# 90g acrylic journal



## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

This...

...is gonna be _awesome._


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

Wow...I'm definitely going to be watching this one. I sense great potential


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## ancona46 (Feb 2, 2011)

nice, i have been toying with the idea of trying to remove the scratches from my 75 gallon. glad to see it somewhat works


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## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

Any updates Xue?


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## TwoStrokeKing (Mar 24, 2011)

Nice! Get some updates!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

I kinda forgot about this thread. I will get some new pictures out tonight.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

These are taken a ~2 months back?... 

A really outdated full tank shot









A more recent almost FTS










Fissiden sprouting on wood - I thought this was algae at first:









Anubias 'gasser'









C striolata with bba on old leaves










C walkeri legroi and c indonesia from Chad









Tillansia sp attached to wood poking out of water










C nurii and c affinis


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

nice!


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## BradH (May 15, 2008)

Looks great!


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## Mr_ed (May 24, 2011)

Great tank. I got exactly the same tank used, still getting ideas on how to scape it.


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## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

Love it! I was wondering where you kept your roselines 

I like how your C. affinis grows upright. Mine fan out and the leaves stay about an inch above the substrate and take up valuable space  Speaking of which how are the ones I sent you? The crypts you sent me have been doing great with no melting and some new leaves.

The colors on the legroi are also really nice!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Thanks Huy. The c affinis I got from you is doing great. The runners have turned into plantlets but you wont find them in these pictures since theyre kinda old.


I am sure it will turn into a bush in no time since these are growing a lot faster than all the affinis I have. I still owe you one of mine by the way. I could send you one sometime next month. Just shoot me a reminder.


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## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

Good to hear that. Mine have really taken off. I counted 8 new runners when I was clearing out some plants last weekend. You can have more of them if you want.

I'd love to have one, thanks! I can wait until whenever since it's so hot right now.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

subscribed! great tank! i love the hardscape!


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## Janf (Jun 24, 2011)

AWESOME! Love it =D The hardscape is very well done and I'm quite sure you're going to do something very nice!

Subscribed


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Did a water change and took some pictures today. I kinda ran out of planting space and took out some of the driftwood. The coralife fixture also died on me. It was replaced with two 150W MH. 

The pictures are a little grainy because of the co2.

Full shot









The right side









Left









C affinis stand - finally starting to spread










Random shots


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Very well done, love the epiphytes on the exposed wood great touch


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

looks great! i agree! the broms on the wood are awesome


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

This is spectacular. How did I miss it?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow this is very nice. You put really great plants and really great hardscpae into there.


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## TactusMortus (Jun 28, 2011)

Love this tank! What are the plants growing on the wood out of the water? Also what kind of moss is growing out of the water on the wood? Where do you find those plants would love to get some for a tank of mine.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

TactusMortus said:


> Love this tank! What are the plants growing on the wood out of the water? Also what kind of moss is growing out of the water on the wood? Where do you find those plants would love to get some for a tank of mine.


Thanks. The plants attached to the wood out of the water is some type of air plant. I dont recall the names. Your local nursery probably carries them. The moss is weeping moss. 

I've been hoarding plants for years now. Most were either swapped or purchased from other board members. A lot of my original crypts were from Aaron t and the g ghori from apc.


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## ibmikmaq (Aug 19, 2011)

Can we see an update of this tank please?


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Here are a couple. These are not the most recent photos but not much has changed either. The hair grass finally filled in but it caught hair algae.

































































The c keei family


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## ibmikmaq (Aug 19, 2011)

Wow looking sweet! I love it! Thanks for sharing!


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

ver nice!


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## wetworks (Jul 22, 2011)

That stand of C. keei in the last photo is absolutely amazing!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Thanks Robert 
They're the grand daddy of all c Keei jambusan that I have been sending


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

I love that you have air plants on the driftwood sticking up out of your tank. I may have to steal that idea for a future tank roud:


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Xue - Looks great! Love the C. Keei patch.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Noticed something worth noting this weekend. My red affinis is trying to flower under water. Can you spot the spiral tip of the spathe? Its a bit hard to see.

