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The Wallichi as it was after a few weeks in the 60g

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As it is today ...not so good . Not sure why ... it sits right under the light .. and has root tabs right under its feet .. ... Its growing but only just .. Oh well we'll see what happens .

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Last shot for the night is of the Bronze Honey Gourami in the 60g ..a better shot than the one I posted in Photo booth .

Will be very little happening in the tank this week , just maintaince .


Garry

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wow......you & your plants.....so many! Great looking tanks though! I especially like your rocks.
Congrats on the new fish, they're beautiful!
Sorry for your problems. Yeah, it's frustrating to loose established fish.
I wish you luck in the new year! Looks like you're staying on top of things though, despite it all.

Thanks Patty ..appreciate the thoughts !

Week 31 Update

This week went exactly as predicted ...maintaince only . At least the WIsteria stayed down ...well most of it

So I won't bore you with a long entry ...not much to tell

Last weeks Fulltank shot

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Full Tank this week

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Right Side

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Left Side

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River /Centre...No plans for any changes next week ...should be dull again .


Garry

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Garry- I am just blown away at your artistry and scape design... You really have a knack for this stuff... How long have you been doing this? I have a hornwort question I will post in a different topic.

Awesome!

Thanks for the update on the R.wallichii Garry.

I have some in my nano atm and thought it was doing OK, but over the last few weeks it seems to be looking less full and pink.

Could it be that it doesn't like the Excel? I'm pretty sure that mine started it's downward slide within about a week of starting to use the excel on that tank, prior to that it had been there for a bit over a month and seemed to be doing well receiving only a general purpose liquid fert and no carbon supplement.

It could also just be that it doesn't like being trimmed too... the lower portions of the stems I have trimmed are definitely the worse looking of the lot; the new growth from the old stems isn't too bad and the re-planted tops are ok, but the the older parts of the plants are just bleh!

Whatever it is I'm glad I'm not alone with this frustrating plant. It seems such a shame ... when it's doing well it's a really gorgeous addition, but when its not it can really bring down the look of the whole tank. I'd love to get mine growing well again, just need to work out for sure what causes it to decline and rectify that.

As always I'm loving your tank and great pics.

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.

Scott...Actually I had planted tanks 30years ago ...but had no idea about scaping
as there was no FP back then
So ....really I've only learned the principles from this site and other fantastic info
sites in the last 2 years .

Thanks for the compliment BTW ...but I still think I have a long way to go ..both
in scaping and getting the right plants in the right spot so that when the tank
grows in it actually looks the same as I planned .The plant growth thing is
probably the biggest challenge ...just because the book says that a plant
grows to a certain height does not mean it will in your conditions .
Just look at the Amazons on the right side of this tank..they should dominate the
jungle with huge waving fronds ...but they have degenerated into very small
plants ...probably because they were emerse grown .

Anyway enough rambling...Thanks for stopping by

Could it be that it doesn't like the Excel? I'm pretty sure that mine started it's downward slide within about a week of starting to use the excel on that tank, prior to that it had been there for a bit over a month and seemed to be doing well receiving only a general purpose liquid fert and no carbon supplement.

Troppo ...Actually during the first month that mine went well in the 60g I used
Excel ..so I don't think its that . I've noticed the trimming thing as well ..your
right ...you might want to throw the bottoms away . But I've noticed recently
that there is new growth coming from the trimmed bottoms ...its very slow
but its there ...its green as well ???? maybe this plant just goes through stages ...
or it uses up its stored energy when you get it and then takes along time to settle ?
Don't know ???

But I'm going to let it alone and see what happens ...I have a feeling that this
might be one of those plants that reacts badly to being moved around .
We will see .

Thanks for the compliment and for dropping by .


