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LFS Plants

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Crypts in front of jungle

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Last Plant shot showing the river side of the jungle where the Stellata and Milfoil ended up . You might ask what happened to the R. Wallichi . It was doing so poorly I moved it to the other tank to try to recover .

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Just a couple of Fishy shots to finish . A rainbow showing amazing colours . Very hard to get in focus . This is the best shot we could get .

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An Otto in close up

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Cute Corys cuddling

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Last shot for this week of Ottos with a nosy Cory .

Next week should be very tame compared to this week . But you never know .


Garry

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Nice shots. That anubias is really clinging to the wood. That is a beautiful Bolbitis specimen you have there. I envy you.

Garry

Im sorry i havent had time to post in your log as much as i used to. Second job is killin me. Anyways I love the shots you have of your bolbitis. I wish i could get mine to grow the same way. I have some on the driftwood and its been there for quite some time but im having a hard time growing it. Any ideas or suggestions. Its right under the HOB for the flow also.

I really love your Nanas. In order to get a second or third could I cut the existing Ryzhome?

Shane

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

Garry:

I am really interested how the R. wallichii will do in your tanks! Apparently you had some issues in the large tank yourself? I am very curious how the plant will do in your 60 G. What do you think is making all the difference? WPG-wise you do not have such a discrepancy between the two tanks, but could it be the amount of light reaching the bottom as the 240g is rather tall? I have ordinary R. rotundifolia in both the 72g and a 20g long and it does nuch better (color as well as growth wise) in the smaller tank, although there is a slightly lower WPG and less fertiizers added. Any thoughts?

Lovely pics and I envy you the shots as always.

Claudia

Cute Corys cuddling

Beautiful pictures Garry, as always. So crisp and clear. No need for words, but just in case, I will say that your tank is beautifiul, as it always is.

Cheers
TW

Week 20 Update

Hi , folks . I'm logging in from a friends computer in Sydney this week ,down for another
wedding .
I made a few changes to the tank before we came to Sydney , but didn't get a chance to
take photos .
So I will update the log early next week .

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments .

Claudia , The R. Wallichi is proving to be a challenge . I'll show you some things next week .
I think Tetratech may be right about this plant , starting to look really difficult to grow.
The R. Macandra ( Magenta ) is flourishing in both tanks now , and with different ferts and
light , interesting .

Shane , I'm not an expert on Bolbitus ,this is my first attempt . If I remember correctly from
LF's 40g log this plant takes along time to get established and then takes off . But again I'm
not an expert on these ferns , try asking Ingo .

I really love your Nanas. In order to get a second or third could I cut the existing Ryzhome?

As far as Annubias are concerned , I pretty sure thats exactly what you can do.


The other thing I started this week was to bring this tank onto the same increased light and
fert (macros) as the 60g . Big move , but the 60g has been very stable and growth patterns
much stronger so I thought it was time .

Anyway a mini update , will be back to normal next week .

Garry

Well, if you are in Sydney, you can visit SimpleGrow. Have a nice time at the wedding.

Cheers
TW

Week 21 Update

Back from Sydney , but unfortunatley Robyn I was allowed to stray from the plan .
So no Fish realated visits I'm afraid .
So what happened in the tank over the last couple of weeks .
Firstly I decided to do something that the "Guru" said I should do a long time ago .
I turned my main driftwood piece ( looked like a sawn tree stump) up side down to make
it look more natural . Secondly I moved the Bolbitis Ferns apart , and added some more
rocks to the rock group to give it more height . Still not happy with that part of the tank
though , it was supposed to be a mountain with a tree like effect leading down to the
grassy bank of the river . Not there yet , maybe one day .

After rearranging the jungle area I've let it grow with out any trimming so its starting to
look wild again , however the foreground of that area has proved a little difficult to keep
planted due to the efforts of the Sharks and Corys ..
I've moved all the Annubia's to the Rock group and will probably add more to soften the
area (maybe ).

Well thats about all I can remember so on to the Photo's .
The tank as of a Fornight ago .

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The Full Tank This week

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The Right Side

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The Left Side , I forgot to mention that I took the sissors to the Hygro that dominates the centre rear of the tank . I think this plant has run its course . It may not last much longer in its current position .

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Now a couple of Angle shots , firstly looking down slightly .

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Now an angle looking up .

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A couple of shots of the Rock Group, firstly from straight on .

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Rock Group from slightly above

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A couple of shots of the Driftwood turned upside down , firstly the whole lenght which also shows one of the Bolbitis moved to the right .
This shot also shows 2 new flower spikes coming from the Swords in the river

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A closer shot of the end which used to look like a tree stump . I think this end looks a bit more natural .

