I have been eyeing potamogeton gayi from APF for a while. How has it been growing for you? A lot of runners?
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Journal Harry's 18" Cube
- Thread starter HarryL
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- #42
They have been growing pretty well and sending quite a few runners nearby. Very minimal melting in the first couple weeks.
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- #43
Week 6
Bought 5 ember tetra last weekend and I thought their orange color would really fit in the style of the tank. I plan on adding another 5 next month to really get that group swim going.
The blue dreams have been doing quite well, spotted at least 3 out of the 13 I bought to be pregnant.
Potamogeton gayi are called pond weed for a reason, they send out runners fast and grow quite dense. I don’t have a before and after comparison, but I used to be able to see the slate at the bottom of the wood sticking out very clearly from this angle.
This white spot solid has been growing on the wood. Not something I’ve seen before, not spreading yet, only a couple in this area. Any idea what this might be?
Crypt. Nurii is growing slowly, but surprisingly better and faster than the ones I grow emerged. Might be because emerged grown ones rely on light passing through my window, and my room temp has been slightly lower than the water temp.
Bought 5 ember tetra last weekend and I thought their orange color would really fit in the style of the tank. I plan on adding another 5 next month to really get that group swim going.
The blue dreams have been doing quite well, spotted at least 3 out of the 13 I bought to be pregnant.
Potamogeton gayi are called pond weed for a reason, they send out runners fast and grow quite dense. I don’t have a before and after comparison, but I used to be able to see the slate at the bottom of the wood sticking out very clearly from this angle.
This white spot solid has been growing on the wood. Not something I’ve seen before, not spreading yet, only a couple in this area. Any idea what this might be?
Crypt. Nurii is growing slowly, but surprisingly better and faster than the ones I grow emerged. Might be because emerged grown ones rely on light passing through my window, and my room temp has been slightly lower than the water temp.
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- #44
Week 8
Maybe because I started this tank using dark start, the cycle was somewhat built enough to avoid the diatom phase. But other algae recently started to kick in. Staghorn and some filamentous algae creeping in different places. Hasn’t gone wild yet, so I don’t plan on doing much about them.
One day I came home to a few eggs at the bottom of the lily pipe, I’m assuming it’s Ember tetra’s, since they are the only fish I have in the tank.
But they disappeared later that night. Probably eaten by themselves when it fell off the pipe.
Exchanged some plants online today, hoping to receive them by early next week. Will receive Buce. Brownie Ghost, Brownie Ghost Mini, Green Godzilla, and Velvet Leaf Entikong. I will need to find spots for them to grow, might not plant all of them into this tank, but I love having lots of buce.
Overview of the tank right now
Maybe because I started this tank using dark start, the cycle was somewhat built enough to avoid the diatom phase. But other algae recently started to kick in. Staghorn and some filamentous algae creeping in different places. Hasn’t gone wild yet, so I don’t plan on doing much about them.
One day I came home to a few eggs at the bottom of the lily pipe, I’m assuming it’s Ember tetra’s, since they are the only fish I have in the tank.
But they disappeared later that night. Probably eaten by themselves when it fell off the pipe.
Exchanged some plants online today, hoping to receive them by early next week. Will receive Buce. Brownie Ghost, Brownie Ghost Mini, Green Godzilla, and Velvet Leaf Entikong. I will need to find spots for them to grow, might not plant all of them into this tank, but I love having lots of buce.
Overview of the tank right now
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- #45
Week 11
I have been front dosing the macros for a few weeks now, and I follow the PPS pro medium light method:
7ppm N
0.7ppm PO4
9.31ppm K
0.7ppm Mg
0.35ppm Fe(and other trace minerals)
And I'm curious as to how much nutrient the plants have been using throughout the week. I only have API test kits on hand and can only test nitrogen, so I gave that a try before and after water change and dosing. Before testing, I followed Gregg's calculation to find out theoretically how much nitrogen would be in the water column not accounting for any nitrogen generated and uptake, which is around 25ppm with weekly 20% water change.
Then I tested the water right before water change, and ~10 minutes after front loading the macros post water change. It was very difficult to read the color from the test kit. To my best judgement, before water change, we are sitting at around 10ppm. After dosing, the color was darker but i think would be somewhere between 10-20ppm.
