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You can do it NowherMan6, you have the power

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks... I know I can too. I just need to start obsessing over this replant again instead of obsessing over work

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Back in the saddle!

After two extra weeks of waiting I finally was able to redo my tank

So without further babbling, here's a photo log of how everything went:

Started out by removing the major plant systems and the fish. Here's a shot of the tank finally empty before I started draining and cleaning:



The biggest thing I removed was the ozelot sword, which had a HUGE root system, shown here:



And here's a picture of the holding tank I had set up for the fish and plants I wanted to keep. I attached and ran the filter and the heater, and filled the holding tank with water from the main tank as to not stress the fish:



Now here's a pic of the dry tank, with new gravel and the initial hardscape. It doesn't look like very much, but I like it. I buried the driftwood a bit more to keep it from taking over the whole aquascape:




After this stage I filled the tank a bit, then started to plant... and, well, here are a few shots of the final result










Obviously right now there isn't much I can do in terms of working with height, it's going to take a few weeks for the plants to grow in before I can do anything like that aquascape-wise. And I also assume the e. tennellus will shrink down eventually, once some new growth starts. Otherwise I'm pretty satisfied, I'm excited to see how it'll look in a few weeks. [/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font]

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Back in the saddle!

NowherMan Good Job

Not much you could do, but see where you are in a few weeks landscaping wise. What's the substrate. Is it eco or black gravel?

Personally I'm not a big fan of the white rocks, I find them too distracting and they draw my attention to them, but I don't think they are really meant to be a focal point. What's the red plant in the middle?



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NowherMan6,

I like it. I agree that you will have to wait a while to see how your plants will grow and generate height. I personally prefer to have some hardware (wood or rock) reach up for the sky to create the impression of height.

That is Tennellus in the foreground? Looks different than mine, must all be grown emersed I guess. This will create a nice foreground as the plants should not be so high anymore once the submersed growth comes in (except if you let them grow very dense, like I do, then they will be easily 5 to 6 inches tall).

I usually don’t mind white rocks in a tank (unlike tetratech) but I think they are distracting from your focal area, the valley right next to them.

What kind of plants do you got in there? I seem to identify some Rotala, Wisteria, and Bacopa. Guess you have to update your profile .

Isn’t it exciting?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks

Re: the rocks. They were kinda what I had laying around, so I used them. At first I liked the way they contrasted with the substrate, but looking at it now they do distract. I wanted to avoid paying lots of $ for rocks, though, so I'll see what I can dig up (no pun intended ... wait, nevermind. pun intended).

The substrate is black gravel (it looks almost greyish in the pics but that's because of the bubbles forming on it from the massive water change) with a first layer of laterite and plant tabs inserted strategically.

The plants I have in there are:

- corkscrew vals (back left)

- ludwigea repens (left, center, the red plants)

- e. tenellus

-bacopa c. (back right)

- rotala indica (right center)

- wisteria (right center)

- hygro polysperma (center... it's only there right now to grow it out, not too sure what to do with it once it starts to fill in.)

All were grown emersed probably, which explains why the tenellus is so high and firm, and probably why the repens is so red. I imagine things will green up once new growth starts coming in.

I'm interested to see how fast things start to grow. I assume the bacopa will be a bit slow, but I'm not sure what to expect from the others, especially the tenellus... though it'll probably take a little while for it to really start up with runners etc.

I have a few questions though. So far I've only dosed KNO3 and Flourish traces. I know that as they grow in the plants'll show if they're lacking anything, but is there anything else I should dose just as a basic element?

Also, when you prune, do you just snip off the tops and let new growht come in, or do you snip the tops and replant them every time?

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Back in the saddle!

My Bacopa didn’t take a long time to grow, just as fast as the Narrow Leaf Ludwigia.

On to your questions:

Basically, as macros your plants need Nitrate, Potassium, and Phosphate. You add the first 2. I would say it depends on your tab water that you add to the tank if, and how much, phosphates you should add. I for example have 2ppm Phosphate in my tab and as such only add additional Phosphate only towards the end of the week (before the next water change). Phosphates should be about 1/10 compared to Nitrate. If you don’t add Phosphates, then maybe you could add some K2SO4 to increase the potassium a little. It should be roughly on the same level as the Nitrate, but KNO3 contains more Nitrate than Phosphate (in ppm). If you add KH2PO4 (for Phosphates), you can skip the K2SO4 as it also contains potassium. I use Greg Watson’s micro mix (with enhanced Iron) and Seachem Equilibrium (to raise my GH, but also because it has trace goodies in it). And I add Excel .

Pruning depends on the stem plant itself. Somewhere buried in tetratech’s or my log (I think) is a nice list of how to prune certain plants (I think Bensaf wrote that entry). Have fun searching through 30+ pages to find it (I will look for it too). Basically, some take it well while some don’t and some even might die.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

EDIT: Do you know about Chuck Gadd's fertilizer calculator? There is also a windows version on the site that allows you to use dry fertilizer values rather than solutions.

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 10-Nov-2005 13:58

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

OK, so basically I'm already adding K and N in the form of KNO3 - the other thing I need to test for now is P, so I should probably buy a test kit for that. When i do find my P level, and assuming I keep nitrates at around 20ppm, I want P to be at about 2 ppm, correct?

What if I have high levels, is there a way around that?

And yes, I'm familiar with chuck gadd's site. I even have one of his calculators on my desktop but it also seems he hasn't updated that page in a while...

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Back in the saddle!

This is a interesting calculator for nutrients. It will let you see what your adding based on the source of the chemical. For example if your add 1/4 tsp of kno3 to my tank (72g) you adding 2.93ppm of nitrate and 1.84ppm of K. But if you use Flourish nitrogen for your nitrate source and add 1/4 tsp you'll be adding 0.30 of nitrate and just 0.08ppm of pottasium. And oh you get a little iron too .01

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilator.php?

My Scapes

But you need to be a member to access this calculator (I am).

Ingo

EDIT: Honestly, it didn't help me too much, I am not skilled enough for it

NowherMan6, do you know Tom Barr's EI method?

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 10-Nov-2005 18:05

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Nope, I am not familiar with Tom Barr's EI method... what's that? Or do you at least have a link?

Also, I notice that my tank has a slightly white-cloudy tint to it... tetra, I noticed in your log the same thing happened to you at the start-up - did you ever figure out what that was?

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Back in the saddle!

NowherMan6,

White tint at startup is normal, it is a form of bacterial bloom that should settle with 3 to 5 days.

Slightly green tint could be the beginning of tetratech's algae problem]:|

EDIT: Tom Barr Link Is Here.
He is also a member on our site and we usually refer to him as "The Pope" .

