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Thanks Frank and Matty

Frank, no need to be sorry. As you can see, I have enough laughing smileys after the sentence where I was ranting about your response. It was a joke on my end (I think Matty got it ). And I knew Matty was just pulling my strings

Sorry to hear that your diffuser did not work as expected and has been expensive on top of it. Just like me, you nevertheless found a way that makes you happy, and that is what it is all about

And triple-thanks for moving my 20G log to this forum, it brings the family of my tanks closer together.

Now, the only one left outside this realm is my 29G log, but I am sure we can manage to get this one into the Planted Forum as well.

Thanks again,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

(I think Matty got it )

Got it - I just wanted to congratulate you on your method of cleaning after giving a sarcastic remark.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

sweet. thanks. yeah, she is really nice.

~*~ Caviar? no thanks! ~*~

Glad I could help, Little Caesar

Tank wise, there is pretty much nothing to report, except maybe the fact that now, having stopped the Excel treatment for over 3 weeks, the BBA is certainly on its way back in, darn.

I know, I know, it has to do with my light, fishload, and whatnot, but I thought I just mention it.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,

Is the BBA limited to hardscape or is it growing on the plants as well?

My Scapes

Tetratech,

The BBA is growing exclusively on the plants and mybe some parts of the wood. Mostly it occupies the egdes of my low growers, like some anubias, the java fern, and the isoetes.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 40

The tank hasn't received much attention this week, partially because I was busy with work and partially because I am getting tired of the current setup. I am mostly spending my time with algae control and housing fast growers rather than having a scape that I could enjoy and shape.

Here is the tank after the last main trimming, 3 weeks ago:

Attached Image:

Tank 3 Weeks Ago

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I sure cannot complain about the speed with which my fast growers grow. But it seems like there is only one particular rythm to this tank - Fast growers up, trim, and so forth.

Here is the tank last weekend:

Attached Image:

Tank 1 Week Ago

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is the tank now as it was yesterday before the trim. The Star Grass is all the way up and this actually creates a problem. The lower parts are soooo shaded that they have no light what so ever and rott/melt away. I am sure that this cannot be good for the water quality and may directly relate to algae problems.

Attached Image:

Before Trimming this Weekend

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Then I trimmed away. I made one change though compared to earlier trimmings, I reduced the size of the Star Grass group and gave some of it to the Hygro group. This way I hope to reduce the amount of foul leaves over the growth period until the Star Grass is all tall again.

I may even remove the Star Grass all together or use it differently somewhere else in the tank.

Attached Image:

Tank Now

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

On to some plant and fish detail shots.

Here is the Blyxa, or at least one of them. The plants haven't been floating up anymore, but they don't grow fast either. Instead, they are pretty much collecting quite a bit of gunk in them, which I can see when I hold the vacuum right over them. And, just like tetratech's they are all green now.

Attached Image:

Blyxa

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

All still looks really nice in there though Ingo, but I guess I know what you mean, with my mainly wisteria tank being all about fast growers, trimming, but no great variety.

But for all that, I'd still be very proud to have a tank that looked like yours. You still have variety & little splashes or red & other colours here & there. Very nice.

Cheers
TW

Here is a close-up of my Isoetes Lacustris. What appears to be nice air bubbles (from the water change) being produced by the plant are actually bubbles that are attached to the BBA that is yet again covering it. This simple plant is the worst infested one in the whole tank.

Attached Image:

Isoetes and BBA

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

THANKS ROBYN

On to the fish, for Robyn, here is a close-up of the female (non-agressive) female. Half the time she is hiding somewhere in the thickets, but it is not because she is chased by the male. I simply think she likes it in there and that there are some nice snacks available.

Attached Image:

Female Apisto

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

He, on the other hand, is mostly at home in the front of the tank, patrolling the substrate to see if any new goodies are avaiable, stalking them, and then go in for the kill.

Both are totally non agressive fish, neither to each other nor to anybody else in the tank.

Attached Image:

Male Apisto

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is a nice shot (I think) of the male Pearl catching some air. The bubbles that you see around him are from the CO2 diffusion system that I have in place, a diffuser who's output is sucked into a small powerhead and redirected and even further cut up by it.

Attached Image:

Male Pearl

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The Rainbow group has found together for most of the time now, except for one of the 6 who prefers to be by himself for about half the day. I believe to identify him as a former leader who has lost his position to the leader of the last group that was added. He will get over it.

Attached Image:

Rainbows

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Welcome to the world of the High-Tech Tank

I think someone who is know as "The Grandmaster" "Uncle Ben" "Black and Tan Man" said it best --- IT'S A LIFESTYLE

Planted tanks take work and regular attention. You have a large tank fully planted from end to end, yes it will require time to keep it looking good and algae free. My tank is smaller and I've only added stems to the main area. Yes the wisteria is a stem, but it's the easiest plant to trim. I haven't uprooted them yet (although that might happen soon)



My Scapes

Last but not least, the final shot for this week belongs to the Espei.

Some of you know why this fish gets the honor of the prime last spot in the picture series, and they sure deserve the special attention.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Espei

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

here is a close-up of the female (non-agressive) female

Ahh, now you're just rubbing it in

Cheers
TW

IT'S A LIFESTYLE

I don't mind the lifestyle of messing with the tank on a weekly base (well known fact that I cannot stop to mess with tanks, ), but I would rather enjoy messing with it to make it prettier rather than controlling algae (I know the issues at hand, just making a statement, we don't have to go through them again).

now you're just rubbing it in

Me , noooooo

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yes the wisteria is a stem, but it's the easiest plant to trim. I haven't uprooted them yet (although that might happen soon)

Good luck when you do that! They are a very well rooted plant when crawling. I think its a hygro thing. My giant is just as bad but it doesn't crawl.

