A Bumpy Road

[looking-glass]

im sure you could perk them up with out starting again - the plants i would go for would be java fern, amazon swords and vallis all these should do well being just planted straight into the sand. Id stick to those three and just up the numbers, give them plenty of light and a bit of plant food
 
Its always what i have done - kind of cheating in a way because they take of really easy and make the tank look full and lusciously planted like youve spent a lot of time with ferts c02 etc when you actually haven't

 

[ericNH]

Hey ya know I just got the exact same advice from the people at my lfs.  It's giving me hope, and instead of looking for a way to totally re-do the tank  I'll try planting heavily with the species you mentioned and see how that goes.  Cause there's no way I'll be able to get soil under my sand layer without totally re-doing the whole thing, which really isn't an option unless I start down the road to multiple tank madness.  I don't want to go there....at least not just yet haha.  Thx looking-glass for offering up some helpful advice

 

[Ninjouzata]

The 4th plant pic down looks non-aquatic to me but I could be wrong. Agreed with looking-glass on trying some hardy, low light plants. If you plant the java fern make sure the rhizome isn't buried.
Usually you tie java fern to driftwood or rocks.
 
Take a look at water sprite and cryptocorynes too. The swords and crypts will appreciate root tabs, which you just stick in the substrate and they last a few months or so.

 

[looking-glass]

java fern tied to bog wood always makes the tank look really well planted
 
dont know other peoples opinion but this always seems a good basic starting point as regards foods http/www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/PlantPackFund.html i always seemed to notice the difference

 

[ericNH]

Hagrid, my cat

 

[looking-glass]

hi hagrid

 

[ericNH]

Alright, I haven't posted in a while, but that's just because complete and total uproar has occurred in my tank.  I will summarize:
 

• A week ago the ballasts went in my used lighting setup and I've had to deal with that crisis. I have a halogen desklamp with a multi-articulated armature that i used to carry me over until the ballasts i ordered arrived.  Just yesterday I fixed the light fixture.  I had to take the whole damned thing apart and actually cut the black and white lead wires (2 sets) to the ballasts, just a total spaghetti-wire mess BUT - when pricing a new lighting solution altogether, replacing ballasts was much much cheaper.  Anyway, alot of wiring and small-screw-in-tight-places work, and we're back up and running with my old lights.  It was worth saving, this 48" fixture holds two 65W actinic and two 65W daylight fluorescents, and it puts out a massive amount of light compared to frakkin' four 24" Ecoxotic LED fixtures, which i was able to return even though they were final sale, and that's another story but not now.
• Massive algae reduction (YAY!) due to running on auxiliary power for the last week.
• During this period I got 3 additional live plants, and removed the remaining few plastic plants I had.  In a way that's too subtle to express, looking at my tank now with only real plants, real stones, and real wood gives me satisfaction.
• The clowns, yes the very clowns that recently staved off snailaggeddon in my tank, well they made my 3 happy discus nervous, to the point where noticeable fin-clamping and shy-ness occurred.  So, to solve that problem I thought I'd shift the balance of power, and create a larger discus ball.  I got three more discus.  I know, bad, crazy, impatient, but my hand was forced by the very clowns that saved me!!

So much change.  Bad.  Need to slow it down, let the tank bake.  A well-developed and balanced tank takes time, and there's no way round that.

 

[looking-glass]

sorry to hear about the light hope your new one gets up and running without any problems - it should be ok adding more discus with the size of your tank but keep an eye on those nitrates

 

[ericNH]

Will do - in fact i just tested and my test kit is still telling me 0ppm on ammonia.  I have one of those simpler test kits that doesn't give readings for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates - it just tests for ammonia.  The light is fixed and producing more light than i even need.  Here's a pic of 5 of my 6 discus - they're all juvies except the marlboro red.
 

 

[Xzavier247]

The yellow ribbon plant that you have is not a fully aquatic plant. They're semi aquatic. As for planting. Since you have a big tank. You will spend a lot more if you buy bottles. But if you buy dry ferts and a co2 system you will be a lot more efficient and cheaper. But the starting cost is high....With you tank size you can actually make your own lighting. Homedepot and lowes have T5 fixtures 48" and longer for cheap.....Been following your journal. Nice start.

 

[ericNH]

Thank you, Xzavier247 for your encouragement and advice.  The yellow-ribbon plant is not truly an aquatic plant, as both you and I believe Ninjouzata have pointed out.  It is a type of dracena that can grow in an aquatic environment, and supposedly will eventually grow and climb right out of the top of the tank.  But I'll trim them when/if that happens.  Or get rid of them if they die.  For now I like how they look, and they seem healthy.
 
I have been closely monitoring the new additions to the tank, and as much as I hate to change it yet again, I'm pretty sure I need to remove the clowns.  I love them, my tank is big enough for them, but they are hyper and they are spooking my discus.  The "discus ball" i had hoped to achieve has yet to materialize, the new guys are still very shy and skittish, and one of my original discus is also being aggressive with them.  It's all too much for them I think.  Anyway, out go the clowns; I will bring them to my new lfs tomorrow and offer them for free.  Shame.  These guys were kinda pricey, but maybe I can generate some good will with the guy at my new lfs.  He did give me a killer deal on the discus i got from him yesterday.
 
SO.....how on Earth am I going to deal with the MTS problem?  Not sure.  Been doing a lot of reading on the subject.  Most things I've read about snail traps and cucumber baiting seems hit-or-miss, and my own experience with baiting and removing has fallen far short of the mark. I will not use chemicals, not even hydrogen peroxide.  Many people say that the real problem is over-feeding when it comes to MTS infestation.  If there's no food for them, their population declines to barely noticeable levels.  Others suggest 10 or 20 assassin snails, and while i don't want to trade one snail infestation for another, I've read that once the assassin snails wipe out the MT's, they die off due to lack of food.  Which sounds okay to me i guess.  But maybe the assassin and trumpet snail populations will both continue on, but at an acceptable MTS population level.
 
In my recent experience and in reading materials one key concept remains at center stage - balance.  If my tank were properly balanced, algae problems and snail problems would just go away, with very little effort on my part.  I need to achieve that balance in my tank, and while I know I still have a long way to go, I feel sure that I am heading in the right direction.

 

[ericNH]

Just got back from lfs.  I gave them 3 of my 4 clowns.  I couldn't catch the last one, he's too wily.  I hope they go to a good home.  The poor things loved it in my tank, and I got rid of them.
 
I am sad.

 

[looking-glass]

love the discus pic beautiful colours

 

[ericNH]

I am an idiot, but my tank is at least respectably clean, with several live plants that are doing better.
 
I lost 4 of my 6 discus since March.  They just died off 1 by 1 until about a month ago.  The only 2 I have left are the first 2 I got.  This leaves my tank with:
 
2 discus
1 angel
1 clown loach (gave 3 back to the pet store, they were so rambunctious, making my discus nervous)
3 kuhli loach
2 corys
 
I read through my own earlier posts and think "wow, am I an idiot." And I wonder how many others knew this when they read it haha.  Anyway, the tank rolls on, and I just wanted to post an update.  I still have't been able to take a decent picture of the tank, but I will eventually.

 

[akainechu]

We all have our bumbes (some more than others ((myself!!!))) but we'll learn from our mistakes and move on, right?