Journal Frank's Dutch Attempt

[Burr740]

Looking good man. The lagenandra could also work as a main focal plant once it grows up

You and @GreggZ should start an elite club, call it the 'cant grow AR club' lol

 

[FrankZ]

Been discussing this with @Mr.Shenanagins and figured I’d bring it here. He has similar issues with his Rubin.

This is my ludwigia super red and it just started doing this all over the stems. It’s been a slow progression to this, I’ve noticed it here and there for a few weeks but it was only a leaf here or there now it’s a majority of them.

Basically the color is bleeding out some leaves and then they melt. The tips are also drooping towards the end of the photo period but perk up and close normally after the lights go out.

CO2 checks out. 1.3 pH drop rock steady with none of the usual CO2 issues (thank you again @Yugang). Light bulbs are new.

My gut says this is a macro being to low (maybe my MTS is sucking up N or P - no real proof just a thought).

Any suggestions?

I am probably going to add a 4th macro dose to see if it perks up some as an immediate “do something” which isn’t to extreme and shouldn’t cause anything to explode.

 

[Burr740]

I am probably going to add a 4th macro dose

That'll probably fix it. First two right after the wc

 

[FrankZ]

That'll probably fix it. First two right after the wc

Ok. I do a double dose on water change day Friday and then one on Sunday and one on Tuesday. My plan was to add a fourth on Thursday.

 

[Burr740]

Yeah add whatever extra right after the wc, thats when the biggest dip occurs

 

[GreggZ]

Looking good man. The lagenandra could also work as a main focal plant once it grows up

You and @GreggZ should start an elite club, call it the 'cant grow AR club' lol

LOL a man has got to know his limitations! No secret I have a few plants that I just don't get along with.

Gave up banging my head against the wall with AR long ago.........that being said I am sure at some point I will have a weak moment and buy it again! I pity those plants.

 

[FrankZ]

I have a lot of work to do tomorrow.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

We both need to get our ass in gear

 

[FrankZ]

Did some thinning to reduce plant mass and some slight rearrangements. Moved the new hyptis more to the left into a focal point spot. I want to shorten it up once it converts completely. The idea is to have it taller than the rugosa but shorter than the Ludiwgia behind it. A nice compact purple bush.

The ludwigia super red is still grumpy. I think it wasn’t getting much flow at all being tucked behind the small swords and under the fern.

So I moved the fern more to the left and added a power head. This plant is the only one giving me trouble and was the only one not really swaying with flow. Symptoms have slowed down some, less leaf melt but it has been collecting GDA which tells me it is still not out of the woods. The extra macros at water change and increased flow should help.

I knew the surface skimmer slowed the flow from the FX4 some but I guess the massive bush of hygro trilfora coupled with reduced flow was starving the wimpy super red.

Speaking of the hygro triflora, holy cow is it a weed! Grows ever which direction and shows some wonderful pink color, just wish it would be more than just in the growing tips.

I decided to scrap the ar mini and meeboldi for a new plant, xyris sp red. That puts my species count at 12 so I have some room to add another one or two if I want.

 

[Burr740]

I bet the super red just needed more macros, unshading will definitely help

Dont overthink flow. If as you say thats the only plant not swaying then you have more than enough

Im diggin the fern, great plant for the back wall. Dutch master Willem Van Wezel has used narrow leaf like that in some of his tanks. As it fills in you can just slide it to wherever the empty spaces are

Where's the Xyris? Thats a good choice for the AR spot, in front of something green and tall enough to be a backdrop for the downoi

 

[FrankZ]

I bet the super red just needed more macros too, unshading will definitely help

Dont overthink flow. If as you say thats the only plant not swaying then you have more than enough

Im diggin the fern, great plant for the back wall. Dutch master Willem Van Wezel has used narrow leaf like that in some of his tanks. As it fills in you can just slide it to wherever the empty spaces are

Where's the Xyris? Thats a good choice for the AR spot, in front of something green and tall enough to be a backdrop for the downoi

Thank you!

The xyris is on the way. Should be here Thursday. It will go between the downoi and rugosa. I purchased two stems probably should’ve got more.

Good point on the flow. I’ll leave the power head for now mainly because it makes me feel better.

I am thinking of adding another fern wall but it might be too much. I have plenty to experiment with and since it’s just stuck to the glass it’s easy to move and/or remove.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Where's the Xyris? Thats a good choice for the AR spot, in front of something green and tall enough to be a backdrop for the downoi

I’m very much looking forward to it! I remember @JPog tried it a while back in his tank. Hope he’s doing alright it’s been a while since he’s visited the forum

 

[FrankZ]

Xyris has arrived. Now to get the rest of the mess I made of the plants cleaned up.

 

[FrankZ]

FTS after water change. I’ve been recovering the tank from a bone head mistake I made with calcium and magnesium. Over thinking things has me dosing half as much as I need for at least a month maybe longer. I need to trim and clean up the groupings but I have a massive plant list to sort through (thank you @Burr740 ) to figure out replacements/additions to make the contrasts better.

I do have some weird slime algae now. See the photos below. It feels like slime and doesnt smell like cyano. It doesn’t come off as easily as GDA either. It reminds me of the slime algae that grows in the plants in the ponds I take the kids fishing at. This is a new one for me. I am assuming it’s from the plant health being compressed (namely the ludwigis super red melting, the hyptis still convert, the limno rugosa was relatively healthy so it getting the algae is concerning.

 

[FrankZ]

Had to make room for the new additions arriving from @Burr740 tomorrow. Made a huge mess of the tank doing so, you can probably see MTS silt from the uprooting still hanging around. New stuff will be planted tomorrow, original plants will get trimmed Friday with normal maintenance then a full on filter cleaning and second round of substrate cleaning is on deck for Saturday.

Gotta get it on cruise control because I’m gonna have to learn to scape left handed for a while. Come to think of it, that might make me better at it.

 

[HardeeParty]

“I am very excite!!”

 

[FrankZ]

“I am very excite!!”

Me too buddy. Me too!

 

[FrankZ]

Oh yeah, I need to swap the hygro triflora and the ludwigia repens. Can’t have two similar ludwigia next to each other. The Dutch over lords would strike my tank with lightening for such a blatant contrast violation

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

The utter audacity, how do you sleep at night

 

[FrankZ]

Just finished planting the new arrivals. I think I have a solid layout, now to not kill them.