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 11-Nov-2005 10:37

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for both links

It seems like Tom bar has some great stuff on his site. I've known who he was for a while, seen him around a year or so ago on another site. He was always the guy who, ya know, knew things, as opposed to speculated things... seems like an interesting method, just dosing your ferts every other day, then WC to kind of clean slate, then repeat. It certainly makes it a lot easier than testing over and over (but we all know how much fun testing can be.... just about as much fun as making tediously crafted phosphate excel spreadsheets for that matter ) Most people, though, don't have high light/ low stock set-ups like the one he was experimenting with, so I guess one still needs to experiment on one's own to find the right doses... and I suppose it was too much to expect him to find the right amounts for different set-ups for me.

I'll see how the cloudy water goes, it may have just been coming out of the tap that way, in which case it should clear up once it's been filtered for a few days. if not, I'll start checking my ammonia levels, which I probably should be doing anyway...

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Back in the saddle!

I have read about the EI method, and plan on implementing it with my 20G once I get pressurized CO2.

The gist I got from 'the Pope'is that you use say chuck's calculator of APC's fertilator, and figure out how much of each fert you need to add, and then from what you observe either increase or decrease dosage until you find the perfect amount needed for your tank.

besides Tom even lurks this forums *points at plantbrain*

NowherMan6,

About the cloudy water coming from the tab:

If that would be the case it would have cleared in a few hours maximum. Hoping that it is not green water, I believe it is a bacteria bloom that is often seen on new tank setups. Filtering is not the diminishing factor, it simply burns itself out.

EI: yeah, some love it some don’t. I for sure underestimated the tinkering I had to do to get it somewhat right. Actually, I am still not sure if I got it right at this time, I will see what happens when I stop the Excel addition. If I still get algae then some factor is off.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

An update on the cloudy water. The cloudiness of it seems to have disappeared, but there is a distinct reddish/ brownish tint to the water - not very strong, but it's there. I attribute this to the laterite. It's not REALLY discoloring the water, but it does seem to be leaching, even from down under a few inches of gravel.

I've noticed some growth, particularly in the bacopa and the wisteria. I'll post some pics later when I get home. There's also been some die off in the leaves of the tennellus and the vals. I'm not worried about this yet, since I think it's acclimation die off. Once new growth starts I'm hoping it'll come in normal.

The one thing that's bothering me is I haven't seen as much pearling as I'd like... the bacopa does it towards the end of the day, but the others I'm having a tough time getting them to come around. I even bumped up CO2, but no result yet. Any ideas

Fert dosing thus far:

1/8 tsp or slightly less KNO3 each day
5ml Kent Botanica grow
5ml Flourish traces per day

No algae yet, but I have my Excel ready

Also, my girlfriend came to visit this weekend and the following exchange (or something very close) took place:

Her: "Wow, the tank looks beautiful.... but when did you do it?"

Me: "I took a day off from work this past week"

H: "You took a day off from work to spend quality time with your fish?"

M: (with a completely straight face) "No! No, no no no no, no no no, don't be silly... I took a day off from work to spend quality time with my plants, there's a difference."

H: ""

Err, is there any way I can get the tag under my name to read "Plant Addict" rather than "Fish Addict" ?

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Back in the saddle!

NowherMan6,

- My laterite never leaked into the water column. How high did you make the gravel base and how much of it is mixed with laterite (usually bottom 3rd should be mixed). I got problems though when the gravel wasn’t high enough or got greatly disturbed during planting. Nevertheless, laterite always settled back down rather fast after it got released into the water column. Don’t you have a driftwood that could release tannins?

- Your tenellus might die off because it is an emersed growth and new leaves will come in. I don’t know about the vals though.

- I don’t know about your fert routine as I never used the Kent product and Flourish Trace. I noticed a major decrease in bubbling in my tank as soon as I started to add the Excel though (and it hasn’t really come back although I haven’t dosed since Saturday). What is your ph and KH? How many CO2 bubbles do you have per second? Is the CO2 nicely distributed throughout the tank when it leaves the Reactor?

- About the BF – GF conversation:

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

See, I thought it may be the driftwood, but I've had that driftwood for a few months now and it never leached tannins like tha before. Could be it, but doesn't seem likely. The laterite is mixed in in the first 3/4 or 1" of gravel, then about 2" on top of it. I've read in a few places that laterite can make tank water tea colored for a few weeks, which is why I assumed it was that. It's not that it makes the tank look ugly either, but I am just interested to know what's turning my water tea-colored.

As for the CO2, The bubbles are coming out of my bubble counter at about 3-4 bubbles per second, but they pop into the reactor at maybe half that 1-2 bubbles per second... so i don't know which count to trust. Last I checked (pre-replant) pH was at 6.8, KH always been 3, which would put me at about 14ppm... maybe I should try to bump it up to 20ppm?

and p.s. LF - after I did the replant and ran the CO2 after the large water change, I noticed my reactor looked like yours did a few weeks ago, with the large amount of bubbles swooshing around. I guess it was from the large amount of CO2 dissolved in the newly changed water - it was saturated already. Just like Bensaf said So, officially, he was right and I was wrong Argh, what do I expect, arguing with the plant guru...

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Back in the saddle!

NowherMan6,

Do you have activated carbon in your filter (I don’t)? That might help, or even better get some of the Purigen that Untitled No4 and tetratech rave about. This should clear it up. I don’t really remember 100%, but I think that my driftwood in the 29 started leaking tannins weeks (4 to 8) after it had been added.

Trust the bubble count in the bubble counter, not the hose that gets into the reactor. There you have less bubbles because the hose is wider than the actual outlet created by the valve into the bubble counter. And yeah, crank it up a notch, 30ppm are still good. Do you turn your CO2 off at night? I do, and tetratech does something similar.

When is Bensaf, soon to be called “The No-Show” , not right? It is always just a question if we have the patience to listen and wait for the results to kick in. I MISS HIM .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Nowher,

I've never used laterite so I can't tell you whether that's what's given you tan water. I can't imagine it's the driftwood if you have used it before for a few months. Additional the DW isn't a hugh piece so I don't think it would have much of a factor on your water. Did you rinse the laterite until the water was clear? If you haven't done so already I "STRONGLY" recommend using activated carbon for 2 weeks. It was absorb alot of waste and nh3 that your immature plants and immature biofilter will not. The one regret I had was not using carbon and seeding with a bigger biofilter when I started my tank. I think if I had I would have avoided my green water. Also remember I used about 6 bags of eco complete that *"contains live heterotrophic bacteria to rapidly convert fish waste into natural food for your aquatic plants"
and "creates a natural biological balance which makes cycling a new aquarium faster and safer" (as long as you don't get the corrupted stuff) So I think that along with less light I came out a little better than Little_Fish.

I truly belive that as long as the plants have light and co2 they will do fine for the first few weeks. I don't think the ferts I going to do that much in that timeframe.