Garry

Garry, you made me laugh:

Claudia ... Ahh the ever vigilant scientific mind ... actually you would probably do the
hobby a favour if you came up with a rule that was a proven fact instead of just folklore

I wish I'd have the time to do so but the result would be complicated involving many parameters. This calls for a detailed study by people with lots of tanks! Where are they? Sorry, scientific 'snobbiness' is a side effect of being many years in the trade (invasive thinking permeating private life).
Now, onto your tank: I think I have already mentioned how much I like the two grey (zebra) angelfish. They are awesome!
R. wallichii turned inot a disappointment in my tank as well. After seeing your initial success with high dose Excel and ferts I increased mine as well - everything else but the target plant improved.
Later I came across a reference which mentioned that the plant requires soft and acidic water for long term success. I know that my water is NOT acidic and blamed the demise of the plant on the pH. What is your pH?

Claudia

Sorry to learn of your fish losses. Always sad to lose friends that have been with you a while

I'm sure you'll get your motivation back soon. A planted tank the size of yours must surely be a lot of work. Though you may not be entirely happy with the scape, your delighted viewers/readers think it's just great But of course, it has to be you that's happy with the look. As for me, I'm a bit over stem plants that grow fast & require constant removing / trimming / replanting. More & more, my tanks will be dominated by slow & lower growers. There are stems, but they are in the minority. I've even trained my wisteria to be a low plant that doesn't require the removal & replanting cycle. I keep it low & reguarly trimmed & it's growing thicker, with leaves on the bottom of the stems again. Needs trimming every week or two, but I've not pulled one wisteria stem out & replanted it since setup of the divided tank. Much easier. Maybe if you looked for plants that make your tank less work, but still beatiful, that may work better for you. Just my two cents.

Your new black angels are very pretty. I see you are partial to angels, as you have quite a few.

Look forward to your next round of photos.

Cheers
TW

Claudia ...The PH in the 60g is on average around 6.9 ...GH is 7d to 8d (100-200ppm)...
so slightly hard ...slightly acidic ..may not be the right conditions for this plant .

Robyn , thanks for your nice thoughts and compliments ...as always its really appreciated .
I also appreciate the advice...some interesting ideas ...I've already decided that Wisteria
is now a background plant ...will see how it goes there .
I'm also searching around for bigger plants to fill the height of this tank better ...thats
proving to be a major challenge .

Any way I'll keep trying to improve as time goes on .

Thanks for your help ..both of you .


Garry

Update Week 32

Once again not a lot happened in the tank this week . A little trimming of the Magenta ...
cut back one of the Bolbitus ferns to the rizome to see if I can get it to respond ...
trimmed a lot of algae affected Annubia leaves .

Finally found some very large Swords for this tank ...I bought 3 ..One is submerse grown ..
2 are emerse grown ..will be interesting to see how they develop.
They are all soaking ATM ..will plant them next week .

Bought some new Flame Dwarf Gourami's to make up for the losses ..
now have 6 Flame Males, 2 Blue Coral Males and 2 Blue Coral females .

On a sad note I lost my last Gold Tiger Barb this week ..no obvious reason ..probably a
victim of the Tiger Barb wars . Also lost one of the Large Female Tigers ..she blew up
like a balloon ..didn't look like dropsy ..maybe she was egg bound ..only lasted 48hours
after she blew up .

On to the Photos ...The Full Tank Last week ...

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Full Tank this week

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Right Side

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Left Side

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Angle Shot

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Rock Group

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The Annubia's after a heavy trim

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Swords and Crypts next to the River

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Jungle Foreground

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New Swords Soaking ...been there for 4 days.. they are over 24 inches in height ..should look good .

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Thats it for the plants this week ...a few Fishy photos ... First the new Black Angels ..This is the big one ..over 6inches in height

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Smaller Black Angel

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A Bristlenose on the rocks

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The Cory hangout

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A Sterabi Cory close up

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Loach Central ...under the swords in the river

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Part of the Tiger Barb herd

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Last shot for this week is the Redtail shark at the back door to his cave ...left end of the tank .

Will plant the new swords next week ...this will mean some rearranging ..not sure yet what I'm going to do .. very unlike me , I normally have a plan . Oh well have to be seat of the pants


Garry

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Hi Garry, as always, looking good. Especially liked the crypt in the pic labelled "Swords and Crypts next to the River" What type of crypt is that reddish brown one?

