# seds' 10 legend: Stars within the haze



## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Hey everybody, I went to the LFS today (closest day I could go) and after a lot of loitering I finally picked 8 flame tetras. All my plants are cool-water but I couldn't resist. They were 2 bucks each!










I also got a few ghost shrimp. 

I am going to move my lone white cloud back to the goldfish tank, but the poor fellow has had enough torment for now. He can stay for a few days. I am not that concerned with ammonia because the plants will get it all. I hope.




If I put pictures of the tank in it's box, and all the equipment, plus the empty tank with substrate and rocks, would that draw more replies??


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

So these are all native species? To be honest that's pretty cool. I'd love to have a tank like that, but there aren't any real good places in this part of Illinois to get stuff  I'd like to see how all of this grows out!


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

rrrrramos said:


> So these are all native species? To be honest that's pretty cool. I'd love to have a tank like that, but there aren't any real good places in this part of Illinois to get stuff  I'd like to see how all of this grows out!


Well, technically the first 3 are native to B.C only. There is no elodea of any sort in alberta, but it is present in all directions from the border. Except maybe north. Kind of like rats being everywhere but here.

EDITS: whoops, apparently Elodea bifoliata is present in Alberta. But this source also claims it is absent in B.C. You can use this website to find out what is in Illinois. Like, for instance, Illinois Pondweed or something. It also says what in States the plants are endangered or protected.
E. Bifoliata
http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch?mode=symbol&keywordquery=ELBI2
E. canadensis
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ELCA7
E. Nuttallii
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ELNU2

Anyways, one of my Flame tetras didn't make it through the first night...


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

*WHILE EVERYONE WAS IGNORING MY THREAD*, I added several new plant species:

-Eleocharis acicularis
-Limnophilla sessiliflora
-Egeria najas
-Myriophyllum verticallatum
-Ultricularia Vulgaris
-Potamogeton sp. (??)

I noticed some ich on a flame tetra. I turned up the heat today to 80 degrees (F) and I will turn it up a bit more to 88-89 ...later on.

If I keep it this hot for a few days, nothing bad will happen (I hope) how does one defeat ich in a planted tank with invertebrates? :help:

SPEAKING OF WHICH, if you want to see my ghost shrimp on another page, I got a picture of it into the ghost shrimp profile.









All the plants really took off, especially Elatine triandra and elodea nuttalli (the funky looking one) and the bladderwort.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey how about an updated full tank shot?


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## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Nice finds on the local plants! It will be interesting to see how they handle the heat. I cant help but wonder if the Tetras feel like they are on vaction. LOL
I agree about the full tank shot as well.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Nate McFin said:


> Nice finds on the local plants! It will be interesting to see how they handle the heat. I cant help but wonder if the Tetras feel like they are on vaction. LOL
> I agree about the full tank shot as well.


Yeah, I was a bit worried about the plants. I turned the heat to 89 degrees. now there is a ridiculous amount of bubbles on the milfoil and pondweed. I dunno what caused it, but I doubt a plant I added yesterday would be pearling already, especially a potamogeton species. (They die back like a crypt when disturbed)

I added pictures of U. vulgaris and E. najas to the main post... plus a FULL TANK SHOT due to "popular demand." I don't know if anyone will notice at first, but I switched the positions of elodea canadensis with the ambulia, and put all the callitriche sp. that didn't melt into a patch in the center. (to make room for egeria najas and pondweed) There are a few stragglers here and there, but I'll get to that later on.


UPDATE (SEPTEMBER 2, 2009!)

The two leaf elodea has melted completely. I took out a green strand or two to rescue it, but most of that has melted too. There are very few green leaves of this species left in my collection... We'll see if I can rescue the species from... *EXPIRATION* Elodea Nuttalli and Canadensis are doing poorly, but I have some living stems left. I turned the temperature down a bit. It will be by 79 tonight, (september 2) and in the morning I will turn it down to 24 celcius again.

The najas sp. has finally acclimated and is growing nicely. I don't think it minds the heat too much. Egeria najas has taken off like a rocket. Same for L. sessiliflora, but not as much.

