Journal 60L tank ft Lagenandra meeboldii, using mini Anubias as foreground

[Dennis Wong]

Gorgeous colors on the fish, a shame about them nibbling the plants. Which ones do they prefer? Do they attack the new growth on the Java fern?

They eat fine plants with fine leaves? But always the odd stuff, the Fire ants nibbled on my white pearlweed in this tank. The blood vomit and florida seems ok in this tank (eaten by Peugeoti and other fish in the other tank).

View attachment java fern orange short no audio.mp4

 

[Dennis Wong]

Changes to the tank I made in the last couple of weeks:
Grouped Buceps and Anubias 'mini coin' together, makes the scape more organized I think. The anubias 'mini coin' does stand out with its darker green tones.
I split the Java fern orange narrow bush, propagating another bush on the right side. Orange tips show up very well by this season.
Lobelia feayana has been propagating fast.
I should really move the Micranthemum umbrosum white to another tank, but I don't have space, so its sitting here awkwardly on the left front. Grows decently well for a white plant, so I want to cultivate more of it.
Anubias mini coin seem to have +50% mass in the past month - I know they grow faster in high tech tanks but this fast? Maybe the TC effect is still playing out.
Since start of the aquarium, the Lysimachia parvifolia have been replanted once, so this is second cycle growth. Did it mainly to cut it down to size.
Lagenandra is still lagging, I think it didn't transition well when first added in, and is still stunting from that transfer - but maybe not a bad thing as well cos it stays small.

Rotala macrandra mini type 4 has slowed down its growth speed after 2-3 trimming cycles. Letting the weakened rooted bottoms that have been trimmed repeatedly regenerate, rather than replanting new tops is a good strategy to slow down stuff that is growing too fast relative to other bushes. However, the rooted portions need to be kept in stable growth conditions (so no algae infestation long term). I think this is the difficult part for most folks.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Filming day for the tank, took some additional pics

 

[Dennis Wong]

Video is done ~ Can see the fishes more clearly in the video
The black arrow tetras have really grown onto me, hopefully they will grow up to be non-plant biting fish.
They flare quite actively at each other

 

[Dennis Wong]

Top shot update
PAR readings from substrate~
Running around 8.5 hours of light

 

[Dennis Wong]

More Black arrow tetra close-ups.
Very active fish that flare often at each other.
Hope they don't turn out to be plant biters, one of my new fav fish ~

 

[nivliw]

Top shot update
PAR readings from substrate~
Running around 8.5 hours of light
View attachment 17702View attachment 17703

Master, how? I have 80 par at substrate is it too low?

 

[Dennis Wong]

Master, how? I have 80 par at substrate is it too low?

80 PAR will grow most plants, you just won't get the density or color that you get with higher PAR levels. If you don't have algae issues, you could raise it. Depends highly on what plants you grow of course. If I was doing Iwagumis with dwarf hair grass I would run them at 50-60 PAR.

 

[CincyScaper]

Do you have any tanks that get direct sunlight ? My tank has been getting quite a bit of direct sunlight and have been having issues with BBA and occasional burst of what I think is Spirogyra. I have my light set at 50 par. I have been wondering if higher light would help the plants adjust better to the sunlight which is variable with the season.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Do you have any tanks that get direct sunlight ? My tank has been getting quite a bit of direct sunlight and have been having issues with BBA and occasional burst of what I think is Spirogyra. I have my light set at 50 par. I have been wondering if higher light would help the plants adjust better to the sunlight which is variable with the season.

Hmm this is a good question, but I do not know actually. I haven't had the chance to experiment with partial sunlight. On the BBA , it depends on whether its sproadic (tank wide) or area specific. For area specific BBA , one thing I haven't seen recommended much that I think more folks should try, is to change the plant/layout in that specific area. Some plants are more resistant against algae

 

[Soham Mukhopadhyay]

Stunning growth. Are you still dosing with APT3? What’s your weekly dosage of NPK and Fe now? Also just curious, even though you use soft water, do you try to keep potassium levels not very higher than Mg? Or does it not matter? Thanks

 

[CincyScaper]

Some plants are more resistant against algae

In your experience, are there specific plants that you find algae resistant? Assuming fast growing ones, but are there other specific attributes ?
In my own limited experience, in my tanks conditions i find rotala indica bonsai which i would say has medium growth rate, seems to not get algae that much.

