15g Asian Biotope-esque

[aaronnorth]

the only difference is the leaf shape & height.

quadrifolia is the largest, then crenata is the "dwarf" form, then crenata has a similar leaf to glossostigma elationoides

 

[OohFeeshy]

Ah, righto. What about in terms of using as a carpetty thing in the tank? [Yes I know not *strictly* Asian but according to Tropica it can be found there...] The problem is I can only seem to find decent pictures of it grown emmersed, and I believe it tends to loose the 'clover' look once underwater.

Ooh, also, I got some more gold barbs today. Since it doesn't look like I'm going to find anymore spiketails of either species, I may get a trio or quad of rosy barbs for a bit of contrast (nearly got some today but they wanted £2.95 each... Yeah, like I'm paying that). I had a nose at the shrimp they had too (quite a lot, including some quite nice crystals) but they were also quite expensive (2.95 each for cherry, 'orange', amano and 'blue' and about 8+ for the crystals) and definitely eatable size. May have a wander up to MA at some time.

 

[aaronnorth]

not sure, i only hever had crenata but that were for 2wk so it didnt grow much. llj has used it though

 

[xautomaticflowersx]

How are things going now? x

 

[OohFeeshy]

Hilarious 3-4 month bumpage.

We've now gone back to a 'work in progress' look. In summary of what's been happening since April-time-

~ Some initial pruning of the hygro, cuttings planted on the previously empty right hand side.
~ Period of slight neglect, quite a bit of algal growth and no decent pruning.
~ Finally bothered to do a water change and general tidy up.

Last stage (which started a couple of weeks ago) encountered a problem. In the time I hadn't been pruning properly (well, I did a little bit, but only to stop it growing out of the water), the bottom of the hygro had been shaded and lost most of the leaves. Not very attractive.

So earlier I did another water change (the bottom is still a bit mucky looking but it's a bit of a pain to vacuum around the cuttings, which aren't in very deep sand), and afterwards got to work on the plants. Since it was only the older, left hand side that was affected, that was the only side I did. All the stems were cut approximately halfway, so one half had all the leaves and the other half had all the roots. The tops were replanted amongst the stems. Some were chucked into the 4ft to be severum food, or whatever really.

The other problem is brown algae. The MTS I was supposed to be getting didn't happen, so all I've been able to do is wipe the front off every so often. Really I could do with some cherry shrimp, but I'm still not sure about risking them with the betta.

 

[lljdma06]

Well, with all the dying, replanting, and general tweeking around in there, a little brown algae doesn't surprise me. It should go away in time.

llj

 

[OohFeeshy]

I may get rid of the crypts- they attract algae like nobody's business and I think there's too much 'fresh air' between the stems for my liking. Hopefully without them it will look a bit cleaner (in terms of plants, not dirt, although I do need to give the whole tank a proper vacuum). Probably trim down the taller hygro near the middle, just so it looks a bit more presentable for the time being.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Crypts out, bar the two brown ones that presumably add some sort of contrast. I'd say it looks better, barring the front left hand corner that needs a bit more sand (the hygro keeps coming out, hence why I've just shoved it in and why it's a bit messy).

Anyone reccomend some sort of combo algae getter-ridder-of and plant food? Bearing in mind I'm a massive cheapskate.

 

[aaronnorth]

cant believe how long this has been setup already,
The diatoms will go eventually, it has come due to an ammonia spike from geneeral lack of maintenance and a rescape, just keep up with it and everything shall return back to normal.

For cheap plant food, dry powders are the way to go, otherwise something such as seachem flourish or tropica plant nutrition+ will do.

 

[lljdma06]

cant believe how long this has been setup already,

My goodness, you think this is an old setup?! It's not even a year old! You guys crack me up.

It looks very nice, Oohfeeshy, for a new tank.

How are the diatoms? Any less? I imagine it should be starting to clear by now.

llj

 

[aaronnorth]

cant believe how long this has been setup already,

My goodness, you think this is an old setup?! It's not even a year old! You guys crack me up.

