# New Year- New 90gal Low Tech Journal - 10/19 update



## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Plans look good Laura! Do 54 cardinals look crowded in a 90g? I'm planning on getting a school of them, but i was thinking 30 max... am i underestimating how many i can have? They're going to be the main schooling fish in the tank, with maybe a small school (10-15) of rummy nose.

Are you going to be running CO2?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

No, the tank doesn't look crowded at all. When this tank was fully stocked, it housed 60x Cardinals, 15x Pristella tetras, 12x P. weitzmani, plus all the shrimp and catfish AND 6x German blue rams- and the tank still didn't look crowded at all IMO. 

I'm probably going to add 20-30 Black neon tetras, I think. Or perhaps 30-50 if I go with Embers... Or perhaps a little fewer if I get some more dwarf cichlids.

I don't worry so much about bioload when sticking with small tetras. And these species actually do better the more you keep together, so overcrowding isn't an issue from a territory perspective, either. In the wild, they'd school in the 1000s, especially at night.

These numbers could very well be an issue with different species, however.

And no, I don't have plans to add CO2 to any of my tanks in the forseeable future. I've never wanted to fool with it LOL


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## chilled_fire (Jun 4, 2010)

^^^ i have seen ur tanks and believe me, you don't need pressurized co2, the plants just start growing in ur tanks 

cant wait for the pics


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

"Four Furry Furies" Let's hear you say that five times fast. Looking forward to the new tank, Laura!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

So here's the hardscape.

I'm still debating on softscape, but am leaning towards a Lilaeopsis mauritiana carpet like I have in the 29gal.

I like the hardscape better in person than in the pics.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I like it, Laura!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks, Sara!

The tank has cleared up quite a bit today, but that driftwood is still throwing off massive tannins. I need to replace the Purigen in my filters, hopefully I'll get that done today.

The plecos, otos, and shrimp all seem to approve of all the driftwood LOL


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

LOL. If the plecos approve, you know all is right with the world.  Gotta love tannins. It took over six months for mine to go away in a filterless tank.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Ordered 15 potts of Lilaeopsis mauritiana for the carpet.

Closing in on some narrow leaf Java fern to put in the driftwood.

Debating on whether I want any stem plants at all in this scape. I sorta do for help with nutrient control... but I also don't want to have to keep up with trimming. I may just get a few bunches of somekthing like Hygro kompakt or Lobelia small form....


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

lauraleellbp said:


> Ordered 15 potts of Lilaeopsis mauritiana for the carpet.
> 
> Closing in on some narrow leaf Java fern to put in the driftwood.
> 
> Debating on whether I want any stem plants at all in this scape. I sorta do for help with nutrient control... but I also don't want to have to keep up with trimming. I may just get a few bunches of somekthing like Hygro kompakt or Lobelia small form....


Give lobelia a try. I really like it and it's not a very fast grower. Here's a pic of mine before the great melt just to attempt to sway you.


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

i liked the old scape you had but this one takes the cake. very nice


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks kwheeler!

Jeff, I had Lobelia in this tank before (though not the small form) and it did pretty well. I'm going to wait until I have the Java fern and Lilaeopsis in place to decide what I think will look best, though.


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## chilled_fire (Jun 4, 2010)

those are some awesome drift woods in there.


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## bnbfishin (Dec 23, 2010)

I'm not a fan of mazanita but you did good with that layout!!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Still waiting on the Lilaeopsis and Java ferns to arrive.

Today I cleaned both the XP3 and the XP4. I don't usually clean both at the same time, but they were pretty dirty. I intentionally hadn't cleaned them for about a month before the move to make sure I didn't disturb the N-bacteria, so between that and all the debris from re-doing the substrate, they were pretty clogged. 

I replaced both Purigen bags (which were almost black) and I'm watching to see if they make much of a dent in the tannins in the tank. The driftwood is still throwing off massive tannins. I'll suspect it's going to be more than just 2 bags of Purigen can handle and I'll have to step up the water changes instead.

Found a dead Cardinal last week but everyone else seems to be doing fine. I'm watching all the Otos go bonkers in one corner of the tank right now, I suspect they might be spawning. I need to remember to pick them up some fresh veggies next time I'm at the grocery store, I'm out.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Alrighty. Needle leaf Java fern and 15 pots of Lilaeopsis mauritiana are now in place. Took me 2 days to plant all the Lilaeopsis LOL















































The next step is filling in the midground. Sunset Hygro and Hygro kompakt are the plan.

I may also add some Anubias in there somewhere, I'll see what it looks like after all the stems are in. They should arrive next week.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Though I'm not ready to start buying livestock, I've begun the hunt.

I've found a seller on AquaBid who is based in Ft Myers, so I may try and visit their facility if they'll allow it. I emailed and got their phone #, so maybe in the next week or two I'll get up there and check them out.


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## SleepyOwl (Sep 23, 2007)

Looks good! I like that wood.

Do you recomend the colorquartz? I am doing MTS, and would use it as a cap. I thought about using floramax as I can get it right in town, and it is a bit cheaper for me. Is it worth driving 40 minutes to get the colorquartz?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

If you can find T grade Colorquartz, I'd say grab it; it's been discontinued so isn't easy to find at all... I'm surprised you found some still in stock!

