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The terrors of being famous

What was the crisis?

He switched over to mostly RO water and in order to boost his calcium he used some stuff that is often used in Marine tanks. He usually knows his chemistry much better than I do, but this time, a side component reacted with the water and created (most likely) an enormus biologial bloom. That in turn cause a major oxygen depletion in the tank, within half a day. By chance he saw the fish gasping in the middle of the night. He managed to get the Oxygen back up (raising the pipe) but too late for all Amanos.

you mean your kids don't want a Wii

They sure would want one, but I did such a rush ($$$) purchase on the PS2 and the original X-Box (both for myself, of course). Now I have the paitence to wait until the price is more "normal". But I almost bought one now. BTW, one night when we worked 36 hours straight (software release) I played WII tennis at 4 AM, that was fun

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo , I really like the way the Bolbitis looks now that you have reduced the right side of the tank .
Gives the tank that slightly unsymetrical look which I think is sensational . It would be a pity if it had to go .
Do the cubans stay that colour? Or will they green up ? I really don't like them the way they are maybe be just me
Good luck with the Nintendo , we got a Wii and they are fantastic ,my wife keeps beating me at tennis and I'm not even on the same page as my son

Garry

Here is another look at the cubans (with an unfocussed Amano on top of one of them) and the HC, taken straight from above. Under non-maintenance conditions this shot is not possible as the light is sitting right up there.

This confirms it! unshaded HC. LF was right all along. . Look at the explosion of growth you got from it. Looks like there was a continental divide though. I think the right group is headed east, watch out for minor tremors and liquid hot mag-ma.

Happy fathers day you geezers .

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Happy fathers day you geezers

The individual groups of HC have formed from individual plantings of the original small batch that I got.

Garry, the cubans are yellowish with a tint of orange/red when in good shape, a great alternative color in the background of a large tank, with green plants half way up in front of them, or in a street arrangement. This small picture from APC shows you a nicely colored up top.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 54

Not much time to report anything, not much happened during this week anyway.

Here is the latest full tank shot:

Attached Image:

Tank 6/24/2007

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

As you may have noticed, the cubans are gone, they didn't do to well during this week (understatement) and I removed whatever was left.

Here is the battlefield:

Attached Image:

Bad Cubans

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And if you thought you noticed something different about the Bolbitis group then you were right. I pretty much ripped out a few rhizomes here and there, and before I knew it a bucket full was gone (5G bucket).

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Bolbitis

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo , thats a lot of fern you pulled out . It certainly didn't damage the look of the tank though .
Are you going to use the fern you took out in another tank?

Sorry to see the cubans were a bust . Got any ideas why they didn't work ?

Tank still looks brilliant

Garry

Ingo,

Tank is looking great! Still love this one. That is a ton of bolbitis fern. What are you going to do with it all?

Looks great!

Ditto what all the others say - tank still looks great (as ever).

Does your LFS give credit for plants? Otherwise, I recall from previous conversations you're not keen on bothering to sell on ebay.

Then again - you probably trade with your club when you can.

Cheers
TW

Wow! Even though you ripped out that much fern you still have a huge mass of it.

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

the shape of this tank has changed pretty significantly, from that "U" shape to more of a triangle now. it really works though, and I think it'll continue to work as long as it remains dense.

and congrats on the HC babies. in another 8 months you may have a carpet forming

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Back in the saddle!

Weekly Tank Update - Week 55

Not much time available to respond to your entries, just enough for an update and to read your other threads.

I could have posted last week's picture, the tank looks just the same,

The only special thing is that I havent seen the older Apisto female in a few days now (Matty's second).

That's it,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 55

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo , Sorry to hear about your Apisto female , hope she turns up .

Garry

Is it possible she is just gaurding a clutch of eggs deep in the plants?

Weekly Tank Update - Week 56

Not much happened during the week and the weekend saw the trimming of some additional Bolbitis leaves. A member of our club is currently doing away with his bolbitis as it had been trimmed so often (by removing sideshoot rhizomes) that the center portion does not procude enough new leaves to keep the group nice, maybe someday soon the same will apply to me.

To make my point a little clearer, this is what I deal with weekly:

Attached Image:

Bolbitis

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The female Apisto is back, I assume she must have been guarding some fry but as ususal this will not work out in this tank.

I also saw for the first time a female Amano carrying babies, this will of course also not work out.

Here is the tank in a Matty angle:

Attached Image:

Matty Angle

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The HC does not grow any further again and I also seem to see some disintegration.

Nothing else is to reporty right now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is the tank in a Matty angle:

huh....wha? I'm here. I'm here.

Glad to see the female apisto is back. Lots of hiding spots in that tank.

I like the look of the tank in these shots. And to be honest I think I like it without a lot of ground cover.