I really want to see the spathe open. I've read that this crypt is pretty hard to flower in cultivation. I might consider lowering the water level to make it easier for the spathe to reach the surface.


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

Coolio!

Drop the water level so we can see this thing open up!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

I am just hoping that it will not melt


Xue


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Finally got a c apongetifolia from a very generous scape member.

He gave me an extra plantlet to boot. Woot!


Xue


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Whoa!!!! Now THAT is cool! It's hard to tell, Xue, from the picture but how big is that leaf?


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

That leaf is about 10 inches in length. A full grown specimen can be as tall as 2 feet, which would make a really nice background crypt. The width is about an inch but this is not a mature leaf so I presume the width may double. The leaves are also heavily bullated, resembling c bullosa. It's a beautiful crypt in my book.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

looking4roselines said:


> That leaf is about 10 inches in length. A full grown specimen can be as tall as 2 feet, which would make a really nice background crypt. The width is about an inch but this is not a mature leaf so I presume the width may double. The leaves are also heavily bullated, resembling c bullosa. It's a beautiful crypt in my book.


Those are awesome, I've been after some true c. aponagetafolia for a while now. Do you ever sell any of the red affinis either or is it still in propigation. Those ahve an excellent color.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Hey Craig,
I have some affinis growing out but I owe at least two other people this plant. There should be plenty to go around in another month or so


Xue


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

LOL! WOW! Two feet??!! That's amazing! Love the look of it, though it will be somewhat challenging to have it make it to the two foot mark without tearing!! Good luck! I can hardly wait to see it in your tank......


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

looking4roselines said:


> Hey Craig,
> I have some affinis growing out but I owe at least two other people this plant. There should be plenty to go around in another month or so
> 
> 
> Xue


No problem I have to work on selling a bunch of stuff to pay for my order anyways... :biggrin:


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

crazydaz said:


> LOL! WOW! Two feet??!! That's amazing! Love the look of it, though it will be somewhat challenging to have it make it to the two foot mark without tearing!! Good luck! I can hardly wait to see it in your tank......


Yes. This crypt makes the man below look short. haha
(from Jan's)


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

looking4roselines said:


> Yes. This crypt makes the man below look short. haha
> (from Jan's)


I want those that are in his hands!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Those would make a nice patch of apongetifolia behind your taller piece of driftwood on the right side of your 220g


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

looking4roselines said:


> Those would make a nice patch of apongetifolia behind your taller piece of driftwood on the right side of your 220g


That was what I was thinking, I found some Balansae but it jsut isn't the same. I've got a pool area in the back with substrate that will be 7-8" deep and about 8" around for planting a background crypt. 

I'll just have to keep my eyes open for some to come available.

Craig


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## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

crazydaz said:


> LOL! WOW! Two feet??!! That's amazing! Love the look of it, though it will be somewhat challenging to have it make it to the two foot mark without tearing!! Good luck! I can hardly wait to see it in your tank......












I think 2' may be an understatement although getting them this big in an aquarium may be hard. This thing gets huge though.

Len

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

7-8 inch of substrate is a lot of growing space for the roots. Some people suggest that this may cause anerobic spots but I never had any issue with mine. The mound in my 90g is almost a foot tall and the keei patch is growing in nicely on top of it.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

looking4roselines said:


> 7-8 inch of substrate is a lot of growing space for the roots. Some people suggest that this may cause anerobic spots but I never had any issue with mine. The mound in my 90g is almost a foot tall and the keei patch is growing in nicely on top of it.


That is what I hear but with the roots crypts put out I don't see this as an issue, maybe with stem plants.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

lbacha said:


> I think 2' may be an understatement although getting them this big in an aquarium may be hard. This thing gets huge though.
> 
> Len
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


I am definitely going to push the limit as to how tall it can get. I am going to plant it in one spot and leave it undisturbed for as long as I can. I really want to see how tall this can get in the aquarium. I know that Hung had this grown in his tank and recall it was pretty tall but I am not sure if it was in the 2 feet mark.