I've never used floramax.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

I like the new improved look a lot better then your old 90 gallon. Why didn't you go with a school of rummy nose tetras?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Rummies aren't totally out of the question, but I'm thinking Embers would add some nice color contrast in the tank.

It will most likely depend on availablity or what deals I can find.


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## SleepyOwl (Sep 23, 2007)

Thanks Laura!

One of my favorite LFS actually carry it. (Well, I guess it isn't local as it is 40 minutes away. lol) It will end up costing a bit more than if I bought it from wherever it is you normally get it, but then I would have to drive even farther, and this way I am supporting my not so local fish store.  

BTW, I love your big school of cardinals. I have 7. lol I have a dozen rummies too, but I might move them to my new tank, and get myself some more cardinals. They are so pretty!

Laura


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yeah, I love Cardinals. My very favorite fish. :biggrin:


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## yikesjason (Jul 2, 2008)

That looks great, especially the manzy. I can see why it took 2 days to plant. 

What about some nice crypts for the mid ground. You could add a bit of color with them. 

I have cardinals and rummys in my tank and I love the rummys. They school way better than the cardinals. They don't have the same flash from across the room as the cardinals, but upclose, I really like the bright red and the black and white checker of the tails. 

Great job on the rebuild. How is the new house by the way?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks, Jason!

The new house is working OK. Location is nice.

I may use some Crypts in the midground. I think I probably need to incorporate some stems for nutrient uptake, though. If the Hygros don't work the way I want them to, then Crypts will be Plan B.


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## redfalconf35 (Feb 24, 2008)

Looking awesome! Like always!:biggrin:


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## big54bob (Nov 15, 2008)

You need to get ahold of msjinksx on AC and look at her stock. Top notched and a very helpful person.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

What's AC?


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## mysticalnet (Dec 2, 2007)

Nice wood and nice setup, keep us updated!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks!

I noticed tonight that my female LF albino BN looks gravid again... Probably all the water changes with the move.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Quick update.










Not too much visual change just yet. Added some Hygros in, though. Got a big Hygro kompakt bush at the back of the tank, a little in the front that will need some growing in, and spread around some Sunset Hygro.










The plan right now is to keep the Sunset pretty low, perhaps about 4-6" tall, and let the Hygro kompakt bush into some nice focal points.










I'll let it grow in and see how it does.

The Dwarf Sag/E. tenellus mixed area seems to have acclimated pretty quickly and has been putting out lots of new leaves. Looks dark green and healthy, so I think the Miracle Gro is working well thus far.










The Lilaeopsis mauritiana is going through the expected die-off as it acclimates to being submerged. I've been skimming lots of leaves and some uprooted stuff off the surface of the tank, but not too terribly bad. I can see some tiny new growth coming up already in spots.










Nerite snails have been going bonkers laying eggs. I've even found some on the front tank glass for the first time. They've always stuck to laying on the driftwood till now for whatever reason. You can also see the poor lone Cory's nose in this pic. IDK what I'm going to do with it... I'm sure all his compadres are long gone from the LFS... maybe he'll like schooling with panda cories whenever I get some?










Very gravid BN pleco was being all shy and modest about her photo shoot

















The other 2 Calicos were hiding under the Java fern so those pics didn't come out.

I may be able to get some pics of them later once they discover the Romaine I just put in the tank for them. Didn't take the Otos long... lol


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Laura,

Tanks looks awesome! Talk about an instant foreground... WoW! LOL! Not leaving yourself alot of room for growout?

I wish I had my mother load of crypts still, I would have sent you a bunch. I may be purging a few tanks soon, so I will pm you if your still struggling with that midground and send you some of the left overs that I am sure I will have.

Sara gets first dibs though... she has been working OT on this site lately and I think she needs a pick me up!

Pssstttt. I actually caught her using a potty word the other day. You know she must be stressed out if she is doing that! LOL!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Cool, thanks! Definitely send some to Sara- she more than deserves them!

I'd actually have to redo the area around the driftwood for Crypts to fit in there. You can't see it b/c it ended up almost completely buried by the substrate, but I've got slate rocks all around the driftwood holding it in place. The original plan was to have the slate showing more, like it is in my 29gal, but the logistics didn't work out well b/c then the wood was too high... so anyways, I'm going to start with stems since they don't need quite as much root room. 

I may end up having to put some Anubias there since it doesn't need to root. I'd rather have a bit of color, though... we'll see how it goes.


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## zyn1 (Aug 26, 2010)

tank looks great....


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Gatekeeper said:


> Pssstttt. I actually caught her using a potty word the other day. You know she must be stressed out if she is doing that! LOL!


Shhhhh!!!! Don't let this out or I'll loose my good girl image. :icon_mrgr Tank is looking great, Laura! I love the foreground. Does your back hurt from all that planting.

By the way, I actually went to 1/2 the light on my 55 gallon today. Getting tired of all the trimming. Aren't you proud of me?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

sewingalot said:


> Shhhhh!!!! Don't let this out or I'll loose my good girl image. :icon_mrgr Tank is looking great, Laura! I love the foreground. Does your back hurt from all that planting.