Most people wouldn't complain about having too much bolbitus LF. I got lectured by a coworker today about complaining that I have too much HM. Made $10 today anyhow. Too bad you don't have an LFS to get $ or store credit. My plants generally sell like hotcakes....if that's a good thing . As I see it I'm making the store more money.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

I agree with Matty that this tank would look better with no ground cover. HC with all that Fern doesn't work well. I still think the this tank would look much better with a sand front and middle area. Build up both Islands with more rock showing, pour sand all around them and put some anubias,moss or whatever in between rocks and you'll have good contrast and more depth.

EDIT:

The HC does not grow any further again and I also seem to see some disintegration.

Are you trimming it? I have always found with most stems if you do some trimming it produces more growth.

My Scapes

Tank looks great. I think I contacted you about my bolbitis. It has finally taken hold and is now growing at a good rate. You have so much it looks great.

Why wont any apisto fry wont work out?

Tank looks amazing.

Why wont any apisto fry wont work out?

Perhaps it is a combination of:-

a) Water not soft enough for a large batch of fry to hatch. I've read that for the apisto eggs to hatch,the water must be really quite soft.
b) dad snacks on the fry

Glad the female's back. Yeah for the shrimpster baby. Finally saw one of these in real life the other day. So cute & tiny. Was advised not to get them though, due to my discus & apositos

Cheers
TW

Uh, lots of replies required here:

- Matty: Without a lot of ground cover, that was what tetratech was preaching since a long time, and I never listened. I could get some bucks at the LFS for my plants, but I am too lazy to even go there and ask. Maybe in one of the next months I will approach their plant guy (who I actually know rather well) on how such a "trade" could be arranged. Currently, that last thing I wanna do after a 4 hour maintenance routine is to drive to the LFS.

- tetratech: It is my honest conviction that it is just a matter of time until the Bolbitis is too large for the tank, in height and width. As such I am very hesitant to custom th layout around this plant. I need to have a better plan for the time after Bolbitis before I would go to any drastic step with regards to the design. Trimming the HC, no - I have never done that. I thought that the tiny amount that I have in there would do better if undisturbed.

- RNJ_Punk and Robyn: The fry does not work out for the reasons Robyn mentioned, plus the fact that except for once I cannot even see where the "nest" is as it can be in any of the 500 hiding spots in the tank. As such I would have to add huge amounts of fry food to the tank to assure they get something to eat. In addition, I have something like 15 Amanos in there and they would not hesitate to eat any fry they can find.

Thanks all for the interest and info,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yeah, I guess it's different. I HAVE to go to the LFS anyhow. Speaking of which, I gotta get to work. and then class. Won't be home for 14 hours. Now I know how you feel Ingo. To make things worse, they are going to start beating me in walk my plank.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Ingo, love that Fern it would be a shame if it had to go .
Wish I could find it over here , would look good in the future of my big tank .

Glad to hear about your Apisto female .

I really want to see what you do with this scape , there are so many possibilites all of which I find facinating .
Not least of which is Jeffs idea which sounds very interesting .

Oh well guess I'll just have to be patient and see where you take it.

Garry

tetratech: It is my honest conviction that it is just a matter of time until the Bolbitis is too large for the tank, in height and width

I hear ye! Another possibility is to remove the fern on the right completely and have just "Bob" positioned left off-center (which it pretty much is based on the way you trim) and have it cascade down to the right with more rock and than a few scattered pieces of rock all around. Sand or Eco would look fine with some moss cover rocks,etc., This way you could let Bob spread his wings alittle more. And we all know you have a special attachment to Bob anyway

My Scapes

Thanks guys for the input, time will tell what I am going to do about this tank.

In the meantime:

Weekly Tank Update - Week 57

This week has seen more trimming of the Bolbitis, some leaves were removed because they grew out of the water, some because they started to shade the HC again. Now that tetratech has it growing so successfully I have to take better care of mine .

Here is the full tank:

Attached Image:

Tank 7/14/2007

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And here is a closer look at the HC, now without a doubt in full light. I also dose about 3ml of Excel right over it during the water change as I have read that HC really likes Excel:

Attached Image:

HC

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The last shot for now is the tank from the back. The right side isn't really all that dark, but it for sure is not qualified to grow any light hungry plants. As you can see, the Bolbitis has created a huge umbrella over that area, making the tank not really surround anymore. Just one more reason to rethink this plant in this tank.

That's it for now,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Back Side

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I really love this tank ingo. Im hoping i can get my tank to look like that soon.

Shane

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

Thanks Shane, keep in mind that the tank is over one year old, so don't expect a natural growth too fast.

I have a few more pictures that I took today, just for the fun of it. First off, my biggest HC mountain

Attached Image:

HC Hill

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Next up, the female Apisto that was missing for a while but reappeared the other week. She looks pretty nice these days which for sure means that she wasn't sick or something when she was MIA. Must have been another breeding attempt.

