Claudia

P.S. Your tank is quite lovely and such a great improvemnt from your first set up. Congrats!

Yes claudia, you are correct in thinking that some of the stems are long with no foliage at the bottom of the stems. I will go ahead and cut the stems shorter. However if they have new growth at the bottom, can i pick that off and let it float for a while to allow roots or for it to grow bigger?

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Sooo......

It has been along time since i posted in this log as well as the forum iteself. For that im sorry. I have been working two jobs which i am still doing and my primary job has been going crazy so i havent had time to sit down and write a post. Unfortunatly my tanks have been let go a little also. However what i have done is upgraded my lighting and my 10 gallon to a 20 gallon high tank. I have got lots of plants now and lots of algae in the 35 gallon of which i have no idea on how to fix or do with. So I have decided that i am going to redesign my tank and try and keep the plants alive while I make sure that i have all the nutrients I need and basically start over with my plants. I am going to do my best to clean them. I have also added the algae squad from AZ gardens to my 35 gallon to see if that will improve the algae issue for the time being. So one of these days Im going to remove all my plants and hardscape and re design it. So i need some ideas and Help. I havent been doing the nutrients right and so Im wondering if plant root tabs would be better than liquid. I have CO2 canisters for both tanks but im worried about setting those up correctly. Basically they are DIY but commerically purchased. So I would like somehelp. Hopefully I can actually sit down and research what i need to. Thanks for your time and I appreciate your Input.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Shane ..good to see you back mate ..Hope work lets up for you soon so you can begin to enjoy the finer things in life again . Like Fish Profiles .

Can't wait to see some photos of your new look .

Garry

So here is some up to date info on my tanks:

Wattage of lights
20 Gal 24" 65W & 35 Gal 36" 96w
Kind of lights (normal flourescent, compact flourescent etc)
Compact Flouresant 10,000 K Bulbs

What species of plants

35 Gallon
Wysteria
Anubias Nanas
Bolbitis
Broadleaf Ludwiga
Anachris
Dwarf Green Acorus
Dwarf Onions
Sagittaria subulata
Crypt Walkeri
Java Ferns
Crypt Balasne
Crypt Wendetti
Unknown Swords
and another unknown Plant

20 Gallon
Wysteria
Anubias Nana
Jungle Vals
Blood Stargrass
Japanese Fans
Dwarf Lily Plant
Dwarf Onions
Ambulia
Tall Sagittaria subulata
red-spot Ozelot sword
Crypt Walkeri
Java Ferns
Unknown Plant


How many plants (tons of plants, or just a few?)
35 Gallon has lots of plants, 20 gallon has a medium amount of plants

Substrate
35 Gal has eco complete , 50lbs
20 Gal has flourite 40lbs

CO2 levels (if you are adding CO2)
20 GAL i hal Florish excel every day 1 cap
35 gal has DIY kinda CO2 that is not measured

Nitrate (NO3) levels
20 Gal last nights check was at 5ppm
Phosphate (PO4) levels
20 Gal last nights check was at 0

35 Gall tests i dont have yet as I forgot the tools to test. Will test monday

Fertilizer schedule (if you add ferts a schedule is a must)
trying to follow the Seachem schedule posted on their website

How many fish (tons of fish or just a few?)
35 gal has about 40 inches of Fish. 20 Gal has 5 barbs, 5 Ottos and about 10 shrimp.
Both tanks have nerite Snails

Kinds of algae you are seeing
In 35 gal which is worse im seeing black bearded algae mostly and then alot of hair algae
in 20 gal none as of right now but im wanting to avoid that problem

Pics of 35 Gallon


Unknown sword is in background:


Unknown Sword and unknown plant is on the left:


Middle tank shot


Full Tank Shot


Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Very nice Shane!

One thing I'd like to suggest (at least for photos) is a background as it will show of the details of the tank better. Otherwise: well done. A few more fish maybe?

Claudia

Shane I agree with Claudia ...a background would be good . The plants all look pretty healthy to me so well done . If I may be permitted a suggestion ...the Scape looks a bit all over the place ..perhaps a bit of a focus area either using your hardscape or a blank area might help to give some depth to the tank .

Just a thought .

