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Well that makes perfect sense, the slow redos, I couldn't agree more. Wow we are really agreeing on alot.

BTW - Spent the weekend in Albany at the Empire Cup where my son's soccer team beat some Jersey Elite Select Team.


Just thought I'd throw that in there!

My Scapes

Ingo , as always your sense of whats right for your scape is spot on .
The Naja is a favorite of mine and it should look senastional when its fully grown .
I agree with Tetra on the comment about the red group , it would look fantastic if it stood out more .
Can't wait to see what you do there .

I see that the Nana's are still in the river
Still think it detracts from the effect .

Great shot of the Apisto's BTW .

The thought of you doing things slowly gives me faith that I also may be able to change in the future
As always a pleasure to read your logs .
Garry

where my son's soccer team beat some Jersey Elite Select Team.

Yeah, I sometimes have the patience to wait with my changes.

Garry, the nanas will stay there until I have the time to redo the tank where they will eventually end up in, and that is going to be a while.
The Najas will soon start to be a problem as they grow so fast that they will be blown over by the small power head and the spray bar very soon. Frequent trimming will be a must.

Thanks for the positive comments,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 95

I don't have too much time, but I will try to catch up with all your threads maybe on Monday at work, so for now just a quick update on this tank:

Here is the tank before the water change:

Attached Image:

Before Water Change

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

As you may see, the Najas on the left is truly a fast grower, I doub't that I will keep it all that long in the high tech tank, way too fast.

In this close-up you can also the the diffuser on the left. I tried to clean it during the water change and what can I say, it slipped out of my hands into the sink and crash - 1000 pieces . I am glad I had a replacement one handy, same kind.

Attached Image:

Najas indica

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is a shot showing the amount of Water Lettuce that I remove weekly, this is on the top of a 5G bucket lit. In comparison, these are 5" tweezers on the left:

Attached Image:

Weekly Water Lettuce Removal

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

After the water change I added another 9 Amanos from the 20G QT, there are now around 4 left in that tank. I was worried about the Apistos in this tank with the Amanos, and albeit I never see all od the 8 or 10 that I added a few weeks ago I see at least a few of them.

Attached Image:

Another 9 Amanos

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Last but not least, a full tank shot after the water change. You may notice that I moved things around a little in the area to the right of the big wood, nothing special though and for sure not the final design (nothing is final anyway).

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Tank Today

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Beautiful as always, L_F,
but what is going on with A. reineckii? It is still a small group. Is it still affected by 'black water' as you suggested several weeks ago?

To me it looks wider, and not as tall. Must be doing some growing to get a trimming.

Looks great LF. I had similar problems with my water lettuce.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

No design or scape is ever final with you Ingo . Or me either for that matter .
I like what you've down on the right , and I'm sure you will improve it further yet .
The Tank looks very good as always .

Garry

Hey Ingo,

Yeah I know what you mean about the Najas, sounds like the stargrass that grows so fast it only fits in for about 15 minutes until you have to trim. One of those plants I guess you use in a photo op when the timing is right, but not practical to keep long-term.

Tank looks very good. Tough to see any small changes in a full-tank shot since it's a 5-foot tank.

My Scapes

This is turning into my favourite all time look for this tank. Very nice LF

Cheers
TW

Wow, that looks AMAZING!!

How much time do you spend on it every week, would you say? I'm guess it takes a bit of work...

Haven't visited your thread in a while, ingo, but man, looking good .

Not you. The tank.

LOL,

Really funny Cup, glad you like the looks of my tank better than mine, haha. Thanks for the compliment.

I am a little in a rush, but here are a few answers to the previous posts:

- catdancer - Matty is right, the Alternanthera had been trimmed when I moved them.
- Matty - Thanks.
- tetratech - Thanks for the compliment on the tank. I can't believe though that you don't remember that this is a 6' tank and not 5', LOL.
- Robyn - thanks so much.
- fishnewbie - These days I spend about 5 min feeding and ferting per day, and between 2 to 4 hours of maintenance on one day of the weekend, usually Saturday, on the tank.