Attached Image:

Female Apisto

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Last one, a female Amano. Not that I expect all these, or any of these, eggs to develop into little shrimpsters, but I found it cool that I got such a nice shot of it. It looks much clearer in the picture then when looking at the shrimp directly, that must be hundreds of eggs.

But I am not going to set up a salt water tank to hatch them.

That's it,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Amano With Eggs

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

nice pics, as usual, ingo. Great shrimp shot. Good news about the female showing up again.

Cheers
TW

The female apisto looks definitively slimmed down. Your water is pretty soft, right? I am assuming that the shrimpsters had some unexpected nutritious delicacies to pick from.

I admire your Bolbitis and would love to grow one myself but my water conditons are not to its liking. Your specimen is deserving of a tank of its own but its vigorous growth and dominance of the tank reminds a bit of "Audrey" in "The little shop of horrors", hope you take this comparison with a smile! Bolbitis fetches a good price in stores and getting the cut offs to the LFS the day after the harvest should not diminish its growth for the new owner and get you a nice store credit. Why not go for it?

Thanks Ladies for the input and comments

catdancer - nice comparison there for the Bolbitis . See, most of the time, my trimming is the cutting off of individual leaves and not the removal of an entire section of the rhizome. Only the latter would conclude in a sellable piece for the LFS. But, such a removal would mean that I seriously have to mess with that hill as Bolbitis attaches itself to wood really strongly. I only had the nerve to do this once so far, and then I didn't feel like spending the extra time with the trade stuff at the LFS (as, for example, the plant guy may not be in at the weekends and I may have to store the plants untils some evening during the week and so forth).

Thanks again,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

And we all know you have a special attachment to Bob anyway

Ingo , you have names for your plants Ah well each to his own .
That is a seriously small but very healthy looking bunch of HC.
Have you worked out why it hasn't spread yet , or is that a delicate question
Great shot of the Shrimp , I did not know they only hatch in salt water .
I thought Tetra had some hatch in one of his tanks ????

Anyway , tank looks fantastic as always .

Garry

Ingo , you have names for your plants Ah well each to his own .

Yeah, whatever turns you on.

As far as the shrimp, I have cherry shrimp babies that breed quite easily in freshwater, but from what I understand about Amanos is that the adults live in fresh water in nature, but the eggs are carried down from higher elevation to salter waters where they hatch and then the make their way to fresh water again as adults or something like that.

My Scapes

Garry,

I have no idea where tetratech came up with the Bob-thing, but I thought I will play along, if it makes him happy

I assume that the HC is not doing sooo great because it is not getting enough light and because the substrate is not as full of goodies as tetratech's ADA substrate.

And tetratech is pretty right about the Amanos. I think there are basically two kinds of shrimp, one where the eggs turn into little shrimp directly and one where they go through a larvae stage first. The first group can be bread in freshwater just fine, like cherry and glass shrimp. The second group cannot, like Amanos.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo

Didnt i hear you wanted rid of those pesky amano's??? hehe Ill take em off ya hands for my planted tanks hehe

Shane

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

Shane,

Well, I did not want to get rid of them, what you have read must have been in reference to my 20G QT tank as I at some point had about 30 of them in there for QT purposes (and until I knew where they will end up).

Ever since then I added about 8 to this tank and 10 to the 125G. Now, with about 12 remaining in the QT things are better, but they soon will be moved to the 125G as well, I justed waited with that to see if the first batch added there will survive (because of the Apistos and Rainbows) and I can still see about 3 of them once in a while.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 58

Well, I don't have much time and as such it comes in handy that there is not much to report about this tank anyway. I did the weekly water change, and that was it, LOL.

Otherwise, all is the same,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 58

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 59

I take the non-existence of entries in this log as a sign that you feel about it the same I do, it might be nice, but over time boring.

Nothing happened this week again, except work. Today, after the water change, I started to see hundreds of Amano larvae in the tank, tiny little critters floating and jerking about. The male apisto ate some, but there are loads of them. Again, I know none will survive, no need to point that out.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Tank Now - 7/29/2007

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Looks good LF, how're my ladies?

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Take down that tank, its making me look bad . But seriously nice job keep up the good work!

Ingo , No I for one am not bored . I'm just waiting for you to suprise with your next move with this tank.
You given lots of hints but you are obviously too busy with work to get to and plan your next moves .

Waiting expectantly.
Garry

Interesting about your Amanos. I am guessing at that point you could put them strait into saltwater. Not that you are going to but you could if you wanted. At least that is what I thought I read about them.

I don't think your thread is boring. I think we are all just busy at the moment. I know I am!

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

I'm getting worried that "Bob" ate Ingo

My Scapes

Ingo

Sorry i havent replied, i have been moving and have barely replied in my own logs. lol. Anyways I love the tank, i was gonna take the amanos off ya hands if ya didnt want them. hehe

Anyways I cant wait for new pics and what you are gonna do next with this tank

Shane

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

No Tetratech, Bob - whoever that is - didn't eat me

I am just very busy. For that reason, the update even had to wait until today.