LF,
Tank and fish shots are great as normal. I really like your Apistos but I might get my hands on something from africa that will blow your mind.

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

Well I guess I will let the cat out of the bag.
http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/other/cyprichromis_paracyprichromis.html
5th picture down... I am throwing this plan out though. They will not like my low Ph. Sweet fish though...

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

Wings,

Thanks for the compliments on the tank and such.

About the fish you may get:
Yes, it did blow my mind, but for a different reason. A Tanganyika fish in a planted tank? Wouldn't your parameters be way off from the requirements of that fish, like the high ph and O2 that it prefers? Have you looked at the food this fish needs? Overall, that sounds like trouble to me.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I am throwing this plan out though. They will not like my low Ph. Sweet fish though...

One of my coworkers was trying to get me to buy them. So I looked into it and realized that it wouldn't be a good idea for a number of reasons:

1. Ph is way too low
2. Too big of water changes
3. High CO2 count and probably too low of a O2 count
4. High Nitrate levels

Too bad....

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

Weekly Tank Updates - Week 41

There is again not too much to report on this tank for this week, all is the same. The fast growers are growing, and so is the algae

I only perfromed a little pruning this weekend, mostly to remove heavily BBA infested leaves, but not too many. All fish seem to be doing fine, at least almost all of the purchased ones are accounted for.

Deep in my head I am already planning a re-design of this tank, although I know that you folks would probably not support that idea (we know what messes my over-hauls created).

Just a few shot for the week, here is the tank last weekend (for comparison reasons):

Attached Image:

Last Week

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And here it is last night. As you can see, the Hygro is growing quite a bit again, and so is the overhanging Ludwigia. The Star Grass is coming back too, I trimmed two stems of that were too tall in comparison to the rest of the group. When I "style" the 40G I will remove the Narrow Leaf Java Fern from this tank as it will serve as a main group in the other tank:

Attached Image:

This Weekend

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The whole right half of the tank doesn't look anything

It is a grouping of plants that are desired in the tank but with which I currently don't know what to do. This image is a sample of what I mean, all kinds of plants in random spots, no system, no visual appeal, they are just there. It has to change!

Attached Image:

Boring

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I will post a series of Oto shots in the 40G log, but I was able to capture one the Otos in this tank as well. Rarely do I see them all, the last time was probably a few weeks back. I was lucky enough to count 5 of the 6 today.

When Otos eat of the glass it always seems as if they are singing a song (from an opera) to the bystanders.

Attached Image:

Oto

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is a 3 shot journey into the Ludwigia shadowed gardens on the left side of the tank. This area is a favorite hang-out for all fish of the tank, just look at the last full shot and you will see about 90% of all fish in that area.

Attached Image:

Left Side I

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

This stage of the Ludwigia growth is the nicest, but soon it will become too long and start to shade the Star Grass to its right. I love it when the roots hand down over the Anubias field and the fish take shelter in between.

Also, note at least 3 Anubia flowers

Attached Image:

Left Side II

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Last picture for now, an even closer look into the "cave". Center stage takes the female Apisto, also visible in the last two shots (and so was the male).

All the pearling is post water change related, and occurs mostly on the hair algae

Thanks for checking in,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Left Side III

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

As always, love looking at your pics.

Cheers
TW

LF,
You really have a Jungle again. Just take it easy when you start to redo things.

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

Thanks for the input

Wings - it is not really a jungle yet, compared to the jungle it once was when I still had Rock Valley. The plants on the right half are actually far enough apart from each other so that light can reach all the way down to the substrate.

Just take it easy when you start to redo things

- Well, I will see what I can do, but I cannot promise anything. In any way, nothing will happen really soon.

Thanks to the two of you again,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,
Give yourself a break.

I mean your doing a great job scaping the other tanks, why not use this as a grow out tank and you could put all your new plants in it.

Eventually something will come to you and you'll probably scape this the way you want it. Maybe you have "Scaper's Block" It's going around I hear.

My Scapes

Give yourself a break.

Hey, remember - IT'S A LIFESTYLE



Yeah, I will use this tank as a growout tank, that's why I purchased this 125G . Plus, using this tank as a temp storage for plants seems like a bad idea, as I would easily spread hair algae all over my tanks.

See tetratech, I don't think I have a "Scaper's Block" right now, probably the opposite is true. Having created 2 rather nice looking tanks in the last 2 weeks (20 and 29), I feel inspired. Unfortunaltely, I have messed this one up so badly than all but an over-haul would be unsuccessful. But as I said, I am not in a rush, I just try to come to terms with myself if an over-haul is a desired goal.

Thanks tetratech for the well-meaning suggestions, keep them coming ,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Geez just a suggestion .
I don't mean a forever growout tank, just for a while.
Sometimes taking a break from something you see "The forest from the trees" again.

Yes your "little" tanks look quite nice. Maybe we should call you Little_Scaper

My Scapes

I hear you on the "forest for the trees thing. I believe I have noticed that I got too carried away with details and in that process didn't see that the tank as a whole made less and less sense (style wise, not in general).

Right now, I guess the tank is a growout tank, as this is all what the plants in there do, grow - and then come out - because of algae cover

BTW, does anyone know what the stars in my status mean?
**** Ultimate Fish Guru * - I for sure am clueless as to where they came from.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Personally, LF, I think this is the nicest your tank has looked. It's no longer stem plant central, there's some long-term viability there. Such a long tank is difficult to scape, and invariably you wind up with a few different tanks within it, it's hard to be cohesive. I've even seen it in some of Amano's work. I like it as it is, lush, colorful and clear. very well done, and great pics as always

Maybe we should call you Little_Scaper

I like it!