UPDATE (SEPTEMBER 7, 2009)

The potamogeton "foliosis" has shown signs of growth, it didn't die back much at all. Two leaf elodea is gone for good. I added Potamogeton zosteriformis and another unidentified pondweed. The leaves are a bit large for the tank, but I am saving it for my 35 gallon. I removed 90% of the substrate to set this one up. I also only have 1 goldfish now. Once I start up this tank again, it will be great. Mineralized topsoil maybe?


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

I updated the FULL TANK SHOT.

*What has happened since september 7?*

-Potamogeton foliosis was growing in a really ugly way, so I thinned it. I took off all the little side shoots and planted them in the ground, removed all the dead leaves (basically the original ones) It almost looks like it was removed, but it wasn't.

-Najas started growing but it has died back.

-Look at the first picture! I have an immense amount of moss compared to what I started with.

-Milfoil is almost none existent. 2 small stems remain.

-Elatine triandra is sewing seeds all over the tank. There are a few shoots in the Brachythecium rivulare. I keep pulling pieces out that get covered in algae... I guess that's why there is no carpet yet.

-The callitriche has grown exponentially, I have cut and replanted it a few times. I can't tell which species is which anymore, round leaves and narrow leaves are on the same plant. 

-Some strange pondweed I found started growing, it has translucent bronze green leaves with well defined veins. The newest growth is pink! The leaves break very easily. Possibly POTEMOGETON ALPINUS








TOTALLY UN COLOR EDITED!!!



*I am beginning to seriously consider CO2. The large amount of calcium and the death of milfoil, along with the lack of growth in dwarf hairgrass... it seems connected. Finding Tom Barr's referances towards the importance of CO2 has changed my mind.

Drop checkers... reactors... what does this all mean? I guess I'm going to find out!*

I am starting to get collectoritis. I blame herbivores in my other 2 tanks.

I have a lot of Egeria najas. I decided to take it all out to see just how much I have:
















500 ml of it, AKA 1/8th of a gallon of it. I switched it's position with Elodea nuttallii and E. canadensis, see HERE:









Elodea Nuttallii:









EDIT: Thursday, September 17.
Just did a major hack at Egeria najas and "sago pondweed." I tried to take a picture but it was cloudy. Noting worth seeing, except for my potamogetons up close:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee86/88seds88/P1050990.jpg
mind you, the picture is poor quality but you see what I mean. Sago pondweed looks a lot different when you cut off and plant all the sideshoots (which grow roots at the base)
Looks a lot like a bigger Potamogeton foliosus.


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

I REALLY like your tank!! 

kENNY


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

THANKS! 

I'll update the FTS today.

DONE. Note how the right side is underwhelming. I don't like how it looks as a whole, but I like each species that is in it. Najas has bounced back and is looking good again. I forgot to take a picture of it though, I removed it before the FTS.

AFTER
















BEFORE

Compare and contrast. Of course, the time of day is different, so Ambulia is closed in my TODAY picture. I cut the callitriche a little too. Milfoil has been moved to the front corner, so I could get sago pondweed planted better. There is a side shoot on one piece.


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## paulrw (Apr 14, 2009)

cool tank man! i like how you used some local plants.i really dig the Egeria najas i believe? is that the "mossy" looking plant on the towel? maybe you could ad some hard scape to your tank to make it "pop" there must be some great rocks alberta you could find. a warning about dwarf hairgrass i have it in 2 tanks both high light ,co2 and ei. in the 2.5 it stays about 2.5 to 3" long in the 20g its easy 6" long and growing. all in all great tank eh!


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

paulrw said:


> cool tank man! i like how you used some local plants.i really dig the Egeria najas i believe? is that the "mossy" looking plant on the towel? maybe you could ad some hard scape to your tank to make it "pop" there must be some great rocks alberta you could find. a warning about dwarf hairgrass i have it in 2 tanks both high light ,co2 and ei. in the 2.5 it stays about 2.5 to 3" long in the 20g its easy 6" long and growing. all in all great tank eh!


:bounce: I was going to wait till tomorrow but...

Thanks for the reply! Egeria najas is indeed the "mossy" plant on the towel. If you look close, you can see a CANADIAN nickel in the middle, for scale. I updated the pictures and information of my plants, if you click the links.