It's always good to pick out some new fishy friends. Hope they enjoy their new home. Will check in when I get back from Surfers.

Cheers
TW

What a pity that it is impossible to ship plants to AUS! My amazon swords would have made such nice additions to your tank and I know you would take good care of them!

I am looking forward to see what you are doing with them - I need an inspirtion what to do with the gap tha will be created should I remove the last sword. Should I?

Claudia

Claudia ...don't do it... swords ( at least one ) are a must IMO.
Week 33 Update .

Well I tried to do something different with the swords that I showed last week ..
they were just tooo big . Wouldn't fit in any of the other places that I thought
might be impactfull . So they went into the rear of the jungle which of course
was the original plan way back at the start ...bit boring I know .

In the process of mucking around trying to fit the swords in I removed some
Giant Hygro and found the base of all the stems was browned off and brittle .
So I had to take off the bases and replant only the healthy tops . Then I didn't
like the unevenness of the look so I did the lot ..ugh doesn't look so good ..
but its a fast grower so should only be a week or 2 before its back to the surface .
I'm going to have to stagger the trimming and replanting of this plant to avoid
this in the future .

In the process of uprooting the Giant Hygro the Annubias Barteri which were a
bit hidden behind behind the Rock group came up so I repositioned them in front
of the rocks to boost the Annubia's around the rocks .

All in all a very busy day of changes without too much change in the overall scape .

One thing I've learned from this excersise ...If I ever get around to doing a complete redo ..
Its going to take a couple of days.
Just a few shots this week ..Full Tank last week

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Full Tank This week

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Right Side ..showing the new swords . I removed all the baby swords that were not rooted down to get these new swords in . Got 12 fairly advanced plants that I don't have room for ...I need a grow out tank You can see the Wisteria starting to poke its head up at the back of the jungle . ...Oh and lots of Giant Hygro floating that the Shark and Kissers have knocked up .

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The Left Side ..Ugly but will recover quickly

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The Rock group with the Annubias added

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A closer Shot of the Gaint Hygro trimmed down

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A closer shot of the Jungle

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Thats it for the plants this week ..A few fishy shots to finish ...A Platinum Gourami

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New Grey Angel

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RedTail Shark

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Flame Dwarf Gourami

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Redtail And Redfin Shark confrontation in the new swords

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Thats it this week ... Next week should not see too many changes ..just some replanting and maybe a few slight tweaks .

Last shot ...remember he's always watching ...Da..Dum...Da...Dum

Garry

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i havent seen all of this log yet but do you have C02?
ps.i love the pics and that shark is amazing!

33 gallon 7 neon tetras-5 platys-3 bleeding heart tetras-2 corys-1 rainbow shark-2 L83 gibby plecos

No ... Flourish Excel ...Thanks for the compliment ...He's a big baby and annoying as hell when he digs up my plants ..but I love him .

Garry

..but I love him

To each his own, he is special, no doubt!

Garry, thanks for the advice, I will refrain from getting rid of the last sword in my tank! Nevertheless, I will have to do a lot of trimming, when I compare your planting to mine I see that the fish in my tank don't have enouigh room to swim.

The left side does not look bad ar all and the hygro will recover quickly. Do you have tiger lotus? this is a very nice and easy to grow plant. the only action required is cutting off the large leaves that shoot up to the surface. The dwarf version is even prettier and an extremely nice ground cover.

Your ever changing tank!

Amazingly beautiful pics Garry!

Your red tailed shark has lips.

I've wondered how is the water circulation and filterage within the forest planting?

country fish wow i love the tank and the fish are amazing im quiet jealous!!! keep it up

i wish i had a tank like that. and that shark. keep it up!

hi
woot woot woot woot woot woot

Claudia...Glad to help ..even if it's only an opinion ! No I haven't got a Tiger Lotus... they are very expensive ..which is why I asked your opinion ..didn't want to buy one if it was going to be a dud .

Bren ..no issue for me with 3 filters pouring flow around the tank . I have the 3 outlets placed to create flows in different parts of the tank .