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So a few detail shots of the plants starting at the left end of the tank . Firstly a shot of the Giant Hygro and Annubias , also the favorite hiding place for the Golden Barbs

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A front shot of that area , also showing the Apon's and the Golden Barbs again !

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A close up shot of the 2 Bolbitis Ferns

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A wider shot of the general area around the Ferns

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The Crypt area on the left of the River

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The First Sword Plantlet , looking bigger and better every week

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The Milfoil and Stellatta on the right side of the River

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A wider angle shot of the Jungle at the right of the River

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Now a front on shot of the jungle

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A closer shot of the front of the jungle

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A closer shot of the problem foreground area in front of the Jungle .

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Lastly a couple of shots of the newer plants in the jungle area , firstly the Magenta

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The Ludwigia's , Ovalis and Narrow

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a close up of the Bacopa

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Thats it for the Plants this week , a few Fishy photos now . The SAE's love the new rocks ,almost like an unit block

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And while taking that shot ( the SAE's wre very patient) , the Lemons came over to see what I was doing . This is the most I've ever got in one photo and they are nearly all in focus

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So I followed the Lemons for a while taking a lot of photos and got this one as well. There are 30 of them but they seem to have formed into at least 3 separate groups during the day . Interestingly I've seen that after dark the groups seem to come together into one large group , maybe for a feeling of safety .?

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While this was going on I got this shot of the Tigers who are always curious and come to the front when I'm around . But like the tetras they dart around so much its hard to get a good shot of the entire group . This shot is the most I've managed to get in one shot . It has 10 of the 13 in the group .

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Thats it for this week . Not much time available next week so should just be some trimming and general maintaince .
Last shot is a close up of my Avatar fish , just for Brengun .

Garry

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Hey you thought of me, good onya Countryfish.
That is a great photo of your Gourami. I don't comment on your plant thread as you just bamboozle me with all the plant names. I am just learning all the fishy names.

Hi Countryfish

This tank is looking stunning as ever. I like the new rock formations and I think the look of that area will continue to improve as the plants grow in around them and they get a sprinkling of algae for that aged feel.

You mentioned the "problem foreground area in front of the jungle"... what problem? I like the occasional glimpse of substrate and don't consider that to be a problem.

If you really wanted to fill that area with greenery you could try attaching some anubias nana or similar to some river stones and either place them in the empty area, or partially bury the rocks in the substrate (leaving the rhizome uncovered of course). Then the fish could bulldoze to their hearts content; the plants may end up in a different spot, but they won't end up floating.

As always though... it's your tank, in your home... do with it what will make you (and your fish) happy

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Beautiful as usual. Love your blue gourami

I love rock caves, & so do the fishies /:'

Hello Folks , Thanks for the comments and compliments .

Bren , you think you get confused , Ha you should try getting into a conversation with LF,
Tetra and Wings , they have my head spinning ,

GT , thanks for stopping by and for the suggestion , got me thinking about tying up more
than Annubisa and Java's . Very good idea and a good excuse to add more rocks .
Thanks again for that,

Patty , of course you would like the rocks Thanks for dropping by

Thanks CLF , shes a beauty .

Garry


Garry

Bren , you think you get confused , Ha you should try getting into a conversation with LF,
Tetra and Wings , they have my head spinning ,

Sorry my fingers don't always type what my head is thinking.

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

wow garry... your tank, and the photos are just breathtaking! I cannot get over how clean your plants are... I get this layer of brown diatoms on my wisteria which is a shame as they are so vibrant.

I LOVE the lemons... when (and if) I ever get around to setting up my 55g, lemons are a must! They are so delicate, and the red eye, wow!

Gary
Tanks looks very good. I'm impressed with the look of the plants. Must be something in that water down under. Looks better with thicker growth on the right if you could get thick healthy groups on both sides in th back it will look even better.

If I'm being honest I don't love the cave on the left. It looks too man-made for my taste (but that's me). I almost expect Fred Flinstone to walk out of the front.




My Scapes

Wings Yeah me too .
Scott , Thanks , the Lemons were an after thought in this tank . I wasn't going to have any
small fish , but both the wife and I thought something was missing . So we decided to try
to get a big school of small fish . The Lemons fit the bill and they were on special !!!!!

Tetra , Thanks for that , I think I stated I wasn't very happy with the rocks yet . So I agree ,
thats just the way the fit together for the moment . I want to build a mountain , I think, and
need more good gear to do it: so watch this space .

Thanks for dropping by.