They are living off internal reserves and haven't adapted yet to tank conditions. Amano and many other advanced aquarists do not dose ferts that first few weeks because of this reason. If you have strong light and too much waste not getting absorbed (no biofilter, immature plants, no carbon) you stand a very good chance of getting alot of algae.


If I still get algae then some factor is off.
LF - Better not let Bensaf see that, unless you've bottomed out on something, which I doubt. I wonder how Bensaf's trip is going in S.A. in search of new plant species?



Last edited by tetratech at 14-Nov-2005 18:03

My Scapes

AAACK! DISASTER!!!

My CO2 bottle has run out... and I can't get it refilled until Saturday

Man, this was stupid of me. I guess my only option right now is to start dosing Excel until then, and maybe keep adding fresh water to bump dissolved CO2 up... any other ideas???

EDITtually, OK, I think I'm going to make a very basic DIY set-up until I can get it refilled. I've got a 2L bottle with a hole punched in the cap. The basic mixture will be, correct me if I'm wrong: 1/4 teaspoon yeast, 2 cups sugar, then fill about 3/4 of the bottle with warm water, right? Then stir it up, and screw on the cap? The cap will basically be hooked up to my normal reactor... I know the flow rate wont be much, but this is only for a week mind you. ANything else I should have/ know??? Thanks

Last edited by nowherman6 at 14-Nov-2005 18:41

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Back in the saddle!

Nowher,

I would do the DIY, get it setup tonite so it will be bubbling in the morning I would also supplement with the Excel. I used to add 1/2 tsp of baking soda to help stablize the ph, but it's probably not necessary. If you want the bubbling to start quicker, put the yeast in a little cup in room temp water add a pinch of sugar and stir with a little water until it's soupy than dump that into the the 2 liter bottle. That get's the yeast going quicker and you should have co2 by morning.

My Scapes

Thanks tetra, I finished hooking up the bottle just now. No bubbles yet. I used a basic check valve just in case... I also smothered the outside of the bottle cap with silicon, so hopefully that'll harden and seal things up within few hours - I'll post any progress tomorrow.

This really was a bonehead move on my part though, I should've been better prepared. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

p.s. Is that really where bensaf is?

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Back in the saddle!

Well, besides that fiasco, here are some updated pics:

Here's a side shot, you can see the brown tint to the water. It actually looks more green here than the brown it is in real life. I added some activated carbon, so we'll see if that helps:



Here's another full tank shot, not much gong on yet, some growth, but looks a little cleaner than the original shots:



And here's a shot of two of my yo-yos chasing - my fav fish to photograph :

[/font][/font][/font]

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Back in the saddle!

NowherMan6,

Don't worry, there is always something we forget when messing with the tank .

I am a little intrigued by the look of your Tenellus. Are you sure that is what it is? I have seen emersed growth (my own) and yesterday at the LFS again, and although similar it was not the same.

I can see the green/brown in your tank. Tetratech is the expert on discoloring, so I am not gonna suggest anything else .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for the lead in LF. Master of discolored water. O.K. I'll take it.

Nowher if your water is truly more brown that sounds like it must be the driftwood or the substrate. Just keep doing your water changes and it should disappear. Bacterial or Algae Blooms are much whiter in appearance.

BTW - I'm really not sure where Bensaf is, when he takes a vacation he's not kidding.

My Scapes

Tetratech,

You are welcome

And I even give you the additional title of "Master of the smart Wisteria"



Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I think I prefer Wisteria Wizard. It has a nice ring to it. Here's a pic showing my powers. You could see the start point of this shoot. It run's along the substrate and is rooted in along the way. Many times plants will stay low with very strong light. As you know my light is 2.7 wpg with the same depth as your tank LF.

BTW Nowher, I know it's always nice to see your plants pearl, but many of mine done. I don't think I've ever seen my Wisteria pearling and it grows as LF would say "like a weed". The rotala pearls almost everyday and I get alittle from the Stargrass.





tetratech attached this image:


Last edited by tetratech at 15-Nov-2005 09:08[/font]

My Scapes

uh,

I was just commenting on how remarkable it is that you manage to get the red x on the screen. You are truly a Wizard

Then you deleted the post


Anyways, good shot on showing us how the stem stays attached to the substrate

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

The tenellus is strange looking right now, but on most of the plants there are actually smaller leaves towards the "outside" of each that look more like typical tenellus leaves. Once I get my new CO2 hooked up I plan on going through them and cutting off the large stringy leaves and leaving the smaller ones to grow in. Some of those stringy leaves aren't even real leaves at all - they're seed pods, which is yet another way I can tell they were def. grown emersed. I cut off most of them but I know I missed a few.

As for the DIY CO2, I don't know if it's working properly. I woke up this morning and looked into my reactor and i could only see a few bubbles bouncing around, and nothing coming out of the line for a few minutes. But then i'd walk away, look again and the reactor was filled with bubbles, so they may just be coming in there at a very unsteady rate. If that's the case then it'll certainly do for a few more days. One question - can/ should I shake the bottle every day to stir things up?

tetra, nice picture of the wisteria. Weedy plants like that can be grown that way, I used to do the same thing with hygro polysperma. You just push the stem into the substrate, side roots form and root it in the gravel and then boom! instant ground cover. Nice job

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Back in the saddle!

Weedy plants like that

tetratech will understand ...

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

"Weedy plants like that"

How rude]:|

My Scapes

Ohhh, don't get your wisteria in a knot.

I've got both hygro polysperma AND wisteria growing in my tank. I've also got hornwort - the king of all weeds - growing in my other two tanks. I like them all! But you must admit, anything with a growthrate of a certain speed or above is weedy plant, that's just the way it is. They're hated because they love to please. The pickier the plant, the more respected it is in the planted tank community. I didn't make the rules...

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Back in the saddle!

When you have wisteria as your avatar and taking up 2/3 of your tank bottom your going to be very protective. I might surprise my wife and garnish tonites dinner with some. Great idea right

Last edited by tetratech at 15-Nov-2005 11:04

My Scapes

Fantastic idea, I think! So what did you serve as the main course, filet of clown loach?

CO2 update: I'm glad to say that my DIY set-up is finally starting to produce... my ph has risen significantly since the bottle ran out, but at least there's SOME co2 being pumped in there, which is better than none at all.

The polysperma is the first to show significant growth so far... and I'm starting to notice little bits of brown algae (diatoms) on some of the leaves. I guess that's normal for a new tank like this, but I was hoping to avoid it. Maybe I'll invest in a few otos when I up my stocking in a few weeks...

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Back in the saddle!