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

Nice aponogetifolia ya got there. Was it growing in AS before you got it?


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

wabisabi said:


> Nice aponogetifolia ya got there. Was it growing in AS before you got it?



Thanks. It was not aquasoil but it looked like some type of inert substrate very similar to ecocomplete. 

I just planted it into my tank. Hopefully this will do well.


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

Becareful. I've heard it doesnt like AS too much. I believe it likes hard water. but then again your AS is not new so it may be a moot point. Hope your plant does well. It'll look sweet all grown in, in your 90 gallon!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

wabisabi said:


> Becareful. I've heard it doesnt like AS too much. I believe it likes hard water. but then again your AS is not new so it may be a moot point. Hope your plant does well. It'll look sweet all grown in, in your 90 gallon!



Yeah I am aware that this is a hard water crypt. My water is liquid rock out of the tap so I am not too concerned. C keei is also a hard water crypt and its doing great in really used aquasoil and my city water. I am hoping to get the same result.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Eleocharis sp 'Japan' on steroids. Has anyone ever seen this happen on their hair grass? This one rosette just morphed in to a much bigger form. Older leaf blades are small. 

Ignore all the algae...


Xue


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## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

I think people make too big a deal of anaerobic areas the key is to not let the soil completely compact and therefore not allow oxygen in, if I was doing a deep substrate area I would put some lava rock down first this will create a space for bacteria to thrive and will actually cause O2 movement through the substrate, look into plenums in reef tanks for examples they use thick substrates alot.

Len


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Have some good news and bad news.

The bad news is the c affinis spathe melted after rising ~4-5 inches above the substrate. This is the last photo I have of it.









The good news is c keei sent out a spathe. I kinda expected this since a lot of the mother plants had cathaphyls present. This is a tell tale sign that a crypt is about to flower. After a close inspection tonight, I found this:



























The keei patch is grown on the back of the tank at the highest part of the mound. I already reduced the water level to about 50% full to expose the limb above the water surface. The top of the tank is now covered with glass to maintain humidity. Crossing my finger that this is going to open up in a day or two.


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

Right on Xue! I hope it opens for you. Too bad about the affinis. Same thing happened to a nurii I had submerged. 

How's the aponogetifolia doing?


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## AaronT (Apr 11, 2004)

I kept aponogetifolia once in a 75 gallon tank. It grew to the top and folded over the surface down 2/3 the length of the back. It makes usteriana look small.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Apongetifolia is doing great. No melt so far and it pearls when the lights are on. 



AaronT said:


> ... It grew to the top and folded over the surface down 2/3 the length of the back...


This is what I am aiming. I am hoping the taller crypts will block off some of the light going into the tank.


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## The Gipper (Sep 9, 2003)

Learning something new everyday, have never seen that huge crypt before!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

The Gipper said:


> Learning something new everyday, have never seen that huge crypt before!


This is what keeps our hobby interesting.

I just bought a t5 fixture. Once it arrives, I am swapping out the MH. It's causing way too much algae


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## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

While I like my MH it's too much work the T5's I put over the tank have already made my life easier 

Len


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## The Gipper (Sep 9, 2003)

How many t5's are you putting over the tank..what types of bulbs do you find work well with the crypts



looking4roselines said:


> This is what keeps our hobby interesting.
> 
> I just bought a t5 fixture. Once it arrives, I am swapping out the MH. It's causing way too much algae


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## klaus07 (Nov 23, 2011)

I have a friend in Michigan with a 300 gallon tank. Two feet is too small to describe this crypt. He has it in a minimal amount of gravel and uses well water that has iron in it. Aponogetifolia grows like mad for him. I just talked to him today Xue. With some luck, I should be able to send you some in a week or two.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

That's too awesome klaus. That will give me a jump start on a nice patch. I'll be sure to send you some cool plants to trade with


Xue


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## klaus07 (Nov 23, 2011)

The smaller plant with the reddish leaves was sold to me as a monster C. usteriana. It is big and impressive. The real monster is the C aponogetifola in my other hand. The longest leaf is 38 inches and growing. Both plants are bullated, aponogetifolia maniacally so.