As for hardscape, I have soaked a small branch but I couldn't think of a way to incorporate it into the hardscape. Once I get the potamogetons growing better, I'll wedge it in there and attach a bit of Brachythecium rivularem moss to it. As for rocks... I... can't find a place to put them. The moss is on a large flat round rock. It doesn't have a dynamic shape, and I wouldn't want to stand it up.



***URGENT NEWS REPORT***

Elodea nuttallii and canadensis were BOTH present in Alberta: a canal called the snye has incredible abundance of two species thought to not exist in Alberta. Did I get a photo? no, but I collected specimens. Among such specimens was POTAMOGETON PRAELONGIS, very similar to richardsonii in beauty. Only, it's leaves have lines along them and are broader, and at the top there is an interesting shape...

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...aelongus&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&sa=N&um=1


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

HELLO everybody (hi, doctor Nick!)

I have added a few things to my tank. Mainly, I have more dwarf hairgrass, I think it's acclimated. As for sago pondweed, I don't think it liked being trimmed. It stopped growing. I added lemna trisulca. I am not sure I like it. It is stuck in the Potamogeton praelongis' leaves. Potamogeton prealongis has started growing! At every node, (EVERY NODE) there is a new side shoot started.

I took some shots here!








In sunlight! I hate how yellow everything looks with my light on. I just finished scraping algae, so it's cloudy. In this case, I thought it improved the effect. PS, what is the rosette plant with a spoon-leaf in the lower right corner? IDK what it is! (it's native too...)









Callitriche 'narrow leaf.'









Elodea canadensis, fresh from the snye. I got a photo now. Looks funky. There is a tiny bit of new growth, and this time it is the same form as what it looked like when I picked it.


If anyone has any ideas on how to improve my scape, say. I really want some feedback!

*I ORDERED A GLASS DIFFUSER ONLINE!!!! DIY CO2 here I come!*


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

Tank is looking great!!!  Do you still have those Von Rios? They are one of my favorites but without a huge tropical tank to put some in, I'm decided I'm going to do them again later...I still have 3 of 5 in my 10 though!

Kenny


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Yeah, I still have the flame tetras. They have more colour than when I took the previous picture. They don't school around as much as I would like, they would rather squabble amongst themselves or hide in thickets of plants. They are pretty cool though. My favourite inhabitants are the ghost shrimp.

I am getting quite the snail population. I saw an assassin snail at the LFS. I considered getting it. Maybe later...

Ambulia is taking over!! Callitriche verna's lower leaves are being taken over by hair algae. I cut and replant the tops. The Brachythecium rivularem moss is taking over the rock. It is hanging over one side onto the sand. I took some off and moved it to the ol' 35.


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

My 3 Flames have established territories and hate my 10...too bad, I don't have the money for my 90gal right now...


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Limno is in need of a trimming soon. It isn't getting too tall. It is too wide. I like how it is forming a golden ratio sort of thing, but it is invading Callitriche verna's territory. As for Callitriche... it isn't doing as well as I'd like. It seems C. verna grows faster but is less hardy. Hair algae on it's leaves! C. "narrow leaf" grows slower, has runners, and sheds seeds all over, it is also more hardy. I like it better. It is really slow growing but fast to reproduce. Look closely in the right side and hairgrass, you can see sprouts everywhere.

Potamogeton praelongis is such a weed... wow. Easiest pondweed ever. In a month or so, it will be coming out my ears. I can notice growth every day.

I added a full tank shot to the first page. I also color edited it to look more real. It usually looks yellow in photos.


*Bad news folks, Potamogeton alpinus' new leaves have melted away, and it isn't making a new leaf. AAAAAHHHGGGGG
*
I'll edit in a new and an old photo. In the meantime, enjoy my TINFOIL BARBS in full color!









I'll do a water change and add some nutrients. I suspect that a trace element might be the problem. Second guess, CO2 competition. My third guess would be phosphate or something.

BEFORE:









AFTER:








http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee86/88seds88/P1060129.jpg

This happened fairly quickly, I didn't notice until now. Suggestions? Questions?