Next post is a quick weekly update,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 96

Not much going on, very good so as I don't have any time anyway.

Overall, the tannis are lessening, and plant growth is fine. I forgot to mention last week that I replace the two 6,700K PCs with new one, I somehow think the old ones were almost two years on the tank.

I did only minor trimming this weekend, one group of pearl grass and the Najas Indica.

That's it for now,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 96 - 7/29/2007

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

If you get a chance next week while taking pics, I'd like to see some closer shots on the tank, like in thirds or something for more detail. It's a little hard to tell what's going on separate from the whole. In that aspect, however, it does look good.

Were the 2 year old bulbs the ones that run all day or only for a short burst?

My short burst bulb is probably 2ish years old now and I don't see too much problem with that. I'd want to replace the one that's on all day at a year.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Ingo , I agree with Matty .
I know you're busy but a few more detail shots would be great .

Garry

Hi,
I have two CFs on my tank. One is on for 10hours/day and
the second for only 4 hrs/day. When I replace them, I
put the 4 hour light in the 10 hour socket, and the new
bulb in the 4 hour socket.

Frank

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

Love the tanks ingo, keep up the good work

Shane

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

Thanks guys for the input, detail shots have to wait until I have more time and until the last remains of the tannins are gone and growth is back to normal. Until then:

Weekly Tank Update - Week 97

All looks ok, nothing special going on in the tank. By now I have found 3 shrimp outside the tank, dead of course. Inside the tank I cannot find even one of the about 20 that I added overall. Probably went into the category "food".

That's it for now, will also post a shot of the 20 and 29,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 97

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

no more updates?

Star of the stormy sea of my mortal life, may your light shine upon me so that I do not stray from the path that leads me to heaven.

All looks ok, nothing special going on in the tank. By now I have found 3 shrimp outside the tank, dead of course. Inside the tank I cannot find even one of the about 20 that I added overall. Probably went into the category "food".

Amanos are pretty crazy shrimp. As you probably have noticed they can walk around on dry/slightly wet surfaces. Most other shrimp I have had to net don't do that. When I put all my cherries in the little tank along with my Amanos, the Amanos came up missing. One was found in the back of the filter but the rest where gone. I am guessing they tried to relocate. I never did find any bodies either...

BTW I am in NC now. The move was not fun. I will explain later if you want some of the details.

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

no more updates?

Sure, more updates to come, but I have been in the home country for almost 2 weeks and just got back this weekend.

So quickly:

(Almost) Weekly Tank Update - Week 99

As mentioned, I have been away and the neighbor took care of feeding and fert adding. Went pretty well, the tank sure showed some growth. In particular the Najas indica was all over the tank as the strands got too long and floated around and got stuck in the other plants.

Here is today's shot, after the trimming, nothing special:

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 99

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo

I hope ya had a good time in the home country, we missed ya updates my friend. Tank is looking good. Glad nothing went wrong while you were gone.

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

Ingo , welcome home . We certainly missed you around here . Hope you had a nice trip and glad to see everything went well with the Tank.
Garry

Thanks all, now I am late again as I spent the weekend on the beach and have to do the updates today:

Weekly Tank Update - Week 100

Not such a special week, and I have one shot only anyway, no time for more.

Not much changes, one already bad looking Rainbow is MIA, I think he went to fish heaven (and belly of others).

I trimmed the Alternanthera and the pesky Najas indica, and that was it, plus water change of course.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 100

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

What did you do with the beautiful Alternanthera? The little red bush looked so nice.

Weekly Tank Update - Week 101

catdancer - The Alternanthera is still there, it just needs some trimming once in a while and when that is done, like last week, then it is not visible for a while.