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Back in the saddle!

Oh NowherMan6,

That are very kind words you write there, I appreciate it .

Actually though, the tank is still Stem-Plant-Central, with I would assume about 80% covered with Wisteria, Star Grass, Hyrgo, Ludwigia, and Pearl Grass - all stems.

Little_Scaper - hm, not too bad, although I am LITTLE_FISH for my preference of small fish. So how would that translate into Little_Scaper? Small Plants? Or only a little part of the tank is actually scaped

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I think they feel bad for you not having any quiz stars, so they give you some for having a billion posts.

I kinda like the haphazard scaping over on the right side. It's kind of more natural in some regards.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

You really have a Jungle again.

Noooo, I always think it looks nice. If I were a little fish, I'd like to live in such a tank. I think there is a place in this world for highly scaped tanks & as well as other tanks, that have been scaped such as this one, but trick us into thinking it is just a natural bunch of plants. You have several tanks, so you can create several looks - this is just be a different look.

A very nice look, I think.

I don't know why you're unhappy with it (except if algae is a problem, but you can't see that in the pics).

Cheers
TW

I think they feel bad for you not having any quiz stars

What do you mean? I am sure you didn't even notice that you have yellow CO2 tubing, as you are obviously blind

Go count them

haphazard scaping over on the right side ... but trick us into thinking it is just a natural bunch of plants

That all would be good, if it had been created at least somewhat intentional. I stated from the beginning that this tank should not be a highlight in scape but also fish intensive, but I didn't mean no style either . But thanks for letting me know that the scape is not all that bad .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

What do you mean? I am sure you didn't even notice that you have yellow CO2 tubing, as you are obviously blind

Oh man....that WAS bad. My observational skills are obviously lacking. I seriously looked over there when you commented on your title, and didn't see the stars.... . I even remember when you got all 10 stars. Hey, at least I got the number of posts right...

Sorry 'bout that LF....I think your stars were in stealth mode at the time

EDIT: multiple typos...

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

You must have had your mind focussed on the new tank setup, I understand that completely.

No problem Matty, we are all friends here
But don't do it again or I will send some of my BBA your way .

Have fun,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Please no...not the dread BBA

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

I really like the occasional sprig of red teleranthera amidst the grassy crypts (if that's what they are). I think the tank looks lovely.

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

Hi,
As far as the stars are concerned, they are out of
"balance."
Someone (not I) typed ***Ultimate Fish Guru***
and there are not enough spaces in that field so it is
lopsided. Drop a note to Adam or Lindy or Babel and see
if one of them can stop your listing to one side.

Frank

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

Thanks illustrae for the input, I appreciate it. I like the color of the Alternanthera as well, but its placement is wherever I had space left in the tank. I guess sometimes "Chance" is a better designer than I am

Thanks Frank for trying to explain the **** Ultimate Fish Guru *, but I am seeing the same in the page's source, and in my Profile when viewed directly as I see it and as anybody else can see it. I think this must have some secret meaning that I cannot identify.

Thanks to both,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The current scape is very flat and has little to no depth. The ingredients are all there but you mis read the recipe somewhere along the line.

Some general pointers.

Don’t be afraid of empty space or gaps. The voids have their own dynamism. An example of this would be the H.Augustifolia and the Stargrass. Both nice plants but they are almost identical color and at present are just blending into one another, effectively canceling each other out in term of visual impact. Just have a big enough empty space between the two would go a long away to solve this. Or by using a plant of a different color in between will achieve the same effect. The ludwigia for example would be ok between these 2.

Build a skeleton that you can then flesh out. But the bones and structure should still be visible. The wood and rocks are hidden at the moment so the structure is gone. Bring the rocks forward and use them as a pedestal that the wood can sit on. Be careful what is planted in front and around this structure so as it doesn’t become overgrown and obscured again. Anubias in the gaps between rocks and wood. Ferns to decorate the wood. Only use plants that will stay at a size that will remain manageable in front of the structure. Blyxa is ideal. It’s just used in dabs to highlight the rocks and the plant looks better with the dark backdrop of wood or rock.

Some plants are only effective when solitary. Grassy plants like the Sag, Cyperus, Isoetes are nice but if they are used against a background of green stems they simply disappear. Use them in areas where there is nothing else green around. Use as highlight to rock or wood, or simply have them against a black background. Use as fillers at the side or popping out behind dark crypts or peeping from behind rocks etc. The important thing is that they are visible for what they are – at the moment they are invisible.

Some plants look better when they are half hidden. A lot of plants look there best when they are poking out from behind something. Not all are stars. They don’t have to be out there on show. Their main function should simply be to show off other plants or create a backdrop for hardscape. Wisteria is a good example it can be mould around the lines of other plants or hardscape to show them off more effectively. A lot of Crypts especially bigger Wentdiis look good just poking out of somewhere.

A big showpiece plant works well in a tank your size and work around that like you would hardscape.

Grouping of stem plants is important. Different shapes, textures and colors, don’t place them randomly, think what would look good next to what so as they can highlight one another and thereby increase the individual appeal. Don’t be afraid to put one species of stem plant right in front of another, as long as they differ in color or texture and you keep the height of the front one low enough, they complement one another rather then obscure, of such things depth are made.

You’ve got all the necessary bits and pieces in places, they just need to be used to maximum effect.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Bensaf,

Thanks for the detailed list of suggestions. I am aware of almost all the things you said, but I am worried about a re-do at this point (more algae? ).