Thanks all for the input

Weekly Tank Update - Week 60

Not much happened, I cannot see the second of Matty's females again for a week now, and the young female doesn't look to good either. And that is all that is there to say,

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 60

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo , Life does get in the road from time to time .
I'm sure you will find time to look after Bob soon .
Tank as always looks great .
Garry

Weekly Tank Update - Week 62

Have been in the home country for 2 weeks, tank looks the same as before though, .

Not much happened in the tank at all, a big bore.

Attached Image:

Full Tank

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The only thing nice is the slightly larger HC area, tetratech would be proud of my growing success, .

That's it for now,

Ingo

Attached Image:

HC

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hey Ingo

I look at this way. Something is better than nothing. Your tanks are never a bore btw.

Shane

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

Ha the HC spreads , very interesting .
Maybe it's just a matter of time and Patience .
Thats not boring its facinating .

Garry

LF,

The HC is looking quite a bit better. Maybe it just takes forever to settle in.

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

Hey LF, if you had a tank with the dimensions of your average ashtray you'd have a nice lush HC carpet.

But seriously, as Johnny Cash would say, that HC is in good shape for the shape it's in. Nice and clean.

Not sure where you stand on this, but are you getting to the point at all where the 4 tanks are too much to concentrate on? You seem to be a bit bored with the 40G, and the 29 and 20 are low tech so change is very incremental. Just curious about your 'mental state' with the tanks, 4 is a lot and some burnout is understandable.

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Back in the saddle!

Hey Ingo, as usual everything is beautiful in your tank. I'm sure the missing female apisto will turn up (she usually does) but sorry to hear the smaller one isn't looking so great.

That's an interesting comment NowherMan6 made about whether 4 tanks are too much to concentrate on & I'm interested to hear what you think on that?

Hope the home country was lots of fun for you

Cheers
TW

I agree. I'll be getting rid of two of my setups here soon. Too much work right now. Looks like it will be the 5.5 shrimp tank fw planted and I'll move the reef tank into the 50.

Sorry to hijack. I hope the trip was nice. You deserved a break. The tank looks great as always.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Guys and Gals,

Yes, you are right, I sure have these burnouts once in a while, and currently I am getting over a big one.

Having had no opportunity to "update" my tanks for a few months now, given the knowledge that I will go on vacation and didn't want to leave any tank in an unsettled way, the great boredom with the only tasks being maintenance, feeding, and ferting, was (and still is) making me think of either cutting back, or changing the high techs to low techs, or whatever along these lines.

Probably for the same reason I cut back on my participation in all forums that I am a member of, mostly here and the NJAGC. Yes, I had much to do at work as well, but I could have tried harder to participate in other threads.

Overall, my thoughts about the tanks are somewhat like this these days:

125G: Looks ok, but needs major changes to make the new scape really work. That was planned anyway, but had to wait until I was back from vacation. Too many similar plants in there right now, almost all would be fine in a low tech setting.

40G: Needs a major redo, the Bolbitis is way too big and the Narrow Leaf Fern is too boring. This will be a major act and I don't have the energy yet for it. BTW, a Tek light with 4x35w is on the way to me.

29G: Will get a major redo soon, probably within the next few weeks, but will stay most likely low tech. For this tank I am pretty much done with a vision for layout, just the final plant selection (being most likely a limitation of the current plants in the tank) is still in question, all scape material is already in the house. Also, I have by now way too many platies in there.

20G: Albeit people say it is conceptually the best of my tanks (iwagumayumi), I am also bored with it. That is an easy tank to change, but I probably will re-invent it as a QT again, my school of Espei in the 125G is becoming rather small now as fish keep dying (most likely of old age) and I will add some other schooling fish at some point.

So here you have my thoughts, in short at least.

Thanks,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yes, you are right, I sure have these burnouts once in a while, and currently I am getting over a big one.

My solution to multiple tank burnout is to have each tank with a completely different focus. Wouldn't work for you, as I recall reading you wouldn't consider a non-planted tank. But I'm the opposite. I might get chased off the Planted Forum here, but must say I would be bored with 3 tanks where plants were the main focus in each. Two of my new tanks will be planted, but only in one will the plants be the focus (even then plants will share the limelight with my discus). The other planted tank will have C02 (bought another set on ebay, so may as well use it) but it's focus will be as a divided tank, with an apisto pair on either side that I hope to breed. The 3rd tank will be an African Cichlid tank, completely different with no plants.

Because for me the fish are equally important as the plants/scape, just their presence keeps me interested. Too big for you I know, Little_Fish, but I am in love with my discus & they are spoilt rotten. They threaten the ongoing existence of the African Tank. I'm determined to do the African Tank, but if it doesn't last, it will be the fault of discus.