The tank has finished its hosting of the Nana Petites for the 29G - that tank is redone now (go check if you haven't yet). So the sticks and plants are out from the opening, Pearl grass has been trimmed (pieces are also in 29), and that was that, besides the water change.

Here is the tank today,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 101

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Tank is doing well i see Ingo, Glad to see the Alternanthera is comming back.

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

Weekly Tank Update - Week 102

Thanks fishmonster for the input.

Not much happened to this tank this week as well, just some minor trimming and the planting of some baby swords (previously at the shoot on the sword in front of the Alternanthera) in the open valley. All is getting a little messy by now, ferns start to shade the anubias to the point that they die off. Trimming needs to be done, but I have no time for it.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 102

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 103

Nothing happened, a little trimming here and there, and that was that, LOL.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 103

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Your tank is starting to look pretty wild. I understand the lack of time thing. The Brazilian Penny Wart looks pretty neat. I am tempted to try it in my set up. I feel like I need a few stems in it.

What is the report on the fish in this tank?

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

Weekly Tank Update - Week 104

First of all, thanks for the input, Wings

Fish in the tank are getting less and less as I let the group of Espei die out. I think it is an old age thing as these guys are with me for up to 2 years now. I wait until the group is really small, then I may actually replace the substrate in the tank. This way I don't have to store too many fish in other tanks.

On to the weekly thing, not much happened. Just some minor trimming and a water change.

Here is the shot,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 104

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

From here, I really like the look of what's going on in the center/just left of center. I'd like to see what's going on there in some detail. Looks very neat. Nice and healthy.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Ingo , yes I agree with Matty , a detailed look at all parts of this tank would be fantastic,
when you get some time .
Garry

Fish in the tank are getting less and less as I let the group of Espei die out.

Uhm, I thought the espei are breeding in this tank and this way should replemish the pool of younger fish or did I miss something?

Interesting about the fish. I wonder why that's happening. Probably because your not a beginner anymore

My Scapes

Probably because your not a beginner anymore

No, that is not the reason, although I actually was hoping that I went from beginner to intermediate like about a year ago.

I simply want to reduce the hassle if I should decide to do an all-out makeover.

The Espei have been breeding in this tank with great success, but since adding the Apistos and Rainbows less and less fry made it to adulthood. Apistos are excellent hunters for small stuff, they stalk the food first and then shoot forward.

Also, over two years with the same large school is getting boring.

Detail shots - nah, not at the moment. I need to change quite a few things before I believe that details should be shown.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 105

Not much has changed this week in the tank, I did some minor trimming and a little more on the Pennywort which seems to have become too much (shading of other plants).

See, with all that stuff, I completely forgot that the tank celebrated its 2 year anniversary on the 24th of September. This means that tetratech's 72G is also 2 years old, congratulations!

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 105

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Wow! I can't believe you have had this tank for two years. It has gone through a ton of changes. Would you happen to have time to highlight the different stages for us?

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

Ingo , And I read everone of those entries befor I started my Tank
Congrats on the anniversary .

Garry

PS , A recap would be fantastic , great suggestion Wings .
He said hopefully
G

Weekly Tank Update - Week 106

Ok, based on popular demand, , I give you a quick review. I decided not to search for the prettiest pictures of the last 106 weeks, but to go strickly in 10 week intervals (with the exception of week 100, where I didn't even have a picture, there I selected the week earlier, 99)

Here we go:

This is week 0, meaning the tank had just been set up:

Attached Image:

Week 0

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

What can I say, it was a classic beginners layout, typical plants, and what not. AND OF COURSE NOT ENOUGH PLANTS.

So the next ten weeks were spent in algae control, adding and removing fast growers, and what not, LOL.

Here is week 10:

Attached Image:

Week 10

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

By week 20, the tank has changed for the umptieth time already, I always had to mess with it. based on NowherMan6's suggestion I added some wood to the tank.