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## Consigliere (Mar 21, 2009)

Nice looking tank. The flame tetra are really nice. Cool concept with the local species as well. I have/had ghost shrimp and have had a difficult time keeping them alive. What temps are you running the tank at? 

I'm wondering if you're root tabs are exhausted now and thats why you see the issues with some of your plants and algae as well. I also have used Seachem root tabs on my 3 tanks and I think they only last about 1-2 months if you have a pretty heavily planted tank, like yours. My guess would be start dosing some micros into the tank. Seachem Flourish is a good one since you are using Seachem products.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

I don't know what is going on with the potamogeton alpinus, but it's stem end has since rotted off the bottom. The leaves are gone! It is really the only plant doing poorly besides dwarf hairgrass (on which the hair algae is) But all the grass is still green. I've never seen a plant die this fast since I put a bunch of egeria najas in with the tinfoil barbs.

I'll see what I can do about micros. I was thinking of ordering KCl for mineralized topsoil tank I have been working on setting up. I am going to add a trace mix to it too.


As for ghost shrimp, I have the tank at about 23-24 degrees Celsius, just a bit above room temperature. I think it is at 74 F, in case your heater has no Celsius. Basically I just send some flakes down for them and they take care of themselves. I bought 4, as far as I know, there are still 4 of them.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

I don't think this picture is as nice as the FTS on the first page. This is my first real trim of Limnophila. It's getting a nice form to it. The stems that were short enough to avoid being cut emerged from the canopy quickly. I also cut back egeria najas again.

PS: RIP potamogeton alpinus...


EDIT: OCTOBER 8 2005

Elodea stems are breaking. It is bad news. You can read all about it here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/plants/94496-terrifying-boron-deficiency.html

I think the problem is boron, though it has been suggested that CO2 is the problem, I doubt that but I got my CO2 diffuser in the mail today.

The bad news is, Canada Post had a message on the package apologizing about the DAMAGED GOODS! 

Oh NO! I opened the pack and there was a terrifying sight: the plastic box that contained the diffusers was busted! :icon_cry: I opened the pack... and I peeked into the bubble wrapped diffusers... and :eek5: 

They were not broken! Thank goodness for that. I hooked up the DIY CO2 today. It includes a bubble counter, I'll have to look into how that works. As for the elodea, I lowered the temperature and I am about to do a water change. I will possibly bump this thread and add a picture or two tomorrow or the next day.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I think it more economical to dose with CSM+B instead of using the tabs. CSM+B cost $12. But you have to dilute it an thus it last a long time. According to Rex Griggs you dilute 2 Tbs of CSM+B in 2 cups of water. Then dose 1ml. In the beginning I dose daily for a week then 1x a week. Half would be 1 Tbs of CSM+B and 1 cup of water. Considering 1 cup of water is 236ml 1 Ml of the solution can go a long way.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

IT'S a bit hard to tell, but the callitriche peeking over the Limnophila is actually in the foreground. That is what I had thought to be elatine triandra. Aww, guess I was wrong. Oh well... If one looks back at the previous full tank shots, the sago pondweed is getting a lot taller.

I finally got the CSM +B plantex, I added a little bit today. I hope I have eliminated all the problems, I lowered the temp, added traces, added CO2.

Elodea didn't die yet...









If anyone can guess what this plant is, they are smart.

My perfoliated pondweed is doing great!


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## thecubpa (Oct 14, 2009)

Thanks for all the advice you guys. I'm really looking forward to this trip and now I'm getting excited about the end of the trip as well; based on everything you guys have suggested , I think I'll take the 120 and just go with it. I'll get where I get when I get there. : - ) That's the best way to do these things anyway.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

thecubpa said:


> Thanks for all the advice you guys. I'm really looking forward to this trip and now I'm getting excited about the end of the trip as well; based on everything you guys have suggested , I think I'll take the 120 and just go with it. I'll get where I get when I get there. : - ) That's the best way to do these things anyway.


Good on ya, mate!


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## Ariel301 (Sep 7, 2009)

Neat! It's looking good. I like the flame tetras also. The native plants are really nice. I wish I lived somewhere where I could just go outside and collect some!