Garry

I want to build a mountain

Sounds like someone is going rock hunting. When I set up my 55G I got my rocks from a landscape place. Dirt cheap. 40lb for about 4-6 dollars.

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

Week 22 Update .

Very busy week with life but not much in this tank , did a little corner makeover in the 60 g
which made me happy .

So other than a little tweak here and there , not much to report . Only real changes were
some trimming of the 3 main plant groups in the jungle ( Magenta ,Bacopa & Ludwigia )
and planting the tops in the foreground of the jungle , and the tying of a couple more
Annubias to the rock group .
So on to the Photos , the Tank as of last week .

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Full Tank This week

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The Right Side

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The Left Side

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The River with Shark

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Another Angle shot this time from the opposite side of the river showing the Swords and their now multiple babys

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A close shot of the swords and offspring

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The Original Sword baby now getting quite big

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The Jungle foreground ...a wide shot

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The New plantings in front of the Jungle with the Water sprite cut right back

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The Lilaeopsis in front of the jungle

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Now a couple of shots of the Rock group ...A wider shot

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A closer shot showing the new Annubias

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A shot from the end of the tank looking down

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A shot of the Bolbitis

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The Crypts now establishing themselves despite the beat efforts of the sharks and corys

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Thats about it for the plants this week , I took lots more photos but they are all about the same and even I'm getting bored posting them
So a few fishy photos to finish . First a close up of a Cory , love the wrinkly skin

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A Dwarf Loach on the meeting rock in the river

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A nice shot of a Lemon Tetra

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The Redfin Shark patrolling his territory back left of the tank

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Last shot for this week is of one of the Big Boys
And in answer to your post , yes Wings I am looking , but not having much success as yet.

The only changes currently in train is the removal of the Hygro in the centre, It's gotta go , I'm over it . Either going to replace it with the Giant Hygro or wait for the Bolbitis to grow a bit like LF's . Not sure I can wait that long however . We will see .

Garry

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Wow, this tank has come a long way since I last checked in. It looks great. Nice pictures too.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Really great shots this week. Not that past weeks have been bad but this weeks are quite nice.

The tank is filling in incredibly nice. My only suggestion is to tighten up the stem groupings. That takes some time though.

I think the anubias will look quite nice on the rocks once they start to grow. I need to take some pictures of mine. I love how the roots grow over the rocks.

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

Great shot of the kisser, Garry!
What became of the R. wallichii in your smaller tank? Did it do better there, I've thrown mine out as it was nibbled down to the stems (could serve as an intersting display in a tank "blazing sun over the aqua desert", though)

What are your plans to replace the hygro sp. with (I am sort of lost regarding the placement of this hygro in your tank as well as to the exact species of hyfro). You got to provide us with a front shot!

Claudia

Hey Matty , thanks for checking in and for the compliments .

Wings , Thanks for that , I actually thought the photos this week were a bit "ho hum"
I actually started taking photos lying on the floor for a bit of a change . I didn't post them though.

Claudia , the Walichii is still in the other tank ( all of it ) . Its doing poorly but still alive
with a few bits looking like growth . I'll post some picks later in the week .
The Hygro in the centre is Hygrophila polisperma and it was only included in the tank
to up the count of fast growers . But I think I have enough other fast growers and I
really like the Giant Hygro . It looks like a forest and thats want I was aiming at on
that side of the tank " order " versus "wild " on the jungle side .
I will post a before and after later in the week .

Garry

Ah, so you have H. polysperma as well! A fantastic grower that keeps the scissors busy and there some nicely colored varieties and a reddish creeper available but no chance to get them in the US. At least not through a dealer as the plant is considered an obnoxious weed. This is also the reason that I want to hold on to a small colony of mine. LFS are eager to get them from hobbyists and that is our chance to get some deals.
I had H. corymbosa myself but did not like it too much. However, your tank is bigger and you have a particular scape in mind. I am looking forward to photos!

My R. wallichi had some nice growth too but I lost my patience ... I've read that the plant requires specific water conditions (pH and hardness) to do well in the long run. I don't know what your water is like but mine is (according to the article) not becoming so I ditched the plants. Do you or someone else who happens to read your log have any experience with Myriophyllum tuberculatum? This is one species I am interested in.

Claudia

I love your rock group Garry!

But I don't envy you trying to keep that area clean.

I'm glad you're having such fun with that tank...... the fish & the plants. You definitely have a country jungle going on there!

Do you or someone else who happens to read your log have any experience with Myriophyllum tuberculatum?

Claudia , no haven't had this one yet ! The Wallichi is an issue as I will try to show later .
Patty : the rock group will expand , rocks and new plants have arrived . They are both
soaking ATM. So the new rock group will be next week .
Thanks for the compliments .