Patty ,bratyboy2 & Bubblebrain ...Thanks for dropping by and for the compliments ..much appreciated .


Garry

Garry:

you could buy the tiger lotus as a bulb - much less expensive. The plant will develop within short time (I could see first signs of germination within a week). I am trimming the large leaves that try to reach the water surface and the plant develops plenty of leaves that stay within 8 to 12 cm of the substrate. However, I still have to trim once a week a leaf which 'escaped'. The dwarf version which I had bought as 'variety of dwarf water lilies' is extremely beautiful, a very shiny dark red and stays small (2.5 cm long leaves) and does not show any tendency to grow towards the surface.

Claudia

garry, your tank is beautiful. the fish look really happy, and it must just be a pleasure to sit down in front of that tank and watch it.

not sure where you are in aus, but you can pick up small tiger lotus for 5 - 10 bucks sometimes (in sydney) and if you plant them, don't move them (they hate being moved) and feed them with undergravel tabs, they will not change for about a month or two, then before you know it you'll have a majestic, hardy plant. i've never seen bulbs for sale in aus, have you? i let mine send up surface leaves cos i like the lily-pond effect, and all my fish feel more secure with the cover. i can have up to 8 or 10 leaves on the surface plus a crown of 5 or 6 about 20 - 30 cm high.

if you want to move a mature plant it will lie dormant for another month or two after the move. i've discovered that rather than uproot it, i 'drag' it through the substrate to where i want it - but i pretty much learnt to consider the lotus the feature plant and work around it!!

anyway, as i said, gorgeous tank. well done.

Claudia and Jase ...Thanks for that ...the only place I seem to able to get them is online
and they are $50 ea . Don't mind paying the price if it survives ...but I've had a lot of
failures from expensive plants . So I might give one a go .

Update Week 34

Not a lot happenned this week ..just maintaince ..no tweaking ..pretty dull ...good growth
from the Hygro and Wisteria and the Algae .

Last weeks Full Tank Shot

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Full Tank this week

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Right Side

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Left Side

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River Shot

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Rock Group

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Jungle

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Stelatta & Magenta

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A few fishy photos , a Tiger Barb

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Dwarf Coral Blue Gourami female

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Blue Gourami ..hiding and spying on me while I take photos

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Thats it for this week ...again will be very busy next week ...so not much happening .. Last shot... for all his fans ..he was a good boy this week ..did not uproot more than 5 plants


Garry

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Hi Country,

Beautiful tank as always.

Have you looked at the aquagreen website for lotus? They have them listed on their website at around $10 each and last time I asked about them I was advised that they are sold as full plants, just uprooted and washed free of soil before shipping. I don't know of anyone that has ordered these specific plants from them before, but I have ordered other plants from them with absolutely no problems at all... the customer service and product that I received was fantastic.

G_T

PS Just looked at the website - only the green tiger lotus is listed as available, maybe try sending them an email if you are interested one of the other varieties. I have found that it often pays to ask about specific plants, they will likely either have a few available for sale, or be able to let you know when something is likely to be available.

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

Hey G_T.. Thanks for that... I'd forgoten about this guy .. About time I tried him out . Have you ordered any fish from him ?. I like some of the Rainbows he's got. Might try a few .

Garry

Country,

I haven't ordered fish directly from aquagreen before, but I believe my LFS gets some of their rainbowfish from there. The only livestock I have ordered direct from there have been inverts - ninja shrimp & waterhouse snails, both of which I really liked.

If the quality of the plants are anything to go by, I'd imagine that they would be in great condition and shipped with the best care. Aquagreen is local to me so I have my stuff personally delivered to my LFS and I pick up from them the same day, but Keith had some plants shipped recently and was very impressed.

All I can suggest is that you get in touch with them and see what sort of response you get.

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.

My favourite pics from your latest batch are the "Left Side" and the "rock group", though all are beautiful. Your river is becoming less prominent, but more natural looking IMO.

