My Planted 54G Bow Front
- Thread starter Rak9378
- Start date
Thx RCA. At some point I will definitely enter it in TOTM.
Update time....
I was staring at my tank the other day and something was bugging me but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then it hit me...I realized that that the Java Fern on the large piece of driftwood at the front of the tank had gotten so big that it sort of became a focal point. I felt like it was a distraction and took away from the back of the tank. So I decided to move it to the rock wall. I secured it by weighing it down with a larger piece of gravel and some fishing line....so hopefully it stays put. LOL. In its place on the driftwood is now a lovely Narrowleaf Anubias Nana (my fifth Anubias!) which I think looks much better. I also added some new Telanthera to the right side of the tank even though I said I wouldn't....it just looked so good at the LFS so I couldn't resist giving it another try.
Finally, I removed the Radican Sword that was at the base of the rock wall. It never really grew that well and I think it was too big and a bit of a distraction. With it gone, I now have a clear view into the cave at the bottom of the rock wall, which is heavily used by the fish and therefore a lot of fun to watch.
I also made a slight change with the hardscape. I shifted that smaller piece of driftwood to the right (when facing the tank) which I hope serves two purposes: 1) I'm hoping it will prevent my speedy Barbs from knocking the plants on the right side out of the substrate and 2) It opens up that pathway under the larger driftwood and back towards the cave. At some point I may try to put some type of carpet along that path but not sure about that yet.
Anyway, here is the latest pic...as always suggestions/feedback are welcome!
Update time....
I was staring at my tank the other day and something was bugging me but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then it hit me...I realized that that the Java Fern on the large piece of driftwood at the front of the tank had gotten so big that it sort of became a focal point. I felt like it was a distraction and took away from the back of the tank. So I decided to move it to the rock wall. I secured it by weighing it down with a larger piece of gravel and some fishing line....so hopefully it stays put. LOL. In its place on the driftwood is now a lovely Narrowleaf Anubias Nana (my fifth Anubias!) which I think looks much better. I also added some new Telanthera to the right side of the tank even though I said I wouldn't....it just looked so good at the LFS so I couldn't resist giving it another try.
I also made a slight change with the hardscape. I shifted that smaller piece of driftwood to the right (when facing the tank) which I hope serves two purposes: 1) I'm hoping it will prevent my speedy Barbs from knocking the plants on the right side out of the substrate and 2) It opens up that pathway under the larger driftwood and back towards the cave. At some point I may try to put some type of carpet along that path but not sure about that yet.
Anyway, here is the latest pic...as always suggestions/feedback are welcome!
Thx Daize. The cave has been there all along...just blocked by the Radican. The Radican was an impulse buy and when I got home I was like...great now where am I going to put this giant plant.. LOL. In hindsight I never should have blocked the cave.
It has been around 2 1/2 weeks since I started dosing ferts and so far results are mixed. Generally speaking the plants are doing well with good growth in the java fern, anacharis, pennywort, and wisteria. The various anubias in the tank are doing well but I have begun to notice dark green spots forming which I think is green spot algae. I have read that this is somewhat common for slow growing plants. I have slowly increased my Excel dosing over the last week and that seems to have at least halted the spread of it.
I have also noticed the leaves on my banana plant and some of the anubias are becoming a pale green/almost yellow...as if the color is draining. But the veins of the leaves remain dark green. After doing some research I think I may have a magnesium defficiency. So of course I started researching magnesium which took me down a rabbit hole! Researching magnesium led me to learning about GH and KH which are parameters I have all but ignored up to this point. That led me to researching whether or not I should dose a GH Booster or Seachem Equilibrium.
So I haven't tested my water yet (API GH & KH test arrives tomorrow) but I did check out a water quality report from my town. Turns out I have soft water with low magnesium
GH - 54ppm (3dh)
Alkaliity - 116ppm (6.5dh)
Magnesium - 5.4ppm
So I have purchased Equilibrium to try increase GH as well as magnesium. If that works out I will eventually purchase the GH Booster dry ferts. Time shall tell. If anyone thinks I'm making a mistake please let me know. I will try to post some updated pictures soon.
