Jen's 90 Gallon Tank

[Jen]

Does anyone have experience with Lilaeopsis brasiliensis? My lfs has a few decent looking pots of it, and the Tropica description sounds like it would work in my tank as my carpet/meadow plant.

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[George Farmer]

Notorious algae magnet due to it's combination of high lighting requirement yet slow growth. Should have success if you keep on top of CO2 and nutrient levels.

Definitely worth a try because it's a lovely plant when carpeting well, although I've only seen a couple of good examples.

 

[mikster]

I have some in my tank but i only have just over 1 wpg so its not really grown and it is starting to look a bit tired and has some algae emerging on it, i will probably take it out soon as i just dont have enough light for it, i cant see any problem for it in your tank though, by the looks of it most things would flourish in there.

 

[Jen]

Well. I've gone and done it. I went in a ripped more out. On Georges advice, I got rid of the thick val to make the tank seem bigger. It seems very, very bare in there. With all the open space in there, I'm hoping the little bit of small val I had in there will take on quick. I do have a few crimiun (sp?) bulbs in there, and once they get more leaves going, I'll see what I can do with them. My cripts are running rampid, and I love it.

I'm getting back on track with the EI. I've really been slacking lately - hense all the algea. I have so much hard spot algea in there... it's embarassing. So ignore how aweful the tank looks. I'm a little scared with all the space. To be honest I miss the jungle look. Hopefully my plans for this will re-spark the interest I have lost in the tank recently.

 

[lljdma06]

Wow, that was a change, Jen! Your fish look shocked. Can't wait to see what it looks like after you rescape it.

llj

 

[George Farmer]

On Georges advice, I got rid of the thick val to make the tank seem bigger. It seems very, very bare in there.

I feel almost guilty now. I have confidence that this will evolve nicely though Jen. Keep at it.

If you need any reassurance then remember page one from my 33 gal. journal, we were not so different - http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=83762

 

[Jen]

Don't feel the least bit guilty George. You were totally right. With all the 'big' shapes/textures in there, the tank looked so small in pictures.

I think that I am going to pull the majority of the h. verticulata out. It is getting way too tall. Some of the stems are reaching 5 inches, and are dwarfing my Crypts around my wood. If you see on that pic where the yellow-y plec is, I think that's the max height I am looking for. 2 inches or so off the substrate. What's there is so dense that it doesn't move with the current so it just looks like a giant lump of green. I am going to my fish store after work today and will see if they have any of that grassy plant I was looking at earlier. I am going to research some more meadow-y looking scapes and see what I want to do in there.

All your comments/constructive criticism are greatly welcomed

 

[Themuleous]

What about removing the crypts on the right? The pennwort dominates and giving it the space to do so might balance the scape more, looks a bit 'in two halves' at the mo? Just an idea.

Sam

 

[Jen]

The crypts are my pride and joy... they arent going anywhere. I absolutely love them and wouldnt lose them fot anything.

 

[Themuleous]

Point taken!

 

[Jen]

I have kinda gone in a new direction. Nothing to different, but most likely just the start. I got in there yesterday, and pulled all my h. Verticulata with the intention of replanting all the short stems and seeing how it turned out again. Once the monster patch of it was out, I looked at the tank and liked how it looked for the first time in a good month. There are still a few tufts of it growing in there, and I'll keep my eye on them.

I also picked up 2 nice rocks that I am going to use to start a pile of rocks covered in moss in the back left corner to add some depth and texture behind the lilly. I added a bit of moss too see how it grows... they have a bit of a textured surface, so I'm hoping it will take nicely. Then I will get more rocks and see what I can do with it.

For now I will leave the sandy part open, unless I can find a nice grassy plant to put in there. My crytps are going crazy and reproducing like mad, so I might move some of them around and fill in some space with them. There are two different kinds of them in there, a light green with red stem, and the other is darker green, so they stand out nicely from eachother.

On to the pics!

 

[Jen]

And I'm sure you can see, I have some massive algae happening on the glass. I have been really slacking on the EI, and I'm sure its a NO3 defficiency, so I will deffinately have to get back on board with the dosing to get rid of it. I have been scrubbing with the magnet scrubber thing on the front and sides, but the back is a little more difficult... and some of the patches are getting fuzzy... any tips for getting at those?

 

[Themuleous]

Also looking good I see what you mean about the crypts!

Sam

 

[lljdma06]

I find that a small sponge attached to a wooden dowel works well for those hard-to-reach spaces in the back.

Looks good, Jen. I think the rocks have a lot of potential. Be wary of algae creeping back in force because of the drop in plant mass. You lost a lot there.

llj

 

[Jen]

I hope I wasn't to mean sounding in that previous post about my crypts Sam.. I really love them, and knew they were going to fill in like this. I wasn't trying to come across bitchy at all, honest.

I will deffinaly be watching for more algae (although with all that I have in there now, I don't know if I could tell if any more was growing )

Thanks for the kind comments guys.