Jay's Planted 180g Tank.

[BenefulBrad]

Wow your tank is amazing! It's cool to look at the picture when you first started and to see how we'll it had progressed growth wise. Also I love your Sterbai Cory's, they are my favorite Cory cats and look so cool in schools of 10 plus. I bet they love your tank.
What brand substrate are you using exactly? I see you said it has depleted mineral wise. What would you use instead? Also how do you keep algae from growing on your plant leaves? Thanks for such an interesting thread...


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[JAY973]

Wow your tank is amazing! It's cool to look at the picture when you first started and to see how we'll it had progressed growth wise. Also I love your Sterbai Cory's, they are my favorite Cory cats and look so cool in schools of 10 plus. I bet they love your tank.
What brand substrate are you using exactly? I see you said it has depleted mineral wise. What would you use instead? Also how do you keep algae from growing on your plant leaves? Thanks for such an interesting thread...

Thanks. I was/am using mineralized soil with a charcoal color soil master select product. For the move most of the substrate was removed in order to move it except for the area of C. parva. That made for a muddy mess for a week and if the corys hit a spot they like to dig where it had settle the tank gets cloudy all over again for days. That's usually a queue for a water change. The Sterbai are a pleasure and they've been attempting to breed more frequently with this new water than in the past that I've noticed. My problem is my GBR also recognizes when they are laying eggs and follows them around. I had 12 but the group is down to 6, two of them are offspring I'm hoping a few more survive a long the way.

There's a current trend among my local club members with a miracle grow product capped with an inert substrate which I'm experimenting with in a 20L g and 55g but as I found out I have a BN pleco that likes to dig. My 20L is now a mess but I have to give my 55g more attention haven't really done with plants yet.

For algae on leave or hardscape I use a large syringe with tubing and target those areas with metricide or peroxide alternating between the two if necessary with filtering off for about a 1/2 hour. Peroxide I've been told is safe up to 2ml per gallon although some have claim to use more, Metricide comes in different concentrations and some plants are sensitive to it I don't know if you notice but on my vals the tips are burned. You should be able to do the same with Excel (same active ingredients in metricide) with same results for sensitive plants. If you are considering one of the above methods please be careful of measurements. (I thoughtlessly put 20cc of peroxide into my pico tank (1.5g)turning it into a whirlpool and watching my shrimp die)

 

[fishorama]

Oh, man, losing the discus, how awful, they were so pretty. The tank still looks good, just different. Moving is a good time to try something new. I moved 1.5 years ago & still haven't set up my bigger tanks. Instead of discus & botia loaches I have a river tank & a little fish 20g, trying many different plants with varying success. You have a real artistic sense & green thumb, I can't wait for updates.

 

[JAY973]

Oh, man, losing the discus, how awful, they were so pretty. The tank still looks good, just different. Moving is a good time to try something new. I moved 1.5 years ago & still haven't set up my bigger tanks. Instead of discus & botia loaches I have a river tank & a little fish 20g, trying many different plants with varying success. You have a real artistic sense & green thumb, I can't wait for updates.

Thanks. I'm sort of taking the less difficult road for now with easy plants. I know what you mean about moving I still have 4-20g, 1-40L g, 29g, 1-20L g, pico,and my 90g sitting empty. I have 2-20L g, 2-55g, 1-20g and the 180g running but I'm not sure I'm going to keep all these tanks running. Being the northeast my basement is very cold in the new house and I didn't think my utility bills could get worst from the other house... surprise. I may just just setup as a cold water (non-heated) planted tank maybe even fishless.

 

[JAY973]

Well here is the current Flora list:
Anubias nana
Anubias nana petite
Blyxa aubertii
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne spiralis
Cryptocoryne wendtii
cryptocoryne wendtii green gecko
Cryptocoryne wendtii tropica
Didiplis Diandra
Echinodorus parviflorus
Echinodorus vesuvius
Ludwigia repens x arcuata
Prosrpinaca palustris
Vallisneria americana

A few pics of some of the plants in the tank.

 

[PattyCakes81]

Well here is the current Flora list:
Anubias nana
Anubias nana petite
Blyxa aubertii
Cryptocoryne parva
Cryptocoryne spiralis
Cryptocoryne wendtii
cryptocoryne wendtii green gecko
Cryptocoryne wendtii tropica
Didiplis Diandra
Echinodorus parviflorus
Echinodorus vesuvius
Ludwigia repens x arcuata
Prosrpinaca palustris
Vallisneria americana

A few pics of some of the plants in the tank.

Awesome plant selection! Can you show a pic of the cryptocoryne wendtii green gecko?

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[JAY973]

Awesome plant selection! Can you show a pic of the cryptocoryne wendtii green gecko?

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It's the third pic up from the bottom at least that was the guess at the time I recieved it. It was grown emersed and is transitioning to submersed so there's been a lot of melt. I'll have a better idea in a few weeks right now it's looking like a totally different plant than what got because of the change.

 

[JAY973]

Awesome plant selection! Can you show a pic of the cryptocoryne wendtii green gecko?

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The other possibility is that the plant in question may be Cryptocoryne undulatus green but again maybe after it trasitions will it be easier to tell.

 

[fishorama]

Tell me about the mermaid weed please (p.palustris) I like the look of pointy leaf edges but have never seen it or tried it. Lighting again (sorry too long to go back). Supposedly medium light, no co2, true? I'm gonna have to ask at my plant club...why isn't it grown more often? The closest I've seen is the same genus but a different species from the wilds of Florida, not really happy in most tanks long term. Have you had it long?

BTW your blyxa looks much happier than mine, I can't grow japonica for long but had hopes of albertii, I think they are starved for ferts

 

[JAY973]

Tell me about the mermaid weed please (p.palustris) I like the look of pointy leaf edges but have never seen it or tried it. Lighting again (sorry too long to go back). Supposedly medium light, no co2, true? I'm gonna have to ask at my plant club...why isn't it grown more often? The closest I've seen is the same genus but a different species from the wilds of Florida, not really happy in most tanks long term. Have you had it long?

BTW your blyxa looks much happier than mine, I can't grow japonica for long but had hopes of albertii, I think they are starved for ferts

This is an interesting plant originally I had it buried behind a large piece of driftwood shaded with no ill effects to the 1 stem I have in there. I've got (4) 5FT T5HO - 80w each staggered so the ends get less light this stem being to the far right against the vals doesn't seem to care. I do have pressurized Co2 running but at the moment it's not dial in I have a leak with the bubble counter but it's still running. Only had it a few weeks.

It's been a love hate for me with the B. japonica I had a carpet of it for a short period of time then poof choked itself out and wouldn't grow for me again. Keeping it down in the SMS is a pain as well I definitely prefer the B aubertii and with the nana petite and c. parva don't have a need for the japonica so it's a win win.