Garry

Claudia,

Yea i know i need to get a background on there, I have yet to figure out a secure way of attaching it unless i paint. How do you do yours??

Same Question goes for garry aswell.. As far as the layout is concerned yes it is all over the place, I need some ideas on how to clean it up LOL.....I need time to sit down and draw it out me thinks.

Thanks for the input and keep it comming. Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Update-

The tanks are doing okay right now. I found out I lost a SAE in one of my tanks today which is sad and I lost another otto in my 20 gallon also. I checked the main params and found 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites and only 5 or less Nitrates which is great. MY Ph is at 7.8 and steady which is a good thing on the 20 gallon. But i dont understand why im loosing fish in the 20 gallon. Its not overloaded. I havent added any ferts to the 20 gallon for a while and I am seeing some decent growth in my older plants. The new ones seem to be settling in and I made some drawings today of what I want my two tanks to look like.

This is drawing for my 35 Gallon


The are rough drawings but it gives you guys an idea of what im wanting to do. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

So Im still having troubles with the Algae but im hoping the additions to the tank are helping out. Here are a few shots

Bolbitis, still engulfed in the BBA


Same with my ludwiga


Here is a current Full tank shot


Here are some shots of some of the inhabitants
SAE


Some of my Black Skirts in another bolbitis shot


Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Yea i know i need to get a background on there, I have yet to figure out a secure way of attaching it unless i paint. How do you do yours??

A background would make such a huge difference to your tank. With my older tanks, I simply taped the aquarium black background onto the back of the tank (with black electrical tape), which worked well. With a small betta tank, I tried a method I read here, where you rub baby oil on the back of the tank & this keeps the background in place. I found this only works for a while. The oil drys out & the background peels off.

My new tanks are all painted black on the outer rear wall. Yes, it means I can't change colours anytime I feel like it, like Ingo can with his dramatic red background, but I like black, so I'm happy.

Good job with the sketches - I find that so hard to do.

Cheers
TW

nice work im excited to see it all grown in

So I completed the makeover of the tank from the drawings. the river looks pretty well and the plats all look good in the tank with the rock formations. I had some problems with the onion plants so we will see how they go. I will try and get photos soon.

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

So there were some big, BIG changes in my tank this week, as i said earlier I have redone the tank. So first of all here is the old tank



Here is the New Look Tank


As you can see I have tried to stay with my drawing the best I could. The only change I made was adding the rock to the left.

Left Side

Middle

Right Side



Does anyone know what this plant is by any chance????
Its a Stem plant that has largish leaves that plantlets grow off the main stem. It has a thickish stem and has lost very little lower leaves.


BTW, how do you keep the Onions from floating away? Have you added weight to them so that the roots can grow in?? Even when i plant them deep into the substrate they still seem to be able to float back up. Any ideas??


Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Here are some pics of the inhabitants. First of all my Julis




Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

My Siamensis loves hanging out with the julis.



Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Peek A Boo I see you


Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

You cant see me right??


Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

I guess you can photograph me while im chillin



Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

This was taken right after the redo, you can see all the hardwater spots on the glass



Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Giant hygro from what I saw in the picture is my guess, also referred to as Green Temple (Hygrophila corymbosa) if memory serves me right. How long do you think will your 'river' look tidy?

Thanks for the nice pics of the inhabitants, expecially of the bolivian rams. In the full tank shot it appears to be almost empty, how deceiving.

Claudia

Its cos they all hide for some reason. Probably because all the children are over making noise and it scares them.

Thanks for looking



Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

nice change Shane. All is looking good. Nice fish pics too

Cheers
TW

Love the new setup... I'd really like to see everything grow in, it seems like it could be a very nice design.

BTW, you have trilineatus, not julii. Trilineatus are often sold as julii.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

not to be mean but i kinda loved the old setup better but i kinda like the new one maybe when the growth starts coming in my opinion will change

Thanks for the replies guys,

TW & Shinigami Im hoping it will grow in well now. right now im not adding ferts. I want to see how the plants grow. Not only that after I started adding ferts before i got major algae outbreak.

So I will see how it does with just the light, but any tips on preventing the algae would be awesome.

Bratyboy, thanks for your opinon, what did you like about the previous setup?

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html