An attempt

[allnatural]

Yep, Jungle vals are the same as the giant. There are several varieties, this one having the longest and widest leaves. The corkscrew val is much smaller and twirls as it grows!

Well, you know me and that I have mostly filterless, soil substrate tanks. The jungle vals that I had for a month and not doing much didn't make me very happy after seeing your vals! These were in a gravel only tank, and the gravel wasn't very deep to boot. I pulled the vals up to see what the roots were doing. Very poorly. Just some black furry roots. I want to see the white tough ones! So I tore down the tank today added soil, and put the same gravel over the top (to keep the bacteria) and replanted the vals, mondo grass and java fern. This is in a goldfish tank. The plants are tough enough to survive goldfish. I also heard that goldfish to not like Egeria densa, so am going to try some of that. I also have hornwort in there that they don't eat.

I have 60 watts of standard flourescent light for 2 watts per gallon, 12 hour a day. I hope that's enough.

I hope to get some of that weedy growth you are referring to!

--Tim

 

[smb]

That's absolutely beautiful, Aquanut!

This is only like the 3rd time I've come into this forum. I need to come in here daily and see these aquariums. They are so nice.

 

[Whisper Odinsky]

dude you know how to decorate! Most impressive. I am loving the plants.

 

[AquaNut]

Thank you )

allnatural - This was my first tank and I bought it second hand from somebody who was moving away. It has an undergravel filter, topped with an insufficient amount of too-large gravel. lol As I think you know, my lighting is abysmal and I don't fertilize. My motto is - if I can do it, anyone can. But really... the water is very clean and the gravel is very dirty. It runs soft and acidic all on its own, and I leave it that way. There is a piece of sponge and some filter floss in the HOB filter. The only thing I put into the water is aquarium salt (I KNOW... not popular around here... some day I'll tell the story of why I use it), and the occasional stress coat if I think there's a reason. Other than that, don't know what I can tell you. I promise, they will grow like weeds.

 

[revengeishere]

Aquanut, so the vals really does need time to take off? I have 1 single plant in my 75 gallon(because there is only 1 left at my LFS) and its been in there for a week now....I only have all gravel with laterite. Hope mine does the weed thing like what yours did, and hope allnatural's vals do too(even better because he has soil).

Btw, whats the lighting of your tank and is it all gravel, too?

Thank
Revenge

 

[AquaNut]

revenge - I find that when I plant any plant, it takes 1 - 3 weeks to set down roots and get established before I see a lot of new green. Often, they look like they're going to die in those first few weeks... they may go yellow or lose leaves. If it's a bushy type plant, I usually pinch off this deteriorated growth as soon as I see signs of new green growth. My swords and vals, I usually pinch off at the crown if they're less than fantastic looking. They will send up fresh growth.

Yes, this tank is all gravel.

The lighting? haha.. I've had that tank in my living room for three years.. I've never changed the flourescent tube. I bought it second hand... I'm not sure how long he used that tube before I got it. It's just one standard tube... so old that I can no longer read any numbers on it to tell you the exact wattage.

 

[revengeishere]

Hahahahahaha! Nice job then! Wow. Youre really bending the rules...Lol. Can't wait for my vals to grow like that!

Btw, how deep is the gravel?

You should really be proud of your tank, I wanna nominate it for Totm, too.

Revenge

 

[AquaNut]

Thank you! I am proud of that tank. When I acquired it, it was decorated with plastic plants and neon "Gone Fishin'" signs. (sorry to anyone who digs that look lol). I slowly added slate, plants, wood, and rocks. Maybe what I like best is the way it's always changing.

The gravel is maybe 1 -2" deep. I have never taken the gravel out of the tank. Like I said, there's a ugf under the gravel, which makes it a little bit harder to gauge the depth. All I can tell you is that the gravel could and should be deeper, and I curse its shallowness every time I plant something.

I must tell you, though, that I don't think the substrate or lighting have anything to do with my lush plant growth. They can't - both are totally sub-standard. I'm not saying that I don't think lighting and substrate are important factors in a planted tank! They are indeed. However, nobody told me that until after my tanks were full of healthy, growing plants! In MY tanks, I think the keys are pristine water (frequent small water changes and rinsed filter media), filthy gravel, an absence of chemical water treatments, tonics, or medications in the water, warm water (my tanks run at about 79 or 80 F.... it works together with feeding them more than once a day, since it speeds up their metabolisms... the extra feeding is what fertilizes the plants via waste production --> nitrates), and perhaps my green thumb -knowing when and where to pinch out new growth is most valuable.

 

[revengeishere]

Thanks for replying. Yes, I do that too. I let the fish and I slightly overfeed now. Those plants are voracious feeders. I just had most of my plants a week ago, and its clear as ever. And I don't have to worry about algae as much I use to.

Revenge