Then I used the same chart that Gregg made again, this time putting in different numbers in Weekly Nutrient Uptake, to eventually match the number I had from testing the water. It was also difficult to adjust for plant growth difference, as the plant mass probably expanded I don't even know how many times.
Here's a comparison of week 1 and week 11 for reference:
Nitrogen generated in tank was probably on the lower side at this moment, I only recently added 8 fish in along with the few dozens of shrimp that are mostly newborn second generation, and a bunch of snails. I don't feed often and my best guess is maybe ~2ppm of nitrogen is produced weekly.
Accounting for all the various factor, it's hard to get a more accurate estimate unless I test for a few more weeks, and would probably need a better test kit as well. But I am guessing that they currently use between 5-7ppm of nitrogen weekly, and makes me wonder if I should increase my dose to "highlight", which will double what I currently dose.
I have been front dosing the macros for a few weeks now, and I follow the PPS pro medium light method:
7ppm N
0.7ppm PO4
9.31ppm K
0.7ppm Mg
0.35ppm Fe(and other trace minerals)
And I'm curious as to how much nutrient the plants have been using throughout the week. I only have API test kits on hand and can only test nitrogen, so I gave that a try before and after water change and dosing. Before testing, I followed Gregg's calculation to find out theoretically how much nitrogen would be in the water column not accounting for any nitrogen generated and uptake, which is around 25ppm with weekly 20% water change.
Then I tested the water right before water change, and ~10 minutes after front loading the macros post water change. It was very difficult to read the color from the test kit. To my best judgement, before water change, we are sitting at around 10ppm. After dosing, the color was darker but i think would be somewhere between 10-20ppm.
Then I used the same chart that Gregg made again, this time putting in different numbers in Weekly Nutrient Uptake, to eventually match the number I had from testing the water. It was also difficult to adjust for plant growth difference, as the plant mass probably expanded I don't even know how many times.
Here's a comparison of week 1 and week 11 for reference:
Nitrogen generated in tank was probably on the lower side at this moment, I only recently added 8 fish in along with the few dozens of shrimp that are mostly newborn second generation, and a bunch of snails. I don't feed often and my best guess is maybe ~2ppm of nitrogen is produced weekly.
Accounting for all the various factor, it's hard to get a more accurate estimate unless I test for a few more weeks, and would probably need a better test kit as well. But I am guessing that they currently use between 5-7ppm of nitrogen weekly, and makes me wonder if I should increase my dose to "highlight", which will double what I currently dose.
Your tank looks great. Id say your dosing regimen is working.
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- #47
I've been getting some holes on staurogyne repens and pinnatifida hygrophila, not sure if it's the snails/fish biting on the leaves because I don't feed enough, or some other reasons. On top of the regular dosing, I've started to dose some extra on every Friday, about 2ppm N. I also didn't quite like tripartita at the front, it doens't grow as compact as I'd like along the wood, so I removed it.
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- #48
So I collected a sample of the white growth on driftwood and made a slide to look under the microscope.
Looks like some kind of fungus like Oomycetes, could be Saprolegnia, but I don't know much about fungus identification. Maybe someone might recognize what this is?
Looks like some kind of fungus like Oomycetes, could be Saprolegnia, but I don't know much about fungus identification. Maybe someone might recognize what this is?
Hmm, that is going to be tough unless we have a mycologist in our midsts. My experience has been that the fungus either dies or is eaten over time.
Is yours being an eyesore?
Is yours being an eyesore?
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- #50
It grows pretty slowly and I’d try to remove it from the wood with every WC. But it will always comes back. Recently it has slowed down for sure but I was never able to fully remove it. Those Juncus Repens are growing pretty crazy and can cover them up, so I might just live with them!
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- #51
Week 19
I decided to hold off on increasing the fert and stayed with my original dose. Apparently the pinhole issues on hygrophila Pinnatifida might be caused by potassium deficiency. I’m about to finish my current bottle of fert and might increase the potassium in the next bottle I make.
Here’s the current state, I’ve been quite minimum on trimming.
