Llj's Ada Tank "refugees From Endor"

[lljdma06]

Your aquascape looks very good and I am too surprised at how well the plants are doing bearing in mind the non-addition of c02.

Wish I could get the anubias to flower. That would be the feather in my cap in that scape, the Madagascar too.

Not sure if this is of relevance but Anubias Var Nana was one of the first plants I bought when I started my planted aquarium and I always remember feeling confused as to why their flowers would drop-off when I placed them within my aquarium lol. After reading into the possibility of my aquarium needing some form of c02, I started off using Easylife EasyCarbo and within a month the flowers on the Anubias started to form.

So if you want your Anubias to grow a flower or two I'd say the introduction of some form of c02 would be a good idea.

Then I must be content with no flowers then. LOLOL. Actually, you're right. I remember when I was injecting CO2 in my 36 way back, that's when I had anubia flowers.

Submitted this tank to ASW, thank goodness they extended the deadline to April 15. Whew! Will post pictures that I didn't submit later this weekend. I gotta take down the wall and do some work on it. Growth is too good and it's starting to choke on it. Will probably trim and redo the wall. LOLOL, it's like Riccia.

 

[lljdma06]

Let me update with some photos...

These are not the pictures I submitted to the competition, just in case.

video

Tank needs some work. It's a bit overgrown and the moss wall needs to be redone. Too much growth. The good thing is that it's warm in Miami, so clippings will get planted outside in the tub. The only algae is some greenspot on the glass.

Let me know if you like.

 

[Jamepsss]

Let me know if you like.

Yes, very much. Overgrown, yet still very tidy. The moss in this tank looks amazing.

I saw a video on YouTube of this tank at the convention and then realised it must be you in it. Nice little interview with a guy who's vids I follow, have you seen it?

 

[ian]

sorry llj, only just seen the update...The tank is looking very good, and super healthy! Great macro shots of the fish. Are you planning on trimming the moss or are we going au naturel?

 

[lljdma06]

sorry llj, only just seen the update...The tank is looking very good, and super healthy! Great macro shots of the fish. Are you planning on trimming the moss or are we going au naturel?

I know, I was starting to get sad because no one was saying anything about my tank...

Moss needs a trim. That's the biggest drawback to the method I use, it grows too fast and I have to actually treat it like Riccia rather than moss. Otherwise, it overcrowds and it can die off.

Thanks Jamepsss, I like the moss a lot.

Gotta go back to work now, but please, more people may comment on my tank. I like it...

 

[Jamepsss]

sorry llj, only just seen the update...The tank is looking very good, and super healthy! Great macro shots of the fish. Are you planning on trimming the moss or are we going au naturel?

I know, I was starting to get sad because no one was saying anything about my tank...

Moss needs a trim. That's the biggest drawback to the method I use, it grows too fast and I have to actually treat it like Riccia rather than moss. Otherwise, it overcrowds and it can die off.

Thanks Jamepsss, I like the moss a lot.

Gotta go back to work now, but please, more people may comment on my tank. I like it...

I've become a huge fan of moss. My second tank (125L) is currently a moss tank. The Christmas Moss cuttings from my 200L are doing really well but the Java Moss I bought from Ebay a few weeks ago arrived in pretty poor condition. It's only just starting to grow and look green again but I'm hoping it will eventually look like the moss in your tank. There's no other plants in there just Java Moss and Christmas Moss all tied to various woods.

Might even try a moss wall at some point, yours looks excellent.

 

[This Old Spouse]

 

[Biulu]

I love these lush green tanks! If it were not for the moss to start dying off, I wouldn't trim it, it looks perfect as it is. But maybe if you do not trim too much, you will not even notice that you did give it a trim.

 

[Lacuna]

Tank looks lovely, really green. I've never been much of a fan of moss, but this has inspired me to get moss for my tank. Maybe christmas moss, I find java moss a bit boring.

 

[mark4785]

The pictures submitted in post 127 show superb plants. Every plant seems to have it's nutrient-needs satisfied; great work! I had a similar long stem plant to the plant shown in the 2nd picture down and I found that BGA would often grow between the stems. How are you managing to avoid BGA with your plants given that they are in the main, all planted in close proximity to each other?

Can I ask for the name of the plant shown in the 2nd picture down? Vallis comes to mind but I'm not entirely sure.

Mark.

 

[lljdma06]

Thanks all for your kind words.

Lacuna, the moss I used on the wall is weeping moss, I think same genus as Java, but has a different look. Got mine from a Singapore. The wood, I think has either Singapore moss or Java moss. it's pobably all mixed now.

Jamepsss, in PARC, I have an article on how I do my moss walls.

