Llj Journal

[lljdma06]

Hi!

It's been a long time since I started a journal. I had set up this 10g previously with CO2 and different plants last year and things were going quite well until I started the Spring term. I removed the CO2 in December of last year, and because of the demands from my job, I swapped out demanding species for tougher ones. Then I just left things alone. I went without water changes for months (only top-offs) and let the frogbit overun the tank, it's roots extending down into the substrate. Surprisingly the fish were fine, but this tank was never heavily stocked, only the dwarf catfish. Of course, I had algae, mostly hair algae. I started cleaning things up by just doing large water changes. I have ended up with this.

Tank: 10g 20"x10"x12" with a glass cover.

Lighting: 28W T5 Fixture, giving me about 2.8WPG. May seem high, but it really isn't.

Substrate: thin layer of laterite mixed with small grain gravel, or just a thin layer of laterite, topped with a thicker layer of sand. I'd like to have bare stretches of substrate

Filtration: 3 HOB filters

Fertilisation: None

CO2: None

Hardscape: Wood, including some nice ADA blackwood from my dismantled 2.5g.

Plants: Aponogeton species, E. tennelus, anubias, one or two tiny frogbit plants. I also have several pothos cuttings which are developing roots.

Livestock: Corydoras habrosus, Corydoras pygmaeus, and some dwarf platies that were in my 20g for color. I prefered an all-corydora tank, but mother wanted color.

Thanks for reading, look forward to hearing your comments. This is a much simpler tank to maintain , especially with my busy schedule.

llj

 

[aaronnorth]

you have to many journals, its so confusing lol

 

[lljdma06]

you have to many journals, its so confusing lol

It's only a matter of time until you have as many as I. The cool thing is that most of these journals are about 2 years old, give or take. This one is the newest one.

llj

 

[aaronnorth]

It's only a matter of time until you have as many as I

i am planning on just having 1 large set up, biggest i can go i think is 120cm, i havent had a good measure up around the house yet

 

[Biulu]

Just a question: do you use HOB filters to save space, or to avoid unnecessary temperature changes (being in Miami!) or to keep surface movement down? Or all 3 of them?

I am considering to replace my powerhead with a HOB, because I have been having problems keeping temperatures down this summer. I also want to keep the surface movement to a minimum because of the fish I am keeping. What are your experiences?

I never considered that my HOB filters would avoid temperature changes, to be honest. Do other filters effect temperature negatively? I bet I could use ice in the filter chamber to act as a chiller of sorts, but I've never had to in the past.

As far as surface movement is concerned, I like that my HOBs have the option of curtailing the flow. I also fill up the tank quite high to further cut on surface agitation.

HOB also save space and are minimally invasive, unlike canister and sponge filters, and I actually prefer HOBs for fry tanks whereas most prefer sponge. With sponges or mesh bags surrounding the intake tube of the HOB, you can prevent delicate fish or fry from being sucked up the intake, and you do not have to invade the tank in order to do filter maintenance. You simply turn off the filter and remove the intake tube to do any necessary cleaning. The whole filter doesn't need to be removed.

The particular filter I have (aquaclear) also doesn't feature the cartridges that most HOBs feature. The cartidges can be a pain, because they have to fit and you have to get the right one. Aquaclear has just a basket, and you can even opt to add your own media, which I do. As long as it fits in the basket, you're good to go. I currently use sponges, but I can put peat, charcoal, anything really, as long as it's in a mesh bag of sorts. Ladies knee highs work great as a media bag. Very large Aquaclear HOBs have even been converted to SW refugiums, as the Basket chamber is quite large and the plastic is pretty clear. It's a flexible filter type. Pretty good power, though I'll often use two to get maximum water circulation.

Does this help any?

llj

Yes, thanks llj!
What I meant with temperature changes is that since I have the powerhead I find it is adding a lot of heat to my tank during the summer months (or better said pre-rain months here in Mexico). I have had a lot of trouble keeping the temperature at a decent level. I did not have this problem before I had a powerhead in this tank.

 

[lljdma06]

Yes, thanks llj!
What I meant with temperature changes is that since I have the powerhead I find it is adding a lot of heat to my tank during the summer months (or better said pre-rain months here in Mexico). I have had a lot of trouble keeping the temperature at a decent level. I did not have this problem before I had a powerhead in this tank.

