Back to black

Fairly dramatic thinning of the frogbit this week. Some of it has been re-deployed in the new tank but I still need to get used to the new look. May leave it thinner now that the vals are coming back down from the surface. I don't recall seeing the bristlenose for the last few days, but I have been a bit distracted by the new tank. I'll have to keep a lookout at feeding time - hope he's OK.

5 seconds after dropping in a cookie he put in an appearance. Amazing that something so big can still make himself disappear for hours

Finally got around to removing the vals from the centre of the crypt bush. It did look pretty cool but once the vals reached the surface it made the left half look a bit 2 dimensional. It makes the tank look much more open and spacious, although I haven't actually added any space.

The crypts along the right wall seem to enjoy it there in the dark

Cleared loads more vals from the hygrophila this weekend. It was looking great but beginning to choke the hygrophila. Many of the leaves were touching on 3'. And IMO the hygrophila is not looking too shabby so may lose the vals altogether in the next few weeks...

Arghhh - can't get used to this

Thankfully its only temporary. Took the day off work today and went to war against the duckweed. Took out the frogbit and threw about 80% of it out leaving only small new plants and single leaves. Washed them thoroughly (several times) and left them in a bucket for several hours. Dropped the water level by a couple of inches to ensure nothing could get caught in the top of the tank. Netted out everything I could find.

Then I put a nano powerhead in at one end (back right) and a homemade surface skimmer at the other (front left) and left this running for a couple of hours before putting the remnants of the frogbit back. Of course with the new flow, and nothing to restrict the frogbit this means the light and dark sides of the tank have switched. I trimmed the vals so they no longer wrapped over the top and added an extra bag of leaves to reduce the light, hope the anubias aren't shocked.

I'll leave the powerhead and skimmer running for a while. Hopefully the reduced mass of frogbit will allow any remaining duckweed to filter through to the skimmer, especially if I stir up the surface regularly.

Slightly better today. The smaller and reduced frogbit with the lower water level allows them to bobble and swirl more without the powerhead so I have turned that off which means the frogbit can spread out. The skimmer is still managing to collect the odd bit of duckweed. Once I am satisfied its all clear I will restore the dark side.

seangee said:

Slightly better today. The smaller and reduced frogbit with the lower water level allows them to bobble and swirl more without the powerhead so I have turned that off which means the frogbit can spread out. The skimmer is still managing to collect the odd bit of duckweed. Once I am satisfied its all clear I will restore the dark side.
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Ill lend you some Rosy barbs...your duckweed would be gone within an hour

Duckweed is about all I can get around here, I am thinking of taking some out of a pond I know. Ordered some salvinia for my sunken forest tank and only got 1/2 of what I orders weeks ago. Owner told me Yesterday that he was sorry but hardly anything is being shipped. Stopped at Petco today and bought some of their last Java and crested ferns. I was told the supply chain is officially broken and they are looking for local dealers to sell them fish and plants.

Retired Viking said:

Duckweed is about all I can get around here, I am thinking of taking some out of a pond I know. Ordered some salvinia for my sunken forest tank and only got 1/2 of what I orders weeks ago. Owner told me Yesterday that he was sorry but hardly anything is being shipped. Stopped at Petco today and bought some of their last Java and crested ferns. I was told the supply chain is officially broken and they are looking for local dealers to sell them fish and plants.

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hope it picks up again soon for you, I'm guessing this is all covid19 related? The "price of fish" has definitely increased here, mainly due to shipping costs.

seangee said:

Where's our dinner?
View attachment 106429
That is the feeding hatch they are all loitering under. Not so sure I want to move the bunch of crypts anymore. Looks better now its on its own. But I fear I will soon need to halt the progress of the vals

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Tips on growing vals?
I got some 2 days ago; I think I planted too deep. As always, I am coveting the frogbit.

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Russjw said:

View attachment 95441
Thanks to seeing your lotus plant Sean i purchased a couple for my tanks. The one in my 55 litre is still tiny but the one in my 220 as gone from blub to this in under a month.

Are there different varieties because yours is bright redish pink where mine are green and purpley red?

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Very pretty!

vanalisa said:

Tips on growing vals?
I got some 2 days ago; I think I planted too deep. As always, I am coveting the frogbit.

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For me lots and lots of patience - and root tabs. This lot sat seemingly dormant in my tank for 8 months before they exploded. My water is too soft and acidic for them so it should go easier for you, but they are slow starters.

seangee said:

This lot sat seemingly dormant in my tank for 8 months before they exploded.

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That is the thing with most plants... and fish-keeping for that matter.

Patience is the key.

vanalisa said:

Tips on growing vals?
I got some 2 days ago; I think I planted too deep. As always, I am coveting the frogbit.

..

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Its worth preparing them properly. It can seem quite brutal when stripping off the outer leaves and cutting back the roots but its better than removing dead leaves later on when theyre in the tank. Also dont bury them too deep, only the roots should be below the substrate

mbsqw1d said:

Its worth preparing them properly. It can seem quite brutal when stripping off the outer leaves and cutting back the roots but its better than removing dead leaves later on when theyre in the tank. Also dont bury them too deep, only the roots should be below the substrate

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That's the ticket.
Bought 3 days ago and planted deep.
Must fix pronto!