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Time to bump this. Some stuff has happened since back in the day:

I am slowly losing sago pondweed and I lost "leafy" or "narrow leaf" pondweed. Potamogeton 'praelongis' is losing fun, fast! 

Actually, it's growth is just slowing down. I have 3 stems that are about 4 inches long. SO it is no longer a potamogetons journal. I have like no pondweed left. It's a catastrophe! The one native plant that is doing amazing is LEMNA TRISULCA. Other ones doing OK is my milfoil, and callitriche (although it was growing faster a week or two ago) and my Brachythecium rivularem moss, which is coming out of my ears. Sometime soon I will be able to ship some around the country, maybe around the world.

I discovered I had a leak in my CO2 coke bottle. This is bad. I put plumber's glue on it but the hole still bubbled when soap was added. So I soaked the bottle cap in glue. NOW it should work.



I did the most severe rescape ever done by man. The moss rock has been moved to my 35 gallon. I took all the limnophila from my 35 gallon and added a small java fern, along with a new smaller moss rock and a flame moss stick. Literally a stick, a spruce branch with no bark that is 20 cm long and curved. I am having a hard time getting it in the position I want. When I put the moss on, I should have thought about placing it. It curves the wrong way.

So now, it is a wall of limnophila sessiliflora with a bit of callitriche in the middle-right... I'll add pictures later because I know the _entire_ forum is _highly_ curious as to what it looks like. Speaking of curiosity, any theories on what is going on with the pondweeds? They go through a boom-bust cycle. AHHG!

EDITS: Here is it in the before time. It looked really sweet in person. Seeing the towers of callitriche spread amongst the grassy plants...








The lemna trisulca is stuck between E. najas and Limno s... So you can't see it. Strong downward currents blow it all over the place. In a calm area, it does well. It doesn't mind being totally submerged, it really isn't a big deal if it is out of place. It stays in a bunch because the buds have a stalk keeping them with their "parent."


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Guess you aren't as curious as I thought! Too bad...

















Full tank shot!








Here's my "flame" moss on my "driftwood." 

As you can see in the full tank shot, there is less egeria najas, little elodea (remember the catastrophe with elodea earlier) And callitriche is moved. Notice the rock. It has moss on it with no strings attached. The string rotted and the moss was not very attached... 

Since I am going away and entrusting someone with my tank, I predict disaster but will remain optimistic. I don't like the rubber bands and string on stick but it'll look better eventually, assuming everything doesn't die when I am away (for nine days) I asked the someone to add a capfull of each of my fertilizers after about 5-6 days in. (keepin' the demands simple) I got auto timers now so what could possibly go wrong? I am leaving on monday. *My only rational concern is the reacting of Fe 2+ with PO4 3- because apparently it reacts and forms a solid. Anyone had problems with this? To be safe I haven't dosed them on the same day yet*. Well, that and overdosing killing the fish...

After reading up on this reaction, some guy said that phosphate is high enough that you shouldn't need to dose it...

By the way, I love how lemna trisulca looks. Looks like a bunch of stars in the sky or a green cloud. I took out a bit and put it in my other tank as an experiment... I want to see how hardy it is.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

El bumpo









I tore down the tank and did a complete rescape. I removed most of the egeria najas to a tank with a Jack Dempsey. He destroyed it. Egeria najas is increasing in biomass again. I had to move my hornwort, java fern, and bladderwort to this tank. The little puke has threatened all plants, so my mineralized topsoil project is postponed until further notice. Only a single stem of bladderwort remains. I had two but I donated one to my biology classroom for education. Apart from pondweeds, elodea and callitriche, everything was OK when I returned from my vacation. This photo is a few days old. Lemna trisulca is bigger now than it was.

Lemna trisulca has extended it's reign over the surface.

Limnophila sessiliflora has become a large attractive bush. 

BGA has become the bane of my existance.

Moss is covered in BGA and declining.

Tank looks great from a distance.

Callitriche is on the decline. It probably began while I was away.

Sago pondweed has re-adapted and begun growth. Other pondweeds are gone, except for clasping leaf pondweed. I have 3 small stems.