There is no way to make this tank look nice (not just nicer, but nice) without ripping it apart first. You cannot simply take parts of it and plant them more structured, there is a natural chain reaction that has to be considered (what you remove from one spot and plant in another will conclude in other plants having to be moved as well, not to mention the hardscape).

I am really not too frustrated with the tank, but given that all other tanks currently are looking better and better, this one is the black sheep in the tank family

Thanks again, I will keep your suggestions in mind during the next redo. I also will have to fit a mother Barteri somewhere in there, as I ordered the plants for the 40G (see log entry) and couldn't resist on this one

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ok,

Finally I made it home, and when checking on my tanks I saw that this one has a new flower (actuall 2). The Star Grass is doing me the honor this time. As it is not natural for this plant to have submersed flowers (at least from what I know), I have to assume that the buds started to form when the top was all the way up at the surface before the last trimming, a week and a half ago. I assume it kept on growing after the trim.

Sorry about the bad quality, but here it is:

Attached Image:

Star Grass Flowers

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Well, and while I was having the camera out allready anyway, I decided to take a few more shots.

And here is yet another new Anubias flower, tell me if you have seen enough of them by now and I will stop posting them (or not ).

Attached Image:

Anubias Flower

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And I thought that while I am bothering you with the 397th image of an Anubias Flower, why not add the 467th image of an Oto, just to complete the list

Here he is, munching away on some algae covered piece of wood. No food shortage there:

Attached Image:

Oto Eating

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And to round it out, another 3 shots of the Apistos, this time both in all shots.

Tonight they had a few close encounters, here is the first one of many:

Attached Image:

Apisto Pair I

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is a near head-on collision between the two. I know that it is not meant as a thread by either or as the male has the black eye bar "hidden", unlike when he shows off towards other fish or me:

Attached Image:

Apisto Pair II

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Last but not least, another close encounter. I think that they truely begin to like each other, otherwise this would be too close for comfort.

I wonder what the male is saying to the female in this picture

Attached Image:

Apisto Pair III

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,
Very nice pictures as always. I really like the one of the Oto. It shows both your great photo skills and your super skills at growing algae. (please no threats of sending some my way as I have green spot that is driving me nuts!)

Sorry about opening up a large can of worms with the comment about your jungle. You seem to have a lot on your plate with work and 4 planted tanks. They are not like the "normal" tanks people have in terms of matinance. Thou with opening up that can I got some good ideas for my tank from Ben. I guess it was not all for the worse.

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

Wow, LF congrats on the Stargrass flower. Will the flower open submersed. I believe they are a light shade of blue.


My Scapes

Don't what you are putting in your water to get so many plants to flower.

3 years, a ton of Anubias and not one flower

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Ben you have never had an Anubias flower? I have only had one but I am sure it will again sometime. Unless I happened to cut that chunk off the other day.



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

LF, I'll trade you some pearls for some flowers. We are such men.

My Scapes

That's a really nice set of pics. Especially those apistos, they are a great looking pair - they really look settled in and happy now. The flowers on the stargrass is really interesting, I've never had a stem plant flower. A couple of anubias, but never stems.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

I've had many anubias as well, not one flower. As a matter of fact, sometimes I'd get them with flowers and as soon as I'd put them in the tank, the flower looked at me, looked around the tank, then promptly died. Stupid stuck up flowers, think they're so great...

That female pisto is just gorgeous. At least you know your WQ is top notch, I've never seen a female apisto color up so much. Are you sure you're not using Photoshop? or maybe it's just those punchy Canon colors

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Back in the saddle!

So while we are talking about flowers. Being men and call....

I have an Aponogeton crispus flower in my tank right now (yes I know they are not hard to flower). I really like their flowers. I think the wife will too! Might have to add a few more of these guys in the tank...

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

Wings,

I could dig out my old photos of the Apon flowers

Thanks all for the, at least indirect, compliments on my flowers, at least one thing I superseed Bensaf .

Tetratech - me and modifying pictures in Photoshop?



I prefer to show the real thing, for better or worse (just look at my lovely algae shots over the last 43 weeks).

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 42

Not much at all has happened during this week to the tank, besides feeding and fertilizing. I was a little pre-occupied with the 40G, putting all these plants in that tank and what not.

Plant and algae growth in this tank seem normal, fish seem to be swimming around normal as well, so all is status quo. I will soon have to unload some Espei, either by selling them or by putting about 20 in the 40G.

Here are a few (only 4 this weekend) shots of the tank over the last 2 weeks.

This one shows the tank 2 weeks ago after the last major trimming:

Attached Image:

2 Weeks ago

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

A week later, so last weekend, the Ludwigia on the left had reached its prime, spanning a bridge over the Anubias group all the way to the Star Grass. That, in turn, had grown a little, as well as the Hygro on the right.

Attached Image:

Last Week

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is a shot from this weekend before some trimming took place. The Ludwigia became too big and started to shade the Star Grass and other plants.

Ignore the huge amount of floating Hygro on the right. These were the stems that I removed from the 40G during the mid-week replant. I was somehow envisioning that I can add them into this tank, but without a major change this could not be accomplished. In the end, I disposed of them.

Attached Image:

Before Trim, This Weekend

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And lastly, here is the tank after the trim, the way it looks now.

Mostly, you will notice that the Ludwigia bush is gone, albeit small stems are replanted in that area and will eventually come back into view.

The Hygro has reached a height that means for me that it will require trimming soon, most likely next weekend.

I also trimmed the Pearl Grass group on the right, as well as the few stems of Alternanthera in it, and I replanted one of the Green Wendtiis that was getting almost no light anymore and died down to 2 leaves from a group that once was maybe around 20 leaves.

