View Full Version : Feed me Seymour! (~1MB of photo's inside)
superjohnny
03-13-2003, 1:00 AM
Ok guys,
I know my water is really dirty. I added some Flourish and BAM! green water. I'm doing 50% changes every other day. Hopefully my water will be within reason in the next few days.
Anyone know anything about this plant here....
http://download.johnnyanddana.com/images/plant_1.jpg
First off, anyone know what that honkin' thing is? It grows like 3-4 inches per day. Uh, fast growing...yea.
You can see in this one how there are some vines growing up to the surface of the water. Those literally grew 5" a day until they started swirling around the top of the tank.... They have a bulb on the end and once they flower the shell of it falls off. I have given the flowers some room at the top of the tank because they seem to like to stay dry. This is so weird...
http://download.johnnyanddana.com/images/plant_3.jpg
It has these flower type things. But from what the LFS said these plants don't propagate.
http://download.johnnyanddana.com/images/plant_5.jpg
http://download.johnnyanddana.com/images/plant_6.jpg
This grew while I was at work... it wasn't there this morning.
http://download.johnnyanddana.com/images/plant_4.jpg
Fishiebusiness
03-13-2003, 2:08 AM
Nice pix.
That big plant looks like an Aponogetion species, probably ulvaceous, did it come in a bulb?
superjohnny
03-13-2003, 2:16 AM
I knew I'd know the name once I heard it... you are right, it's an ulvaceous. Thank you very much for solving the mystery :)
All my other plants are growing roots like crazy... all over the place. Do i need to replant them, or just let them figure it out on their own?
Richer
03-13-2003, 3:05 AM
Thats some green water you have there!
Water changes won't get rid of your green water... once it gets established in a planted tank its difficult to get rid of.
I'd suggest trying a blackout to rid yourself of the GW. Raise spray bars, add an airpump + stone, etc. to increase surface aggitation. Do a 50% water change, clean out the mechanical filter pads, and cover the entire tank with heavy blankets and or black garbage bags. Make sure no light can enter the tank. Shut off your lights and CO2 systems and let your tank sit like this for 2-4 days. Don't worry about your fish or plants during this time, they'll be fine... although some of the faster growing plants might be "stretched" out a bit in their search for light. After the 2-4 day period, remove all the covers, take out the air stones, and reset your spray bars (if you have them). Do another 50% water change, turn on your lights and restart your CO2 system (once again, if you have one). Keep a good nutrient balance, and you should be rid of most of the algae in your tank for a long while.
HTH
-Richer
superjohnny
03-13-2003, 3:39 AM
Yea the green is pretty bad :D I'm really not worried about it though. After I took these pics I did a 50% and it looks much better. I'll give a black-out a shot though and see how that goes.
What should I do about the flowering? As you can tell I don't have that many plants (just starting out you know ;)). The flowers are dropping little black things into the water. I'm just such a **** ignoramus when it comes to all this.... "black things" sheesh, I'm terrible! That's what you get with public education I guess :D So what should I do with this monster?
The other plants are rooting like crazy as well. Should I let them be or should I cut them and plant the little ones?
Thanks guys :)
SuperJ, I think that you'll find that by the time you read this post your GW (green water) will be back.
WetmanNY told me that it would eventually clear itself if I was patient. Mine took weeks, but that time can be drastically reduced if you get a Litre (quart) of water from a healthy, clear, well established planted tank. It seems there are micro-organisms that chow down on the algae. Now when I add too many nutrients, my water gets a little hazy for one day, then is clear the next.
You can filter your water with a diatom filter, as I did, or kill the GW with a UV sterilizer and these will work effectively, but it won't solve the problem.
Also, about cutting the plants, the more growth you have going on in your tank, the better control you will haveover GW.
HTH
Skittyfish
03-13-2003, 8:14 AM
I have the same plant, but when I added more lights, BAM, thing just about died. now it is only a couple of inches tall. I need to get CO2 and ferts going good, maybe then it will look like yours.
Beautiful plant!
Just wanted to add on to what Matak said -- I too had a GW problem and tried to do the many water changes. Always came back. The only solution that worked for me was the blackout. Covered my entire 55 with a blanket and left if for 5 days. Water was crystal clear afterwards. Just be sure to be checking nutrients and adjusting accordingly after that, otherwise, the green water will be back to rear its ugly head!
Good luck!
superjohnny
03-13-2003, 11:37 AM
Here is a picture I took this morning... it's better than it was last night.
http://download.johnnyanddana.com/images/plant_7.jpg
What should I do about the flowering? Should I chop them off, just ignore them and fill my tank or leave them be?
djlen
03-13-2003, 12:51 PM
IME if you let them go to seed they will fall off themselves and re-seed the tank with a bunch of little plants. After this occurs, in my case, the mother plant went into dormancy for a period of time and then came back to "life". The upside of this is that you get a whole new bunch of plants. The downside is that you have no control over where they will grow. I had them all over the place. You can always move them though. I thought it was kinda neat to watch all this unfold.
