Eeeeek! Plants Growing Wild...

[Jape]

So, I bought some plants at random, set up CO2 and ferts, then went away for 10 days. When I left, the tank looked like this...

And when I got home it looked like this...

Eeeek...I know it is all set up to grow plants quickly, but I did not expect results so fast

I'm not entirely happy with the look - the red plant on the right has gone totally mental, and is exploding hairy roots all over the place. The camboba is thinning at the bottom and growing like mad at the top. The grasses at the back are doing well, and are shooting out 'babies' like mad. There is some water hyacinth at the back which has acheived triffid like qualities as well

So, should I tear it all apart and start again with a better collection? My tank has now fully cycled, and the algae is well under control. I'm growing some riccia at the surface for a riccia carpet experiment as well.

If I was to start again, are there any suggestions? I've discovered that I'm pretty bad at designing aquascapes, and am very envious of craynerds eye for detail 8)

I quite like the idea of bogwood, but not sure it would work with large goldies instead of pretty neons! I'm aiming, I guess, for an aquascape that would more befit the coldwater (goldfish) environment.

I'd really appreciate any advice, and I'll promise to keep you updated as I go.

Cheers

John

 

[mattwhite]

I think it looks quite good. I'm new to plants and have ben trying to get a similar look but have failed up to now. My plants are very slow growing and my tank looks a bit bare.

I yhink you can take cuttings from the top of the plant on the left and re plant them if they are starting to look a bit leggy.

What substrate are you using? I just have gravel in my tank but i think yours looks much nicer.

Would you reccomend the CO2? i dont know much about it.

Do you use weights to keep the plants down? If so what kind are they?

 

[RYO]

With the stem plants just cut the the plants to the hight you want then replant the cuttings.
The biggest problem you have is the goldfish is a natural gruber so will dig stuff up.

 

[Jape]

I think it looks quite good. I'm new to plants and have ben trying to get a similar look but have failed up to now. My plants are very slow growing and my tank looks a bit bare.

I yhink you can take cuttings from the top of the plant on the left and re plant them if they are starting to look a bit leggy.

What substrate are you using? I just have gravel in my tank but i think yours looks much nicer.

Would you reccomend the CO2? i dont know much about it.

Do you use weights to keep the plants down? If so what kind are they?

The substrate is just sand at the moment - but the plants seem happy enough with it! Some of them are held down with weights, but they have all rooted now, so the weights aren't really necessary any more. The weights are just some lead 'ribbon' that I bought on a small roll from my LFS.

The CO2 systems I'm running are the Hagen Nutrafin system, and a Sochting carbonator as well. I am impressed with the results If you have moderate to high lighting levels I'd deffo recommend it!

 

[mattwhite]

I am not sure what kind of lighting levels i have to be honest. My tank is a Juwel ekord 80 and the bulb was supplied with it. I think it is 18 watt.

Is lead ok to use in the tank. I have community tropicals in my tank, will they not be poisoned by the lead?

 

[jimbooo]

I am not sure what kind of lighting levels i have to be honest. My tank is a Juwel ekord 80 and the bulb was supplied with it. I think it is 18 watt.

Is lead ok to use in the tank. I have community tropicals in my tank, will they not be poisoned by the lead?

lead is fine, once it has a tarnish it is perfectly safe (and that happens very quickly). dont worry about it.

if i were you Jape i'd loose the ludwigia (it's a bit big for a small tank) keep the cabomba (on the left) just trim it as stated above.

and yes goldfish are natural lawnmowers. as soon as he/she's hungry your plants will be on the menu!!

 

[Themuleous]

To be honest I love it the way it is!

 

[guppy_man]

i thought it looked pretty good, its up to you if you want to change it

 

[Jape]

Thankyou all for the kind comments

On reflection I think I might be being over critical I'm pretty impatient, and no sooner have I finished one thing, then I start to fiddle with it and change it. Planted aquaria seem to offer infinite scope for endless changing and fiddling

I'm going to try and trim the ludwiga back a bit (any ideas on how to trim ludwiga?), and sort out the camboba's 'legs', then sit on my hands and just enjoy what is there for a while.

Then onto my next project - convicing the wife that we really *need* a 120cm tank for the living room. Started on that yesterday, expected completion date 2007

 

[manchester]

The CO2 systems I'm running are the Hagen Nutrafin system, and a Sochting carbonator as well. I am impressed with the results If you have moderate to high lighting levels I'd deffo recommend it![/

I too use the Sochting Carbonator but since moving up to Manchester i cant find a single shop that stocks it? Ive even trawled the net but to no avail. Can anyone suggest a place in the Uk i might be able to order the refills online, as i think its a great tool for plant growth.

Cheers