That is it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Tank Now

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,
You have a very large long tank, certainly not the easiest to bring together. Although you added the wood I think you need more hardscape to show depth and defintion. Why not add some pretty big size rocks jutting out in the left-mid and right mid areas. This will give the plants more definition and separation from each other and at the same time you could probably remove some of the plants to reduce maintenance somewhat.

My Scapes

I hear you tetratech,

My vision (albeit we know how well that one translates into a real tank ) for this tank is by now so far off from the actual layout that it would be an almost complete overhaul.

To give you an idea:

I see the right back side planted tall, maybe with a larger dense group of Hygro Angustifolia. Around it is an assembly of Anubias, slowly declining in height. The driftwood branches are sticking out of this combination. This section, with maybe one more plant as an accent, is about a third of the tank. The rest of the tank would be planted much lower, with maybe rocks as mountains, but not too high.

Somewhere along that line is how I would like the tank to be.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ok,

The first step towards a more plant friendly environment has been taken as I was at the LFS and arranged the selling of about 35 Espei for this coming week. That should make the water column a little leaner, when it comes to waste.

Now all I have to do is find a day when I will find the time and patience to catch these speedsters, last time it took me about 1.5 hours to catch 28 of them.

I may use the small store credit to purchase a pair of Triple-Red Apisto cacatuoides for the 40G. Any thoughts on that?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,

Re: the Espei, why not buy one of those big wide nets used for catching larger fish? Just hold it in one spot and corral the little guys into it.

As for the apistos, very nice idea. For my next big tank I'm going to set up an apisto haven of sorts, so I've been doing a ton of research on them. Cacs are harem breeders, not naturally pair breeders like rams and certain other apistos like borelli. I'm sure they work just fine as pairs because that's how they're sold sometimes, but it may be neat to purchase say, 3-4 females and one male. You'll get to see more natural apisto behavior out of them, with the females defending their territory and their fry, and the male bouncing around and strutting his stuff. Anyway, that's what I'm going to do. See that? I'm spilling the beans on my big tank designs, giving away my ideas, all to help a friend out!

p.s. Finally saw your article, great job!

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Back in the saddle!

Thanks NowherMan6,

For the info on the Apistos and the comment on the Article.

Yeah, these particular ones are sold as a pair, finding additional females would be harder.

Having a big net was a consideration, but I got a little worried that I may rip out half my plants in the process. I may refer to it anyway, in particular if it takes me .5 hours to catch even one of these little buggers.

Thanks again,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I may use the small store credit to purchase a pair of Triple-Red Apisto cacatuoides for the 40G. Any thoughts on that?

Well, you know I have a pair & they are my "married couple". They show no aggression to anyone else or each other, although when they had eggs, they worked as a team guarding them. I think they are pretty too, even my girl is pretty. I recommend them as nice, easy apistos - particularly when you compare them to my other apistos, who continue to give me low level worry.

I say a pair should work well.

Cheers
TW

Thanks Robyn,

That is what my research into these specific Apistos showed as well, they are the perfect entry Apisto, easy to breed, easy tank mates, but maybe a little on the shy side (that will have to be seen).

I don't even know if they are available right now, but I am not in a rush anyway. I still have to find the time to get the Espei out first, between work, a dinner date with my daughter, another one with my wife, and all the other things in life, this will be a challenge for this week.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

maybe a little on the shy side

Don't know if mine are typical or not, but they're not shy. They come to the front of the tank whenever I approach, as they know I mean food. As I like looking at them A LOT, they are sometimes disappointed, as it's not always dinner time when I'm there peeking in - but, they always come

Cheers
TW

Well,

I am having a problem

Last night we had a major storm coming through and the power went out. This morning, when the sun came out, I could see the extent of the damage. The whole part of the town I live in has loads of trees fallen over or broken off, 50% of the roads are blocked, in short - it looks like a war zone.

I am not expecting the power to come back on soon, our own power line has at least 5 trees on it, and that is only for the area of maybe 15 houses, I couldn't further investigate as I had to go to work (that's where I am right now).

So, to sum it up, I got no filtration on my tanks, no pumps, no nothing. I guess the tank get a black-out of a not-so-gentle kind

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Sorry to hear the LF? I really hope your power comes on soon, but if it doesn't what is your plan?

My Scapes

Thanks tetratech,

I have no plan. I have a single battery powered air pump at home that I could fire up and rotate through the tanks. This cannot start until I come home from work, whenever that is.

In any case, very frustrating

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ooh no, sorry Ingo. I know how worried you must be about that. I remember earlier this year, we had a blackout, which luckily only lasted a couple of hours. It was caused by a simple fault that the electricity people could attend to quickly, but that does not sound at all like your situation. Even though it was not for long, I was very worried at the time. I hope your power is not too delayed. I'm glad too, that it seems no tree actually fell on your house, car or family, so that would have been even worse. I guess it's quite likely that if many trees are down, that may have happened to some families.

Good luck with it all. Fingers & toes are all crossed that your electricity people get it fixed quickly for you.

Cheers
TW

Thanks Robyn,

The wife just called and the latest prediction is that, if we would be really lucky, we would have power again late tonight, so pretty much 24 hour after it went out. More likely though is that it may come back on sometime tomorrow, going then towards 48 hours. Darn

Yes, luckily nobody on our street seems to have gotten hurt directly, almost like a miracle most trees fell between houses and onto streets and yards. I am sure that some houses have been damaged to some degree, but none has been demolished.

I will try to get home early to hook up the air pump, but as you may know I am really busy at work as well.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yes, luckily nobody on our street seems to have gotten hurt directly, almost like a miracle most trees fell between houses and onto streets and yards. I am sure that some houses have been damaged to some degree, but none has been demolished.

