Prava je retkost videti ovakav akvarijum i ovakve biljke, i mislim da je jako malo akvarista koji bi ovako zahtevne biljke mogli da cuvaju toliko vremena i konstantno u tako dobroj formi...
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A real rarity is to see this kind of aquarium and such plants, and I think that are very few aquarists who could kept these demanding plants so long and so constantly in good form...
One of the goals of the tank was to provide a good place to grow many colorful stem plants and other rare species to sell to pay for the lighting and electrical cost.
Using rare and new species has always been a goal.
Who in this hobby, does not like interesting new plants?
I removed the Erio setaceum type 3, but it does better in another aquarium. That was the only plant I had issues with growing, but, the current played the main role there, too shallow and too much current for where I wanted to put the plant.
If the aquarium was another 10-15 cm deeper, then there'd be no issue.
Zanimljivo iskustvo u vezi strujanja vode i dubine akvarijuma.
Predpostavljam da ti je u ovom akvarijumu najjace kretanje vode po povrsini?
Stabljikaste biljke sve stoje dosta uspravno i na onim slikama gde je filter ukljucen...
Da li imas neki snimak ovog akvarijuma na youtube?
Ako nemas eto mog predloga da ga snimis, frontalno, makro itd
Vecina ovih biljaka se dosta tesko nalazi kod nas u prodavnicama ili kod hobista, pa i ono sto neko vreme uspemo da sacuvamo na kraju izgubimo. UG na primer, a da ne spominjem biljke poput Tonine, Syngonanthus, Eriocaulona...
Za ovako dugačak tekst moraću prevodiocima platiti pivo
Pozdrav
Zander said: Interesting experience regarding water flow and aquarium depth.
I suppose that, in this particular aquarium, water flow (current) is strongest on the surface?
Do you maybe have a youtube video of the aquarium?
In case you don't, then here is my suggestion for you to record it (from the front, macro, etc).
The majority of the plants you have within the aquarium is very hard to find in our stores or among hobbyists so what we manage to save, we still end up loosing it. UG for instance and not to mention Tonine, Syngonanthus, Eriocaulona.
For such a long post I will have to pay the beer for the translators!
Regards!
Some changes and I have a theme in mind later.
Rotala Sunset, Erio Compressum, and Ludwigia sphaerocarpa are all nice native USA plants that have recently come into the hobby via the work of fellow hobbyist.
Highlighting these species will be pretty much the central region of this tank.
I have to move a couple of things and wait for the plants to grow in some more.
I'll also be adding as row of Syngonanthus uaupes in the front and hack back some of the UG.
I can move the Tonina to the rear section somewhere and add the Erio compressum there, or maybe Erio setaceum type 3, we will see. Depends if I can get good growth form from the Erio compressum.
I might move the Tonina back to the far Right where it was before and then scratch the Syngonathus "madeira".
I also have Hydrocotyle verticillata I may work in somewhere.
Another native I've never seen in aquarium other than one book is P. americana, a nice little grass like fern. I have to wait till spring to hunt for it. It's local for me. So that's 5 months away.
Some groups need to grow out, some need added still, but the overall color and contrast is coming together.
Juce sam pregledao sve tvoje slike sa photobucket-a, i stvarno na kraju ne znam sta radis tim biljkama. Jasno mi je sve sto si napisao da radis ali mi nije jasno zasto to jos nekom osim tebi nije poslo za rukom da drzi takve biljke (toliko zahtevne), bez ikakvih problema. Da li se i to to nekada zapitas, verovatno da...
Znam da je gomila ljudi probala da se oproba po tvom receptu, pocevsi od meke vode, EI sistema, mineralizacije vode, aquasoil-a itd. Ali ja nisam video bas neki uspeh, sem kod tebe. Tako da ili imas neke sposobnosti kao onaj madjionicar Stiven Frejn Dajnamo, ili stvarno znas znanje
Yesterday I reviewed all your pictures from photobucket's, and really in the end I do not know what you're doing too these plants. I understand everything you've written that you're doing but I do not understand why only you managed to keep such plants (so demanding) without any problems. Do you sometimes wonder about that, perhaps that ...
I know a bunch of people tried to work by your recipe, starting with soft water, the EI system, mineralized water, Aquasoil-and so on. But I did not see much of a success, except your. So either you have some skills like the magician Stephen Frain Dynamo, or you really know the secret.
Juce sam pregledao sve tvoje slike sa photobucket-a, i stvarno na kraju ne znam sta radis tim biljkama. Jasno mi je sve sto si napisao da radis ali mi nije jasno zasto to jos nekom osim tebi nije poslo za rukom da drzi takve biljke (toliko zahtevne), bez ikakvih problema. Da li se i to to nekada zapitas, verovatno da...