Narrow Leaf Fern is too boring

You wouldn't say that if you lived here. Never seen it or Needle Leaf Java Fern either. I'm so excited, as I bought a bunch of each from an ebay seller in Thailand, who says he sends to Aus. Still waiting & I hope it survives the trip.

I hope you find your own solution to the boredom Ingo. Sorry to take up too much room in log.

Looking forward to seeing the changes you mention.

Cheers
TW

Yes, you are right, I sure have these burnouts once in a while, and currently I am getting over a big one.

If your having a tag sale let me know!

My Scapes

Me too!

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

Ingo , After all the dedication you've put into your logs over the last couple of years,
I'm sure there are times you think why am I doing this . You have your own reasons
and motivations but I simply wanted to say from myself and from a lot of others here at FP :
Thanks , you have helped, entertained , informed and given me pause for thought on so many occasions .
Your fantastic Tanks and your wonderfull logs are an inspiration.
This place is much poorer in your absense .

I hope you rediscover your desire & enjoyment soon .
I'm sure its only one major "Ingo Style " redo away .

Regards

Garry

My cure for aquarium burnout:

Have a non-fish person come to your home.

Show off tanks.

Watch as their jaw drops to the floor.

From your pictures, it looks like you'll have no problem with the third part. If you're like me it'll help. I hope with whatever you do you have at least as good luck as you've had with your plants! And ditto what tetratech said about the tag sale!

><>

Ingo, Your tanks are what made me want to start a planted tank. Please dont give up as we all enjoy your beautiful tanks

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

Don't worry folks, or maybe I should say "don't be disappointed" as there will be no tag sale

As you all probably know, as long as we are not too full of ourselves we are our own worst critic. It doesn't help me if others find my tanks nice as long as I don't think they are. With this I don't mean to say my tanks are bad, I mean this as a general statement. I guess I am in a philosophical mood

The Tek light for this tank arrived yesterday, sadly enough with 2 wrong bulbs, 15,000K

I tested the other 2 bulbs, which also were not what I ordered (6,000K) but actually 6,500K - a better value. And what can I say, that is some bright light

Currently I have no idea on how to affix the unit, I thought of hanging it but there are ceiling issues to consider, more to this maybe later.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo, Just good to see you online , Mate . Sorry the lights were not what you ordered .
15000 thats some light . Should give it a try see what happens

Garry

If you can't get those 15K bulbs replaced, please send them my way lol. Although I still have about 8 months to a year before I have to replace my bulbs. T5s last forever. I think you'll really love them if they aren't too much light.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Thanks Garry and Matty,

Garry, the problem with the 15,000K is not the intensity but the temperature (not heat, but K), a really wrong spectrum for plants.

I agree Matty, that is quite some light. I tested the 2 6,500K bulbs yesterday and boy-oh-boy, that was bright.

I am planning on using mostly 2 bulbs (on the outsides) and only the second set for midday, starting with an hour or two.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I spent the weekend at the beach, so the water change was today:

Weekly Tank Update - Week 63

Nothing new on the tank, saw one of the females and she looked pretty bad, then she went back into hiding.

Tek light is still missing two bulbs and I have to define how I would like to affix it in the first place.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 63

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 64

The better light K range bulbs for this tank are ordered, and I also have to think about how to affix it to the tank (the Tek light, that is).

Nothing new inside the tank though. Here is the tank this week with the male Apisto over the HC. The females all are MIA since quite a while.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 64

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Wow ingo, that bolbitis is getting rather large, any plans for a trimming on that? Also what kind of range are you talking about for the bubls and how will you have to change the fittings to accomodate the changes?

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

fishmonster,

The new range is either 10,000 or 11,000 K, not sure which ones were ordered for me.

I meant to say that I need to figure out how to "hook" the Tek Unit to the ceiling or some form of stand.

Weekly Tank Update - Week 65

The tank has seen little maintenance this week, next week I may cut off some Bolbitis rhizomes to trim the group back and to bring it to our NJAGC meeting for trading.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 66

I don't have much time, but here is a quick shot of the tank. Not much has changed, I just trimmed the Bolbitis a little to bring some parts to the NJAGC meeting yesterday.

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 66

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LF,

The tank seems much brighter. Are you still running the old light or do you have the new one up? Maybe it was just the trim. We would all like to see pictures of how you end up hanging it.

How are the fish doing in this tank?

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

Yeah i agree with wings, did you get your new lights? how are the fish doing? Is it this tank that also has the shrimp?

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

Hanging lights would make maintenance easier, although I don't think hubby would allow the holes in the ceiling. Would like to see the pics of how you've done it though. Tank is looking very nice & healthy.