NowherMan6,

Diatoms come from excess silica, so this must have been contained in your substrate (as the tank = glass is not new). Let me tell you - good food source for fry

Glad to hear that you got some CO2. What do you mean with the ph has risen significantly? How much fro where?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I don't know if anyone stated or not, but your tenellus was grown emersed. It will lose all of the spade shaped leaves eventually and grow more pointy thin leaves in it's place. So don't worry if yours are losing leaves or turning brown. It's going to happen.

EDIT: ah I see now....I'm a little late on the tenellus thing.

Anyways, I like the new look!

Last edited by mattyboombatty at 16-Nov-2005 10:03

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Well I'm glad diatoms are a good food source for fry, but unfortunetely I don't think I'll ever have fry in that tank unless i get livebearers, because my yo-yos are sure to eat any eggs that fall on the substrate. A fat lot of good those diatoms are doing me now ]:| All I care about is getting rid of them!

yeah, my ph is usually between 6.8 and 6.6, which puts me between 15 and 22ppm of CO2. last night i checked it and it was around 7.0, maybe a little above (it was a little more blue than the 7.0 indicator). That happened over the couse of a day and a half, so hopefully the swing wasn't too bad. No signs of stress from the fish at all, so I'm not too worried... just about the plants. Tonight they will get their first water change and grooming... and now I'm going back into LFs log to find that info about how to trim certain plants. Wish me luck wading through all that...

And thanks matty, a third opinion never hurts

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Back in the saddle!

Update: bensaf's list of plants that need to be uprooted every trim vs. those that can be snipped is actually on page 9 of tetra's log. I just read through 29 pages of Log for that info. My eyes are bleeding. I need to lay down...

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Back in the saddle!

Good job NowherMan6,

Now I know where I can find it again

I hope it was worth the blood loss.

Ingo

EDIT: I stated

Somewhere buried in tetratech’s or my log (I think) is a nice list of how to prune certain plants

-- If you would have followed it in that order you would have safed yourself from reading 20 pages

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 16-Nov-2005 14:33

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

EDIT: I stated "Somewhere buried in tetratech’s or my log (I think) is a nice list of how to prune certain plants" -- If you would have followed it in that order you would have safed yourself from reading 20 pages

Oh what a fool I've been! Increasing my knowledge by reading all those pages when I didn't have to!

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Back in the saddle!

Did some housekeeping the other day and cleaned some things up. I trimmed the rotala and it's already showing some nice new growth. I switched a section of it around , bunched it up a bit more, something with a few stems of the bacopa. I also gave the tenellus a bit of a trim. Here's a shot of the trimmed section:



I'm still waiting for the bacopa and rotala to grow in more before I start bunching and moving things around to see what looks best, but I like it so far.

Also, here are two shots of "things" that have recently grown in on the tenellus - they look like runners to me, except they're growing straight up in the air, not along the ground. If that's what they are, should i push them into the substrate? If that's not what they are, then anyone have any ideas?





And I've taken your early advice, tetra and LF, and gotten some new rocks. I haven't put them in yet, but they're a lot more natural looking that the white ones I have in there now. [/font][/font][/font]

Last edited by NowherMan6 at 18-Nov-2005 08:46

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NowherMan6,

The more I look at your tenellus the more I think it is something else.

It is giving me way more the impression of being a form of Crypt or Anubias.

Crypt in particular because of the leaf shape,
Anubias because ot the things that you assume are runners, I think they are flowers.

That is very interesting ...

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

NowherMan6,

They are flower sticks. When I first bought my E. tennelus, they look just similar to yours with a couple of those vertical sticks with flowers on top. As a matter of fact, I had no idea they were E. tennelus (labelled "misc. sword" ); I just thought, hey cool, plants with flowers! A few weeks after they've been in my tank, they started growing real (horizontal) runners and eventually the mother plants with the emersed look died.

I found a picture of my tank]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/witje/Fish/tank3_wk1.jpg[/link] where you can actually still see the mother plant with its long, broad leaves and flower sticks (sans flowers). It's the plant on the right, in front of the driftwood. A couple of months later they looked like [link=this.

Last edited by upikabu at 18-Nov-2005 09:18

Last edited by upikabu at 18-Nov-2005 09:19

-P

I think I'll have to give aquariumplants.com a call and see if they'll confirm whether they were grown emersed or not, and if not, what kind of plant they gave me. I'm not really mad about it if it was a substitution, I just want real tenellus and I just want to know what the heck this is if it isn't tenellus

But I don't think it's a crypt or anubias.. defintely not anubias, the leaves are very grasslike and thin and there's no rhizome. Possibly a crypt, but i didn't think crypts flowered like that... if anything it's some other species of dwarf sword plant, I just want to KNOW...


EDIT: Ohhh, thanks for the pic! Are those smaller plants around it from the mother plant, or were they put there seprately?

Last edited by NowherMan6 at 18-Nov-2005 09:19

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Nowher,
upikabu's plant definitely looks like your's just the emersed state, just hold tight.

upikabu you tank looks really nice. If you group that plant in front of heater alittle tighter you won't see the heater or you could add some hardscape. You could also by the visi-therm stealth version which is all black. That's what I have in my tank with a black background you barely see it.



My Scapes

Yup, those little plants that you can hardly see on the middle of the tank were from the mother plant. For the longest time I thought I had a new species of sword. The tennelus forest on the second pic is actually from only 2 mother plants. So I bet in a couple of months you'll have a jungle.

-P

Nice Job, really

Still think some driftwood poking through from the middle of all those plants would really finish it off, but that's me. What's the plant behind the tennelus carpet.

BTW - How do your bolivians get along. I just purchased a second. I'm pretty sure I have two males and the bigger keeps the smaller one to the other side of the tank.

My Scapes

Nowher,

My cloudly water turned out be an algae bloom. Sometimes algae blooms look greenish, but sometimes their pretty white. Here is a link about cloudy water, maybe you could figure out what you have. Mine lasted about 4 weeks and eventually went away. I did use a product called P-Clear by Hagen which pretty much clumps the particles that are making up the cloud big enough for the filter to catch. But it will come back again if the conditions persist to create the bloom. My conditions I believe were not enough plant mass and an immature biofilter to suck up waste and nh3.

Last edited by tetratech at 11-Nov-2005 10:43http://www.aquariaplants.com/cloudygreenwater.htm



Last edited by tetratech at 11-Nov-2005 15:50

My Scapes

I have only ever seen Troica ferts/books in the U.S. I do not belive they ship anything else to us.

also Nowhereman those fish you picked are gorgeous best of luck finding them ^_^

Last edited by Megil Tel'Zeke at 22-Dec-2005 11:53

Yeah tetratech,

That doesn’t look good

[link=Two Little Fishies]http://www.twolittlefishies.com/tlf_home.html?lang_id=1" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link] doesn’t sell any tanks at all.