Znam da je gomila ljudi probala da se oproba po tvom receptu, pocevsi od meke vode, EI sistema, mineralizacije vode, aquasoil-a itd. Ali ja nisam video bas neki uspeh, sem kod tebe. Tako da ili imas neke sposobnosti kao onaj madjionicar Stiven Frejn Dajnamo, ili stvarno znas znanje
That's in a different tank, the light bulbs are different, mostly red and blue mix, less light in terms of PAR, so better red reflection. I get better reds in the 180 Gallon, even though the light is less, about 100 umol vs 130-140 umol at the sediment.
I've switched the bulbs in the 120 Gallon, but it looks weird to me.
Fertilizers are just one aspect. Light, bulb type and CO2, trimming, algae eaters, water changes, species you chose etc.........
I have local members that come over to my home, they see the plants in person.
I think experience certainly helps, but there's no real trick to colors or harder species.
Many hobbyists, who are often frustrated, think there is.
Colors are photoshopped often by many hobbyists.
You can get the red to pop out using "gamma" in the exposure setting.
This darkens the image and removes the higher light that washes out intense colors.
Hue is often the most common or auto color correction. Hue gives a weird pinkish color that a dead give away they used too much photoshop.
I use a little gamma reduction, so you can back process images and see what you think they might actually really look like.
I've done this many times to show that some folks were just out right lying about how red their plants were.
I cannot do that because I have local folks that come over to my home and buy plants and see the tanks every week or two.
It's also not fair to the rest of the people who cannot do that.
Bulbs can reflect more red if the light is also red, but too much, and it starts to look freakish and not real.
I mix red and blue with some white bulbs.
I do not get as deep red colors in my 120 Gallon above as I do in my 180.
Most plants actually do better in the 180 Gallon tank. But I do not trim them as often and the tank is being used more as a place to keep a few species I'd rather not stuff in a corner in the 120 Gallon Tank.
Red pantanal is a love-hate plant. Grows very fast. But people still love it and by it like crazy. I'm trying to avoid it in the 120 gallon this time.
Also, the ATI dimmers effect color and lighting a lot, I'll take snap shots near the end of the day so they are ramping down.
So yes, there's a lot more to this than fertilization.
the best article I've read in decades discusses the main drivers of plant growth:
Thank you my friend.
I also think that this is one of the best articles about growing aquatic plants. We've translated it for our members.
However, your results are amazing.
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Hvala prijatelju.
I ja takodje mislim da je ovo jedan od najboljih tekstova o rastu akvarijumskih biljaka. Preveli smo ga i za nae članove.
Ipak tvoji rezultati su čudesni.
Ludwigia sphaerocarpa is looking good right now. Not sure why really, it's weird sometimes post trims and gets a little wrinkly, but I've hacked it and few times now and it's just fine and the color is still becoming richer.
I want to move the Trithuria sp, blood vomits. I think they will look best in a row. But where to put that row?
I'd likely put something like Belem hair grass or maybe the Monte carlo again.
Added the Fissidens moss to the branches that make a border around that section.
The Erio compressum's have done well thus far.
No floating. I split them into a couple more plants once I got them from Aaron, but I counts another 3 on one group and another 3 on another ans at least 2 on the 3rd plant.
So they are growing and doing well in this tank. They are so nice, it would suck if they did not:rolleyes:
So the 3 problems sections for now:
1. The Rear Left side(see below)
2. The Blood vomits(sounds like my friend's old punk rock band, the blood farmers)
3. The rear right side.
I'm okay with these issues for now and have a couple of options.
But I want to maximize the return for ease of care, stability of growth patterns, able to sell the plants for a decent return and most importantly,a nice look and eclectic species.
Weighing all these demands is never an easy choice, you can quickly chose a few, but as you get towards the end of the location spots in the tank, and the picky behavior due to placement location in the tank to different plant preferences, well..........
I have some issues here, I'd like to move the Syngonanthus urapues over to the left, but it's too dark for it under the branch. I could try and pack more soil back in there and that would raise the level up more, but that will be tough over time.
I could call the Fissidens branch a green row and then move the Cuphea back one spot and add Rotala sunset in the more forward section where the Cuphea is now. Both the Syngonanthus and the Rotala need open areas and good current and CO2 to do well.
Tank continues to thrive. I hacked a lot of the groups back yesterday. Mowed others back down. I removed the P stellata narrow in the right corner and then expanded the Erio type 3 out since it is doing well in that position.
