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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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Beautiful shark!
And your plants! They almost make me want to get more myself! Maybe someday......we'll see.

Thanks Patty ...been away for a few weeks ..will update the log in the next few days .


Garry

Update Weeks 41 -44

I can't believe its been 4 weeks since I updated the log . My how time flys when you get busy ...between the gardens ( oh my aching back ) and visiting friends interstate ...I haven't had much time .

Sooooo ... whats happened in the tank ...well not a lot really . I am still not happy with the layout so I started this week to make some small changes . The area next to the river on the left was always supposed to be a low foreground plant type of area ...but the crypts in that area had grown too large ... also the baby swords in the river were annoying me a bit . So out they all came as well as one of the bigger swords in the river .
I then replanted with some very tiny crypts that should remain small ( lol ..we will see ???).
I've added a couple of new annubias to the rock group as well as a couple of new plants ( not sure of the name ) .

The Wisteria at the rear of the scape on the centre right continues to grow but is a right royal pain to keep in place . The Swords on the right are also proving to be a dissapointment and as Wings said in his post just recently they look out of place .
My next job I think will be to fix up this area ...I'm thinking of replacing all the swords with a big bunch of Val ( I've never been a fan ) or Crypts Balansae.

On the fish side I've added some 20 Buenos Aires Tetras and a few more Golden and Tiger barbs as well as some more rainbows.

Thats about it so onto the photos . The Full tank 4 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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New River mouth ...I forgot to mention that i ditched the rock in the middle of the river ...wanted to give a more open feel with the change to the left of the river .

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The rock group and the new Anubbias etc

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The new left side of the river

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New plant with no name ( haven't had time to research it yet ) Anyone got a name to save an old man a lot of work

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A close up of the Jungle foreground

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The Stellata and Magenta

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Swords and Bacopa

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A couple of Fishy photos to finish ...My new Buenos Aires Tetra

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An SAE enjoying the new River frontage .

Next couple of weeks look to be very busy again ..however I've ordered some new plants ... I finally took the plunge and ordered a Red Tiger lotus ( not sure where to put it yet ) I just wanted one after seeing Claudia's . I also ordered some Telanthera and some Didiplus Diandra . Will probably order some Val and Balansea as well . So could be quite a few changes over the next couple of weeks .


Garry

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awsome pics...how did posting all that take you???? lol good job

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

Countryfish,

Thanks for all the photos. I really need to get my hands on a camera again to get pictures of my tank up. Much has changed.

As for your giant tank, it seems most of your plants are growing rather well. Things still seem rather lush.

A Few things I would try in terms of an scape would be to start grouping some of your stem plants tighter together. I think the left side really needs to be tightened up in the back. Right right side seems to have pretty tight groups but has just a ton and a half of different types of plants. I think that makes it look a little messy.

I like the new open river area. The one thing I would change is to let it flow farther back into the tank. As it goes back let it get smaller. This will make the tank look much deeper.

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

Looks like Lobelia cardinalis

Platy boy ....It takes me about and hour to post an update ..but about 4 hours to take the photos .

Wings ...Thanks mate ...I know I have a lot of work and thinking to do to get both sides of the tank the way I want them to look. Nothing has quite worked out the way I planned originally ...which doesn't bother me that much ..but as Ingo warned me would happen I'm starting to get over having so many different types of plants. I suppose I was just experimenting and trying different things . I think next week will see some substantial changes . I just haven't had the time of late . Will see if it happens next week .

Clownloachfan ...Thanks for that ...looks right .

Garry

Update week 45 .

This week saw some very modest changes . Replanted some of the Crypts and Swords that were removed from the foreground in previous weeks to the midground . Replanted the Wisteria once again ( becoming a weekly task . Moved one of the pieces of driftwood ( with Bolbitus) to on top of the rock . The plant has been cut back to the rizome and still appears to be alive but barely ...perhaps being closer to the light may help it?

As I said in the post above I have some big decisions to make and as its time to clean the main Filter ..I should do it now before the cleaning as I'm sure to make a lot of mess . Good news is I finally got my hands on a Tiger Lotus and some Didiplus Diandra...so lots of decisions to make .

On a sad note we lost the Albino Shark this week .. he was going on 4 years old ...no visable sign of disease so I have to assume he had reached his time . Very sad he was one of my favourites .

Ok 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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River

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A close up of the Annubias and Rocks notice the Driftwood on top of the rocks

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Replanted Crypts

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The Small Crypts settling in

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The Stellata area

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Thats it for the plants this week ...a couple of Fishy photos to finish ..A couple of group shots of the new Buenos Aires Tetras.

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Another

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A BN growing into a big boy

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Thats it for this week ..will be pondering Wings advice and what I have in mind for the tank ...so watch this space .. I may do something I've really not attempted yet and thats an Ingo style redo We will see ?????

Vale my Albino mate .


Garry

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All looks very nice as it is, but we will now have to impatiently await your makeover, if you do it.

Cheers
TW

Robyn ... Thanks for dropping by . As a teaser I decided to do a makover on the 60 g as a trail run for this tank .
The 60g had become very overgrown and had lots of different plants in the wrong places . So I decided to cut the number of plants . I also decide to use Wisteria as a foreground plant ...Lot of work to keep it trimmed I know ..but I've had so little success with foreground plants I decided to give it a go . If this fails I guess I'll fall back on low growing crypts .

So the plant list is Stargrass , Magenta , Annubias, Swords, Bacopa, Crypts Wendti & Balansae, Bacopa,Ludwigia and of course Wisteria.
Here are the results let me know what you think .

First photo is before the Makeover

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Full Tank after the Makeover

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Left side

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Right Side... Any thoughts on improvements or comments on plant placement etc.?????