The only livestock I have ordered direct from there have been inverts - ninja shrimp & waterhouse snails, both of which I really liked.

I must be blind but I can't find the inverts on that link. Where should I be looking?

Cheers
TW

TW,

You may need to scroll through the catalogue a bit further. The catalogue page has several headings and a list for each..."Australian Native Plants", followed by "Australian Native Invertebrates", "Australian Native Fishes", "New Guinea Native Fishes" etc etc.

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.

Thanks, got it now.

You can get glass shrimps at this link for $0.99. Some plants & fish too. http://www.livefish.com.au/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1&zenid=a4cacd092ca834b36107d91c3a56f398

Cheers
TW

Robyn ...I've ordered some of the Glass Shrimps from "Live fish.com"... They were very small . I released about 12 into each of my tanks and haven't seen them since . Hope they survive . I also got some Dwarf Loaches from them ..they were a good size and have settled in well in my 60g .


Garry

it's amazing, how densely you're able to plant your tank... How do you maintain "cleanliness" in there with regard to siphoning gravel, algae maintenance, etc?

It looks awesome, thanks for sharing!

released about 12 into each of my tanks and haven't seen them since

How long ago did you release the glass shrimps?

Cheers
TW

Scott ... As far as Gravel Vacs are concerned I do the river every week as that is the lowest
part of the Tank and also where I feed . So I like to keep that part as clean as possible .
Each week I go thru either the left side or right side alternatively by pushing the gravel vac
into the plants and waving it around . This picks up any loose mulm . Wherever possible I
push into the substrate as well .

Now Algae is another problem . I have lots in this tank. No matter what I do I can't
seem to get on top of it . I have both BBA and Green spot and I cut out all leaves that get
effected as well as cleaning the glass every week . I also have an algae crew which
numbers 4 BN's ,5 SAE's and 7 Ottos . They always have fat bellies but do not seem to be
able to make a dent in the level of algae.

Funny thing is that I run the exact same ferts etc in my other tank and have virtually no
algae at all . The Algae in that tank cleared up after about 18mths ...I'm starting to think
that balance between plants and algae takes time ..but I'm not an expert .

Scott Thanks for dropping by and for the compliment.

Robyn ...I got them last week . I haven't reported it in the log yet ..I'm not sure they
survived ..they are very small and very hard to see ( glass ..see thru etc).
I suppose I have now though


Garry

Garry

Looks like i have missed alot of goings on in your tanks. Its going to take some time to catch up with everything going on. I just picked up a 75 Gallon im going to make into a planted tank. Wanna follow in your footsteps with the gouramis and the Angels.

Glad ya still here tho mate, i missed watching your updates on ya tanks

Shane

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

Garry,

Although I an not writing a lot these days, I always make it a point to look at your log when I stop in at FP. I can tell things are going quite well, growth is still great and even the occasional master trim job will produce noting but full grown plants within seconds (LOL, at least that's what it seems like).

Battling BBA and Green Spot, hm?

Green spot is sometimes caused by a lack of P, have you checked your levels over time recently? On slow growers, green spot will develop in almost all tanks, not much you can do about it. I would suggest to trim away leaves that are badly invested.

BBA, well, the discussions about cause are still ongoing, although a lot points to high water flow. Do you see it in particular in these areas? I would suggest to trim away invested leaves and maybe try some spot treatment with Excel for the others. I know it must cost a fortune, but do you add Excel to the tank at all, like after water changes?

Hope this helps a little,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

LF

I soo see this in my tank, i have some bolbitis right under the outflow of my HOB, and its totally infested with BBA right now. and its the worst area of all if you look at my 35 gall LOG. Thanks for that info.

Sorry didnt mean to jack the thread garry but he is soo right on this one lolol.. Your pics are still amazing mate.

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

Update Week 35 & 36

Well not a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks , except our Local Council in their
wisdom decided after all the rain we had to clean out our water pipes . We live in a very
red soil area . You can imagine what happened . Don't you just love Local
Government ...no warning just Red Water .
So no Pics this week as the Tank is low on level and high on coloured water ...