The section is still weak for now, but in 2-3 months, it'll be real nice. The Syngonanthus canuck and the maderia are doing very well, one is albino white and is still growing well, might be a mutation, but more likely just got a chlorine or the water was too hot during a water change since the in/out was on top of the plant, only 3 or the 15-20 stems were effected though and the others corrected themselves. I'll find out in a month or two, but doubtful it's a real mutation, but you never know. Elatine hydropiper is doing well, thickening up and piling on itself. I added some more along the side of the tank to see how it'll fair. Some of the older Erio compressum leaves are getting a bit of green spot algae. I'll need to trim those off sometime, plenty of nice new growth that's well out pacing any algae. I must have 12 side shoots at least now. Also got a touch of BBA for about 2 weeks, but, the gas was out for a couple of days, just kept up on everything and it's stopped about 2 weeks ago. Not on the plants, but the wood had tiny bits forming. Why? Not sure, maybe from adding the fish, maybe the CO2, maybe slacking on water changes, hard to say. Certainly manageable, but I know it need not be there at all. All new growth of BBA stopped about 2-3 weeks ago and it's slowly going away. I changed the current which increased the CO2, reduced the degassing Fish seemed a bit more sluggish, but still fine. So that might be it also, or a combo of the CO2/current ripple adjustment, more water changes, staying on the CO2 tank switch if it runs out, adding new livestock etc.
Also, there's been a huge rise in RCS population the last 2 months, they are everywhere like flies.
Filter side view
A reineckii mini. I have pruned off any raggy looking leaves, and the nice new side shoots, fill in nicely. This is the best way to prune this plant it seems. You can uproot and then replant the side shoots, but there's a little bit of delay as the plant establishes the root system, but that method is good if you need more or a larger area for planting. I just top of the taller stems from here and remove some older side leaves now.
Blood vomit, sort of like Belem hair grass almost if you allow it to fill in and grow thick. I'd hoped for something different look wise, but they sell well, I've had trouble finding an optimal location in this design for them also, they really need a long row, not what I have now.
UG continues to do even better in this version of the 120 Gallon redone. If I were to focus more on nature style, I'd use this plant mostly along with Mini pellia/Ricciacardia, mini Myrio, maybe the Rotala mini butterfly.
I redid the Trithuria, blood vomit section and will treat it like hair grass basically, it's like a red based Belem hair grass etc.
I think it now looks much better against the wood vs lost next to other plants.
Also added more Mini Pellia and decided to add more of that throughout the scape.
Hottonia will have a small rown hanging over the Trithuria and be pressed outward b the A. reineckii mini.
This will offer some needed contrast in this central area. I wanted to use the Limnophila guinea wavy, but I might use it elsewhere at some point later.
For now, the Limnophila has no home in this tank.
Erio Type 3 is doing better and better, but it's hard to tell from the pics.
It's growing as it should. Making a nice larger group of this plant is not easy
But at this point, it's just patience.
Same for the other plants.
Some labeling of the Sygonanthus varieties I have here, all of which are the same species, but other varieties.
Some detail on how I use a drill and add Riccardia and do not use cotton string. the mesh like form of the plant acts like a spring to hold the plant in place, then it grows out nicely from there.
Here's some algae from about 6 weeks ago when the CO2 ran out. BBA popped up and it was very minor. Some leaves got a tinge, they were trimmed off, the wood got a few tiny bits, and most were removed.
The Trithuria species against the wood. This will fill in be 2-3 months from now pretty thick. I'm good with this position for the plant and was never happy prior.
So it'll stay here for awhile I suspect.
Most of plant species are hard(read impossible...)to find in Serbia.And if someone manage somehow to get them,I realy doubt that plants would look like yours.i mean, in that perfect form and condition...apsolutely awesome...
I think it time, many will come into the hobby there. Tropica has a big presence in the EU and a drive to a near by country can get many such plants.
I have sent some species to Tropica for production and trials. This can take up to a year or so. But then it's widely available.
Have you measured the conductivity of the water, at the end of the week, before replacing the water. If you have this information, if you have tds meter, if you can write what are the results?
I know how much GH and KH in the tank, but I'm interested in how many total dissolved salts along with all the fertilizer that you added.
Thank you, I hope you understand me
And fert uptake by plants over time also has the TDS decline over time also.
To get a clear picture of TDS in my aquariums, or any planted aquarium: Best to measure it a few times per day for a few weeks.
TDS does not really interest me. I can take a spot reading with a meter, but that is only one sample.
I think KH (alkalinity) is a more useful parameter. My TDS meter is outside, but I'll give you the before and after water change and fert dosing TDS's.
Pedja is correct, the Tropica "Mini" hairgrass they got from me. We call it belem hairgrass in the USA.
It is wise to try and send new plant species to Tropica.