Attached Image:

Week 20

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I cannot believe that it is already over 85 weeks ago that I got this wood, time goes by when you are having fun (or you are busy).

By week 30, loads of Star Grass were growing in the tank, just to keep it stable. Maintenance meant trimming of this plant every other week, with the complete removal of the stems and throwing out the old bottoms. What a pain!

Attached Image:

Week 30

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Conceptually, week 40 saw still the same tank, the most stability ever since setup.

I added a few more plants, but the structure stayed.

Attached Image:

Week 40

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

By week 50 I started playing with the scape a little again, trying to make it look somewhat good. I don't think it worked to well, but it kept me busy

Attached Image:

Week 50

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

But not for too long, as by week 60 the Island layout was already established, .

I just now notice how much Alternanthera I had in there, and this gigantic Barteri.

Attached Image:

Week 60

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

More plants have been added by week 70 and the island became more integrated with the rest of the tank. The Blyxa on the left is just floating up, it wasn't really that tall.

Attached Image:

Week 70

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Week 80 is still similar to week 70, another period in the life of this tank that hasn't seen too many changes in short sequence.
Note how much the needle leaf fern has grown in the last 20 weeks.

Attached Image:

Week 80

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Every period of rest (aka stabil tank) has a period of change (aka redo), that is the Ingo way of having many tanks in one box.

Week 90 saw the currently last major redo, with the addition of a giant chunk of wood and such.

Attached Image:

Week 90

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Not too much has changed then over the next 9 weeks, so here at week 99 things are still similar, with the exception of the removal of the last remains of the previously glorious Barteri (last shot on the way left).

Attached Image:

Week 99

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And last but not least, here is the tank today. Still very similar to the previous 19 weeks, I just don't have the time to rip it apart again. Or to actually scape this monster.

Hope you enjoyed the review,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 106

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for posting all the pictures! It is pretty crazy how much our tanks change. My personal favorite is week 60. I think that it was a well designed layout.

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

Ingo,

Thanks for showing the changes in the look of the tank over the two or so years you have had this going. Im glad that you and garry made me realise that putting both previous shots and new shots together you can really see the difference it makes each week or month.

Shane

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

Ingo , Thank you , Thank you , Thank you . Like a trip down memory lane .
I actually love all the stages of this tank . I'm constantly amazed at how
good hardscape can disappear in even very well planned tanks . I must
admit that Wings choice is very stunning , I do like the island effect .
However my ( and I think yours as well ) constant need to meddle and try
new things means that the empty ( realitively) spaces get filled up in time .
Nothing wrong with that , its fun .
Can't wait to see what you do to change this scape in the future .

Thanks again for taking the time to do the review

Garry

Thanks guys for the comments and your display of appreciation of the "Summary Effort"

Yeah, I for sure am not at a stage with this tank yet where I could give it a long rest and not bother messing with it, if it weren't for time limitations (need a whole day at least per makeover) and actually the concern of having fish. If I had no fish in this tank then I would redo it even more often as I would be able to take breaks during the process. And no, don't suggest that I could get holding tanks for the fish, I would get in trouble.

New ideas are forming in my head recently, but it is too early to speak them out loud.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 107

Not much maintenance has been done on the tank for yet another week, as such it is no wonder that it looks more and more like a jungle.

2 of my dwarf rainbows seem to reach the end of the line, similar to another one about 2 months ago. They are more or less just hanging and breath rather heavy. When this happens in small fish then it is usually a matter of days, but with the last rainbow it was an entire month. I will see.

Other, all is the same,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 107

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

New Ideas , Ingo , come on lets us in on your thoughts
Surely you can house your fish in one of your other tanks .
There not over stocked from what I can see.
I can feel the 'Ingo" style redo can't be far away .


Garry

2 of my dwarf rainbows seem to reach the end of the line, similar to another one about 2 months ago. They are more or less just hanging and breath rather heavy. When this happens in small fish then it is usually a matter of days, but with the last rainbow it was an entire month. I will see.