Dave Gomberg - JCF Systems has the remark “Tropica Book Only”

Doesn’t look good to me.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I bet you could walk around some nonfish-related stores and find something nice for a nano. It's open-top and there are alot of lights etc (clip-on's, desklaps that migh work well (and it will cost you very little)




My Scapes

hey Megil, haven't seen you around in a while, where you been?

I know where to find the boraras maculatas, the other may take some work. The kind of look a little like endlers, eh? And the reason i want something bigger than a peanut butter jar for my nano, LF, is to be able to keep some sort of pretty little rasbora with the plants.


Ah, maybe you guys are right about the light. Back to the drawing board...::roll eyes:: On second though,maybe I'll stick it near a window (indirect sun, no place in my apartment gets direct sunlight) and see what happens. Hopefully THAT'LL be enough light. ]:|

and according to that website, "TROPICA PLANTS
ARE NOT AWAILABLE IN UNITED STATES BECAUSE OF AGRICULTURAL REGULATIONS" What about Tropica glass jars???

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Back in the saddle!

This look's like a knock off.

http://www.taiwantrade.com.tw/cgi-bin/bv60/TWTRADE/CATALOG/catalog_eng_product_detail_win.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0635085583.1135274974@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccgaddgifgkkgdcgehcekkdhgfdfnm.0&prod_id=63882%3a3297480240&CataOid=404850

This is the one advertised in TFH.

Last edited by tetratech at 22-Dec-2005 12:22

Second thought - This is a good DIY project. Make the ]:|]:| tank yourself

Last edited by tetratech at 22-Dec-2005 12:24

My Scapes

Yeah tetratech,

I refer to the last one you mentioned and a few other in my [link=Nano Tank Thread]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Planted%20Aquaria/66877.html" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link].

It is pretty far down on the page.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yep, I missed that the first time.



My Scapes

I have been around, reading the forums, bit quiet. Also it is the holidays so I have been spending much time with family and friends.

Those second boraras do indeed look like endlers. only much, much better.

Also have you considered Aquavases if you want that nano tank look? http://www.petmeister.com/item2688.htm
Capacity is small though Maybe it is time for DIY lol

You can also consider ordering a cube from Glasscages

Here

Last edited by Megil Tel'Zeke at 22-Dec-2005 12:45

Yo could also buy the 5g aga bowfront. Take all the trim off and throw everything in the garbage except for the filter. The 5 gallon is $35 at bigals and 2.5g is $20.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=27139&category_id=3217&pcid1=2253

My Scapes

Well, I'm busy at work trying to finish a bunch of stuff up before vacation so i don't have too much time, but I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (if that's your thing), and Happy Holidays otherwise. I'll be out of touch for the next two or three days, shopping, cooking, wrapping presents, cleaning, drinking miller lite and blackberry brandy, watching football and other Christmas whatnot so I won't be on here for a while. All the best to you and your families!


p.s. One final planty thing: attached below is a pic of a piece of driftwood I picked up to add to the left side of the tank. The tall branchy part will face towards the middle, and I'm imagining java moss creeping along certain parts, with ludwigia repens coming up to the center part of the branch, covering the bottom part. In total it's about 18 inches high, so perfect for my tank, will add some nice height. Will hopefully get to it next week.

- Rich



NowherMan6 attached this image:


Last edited by NowherMan6 at 23-Dec-2005 13:19[/font]

Last edited by NowherMan6 at 23-Dec-2005 13:19

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blackberry brandy, watching football and other Christmas whatnot
Sounds like Heaven [img src='/images/forums/halo.gif' border=0]
Happy Holidays to you and your family!

That's a nice piece, did you find that or purchase it?



My Scapes

Purchased it... in a Petland discounts, no less! It's a true Christmas miracle!

I was shocked they had anything worth while. It's probably meant for reptiles, but it's definetely not soft wood, not pine. Proper treatment is in order, of course, but hey, I can't complain.

Sto lat!

Last edited by NowherMan6 at 23-Dec-2005 13:40

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It's a true Christmas miracle
Don't you mean Festivas (If your a seinfeld fan)

By the color, probably for reptiles. Do you know if it sinks? You might have to weigh that down somehow.

You never know, I got my ram at Petco. I don't know which is lower.

Last edited by tetratech at 23-Dec-2005 14:23

My Scapes

Wow,

Now, I have driftwod envy ]:|]:|

And I am with you guys, these stores sometimes have good stuff. I got my 2 Gold Twin Bar Platies there, and no Ich.

NowherMan6, merry Xmas to you too . I will be online until tomorrow and then the kids present madness will start .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

*thread Hijack*

Sorry can't help but further Ingo's driftwood envy. Here is a a composition I have had set aside for my 75G.

It is composed of three pieces and is around 3ft in length and about 12" tall. Just haven't found rock which will work for a nice foundation.






alright we can get back on topic now

^_^
Megil
[/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font]

Last edited by Megil Tel'Zeke at 23-Dec-2005 19:41

Hey everyone

Brief update: I've started a thread here

If anyone has any opinions please let me know. Wargh. Hope your holidays were less green than mine ]:|

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Back in the saddle!

I bet you that very soon a lot of people here will run a UV Sterilizer.

Just like the glass diffuser craze that happened just recently .

Glad you made it through the Holidays anyway

Ingo



Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 27-Dec-2005 13:07

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Just like the glass diffuser craze that happened just recently

True enough, but that was a matter of aesthetics, this is actually practical.

I went ahead and bought and set-up a UV sterilizer. It's 9 watts and my tank is smallish, so hopefully it'll do the job fairly quickly. I found one originally (the same as tetras) at a local chain store that I went ahead and bought, but luckily I checked the thing in the car before leaving, because not only was it missing the UV bulb, the electronics looked all rusted and gross... it was obviously used and returned, then resold as new. Rubbish. Needless to say I returned it and found a good one elsewhere. The moral of the story is, always check the box before buying.

Aaaaanyway, the way I set it up isnt ideal, but it'll do for now, at least until the water clears and I can set it up mroe permanantly. Right now I have a powerhead pumping water into the unit, then the return hose goes right back to the aquarium. Everything is connected with short lengths of hose (I didnt get enough tubing ]:|) Later I'll reconnect it and mount the unit on the inside of my stand/ cabinet, but for now it's just sitting on my desk. Simple and ugly I would post pics but there really is nothing to see, the water is so green there's nothing to look at.

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Back in the saddle!

I will keep my fingers crossed that it will work quickly

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Nowher,

Welcome to the wonderful world of UV Sterlization.

After the water clears don't forget to clean the filter pad. If your concerned that it might unchelate FE you could run it at nite only after the tank clears. That's what I'm doing now.