 

[riioKen]

@Dennis Wong considering how perfect are your bushes, can you explain your trimming technique? I tried to search on your site, but didn't find an article specific for this action.

An idea for future video, is maybe a trimming session and how you rescape the tank after doing it. It would be very informative for us. At least for me.

 

[JayP]

@Dennis Wong considering how perfect are your bushes, can you explain your trimming technique? I tried to search on your site, but didn't find an article specific for this action.

An idea for future video, is maybe a trimming session and how you rescape the tank after doing it. It would be very informative for us. At least for me.

Dennis just posted a trimming video on Youtube not too long ago.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Stunning growth. Are you still dosing with APT3? What’s your weekly dosage of NPK and Fe now? Also just curious, even though you use soft water, do you try to keep potassium levels not very higher than Mg? Or does it not matter? Thanks

I've switched between APTe and APT3 on this aquarium, after adding more fish, nitrate levels seem to rise fast so I switched back to APT3. Its dosed at 2ml per day for this 75L tank. My guess is that fish adds 1.5 ppm of NO3 per day there abouts. There aren't many sensitive plants here so I don't think the K/Mg ratios matter much.

On another note. its not the dosing that gives the great presentation. I could have very similar results running double the nutrient levels or any where in between. Growth has been great in this aquarium due to the uniformity of growth, and management of high light while keeping the tank stable - which involves other factors such as trimming timing, keeping CO2 levels high and stable, maintaining good microbial balance etc. Water column nutrient levels play a role but its just one (small angle). Arguably, substrate enrichment and the fresh ammoniacal nitrogen is what really gives the full, dense growth forms.

 

[Dennis Wong]

@Dennis Wong considering how perfect are your bushes, can you explain your trimming technique? I tried to search on your site, but didn't find an article specific for this action.

An idea for future video, is maybe a trimming session and how you rescape the tank after doing it. It would be very informative for us. At least for me.

I have more videos on the instagram and facebook that haven't been uploaded to the website. I'm a big proponent of selective trimming instead of shearing off all the tops at once:
1. Taller shoots are selectively cut off at a lower point, these will sprout secondary shoots in future.
2. Not all the tops are cut off at once, this preserves the overall shape of the canopy and less stressful to the rooted portion.
3. Front stems are cut shorter to get a nice slope from front to back. In this aquarium, the bush is also sloped left to right, giving a gradual transition to the mid.

Not sure if the video will load


This allows bushes to thicken over time, the the reduction in replanting work keeps the overall tank more stable. Some species are more suitable repeating trimmings than others.
Rotala blood red and Lysimachia aurea (1 and 2) have never been replanting since day 1 (so around 110 days for the pic below).
Whereas Rotala macrandra mini type 4 shows significant deterioration of lower stems despite being trimmed less frequently (just 2 or 3 cycles) and will be replanted in the next cycle.

 

[Dennis Wong]

In your experience, are there specific plants that you find algae resistant? Assuming fast growing ones, but are there other specific attributes ?
In my own limited experience, in my tanks conditions i find rotala indica bonsai which i would say has medium growth rate, seems to not get algae that much.

TBH I think most common plants are algae resistant if they are given favourable conditions. The troublesome thing is that "favourable conditions" often require folks to do things that they do not like such as replanting or changes to layout.

For example, Lysimachia parvifolia is very red and very algae resistant if its grown in a non-overcrowded state. Once it gets more matured and dense, the leaves become less red, and overcrowded leaves are quite a bit more vulerable to algae. This peak growth state may be just 4 to 6 weeks in fast growth tanks, after which the plant needs to be uprooted, divided, and replanted (preferably with ammonium rich soil) to have it in continual peak form. But most hobbyists intensely dislike replanting or adding new aquasoil (or using aqua soil at all). The exact same thing goes for Blood vomit.

