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Your Rotala indica and Ammania look great!
I've been wanting to add the Rotala to my tank, but I've been waiting to get the algae more under control and also, the plant shops are low on supply of tc plants right now.
Your Rotala indica and Ammania look great!
I've been wanting to add the Rotala to my tank, but I've been waiting to get the algae more under control and also, the plant shops are low on supply of tc plants right now.
Thanks. Not sure which plant you are referring to as Ammania, the ludwigea arcuata maybe ? If you want any of the plants let me know i can mail it to you for the mailing cost.
Got the hair algae back, the same as before which i am quite confident is Spirogyra sp. Responds very well to API algae fix and works like magic but definitely killed shrimp before in my tank and hesitant to use it now with the Cherry shrimps (which i am not sure if they are alive).
Previously i was quite confident my trigger was high light but now i think it might be the co2. I switched my co2 tank for refill and started using glycerin in bubble counter and increased co2 slightly. This along with a couple of days when i had too much water (less agitation) might have triggered a co2 imbalance.
I have decided to try continuous co2 to see if this allows me to stablize the co2 faster and more easily. My RO water comes out at a ph of 7 with a TDS of 35 so definitely not the best RO unit; and the more i read about plant health an acidic pH seems desirable. With the continous co2, the pH seems to hover between 5.8 - 5.5. Need to get more data points on what the pH does at night when the plants stop using Co2. Will repost in a few weeks to see how this goes.
Good catch about the co2 varying with water level/less/more agitation. I think this might have been vexing me as well as I tend to let evaporation take its toll, maybe I’ll start topping off to keep things more consistent.
You’ll find that neos are pretty resilient and can take a lot of different water parameters assuming stability. I’ve found that they do tend to do a little better with at least a little kh but if you see molts after water changes they are probably good to go.
Good catch about the co2 varying with water level/less/more agitation. I think this might have been vexing me as well as I tend to let evaporation take its toll, maybe I’ll start topping off to keep things more consistent.
You’ll find that neos are pretty resilient and can take a lot of different water parameters assuming stability. I’ve found that they do tend to do a little better with at least a little kh but if you see molts after water changes they are probably good to go.
I have been tossing algae wafers close to the front but not sure who eats them or if it gets dissolved. Any specific product from Shrimp envy that you recommend ?
I have been tossing algae wafers close to the front but not sure who eats them or if it gets dissolved. Any specific product from Shrimp envy that you recommend ?
Are you removing the algae wafers after a certain period of time? I ask because if you're having algae issues, this would be a potential cause. Its generally good to not let food sit in the tank longer than a few hours.
I get around this by tossing in a small portion of a wafer instead of the whole thing, so even if I leave it, I know it'll be consumed soon enough.
I have been tossing algae wafers close to the front but not sure who eats them or if it gets dissolved. Any specific product from Shrimp envy that you recommend ?
None of my neocaridina or Amano shrimp have ever shown much interest in generic algae wafers from the local pet store. They tend to sit in the tank untouched for a long time and disintegrate.
Did a rescape and waiting for new plants (some from @Burr740) thank you at @Akshay and @GreggZ for feeding my addiction.
Unfortunately I think I have to remove this amazing rotala bonsai bush which has breached the surface and seems to have relatively good algae resistant properties. It has been shading the other plants in the back. Not sure I will have enough space for the plants that I have ordered. Anyways as I decide, possibly the final photo shoot of this amazing plant bush. (Do feel dramatic since it will grow back ….. in 4-6 months)
Did a rescape and waiting for new plants (some from @Burr740) thank you at @Akshay and @GreggZ for feeding my addiction.
Unfortunately I think I have to remove this amazing rotala bonsai bush which has breached the surface and seems to have relatively good algae resistant properties. It has been shading the other plants in the back. Not sure I will have enough space for the plants that I have ordered. Anyways as I decide, possibly the final photo shoot of this amazing plant bush. (Do feel dramatic since it will grow back ….. in 4-6 months)
How do these tanks on lean dosing function after the substrate depletes though? Or are you just going to mix in some fresh soil every few months to keep it going loaded?