My hygrophila Pinnatifida doesn’t grow red at all and the green overlaps too much with the Potamogeton Gayi in the back, making it all a green blur. I’m thinking of maybe switching to a more red/darker Hygrophila Pinnatifida (perhaps sp. UK?). My water column nitrate is always between 10-20ppm and as you can see they grow very close to the water surface, PAR should be at least 3-400 in that area.
Or I might pullout all Potamogeton Gayi and switch to a red stem plant like Ludwigia Arcuata. Those Potamogeton Gayi send out runners pretty crazy and I have to pull some out every week during water change.
On the other hand, the fungal growth on the wood has somehow almost stopped growing on its own and I have no idea why, but saves me some effort on trying to remove them!
I decided to hold off on increasing the fert and stayed with my original dose. Apparently the pinhole issues on hygrophila Pinnatifida might be caused by potassium deficiency. I’m about to finish my current bottle of fert and might increase the potassium in the next bottle I make.
Here’s the current state, I’ve been quite minimum on trimming.
My hygrophila Pinnatifida doesn’t grow red at all and the green overlaps too much with the Potamogeton Gayi in the back, making it all a green blur. I’m thinking of maybe switching to a more red/darker Hygrophila Pinnatifida (perhaps sp. UK?). My water column nitrate is always between 10-20ppm and as you can see they grow very close to the water surface, PAR should be at least 3-400 in that area.
Or I might pullout all Potamogeton Gayi and switch to a red stem plant like Ludwigia Arcuata. Those Potamogeton Gayi send out runners pretty crazy and I have to pull some out every week during water change.
On the other hand, the fungal growth on the wood has somehow almost stopped growing on its own and I have no idea why, but saves me some effort on trying to remove them!
Agreed, i think your main stem needs to be something with a different leaf shape and or color. Would stand out much better.
Still looks great though.
Still looks great though.
I have the UK and it grows quite red. Much more than the non-UK.
You can also trying lowering this to 5-10 to see if that increases the red. Just a thought?
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- #54
Been two weeks since I have reduced my nitrate dosing in half, not really seeing much color change in the pinnatifida. I have found someone local that has sp. UK, so will be switching to that soon.
Pulled out all the potamogeton gayi yesterday, it's called pondweed for a reason.
All these grew from the few stems at the very beginning, I'm also tired of pulling runners weekly. Haven't decided on what background plants I'd add if any. Will probably wait until the new pinnatifida sp. UK settled in to see how that goes.
Pulled out all the potamogeton gayi yesterday, it's called pondweed for a reason.
All these grew from the few stems at the very beginning, I'm also tired of pulling runners weekly. Haven't decided on what background plants I'd add if any. Will probably wait until the new pinnatifida sp. UK settled in to see how that goes.
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- #55
It's been a while since I updated. I've been slacking on maintenance of the tank(ie. doing water exchange every other week, dosing less than I should), but luckily nothing crazy happened except a little more hair algae hiding in some dead spots.
Since the removal of the potamogeton gayi, I also replanted the two cryptocoryne balansae at the back for a more even space between the two plants and so their leaves can cover the background better as well. You can see in the photo below that there's a runner on the left that's growing out, they send runners quite far.
I also gave the juncus repens a good trim. A good amount of them turned brown and wilted for some reason. I didn't see this happen in my other tank, where the juncus repens were there for much longer. But I like how it is right now, and am just waiting for the cryptocoryne nurii at the front to grow and cover that really bare area of the wood.
I have managed to get some hygrophila pinnatifida sp.UK, planted them, but I honestly like how it is right now without them in the middle. So I might consider removing them completely and just keep growing buce on the wood only.
Another problem I've been running into is the diffuser from aquario neo. I use them for both of my tanks, and I eventually run into the same issue where they are completely blocked and co2 can't pass through. The one I have in the 11G I was able to clean it by removing the water with all the particles that's held up in the little chamber below the ceramic, and it was actually producing a much finer mist after this. But for this tank, I've cleaned it three times now and it will work for a day or two before completely blocked again. Quite frustrating.
Since the removal of the potamogeton gayi, I also replanted the two cryptocoryne balansae at the back for a more even space between the two plants and so their leaves can cover the background better as well. You can see in the photo below that there's a runner on the left that's growing out, they send runners quite far.