Thanks! And OMG it was killing me!



> By the way, I actually went to 1/2 the light on my 55 gallon today. Getting tired of all the trimming. Aren't you proud of me?


HAHAHA that's toooo funny! roud:


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

It was really, really difficult, too. Can I call you when I want to flip the switch back on? :biggrin:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Absolutely! What are friends for but to guilt each other into doing things "their" way? ROFL


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## .Mko. (Sep 23, 2010)

love the Drift Wood.. So dynamic and eye catching. Great tank ! =) can't wait to see that carpet fully grown in.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> Absolutely! What are friends for but to guilt each other into doing things "their" way? ROFL


Hahaha! It probably won't last, knowing me. I am drawn to bright light. I'm thinking I must be part moth. 



.Mko. said:


> love the Drift Wood.. So dynamic and eye catching. Great tank ! =) can't wait to see that carpet fully grown in.


It is nice, isn't it? She makes it look so easy.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Did my first trim in the tank. Just to spread the stems around a bit more now that they have had a bit of time to acclimate.




























Sunset Hygro is strarting to color up nicely. I think it will look nice in front of the Java fern once both finish growing in.



















I also did a trim in my 46gal and went ahead and put a few stems of Hygro angustifolia into the back left corner of this tank. I'm sure I'll get tired of trimming them and replace them with Crypt retrospiralis at some point, but for now hopefully they'll add a bit of green height into that corner.









Chain swords and Sag are going bonkers, I already had to pull a half dozen runners out of the Lilaeopsis area









Just a closeup of the substrate layers. I've found I actually like the look where the Miracle Gro has gotten pulled up and mixed in with the black Flourite mix- looks very natural, I think. I almost never have any Miracle Gro pieces float up to the top of the tank at this point, either.









I need to find my putty knife algae scraper- the Nerites have been going egg-bonkers! lol


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Small progress report.

I went to my LFS and ordered 30x Ember tetras. Going to get them for $1.50 each, so I'm quite happy with that. Rick's going to call me when they're in, hopefully in a week or two.

I've also been on the lookout for a new quarantine tank, since I ditched that 12gal Eclipse (couldn't stand it). I haven't seen anything workable on either my local or the Tampa craigslist in weeks, but today at the Petsmart near my parents' house they had a new 25gal Aqueon setup on clearance for $79! Came with one of the Coralife T5NOs I like so much, glass canopy, heater, HOB filter, etc. I priced it all out in my head and figured it's cheaper than buying a used setup, once I upgraded everything I'd have to upgrade anyways (glass canopy, lighting, etc)- so I now have a brand new QT tank for the Embers. 

Once the Embers are done with their QT I'll probably look for some Panda cories, then some dwarf cichlids (most likely GBRs though I'll see what looks good at the time I'm ready to get them), and then I'll be done restocking the tank!


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Very nice pictures, l really liked this one 








very natural look of both plants close together. That carpet is going to look fantastic when it's completely grown in.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks, Shadow. 

I'm kind of on the fence right now about all the E. tenellus and dwarf Sag over in the right front of the tank... I may end up moving all of that out in favor of just the Lilaeopsis. I'll wait and see how it looks once the Lilaeopsis fills in, I guess.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I arrived home last night after 2 weeks away to find Staghorn algae had gone bonkers in my absence! 





































It's kinda cool-looking stuff. Nice thing is it's one of the easier algaes to deal with. As long as you're gentle, you can usually pull it out in huge clumps. It didn't take long to get the big stuff out. 

I manually removed all the staghorn I could find.

I trimmed and replanted all the Hygro polysperma. It's doing really well, just what I'd hoped it would do for me. 










I love Sunset Hygro. Good chance I'll end up pulling all the regular Polysperma and replace it with just the Sunset once I have enough.



















I also found that the Lilaeopsis had gotten pretty BBA choked, plus the Needle-leaf Java is still having some BBA issues, so I took pretty dramatic measures with that and "mowed" the Lilaeopsis and trimmed away some of the BBA infested Java leaves. Hopefully trimming the Lilaeopsis will encourage it to spread more. It's not growing in as well as I would have hoped. I have a feeling that the plecos keep plowing through it and sitting on it.

Then I did a big 50% water change. It's amazing the difference in the colors on the Cardinals just as soon as the new water started pouring in! I think they may even be spawning right now- I just watched a few males chase a big female through the H. tenellum/Sagittaria grasses. Those are going bonkers- I had to pull a bunch more runners out of the Lilaeopsis.










I dosed some Excel and will keep dosing for a day or two to take care of the remains of the staghorn and BBA.

The Hygro angustifolia has disappeared without a trace. I suspect it got uprooted by all the catfish and probably got eaten by all the Staghorn. So I definitely need to try some Crypt retrospiralis back in that corner instead. 

Overall, I'm really happy with the way this tank is coming along. :thumbsup:



















Last but not least, my Ember tetras are here! I picked up a 25gal QT tank on clearance at a Tampa Petsmart while I was gone, so those will go in QT as soon as I go pick them up this evening.