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Beautiful plants.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

With the T5's you'll be able to use 1/2 the lights also without issue any time.

Then if you are around during the middle part of the day, turn on all of them for 1 hour or two.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

looking4roselines said:


> Yes. This crypt makes the man below look short. haha
> (from Jan's)


This is/was Herson Moraco, this is in the Philippines.
He died a few years ago, but his family sells and exports about 4-5 species of rare crypts still. They export around 2000-4000 plants at a time.

There is also a small private pond in Florida full of C. aponogetiifolia.

It does well in soft water also. It grows in a good sized steam near where Herson use to live. Jan showed me all the details and I talked with Herson for a few years.


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## klaus07 (Nov 23, 2011)

apparently I put the pic in the wrong place. I will fix it when I get to a computer or post it again from a computer. I don`t know how to easily fix this from my ipad.


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## klaus07 (Nov 23, 2011)

Yeah you can usually buy aponogetifolia in the pet market in Manila. Aponogetifolia comes from further south on Luzon, in Sorsogon and Albay province. How cool it would be to collect aponogetifolia in the shadow of Mt Mayon. AFAIK, there are only four described crypts from the Philippines. Do you know of a fifth one Tom?


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

My source bought the c apongetifolias from an old school collector while he was in PH. He doesn't know the exact location but he suspects that they were collected in the northern part of the Philippines at Sorsogon.

Tom, I am going to use the center 4 bulbs for the most part. Which bulbs would you suggest I use? I am setting up another timer for about an hour or two onthe outer four bulbs to emulate a midday burst.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

I got some eye candy for you crypt fanatics! The spathe of c keei opened up this morning and I had to snap more than a few photos

C. Keei "Jambusan" 






















































I need a better camera for those macro shots.


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## klaus07 (Nov 23, 2011)

I find Crypt flowers breathtaking more often than not. Outstanding shots of a beautiful plant. 

I fixed the photo display problem in post 66 above. You can see the difference in size between aponogetifolia and usteriana.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

klaus07 said:


> The smaller plant with the reddish leaves was sold to me as a monster C. usteriana. It is big and impressive. The real monster is the C aponogetifola in my other hand. The longest leaf is 38 inches and growing. Both plants are bullated, aponogetifolia maniacally so.


Wow!! that is over 3 feet long. This is proof that this crypt can reach to it's full potential in cultivation. Nice job!
Your c apongetifolia makes the c usteriana look like a wimp.


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

C. keei is Awesome! Nice shots. That is a very nice and healthy grove of keei.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

wabisabi said:


> C. keei is Awesome! Nice shots. That is a very nice and healthy grove of keei.


Thanks dude.

These are the last updated photos. The spathe has matured and the limb has spiraled. 

I am going to fill the tank back up tomorrow. I am not liking the sound of the water splashing against the tank.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Got two more c apongetifolia today from my friend klaus. They're huge. Measured over 3 ft tall

The ruler below is 15"




Xue


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## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

Wow, I don' t think they would have worked in my cube lol. those are bigger than the ones in the photo..

Len


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

I wonder if it will grow shorter and more compact if I grow them under 8 x 54 watt t5ho fixture


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## toksyn (Aug 15, 2011)

Magnificent C. keei patch!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Thanks Dev.



The Gipper said:


> How many t5's are you putting over the tank..what types of bulbs do you find work well with the crypts


Hi Mark. I will be using 8 bulbs. 4 will be on for about 10 hours and the other four will be on 2-3 hours. Not sure what type of bulbs to use yet but I got 20 to chose from :hihi:


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## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

How often do you change the water if at all?