No changes to the tank other than the addition of some Glass Shrimp as mentioned in a
post above as well as some Hygro Poly ..why I hear you ask ...well Livefish sent me some
free ...not sure why ..and there is a spot at the rear near the Otto filter that needs some
filling in ..so I planted it there ...waste not want not .
I will hopefully have a clear full tank later this week in time for next weeks update .

Shane ... welcome back and good luck with your new tank ..
love to see some shots when you get it set up

Ingo ...great to hear from you .. Yes the Algae problem .."P" I test for every week... it sits
between .5ppm and 1.0ppm . Generally at the higher level if I test before W/C . I know Wings
once told me that he ran levels at 2ppm and thats what I have in my other tank .
So you may be right . I may try to increase the level .
I've been trying lately to get my K levels up as the Giant Hygro is showing pinholes in the old leaves.
Haven't quite got that right yet either ?

Water flow is very high in this tank ...I have 3 filters pouring flow around the tank ..can't say
that the BBA is worse in any one area . I'll give that some thought and observation.

As far as Excel goes... I dose every day in lieu of C02 and I've tried increases in dose as well
as using a syringe to dose directly on BBA . No luck so far .I might try the syringe again on a
daily basis and see if that has an effect .


I wouldn't want to say that its taking over the tank ...thats not the case ...but when I look at
the 60g ( which has the same fert schedule ) I scratch my head ...there is virtually no algae
in that tank ...very frustrating .

Never mind I'll try your suggestion's and increase the dosing of P by 50% and see if that
makes a difference .

Thanks for dropping by and for the suggestions .


Garry

PS I hate not posting any photos at all , so here's a shot of the 60G taken last week before the water disaster .

Garry

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Garry,

Interesting info on your fert levels. I have to assume that your tap P is low or non-existent as otherwise the level before the next water change would be higher (given that you increase it during the week). I don't remember if you use EI for your fert regime, but if you were then I would recommend to give your P a boost shot after the water change to up the level to about 2ppm right away, then to dose during the week just to maintain that level.

What makes this rather hard with your tank is the fact that you undertake major trim jobs, reducing your plant mass by about 30% at once (just guessing) and as such having a major impact on uptake.

For the Excel spot treatment: do you have your filters on when you spot treat? With a lot of flow in the tank that would be not easy. I would recommend to turn the filters off, spot treat, wait about 30 min, and turn the filters back on. See if that works better. No harm will come to the filters if they are off for an hour, trust me.

With regards to the comparison to the 60: no two tanks are alike, many attributes participate in health and algae development (most of which I do not understand).

And with regards to the 60G itself: This tank deserves more recognition. It is a beauty!!!

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo

I have to assume that your tap P is low or non-existent as otherwise the level before the next water change would be higher (given that you increase it during the week).

No I've tested the Tap water many times and there is zero of anything in it .

I don't remember if you use EI for your fert regime, but if you were then I would recommend to give your P a boost shot after the water change to up the level to about 2ppm right away, then to dose during the week just to maintain that level.

No I don't use EI ...mainly because of the 50 % water change ..too much for us on severe water restrictions because of the drought ( which hasn't broken yet despite the rain ) So I use Seachem's products and try to work it out by trial and error . I must admit I've been a bit slack of late and just let it run . Your advice has got me fired up to get it right .So I will give it a hit today and test till it gets to 2ppm .

For the Excel spot treatment: do you have your filters on when you spot treat? With a lot of flow in the tank that would be not easy. I would recommend to turn the filters off, spot treat, wait about 30 min, and turn the filters back on. See if that works better. No harm will come to the filters if they are off for an hour, trust me.

Interesting ...I will try that .

With regards to the comparison to the 60: no two tanks are alike, many attributes participate in health and algae development (most of which I do not understand).

Yes I've worked that out to and like you I don't understand it

And with regards to the 60G itself: This tank deserves more recognition. It is a beauty!!!