It looks very nice, Oohfeeshy, for a new tank.

How are the diatoms? Any less? I imagine it should be starting to clear by now.

llj

I didnt mean it that way, just that it doesnt seem that long ago since we was giving advice on different plant etc, and when he said 4months i didnt think i had been going that long lol.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Problemos...

Although the brown algae is less prevalent, for some reason the sand seems to be developing algae of some type. My current, uneducated theory is that it's due to the light levels there (as it's only on the empty bit at the front) coupled with presumably the plants not outcompeting it. Would this be correct, and what can I do? This seems to me like a job for liquid carbon, or some Flourish or whatevs.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Bit of a massive, semi-pointless bump, but I do have a query about something I might do.

I'm currently at uni, so the tank isn't going to be that great (I've been away for about a month so far, going home next week for the weekend, but in that time all that's been done is feeding by parents).

I noticed before I left that the silicon might be getting a bit dodgy, the tank was second hand and is probably quite old judging by the brand of the hood (it doesn't seem to exist any more). So I'm debating replacing the whole tank at some time next year.

The lighting as it stands is rubbish, there's only room for one 15W tube and nowhere to even put a reflector. Clearly as a poor student I don't have the funds for anything uber fancy, but does anyone have favourite brands of either whole tank setup or just the hood/light? By the latter I mean, I can get a cheap glass tank anywhere, and don't really need the filter/heater that would be included, so in reality it's only the lighting I'm interested in. I won't ever be doing anything high tech with the tank, but the capability to grow most plants without having to worry about the light being insufficient is the favoured situation.

I'm actually considering going up to 30", I think the stand can fit it, but I'll have to check.

Edit- oh, also, if I do do this, I was considering a more soil-y substrate, partly for plants, partly for a more natural feel. Where does one purchase a suitable product on a modest budget?

 

[CKutz]

hey feeshy,

I'm not sure what you're going for with the soil, but would you go as far as to get top soil? go the el natural method..of potting soil capped with sand or something? read up on that method a bit, you can get the top soil at a home improvement store very cheap compared to the pricey aquarium substrates.

i'm also a poor college student so i understand what you're going through. to get lighting into my tank, i took the light from a spare 10 gal (which was a 15W) and put that in the middle. the casing for the light that came with my 20 gal was the same sad as the lid on the hood. so instead of keeping the lid there, i popped that off and put the light there. it seems to be working, maybe giving a bit of excess light in the front, but it's better than not having enough.
just thought i'd share, idk if that helps or not. your tank is awesome by the way, i'm doing my first planted tank..so it really doesn't look that nice..but i'm just happy everything is growing! haha

 

[OohFeeshy]

I'll have a shop around on the net, not like I'm short of time or anything... I'll probably end up with an external filter as well, I've got a 2213 on the 4ft so if I buy a bigger filter and swap it's win all round.

I forgot to mention actually, I did do a bit of a rescape before I left. Nothing that exciting, moved the wood a bit, added lots of pebbles around the base, reduced the hygro and spread it out a bit (to hopefully stop it being quite as leggy).

Unfortunately there's been a bit of an issue developed today. Apparently the filter wasn't flowing or something, the father decided to clean it (I did say 'it probably needs cleaning' but didn't expect him to just go and do it). Needless to say, a nice cold shower for the sponges... I'm hoping it won't cause an issue, but since they're also away for the weekend I won't know anything else probably until Monday.

Edit- I can keep posting here all day, I have literally nothing better to do, so there's likely to be a lot of rambling for no reason. Having done some random lurking and spied George Farmer's pretty Cambodian biotope, I'm thinking that it's exactly what I want and may well steal it, with a few modifications like crypts and stuff. The gold barbs may well be relocated to the 4ft soon, depending on how much they've grown (since the bichirs have gone from the 4ft at least they won't be dinner), to be replaced with something else, probably. I would really love to get some more spike tails, but I can't find anywhere that stocks them, which is a shame because they're really nice little fish.