55 Us Gal Low Tech

[mtv8dmarine]

Suckers are pretty much placed as high as they can go. I just got finished my weekly cleaning and will discontinue ferts, excel, and leaf zone, cleaning for two weeks. Plants look good except for the black spots on the anubias barteri.

I'm assuming the spray bar goes above the water line pointing down or just below it pointing upwards creating rippling? Which is correct?

 

[SuperColey1]

It goes straight across from back to front. Not up nor down. about an inch below the water level. It will ripple from the force of water from the small holes.

When it hits the front glass it then gets forced down which creates the circulation.

AC

 

[Biulu]

No that's one thing it never seemed to be designed for. If it had, I could have had the water disturbance I wanted without the necessity for accessory items. I may have to look at fabricating something.


EDIT:

Note to self for later... http/www.plantedtank.net/forums/equipment/66472-marineland-spray-bar-mission-accomplished.html

I also have a Marineland without a spraybar. I don't want to hijack your thread, but I don't understand which Magnum parts would help me to make the spraybar?

 

[mtv8dmarine]

Well I've stopped dosing as recommended there are a few things I've been noticing. My driftwood is still leeching which turns the water ugly after no water changes. The green algae growth has appeared to stop but I've also changed the flow of the water around a bit. I have noticed a small amount of red algae growing on the driftwood and some white fuzzy algae as well on the wood. Before discontinuing ferts and excel I just had to contend with slowly increasing green algae. My Vallis have also taken a toll as the leaves have gone holey in the middle of the leaves and then they pretty much decay outward. This of course attracts the fish (angels and gouramis) to pull, tug, and nip them away.

 

[SuperColey1]

It may take a while for the white stuff on that wood. Is it a piece from a shop or did you find it.

If from a shop then it should be fine but the fungus is someting that some people get and then it magically disappears. Othe people remove and scrub regularly until it stops

The red algae is actually BBA. I get that on woods. Not in huge amounts but a little bit.

AC

 

[mtv8dmarine]

I was thinking about scrubbing it away too. It seems to come off easily. The red stuff is only in small amounts as you noted.

I was thinking about trying to half the dosing on the ferts I was doing before since the vallis aren't doing well.

 

[mtv8dmarine]

Pic update...

Any hints on how to get the Vallis to grow tall? They multiple like rabbits but never really seem to grow very tall. For right now I'm ok with them growing clumped together because it fills in areas with dense vegetation but what about the height?

I've also been thinking about placing the tiger lotus to the front right corner in the barren spot by the driftwood and moving one of the wider crypto wendtii plants in the center in it's place. Any thoughts on this potential arrangement? Of course I think I have an offshoot growing on one of them too I could use when it gets a little bigger to break off.

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Just for comparison from a month ago...

 

[SuperColey1]

looking nice. No suggestions on the vals. Its one plant that has been 'hiding' in the back of my tank and is never seen as it only grows to 2" tall. Nice and healthy but invisible. lol

AC

 

[Biulu]

I have noticed that vallis seems to do better under suboptimal conditions. Mine didn't get fertilizer and the substrate was already 2 years old, little light and they grew like crazy! They did not only produce offshoots, but they grew large! I had to regularly cut off the leaves as they were lying on the water and blocking the light to all the other plants!

 

[mtv8dmarine]

I have noticed that vallis seems to do better under suboptimal conditions. Mine didn't get fertilizer and the substrate was already 2 years old, little light and they grew like crazy! They did not only produce offshoots, but they grew large! I had to regularly cut off the leaves as they were lying on the water and blocking the light to all the other plants!

Interesting. I stopped using ferts for a couple weeks and my vallis were really going to crap. I've decided to start dosing again but half of what I was dosing daily before. As I've been told I think by SC is that all tanks are different and what one may experience doing something one way may not always work to a "T" with another.

Regarding your previous post about the spray bar. I've been very busy and haven't gotten the chance to explore the spray bar idea yet but will eventually so just be patient if you can until I have the chance to experiment. It just may take awhile.

 

[lljdma06]

Looks good so far, but anyway you can get those anubias out of the substrate? I see rhizome, but they do better attached to wood, where the entire root structure and rhizome are exposed to the water column. This has just been my experience with the plant. You've got some fantastic wood on the right that would be great for the anubias.

 

[stevereade]

For 1 month that's some good growth there, can't wait to see it when its been 6 months.

 

[mtv8dmarine]

Looks good so far, but anyway you can get those anubias out of the substrate? I see rhizome, but they do better attached to wood, where the entire root structure and rhizome are exposed to the water column. This has just been my experience with the plant. You've got some fantastic wood on the right that would be great for the anubias.

They are actually attached to pieces of petrified wood and have been growing wonderfully. I'm going to be doing something else with flame moss on the wood.

 

[Jen]

It's looking great so far! I love the wood that you have

Just a couple of quick questions about the switch from gravel to sand. I've been thinking the of doing the same thing, but have been wavering. I like the darker natural look of the gravel I have and wanted that over the brightness the sand creates. Have you noticed a big difference? Or do the plants help to mask that.
And then a general 'how did you do it?'. Pull all the plants and wood out, scoop out the gravel? Did you worry about seeding the new sand with the old stuff? And is that play ground sand, or pool filter sand?

Jen

 

[mtv8dmarine]

It's looking great so far! I love the wood that you have

Just a couple of quick questions about the switch from gravel to sand. I've been thinking the of doing the same thing, but have been wavering. I like the darker natural look of the gravel I have and wanted that over the brightness the sand creates. Have you noticed a big difference? Or do the plants help to mask that.
And then a general 'how did you do it?'. Pull all the plants and wood out, scoop out the gravel? Did you worry about seeding the new sand with the old stuff? And is that play ground sand, or pool filter sand?

Jen

Sorry for not responding very quickly. I've been really busy the past few months. I scooped out the gravel I had in there and replaced it with childrens play sand. ...The sand they use for kiddie parks and stuff. It's toxin free because of it's real intended purpose...kids. I floated my plants in a bucket of old water and washed the sand thoroughly, and then kept washing and washing and washing. =)

But yet, everything came out.