Well since the power source for a HOB is away from the water column, it stands to reason that less heat would be generated then. Might be something for you to try Biulu.


I've setup the tank, and it's running, but at this point, it only serves at a recepticle for the cleaned plants from the aquabotonic order. Looks rather silly actually with little bunches of plants scattered about or weighed down. The sand looks lovely and is really very soft. At this point I can even chose to drain the tank and add more ultra fine sand, which I probably will, but with my up-coming gala for Miami Lyric Opera, all tank planting and work is post-poned until Monday or so. They should do alright til then, especially since they have a light source and some CO2 injection. I'm in the process of cleaning the plants now and removing dead leaves. The cleaned plants then go into the 10g. I'm about half-way done. Sorry for the randomness, there is also a thin layer of laterite mixed with a heavier grain sand.

My mom really likes the didiplis and the Blyxia, and I hope these do well. The Pogostemon has to grow a bit in my 36g, it arrived all twisted and I need it straighter. It is way too big for the 10g, so didiplis or rotala will provide splashes of color in this tank. I also like the Lileaopsis mauritis., which goes very well with the Vallis nana. Small-leaved anubias and moss will complete the picture.

The scape for this tank is going to end up looking very delicate, I think. The old black wood is lovely and really contrasts with the substrate, I'm really considering using some of it, though I have one piece reserved for the 2.5g.

I'm opting to keep the Bacopa from other tanks on the back-burner. It is a hardy stemplant and doesn't need to be planted to thrive. After I post pictures of the finished scape, I'll either throw in some of the Bacopa to asorb ammonia. Or, and possibly a better solution, I have several Pothos cuttings with developed roots that can be placed there. They will absorb ammonia readily and help out with the maturation process without taking up growing space or lighting from the other plants. It has been something that has worked very well for me in the past.

llj

 

[Biulu]

Sounds all very good and thought through! Good luck with the opera!

 

[lljdma06]

Sounds all very good and thought through! Good luck with the opera!

I was able to do a little work with this tank on Sunday, and I have the basic scape. At least everything is planted. It is really annoying separating Lilaeopsis into plantable clumps. I had to plant all of my ordered plants in all my tanks, so they all look kind of haphazard at the moment. I'll let them grow a bit before I do more with scaping in the other tanks. I just didn't want the plants sitting in the water column. Many are root feeders and that is not good to leave them without being planted. Some were also starting to grow funny because they were at the surface.

I can't fix anything until next week, so there are not photos.

llj

 

[lljdma06]

Finally, I can post some pictures. I was very busy with the start of the Fall term at FIU.

Empty tank with laterite layer. I love the new laterite I got for the rescapes. Rinsed in no time at all.

Initial scape. Look how sparse the Lilaeopsis mauritius is. There is also Blyxia japonica in the tank.

Some pearling, but I really don't get much. I still consider this a low-light tank.

After a few weeks. I notice the Blyxia browning, which I didn't like. In my non-CO2 8g, it grows very nicely. Go figure. Lilaeopsis is filling in and relatively algae-free for Lilaeopsis.

I didn't want an ammonia spike from the browning Blyxia, so I put it in my 8g and added the Pogostemon stellatus (broad-leaf) to the tank. Its growth was fixed in the 36g and it is a much nicer plant now. Much better, and I think I averted a potential disaster.

Tank as of today. I need to trim that Pogostemon stem, but it's not a cheap plant, so I'll let it grow a bit more then trim. It is growing much better than I ever expected, as is the Lilaeopsis and the Valis. The Didiplis looks very good too, nice and bushy. I guess it's what happens when you plant individual stems.

The only residents are C. habrosus for now.

There is no background at this point, and I am not keen on it being black right now. I'll do some experimenting later on, when things have filled in, or if the nana does its job, I won't have a background at all. There is still some filling in that needs to be done, but I like the basic look a lot. I am doing water changes 2x a week, if I'm not too tired or have the time, and I alternate 2 canisters of DIY mix, which gives a more steady amount. I'm conservative with ferts right now, just 2x a week for now of Seachem Flourish,but I also feed the catfish a lot of frozen and live food and I have rootabs in the substrate. The little root streamers you see are Amazonian frogbit and can I say that I think its presence has made a world of difference with regard to algae control in this tank, as it absorbs ammonia well and consumes atmospheric CO2. It drifts around the tank, so light isn't blocked too much.