Hey Supe, you gotta do something about that algae. It's probably going to come back. Are you fertilizing other than the Flourish?
Len
superjohnny
03-13-2003, 3:12 PM
Yea, I put in like 4 root tabs the day before the Flourish. I'm going to do a blackout tonight- Sunday night like Richer (sorry :()suggested.
I guess half of the fun is in the mistakes. I don't mind screwing up, but when I kill fish it's not so great. Meanwhile, my 2 SAE's have their work cut out for them.
Hopefully I won't lose too many of the seeds to water changes before I get some volunteers. It really is a pretty plant.
superjohnny
03-13-2003, 3:27 PM
Ok on a side note, anyone have any suggestions about a background? I used to have a mirror that was really cool. Confused the hell outta the fish, but that was just good clean entertainment :D Now it looks... uh... well... ugly being able to see the Sunkist bottle & canister filter. My thought was that the plants would cover that up, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Suggestions welcome :)
NJ Devils Fan
03-13-2003, 5:15 PM
I saw your canister filter and one of the tubes looks kind of kinked. Make sure you fix it. You could try Juat a few pieces of black construction paper, it looks very nice.
Some schmoe by the handle of NJ Devils Fan said that taping black costruction paper to the back of my tank would look good. It really made a difference for the better. Thanx again NJ! :D
Anaxus
03-13-2003, 5:48 PM
Has anyone tried using a towel for a background. I picked up a dark blue towel for a couple dollars. I haven't taped it up yet but just holding it to the back of the tank looks really nice. The texture and weave of the towel gives it a nice 3d effect. Plus if it gets wet no big deal it will just soak it up :)
Only thing I havent figured out yet is how to secure it, I am not sure if normal tape will be able to hold it.
If it looks good, go for it! How about setting up a stand for the towel behind the tank, completely separate from the tank?
Slappy*McFish
03-13-2003, 6:10 PM
I'm another supporter of black backgrounds..
For backgrounds I rummage through the scrap fabric section at WalMart. Got some real dark ones: blue (almost black), green (almost black), and my fav on my plant tank -- brown (no, not almost black) that goes great with the Flourite (what little you can see through the plants). They are light-weight, and I tack them to the back corners with adhesive Poster Putty. I gave up on paper - just looks unattractive when it gets wet or tears.
tfish
03-13-2003, 10:28 PM
That fabric sounds like a great idea! I think I'm going to give it a try! Thanks! :D
Molino
03-13-2003, 10:39 PM
I did the same as Ger on my 33 gallon. I had some left over black fabric from my darkroom and it works great on the back of my tank. With poster board, if it's a large tank, you might need more than one sheet and that might result in a visible line where they overlap.
NJ Devils Fan
03-13-2003, 10:53 PM
Np. :)
Wait a second, schmoe:mad: :)
superjohnny
03-14-2003, 2:47 AM
Wow, what an unsightly beast my tank is now with the great big blanket all wrapped around it. I just hope my 2 SAE's are ok after all is said & done.
Would a UV sterilizer fix the algae problem as well as a blackout? *drooling over Double Helix ;)*
Yes it would, SJ. Check my first response (post #6) to this thread though.
NJ Devils Fan
03-14-2003, 7:41 AM
Sj, would you be talking about this? ;) :p
http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL47/889630/1620657/19802685.jpg
superjohnny
03-14-2003, 12:01 PM
Ok now you are just rubbing it in NJ Devils Fan! :D
What's that Maxi Jet thing you got going on? Do you not have a canister and need a pump?
So if a UV sterilizer would fix a algae problem would it then be possible to have your tank at what would otherwise be an un-healthy balance of light/nutrients? If uv light stops the algae, what happens if you use too much fertilizer?
I'd love a double helix, but I really want to pay off my credit card :)
NJ Devils Fan
03-14-2003, 3:54 PM
Yea, its a powerhead. I have 2 HOB filters, no canisters. When you do get the u.v., get it from Big Al's. They have it extremely cheap. You only need a 9 watt one which is $62.99.
Starry
03-16-2003, 7:58 PM
About your Aponogeton ulvaceus - the flowers are actually self-sterile, so they won't reproduce in your tank (unless you can cross it with another unrelated plant). Some other Aponogeton species will reproduce that way, but not the ulvaceus. Now that is has flowered, it might go dormant in a few weeks. Don't assume that it's dead - this is normal. Just leave it alone and if it feels like it, it will resprout in a few months. Gorgeous plant though, probably my favourite.