Glad to hear it. We caught some of the storm, but nothing major. Had some of my deck furniture tossed around and lot's of leaves in the pool. Is it me or does there some to be much more devasting storms lately. There's was just a tsunami in Jakata (Bensaf's Home) and over 500 people died.




My Scapes

I think the weather is crazy lately, what with your storms, the tsunami(s), our news telling us today that at least some parts of US are going through a major heat wave, Sydney went through a major heat wave earlier this year & about 84% of the state I live in (NSW) is in a drought situation. Our dam capacity is well down & we have had water restrictions for a couple of years (I feel guitly about my 50% water change, when I think about our farmers).

I hope you are really lucky & get power tonight, otherwise, is it cold showers at the LF residence tonight - or do you have gas hot water & cooking?

Cheers
TW

LF,
What ever happened with your Stargrass flowers?

My Scapes

LOL,

Well - this question for sure caught me by surprise

I am wondering if my fish are dying right now and you ask about the flower.

Anyway - It withered away one day later, the flower stem hanging off the side. I assume I only had a flower stem in the first place because the whole plant top was on the surface and that was when it formed. After I trimmed and replanted, the whole thing was submersed and the flower for sure did not like that.

Ingo

STILL NO POWER

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I am wondering if my fish are dying right now and you ask about the flower.

Sorry for what appears as my insensitivy, but when you said you might have power tonite, it turned from major to minor problem (in my mind anyway). I know how frustating it is, cause I've lost power for only a few hours and was really annoyed. If it goes any longer I would do at least a 20% WC on all your tanks.



My Scapes

Eek! I hope everybody makes it Ingo. I'm sure the tanks will bounce back quick after the power comes back on. At least you don't have a reef tank. If power went out at my place I'd be blowing bubbles with a straw in my reef tank if I had to.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

There's was just a tsunami in Jakata (Bensaf's Home) and over 500 people died.

Funny you should mention that, I was just about to make a post about it.

It's been a bit weird, two quakes in the space of a week. I'd pretty much gotten used to them. Strange but you can sense them just before they hit, sudden nausea in the pit of the stomach and dizziness then you realize the room is shaking

But last nights was the biggest I felt yet, also the closest to hit, lots of screaming in the apartment building, including my wife - she near bowled me over in her rush to wrap herself around my neck !

Funnily the first sign that the quake is going on is the tank water sloshing and spilling over the edge (creepily the fish all stop swimming ). Lost one neon in the desk tank, thought being in a small glass box under a big lump of driftwood was not the safest place to be, and like my wife decided to run for it, he jumped and ended up on the carpet. It was a choice of calming the wife or saving the fish The wife won......just

A least I know the hardscape is solid, not a single branch shifted place ! All's well that end's well

Anyway LF, I think things will be fine. This is where having a planted tank comes into it's own. You have a natural filter in place and an oxidisor. Shouldn't be a major problem.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

LF, what's the lighting situation. Hopefully your back in business by now.

Anyway LF, I think things will be fine. This is where having a planted tank comes into it's own. You have a natural filter in place and an oxidisor. Shouldn't be a major problem.

That is true. I accidently turned my filter off on two seperate occasions and all was fine the next day. Even if you go a few days I think you'll be fine LF. Especially in a large heavily planted tank what is the canister really doing besides flow. It's picking up some solid waste, etc, but if you don't have any huge fish you probably wouldn't even notice the difference if the cansister was replaced with a powerhead.

My Scapes

but if you don't have any huge fish you probably wouldn't even notice the difference if the cansister was replaced with a powerhead.

This comes from the guy who says that LF might not have enough biofiltration to handle the amount of waste from the espei, making his algae problems. Besides, I'm not too sure what the plants are going to be doing while the lights are out(no photosynthesis = no oxygen). At least they are probably covered in beneficial bacteria. That will help. I still think everything will be fine, but not because of the plants in particular.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Well,

Thursday morning, and no power in sight

Our whole side of the street looks just like it did 2 days ago, with all trees and branches all over the power lines etc.

In my backyard, behind the garage, a tree from the neighbors behind us, I would guess with a diameter of about 2 to 3 feet, is lying across the main power line, and so are many others all over the place in my town.

The current prediction is that, if we get lucky, the power will be on by 4PM today, but given that nothing has changed in 2 days I doubt that.

Anyway - I went home early yesterday and we rushed to Home Depot (a hardware chain) and I bought a generator. It took me over an hour to set up that sucker, but eventually I had it running (on gasoline) and managed to hook up all filters in my 4 tanks. I let it run for 4 hours before I had to turn it off, the wife started to complain about the funes (hey - what are some funes compared to my fishes lifes ). She prominsed me that she will turn it back on today at 9AM, but I have my doubts that she actually will do that (let's just say that the argument about funes or fish lifes didn't end on a nice note, but I gave in anyways).

That's where we are now,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

So have you already gone 48hrs with no power - that's too bad. I'm sure your wife will turn generator on, if she promised too. Maybe she just wants the kids out of the house & at school, before the fumes start up - or do you still have little ones at home?

How do your fish seem. Are they still acting normal. Is it warm enough there at the moment that your heaters aren't really needed? I know in my summer, I didn't really need heaters at all. They never turned on, as the room was always warm enough.

Anyway, continuing to cross all fingers & toes.


Cheers
TW

Were you running the generators indoors? I would be afraid that Carbon Monoxide would build up in the basement. Set it up out side or in a vented area and run an extension cord.

No sense killing your self to save the fish.

My family has a generator for hurricanes they run it on the back porch with extension cords coming in the back door.