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## Lukkyseven (Jan 11, 2011)

That sunset hygro is beautiful. I may have to look into that stuff . Entire thing looks nice though.


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## rwong2k (Dec 24, 2004)

wow nice clean up job! tank is looking great!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Your filter floss is supposed to go in the canister, not the tank, Laura.  That clean up is amazing. If you didn't post the algae, we'd never known.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks ya'll.

LOL Wasn't that huge ball up in the corner crazy?  And then the stuff that was all twisted around the driftwood... Staghorn really reminds me of seaweed. Feels like it, too.

Definitely could have been worse!

I picked up my Embers from my LFS this evening. They've acclimated and are happily schooling around my new 25gal QT tank. Looking at this school of 30, I think I'm going to end up with a school of 100 or so. They're so tiny!!! lol


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Looks great Laura! That "algae pillow" is quite fancy. LOL.

Is that driftwood hardscape one piece?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks Glenn!

No, that's one of Tom's driftwood packages, each branch is a different piece. There's rocks stacked all around the bases to hold them in place, so that's the challenge with getting plants to grow up close around the driftwood- going to have to stick with epiphytes there which is why I went with java fern instead of crypts. I'm just hoping I've got enough root room in that far back corner for some tall crypts...

I actually couldn't resist some nice looking pots of Crypt spiralis my LFS had when I went to pick up the Ember tetras, so I'm going to try them there. IDK if they'll get tall enough, but we'll see.

I've even toyed with the idea of an Aponogeton back there, but I'm not sure that it would do well and not get too tangled in the driftwood. I keep the current pretty strong in the tank so that can be hard on long-leaved plants.


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## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

Great job Laura! Love the driftwood and the tank is so clean and healthy (after the algae removal that is :eek5. Those tetras will look great schooling in this tank.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks!

Watching these little Embers school in my 25gal QT tank I'm pretty sure I'm going to at least double the size of the school. I may get 50x next time to add to these?

I'm also toying with the idea of putting an actual pot in that back corner for the crypts to grow out of. I think I could hide it pretty easily- especially if I use a black pot- and that would not only add some height to my crypts but solve the issue of not enough substrate for them to root in. I'm thinking one of those cheap thin black plastic planters may do the trick, especially since I could cut it down to the exact height I'd need.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

That is a fantastic idea about the plastic pot hidden behind other plants. Why hadn't thought about this?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yup, I think it will work. I like the way the Crypt spiralis look tucked back there. And apparently the lone C. schwartzi likes the pot idea, too. :thumbsup:










The tank is coming together exactly how I'd hoped so far. I do think I'm going to switch around the Compact Hygro and Sunset Hygro in the front right, though.










You can see all 3 Hygro species in this one picture. Compact Hygro (Hygrophila corymbosa 'compact') is in the top left, regular Hygro polysperma in the top right, and Sunset Hygro (Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig') in the middle.










I also managed to snag one of Speedie's beatiful lotus daughter plants. Unfortunately the stem got broken during shipping so the leaf just detached itself today, but there's at least 3 or 4 new leaves already started so they should grow in shortly. I couldn't get my camera to focus in on the plant, but I put it over in front of the E. tenellus mix over towards the left of the tank. Here's the detached leaf:










Nerite snails continue to be egg-bonkers, but now seem to be confining their efforts to the driftwood again


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## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

Looks great Lauralee.


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

Looking good. Can't wait to see the embers in there.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks, ya'll!

Here's a pic of the QT setup with the Embers. It's a 25gal I picked up on clearance at Petsmart a few weeks ago- pretty bare bones as you can see LOL

They're coloring up more every day. Unfortunately they had no intentions of sitting still for their photo shoot...


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

Awesome photos! I need to find some nice DW pieces. I need to find some more plants. I need to find more tanks!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

SearunSimpson said:


> I need to find some nice DW pieces. I need to find some more plants. I need to find more tanks!


LOL Yeah, right? :biggrin:


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Tank looks really good. I like the pot idea as well. I know a few people who have done this. Only drawback with Spiralis in a pot is they will send alot of runners and its one of those plants that really likes to spread out. Keep an eye on that over time. Wouldn't be surprised if you hit critical mass in a pot quickly.

That spiralis pot looks awesome BTW.

(And don't think I don't see that user title missy! LOL!)


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

LOL Sara and I were taking bets how long it would take you to notice that. :angel:

The C. spiralis was emersed grown so actually now just 2 days later looks like crap! LOL Someone is eating the dead leaves, too... IDK who. There's new submersed leaves coming in, though, so that's good. The leaves are very bronze in color... I just hope they grow nice and tall. I may wait for the plants to convert fully to submerged form before repotting them- just to help reduce the risk of the entire plant melting?


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

lauraleellbp said:


> The C. spiralis was emersed grown so actually now just 2 days later looks like crap! LOL Someone is eating the dead leaves, too... IDK who. There's new submersed leaves coming in, though, so that's good. The leaves are very bronze in color... I just hope they grow nice and tall. I may wait for the plants to convert fully to submerged form before repotting them- just to help reduce the risk of the entire plant melting?