Thanks Mate ..appreciate that . Only thing is I've become a bit bored with it ...and when I get some time it might have to change . Or I could just get another tank to play with like you do with your smaller tanks


Garry

Ingo said:

"I have to assume that your tap P is low or non-existent"

Garry said:

"No I've tested the Tap water many times and there is zero of anything in it."

Ingo is confused

Garry, isn't that what I assumed?

Anyway, I understand that your inability (drought etc.) to perform 50% water changes (as in 110 + gallons) is a problem with dosing, in particular with EI. I am no expert in it, but did you look into PPS Pro (I think that is what it is called)?

Getting a small tank (and for you even a 40G must be small) to play with is always a good idea.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Garry,

my 2 cents of encouragement (Iam tired and totally swamped with work): the 60G is AWESOME - SPLENDID - A BEAUTY.

Ingo ... Sorry you're right ..english is supposed to be my first language

but did you look into PPS Pro (I think that is what it is called)?

Yes I've looked at that as well . I can access dry ferts and I've been considering it for a while . I think I will change if I can figure out a middle line to take . Thats where another tank may come into play ...good way to try something totally new .
Thanks for the advice .
Claudia ..Thanks for that ...hope life slows downn for you soon .

Garry

Update Week 37

The water has cleared and I've been changing the fert schedule slightly to try to abate
the algae issue . No major changes to the plants over the last couple of weeks other
than what Blackie and the Kissers have made . I have a bunch of Java's, Wisteria,
Bacopa & Ludwiga that is in a holding tub that will be replanted in the next week or so .


Lots of growth in the Giant Hygro as well as the Wisteria , so the tank is getting back to
looking full again .
I used Ingo's suggested method for attacking the Black algae ( using a syringe to spray
Excel at the Algae and turn the filters off for half an hour) . I picked a couple of areas
in the right front of the tank and I'll post a couple of photos later on to show the results .

The other problem I have at the moment is the new large Swords seem to be growing
well but the new leaves seem to be coming in distorted . Any one got any ides what
causes this ...I've read Chuck Gadds site on nutrient deficiency and that would suggest
a calcium deficency or perhaps Nitrogen with some of the old leaves turning yellow .

Anyone got any thoughts ..you will see examples in the photos .

On to the Photos , Full tank 3 weeks ago



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Full Tank This week

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Right Side

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Left Side

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River

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Rock Group

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A few close up Plant shots .. The Big Swords showing some of the problems

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New Sword Leaf with distortions

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Crypts in the Jungle

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Crypts and Swords on the left of the river

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Magenta Growing at the rear of the Jungle

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Stellata and Magenta

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Close up of the Heads of the Stellata and Magenta

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A couple of close ups of the Algae attack ...first some of the small swords in the front right ...looks to me like the Black algae has gone red which I think I've read is the colour it goes when it dies off . Should I leave those leaves or cut them off .?

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Some Bacopa which doesn't show the black algae looking as red ...but may be going that way ???? we will see .

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A few Fishy Photos to finish.. The Albino Shark enjoying the regrowth of the Wisteria

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A Male Coral Blue Gourami

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A Male Flame Dwarf Gourami

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A Bristlenose

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Loaches in the River .. Notice the Larger Female being attended by the smaller male

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This is ( I think anyway) a really interesting series of shots. First as I was taking shots of the Jungle I could see the Golden Barb School millingh around behind the jungle in a clearing in the river . Then 2 of them poked through the jungle and watched me .

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Then It looked like they turned and called the others over to see what the silly human was doing ... a few more started watching me .

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Then A few mor came over ....

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Finally all 8 were peering through the stems at me ...quite a wierd feeling

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Thats it for this week ...next week will see a lot of replanting ...again and some trimming but nothing major .

Remember he's always watching.



Garry

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Garry

Seriously dude, I sooo envy your tank man, i cant beleive how good it looks and how healthy your fish are, My tanks are killing me especially the 35 gallon as i dont have control over it.

Keep up the good work and dont let the man get ya down pal

Shane

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

Country,

Great photes as always! Very impressive work!