Good luck with the power situation. We're crossing our fingers for you!

Rick
See all my pictures at Google Web Albums

I am with rick on the generator thing. They are ment for outdoors.

A while back when I was in my first year of high school we lost power for at least a week. Living in the sticks this ment that we did not have any water either because we had a well. If it wouldn't have been for the gas grill we would have starved. I swear my mom can make anything on that thing! As for the fish I was keeping at the time. I think they were fine. I kept them in the basement so they stayed dark thus keeping them dorment.

Best wishes LF. I know that its not fun to have no power.

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

Sounds like if you can run it from outside, you, the fish & your wife will be happy - the fumes will be outside, bothering no-one. But, I can't help thinking that if you could have done that, you already would have, and that maybe, for some reason in your situation, it's not possible?

Cheers
TW

Hi,
If you haven't already, get a 100 ft extension cord, and
one power strip (like for computers, etc.) place the
generator outside and run the cord through a window.
Use old towels in a layer across the sill and close the
window down onto the cord. The towels will mold around the
cord and "seal" the window keeping out the bugs etc.
Hook up the filters and lights to the strip(s) and crank
the generator up. You just have to keep an eye on the
fuel once in a while.

Frank


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

LF,
Glad you got your hands on a generator. I would keep doing daily water refreshing anyway to keep things fresh and oxygenated.

This comes from the guy who says that LF might not have enough biofiltration to handle the amount of waste from the espei, making his algae problems

O.K. how do I talk my way out of this one

What I meant was in a big tank isn't the primary "biological" and yes overall filteration the plants and substrate not the canister. Isn't that the case in salt too "live rock and live sand", but if there are big fish present you need mechanical to get that out of the water as well as the big food you feed those fish that goes uneaten. I do think if LF had a bigger filter, when I say bigger I mean bigger in terms of more water volume it would help, but the one canister I don't think is doing all that much in terms of biological when compared to what's inside the tank.

My Scapes

Of course it runs outdoors, you sillies

It just happen that you have to keep the door a notch open so the power cord can run into the house. Also, I have to have the generator in a position that is not favorable with regards to the winds, and although I point the exhaust outlet away from the house the wind occasionally blows it back towards it.

Kids are in day camp, so they will be far away from the fumes during the day. The temperature here was about 98F before the storm hit 2 days ago, the next day it was in the upper 80s. Last night, around 8PM, the temp inside the house was 84F (that is exactly 30C). The basement is a little cooler, but overall I for sure do not need the heaters in the tank. I unplugged all electrical equipment to the tanks, partially because I needed the extension cords to hook up to the main power cord from the generator, and partially to avoid anything starting up uncontrolled if the power should come back on while I am not at home.

Ingo

EDIT: Frank and tetratech - didn't see your entries until now. Yeah - I will have to work on moving the generator further away from the house, but there are 2 problems:
a) While the wife doesn't like the fumes, she also wouldn't like the idea of blowing them into the neighbor's window
b) a long extension cord uses up quite a bit of amps itself, energy that gets lost for the filters.

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Of course it runs outdoors, you sillies

Well, in my defence, I did say that I couldn't help thinking that if you could have done that, you would have already.

Anyway, sounds like you're doing all you can do. I didn't think you'd need to worry about heaters. Our news yesterday talked about parts of the US being in a heat wave - although I don't know if that is the part where you are. But I do remember you commenting on matty (I think it was him) wearing thick tennis socks when it was so hot.

Cheers
TW

OK,

So, first of all, I am sorry that I did not participate in my fellow hobbyists threads too much during the last few days, with the power outage and a tremendous work schedule I just did not find the time to do anything besides letting you know about my own events in this thread.

Power News: WE ARE BACK IN BUSINESS

My wife managed to get the generator started sometime during the day yesterday, this gave my fish another 3 to 4 hours of filter activity. Once she turned it off, it took another 4 hours and then the real power came back on.

By the time I got home (after another 12 hour work session from hell) I just had enough time to plug everything back in and to adjust all the timers. I managed to feed all fish, for the 3 smaller tanks while their lights were out already (past bedtime for these tanks) and for this one with about half an hour of lights on. I could account for most of the fishies, as much as this is possible given that I don't even know how many Espei should be there. I did not see one of the Rainbows and the female Apisto, I will check more intense tonight when I get home. The other tanks were harder to check for fish (lights out), but it seems all are there.

In this tank, the Star Grass seems to have suffered the most, while certain plants seem to have thrived. It appears to me as if a few of my crypts (not the Wendtiis) have grown quite a bit, and the Alternanthera as well.

Maybe tonight I find more time to check on the damage that may have been done to flora and fauna, I theoretically also should drop off 35 Espei at the LFS, but I don't know if I will find the time.

That is it for now, off to another crazy day at work,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,
Glad you are back with power. Must be a nice feeling! As for your fish I hope they are all ok and that you don't have a plant mess to clean up. In general I think fish and plants are tougher than we think they are. Best wishes!

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

Oh, that's good you have power. Don't worry too much about the apistos & rainbows yet. With all your plants to hide in & if lights were only on for 1/2 hour, then that wasn't much time to spot them all. My apistos (the ones that worry me - you know the ones I mean) I sometimes don't see the female for a couple of days at a time, but so far, she always turns up.

Good luck with everything.



Cheers
TW

LF,
Hope all is well with the tanks.

In this tank, the Star Grass seems to have suffered the most, while certain plants seem to have thrived

I really have a love hate relationship with Star Grass. When it's good it's really good and tough to beat for constrast and it's probably one of the best plants if your want that cascading effect from back to mid, but it turns very quickly to a unattractive mess when conditions aren't to it's liking.

