Newbie 20gal Planted

[George Farmer]

How long has this been set up RENDOG? Everything looks so bright and new.

Is that carpet of (I think) Marsilea hirsuta in the foreground grown from scratch by yourself or did you buy it as an established carpet?

Are you adding any liquid ferts to the water?

The plant next to the filter inlet looks non-aquatic to me - Spathiphyllum wallisii, commonly known as a peace lily and is better off as a house plant.

 

[Dannie]

Beautiful tank!
I like guppies too

 

[RENDOG]

How long has this been set up RENDOG? Everything looks so bright and new.

Is that carpet of (I think) Marsilea hirsuta in the foreground grown from scratch by yourself or did you buy it as an established carpet?

Are you adding any liquid ferts to the water?

The plant next to the filter inlet looks non-aquatic to me - Spathiphyllum wallisii, commonly known as a peace lily and is better off as a house plant.

2 weeks....pretty sure its called amazon sword....the carpet was purchased grown already in little clumps, I forgot the name though but now that I practically live at the store I will find out. No liquid fert just flourish plant tabs. What should I be adding...please let me know.

 

[lljdma06]

Welcome to TFF RENDOG! Nice to see another Floridian. So that's what the Big Al's in Tamarac has to offer, huh? Methinks I need to make a trip. I certainly hope Big Al's doesn't sell non-aquatics, I'd be disappointed if they did.

The tank is lovely so far RENDOG. I like the scape a lot and you've done a lot of research before taking the plunge. It's nice to see that a 20g high isn't the "waste" of space so many consider it to be. A lovely sized tank if done right.

llj

 

[RENDOG]

Welcome to TFF RENDOG! Nice to see another Floridian. So that's what the Big Al's in Tamarac has to offer, huh? Methinks I need to make a trip. I certainly hope Big Al's doesn't sell non-aquatics, I'd be disappointed if they did.

The tank is lovely so far RENDOG. I like the scape a lot and you've done a lot of research before taking the plunge. It's nice to see that a 20g high isn't the "waste" of space so many consider it to be. A lovely sized tank if done right.

llj

i was going to go bigger but then everything starting increasing in price like exponentially. So I stuck with the 20 gallon. Thanks for the nice comment

 

[RENDOG]

whats the procedure when trimming? cut with fingers or a small scissor and also can you replant all or only some of the tall growing plants? Thanks for any help

 

[stang1]

Great looking tank!

 

[lljdma06]

whats the procedure when trimming? cut with fingers or a small scissor and also can you replant all or only some of the tall growing plants? Thanks for any help

Depends on what you're trimming. Stemplants are trimmed by either cutting the top 2/3 of the plant with stainless steel scissors and replanting the tips, or you can remove side branches that shoot out, or you can cut an replant both halves. The bottom half will usually grow new side shoots, giving the plant a more bushy look. Only cutting the tips keeps the plant stronger longer. A mixture of the two is usually best for stemplants and I practice both to achieve the look I want. I'm writing a far more detailed article about this very subject in the next Newsletter. Root feeders are usually trimmed by removing the older leaves. Rhizomes are divided. Mosses and lawncovers are usually just trimmed with a pair of stainless steel scissors.

llj

 

[RENDOG]

Thank you very much. Where do I find the newsletter? Also, some of the leaves on my carpet in the front are turning a brownish color...should i try to rub it off to see if it's a film (maybe algae)? I will try to take a pic of it tonight. Thanks again

 

[love_fish]

Looks great so far. Theres a good topic on the plant section about ferts etc, definetely worth a look.
Great tank again.

 

[lljdma06]

Thank you very much. Where do I find the newsletter? Also, some of the leaves on my carpet in the front are turning a brownish color...should i try to rub it off to see if it's a film (maybe algae)? I will try to take a pic of it tonight. Thanks again

The new Newsletter isn't out yet, but they'll make an announcement in ChitChat or the announcement section when it will be up and post a link. The last issue is already up. Try rubbing it off. Could be diatoms which is a type of algae very common in new tanks. It usually goes away on its own once plants establish themselves. If the actual leaf is brownish then that is usually an indication of inadaquate light or a fertiliser deficiency of some type. What's your carpet plant again?

llj

 

[RENDOG]

Thanks....yes it's a film on the carpet, not the actually leaves. Glasso something is what the carpet plants are. Just had my water checked today and everything was pretty perfect. No casualties yet which is great....4 guppies and 5 neons still living and eating. Thanks again.

 

[~T~]

Looks good, is that a specialist planted tank substrate?

 

[RENDOG]

Some updated pics. December 3 2006 except for the first one which was on December 1st. The tank is brighter than it seems in the pics...it's a 65w coral life in a 20 gallon. By the way, shortly after I added the co2, plant growth like tripled.

Taken december 1st...tall grass like plants in the back grew long in 2 days, see next pics

Looks good, is that a specialist planted tank substrate?

http/www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl36...floramax15lbbag

 

[RENDOG]

I think I saw my first aquatic aphid today??? This thing was scary...I thought it was a spider that fell in the tank but it looked like some sort of aphid. Is there such a thing???