Cheers
TW

Hi,
I'm not so sure that hanging lights make anything easier.
One generally bumps head on them, or smacks a hand or
elbow on them while doing maintenance. To avoid that one
sometimes hangs them higher, but that lessens the intensity
of the light on the tank and widens the "footprint" of the
light.

Frank


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

Weekly Tank Update - Week 67

Not much happened during the week for this tank, but I managed to give the Bolbitis a larger trim than usual. It was basically a removal of rhizomes that have grown closer to the middle of the tank.

Here is the tank after the water change:

Attached Image:

Week 67

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That was yesterday and today I finally found the time to hang up the new Tek Light. Not really a "job-well-done" as it was rather sloppy DIY just to see it in action.

That should answer all the questions between this series and last weeks update.

Thanks folks for showing interest!

As you can see here, the image is a little green. That is because I only run the 2 6,500K bulbs in this shot.

Attached Image:

With 6,500K lights on

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

You can also see that I don't require any additional lighting in the room anymore as the unit shines about everywhere. This is why you see the wall behind it soo much better now.

Here is the tank with the 10,000K bulbs turned on as well, you may note that it is a little bluer in the coloration. The camera compensates for the extra light so you cannot really see the brightness increase.

Attached Image:

With All Lights On

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Now I wanna see the HC take off, just like it did in tetratech's tank,

Last but not least, a shot of the setup including the new light unit.

That's it, have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Full Setup

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It's pretty bright huh? What do you think, 2-3 X as bright as pc watt for watt?

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Ingo,

Thats a great looking setup my friend, love the light and the way you have your filters. How did you fit the filter pipes in the tank like that if you dont mind me asking?

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

Now I wanna see the HC take off, just like it did in tetratech's tank,

I like the light, but why on this tank? Isn't "Bob" going to go ballastic. Your so busy you might not look at your tank for a few days and you'll come home and find Bob has taken over the basement.

My Scapes

Ingo , nothing like a new bit of gear is there . Love the Light it certainly gives a different
perspective to the tank . Hope the HC takes over the tank for you

Garry

Wow, for the longest time I thought you had a black background on this tank! Couldn't tell it was clear on both sides. Those lights make quite a difference.

tetra,

Yup, one day Ingo is going to walk down to his basement and the scene will look like this:

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Back in the saddle!

Yup, one day Ingo is going to walk down to his basement and the scene will look like this:

hehe, That's pretty much what I was thinking or Bob will extend to every tank.

P.S. Nowher where's your little setup?

My Scapes

- Darn Bob

In order of requests:

Matty - I don't know how bright it is, it for sure lights up the whole room though (height over tank related).

fishmonster - Thanks. The filter hoses are coming up on the right back corner in the picture, actually nothing special there.

Tetratech - Why this tank? Well, it is the one that seems the most show case like, from the overall setup. Currently I don't like the plants one little bit, but things may change.

Garry - yeah, new gear always makes my day

NowherMan6 - I assume you don't remember that this is a walk-around tank. A background is not possible as one side would not be viewable anymore. And bob has not yet licked blood, LOL.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF,

I like the new light. I hope it grows your HC well too!

Have you thought about going to a single mound with a ground cover around it?



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

How long would you expect it to take, before the light has it's impact on the HC?

Cheers
TW

Hi Robyn,
Depending upon the tank conditions (nutrients),
and the health of the new plants, I would expect to
see some change within a week, two at the outside.

Frank


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

very nice tank, especially love the bolbitus huedelotti

Weekly Tank Update - Week 68

Thanks folks for the input.

I am still thinking about design options and I am in no particular rush to do something about it right now (no time anyway).

The HC is already showing signs of change Robyn, I think it has grown a little larger with regards to leaves and stem length and diameter. Overall, it looks healthier. This is probably a result of the new light, but it may include the trimming of the Bolbitis that I performed last weekend.

Not much new happened otherwise, I added today the second set of light rows (center rows) for 1h midday.

Here is the tank this morning:

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 68

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Weekly Tank Update - Week 69

Almost no trimming during this weekend, but I had to remove a load of duckweed that now, with the new light, grows much faster.

The HC is weird, it seems like the old growth (original planting site in Nov last year) is coming all out and the new growth since the last two weeks stays put. Maybe the old growth was done anyway, I don't know.

Here is the tank,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 69

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Ingo , Did you back the new lights off a fraction , the last shot seems a little darker .
Or is that just the Fern needing a trim . The HC thing is very interesting , wonder
what will happen next ?
Still love Bob ( even if everyone loves poking fun at him )

Garry

Garry,

Thanks for the input

The lightness of the image greatly depends on where the camera focus hits the tank, if on a leaf in the shade then the image is brighter, if on a leaf in the light then darker.

The HC is confusing me as well, I don't know if it comes or goes!

Bob - tetratech came up with that name, I sure had nothing to do with it - might have to go at some point, too big.

