Low-Tech 140L

[KkAaNnEe]

I shall comment, as Ian has suggested

I actually took a look at this last week. Its really took a nice turn. I can see exactly where your going with it now. I dont even think you're far off. I would just be tempted to move the plant, echindorus? In front of your cabomba (cos of the scale of it)

Are you taking those pics on a tri-pod

Well done

 

[bumbleweasle]

Cheers, Ian & KkAaNnEe.

Yeh, they're echinodorus & java fern, I think? One of my mates said exactly the same thing about the larger leaves there confusing things.. If I can't work 'em in on the left then they'll likely end up in the plant donation thread.. if anyone wants them.. they're not in perfect health, tbh!

I do have a tripod, & I really should be using it! Been perching the camera on my desk's pullout shelf, but it's not really level, which makes cropping the pics quite tough!

And yeh, it really is nice to sit there in the dark, watching the tank.. hehehe.. my boyfriend keeps finding me in there with a cuppa, cross-legged in front of the tank.

 

[bumbleweasle]

Update time! No pics tonight as cramming in uni prep (2nd year, here I come!), but will get some this week.

I'll start with the good stuff.

-Ech. Tenellus: runners everywhere, looking nice & green.
-Hairgrass & sag subulata have also both settled in well although no runners from these yet.
-Cabomba!! It's going mad!!! The minnows & neons love it, they're constantly mucking around in there.
-Peacock Moss: also going well.. slow grower, but the new growth is really starting to show the upright nature of it.
-Weeping Moss: lots of new growth since trimming.
-Java Fern & Swords both seem to have picked up a little since I moved them over to the front left.. slightly less light in their new position, methinks..
-"Taiwan" Moss #1: growing very quickly.. again, nice new growth since a trim, as well. Still think this may be something more like stringy moss, though.. will have to get a solid ID at some point.
-Water Wysteria: Has recovered well after its interesting postal journey. Woo!
-Bolbitis is still looking good.

Other, not so great stuff

-Willow Moss: this became absolutely overrun with hair algae.. one piece died, the other is still alive but not looking good. It's close to the weeping moss, which only picked up a strand or two (removed now), so I'm not really sure what's going on there..
-"Taiwan" Moss #2: from a different seller as TM#1, same seller as willow moss above. It's more compact, a lighter green. Showing a lot of browning, although can't see any algae atm so waiting to see if its just adapting.
-Narrow-leaf Indian Fern: died off completely after failing to recover from it's postal injuries.
-Regular Indian Fern: died off but produced offspring.. sadly the offspring failed as well, though. Maybe just doesn't like my tank..

Think that's it!

 

[bumbleweasle]

Aah, problems, problems..

All the cabomba dropped its leaves overnight a wee while back.. plant-based chaos ensued..

shortly followed by the death of the water wysteria.

Then the algae decided to make a comeback.. BBA + hair algae + the tough green spots that stick to the glass.. had me confused for a few days until I realised it co-incided with the batch of good weather we had. I'd thought the tank was shaded, but we're not often in during the day & had managed to miss the EPIC amounts of sun hitting the tank between around 7 & 11am. oops!

So, curtains closed, plans being made to shift the tank away from the window... tank looks a lot different without the stems, and the peacock moss has started to die off as well - only without the signs of new growth that the other mosses have shown..

Oh, and I'm about two water changes away from launching that EVIL fluval 4+ out the window. AAARGH!!!

on the upside, the fish, the ech.tenellus, sag.subulata, eleocharis sp., swords, java fern, bolbitis, & all the mosses aside from peacock seem to be thriving. Wooooo!!!!

So, entering phase two. Plan is to buy an external filter.. move the tank away from the window & conjure up some kinda mossy, grassy scape, using the taller plants (swords etc) at a focal point. Not sure whether to reuse the bogwoods or buy in some TGM blue stone atm, but have a week or two until I can move the tank anyway, so can think on it. Any comments/ideas would be welcome! Will try to get a pic up tomorrow of how the tank looks in the meantime.. it ain't as pretty, but hey, I figure I should share the bad as well as good!

 

[minnnt]

Cabomba will drop its leaves if the water temperature rises as it prefers a cooler tank. Mines at 24 and thriving. Also, christmas moss is hardy and grows very nicely, so maybe replace the peacock with that?

 

[stu40]

i seemed to have missed this journal before now.Good job

If you like the look of the Cabomba, but its dying on you what about Limnophila sessiliflora?
RE the Wisteria dying. I used to keep it with no ferts & 8 hours light.Now i'm with ferts but only 5 hours it's dying.Just a theory.How long are your lights on for?

 

[bumbleweasle]

Oops, I'm not used to getting replies! Thanks!

Hehe, yeh I cut down the lights to 5 hrs recently because there was too much sun coming through the window.. Will be moving the tank next weekend.

Aha! Well I guess the sun could have spiked the temp in the tank, killing the cabomba? Else it was me failing to do water changes properly - have been needing to do loads lately with that dodgy fluval in there, since it dumps its dirt back in the tank whenever you pick it up, hehehe.. (new external arriving soon!) My disabilities mean it's a bit much to be dealing with that level of cabomba carnage every time I make a mistake, so I'll check out the limnophila, cheers.

I've been meaning to get some christmass moss as well.. I like the mini one! Have spent all this month's budget on the new filter, but will defo get some of this lovely stuff when I get paid in a couple weeks.

I may have been avoiding putting pics up since those plants died... It just looks so empty in there!!! hehe.. will get some tonight though. Thanks, guys! x

 

[minnnt]

Look forward to them!

 

[bumbleweasle]

Right, well.. I wouldn't exactly call this "scaped" at the moment.. but it looked awful as it was once the cabomba/wysteria died, so I just shoved all the moveable stuff together until I get more plants..

 

[ian]

I still like it!

I see loads of Crypts in there, it'd look great with them in.

 

[minnnt]

I love that! Absolutely stunning! Fancy coming to my house and doing mine?

 

[bumbleweasle]

I love that! Absolutely stunning! Fancy coming to my house and doing mine?

Hehe, cheers mate!

I still like it!

I see loads of Crypts in there, it'd look great with them in.

Yeh, I've seen some really nice scapes that are quite crypt-heavy.. they work nicely with bogwoods & such.. I was going to plan out a proper scape, but I'm still learning which plants suit my tank (and me!), so I reckon this will be a more gradual thing.. sadly my fish took the brunt of my most recent mistake - forgot to switch the heater back on last weekend after w/c.. Most of them are minnows, thankfully - they seemed to enjoy it! The others were stressed though, & I did lose one of the otos.

 

[minnnt]

Sorry to hear that.

Crypts will be your friend. Make sure you get a decent amount and plant them really close together. Chances are they will melt as the adjust to your water conditions, but they will soon start to get new leaves that are healthy. Some wendtii, amicorum and undulata will add great colour, texture and interest to your tank. Parva is also a great variety for the front of the tank.

 

[bumbleweasle]

Cheers minnnt..

This weekend is the Great Tank Move of 2011, hehe.. wish me & my fish luck!

Also, yey! My filter arrived! 2nd hand Eheim 2217 from eBay. Not sure if I can set it up this weekend though, since it only has the blue sponge and 3 bags of biomech. Do I need floss & ceramic noodles, too? I can always get them in a couple weeks when I get paid.. along with some nice crypts, of course!

 

[minnnt]

You should be fine to set it up without the floss and noodles. You can add them anytime. Are you seeding it with your current filter media?