Mark, the plant was labeled as Cryptocoryne spiralis at the local pet store where I got it. The store got it from Florida Aquatic Nurseries in Ft. Lauderdale, so I trust the labeling. The plants will be about 2 years old in August as I used them for Endor when I set it up in 2009. I think the little Rio powerhead helps a lot. There is also quite a bit of salvinia growth there, so I probably have a lot less light in PAR levels reaching the plants than what my wattage numbers would suggest. The crypts are starting to get a little mad and melt a bit, so I know I've pushed the limit on going without a waterchange. Have to do one tomorrow & clean the filters.

The Madagascar has blown my mind... Have to tell Waterdrop to come visit my journal. We both got tissue culture Madagascar lace plants at the Convention.

Liz

 

[mark4785]

I'd appreciate it if I could get your answer to the following question: How are you managing to avoid BGA with your plants given that they are in the main, all planted in close proximity to each other?

BGA seemed to be a problem when I clumped my plants together. From what I can see from your pictures, all of your plants are thriving in close proximity/clumps. How are you keeping the BGA at bay?!

 

[lljdma06]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, this is the direct quote from Jame's planted tank website as to the cause of BGA...

Often caused by very low nitrates. It is fairly common to have it growing in the substrate against the front glass from where it can spread. Sometimes it appears with new setups that have had light and ammonia present at some point. Dirty substrates and filters may also bring it on. Poor water circulation is another possible cause.

I dose TPN+ so that, along with the Amazonia soil in the tank, so my nitrate levels are probably pretty good. I have plants that do not really demand much, crypts, mosses, Bolbitis. The only tough plant supposedly is the Madagascar, but that's growing well, albeit slower than some of the others. I may have nitrate already present in my tapwater, I suspect as much.

What I did after the initial planting and what I always do for each new setup are very frequent waterchanges. This tank started with 50% every other day, for the first month of the setup and I did not rearrange plants. The filters are rinsed with each waterchange, so things are kept very clean. I think this allowed for any ammonia to be removed due to changing foliage and such.

Mark, I have 2 Aquaclear 50 filters and two Rio 50 powerheads, so there is a great deal of circulation in this tank.

I've never had a problem with dense planting and BGA. I have to be careful, though, I'm getting lax in my waterchanges and not cleaning things like I should be (filters, moss wall, etc). If I'm not careful, I may get BGA. I need to do some maintenance this weekend.

I think BGA has nothing to do with how dense or not dense you plant. My 2008 stemplant tank (8g in my avatar) was densly planted too, yet there was no die-off on the bottom of the stems and they were densly grouped. Again that tank had 3 filters, and was maintained with very frequent waterchanges after the initial planting.

If people with more know-how than I want to contribute anything, please feel free. I'm not a very scientific person, I just observe what my plants seem to need and react accordingly. I know my tank needs a trim and a clean. Things aren't bad and it looks great, but I just feel that it's time. Guess I've been gardening with terrestrial plants for a long time, so I just a lot of the same observation here. Wish I could be more scientific, Mark.

Is this help at all?

 

[ian]

sometimes it's easier to put it simply, Liz I can only agree on what llj has said, and again i can only reiterate on the water changes. My new set-up is still getting 30%x 3 a week water changes, i'm a big believer in keeping everything super clean at the beginning, letting the plants settle into their new environment, give the plant the respect at the beginning and it shall pay dividends in the future. I have also never had a problem with BGA (touches wood), i also believe in good flow around the substrate, this is where A LOT of planted tanks fail. I don't want to go to much off topic in lljs thread, but can you see the C02 bubbles around the substrate? This is one thing even the pro's can struggle with, placement of diffusers and powerheads.

 

[lljdma06]

sometimes it's easier to put it simply, Liz I can only agree on what llj has said, and again i can only reiterate on the water changes. My new set-up is still getting 30%x 3 a week water changes, i'm a big believer in keeping everything super clean at the beginning, letting the plants settle into their new environment, give the plant the respect at the beginning and it shall pay dividends in the future. I have also never had a problem with BGA (touches wood), i also believe in good flow around the substrate, this is where A LOT of planted tanks fail. I don't want to go to much off topic in lljs thread, but can you see the C02 bubbles around the substrate? This is one thing even the pro's can struggle with, placement of diffusers and powerheads.

No, journal threads are teaching threads, so don't worry about going off-topic, Ian, if the subject is of help to another member. Mark, when I did the last 8g scape (2009), with Co2 injection, bubbles circulated throughout the entire tank, and part of the path they followed was along the substrate. Besides actually seeing little bubbles going there, you could tell because my ground plants in that scape, Marsilea and pelia, would pearl. But the big indicator was a teeny nymphaea I had, right in the middle. See below. See it pearling?

As you can see, Mark, though the nymphaea is actually partially blocked by wood and other plants, you can tell that CO2 is definitely still reaching it. This is also another example of a tank of mine with very dense planting. You can't see the substrate where the marsilea is, yet no BGA.

Liz