The tank looks fantastic, I'm digging all that grass, so nice and fluffy. roud:
You may want to go ahead and plant the spiralis, won't the roots sufficate in the wool if you wait too long? 
Your pal,
Pianofish


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I "graduated" the Embers from QT today, and they're happily schooling with the Cardinals right now.

I was originally thinking that 30x would just disappear into the tank- but now that I see them in there, I may not get any more, after all!

I potted up the Crypts in some free plastic pots I picked up at Home Depot (they'd had some plants in them that had died so were just sitting on a shelf... cashier gave them to me when I asked :thumbsup I had to really squeeze them to get them back in that corner, but I think they work pretty well. They've got those drainage holes in the bottom that Crypt roots can grow out of if needed, too.

Still having some BBA issues in the Java fern and Lilaeopsis, so I need to dose some Excel again, I guess. The chain swords and stems are all growing too fast so are algae-free, it's just the slow-growing stuff affected.

I'd post some pics, but unfortunately I've used up all my camera batteries and my battery charger is broken. Hopefully the new one will be here this week...


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

Hooray for the new fish! Can't wait to see them pictures! Good luck with your algae expedition!
Your pal,
Pianofish


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Laura, you do know it's 20th, right? :hihi: It's the first day of Spring. If you are looking to get rid of that BBA, I'll take some off your hands. I am gathering up as much as I can. I am looking forward to the pictures!


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

It's looking great! I'm tempted to get some Lilaeopsis mauritiana for the bare foreground strip in my tank now. I have Dwarf sag in my tank too, but it hasn't really spread like I thought it would. Well, until recently- I have one runner with a few healthy looking plants going through the crypts in the center of my tank. The plants in the corner where I originally planted haven't done a whole lot. Maybe the difference is lighting? (your tank has more than mine.)


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I have BN babies!!! Well, at least ONE baby... I was just taking a look at my tank to see what needs to be trimmed, and spotted this little one on the side of the tank!


















My water is so hard here, I'm completely shocked that any eggs hatched, much less developed! The father is one of the Calico BNs (only male in the tank), but IDK which is the mother- either the Calico or the Albino LF? Don't guess I'll ever know, as even if it were the albino that's recessive so wouldn't show up in the offspring phenotypes...

I wonder how many are in there? Tank is so thickly planted, there's really no telling LOL

I got this "pre-trim" pic for now, I'll get some later tonight after the big pre-vacation trim:


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## Coltonorr (Mar 12, 2008)

Wow very nice! Tank looks great!
Really starting to like that Compact Hygro...nice looking!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Yay on the baby! How great is that? Have a great trip, Laura! The tank looks fabulous.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

THERE IS A DEAD ROACH FLOATING IN MY TANK!!!!!

ack ack icky omg i have to get it out so i can trim my plants and ya'll have NOOOO idea how much i hate roaches, i don't EVEN want to stick my hand in there or get nasty roach in my net

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!

(taking the rest of my freak out somewhere else now)


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Neat about the baby pleco!

Gross about the roach though. I can't tell you how many of those invasive chinese stink bugs I've found in my tanks this year... yuck.


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

Very nice job. My eyes are pleased


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

My first thought is "now I have to bomb the whole tank and throw everything out since it ALL has been touched by water that has touched roach"

That may be an overreaction but I haven't come up with a better Plan B just yet.

I may have to sacrifice a net and toss it with the roach. Except I'll still get roach-water dripping off the net...

ugh


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Well now theres something I dont miss about FL. Good luck with him Your tank is looking great as usual. Congrats on the BN baby. Did you ever find any more? Seems weird only one made it. You'll probably be seeing them for weeks popping up


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Even roaches are God's creatures. Just sayin'.


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## karatekid14 (Jan 16, 2011)

Could some one else fish it for you, so you don't have to throw out the net?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

macclellan said:


> Even roaches are God's creatures. Just sayin'.


Yes, well, God can have them all back.

*Pictures myself going and knocking on a neighbor's door at 9:00 at night, "Excuse me, could you come help me with this little roach crisis I'm having?"* I suppose it would be one way to meet them... since we're still new in the neighborhood.

I'm avoiding my tank right now. If there are any more BN babies in there they are safe from my prying eyes till the nastiness floating around the top of the tank is gone and I'm over my heebie jeebies of roach water.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

If I were alone in the house and there was a cockroach in my tank, I would totally be going to introduce myself to our neighbors and asking for help. There are two things in this world I really don't like and cockroaches is on that list. LOL. You poor thing! (But still laughing since you laughed at me over my stinkbug crisis.)


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I deserve that.








It's a big flying one.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww..........They can FLY?!?!??????? Oh wow, I think I'd condemn that tank and move to somewhere colder just for that reason. I feel for you on that one. Just keep telling yourself: At least I am not sleeping with it like Sara did with her stinkbug. :hihi:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

It's one of these. I despise them.

http://anastayshere.com/2009/02/08/flying-roaches


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

The last time I clicked on a link like that I saw a giant [email protected] in Mac's journal. Ain't no way I am clicking on that link, LOL.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Hey, don't blame me for your clicking. Besides, that big maggot was a cutie.  