I am about to do the this tank so I will wait to do that before I update the log .


Garry

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The fish in the 60G must think they've just moved into a much bigger home. These days I am more & more liking a tank that isn't too over crowded with plants. Don't get me wrong, I like stem plants & some bushy plantings areas within a tank, as long as there is also a feel of open swimming space eleswhere. So, I like your changes

I'm not very good at suggesting what plant looks better here or there, so will leave the advice on rescaping to others that pop in. Keen to see what you end up doing.

BTW, my 7ft tank is being delivered tomorrow. Yippee

Cheers
TW

Very nice countryfish!!! You did a great job of creating some depth!

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

Hi Robyn .....

The fish in the 60G must think they've just moved into a much bigger home

Yep they seem to appreciate the swimming room .

These days I am more & more liking a tank that isn't too over crowded with plants

Yea I'm coming to the view that less is more as well .

Of course that will be until I find a fantastic new plant to try I've managed to not make any changes in a week ... Very Proud of myself We'll see how long it lasts .

Wings ... Yep that was the idea based on your advice actually ...So thanks for that .

I've done the 240g today ...big job took me about 9 hours ..I'm exhausted ..and not overly happy with the result ...but I think its a step in the right direction .

No Photos yet ...still waiting for the tank to clear ..so probably tomorrow night .

Robyn , Wings ...Thanks for your thoughts and for dropping by .


Garry

I've done the 240g today ...big job took me about 9 hours ..I'm exhausted ..and not overly happy with the result ...but I think its a step in the right direction .

That seems to be the problem with you guys with big tanks. If LF (wherever he may be) does a redo it takes all day too. I can generally do my 55G in a couple of hours when I really mess with things. That I (and the wife both) can live with. Don't get me wrong, as I would love to have a giant tank but I would have to go very simply slow growing plants in it.

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

Wings .. I know what you mean ...my 60 g makeover took me only a couple of hours ... this tank is a lot of work ...but I knew that going in as I'd read all of Ingo's logs . I wasn't really complaining ..being retired means I have plenty of time and I just love it


Garry

Garry

Im sorry i havent been able to keep up with your tanks but they are looking great mate, keep up the good work. You and ingo are still my idols... LOL

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

Update Week 46 & 47

Thanks Shane for dropping by and the nice words , fairly daunting being put in the same company as Ingo though .

Well I finally took the plunge and did the big makeover .
Basically everything except the small crypt field on the left of the river and the Poly Hygro around
the sponge filter was removed .
The Swords on the right were moved to the teraces on the left ...the Giant Hygro was moved to the extreme left and clumped
as a background to the jungle ...all large crypts were then put in front of the giant hygro to create a layered look ...next the
magenta & stellata were placed in front of the crypts ... was also supposed to be the Bacopa but there was a big gap
around the sponge filter at the left of the river so the bacopa went there instead .
The Annibias were next along with a few rocks for anchors ..(a lot of rocks were removed from the scape ) lastly the wisteria
was placed in the foreground on the right of the river .

Next the Bana Lily , my new Tiger Lily and the Lobelia cardinalis were placed on the left of the river towards the rear on the
same level as the small crypts .

The last piece of the puzzle was to make a feature our of the driftwood on the next tier up on the left side . This also features
the Java ferns .Also my two other pieces of Driftwood with the Bolbitis attached were then placed ( believe it or not the ferns are
sprouting finally after I thought they had died )

So thats about the size of it .
3 Things I'm not happy with , firstly I need something bigger behind the Swords on the left so I've ordered some Giant Val for
that area. Next I need another bunch plant for the jungle next to the stellata ...I've ordered some Hydrilla and Pink Baby Tears
and will see which one fits best and lastly I think the gap at the rear for the river is too wide so I've ordered some very large
Crypts Balansae to go with the one I have to drape thier large leaves into that area .

Enough Talk onto the photos , first the tank as it was before the makeover

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Full Tank after makeover

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Right Side

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Left side

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An Angle shot of the Full Tank

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River

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Jungle

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Closer shot of jungle foreground

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Annubias

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Driftwood Feature

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Wisteria Foreground

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Last Shot for this week is the Small Crypts which are in the same place but I've added a few more .

So the Giant Val will be in by the weekend and the other plants in a couple of weeks ..and that should be it for a while .

Let me know what you think ...any improvements or suggestions would be most welcome .


Garry

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I like what you've done. I don't know whether it's just my computer, but the last five of your photos aren't appearing for me I'll look again next time, in case I can see them then.

EDIT: Well, they have just appeared. I'll have a better look now

Cheers
TW

Garry,

you did a major trim! Looks nice as always but I have to say that I am still a fan of the overgrown 60G tank!

Robyn ...as always your encouragement is appreciated ...but critique is allowed as well... I'm always looking for input and ideas .

Thanks for your ongoing support .

Claudia ...Hi missed you mate ..where have you been ..never mind ..just good to have you back . been a little quiet without you . , Well the 60 g just had to change as it was chocking with plants ( never thought I'd say that ) so a total makeover after 2.5 years was not inappropriate I think . Anyway I'm happy with the result even though I'm about to add some new plants.

So when can we expect an update on your tanks ?

Garry

Hi Garry:

I expect to be able to do an update in about 3 weeks from now! It will take about two weeks to get all furniture to my new home, everything will go on a truck by Sunday, the fish will go Saturday into 'holding' with my favorite fish dealer (one of the very few things I will miss back East) who will FedEx after everything is ready again. Expect the first pictures of the new thread to show a totally empty tank. Hey, finally a chance to think about an aquascape instead of an underwater jungle

I will pop in before t osee how everybody else's tanks are doing - I missed FP but was too occupied with preparations and negotiations

Claudia