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

I have live stock in the tank that are fed everyday. I try to change my water at least twice a month.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Had a very productive weekend. Finally finished a home improvement project and I had some time left over to do a bit of tank maintenance. 

I was pretty much satisfied with this scape after c Keei flowered and I wanted to change the hard scape. I realized it was going to be a lot of work to remove all the plants and inhabitants. So instead, I'll try to flower another crypt on top of the mound. Maybe c bullosa or c uenoi. Not sure which yet but I'll start planting as soon as I get rid of the patch of c Keei.

I also moved the driftwood a bit towards the back for more space to place some buce below it. They are not planted in the substrate. I spent an hour or two to tie them onto a piece of rock/wood.

Also got rid of my mh fixtures and replaced them with 8x54 watt t5ho fixture. Only six bulbs are on at the moment. I don't think I need that much light




Xue


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

Is that a Tek light? 

You da man if you get C bullosa to flower. I don't recall seeing one throw a spathe in captivity. But then again I never really searched for it either. I thought I read somewhere that they were difficult to flower.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

wabisabi said:


> Is that a Tek light?
> 
> You da man if you get C bullosa to flower. I don't recall seeing one throw a spathe in captivity. But then again I never really searched for it either. I thought I read somewhere that they were difficult to flower.


Yup. It is a Tek light. The MH washed off the colors of the plants but they're looking a lot better now. But of course you cant see it since the water is still very cloudy after moving things around.

I haven't seen any c bullosa blooming in culture but there could be unreported incidents. I am a little excited about this one.


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

Great choice in a light.

Maybe you can experiment with far red light like HeyPK to induce flowering. Either way it sure would be cool to see a C bullosa spathe in culture!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Here is a recent photo of the tank. About 80% of the plants have been replaced.
The entire patch of c keei on the back end of the tank has been replaced with c bullosa. I am trying to see if I can flower this crypt. Although all the c keei has been removed, there are still runners burrried in the substrate and a plantlet will randomly sprout in different parts of the tank.

Just moved some plants around and did a water change so its a bit cloudy


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## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

That looks sweet you need to get a couple close up shots when it clears up, I can tell there is some neat stuff growing in there. 

As for the bullosa I don't know what it is (knock on wood) but the bullosa I got from you seems to be doing better than the Keei and Uenoi. I planted 4 bullosa, 4 keei and 5 uenoi in the exact same set-up and all 4 bullosa have shot out a new leaf I have only had one new leaf on the keei and one has just started to sprout on the uenoi. I know I just jinxed the whole thing but if the bullosa keeps doing well I'm going to use it in my terrarium. 

As for keei I see what you mean with runners, I just had another plantlet pop up in my aquarium about 8" from the main plant. The mother doesn't even seem to be doing that great but she is sending runners, lol. I guess I can't complain I wouldn't mind the tank being taken over by keei.

Len


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

That's great. C bullosa seems to be slow growing for a lot of people. Not sure why your c Keei mothers are not doing so well though. Do you have soft tap water? Or maybe it is harder for mother plants to acclimate 


Xue


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## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

looking4roselines said:


> That's great. C bullosa seems to be slow growing for a lot of people. Not sure why your c Keei mothers are not doing so well though. Do you have soft tap water?
> 
> 
> Xue


I don't have soft tap water but the substrate in my aquarium is Malaya so that is what I think the issue is there, it's a year old so it isn't killing them just knocking them back. As for the other set-up I have the bullosa, keei and uenoi in it's in new amazonia, The main reason the bullosa is ahead is out of 4 plants is I only had 2 leaves melt where the keei and uenoi had substantial melt. I actually have had no luck planting keei without melt as you saw in the terrarium as well. There are new leaves coming back in the terrarium but most of the leaves melted. The terrarium was a new set-up though so that may have been the culprit. As long as they come back the rhizomes are huge and I counted yesterday there are 11 plants in the terrarium including some plantlets so I'm sure it will be over-run once they establish themselves.