Seriously though, roaches are gross. They are manageable in Ohio where I'm from, but when I moved to TN... man, you go to squish one of the big ones and they push back and get mouthy with you! Freaks me out.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

They're pretty bad in Georgia, too. My grandmother used to live in this ancient victorian stilt house in rural Georgia. Her house was always totally infested. The town was called Rochelle. We called it RoachHell.

I have a serious phobia of them. I can handle just about everything else, but not roaches.

It's a good thing I don't HAVE to feed them to my geckos. Some people keep roach colonies for feeding. I couldn't ever manage to do that, even if they were legal in Florida.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Ears burning, mac? Seriously, that thing was gross. Laura I am still a little disturbed at the thought for you on this flying cockroach thing. I was curious enough to get the hubby to click on the link and he said I was smart not to, lol. We got a little normal roach come in under the door when it got cold and I spent the night opening doors and quickly shining a flashlight making sure there weren't friends. Creepy.....


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

It's the third dead one I've found in the house in the past 2 weeks. It's been dry so I'm pretty sure they're coming inside for the water, and then hitting the pesticides. I'm sure there have been more, but Osiris eats them. Hmmmm maybe I should put him in the tank to deal with it... not like he hasn't been in there before...

Adrian won't be back until too late for me to get the plants mailed out. But at this point I'm still procrastinating dealing with it till tomorrow. 

Nasty things.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Can't say I blame you. The only thing that would make me fish the thing out is the fear that it might still be alive and possible climb into bed with me during the night. Gave myself the chills just thinking about it. Call up Adrian and tell him he's got to take care of it for you on his lunch break. 

Or the idea of Osiris would work....but I'd be afraid of the pesticides. Creepy bugs.


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## jsuereth (Dec 21, 2010)

I bet if you had a *really* big catfish, it would take care of the roaches for you. Best be careful though, large catfish can eat small pets, like dogs.


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

Ugh, roaches. I can handle just about any bug, but those freak me the heck out. Thankfully, I've never seen any in my current house. The crummy apartment my wife and I used to live in was infested though...probably because our neighbors were dumpster divers (as in, pulling bedsheets out of the dumpster in the apartment's parking lot :thumbsdow ) I am still finding stinkbugs in my house though, ever since fall... That picture still isn't as bad as the giant mutant roaches they have in Philly though...I'd swear their roaches are cross-bred with those giant Madagascar hissing ones.

Oh and uh, your tank is looking good! :biggrin:


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## Kazuya (Apr 4, 2011)

lauraleellbp said:


> THERE IS A DEAD ROACH FLOATING IN MY TANK!!!!!
> 
> ack ack icky omg i have to get it out so i can trim my plants and ya'll have NOOOO idea how much i hate roaches, i don't EVEN want to stick my hand in there or get nasty roach in my net
> 
> ...


I can feel your pain. 
Just like Chaos said I can take any bug just not roaches and MIA roaches are the worst.

My daughter was 2 months old sleeping on my chest and one feel on my right arm. Normally I would have jumped up, but I handed my daughter over to my wife and killed it, then went to wash my arm.

Damn those things.

Back to the topic. Nice scape. Really like that driftwood.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Yeah, lets keep this a pretty little fish tank thread and get off of that subject. How is the baby/babies doing? What kind of lilaeopsis is that? The brazilianensis(sp?) or mauritis(sp?). I looks good. Does yours grow painfully slow? Im terrible at that plant. I took me two years to get a carpet. You seem to be doing pretty well at it.


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## jsuereth (Dec 21, 2010)

Yeah, even the "overgrown" tank looks great. Keep up the good work!


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## TankZen (Jan 31, 2011)

lol a Palmetto Bug! Haha a nice name for a Roach... people tell me they are "good" roaches that don't infest your house and come inside by accident because of the lights. When I first moved to NC I rented an old house and coming from VA I never saw Roaches. The old house was full of Palmetto bugs!!! I was so freaked but after a few months I started to get use to them. Luckily I have my own home now and only see about 2 a year.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks ya'll for the tank compliments even if I was having a hard time seeing anything past that THING floating in my tank!!

As of last night- the nasty roachiness is no longer in my tank and it (and the net I used to get it out) are currently being picked up by waste management (today happens to be trash day LOL). So I braved the tank and squashed my queasy stomach to actually complete the trim after getting it out.

Chad- it's Lilaeopsis mauritiana. It is super slow-growing, but I planted 15 pots of it, so I started off with pretty much a complete carpet LOL Then I had to wait for it to all die off and grow back (it was emersed grown of course)... and I noticed again last night that it's still got some BBA so I dosed some more Excel last night and this morning to hopefully keep that in check while I'm gone.

I did a pretty big hack job LOL










I saw 6 baby Calicos all at the same time while doing the trim- so there's at least 6 little ones in there! I have zero idea how on earth I'll get them out of the tank when it comes time to rehome them, though... no way there's room for THAT many plecos in this tank! LOL 


































I also noticed that my albino female's fins are looking pretty bad- shortened and ragged, so IDK if that's secondary to spawning or if the other couple have paired off and she's the "odd fish out"? Didn't look like there's any infection or anything like that, so hopefully she'll be OK while I'm gone and I'll check her over pretty close when I get back.