Elodea is nearly extinct. I have one or two stems under one inch that have begun growing once more.

Eleocharis is filling in, but I have to remove BGA every so often from it.

Egeria najas is heavily trimmed and has recently started growing again.


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

OOOOOoooooOOO! I was wondering how Asian Ambulia actually grew when you let it go!

Very cool! 

BGA & BBA are the reason I go insane BTW!


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

> OOOOOoooooOOO! I was wondering how Asian Ambulia actually grew when you let it go!
> 
> Very cool!
> 
> BGA & BBA are the reason I go insane BTW!


Thanks for the comment! L. S is the best.


First, I bought vals.




Then, ALL my flame tetras died over the course of today, presumably of ich. My filter quit working and quite a bit of surface scum was accumulated. Then, suddenly there was a catastrophe. I admit I wasn't paying very close attention to the tank in the past week, but... I put in an air stone and some ich medication earlier today, but I guess it was too late. I hope I didn't end up killing my plants and snails and the shrimp I couldn't find. (with copper based medication)

GAH!

Time stamped pics will be available upon request.


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

Oh no! I'm really sorry to hear that. I couldn't imagine losing any of my new-er fish. The fish in the 55 are about 4 years old, to alittle less...[the tank is younger]

You'll get everything stable again and going good, so, don't worry about it.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Thanks for your condolences.

I just don't know what to do now, except for stocking, I will have white clouds. And for plants, I will eventually rid my 10 gallon of limnophila.. to my very soon starting MINERALIZED TOPSOIL TANK!



> “Life's disappointments are harder to take when you don't know any swear words.”
> 
> -Calvin-


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

Sadly the other poster is a bot.

You can tell by all those links, off site, and the fact it copied me.  Stupid spammers! 

I'm surprised at just how much I like my Limnophila!  It fills in sooo fast and looks great...well, if it's not floating in with the 55 plants in a low tech tank...lol 

I'm excited to see the new tank BTW! What kind of fish are you planning for it?


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

demonbreedr16 said:


> Sadly the other poster is a bot.
> 
> You can tell by all those links, off site, and the fact it copied me.  Stupid spammers!
> 
> ...


It will have as many odessa barbs as the stocking police will allow!

A word of advice for the others ; Asian ambulia _IS_ the best.


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

Hmmm...those are pretty! Another barb I like is Black Ruby...they are jet black with a ruby color on their chest...

Now that my 29 is opened up...I'm really tempted to go back for those Rainbowfish[threadfin]! Of course, the 10 could use a few more fish too...hmmm...


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

When will my tribulations end???

A helpful person has enlightened me as to how to go about eliminating BLue GReen ALgae. But alas, I would require a new pump. Apparently BGA likes it when there is less current and less oxygen. Thats what causes black patches of sand. It all makes sense! There is a bit more to killing BGA but I shall not bore you with the details.

Bad thing is, I just finished shredding up my lemna trisulca mass in order to encourage more replicating. If y'all have been following, my filter died along with my tetras.








Here's a spectacular full tank shot. I FINALLY STARTED MY MINERALIZED TANK! STAY TUNED FOR A JOURNAL THAT WILL SHAKE UP THE WAY YOU SEE THE PLANTED AQUARIUM HOBBY.

That is all.

To be honest, I am not exactly pleased with how it is looking right now.


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

Atleast the plants are OK!

My plants in my 29 are growing steadily...but I'm also working on that tank converting it into a Yellow Lab cichlid tank with 3-4 S. Petricola. The goldfish planted tank thingy WILL continue in the 90gal.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Here's an updated shot.

AS for the progress, I have purchased some Zebra Danios, I have increased the mass of lemna trisulca even more... and I have still got some BGA. Curse you BGA! The milfoil is doing good. The Egeria najas WAS doing good until I cut it. But it is doing good again. So basically it is all getting better. Or, as they say in some places, Good-er.

Oh yeah, and I also added Ludwigia. As for the species, I am not certain, but it looks like the one but kind of like the other kind...


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

seds said:


> Full tank shot!