Week 23 Update .

Did a full 2 filter and UV clean at the water change this week which did not go well .
First the water was a very milky colour out of the tap . The PH spiked to 7.5
(normally a steady 7.1), then the UV leaked . . I didn't put it back together
properly " Idiot " is a word that comes to mind.
So not much change to the tank as I ran out of time

One point I would make is that the Tank is still not stable when compared to the 60 g ,
algae is still a problem and whilst growth is strong and water params a were very good
up to this week there is still a lingering bit of a clarity problem with the water . When
comparing the 2 tanks the 60g looks like the fish are suspended in mid air whilst in the
240g you can still notice the water especially towards the back of the tank .
I've cleaned the Main filter 4 times in 23 weeks so about every 6 weeks so far .
I am going to clean them every 2 weeks for a while and see if that makes a difference .
Ok enough whinging on to the Photos, The Tank as of last week .

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The Full Tank This week

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I think I lightened up that full tank shot to much . Went a bit overboard thinking about the advice I gave to Claudia

The Right Side

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The Left Side

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Just a few Plant Shots , A close up of Annubia Paco and Barteri

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The soon to be added to and changed Rock Group

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One of the Bolbitis . Not sure these are doing to well as yet . Getting some black discolouring on the leaves , doesn't look like BBA . Will have to wait and see.

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The Swords in the river

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The Hygro .p that should have been gone and will be next week

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The Magenta in the jungle still doing very well

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The Jungle foreground and Cory playground

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Now a report on the R.Wallichii , all 4 bunches are now in the 60g . The original 2 from the 60g are doing much better than the 2 from this tank . However I wouldn't say either are flourishing . The shots are not great but you should get the point . They are all now sitting on the beach in the 60g right under the light .They have 2 Root tabs right under their feet , So if they don't do well there then I guess they are not for me .

First a wide shot of the 4 bunches

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A closer shot showing the 2 from the 60g doing ok I suppose .

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A close shot of 1 from this tank , its hard to see but this one looks very sick .

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Anyway time will tell for the Wallichii.
Just a couple of fishy shots to finish : a Female Tiger Barb

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That shot was courtesy of the wife without the aid of the macro lens . Last shot for this week is an Otto one a sword spike .

Next week will see the addition of the following plants :
Fontinalis , Water Rose , Banana Lilies and another Annubia Paco . All of these are intended to go in and around the reformed Rock( Mountain ) group . Should be fun .
Oh and of course the Giant Hygro will rplace the Hygro p

Garry

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Week 24 Update .

Well week 23 was a popular update ! Never mind nothing much happened I suppose .
This week however .... well ...where to start . Firstly the new plants arrived and some
new rocks .
So the first thing was to get rid of the Hygro p. and replace with Giant Hygro . Second was
to remodel the rock group into "A Mountain" . Lastly add some more small plants to the Jungle
foregroud .
That was the plan anyway . As I was pulling up the Giant Hygro hiding behind the Jungle I
also pulled up a Java Fern I'd forgotten about , so that was added to the driftwood on the
left of the river . Then I started thinking about the Driftwood over the river and its accompaning
Java's . The Javas had become completely obscured by the jungle , so I reversed the driftwood
to bring the Javas out from behind the Jungle . I then planted the Giant Hygro in place of the
Hygro p.. Tick first objective with some minor variations .

Next it was on to the Mountain . I added the new rocks to the base then tied on the Annubias
and Fontinalis to the current rocks . I also tied another A.Paco to the driftwood which already had
one A.Paco . Then I built the Mountain . This proved to be a little tricky and I can't say I'm overly
happy with it just yet which means it may change shape again sooner rather than later .
objective 2 Achieved ...sort of

The jungle foreground has continued to annoy and frustrate me , so I added 2 more Liaeopsis ,
2 Water Roses and another Crypt . In the process the Water Sprite was shown the door and
some Bacopa was moved further over into the main jungle area . I also took one of the main
Ludwigia's and moved it the left side behind the mountain, mainly because after 4 weeks it
had kept floating up
The Banana Lilies Just didn't fit so for the moment they are parked in the river untill I get some
inspiration
objective 3 Partially achieved. If I was doing an Annual Performance review on those results
I'm not sure I'd give me a pay rise
Just as well this is a hobby and I do it for the love

Onto the photo's ... The Full tank as of last week


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The Full Tank this week

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The Right Side

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The Left Side

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A River Shot

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A few detail Plant shots , Firstly the Mountain , Showing The Fontinalis , Annubias, Annubia Paco and the Ludwigia behind . BTW the caves are still there just better disguised .