I pulled up a ton of the dwarf sag/chain sword mix, enough to finally let some light down to the pretty little lotus Speedie sent me. Hopefully now it will grow a bit more lol I'm pretty sure I'm going to install some landscape boarder around it when I get back, because it's very obnoxious trying to distangle all their runners from the Lilaeopsis and get them out without pulling too much of the Lilaeopsis out with it.


















I also think I'm going to pull all the Sag and chain sword out of the right front of the tank. I'll put more Lilaeopsis there and let the Hygro Kompakt fill in instead of being hidden behind everything like it is right now.










That's all folks! I can't believe I'm going to be in India in less than 48 hours now... :bounce:


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Pretty as you are, Laura. I am proud of you for conquering your fears. roud: Have a great trip and I love the color blue, just in case you were wondering what to get me. :hihi:


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Excellent Laura! First of all, good luck on your trip, I hope you have a good time  Second, wow!, I would love to see this tank in person. Its hard to imagine the scale of this through pictures but i bet its very cool in person. 6 baby plecos is a good start. There will probably be even more in there when you get back. As for the dwarf sag hiding the Kompact it looks like you could switch positions of the two and they would work out good. Nice job on everything, it looks great!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Did my first tank maintenance on this one since before the India trip.
The Hygro polysperma had taken over the tank, just about (forgive all the daylight reflections):


















I pulled out a 3 gallon bucket full. I pulled most of it, actually- just leaving a bit to keep the background full. I'm going to replace it all with Sunset hygro, I think, since it's growing so much more slowly and therefore is less work to keep up with (plus I think it's prettier).

All the chain swords and Sag were doing their share to take over also:










I pulled out over a gallon, and finally installed some landscape boarder just behind the driftwood to hopefully keep that out of the Lilaeopsis a bit better. It's a pain having to replant all the Lilaeopsis that gets pulled up every time I have to clean out all the chain swords and sag.

Ran out of sunlight before I got to cleaning the filters (I do it outside), so that and "after" pics will have to wait till tomorrow.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

What kind of "border" did you installed to tame the weeds?


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

dang laura thats some pretty intense growth you got going on in there!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Gatekeeper said:


> What kind of "border" did you installed to tame the weeds?


It's just a roll of cheap thin plastic landscape boarder I got at Ace hardware for about $5 a few years back. I used it to try and corral my Vals in my former setup with this tank. Not foolproof, but it certainly helps.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

wow! thats an overgrown tank! i used to have a hard time keeping my vals in place. they would take over!

cute babies, are you planning on selling them when they get bigger


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Gorgeous, Laura. I love the look. I can see why they declared hygro a weed, lol.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Hm... my "post trim" pics have turned into my "almost time for my next trim" pics. Oops.

Anyways, here's some pics from this evening:




























Sunset hygro, how I love thee...










Pretty lotus I got from Speedie is finally starting to grow now that I've kept the chain swords from shading it out










BN plecos continue to breed like rabbits. I have no CLUE how many babies are bopping around in the tank at this point- you see some in every nook and cranny!

There's 3 just in this first pic:


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

The tank looks fabulous, Laura. Even with the recent trim, it looks full of plants. LOVE it!


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## PzykoSkillz (Jul 6, 2010)

Tank looks great. I love the wood.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

the tank looks great!


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

That looks great!


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## TwoStrokeKing (Mar 24, 2011)

I like how the left side is open.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks, ya'll!

Did an even bigger hack job today. Pulled all (or at least all I could find) of the regular Hygro polysperma, replaced it with the Sunset hygro trimmings, and also trimmed and replanted all the Hygro kompakt.














































Surprisingly to me, I really like the B. brigittae in this tank- I think I need to get some more to beef up the school so they're a little more visible- but really they stand out pretty well with their vivid color and since they're usually hanging out near the top of the tank.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow that looks lovely! Nice work! Does this tank get any extra CO2?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks, Devin! Nope, it's totally low tech. No fert dosing either other than a few doses of Excel every few months- mostly just because the taller plants tend to get BBA on them when they get up close to the lights.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Looks fantastic, Laura! Hard to believe this is a low tank tank. Goes to show you don't need all the bells and whistles to have a show stopping tank.


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

Beautiful tank and this just goes to show you don't need to go high tech to have a nice and healthy tank. This is really making me want try Lilaeopsis mauritiana as a foreground in my tank.


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

Looking great as always. That lawn really filled in nicely!


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

thats pretty impressive


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Today










One of these days I might actually finish stocking this tank... still want a school of cories and some dwarf cichlids for it lol


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That looks wonderful.


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

love the lotus... looks awesome laura.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

looks great!


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## Wingsdlc (Dec 9, 2005)

Really lush! Though the hygro seems a bit out of place in the scape. What about having the hygo between the java fern and vals?


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Gorgeous tank


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks, everyone! :biggrin:



Wingsdlc said:


> Really lush! Though the hygro seems a bit out of place in the scape. What about having the hygo between the java fern and vals?