Swords ~ In many cases the farms that grow plants to sell in LFS grow them emerged. This does a couple of things. First the plants are going to grow a bit quicker and use CO2 from the atmosphere. This saves some equipment cost for the farmers. Now the second part is that the plants generally ship better and will be algae free being they were not grown in the water.

The down side to this is most of us want to grow our plants submerged. This means the plant needs to change its leaf form. Most swords have a long skinny leaf when submerged(this is not always the case - I think). The plant now has to go through a process to change leaf forms.

From your pictures that's what it looks like to me anyways. While working in a LFS we got tons of swords that came in looking much like yours do to only have the old leaves die off and new skinny leaves grow in. I had to take some extra time with customers to explain that. If I didn't they would often think they couldn't grow plants and toss in the towel.

There is my 2 cents...

Also, from my prospective the swords on the right side seem a bit out of place in that jungle with all the fine leaved plants to their left. They might look a bit better as some sort of a center piece plant.



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

Wings ...Thanks for the compliment ... I knew about the Emersed thing and I got the place
I bought them to check before I would buy them ...so I have 2 emersed and 1 submerged .
Just thought I'd try a little experiment of my own to see how they would grow over time .
Would I get different leaf type etc ... Too early to say as yet .. but it will be interesting .
The plant that threw up the deformed new leaf was one of the emersed grown ones ...
not sure what that means . The other emersed grown one is putting out healthy new
leaves and while they look a little narrower.. they are very similar to the emerse grown
leaves... at least to my eyes .

We will see as time goes on .

I know what you mean about these plants not looking to be in the right place ...I tried
to put them in the centre of the tank ...they were just too big ..so they ended up on
the right . Not sure they will stay there ...only time will tell .

Thanks for your thoughts


Garry

Week 38 Update

No changes to the tank this week other than good growth of the Giant Hygro and the Wisteria as well as a major trim to the swords in the river to get rid of old and algae infected leaves .

So just afew photos this week , firstly the Full Tank last week.

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Full Tank this week

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Right Side

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Left Side

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River

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Rock group and Annubias

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Close up of the Regrown Giant Hygro

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Close up of the Jungle showing the Wisteria now providing a solid background

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Last shot this week of the Swords in the River after trimming .

No Plans for any major changes next week .


Garry

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Looking good garry, are you having any problems with the anubias growing on the substrate rather than rocks or DW? Just a thought as to where I might go with mine.

Also Im glad to see the wysteria doing well in the back.

Shane

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

Update Weeks 39 & 40

Its Autumn here in Aus and all good gardeners are working hard getting their gardens
ready for winter . I've been busy mulching our hectare of gardens over the last couple
of weeks ...its a big job and there's not much time or energy for anything else including
fish tanks . I'm not finished yet ( about half done ) but its raining today so I got a break
to take a few photos of the tank . Never fear normal maintaince has of course been done
as usual but no trimming or any changes have been made .

The only new thing was the addition of 12 Tigers and 12 Golden Barbs to raise both
herds to 20 . I bought these online and I must say that they arrived in very good condition
and have settled in well .

So just a few photos..first the tank 2 weeks ago .

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Full Tank This week

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Right side

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Left Side

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River

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Annubias and Rocks ..in answer to your question Shane the Annubias seem to be doing ok ...but I've moved them a couple of times( at least ) and I wouldn't say they were powering .

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The Giant Hygro close up ... this stuff just keeps growing Fast

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Swords and Crypts near the River

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Java Ferns on the Driftwood over the River

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The Stellata ...Magenta and Bacopa have reached the surface

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The Large Swords showing a lot of degeneration ..but also lots of new leaves which are still growing in deformed

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Thats it for the plants ..just a couple of fishy photos to finish ..you may have noticed in a few of the pics that a couple of Angels are hanging around the algae scraper on the right . Well thats because they have layed eggs on it . Heres a close up ....not much chance of survival in this tank however .

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Thats it for this update . will be working in the garden again as soon as rain stops .. so not much will happen over the next couple of weeks .

Last shot for the night ...a different shark to leave you with ...a much more dainty and pretty little fellow .


Garry

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