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The Banana Lilies in the River

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The Crypt area in front of the Mountain coming on nicely

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A close up of the Fontinalis

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The Ludwigia and Bolbitis behind the mountain

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Next acouple of shots of the centre of the tank without the Hygro p. First a wide shot

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A Narrow shot of the old Hygro P area

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The Java ferns have all grown markedly in the 24 weeks this tank has been going .

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On to the Jungle area now . First the Magenta and Stellata both powering on

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The Bacopa Ludwigias and Amazons doing quite well with the Wisteria going wild in the background

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The Right foreground of Baby Amazons and Crypts . I'm pretty happy with this bit of the foreground .

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The Left foreground which I'm still not very happy with . This area is proving very difficult to get right perhaps for a number of reasons . The bottom dwellers love digging in this area as well as a lack of light from the over hang . Anyway will have to see how it develops .

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A close up of the Water Rose

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A close up of the Crypt that replaced the Water Sprite and one of the new Liaeopsis clumps

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Thats it for this week , a lot of changes . Couple of points . The PH went back to a more normal 7.2 this week with no ill affects on the residents .Thanks Goodness . The Water quality improved a fair bit but is still not right so I will go ahead and clean the filters again next week ( in tank Water of course) .
Algae is still a problem . So i will continue to review the fert Schedule to try to get the balance right .

Next week will be given over to maintaince as I said and maybe some changes to the Rock group and Jungle foreground if I get time.

A last shot for the night of one of my sharks looking over my shoulder while I process photos.

Garry

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Personally I would like to see the river area cleared up more.....but you know me....I like some clear areas in my tank.

I love the cute little banana lilies. Very different looking!

Patty Thanks for dropping by, I might just agree with you on that except I keep
running out of places for the plants I want
Update Week 25 : well there wasn't one as we were away and only a bit of
maintaince was done before we went.

Update Week 26 . I can't believe 6 months has gone past sooo quickly
Anyway I thought it appropriate to do a quick review of the development of the
scape and then do my normal shots .
So lets go back to the start ( well almost) . Here's the tank after 1 week .

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Week 5

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Week 9

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Week 14

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Week 18

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Week 22

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Week 24 which is effectively the last photo I posted

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The Full Tank This week ... the only real change is that I was over the Tennulus in
the left front corner near the rock group ...it was srtarting to look fairly patchy.
In the end Tetratech and LF were spot on when they said that it would be very
difficult to grow ground covers at a depth of 32 inches.
I replaced it with some clippings from the top of the Magenta , and placed the
Banana Lilies in front of them .

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The Right side

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The Left side

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The River

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A close up of the newly planted area in front of the rocks

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Just a couple of plant detail shots , I planted a couple of the Baby Swords next to their mum ... also shows the Crypts doing well in the old hairgrass area

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A shot of one of the Bolbitis ... not doing very well at all .

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The Stellata and Magenta after a trim

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A close up of the Banana Lillies

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The wisteria , Bacopa and Ludwigia still doing well in the Jungle ... also the Baby Amazons and Crypts in front of the Jungle

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Thats it for the plants this week . A couple of new inhabitants were added this week . Some Dwarf Gourami's and some BN's .
Heres a BN on the rock in the river

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A Flame Dwarf

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A Coral Blue Dwarf

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Well thats it for another week , again I don't envisage a lot of changes next week .
Remember he's always watching


Garry

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Thanks for sharing your pictures again, Garry. Also makes for great viewing.

Cheers
TW

ive been watching this log for quite a while now and havn't bothered to post until now and i must say that even though im not too deep into the planted setups i absolutly love this setup. the selection of fish are exellent and the recent additions look great. i love how the tank is arranged into different areas. 240 gallons is a great potential for any type of tank be it a planted system or a non planted system. you have truly done a wonderful job on this setup. well done garry!



hi
woot woot woot woot woot woot

Hey how many BN did you get?

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

Garry,

do you have any idea what BN you got? Are they snowflakes?

Garry,

Nice review of the first 6 months of this tank, growth during that time has been excellent which means you must be doing something right .

The one thing I am wondering about is "where does it go from here?". Your tank is full of lush plants and you are doing rather minor tweaks, for example with the non-working ground cover.

Otherwise, you must spend an enormous amount of time trimming this sucker, plus water changes and what not. How are you feeling about the work-load? I am once in a while very sick of trimming just the 125G and I am, at these moments, very tempted to convert that baby into a low tech setup with much less maintenance.

So, in short, what's your vision for the next 6 months?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club