Sorry to hear about your rainbows. As you might remember, I didn't have great luck with them. It was a shame as I think they are really cool fish. How old do you think yours are? I wonder if they have short life spans.

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

Weekly Tank Update - Week 108

Garry - it will take a while until an Ingo-Style make-over is coming up, I will have to change the 40G first and only then would find time for this one. Maybe within the next 5 months though.

Wings - My Rainbows (one died this week, 3 left and one looking poor) are about 2 years old. I do think that they don't have a long live span, at least not in my water settings. I have done no research though.

On to the tank:

I spent 3 hours on Saturday to get just the small left side in order, not really prettying it up, just making sure it does not become a total jungle. In particular the trimming/replanting of the HM took a looooong time. Next week I will try to do the mid/right section, but I am not sure if I will have the time for it.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 108

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo , sorry to hear about your Rainbow . Understand the time issue , Just wanted
to know what you could possibly do to improve this marvelous scape .

Garry

Ingo

Sorry about the rainbows man. I have seen some upclose and they are really interesting fish and have some awesome color. I do like this scape. Infact im at the opposite of garry on this one and I think you should leave as is.

Shane

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

Ingo, this is what I found:

Life span of rainbow fish: depends a bit on what you really have but the average estimate is 3 to 5 years with the bigger ones like the Boesemani topping it. It also depends where the fish are coming from and how inbred they are (inbreeding is only good for color, otherwise ...) and the conditions they were raised in (food, hormones, etc). Another factor might be water temperature: some rainbows require rather high temperatures like discus, while others stay healthy at moderate tropical aquarium temperatures. I don't know which ones you have. The Baensch, part 2 has some nice listings

Claudia

Weekly Tank Update - Week 109

Thanks all for the input and concerns about the Rainbows. Claudia, I have Neon Dwarfs, as the name says they are small and as such probably on the shorter end of the lifespan scale. Another one is going to bite the dust rather sooner than later, but that is the way it is, we all have a limited lifespan.

Anyway, I was way too busy at work, I literally worked 26 hours straight (ok, I napped 20 min) into Saturday and as such found only time for the water change.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 109

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 110 and 111

Didn't have time to update last week, so here are both weeks. (seems like nobody cares anyway)

Week 110

Attached Image:

Week 110

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And here is the tank this week. Don't worry about the plant group in the open spot in the front, it is "on hold" for trading at the next NJAGC meeting this week.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 111

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Nice job, what species of Hydrocotyle do you have growing in there?

(seems like nobody cares anyway)

Ingo , Oh we care . We're just waiting for something to happen .

Garry

(seems like nobody cares anyway)

I think that we all know how busy you are.

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

I bet it would look spectacular in person. I doubt the FTS give it justice. Too much going on to take in one shot.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

They say it's a lifestyle and this tank reflects Ingo's. Busy and wild with a sort of reckless abandon. I'm envious

My Scapes

Terrible having to work such long hours but at least you get to come home to a really cool and peaceful looking tank. I can only dream of having a big tank all fully planted like that.

Weekly Tank Update - Week 112 and Week 113

Thanks guys for the input.

You will have to live with FTSs for a while longer, I am just not in the groove to get the details all worked out, LOL.

Here is a shot from week 112, a week ago from today. As you can see, more of the same "Busy and wild with a sort of reckless abandon", right tetratech?



Attached Image:

Week 112

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And here is a shot from today, week 113.

As you may note, a few things on the right side have changes, I will let you do the detailed comparison.

Let's just say that "other changes" made me do it.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 113

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The tank looks Gorgeous. I am new here so i don't have a lot of input. I like the look of all the the pictures i have been reading this thread for 2 days now. And i am going to steal some ideas from you.

What did you do with all of your ferns? Are they going to the club? The right side looks much better. I am not sure what the other changes are though....