I don't have a great vision on what to do with this tank yet, so no major changes are performed on it these days.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Weekly Tank Update - Week 70

Well, as I was trimming one or the other leaf of Bob (ok, I declare defeat and accept the name for it, gee - thanks tetratech) I decided to give it a major haircut. The goal was to remove any bad leaf as well as any leaf that reaches the surface. And about 50 leaves later I was done

Here is the balding Bob,

Have fun,

Ingo

PS: Otherwise, no news

Attached Image:

Week 70

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

That really changed the lighting in this tank! I wouldn't really call bob balding either. More of a buzzed bob.

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

Well, as I was trimming one or the other leaf of Bob (ok, I declare defeat and accept the name for it, gee - thanks tetratech)

Oh, your very welcome Now that it's official, please consult me before Bob's next haircut, I know how he likes it. Bob would also like to be moved alittle to the right (You know that ego of his)and he has requested a pair of sunglasses That's it for now.



My Scapes

Well done Tetra .!!!!

I think Bob should have a stylist , what do you think , someone with Hollywood experience maybe ?


Garry

You guys are weird

Seriously, I love the lines and flow of this tank.

Well done - it's just lovely.

Weekly Tank Update - Week 71

You guys are weird

They/We sure are, but we are proud of it

Thanks for the input Jay, much appreciated

On to the tank:

Not much to report, Bob is growing again, if that is his hair then I really envy him, I need some of that, LOL.

The one thing I threw out in the NJAGC forum that bugs me is the HC. It keeps on floating up bits by bits. I think though we have identified why: The pesky elephant sized Amanos are running over the patch and their stompede causes the uprooting of the HC. Any believers? I sure think it is the most logical explanation at this time and found people that have similar experiences, including a case where HC was all well and as soon as Amanos were added to the tank it started to float up. I guess it just doesn't work well with both together.

Here is the tank this week, the male Apisto gave me the honor to pose in the shot,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 71

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I like this scape, especially after the trim.

Here is the tank this week, the male Apisto gave me the honor to pose in the shot,

He is looking pretty nice too! How are the females doing?

You got really nice photos of this tank and the 125 this week. Did I get that you are playing with the camera settings?

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

The one thing I threw out in the NJAGC forum that bugs me is the HC. It keeps on floating up bits by bits. I think though we have identified why: The pesky elephant sized Amanos are running over the patch and their stompede causes the uprooting of the HC

I would have to respectively disagree with the members of the NJAGC on that one. Are you referring to the original HC planted some time ago or additinal pieces? I have the HC growing in my 72g now without a problem and there are amanos, cherries and kuli loaches in there. If it's still floating up then the root system isn't developing enough. Do you trim it? Remember this is a stem plant. Trim the top and what happens to most stems plants. You get several new headers. Same with HC, this will help spread a more elaborate root system and it will keep the plant anchored.

Also it's far easier to plant HC just like any other stem. just replant the tops. Push it into the eco and then pull up slightly and let the eco fall in around the stem.

My Scapes

Thanks folks for the input

Wings - yes, I am playing with camera settings and post-picture-taking image manipulations of the simple form, like sharpness, midtones, and the like.

The females died months ago, never found even one dead one (thanks to the shrimp, I assume).

Tetratech - I do see the Amanos rumble over the HC field, and I do see individual strands come out at that time (although I don't see when it all happens). Are your Amanos grown up? Mine are huge. I have not trimmed the HC, maybe I should give that a try though. I am just afraid that having only such a small patch the rest of the field will be destroyed in a heart-beat.

patty - Thanks

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Tetratech - I do see the Amanos rumble over the HC field, and I do see individual strands come out at that time (although I don't see when it all happens). Are your Amanos grown up? Mine are huge. I have not trimmed the HC, maybe I should give that a try though. I am just afraid that having only such a small patch the rest of the field will be destroyed in a heart-beat.

I've had some of my Amanos for like two years, they are big, bigger than most of the fish in the tank. I see them walking on it too and of course some will be pulled up before the roots grow, but if it's still coming up then the root system isn't developed enough. I have the loaches as well and they are much worse than the shrimp. Trust me on this one, keep trimming the tops of the tallest pieces.

I'll be interested in your picture results, since I plan on buying an SLR camera shortly. I would give my Canon S2 to Wings, but I think my kid has already called it his own. Sorry Wings.

My Scapes

Weekly Tank Update - Week 72

Thanks Tetratech for the tip, I will keep it in mind. I heard others that swear that trimming is not required, they instead wanna sell me on AquaSoil and even offer me a little bit for a container to submerse in the tank and just see what happens (sounds like an interesting test as well).

As I stated in the 125G log, I had very little time this weekend and DID NOT DO A WATER CHANGE

Here is the tank anyway,

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 72

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Nice tank, Love the Bolbitis

Thanks Tetratech for the tip, I will keep it in mind. I heard others that swear that trimming is not required, they instead wanna sell me on AquaSoil and even offer me a little bit for a container to submerse in the tank and just see what happens (sounds like an interesting test as well).

