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- #41
The tank continues to mature.
Some of the plants have done better than others. Mayaca Fluviatilis and Eriocaluon Vietnam are veritable weeds, and they have probably 10Xed their mass over the last couple months.
I cut back the Rotala Blood Red aggressively about 4 weeks ago, and it has been slow to bounce back. There are still some odd stunted tips and it seems to be struggling. Once I get enough healthy top shoots in another week or two, I will do a full cut and replant for the bush.
The limnophila barteri has also challenged me. It took quite a while to establish itself, and many of the new growth tips are being attacked with algae. I added some APT Feast to the substrate under it a couple weeks ago, hoping that some ammonia can boost its growth and help it get established. This tank has Fluval biostratum everywhere else, so the substrate is lean. It does seem to have made a difference, as I am getting a lot more new shoots and side shoots than I was seeing before.
The penthorum sedoides is currently not visible as a background stem
It's actually growing really nicely, and I think it would look great back there, but I may have to swap it out with something that grows a little faster to get a background finished up. It's also starting to get crowded out, so I'll need to intervene soon.
In some ways I think I liked the tank better nearer to its beginning. I have struggled with layout and plant selections in this narrow and short tank size, but I have also learned a lot and established a really good routine of weekly water changes, daily dosing, etc. Right now I am eyeing a 40G breeder as a nice upgrade to this tank so that I can get that extra scaping depth. My current equipment should be able to handle the larger volume. Just need to find a nice stand, build another yugang reactor , and go for it. I think I will do so once this tank is "finished," hopefully in the next couple months.
Some of the plants have done better than others. Mayaca Fluviatilis and Eriocaluon Vietnam are veritable weeds, and they have probably 10Xed their mass over the last couple months.
I cut back the Rotala Blood Red aggressively about 4 weeks ago, and it has been slow to bounce back. There are still some odd stunted tips and it seems to be struggling. Once I get enough healthy top shoots in another week or two, I will do a full cut and replant for the bush.
The limnophila barteri has also challenged me. It took quite a while to establish itself, and many of the new growth tips are being attacked with algae. I added some APT Feast to the substrate under it a couple weeks ago, hoping that some ammonia can boost its growth and help it get established. This tank has Fluval biostratum everywhere else, so the substrate is lean. It does seem to have made a difference, as I am getting a lot more new shoots and side shoots than I was seeing before.
The penthorum sedoides is currently not visible as a background stem
It's actually growing really nicely, and I think it would look great back there, but I may have to swap it out with something that grows a little faster to get a background finished up. It's also starting to get crowded out, so I'll need to intervene soon.In some ways I think I liked the tank better nearer to its beginning. I have struggled with layout and plant selections in this narrow and short tank size, but I have also learned a lot and established a really good routine of weekly water changes, daily dosing, etc. Right now I am eyeing a 40G breeder as a nice upgrade to this tank so that I can get that extra scaping depth. My current equipment should be able to handle the larger volume. Just need to find a nice stand, build another yugang reactor , and go for it. I think I will do so once this tank is "finished," hopefully in the next couple months.