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

Ingo , Very tidy , dare I say it a very different look on the right compared to the left . Still thats right up my alley so I love it .


Garry

Weekly Tank Update - Week 114

Thanks guys for the input.

lotec25 - Welcome
Wings - I guess you figured out by now what the "other changes" are, aka 40G
Garry - thanks for being so patient and giving me your input although I shine with neglecting your thread

Otherwise, nothing new, didn't have the time to tidy up the left side, maybe some other week.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 114

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Dang that's a stunning tank !
That last pic is great and it's interesting how you're almost back to that island thing except it's shifted over. The first island shot is my fave. I'm having a hard time finding needle-leaf java fern around here.

The Amazon Nut...

Weekly Tank Update - Week 115

DaMossMan - hi there, long time no see

Actually, I think this tank resembles a Dutch layout the most of all my tanks, although not fully.

On to the uptate itself:

I did manage to put the left side of the tank into a more ordered layout, with new plants being Rotala clippings from the new 40G layout and Bolbitis from the old 40G layout, having been stored in a bucket with water for over 2 weeks. It is still rather small and may not take off at all, but we will see.

Here is the full tank:

Attached Image:

Week 115

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I am aware that the middle section now needs to be "cleaned up", but I am not in a rush.

Here is a closer look at the left half,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Left Half

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Little_Fish,

What are the red/green plants on the right and left side? i am looking for something like that for our 55 gallon to add some color to it.

Tank looks amazing i have been looking for a local aquarium group in my area still have not found one. I look how your tanks look just don't know if i want to run CO2 yet.

Rob

LF,

The tank looks a lot better with the left side cleaned up. How many different plants do you have in there now? It seems to be getting to quite a few.

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

Hi LF!

This is the first time i've seen your tank + log and lemme tell ya! It is Very Gorgeous. The closest thing im going to have to that is my Nano tank im setting up after christmas. This tank is an inspiration and i hope you keep it up!

Sincerely, Goby

Ps; Sorry for the loss of them rainbows! Thats too bad that they live <5 yrs! Hope they breed for you, and habe generations of rainbows!

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Thanks for a detailed shot LF, that is one whopper of an apisto in the front there. It's much easier to see what's going on the left side now. Looks great to me .

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Ingo , Ahhhh...our friend has reappeared ( I'm not game to use his name after your
comments in your 40 log). I must say this scape is now taking on a very different
aspect from the last few months . Could this be a new Ingo ... graudual change over
instant redo ... I don't believe it yet
Anyway enough fun I love the look, there is some focus again , but if I may be
permitted a small criticism...gulp... it still needs more IMO. Not sure what you have
in mind , but after seeing the amazing things you've done in your other tanks ,
I can't wait to see what you do next . Looking forward to it

Garry

Weekly Tank Updates - Week 116 and 117

Thanks guys for the input, here are some answers to your questions:

lotec25 - Rob, the red plants on the left and right are Alternanthera reineckii, I hope that's the plant you meant. Yeah, a local club is a good thing, I hope you find one.

Wings - No idea how many plant species are in there, maybe around 15, but I am just guessing.

GobyFan2007 - What? This is the first time you see this log? How can one miss it? LOL - Thanks for the input and the compliments though, I hope it helps you with your setup.

Matty - The apisto is of course my male viejita II, the pride of this tank. He and his lady are truly beautiful fish and I am glad I bought them based on the advise received from a knowledged employee at the LFS, there they were all gray and sad looking, about 2 years ago.

Garry - Given that you have done a great job on your super-sized tank you are permitted to "a small criticism" any time . LOL. The reason for smaller changes on this tank rather than one monster change is very simple: TIME. It would take me way too long these days to redo the tank completely, but trust me, I have thought about it. At some point I may do this, but not now.

Here is a shot from last week:

Attached Image:

Week 116

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Basically, I did nothing with regards to the plants over the last two weeks, instead I let it all settle. As such, this weekend's shot is the same than last weekend's, but with some plants showing some growth.