My Scapes

Welcome to the wonderful world of UV Sterlization

Just make sure that you don't stand too close to the light

]]]

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yes, we planted tank owners like to live on the edge: we keep large tanks full of highly pressurized CO2, ready to explode; we keep devices that emit harmful cancer causing UV rays in plain view... nope, we're definetly not nerds...

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Back in the saddle!

My thoughts were more geared towards the Sterilization than the cancer though.



Who is a nerd ?

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 30-Dec-2005 11:36

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Don't look now, but there's another guru in the house:%)

BTW - I'm no nerd, I bowl in a mens league (tough group), coach soccer and play softball. I just happen to be a fish guru as well.





Last edited by tetratech at 30-Dec-2005 12:21

My Scapes

Ha, I didn't even notice

And no Tetratech, you are not a nerd ]

It's just the rest of us that are a little, how shall I say, off

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

UV update:

Been away for a few days, family, new years eve party, hangover etc. Here's a shot from Thursday compared to what I came home to today:




There's clearly a difference, and the tank is less green and more see through - however, it has definetely taken on a whiteish cloudy appearance. Im guessing this is just dead algae still in the water, but can anyone recommend a good bit of mechanical filtration to get it out of there?

[/font][/font]

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Yes, nowhere it's working. Mine did the same thing. How fast do you think the flow rate is. Anyway I didn't do anything but change my filter pad a few times just keep rinsing it. You could use a clumping agent like Hagen's P-Clear to help clump it so the filter could get it. The Hagen product was very effective. Within a few hours the water was really clear and with your UV it should stay that way.


Last edited by tetratech at 02-Jan-2006 17:58

My Scapes

Filter floss, the kind made for aquatic use, add a handful to the filter and keep changing it. Then the biological filter won't be disturbed. Changing the sponge too often may cause a mini-cycle. I wouldn't chance it. Once I siphoned water through a filter bag filled with the floss then just put the water back in the tank(2G). It cleared out quite a bit of the stuff. Took a bit of time but the end result was less gw.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

NowherMan6,

What a nightmare, I should stop complaining about the few Thread algae strings that I have in the tank. At least I can see something.

I really hope that your plants get enough light in there. It would be a bummer if you have to regrow them once again.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Actually the plants are growing very well. I haven't stopped dosing any ferts during the GW because that would do no good. My rotala has fully come back, and the ludwigia has grown nicely. The tenellus is putting out tons of runners (but needs some pruning) and the hygro is reaching the surface. I cant see the bacopa but I'm sure that's doing well too

Seriously, this has been a nitemare but I'm happy I didn't kill the plants to spite the algae like last time ::roll eyes::

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Back in the saddle!

Definitely a good move with the UV. In a few days your tank should be pretty much clear and then it will be clearer than ever even when looking through the side.

I fact that it can kill parasites and other bacteria is an added bonus.

I also notice that the fish and plant colors look a little crisper because of the clear water. When my tank is filled all the way up and there's no surface agitation you really can't tell there is water in the tank.

My Scapes

NowherMan6,

Glad to hear that your plants don't seem to care about the GW at all .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Clearing continues. I didn't get a full tank shot, but after a waterchange last night i took some shots of the rotala:



the the ludwigia from overhead:



As you can see the water is still cloudy, but definetely a lot clearer than even two days ago. For the first time I was able to see all the way to the back of the tank. It's amazing, the bacopa has doubled in size since i trimmed it about two weeks ago, as has the rotala and the ludwigia. The right side of my tank is now dense and thick with plants, it's really cool looking, like I imagined it after doing the re-do.

That said, i realize that I have some rearranging to do. Basically, the rotala is coming in greener than I thought, and the ludwigia redder than I thought, so basically there's a this huge green mass on the right side, and a big puff of reddish green on the left, so it looks off balance. I'm going to have to switch some around, but they're all growing very well. It's not quite time for a full tank shot yet, a few more days of clearing and I'll put a few up


And now, a game! It's called, guess what kind of plant this is! A few weeks ago I noticed this little green bit under the gravel, pushed right up against the glass. Eventually I thought it would just go away or die, but I let it go for a little while and sure enough it started to grow. Recently it finally poked a leaf above the gravel and I'm not sure what it is. It may be a hygro leaf, I don't know. What do you all think?
(Also, note the green spot algae on the glass right near the gravel line... bensaf, is not alone )


[/font][/font][/font]

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Back in the saddle!

Very nice photos, NowherMan6

note the green spot algae on the glass right near the gravel line

I noticed the dried water drops on the outside of the glass

I have no idea what plant this little baby might become one day . It is always fun to watch something grow and slowly close in on its identification. Rather often than not it takes a while though until at least a few leaves and the stem are visible, right now it could be almost any plant .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

the rotala is coming in greener than I thought,
This is where it's hard to be all things to everything in your tank. From what I understand the rotala will be red if your no3 is lean and of course if you add enough FE, but some plants like the high no3 (like my stargrass) so I have both. You might have to add alot of FE to get it more red. What are you adding now?

My Scapes

I noticed the dried water drops on the outside of the glass

Well, we can sit here all day and point fingers but... I can't, because I have to go clean my glass...


tetra, thanks for the info, I didn't know lean N would make them turn reddish. But like you I think I have a similar problem, a few of the older leaves on my hyro are developing little holes, which I understand means low N? Or am I wrong on that?

In any case i see what you mean... which is why I think I'll just move some of the rotala and ludwigia around to add some contrast.

Right now I'm dosing:

1/4 tsp KNO3 every other day
1/16-1/8 K2SO4
1ml phosphate about once a week

fourish on off days from the macros

I actually have a little bottle of flourish iron from when i had swords in the tank, but last time I used that I was promptly treated to a 3 month out break of staghorn algae in the gravel bed. ]:|]:|

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Back in the saddle!

Glad I could help in some way. I guess if your not doing a planted tank and just putting a few angels in like a breeding tank. there's considerable more room, but IMO no beauty in it.

My Scapes

Yeah sure, the wood is losing patience, not you

Glad to see you back, and even better that you came back to a tank that is almost clear now.

I think your approach with the Repens is good. I, at least for the moment, like mine half high as well, and although it is in my background I will not let it grow to full height anymore. There is one problem though with that, at least for me. It is branching out nicely but while doing so shades the bottom more and more. As a result the lower leaves fall off and when it is time to dispose of the tops (too much branching make very weak stem parts) I will have very ugly bottoms. I think one way to control that would be to anticipate the time for it and let the Repens grow taller for 3 to 5 weeks beforehand.

I will also add one more Repens feature in my thread in a few minutes, make sure to see it .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Agree with Wings, they move around a lot but I
ve never seen them damage anything. I have to believe they nibble sometimes, just like other fish, but they're too small to seriously uproot anything. If you get any bottom dwellers like them, bascially kiss any eggs goodbye, they'll seek them out and destroy them quickly.