I love this look. It looks like a larger tank than it is. By the way, the extra current for BGA doesn't work. I have a friend who has a bubble wall full blast to the the point the surface is churning and still has BGA, most of it is growing on the glass cover.  I'd recommend maracyn short term or just adding KNO3, which your plants will greatly appreciate in the long run. In fact, you can skip the maracyn if you are patient enough to wait it out. Keep up the good work and don't worry, it'll go away in due time with a little work.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

what's the wpg on that tank? and here is the best link i found on my own since i too still have problems with it on my 40g planted....

lt should cover everything you need to know about bga and more 10/10 material i couldn't of found anything else better than this l just wish i found out about this site sooner to avoid problems. l hope this helps you out as much as it did me. gl on the tank!


http://www.aquariumslife.com/algae-control/blue-green-algae/


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

> what's the wpg on that tank? and here is the best link i found on my own since i too still have problems with it on my 40g planted....
> 
> lt should cover everything you need to know about bga and more 10/10 material i couldn't of found anything else better than this l just wish i found out about this site sooner to avoid problems. l hope this helps you out as much as it did me. gl on the tank!
> 
> ...


Hey I am glad that some people have been interested in how this has been going! I certainly haven't been updating it for a while, not much has changed. I have been mostly ignoring the tank,(and the thread) getting zebra danios killed and eliminating plant species systematically and inadvertently... D'oh. Without any further ado;

-!shadow!, my WPG was at 8, of T12, the fixtures were "gro lux" but over twice as long as the tank... so the true WPG was actually about 4. but now it is at 4.8, with T5. The color of the lights is whiter but I dislike the color. Plants are doing worse. Maybe because of my negligence, and the huge shade coming from lemna trisulca. Anyone want some, perhaps it can be arranged to ship out a handful.
-Lemna trisulca, dwarf hairgrass and mosses tend to collect the most BGA... H202 could be a fun solution. Perhaps I could use a bit more than the recommended dose if I put them in a seperate container, like maybe a bucket.


This is KIND OF important. I learned some things today from a book called MOSSES, LICHENS AND FERNS (of northwestern north america). For starters, I have no willow moss. I probably have the species known only as *Brachythecium rivulare* That explains my weird and relatively unsuccessful experience with it, and it's different, less branched and smaller leaved growth. I presume some other people have this species and don't know it... Most native North American mosses are automatically assumed to be Willow moss or Fissidens, even though there are about 10-20 aquatic mosses in reality... Anyways... I could probably make a thread about this sometime. Field guides make learning time FUN TIME!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Brachythecium_rivulare02.jpg









Green Spot algae is receding, limnophila has slowed down, myriophyllum is doing mediocre at best, but egeria najas is still doing great. I also have some runners and baby vals sprouting up. Limnophila and Egeria najas are doing swimmingly in my mineralized tank. I am achieving whorls over 2 and a half inches across for Limno and an inch and a bit for Egeria.

I'll add some new pictures of my ten gallon tank in a few days, probably tomorrow. I'll probably make Lemna Trisulca look like a foreground plant for the photoshoot (even though it is floating), just because I can.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Don't give up hope on the tank that's how you learn! lf you don't make mistakes then you don't learn. l know you'll bring this tank back to life.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Here are my photoss. Taken with an iphone...

















I'll probably get a better picture, it looks a little dark.




Teaser of my Mineralized topsoil tank:


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Not really worthy of a bump but just in case someone cares, here's my update:








I was going for a river look... Which worked until the vals got out of hand. Needs a few more rocks... I planted dwarf sag and added a little soil under the sand. Hopefully the SAG does as well as it does in my 40 gallon. The two vals in front seemed to spring up overnight. They will probably be moved soon. Sorry the pic isn't very large. Thanks for looking!

In the center is my dwarf hairgrass, which was grown emersed until a few weeks ago. The unsightly black mesh hopefully will be completely covered in moss in a few months. I have been negligent of dosing and trimming, so the egeria najas is gangly.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

lol, Vals always get out of hand... its a no-brainer


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

They sure do... The leaves curl around the length of the tank several times, and it just keeps spreading. BUT I recommend them to anyone.

I actually laughed out loud a little to your response.


PS this tank sucks now, as of 2011.


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