Thanks again for the input,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 117

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Updates - Week 118 and 119

Week 118 has not seen many changes at all, just some trimming of the Rotala and the Alternanthera. I didn't get around to do something about the HM hedge on the right front.

Here is the picture:

Attached Image:

Week 118

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Now this week I did find the time to trim the HM, and I added a few more bunches of Nana Petites to the layout. They are probably not in their final spots though as I did not have the time to think it through yet.

That's it,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 119

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

lol i remember this thread like 2 years ago when is topepd posting here.

good to see its still going.

edit, wut happened to taht other thread that was almsot as long as yours little fish??

his name was tetra tech or something. he had a 90 gal i think.

LF,

Your tank is looking much less like a jungle and more like you are planning things out. I like it!

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

Wings ...I agree ...looks much better . I still like to see the river/beach cleaned out . Would bring back the focus that the tank had a while ago.

Still the most beautifull tank I've seen at FP however .

Garry

Weekly Tank Update - Weeks 120 and 121

Thanks folks for the input, saltnewbie - that was tetratech's tank, he moved on to better things, LOL.

Wings and Garry, thanks for the compliments!

Week 120 has seen no changes except a water change, here is the picture:

Attached Image:

Week 120

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

During the current week I added some bunches of R. rotundifolia from the 40G as I had then left over after making more ground for the HC there.

I also removed a few plants from the open spot as they went to the NJAGC meeting with me for trades.

Here is the tank for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 121

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo ...Nearly ... just a bit more out of the beach . Looks fantastic as usual.

Garry

l,il fish omg wow i have not been on the site in so long and just glanced back to see the tank now i can honestly say it has never looked better wow i wish i was you lol

Weekly Tank Updates - Weeks 122 and 123

Garry and bratyboy2 - Thank you guys so much for the feedback!

Well, lots of nothing happened in the last two weeks, some minor trimming happened on the left section of the HM, and that was all last week. Here is the shot:

Attached Image:

Week 122

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And even less happened this weekend, LOL. As in: absolutely nothing, not even a water change (no time yet).

Here is the tank from this weekend,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 123

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo,

I really like the tank as it is (especially the A. reineckii spreading out). The only plant I would trim is the HM hedge in front if I am allowed to suggest.

LF,

I haven't responded to your logs in a while though I do stop in pretty often.

Do you happen to have any tricks up your sleeve for growing Alternanthera reineckii. I got a few stems about a month ago and they don't seem to be doing really well yet. When I first got them the lost quite a few leaves. Now the new leaves are growing in pretty small. How long after a trim does it take for them to settle in?

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

Weekly Tank Update - Weeks 124 and 125

Thanks catdancer and wings for the input. Some answers will follow, but upfront a word on A. reineckii:

I do not have a trick up my sleeve, sometimes mine grow well and sometimes they don't. I currently have a situation where difformed leaved stems grow side by side with beatiful stems, no idea why.

Update week 124:

Not much happened that week, the Rotala on the left grew way too tall and had to be trimmed. And while I was at it I gave the HM some haircut, but not too much.

Here is the tank last weekend:

Attached Image:

Week 124

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Then came this weekend, and I had a little more time available. I used it to re-organize most of the right side. Here is what I did:

Remove, trim, and replant all tops from the Alternanthera
Remove, trim, and replant all tops from the Lobelia cardinalis (small or normal form)
Remove, trim, and replant all HM on the right side of the tank
Remove, trim, and replant most of the Wisteria on the right side
Trim the Narrow leaf fern on the right side
Trim the Narrow leaf fern just a little on the main piece of wood
Trim the Pennywort on the main wood

Took quite a few hours, I have to say, as it also included a replacement of the head gasket on the 2028 which was leaking when the filter was turned off, an issue that some people already had as well. This of course also meant cleaning the filter itself, for the first time in months.