I also gave the juncus repens a good trim. A good amount of them turned brown and wilted for some reason. I didn't see this happen in my other tank, where the juncus repens were there for much longer. But I like how it is right now, and am just waiting for the cryptocoryne nurii at the front to grow and cover that really bare area of the wood.
I have managed to get some hygrophila pinnatifida sp.UK, planted them, but I honestly like how it is right now without them in the middle. So I might consider removing them completely and just keep growing buce on the wood only.
Another problem I've been running into is the diffuser from aquario neo. I use them for both of my tanks, and I eventually run into the same issue where they are completely blocked and co2 can't pass through. The one I have in the 11G I was able to clean it by removing the water with all the particles that's held up in the little chamber below the ceramic, and it was actually producing a much finer mist after this. But for this tank, I've cleaned it three times now and it will work for a day or two before completely blocked again. Quite frustrating.
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- #56
It's been a while since I've updated.
I picked up weekly maintenance again now and I've increased my weekly macro to 10.5:1.05:13.95 for NPK, 2/3 after water change on Sunday, and 1/3 on Thursday, and decreased the micro to about 0.03 ppm (Fe) per day. This change is based after I read @Naturescapes_Rocco 's inert substrate tank posts. At close to one year mark, the soil most likely ran out of nutrient already and you can see the photo from September showing that dwarf hairgrass were a bit yellow. The increase in fert really had all plants pickup in growth. Dwarf hairgrass grew twice as tall and hydrocotyle tripartita mini took over the whole tank.
The dwarf hair grass carpet grew a little too well and covered up the crypt. nurii I planted in the beginning and really stunted their growth. I removed all grass near the crypt. nurii today and replanted the nurii, hopefully they can catch up and grow large enough to self-sustain. Took two pieces of this out. The roots are so tightly weaved so I had to cut a square first before being able to lift it up without removing the whole carpet.
The crypt. nurii I grew emersed caught up during the summer and are larger than the ones in the tank. Here's a comparison, you can see the ones from the tank basically didn't grow much.
The filter canister is overdue for a cleaning. I have not opened it once since starting this tank, and the flow got noticeably weaker. I want to wait until it's a bit warmer to do it so maybe another month or so.
I picked up weekly maintenance again now and I've increased my weekly macro to 10.5:1.05:13.95 for NPK, 2/3 after water change on Sunday, and 1/3 on Thursday, and decreased the micro to about 0.03 ppm (Fe) per day. This change is based after I read @Naturescapes_Rocco 's inert substrate tank posts. At close to one year mark, the soil most likely ran out of nutrient already and you can see the photo from September showing that dwarf hairgrass were a bit yellow. The increase in fert really had all plants pickup in growth. Dwarf hairgrass grew twice as tall and hydrocotyle tripartita mini took over the whole tank.
The dwarf hair grass carpet grew a little too well and covered up the crypt. nurii I planted in the beginning and really stunted their growth. I removed all grass near the crypt. nurii today and replanted the nurii, hopefully they can catch up and grow large enough to self-sustain. Took two pieces of this out. The roots are so tightly weaved so I had to cut a square first before being able to lift it up without removing the whole carpet.
The crypt. nurii I grew emersed caught up during the summer and are larger than the ones in the tank. Here's a comparison, you can see the ones from the tank basically didn't grow much.
The filter canister is overdue for a cleaning. I have not opened it once since starting this tank, and the flow got noticeably weaker. I want to wait until it's a bit warmer to do it so maybe another month or so.
Tank looks great! Don't forget to include the context of your water change amounts. What % is your water change?
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- #58
Thank you! Water change remains the same of 20% per week. I used your sheet to calculate this dose to be somewhat in the range(because I didn't actually measure the macro usage per week by the plants, just put a very rough estimate amount)
Ok, that makes a lot of sense. I was gonna say that 10.5:1.05:13.95 per week is perhaps not enough for a dense-plant-mass, high-energy tank like yours, but only if you were changing 50% water each week or more. In your case that's probably plenty, which is good!
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- #60
Now it's a little ditch with the crypt. nurii in the middle, tetras like to hang out in there sometimes, might need to remove more hairgrass nearby to prevent them from taking over again.
