George's Journal

[jkrekord]

if possible you could get all males it would be a nightmare if they started breeding as they would overrun your tank
p.s unlucky with the discus

 

[ceilidhgirl]

hey everyone

i just wanted to say that as a newbie to the forum and as a soon to be tropical fish keeper that i think this thread is fantastic.

its so nice to se how people set up and manage their tanks in pictures as well as words so that us new guys can actually see whats going on.

especially as being a newbie i'm sometimes not sure as to what you guys are talking about

anyhoo congrats again on the tank and the thread

love

Eilidh

 

[jimbooo]

i'm glad to hear your staying put for a while mate, i'm pulling my hair out at the moment, still no co2 and to be honest with the new car arriving last week the tanks have taken a back seat for the moment. i haven't done a water change for 3 weekends running.

the cube seems to like it, the lilly's sprouting leaves everywhere but the other 2 tanks are looking a little tired. i've lost motivation temporarily but i'm sure it will come back when the co2 problems are sorted.

 

[George Farmer]

i'm glad to hear your staying put for a while mate, i'm pulling my hair out at the moment, still no co2 and to be honest with the new car arriving last week the tanks have taken a back seat for the moment. i haven't done a water change for 3 weekends running.

the cube seems to like it, the lilly's sprouting leaves everywhere but the other 2 tanks are looking a little tired. i've lost motivation temporarily but i'm sure it will come back when the co2 problems are sorted.

I'm glad too. Hopefully I've have just enough time to get the tank ready again for contest. How did you do in the APC BTW?

Tut tut, no water change for 3 weeks! It should be no problem in a lower lit, lower nutrient requirement tank but I can see why your other two tanks are suffering. I think it's the big water changes and EI dosing that go hand-hand in preventing problems, one thing that Jeff Walmsley had correct in his latest article, all be it he wasn't so positive on the "flooding" of nutrients aspect!

 

[pseud]

To be honest, I dunno how you manage it Jim!
I'm giving up on my recently started nano, and turning to less stem plants in my 55 as I can't keep up with all the maintenance!

 

[George Farmer]

To be honest, I dunno how you manage it Jim!
I'm giving up on my recently started nano, and turning to less stem plants in my 55 as I can't keep up with all the maintenance!

I think the phrase is "a labour of love" .

 

[Themuleous]

George,

Im interested to hear you say the platy keeps the surface scum down, is that because it breaks the surface all the time?

Sounds like I need one in my tank, its a pain trying to keep the scum from forming in a CO2 tank!

Sam

 

[George Farmer]

....the platy keeps the surface scum down, is that because it breaks the surface all the time?

It does break up the surface but it also actually eats the scum.

I was worried at first because I thought it was gasping, perhaps due to the CO2 level that it wasn't used to (although I did acclimatise over a 4 hour period due to the difference in LFS/my water). However on close inspection it became clear that it was physically removing the scum, swallowing the "infested" water. I would take a close-up photo but now the scum doesn't get a chance to form enough for it to become visible.

I'm not sure if anyone else has similar experiences, I did hear that most livebearers will do the same.

 

[oldwhitewood]

I have had platties dealing with hair algae brilliantly in the past.

I wonder if hatchet fish would achieve the same results as far as scumming goes

 

[Themuleous]

Cheers George, might have to give it a try! Although your right about not wanting them to breed!

BTW to save me posting in your livebearer thread. I’ve kept a few swordtails in the past which bred and one of the female offspring changed sex, to a male. I think it happens in quite a few species, especially when there is an imbalance in the sex ratio, so might be worth keeping an eye out for it if you do get all males.

Sam

 

[jimbooo]

regarding the APC i dunno.

i've had an email from them saying

"Dear jimbooo,

I trust this email finds you well.

I wanted to alert you that the Popular Vote phase of the International Aquaplant Layout Contest is now underway. Please visit the contest site to review the entries and cast your votes! Here's the link to the contest page:"

blah blah

i assume that means i haven't won anything and now it's everyones chance to vote.

i have not had any specific feedback on my 3 layouts though. i'm a bit confused to be honest.



Pseud: easy, get distracted by new car, spend 3 weeks making an a**e of yourself zipping about the countryside on a knife edge whilst reminging yourself how mortal you really are!!.

come home, look at sess pit of tank, feel sorry for poor fishies, pull an armfull of cobweb algae out so they can swim about again, chuck in a pinch of food.

grab keys, run down the stairs again like a kid with a new toy and make excuse to misses that you've forgotten the potatoes for dinner so i MUST go to tesco's right away.

take 2 hours (bad traffic) going the scenic route... arrive home to once again appologise to fish.

then when the guilt outweighs the car. exchange a nights sleep for a tank strip down, big water change, tooth brush to all the plants, proper filter clean. fill up and admire your finished, rejouvenated tank.

stand back, congratulate yourself and pass out.

thats pretty much how i manage it. LOL

 

[George Farmer]

So you're a boy-racer at heart then James! Perhaps with a "man's" car though now eh?

Anyway, back to plants before we "spoil" this thread with too much car talk.

Is that Nymphaea stellata (lily) in your cube? How long did it take from planting the bulb to producing biggish leaves?

 

[jimbooo]

sorry mate, got a little off track there.

yep it's a tiger lotus i think thats the same thing. i suppose it took about a month to start showing new leaves but 2 months till it sprouted multiple leaves. there must be about 12/14 leaves now, all short and small though. the biggest is about 4 inches across the leaf surface and about 10 inches tall.

it's growing much more slowly than in the 180 but definatly surviving and healthy. it's just as red and the leaves are still thick and leathery.

 

[pseud]

Speaking of Tiger Lotus, I've just started dosing Magnesium and Calcium, and I've noticed my tiger lily turn from a dull brownish red to a vibrant pinkish red!

 

[George Farmer]

Speaking of Tiger Lotus, I've just started dosing Magnesium and Calcium, and I've noticed my tiger lily turn from a dull brownish red to a vibrant pinkish red!

That's very interesting pseud. What KH and GH is your water prior to dosing Mg and Ca?