Journal Frank's Dutch Attempt

[Mr.Shenanagins]

What’s great about this moss is it grows thick and will not suffocate itself. You can rip off a top layer and find perfectly healthy moss underneath. “Pillow” moss is more accurate!

 

[FrankZ]

Big trim this week. As I mentioned earlier, I replaced the mermaid weed with hygro triflora in the back right. Need to work on a starting a moss wall later tonight.

If anybody wants any riccia send me a PM. I’m about to chuck a few pounds of it.

 

[FrankZ]

Patience is hard

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Yes, yes it is.

 

[GreggZ]

Keep the patience up.

I like where this is going. Really getting somewhere now.

Keep up the good work!

 

[FrankZ]

Keep the patience up.

I like where this is going. Really getting somewhere now.

Keep up the good work!

Thank you!

 

[Joel Armstrong]

Patience is hard

How true it is..

Tank is looking good

 

[FrankZ]

Getting better at photos I think. I need to shape up the right side. It’s getting there, I just need to make things right better and grow taller.

I haven’t update my ferts and other updates and will do that shortly. I need to get my details in one place.

 

[Joel Armstrong]

Wow, impressive! I like the plant layout

 

[Unexpected]

Keeps looking better and better.

 

[FrankZ]

All right. Here is the nitty gritty…

I am following the Master @Burr740 on macros and micros. I fully admitting to following his macros, the micros I happened to luck into.

4.5/1.5/6 NPK, I do a double dose on water changed day. I’ve been using 30 mls as a dose and it seems to be working pretty well.

Micros are 0.15 x 3 times per week.

I decided to go minimal with equipment in the tank and water some stuff out and I like it a LOT better and the plants seem to as well. I put a Sunsun surface skimmer on my FX 4. It slowed the flow down a fair amount but the skimmer boosted the O2 dissolution so I don’t need as much surface rippling.

I am still trying to work the role K has in things. Right now my Ca/Mg is 30/6 and my K for the week is 34. I think K should always be the most nutrient because it the transporter, it moves everything around inside the plant. We that’s my thought on it.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

The reds are really popping look great!!! The Ludwigia is ready to walk out your front door lol

 

[Burr740]

Looking good bro! And definitely theres been singificant improvements all around lately

I am still trying to work the role K has in things. Right now my Ca/Mg is 30/6 and my K for the week is 34. I think K should always be the most nutrient because it the transporter, it moves everything around inside the plant. We that’s my thought on it.

Thats near identical to my tap gh

Agree on K. Used to think being higher than no3 was the main thing but now feel like it revolves mostly around Ca. Makes sense if you think about it since those two along with Mg have a strong influence on each other

But regardless of exactly why my, plants have always start sucking in various ways if K is lower. Ive seen a myriad of different issues from it, and funny enough its never the typical low K symptoms like pinholes

 

[FrankZ]

Trimmed and thinned the downoi patch and paratiwata street. Took out close to 40 stems of each.

The contrast between the bacopa and hygro triflora in the right is failing so I need to find a replacement for the bacopa as a curtain plant.

Two bulbs half burned out this morning so I had to put in two 6500K’s which I don’t think looks terrible right now. They probably need to burn in for a couple days to look right since they are brand new. The bulbs where over a year old so I guess I can’t be to mad they burned out like that. I’ve been trying to find LED T5HO bulbs like I saw last year when I was trying to find regular T5HO’s but I’m striking out. Even HTG is out of stock on them.

 

[FrankZ]

Give them more time or replace? They certainly don’t seem to like the soup I’m serving so I’m strongly leaning toward kicking them out.

 

[Burr740]

Try pinching off all the crappy top parts, all the bigger stems and every bad leaf, down to half or one inch stumps. There's probably some small ones in there in good shape still, can leave those. Let it come back out and see how it looks. That can fix a lot of plants

 

[FrankZ]

Try pinching off all the crappy top parts, all the bigger stems and every bad leaf, down to half or one inch stumps. There's probably some small ones in there in good shape still, can leave those. Let it come back out and see how it looks. That can fix a lot of plants

I just snipped out the ugly parts. I’ll give it a few weeks to see. Man is this one picky plant in my tank.

 

[GreggZ]

AR hates me.

Had it growing great many times but then decides it time to teach me a lesson.

But I don't care. Too many plants that DO like the soup I am serving and I stick with those.

 

[FrankZ]

Removed all the twisted ugly ar mini and replaced it with Lagenandra Meeboldii Red. I did have one nice looking stem of ar mini in my puffer tank so I added that just to see. I’d rather use the ar but this will be last attempt at banging my head through the wall with it. One or the other will stay here, I can’t have both.

Replace the chameleon sword with Potamogeton Gayi. I also added Hyptis Lorentziana between the ludwigia repens and the hygrophila parawitota street. I really want to use the hyptis somewhere. So I stuck here for now. It might end up replacing the Gayi but I need both to grow out

On the right I removed the blyxa japconica behind (couldn’t see it anyway) the parvaflorius swords so I could expand the hygro trifora forward and down to the left. I am hoping the triflora will get more pink as it gets taller, right now I can’t see the twisted sword I’m using as curtain plant because they match color wise so closely. I’ll probably have to address that later. Boy does the triflora like to grow horizontal.

Also moved the trident fern wall behind the ludwigia super red to hi-light the focal point better. Probably need to trim down the fern some. It’s getting massive. I definitely need to line up the ludwigia super better by height and bring it front more. It looks like 90’s grunge hair right now.

I did notice global pearling was increasing as the week progressed, it was at its highest yesterday, the day before the water change. I need to watch to make sure I’m not starting to low in the week on macros. I did have an extra water change last week so there might not have been as much accumulation even with the double dose at water change. So for now it’s just observe and continue as is.

Minor GDA due to plant moves, additions and subtractions without doing water changes. Pure laziness on my part but I fixed it with a scrapping and vacuum today.

The new bulbs certainly have helped the stellata as you tell from the size and color. I guess the bulbs were dimmed quite a bit before they blew out because I noticed the stellata was shrinking in size and didn’t have as good of color.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Yeah the triflora will make its own room when it’s happy, you’ll have a ton of it in no time. Yes the more light the pinker it will get at the top.

I def agree you need some more red especially on the left side. Big tank means lots of space to fill!