I noticed way better results with lean dosing when my soil wasn't depleted.
How do these tanks on lean dosing function after the substrate depletes though? Or are you just going to mix in some fresh soil every few months to keep it going loaded?
I noticed way better results with lean dosing when my soil wasn't depleted.
I used APT feast, which I believe is quite rich and has been going strong now for 9 months. The rotala sp (except the Florida) do really well in the same old substrate. There was insane growth the first couple of months but now more steady which I what I like. There are some plants which started stunting like the Pogostemon d., Blyxa and adding root tabs has helped. I plan to add some fresh aquasoil when I add some new demanding plants.
Did a rescape and waiting for new plants (some from @Burr740) thank you at @Akshay and @GreggZ for feeding my addiction.
Unfortunately I think I have to remove this amazing rotala bonsai bush which has breached the surface and seems to have relatively good algae resistant properties. It has been shading the other plants in the back. Not sure I will have enough space for the plants that I have ordered. Anyways as I decide, possibly the final photo shoot of this amazing plant bush. (Do feel dramatic since it will grow back ….. in 4-6 months)
I used APT feast, which I believe is quite rich and has been going strong now for 9 months. The rotala sp (except the Florida) do really well in the same old substrate. There was insane growth the first couple of months but now more steady which I what I like. There are some plants which started stunting like the Pogostemon d., Blyxa and adding root tabs has helped. I plan to add some fresh aquasoil when I add some new demanding plants.
With the recent rescape, addition of more aquasoil ended with a BBA outbreak. Mostly recovered but plants still adjusting. Trying some different plants as well
Slightly increased light intensity - 55%
APT3 - increased to 2 ml daily
APT1 - 0.5 ml daily just so that I can finish the bottle
Rotala blood red
- staple, doing well.
Rotala tulunadensis
- another staple, seems to like the conditions
Rotala indica Bonsai
another staple
starting over with this
I like it in the position it is since it handles the high flow well in its area. Many others get affected by algae
AR Mini
this was the most affected by BBa but remains my fav. Staple
cut it down to the bare stem and is growing out nicely
Blyxa
transitioning to reddish tones with the higher light
likes the conditions but remains smaller compared to EI tanks IMO
Tonina fluvitalis
- new addition, is probably one of the fastest grower in the tank currently. Love the color. The lower leaves seem to attract algae but let’s see. Waiting to see if it makes side shoots to propagate
Syngonathus Belem
- trying this again, I remember it taking some time to lay roots and transition before it thrives.
Pogostemon decannensis
- this is one of my fav. Plant, but no matter how much replanting extra fresh soil or root tabs I gave it just did not thrive well and sent many off shoots and just did not look as good as in other pics. Then it stuck me that I used a single cultivar of TC plants and maybe it is just this cultivar. Anyways trying to grow out a new set of plants from @Burr740. Let’s see how it goes. This cultivar from Joe looks way different from what I had. Will have to see if it grows that way without EI.
L.Aromatica mini
- another plant from Joe. Taking its time to grow. Would make it into a bush if it grows out well
H.Siamensis 53 B
- waiting to see how this grows
P.Sedoidis
- another one from Joe. Seems to like my tank. Just roots deep making replanting difficult. But great mid ground plant
Lagendra Meeboldi red
ordered this by mistake from Joe
had to cut down all the leaves since they developed transition algae
the first new leaf is probably the most beautiful single leaf that I have seen
L.Parvifloria
new favorite red plant
seems to like the tank conditioms
C.furcata
got it after seeing it in @GreggZ tank, not doing well.
maybe needs some more time
Monecarlo
love hate relationship with this one
redid the carpet still needs to fill out
L.cardinalis mini
- filling out nicely
Growing out some other plants for a no tech bowl similar to @Naturescapes_Rocco
Livestock
CPDs and Panda Cory
unfortunately lost all the cherry red shrimps to the skimmer. Probably should have used better skimmer protection. Will likely use a different lily pipe with skimmer in the future.
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