I think the hygro looks better in person than it does in the photos.

I do agree that there's an empty void between the tops of the java fern and the C. retrospiralis that needs to be filled, though. The needle-leaf javas aren't growing as tall as I'd hoped. Problem is- there's only wood and rock there so I'll have to work around that. Maybe try and stuff in some potted C. wendtii 'red'??


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## AngelfishKid (Dec 7, 2010)

Awesome looking tank!!!


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## ibmikmaq (Aug 19, 2011)

Wow I really enjoyed watching the progression of this tank, it really matured beautifully! You did such a great job! I love it!


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

Your tank looks great. What was the last count of your plecos?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks guys!

No clue on the plecos. I gave six away to a friend and know there's at least 3 more in there b/c I've seen 3 at the same time. For all I know, there could be 30 more, though... LOL


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## kalawai2000 (Jan 15, 2011)

Wow...Laura. what a fab tank. I'm very impressed with it..and lots inspiration on creating my own tank. Mahalo


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

kalawai2000 said:


> Wow...Laura. what a fab tank. I'm very impressed with it..and lots inspiration on creating my own tank. Mahalo


Thanks! 


Here's a few pics from tonight. Tank DESPERATELY needs a good "haircut," but I'm headed out of town instead for a long weekend camping with my family. :hihi:


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## doncityz (May 17, 2011)

Awesome tank................ lovin that red leaf plant!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Those are fantastic happy plants Laura!


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

very nice


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## tharsis (Oct 9, 2009)

wow! That lotus is stunning!


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

I really love this tank and was wondering how you keep your lotus leaves so low and compact. I have N. micrantha and the leaves just shoot straight for the surface. I thought maybe trimming the leaves a little more often would produce more leaves and keep them from reaching the surface as fast but that has not helped.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

So far I've only had one leaf shoot for the surface, and I trimmed it before letting it get that far.

I actually did just do a major hack job on the lotus a few days ago, though, as it was shading the bottom and the Lilaeopsis was starting to thin. I pruned away most of the big leaves. I'm hoping to "train" it to stay a bit smaller, but we'll see.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Hey Laura, I know just the person you need to send some of that hygro to.  Your tank is looking beautiful!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well, there's been SOMETHING going on with this tank, though I'm not really sure what?

I've been out of town for several days and got home late last night after the tank lights were off. I woke up this morning to find all my Malaysian Trumpet snails scaling the plants and walls to get as high up as they could and half the fish hanging at the surface of the tank. I checked the heater and temps- both seem fine. Immediately did a 50% water change and cleaned the XP3. Purigen bag was absolutely black... though the filter was long overdue for a cleaning so IDK if the tank experienced an ammonia spike or was just normal buildup? 

I didn't bother to dig through my supply closet for my test kit. I left again and am typing this from out of town yet again- though I'll be back tomorrow and will definitely dig out the kits if I notice anything else awry. Everything seemed completely fine right after the water change and when I left... No deaths as far as I could tell, either. 

I plan on cleaning the XP4 next week. Decided I didn't want to risk too many changes all at once, especially with me leaving again so unable to keep an eye on things.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Laura, did you ever find out the cause of the MTS exodus? I am tired of patiently waiting, so I am requesting an update.


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

^^ What she said. I love this tank.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Oops sorry!!!



sewingalot said:


> Laura, did you ever find out the cause of the MTS exodus? I am tired of patiently waiting, so I am requesting an update.


Not 100% sure, but a water change took care of it. I didn't pull out my test kits to check, but I suspect my friend overfed (possibly let her kids do it) while I was gone so the water quality was probably not great. I usually leave out pre-measured food, so I'll definitely have to do that next time...

I cleaned both filters and the Purigen was absolutely black in each filter. So wasn't much safety buffer.


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## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

Looks great Laura! I love that Lilaeopsis forground and the right side with the java fern looks really good. Great Job!

Cough..Cough....would I be able to get some of that Lilaeopsis from you??? :biggrin:


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## bighollywood (Nov 27, 2011)

I agree the lotus is amazing. I cant wait to get one.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

dewalltheway said:


> Looks great Laura! I love that Lilaeopsis forground and the right side with the java fern looks really good. Great Job!
> 
> Cough..Cough....would I be able to get some of that Lilaeopsis from you??? :biggrin:


Actually, the BNPs have taken to pulling it up in a few spots, so now I've got some bare spots I'm trying to get to fill back in. :angryfire

So sorry, but at this rate it will probably be a longgggggg time before I'd have any to let go.


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## geesantoz (Mar 22, 2013)

Hi lauraleellbp,

Your 90 gal is really awesome and inspiring ... any update ? do you still kept this tank ?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

geesantoz said:


> Hi lauraleellbp,
> 
> Your 90 gal is really awesome and inspiring ... any update ? do you still kept this tank ?


Hm. Well. A year late reply isn't TOO bad, is it? :icon_redf

To answer your question, no, this tank got taken down about a year and a half ago when I moved yet again, and currently is sitting empty in my library-to-be, waiting for me to get off my bottom and do something new with it... at which point I'll start a new Journal.


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