My Scapes

Thank you all,

I am still trying to catch up with all the threads that I have not replied to, because of the power outage and the work load in the office. I hope the coming week will give me some time to do so, but for now I will just update my 4 logs and then I will be off again.

Weekly Tank Update - Week 43

This sure was an eventful week, having had the power outage and what not. I am too busy to write a lot, but here is one reason why the tanks did survive the 48 hours without a problem. The Generator was hummming for about 4 hours each day, enough to provide some agitation and oxygen enrichment in all 4 tanks:

Attached Image:

Generator

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is how the tank looked like on Saturday morning.

All seems to be fine, but a closer look at the tank reveals that the Star Grass has suffered. To my surprise, the Hygro angustifolia has suffered as well, and quite a few leaves fell off. The alternanthera and a few smaller crypts on the other hand seemed to have grown better than usual. All fish have been accounted for:

Attached Image:

Before Water Change

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is a closer look at the Star Grass. I don't know how visible it is, but all lower parts of the plants have withered away or at least suffered enough to better remove them. I think I got lucky when I reduced the size of this group, otherwise I would have a much bigger mess right now.

Attached Image:

Star Grass

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is the tank now after the water change, which included a cleaning of the filter. BTW, I did nothing to the filters during the blackout, if there were any "bad" bacteria in them then they do not seem to cause any problems in the tank now.

Attached Image:

Tank Now

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

As you can see in the full shot, the Star Grass is not even visible anymore, that is how short the trimmings had to be made in order to only keep healthy stems. Here is a closer look at the middle of the tank, slightly angled. You can see the tips of the Star Grass and some Alternanthera that I trimmed from other parts of the tank and planted between the Anubias on the left and the Star Grass.

Attached Image:

Peek-A-Boo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is another close-up, just for the fun of it. I like the color contrast that the Alternanthera creates in a green tank, albeit its particular positioning in this spot may not be the best.

Attached Image:

Just Some Color

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Last but not least, here is a shot of the top of the 40G. That tank created quite a Duck Weed carpet and I removed some of it and added it to this tank.

Some of you may remember that I once had Duck Weed and that it dissapeared on me. Well, my theory that the fish ate it seems to hold merit, they liked the new Duck Weed as well. I wonder when they will have it all munched up

Attached Image:

Duck Weed

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Glad all the fishies made it LF. That's good news. Your whole tank seems to have pulled though pretty well & still looks all very lush & what not.

48hrs without light & you can still taunt me with a very healthy looking splash of red.

Anyway, seems that generator was worth the purchase.

Cheers
TW

Thanks Robyn,

Yup - all fish that I can count have been accounted for. This excludes the Otos (too good of a hider, haven't seen all 6 in a few weeks now) and the Espei, as I don't know how many I have. Oh, I don't remember if I mentioned it already, but I have not had a chance to give some to the LFS yet, with the power outage and the work load. I will try to work it out this week.

Ingo

100 Pages, I hope Adam is still ok with me as a member

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,

Is 100 pages a record? I bet its got to be close. All I have to say is "You the Man!"

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

Yep, I was just talking about Stargrass, very unforgiving plant. I like that Duckweed shot.

My Scapes

Congrats on a 100 pages. Here's to a hundred more!

I just hope it doesn't break the board or anything

Rick
See all my pictures at Google Web Albums

Here's to a hundred more!

Holy cow, can you imagine?

I re-read Ingo's TFH article the other day and there was one part where they mentioned the beautiful planted tank where his espei bred, and I couldn't help but think to myself... "Hmm, yes beautiful... so beautiful, in fact, that he tore it all up and did it again... then tore that one up and did it again..." So indeed, here's to another 100 pages! /:'

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Back in the saddle!

Is 100 pages a record?

I think we passed the record....say 40-50 pages back.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Thanks guys for the compliments on the 100 thingy.

Workwise, I am being buried and barely had time to check into FP in the last days, if that continues then I can be glad if I add another 10 pages within the next year .

Anway, NowherMan6 is right, if there is one thing you guys can rely on then it is the fact that I like change, at least when it comes to my tanks

About the tank in itself right now: I still have all Espei as last weeks power outage cancelled the plan to fish some out and bring them to the LFS. I will try to do it this week then, maybe Thursday or Friday.

Thanks again,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ok,

Things have changed, some of the Espei have been traded in at the LFS. As usual, it is quite a challenge to catch them in the planted tank, but with one larger net being held in one position and the other smaller one used to herd them in it took me only about 30 min to get around 30 of them (I think it was 29).

Here is a last shot of the larger school before I got started.

Attached Image:

Large School

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And here are the fish, ready to be brought to the LFS. If you want to, go ahead and count them as I come up with 30 or even 31 in the bucket.

That means, overall I already traded in about 60 Espei, all from the original 12 that I bought.

And - If you would like to know what I did with the store credit that I got, you will have to check in a few minutes into my 40G log

Attached Image:

Fish-Bucket

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

So being you have taken 60 out of the tank. How many would you guess you have now? Do you still think they are breeding?

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

Wings,

I would guess that I have between 30 and 40 left, maybe more. I will try to get a rough count during the next water change. I picked fish for the LFS that are not too small or too old (fully grown adults, most likely still my original 12), this way I should be able to have more of them in the future.

I still see one or the other rather young fish (maybe 1 to 2 months old), although I haven't seen any tiny fry in quite a while as they must be better at hiding these days - given that there are/were about 100 fish in the tank that all would not hesitate to eat fry.

Assuming that the cut in numbers is significant enough, and that the Espei are in fact still breeding, I should see a few babies in not too far of a future.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club