Slow deterioration is also a common situation. Most plants grow to a point of being slightly overcrowded, then growth slows. For many species this could reach a tipping point where sudden deteriorating comes. The hobbyist is left wondering - I didn't change my dosing or maintenance, why is the plant not doing well ? Well, changes occur in the tank even when the aquarist doesn't change things. Root zones get overcrowded, plants compete with each other, old growth accumulates and overcrowding happens. Things often look ok right up to the point they do not. A large part of algae prevention is making changes before the algae signals comes.

I do find very white variegated species such as White pearlweed, white micranthemum umbrosum, and Ludwigia white more vulnerable to algae - for these having an algae resistant tank as a whole is helping, as well as a dedicated space where they can be cultivated without the encroachment or shading from other species. This is also why you rarely see them used as a combination with other plants - they are squeezed and outcompeted easily by surrounding plants.

 

[JacksonL]

wow, it’s looking great now the plants are so dense.
When you replant stems, do you do your first trim (once they have settled and are growing again) as a bulk trim, or still just selective stems?
Do you have a rule for how far below finished bunch height you do the first trim?

 

[riioKen]

I'm a big proponent of selective trimming instead of shearing off all the tops at once:
1. Taller shoots are selectively cut off at a lower point, these will sprout secondary shoots in future.
2. Not all the tops are cut off at once, this preserves the overall shape of the canopy and less stressful to the rooted portion.
3. Front stems are cut shorter to get a nice slope from front to back. In this aquarium, the bush is also sloped left to right, giving a gradual transition to the mid.

Thanks for your reply Dennis.

I have a question about the selective trim and replanting, this can be done if you already have the bush and you want to refine it, right?

If for example, I have just bought a plant, I have 2-5 stems of such plant, i should try to create density trimming often and replanting every head right?

When I think that I have enough density, then I should trim using selective trimming and follow your guidelines, right?

 

[Dennis Wong]

Thanks for your reply Dennis.

I have a question about the selective trim and replanting, this can be done if you already have the bush and you want to refine it, right?

If for example, I have just bought a plant, I have 2-5 stems of such plant, i should try to create density trimming often and replanting every head right?

When I think that I have enough density, then I should trim using selective trimming and follow your guidelines, right

There are a few angles to this. Firstly, not all species branch equally well, so not all species form dense bushes easily. For example, Myriophyllum roraima and Ludwigia pantanal branch then trimmed, but produces too few side shoots at one time to form dense bushes, you need a very large clump to get a good bush. Pealweed, Rotala rotundifolia species, Ludwigia arcuata, and most of the species you see me using in my tanks branch a lot more profusely naturally. These will form nice canopy/dense bushes more easily.

For species that branch naturally, they branch more under the following conditions:
1. Richer dosing/more nitrogen availability, ammonicial nitrogen in substrate is a plus
2. Higher light levels. Most of the tanks I run around 150-200umols at the substrate, so learning good algae management is also key to all these.
3. sufficient CO2 levels

From the initial planting the bushes will start branching even without trimming. However, some may gain height faster than they gain density, that's where trimming come in. Trimming also induces more branching. For stuff that grows vertical slowly, like Syngonanthus, you don't have to do any trimming for the canopy to be formed, the trimming is more to just have things at matching height. So Syngonanthus, I'll just pick away the tallest tops, throw them away, and let the rest of the bush even out over time. If you start with very few stems, you'll be doing quite a bit more replanting.

For say Rotala blood red, and arcuata, they gain height fast. So trimming is done more often to keep the overall canopy from getting too tall fast. I only replant tops if the initial planting is very sparse. As the canopy thickens, one should do selective trimming preventively - too dense a canopy will mean that bottom stems deteriorate faster as well.