Len

Len


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Ouch. Sorry to hear uenoi was being a wimp. I'll send you another when I pack tonight. You're the second person I know who had Trouble with uenoi. Maybe it's just a fussy crypt

I never used Malay by it self but I had c bullosa Sarakei that did OK when I mixed Malay with sand and Amazonia 


Xue


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## toksyn (Aug 15, 2011)

I've been lucky and have had virtually no melt with uenoi or bullosa. In fact, my bullosa threw 4 offshoots simultaneously while growing new leaves. On the other hand, I cannot get hudoroi to stay alive regardless of what I do. I use pretty soft water for my tank with UP aquasoil, maybe the resultant low pH is to blame for all of my experiences and is actually what uenoi is looking for?


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

C uenoi might be able to adjust to different growing conditions. I have uenoi grown in both hard or soft water and both are doing great. Even under heavily neglected conditions (like my 55g crs tank), I still have uenoi sideshoots going in all directions.

Len's plants might have taken a heavy transplant shock... Not too sure. Just speculating.


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## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

Yeah I think a lot of the melt was from putting them in newer tanks, that's why I'm amazed the bullosa didn't get effected, they have all sent out new leaves so I'm not too worried, keei in Malaya straight is the only crypt that hasn't done well submersed for me but the plants are sending runners because I now see small keei popping up here and there in the tank. I will eventually need to find a home for the uenoi and bullosa because they are in pots in a fluval flora tank right now. They may get sides of the terrarium to take over so I will have a 75 with nothing but keei, bullosa and uenoi growing in it.

Len


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## klaus07 (Nov 23, 2011)

I put uenoi in Akadama redline two with a rootcap and so far no melt. On the other hand every hudoroi i put in Amazonia AS has melted without a trace of a root left. So did a Buce, I have switched over to the japanese method of putting the crypt on moist sphagnum moss.


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## klaus07 (Nov 23, 2011)

I just remembered, the bullosa I received from you has grown a new leaf. It is planted emersed in Amazonia AS. It looks like there is no single solution for substrate for growing crypts. 

Other than the hudoroi melting on me all the time, my biggest disappointment is my rosenervig is very unrosenervig like. I am growing it emersed and am not able to play with the parameters of light and ferts at the moment.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

klaus07 said:


> I just remembered, the bullosa I received from you has grown a new leaf. It is planted emersed in Amazonia AS. It looks like there is no single solution for substrate for growing crypts.
> .


Awesome Kaluse. In another year or two, c bullosa should be more readily available.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Here's c affinis trying to send a spathe again. It's much longer than the last attempt before melting. I have doubt that this will reach the surface and open though 



















Xue


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

So cool! Love the buce's in there too, by the way.

It is still amazing to me that a submersed crypt would spend the energy to try to send a spathe up! That takes a huge amount of resources for such a slow growing plant to do! You must have perfect conditions for such a thing to happen in this tank, Xue!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Thanks Don. My tanks are not in their ideal conditions... They all have algae. Lol

Check out the c affinis spathe. It's much more developed as of today, standing over 5 inches. The tip of the spathe is being blocked and grown slanted underneath a leaf. It's a little bit more taller than it looks 










Xue


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

Cool looking spathe dude!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

The spathe is now over 6 inches. The twisted limb looks like it was about to open so I dropped the water level. I'm hoping she will open up for me over the weekend. If it opens, I'm yanking all affinis out of this tank and replace the spot with another crypt 


























Xue


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## toksyn (Aug 15, 2011)

Very nice!


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

What substrate do you use? didn't see it in any of the posts..looks like MTS but I dunno..either way those crypts look amazing!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

toksyn said:


> Very nice!


Thanks Dev 



sketch804 said:


> What substrate do you use? didn't see it in any of the posts..looks like MTS but I dunno..either way those crypts look amazing!