Thanks for looking and sorry I took way too long to update this and post pictures.

llj

 

[aaronnorth]

the didiplis is a nice plant, not seen it used before, very uncommon over here although widely available!

 

[goin_all_out]

wow i have been wiating for this for a long time now. the tank is beautiful! its amazing how fast its fill in!

great job!

 

[saintly]

lljdma06, one word...fantastic!

love it. one thing that is essential that your missing though...flourish excel the best algae inhibitor there is. dose it daily along with 30ppm co2 reg W/C and you'll never see algae again. i swear by the regime in both set-ups.

its a shame you couldn't get a bag of ADA AS, honestly the difference is ten fold. i may sound like an ada rep but it does work miracles.

all in all your scape is spot on, cant fault it. for me its the best thing ive seen from you with masses of growing potential. nice

laters

 

[saintly]

ive just noticed the p stellata. you might want to put that towards the back as it will tower over everything. it grows huge ljdma06.

it looks like you've planted slightly off the back. i might be wrong, stunning plant. you shouldn't need a background neither. i don't have one in my big set up. the vallis will deal with that once grown in. be prepared to prune the runners alot. i started with about 30 plants now ive got near 300! seriously! it rules the back of my set-up. when they get to about 1.5m long i just trim and watch the new groth come back. another stunning plant when used right.

is that hc in the front?

 

[lljdma06]

love it. one thing that is essential that your missing though...flourish excel the best algae inhibitor there is. dose it daily along with 30ppm co2 reg W/C and you'll never see algae again. i swear by the regime in both set-ups.

its a shame you couldn't get a bag of ADA AS, honestly the difference is ten fold. i may sound like an ada rep but it does work miracles.

all in all your scape is spot on, cant fault it. for me its the best thing ive seen from you with masses of growing potential. nice

To each his own. I do not think Excel is essential, as I do not have as much light as most. The less chemicals I can put in the tank, the better, IMO. I maintain very good CO2 levels without it. I prefer using the floaters, they accomplish a similar effect (inhibits algae), but no chemicals, and provide cover for the fish. Excel does not do this.

ADA, what for? I think the growth, honestly is very good for less than a month setup, especially for the amount of light I have. I don't want crazy growth, just healthy and managible. The point with my scapes is to get the best possible growth with the least amount of money spent. That is why I limit the light, only use DIY, and work with much less-expensive substrates. I understand where you're coming from and agree with you, I just think that hobbiest should have options other than the expensive. Given these limitations, I try to push the boundaries.

ive just noticed the p stellata. you might want to put that towards the back as it will tower over everything. it grows huge ljdma06.

it looks like you've planted slightly off the back. i might be wrong, stunning plant. you shouldn't need a background neither. i don't have one in my big set up. the vallis will deal with that once grown in. be prepared to prune the runners alot. i started with about 30 plants now ive got near 300! seriously! it rules the back of my set-up. when they get to about 1.5m long i just trim and watch the new groth come back. another stunning plant when used right.

is that hc in the front?

Yes, it is towards the back. Should really be where the Didiplis is, but when I first received the P. stellata, it was kind of off, so the Didiplis went there instead. It was in my 36g for a while recovering. I heavily pruned it and only kept the smallest, well-formed stems. I will probably thin the Didiplis and replant with the P. stellata, much more dramatic, though it will be a tough decision. I like the delicacy of the Didiplis. In the past, I've had good success training stems to grow much smaller. I managed to grow some A. reineckii with half the normal leaf size, much better for nano setups. I may work with the P. stellatus on that level. It requires some delicate, repeated pruning.

Yes, I've got some runners I need to trim. Already, the L. mariatius is sending runners towards the HC in the front, a big no-no.

Thanks for the comments, everybody.

llj

 

[lljdma06]

I've had to abandon CO2 in this tank as well, and I think I'm better for it. This tank is a lot like my 8g and I'll treat it as such. Grows Hemianthus species well, I'll say that. I'll post a few pictures as soon as the dust settles.

llj