And on your advice I found a way to slow down the flow rate of the powerhead - which i should have noticed before - but now it's coming out much much slower, so maybe that'll have an effect.

I'm still waiting on the moss to set up my DW piece. It's been sitting there, all ready for the big show, and I'm sure it's starting to lose patience

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Back in the saddle!

tetratech,

I have Skunk Loaches in my tank and they don't seem to do much damage. The do at times swim around like crazy though.

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

Nowher,
Tank definitely is looking clear, as I said your flow must be very fast otherwise I think it would have been crystal a while ago. Wait to you see the tank in another week or so. You'll have to put your hand in it to make sure there is water. One nice thing about GW and I'm not sure why this, but it seems to prevent other algaes from appearing. Most people with GW only have GW and no other algae.

From the pics the plants still look healthy. From a scaping point of view I think you need something to tie it all together, but I think you said more DW is going in. Once the DW is in your could probably fine-tune around it and bring everthing together.

BTW - Nice loach. I was always tempted to get those, but I was afraid the Yo-Yo might get psyc-o with my plants.

Last edited by tetratech at 17-Jan-2006 21:45

My Scapes

OK, got back from a little vacation and I had to do some trimming. I wasn't able to dose anything while gone, so i think i bottomed out on something because, I dunno, the plants just seemed off - can't really explain it, maybe some were more stingy than normal. So anyway, on to the pics, note the new aquascape - it's temporary but i just thought I'd try it out.

I think this qualifies as clear tank water, even though there's a hint of cloudiness:



Basically, I moved the vals, trimmed the bacopa and rotala, did a major weeding of the tenellus because they'd gotten so thick, and trimmed the ludwigia.

Here's a side shot:



And few shots, close ups of the rotala:





I've been learning more about the plants I like/ dont like as they've grown in. For example, I don't like hygro and I removed it from the scape. It's just too hard to keep it under control, it's quite invasive and big leaved, hard to blend it in with other plants. I think proper use of it would be to use it as a main plant, in corners etc., but to blend is very hard.

Also, I no longer think ludwigia repens is a stand alone background plant. It's too stringy when tall, flows around too much, similar to hygro polysperma. I think from now on I'm going to use it as a midground plant and keep it short in small groups, similar to like so:




And finally, for the hell of it, a yo-yo:




And so the tank continues to morph... [/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font]

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Any time you dont have to use icdh meds, thats a positive. And any time that same device that allows you not to have to use ich meds aslo clears obnoxious single celled free floating protists, all the better! As you've said in your log, the parasite killing function is just an added bonus


Anyway, Ive been away the past few days, it's going to be a few more days until I'm back on again - though i should have some good stuff to post re:my new mosses

Take care everyone!

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Back in the saddle!

And are you suggesting my fish have ich??? Sir, I am insulted!
I would never suggest such a thing, but if they did get it, which I'm sure they won't, you might be able to cure it without meds.

My Scapes

The funny thing about the UV gph flow rate is that on the box it says up to 300gph which is an awful lot.

And are you suggesting my fish have ich??? Sir, I am insulted!

Actually, I had ich once and didnt lose a fish and that was way before plating the tank. Another thumbs up for stress free planted tanks


...and UVs...

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Back in the saddle!

I think it'll look much better if I keep it lower rather than high, and keep it in a few small bushes around the DW rather than one large one.
Yeah I think I see where your going. That should look really nice. There are just so many ways to do a scape. That's what's great about, none I exactly alike.

Your powerhead is about as strong as my eheim (185gph) and your's is dedicated to the uv. I think that's a big reason it took longer to clear. Another advantage is ich or other parasites in the water column. You might not have to use meds anymore. Once the ich leaves the fish and is in the water column it should get destroyed by the UV as well.

My Scapes

Thanks guys it is nice to actually see what's going on in the tank now.

LF, the water isn't green, i was actually playing around with color channels in photoshop and emphisized green a little too much. It's more whiteish cloudy than anything, no green tint.

Re: the aquascaping - the right is very cool looking right now. Very full. I'm starting to see which plants I like and Which I don't like. For example, I'm not too high on the polysperma - which is unsurprising since I wasnt high on it when I had it earlier. Too invasive, not enough character. It's colored up nicely, the tips have turned reddish, even at low levels, so I guess my micros are at a good place.

i do like the rotala a lot, it grows in very sturdy, it's easy to build with. The wisteria adds some nice shape, mine is growing up, not creeping like tetras, but i still like it. And I like the bacopa for now too.

On the left side, that's where the big DW will go once I cure it some more and add some moss to it. the left is a little harder to deal with because of the filter outflow. The luwigia looks great, but it moves around a lot in the flow. I think it'll look much better if I keep it lower rather than high, and keep it in a few small bushes around the DW rather than one large one.

And I have to say, the vals have grown on me a little bit...


Also, the flow for the UV is I think 150 or 175 GPH from the powerhead... One of those.


Last edited by NowherMan6 at 13-Jan-2006 09:54

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Back in the saddle!

Your tank is growing in very nicely and the green water at this stage gives it actually a nice natural appearance, like a section of the Amazon in the morning hours. In particular that floater helps with that impression.

About the plant: Broad Leaf Ludwigia Repens, my guess. I had one coming in with my narrow leaf as well. Although I have to say that mine only grows slightly slower than the narrow leaf.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Looking good Nowhere, plants look really good.

My first thought on the scape now that I could see it
I love the right side, really nice the way it looks sloped up. I think it would look great to duplicate the right side on the left and then have DW poking through randomly.

BTW - I know your tank was really green, but I'm curious what the flow rate is on your powerhead that is running the UV.



My Scapes

Bingo! Good job tetra

I always liked that line because jeff Goldbloom says it, and he's fantastic in that role. In every movie he makes he should play a neurotic geek.


Anyway, a what plant is this question: The plant below came in a bunch of ludwigia repens, but it grows much slower and, well, doesnt look at all like it any more. Any guesses? it's the one dead center:




And another shot of the tank clearing. This was actually two days ago, it's since gotten even clearer:



That GW outbreak I had was awful, glad it's behind me [/font][/font]

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Life always finds a way, huh? (name the movie that's from... )

Jurrasic Park That's one of my favorite lines. In the aquarium business we like to say "Algae always finds a way".

I guess it's not that different, sine algae is a primitive from of life.