Here is the tank this weekend,

That's it,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 125

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The side you got work done on looks fabulous! I know how long that HM can take to trim, remove, and replant. That's why I got into the habit of lawnmowering it. Looked horrible for two days, but I think it's a fair trade for the easy route.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

LF

Im really impressed with this tank and some of the plants you have named off I am really impressed with and I think i am gonna have to go back and see what else you have added to this tank.....The question i do have is, could you give a detailed explanation on what you use to trim your tanks and some steps on how you achieve that or are those a LF Secret??? LOL

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

Matty - yeah, I often use the hair cut method as well, but it is messy, in particular when having floating plants and a 125 where both arms are submersed to the arm pits,

In addition, after a few haircuts the bottom sections don't look all that good anymore.

fishmonster - Thanks for the compliments. What I use for trimming? A secret? No, not at all, but all plants need different styles of trimming, from simple cutting off stems to rhizome separation. All is common (aquatic) knowledge and can be read about on the web all over the place. Nothing special, for sure

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Nice job with the clean up of the right side. Also thanks for the info on your A. reineckii. I am getting some new leaves in on mine but they are way smaller than the ones that melted off when I got it. Maybe they just need more time to settle in.

Up to your arm pits? I so understand what you go through! My 55G is the stand I made for the old 40 long. Lets just say I have to stand on a chair and hunch over to take care of my ET. It's a pain but it's slowly paying off. Maybe someday I will get pictures of it.

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

Ingo ...Nice job..the tank is looking as good as I've ever seen it . Well done .

Garry

Thanks guys for the input and compliments!

Now I just need to find enough time to beautify the left side a little more, at least the HM needs the same routine than the one on the right had last weekend.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Updates - Weeks 126 and 127

Last week had seem the redo of most of the plants on the left side of the tank, similar to what I did the week before on the right side. It didn't take all that long though as less of a space needed to be handled.

Here is the tank last week:

Attached Image:

Week 126

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And this week the tank saw the final mayor trimming, this time it was the Rotala group on the left that was taken out and got the bottoms cut off before replanting.

I see already that the Alternanthera is getting to large again, so parts of the cycle will have to be repeated
Great!

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 127

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo

That Anthera is looking awesome. Also after what you said about looking online i found the ADA toolset but they were waaay to expensive.. What reasons are there for using those tools??

Is the emphasis on this tank almost like a mountain range of plants so that there is a large peak in the middle then dips, smaller peaks to the side then dipping again. That is what i am seeing from this tank.



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

Weekly Tank Updates - Weeks 128 and 129

Shane - Good tools go a long way in a planted tank, in particular good tweezers and scissors. But they don't have to be from ADA.

The tank has not seen any major changes for last weekend:

Attached Image:

Week 128

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And again no changes done for this weekend, except some minor glass cleaning for the NJAGC meeting.

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 129

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo ...looking spectacular as usual ...don't know if its the glass cleaning but thats the sharpist photo of this tank in some time .

I still think the beach / river needs more defination , but other than that the Alternanthera looks amazing and really gives this scape a fantastic lift . Still my favourite .


Garry

Weekly Tank Update - Week 130

Thanks for the comments Garry,

I am not sure what I would like to do with the river in the medium run, it ends at the wood now anyway as the road to the back is blocked by Nana petites.

Workwise, the tank has seen the trimming of ONE stem of Alternanthera, now that is what I call convenient maintenance, LOL.

Here is the tank today,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 130

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I am guessing that it is just the picture but the tank looks extra dark.

I am really quite surprised that this tank hasn't seen a make-over in quite a while. I guess you have been too busy with other things.

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

Yes Wings, the tank is not really that dark, but having larger plants now then a few weeks back for sure makes a difference. and that is being picked up by the camera 10 fold.

Also, I still play with post-shot processing

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yeah that was kind of my guess. I can't wait to see an updated picture. It has been quite a while. Hope all is well!!

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