Interesting you should say that. I actually did this in my 72g. I took a small area in my foreground and replaced the Eco with AS. I found no difference in the way it grows or the speed (see pic below). I will conclude that the HC in ny AS-based 46g grow much faster then it did in my 72g with Eco or AS. Although the tanks have different lighting etc, my unscientific conclusion was that it grows better in AS not based on what it derives directly from the AS, but rather what the AS leaches into the water colum.

Eco/AS



My Scapes

Weekly Tank Update - Weeks 73 and 74

Didn't have much time/patience last week to update the log, so here are the shots for both weeks:

Here is week 73 (somehow not so good of a shot)

Attached Image:

Week 73

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And here is week 74, this weekend.

It appears that the HC is spreading faster than usual, at least whatever can be considered usual in my tank. I also have taken a look at the tank a few weeks back and can now see that the HC for sure is no longer static.

Tetratech - nice comparison shot, seems to grow just as well in both.

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 74

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Ingo , HC looks to be on the move for you at last and it seems that Bob needs his hairdresser in attendance .

Garry

Bob needs his hairdresser in attendance

That Java fern looks like its about out of control too!

HC is looking much better. Do you think its the new light?

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

Weekly Tank Update - Week 75 and Week 76

Yes Wings, I think it is the light, and maybe the fact that I layed off on adding Excel as a spot treatment right over the HC (as I have heard it likes Excel, but maybe not in my tank).

Anyway, more of overgrowing Bolbitis and giant Narrow Leaf Fern, mixed with Anubias Nana and a spot of HC.

The tank in week 75:

Attached Image:

Week 75

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And just because I got fed up with the comments about BOB (I don't like that guy, whoever he is, LOL), here is the tank today.

Yup, an Ingo-Style Make-Over

Have fun,

Ingo

Attached Image:

Week 76

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LF,

That looks really sharp! You did a really nice job with the sand.

What are your plans for plants?

Did you take the filter-out off the 29G or did you get one for this tank too?

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

little fish,

Where do you get your plants? I am looking for the Bolbitis fern but cant seam to find it online. Not sure if my LFS has it or not so i will have to check.

I do like the new look. Do you ever get memorseful after such a change? Even when I give my plants a little trim down and thin out I wonder if I've done the right thing.
I definitely love the new look though.

Wow, what a change. Now that the plants are really
thinned out, the two vertical rocks remind me of Easter
Island statues, and I'm not sure they "fit" in the new
scape. Maybe if partially obscured by plants again they
will look more like they "belong."

Great Tank!
Frank


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

Ingo, Unbelieveable !!!!!!!!!, Stunning ( Again! ), Brillant , Wonderful, Spectacular ....hmmm can't think of any other superlatives Great look etc perhaps you could find the time to describe the plants and give us a closer look ?


Garry

Weekly Tank Update - Week 77

Thanks all for the input, much appreciated. Some answers:

Wings - Plants are HC and maybe some larger plants (Blyxa and such) within the rock groups. There is further also only the outflow of the CalAqua glass ware in this tank (for now).

lotec25 - I got my Bolbitis at the LFS, it was rather small (see much earlier entries in this log). Sometimes I buy plants online (not in quite a while) but most of the time I trade them in my local club (see signature)

Brengun - I have done so many make-overs that I am over feeling remorse for a previous scape, even if that one was maybe better. What is done is done and always worth the learning

Countryfish - Thanks, but you are way way way too kind. Granted, I like the look too, but it is just my first attempt at this kind of scape (ok, the second if you count my mess in the 20G, LOL). Plants - well only HC for now.

Frank - Frank, Frank, Frank!!! I have to say that it is obvious that you didn't get it . It's an Iwagumi. There will be no plants on the left and right when all is said and done. They are only here to help the tank to settle. The rocks will be fully exposed when all is settled.

This few from the backside during the setup a week ago may give you some idea:

Attached Image:

Last Week - Back Side

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Anyway, here is a shot of the full tank from this weekend. The plants seem to grow just fine.

There have been 3 water changes during this week, each with at least 50% water replacement.

Attached Image:

Tank This Weekend

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Here are some impressions:

The diffuser, LOL. Ok, it is not all that pretty, but I point it out as it is going with about 5bps, a lot for the 40G, but with no fish etc I can blast that baby.

Attached Image:

Diffuser

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And as a result, with even only 8 hours of light on the tank the HC is bubbling (on not water change days, on the water change days the tank is bubbles in itself).

Attached Image:

HC

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Another look at the HC pearling, I promise I will not repeat this every weekend though, LOL. I didn't have too many floaters of HC yet, maybe two or three after the water changes.

Attached Image:

More HC

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