I have also noticed the leaves on my banana plant and some of the anubias are becoming a pale green/almost yellow...as if the color is draining. But the veins of the leaves remain dark green. After doing some research I think I may have a magnesium defficiency. So of course I started researching magnesium which took me down a rabbit hole! Researching magnesium led me to learning about GH and KH which are parameters I have all but ignored up to this point. That led me to researching whether or not I should dose a GH Booster or Seachem Equilibrium.
So I haven't tested my water yet (API GH & KH test arrives tomorrow) but I did check out a water quality report from my town. Turns out I have soft water with low magnesium
GH - 54ppm (3dh)
Alkaliity - 116ppm (6.5dh)
Magnesium - 5.4ppm
So I have purchased Equilibrium to try increase GH as well as magnesium. If that works out I will eventually purchase the GH Booster dry ferts. Time shall tell. If anyone thinks I'm making a mistake please let me know. I will try to post some updated pictures soon.
I think you've got the right idea. I think some EI starter kits include GH booster / magnesium sulphate anyway so it's a shame yours didn't include them.
I also used to get dark spots on my anubias. I kept rubbing them off but they would always reappear. They eventually disappeared when I increased to 2x carbon dosing.
I also used to get dark spots on my anubias. I kept rubbing them off but they would always reappear. They eventually disappeared when I increased to 2x carbon dosing.
Thx Daize. I'm hoping the increased dosing of Excel will do the trick. Seems to be working so far.
So my API GH & KH test kit arrived today. I tested my tank water and it looks as though my water is indeed soft, but not as soft as I thought. KH is also lower than I thought. Test results:
GH: 71.6ppm (4dh)
KH: 71.6ppm (4dh)
So I will go ahead and add the Equilibrium but not at the full recommended dose. I am going to try to target a GH of 6dh which I think is generally a good level for both plants and my fish (I don't have any fish with specific GH requirements). I'm hoping that using Equilibrium will both increase my GH and alleviate my mangesium deficiency. We shall see!
So my API GH & KH test kit arrived today. I tested my tank water and it looks as though my water is indeed soft, but not as soft as I thought. KH is also lower than I thought. Test results:
GH: 71.6ppm (4dh)
KH: 71.6ppm (4dh)
So I will go ahead and add the Equilibrium but not at the full recommended dose. I am going to try to target a GH of 6dh which I think is generally a good level for both plants and my fish (I don't have any fish with specific GH requirements). I'm hoping that using Equilibrium will both increase my GH and alleviate my mangesium deficiency. We shall see!
Quick photo update
Waiting for some new leaves to grow in to see if magnesium is still an issue. GSA seems to have been stopped in its tracks. So far so good.
Oh and a new plant addition....
A Crypt Wendtii Red....at least it's supposed to be red. I am giving it a try attached to driftwood. My hope being that since it has a rhizome it might act like Anubias. I realize it's a risk but I figured why not try. I have read a few forums where people said they had success so we shall see. Wendtii is supposed to be one of the hardier Crypts so maybe it will work.
Waiting for some new leaves to grow in to see if magnesium is still an issue. GSA seems to have been stopped in its tracks. So far so good.
Oh and a new plant addition....
A Crypt Wendtii Red....at least it's supposed to be red. I am giving it a try attached to driftwood. My hope being that since it has a rhizome it might act like Anubias. I realize it's a risk but I figured why not try. I have read a few forums where people said they had success so we shall see. Wendtii is supposed to be one of the hardier Crypts so maybe it will work.
That'll be interesting to see how it does. I have heard of people attaching crypts to driftwood before with success. It is supposed to be a heavy root feeder. I suspect you'll get long white roots growing down over the wood into the gravel.
Ok I think I may have an addiction....I picked up another piece of wood the other day. This is a pretty small piece and I intend to put it in the space to the right (when facing the tank) of the rock wall.
I will stand it upright as it is in the picture. My plan is to cover it with all of the new Java Fern growth I have in the tank. It is almost done leeching tannins so hopefully by this Sunday I will have it in the tank.
I will stand it upright as it is in the picture. My plan is to cover it with all of the new Java Fern growth I have in the tank. It is almost done leeching tannins so hopefully by this Sunday I will have it in the tank.
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