Last edited by tetratech at 11-Jan-2006 12:51

My Scapes

It would be wild if that's what it turns out to be. Not impossible though. When i redid the tank I left that layer of watery mulm sitting there when I put in the new gravel. It's perfectly possible that a little piece of crypt or sword was left over in the bit of water and got pushed around towards the front, where it was able to get some light from outside the tank. Life always finds a way, huh? (name the movie that's from... )

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My guess would be that it is a sword of some kind

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Another quick update, this time on the little plant growing right up against the glass. I almost don't believe it but it's starting to look like a crypt wendtii leaf





This one shows a bit more detail:



Notice the shape of the leaf. Any thoughts? I know it's still kinda hard to tell...[/font]

Last edited by NowherMan6 at 11-Jan-2006 08:56[/font]

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That algae does actually look good on the dw, sometimes you get lucky.

I'm glad the tank is clearing. Your flow rate must be faster than mine, that's probably why it's taking longer to clear.

My Scapes

Older leaves having holes means low K, not N

Now that you know that go back to cleaning the glass (good joke, I love it) .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks for the clarification on the leaf holes fellas.

See, I thought that was a lot of PO4 too, but I wasn't thinking in terms of ratios. Whenever I test (I know, it could be unreliable) it never comes up more than 1ppm, so it's not exactly high. Maybe that just means my N is still low?

Where's tetras test calibration method again? He never reminds us of how useful that test can be...







And my glass is perfectly clean, it's just that one spot, I swear!


And if you don't believe that, I was working on the tank last night and I forgot to clean the glass after some spillage!


And if you don't believe that... well... I don't clean the glass as much as I should... happy?

Last edited by NowherMan6 at 05-Jan-2006 12:58

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Back in the saddle!

I am actually starting to get some holes in my Giant Hygro. I had this problem back when it was in my 20 gallon set up. Once I got it in my 40 gallon they went away. Maybe it is time to break down and start dosing!

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

NowherMan6,

What is the latest on the GW? You haven't added an update in over 2 days.

Is it gone?

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 08-Jan-2006 05:59

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Whoops, guess I haven't updated in a few days. I've actually been away in sunny LAWN-GUY-LAND visiting family.

I've been working on pulling some old pics together because i want to put them together in a montage. Of all the logs going on right now, I think I have one of, if not the oldest tank going (not in current form, but in existence period) and it's gone through so many changes. Here is is!

















and finally, today:

[/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font]

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Back in the saddle!

The rotala tops have turned this magnificent bright reddish color, really beautiful. Here are some shots of the rotala with harlies:






And one unwelcome sight - some little tufts of green hair algae on the driftwood... though it actually looks kind of nice:

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Back in the saddle!

NowherMan6,

Nice montage of tank over period of time, and quite a few very green pictures in between. I didn’t know you had GW before you started this log. Your tank sure went through some major changes over time. From the last picture in the second last post I see that it is getting better now but it is still there. As long as the fish are happy and the plants are growing it can take all the time it want to clear up.

Yeah, your hair algae does look good, almost like a miniature version of a moss. Maybe you can market it. How long did it take to reach that size and does it spread?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Yes the cloudiness is still there, but it's definetely going away. And the plants are more than happy it seems - CO2 is pushing, I'm still dosing macros and micros, there's no reason for them to NOT be happy

It's funny you made the comparison of the haur algae to moss because I just ordered a few different kinds of moss from aquabid: java, erect and mini moss. I want to experiment with them, plus I'm going to use them a good deal in my little 7 gal. in the works.

As for this tank, I have more work to do on it as well. I don't like the symetrical tenellus set-up, with front row split between left and right. I think I'm going to thin it out or remove it from the left, maybe have it sporadically in the center region, and keep it on the right in front of the DW. I'm also going to move those rocks around and push them back where I'm adding that large branchy piece of DW. Finally, the vals are going to go, the make no impact at all and I think they'll be better suited to the little tank. The hygro is up in the air, dunno if I'll keep it.

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Back in the saddle!

Yeah,

Let's wait and see the driftwood first before we think about what plants would accomodate it, good thought.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Truth be told, I was going to get an angel before you posted that picture in a thread a while back. It looks huge! To keep a full grown angel in a tank like that... of course you can do it and it's fine for the fish, but it just looks silly and clumsy. And actually, it was that thread which got me seriously thinking of re-doing my tank... so in a way, if it weren't for your giant angel fish, I'd have never gone through with this re-do. I'd like to shake his fin

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Back in the saddle!

Thanks nowher, hopefully I've learned something. It would be nice to have a tank just to play with. You would also need a large inventory of hardscape to try different setups. Notice how big the Angelfish looks in the tank. I just don't see the beauty of keeping angels in small tanks.


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46 BW not big enough.......I am trying to work with a 40G long...

I know, I didn't mean to imply that our tanksa re that small, but for what we're trying to do here, create pleasing aquscapes that don't look crowded, that make the tank look larger than it actually is, there are an awful lot of plants out there that you'd think would work well, but really work much better in much larger tanks. We can't all have 125s and 200 gallon monsters...


tetra, nice pic of your old tank. I can see why you started a new one though - comparing your new tank to the 46, the 46 really looks flat, just those two contrasting shades of green. What's funyn is I can see how it inspired your new tank, with the big rock mound on the left (now in the center) and the DW branch poking out the right/ back

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Back in the saddle!

46 BW not big enough.......I am trying to work with a 40G long...

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

Good question, LF. I have some vision of what I want to do, but a lot will depend on how the new driftwood works out. Right now you'll notice there's a big empty space right in the middle of the tank (see pic below) - that's where I figure the branchy part of the DW will go. I know I'm going to try using moss as a bit of ground cover and to highlight the driftwood, but I don't know of any other larger plants to use.



But I'm still looking for a different kind of plant/ plants to fill the void a bit. I was going to ask you all about it on here but it seemed like I was getting ahead of myself a bit I really have no ideas though

It's funny about the hygro, I remember Bensaf said at some point, maybe in this thread even, that hygro is hard to keep under control in a small tank like this and I never understood it until now. The leaves just seem too big for the tank, and that's ignoring how fast it can take over. It really is hard to work with in a little 46 gallon.


Oh yeah, and the whole point of the UV is that little single celled organisms die and dont come back, so I dont think it'll ignite another GW bloom....

... however, if it does, as tetra said in his thread earlier, look on ebay for a bit planted tank set up, complete with UV, CO2 set up and PC lighting. [/font]

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Back in the saddle!

NowherMan6,

If the vals are going, and maybe even the hygro, do you have a vision on plants that should replace them or are you going to fill it out with the remaining plants?

Ingo

PS: Could this change invoke another GW?

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

older leaves on my hyro are developing little holes, which I understand means low N? Or am I wrong on that?
I believe some holes is a potassium deficiency. I think low no3 would bring yellowish and stunting.

EDIT: I just looked again at your po4 dosing are you doing 1ml once a week. That's a big hit. Even if it's only once a week it's still about 1 to 3 with your no3 dosing that should be more like 1 to 10.

Last edited by tetratech at 05-Jan-2006 10:57

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