I am using earthworm casting mixed with red clay. The casting is capped with used aqua soil 


Xue


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Here is an update of the affinis spathe. The limb is becoming more and more twisted. I am not sure I'll see I'll see it open today but I really hoping to
















Xue


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Here's another quick update. Spathe is now taller than the wood behind it










Xue


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## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

Nice looking crypt flower! So do you do anything special to get crypts to get/force them to flower?? I have had crypts for years and years, and I have yet to get a flower for some reason..thanks and keep the pix coming all is looking great!


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

Sweet!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

The c affinis spathe finally opened tonight. Here are a few shots of this.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

sketch804 said:


> Nice looking crypt flower! So do you do anything special to get crypts to get/force them to flower?? I have had crypts for years and years, and I have yet to get a flower for some reason..thanks and keep the pix coming all is looking great!



Thanks. This tank is my boiling pot of crypts. My tap water is hard and I do not give any of them specific attention nor dose any ferts to force them to flower. I do add a root tab or two once every few months. Other than that, I just do water changes every other weeks. Or at least I try to.


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Oops wrong thread


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Right, Xue...you just want compliments for this... 

It's earned, though! That's a beautiful red spathe!!!! Full tank shot for next time, please!!!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Haha nah. I actually wanted to post pics of my aglaonema but realized it should be in the other thread 

Probably won't have the opportunity bloom affinis in this tank again though. I'm going to remove them all in the next few weeks


Xue


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Uhhh....where are they going??? What are putting in there instead?? Most importantly: what are you thinking???


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

The metallic red affinis grown in their natural habitat looks magnificent. I am thinking of using them in a vivarium display and grow them under 50% natural sunlight. I want to see dozens of spathes emerging out of the water surface in my display 


Xue


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

That'll be great.....if they don't get covered in algae from the transition! Will this be in your new greenhouse, then?


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

looking4roselines said:


> The metallic red affinis grown in their natural habitat looks magnificent. I am thinking of using them in a vivarium display and grow them under 50% natural sunlight. I want to see dozens of spathes emerging out of the water surface in my display
> 
> 
> Xue


Sounds outstanding, looking forward to seeing that .


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

I did a water change tonight and snapped pics of the two newest crypts added to my collection. C bullosa Bario and C yujii Sungei Nibong. This bullosa variant is the reddest bullosa next to the form collected from Sarakei. 




























C yujii is also a very interesting broad leaf crypt with brown veining throughout the leaf. Yujii is the first crypt i've seen with this type of veining










This bullosa patch was started with just a couple of mother plants. A nice dense patch is starting to form. They are grown in liquid rock with no fert. Just injected co2.


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## toksyn (Aug 15, 2011)

Those Crypts are just . . . stunning.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Whoa those are really cool!


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

That's beautiful, Xue!! What excellent coloration!! Just amazing!


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Thanks guys. Crypts are the least demanding plants I grew and they are thriving with very little to no attention given. Water change is often neglected also.


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## Tyger (Dec 9, 2010)

WOW! What a great thread! C bullosa Bario - OMG! Beautiful & Stunning!

~Tyger (Michael)~


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Are those bullosa Bario's all submersed grown? 


Sent from my fingers


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Xue, I wonder if CO2 is the answer for C. Bullosa. It seems to be a commonality with people having success with this crypt.

What do you think?


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

These plants are all submerged. Photos were taken when the water was drained during a water change.

Frank, 
Most (if not all) people would agree that you'll grow healthier plants with CO2, not just crypts. C bullosas are usually found in fast flowing streams. Having good water flow or currents in your tank also help distribute/diffuse the CO2 evenly. There are vitrually no dead or stagnant spots in my tank. I have two eheim canisters and two needlewheel pumps for the CO2 diffusion and I can see tiny CO2 bubbles in every corner of my tank. Even though I do not fertilize my tank, the plants do get nutrient from the water column from fish waste. I have a group of cardinals that are fed daily.


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Uhh.....what's going on with this tank now, Xue? What of the greenhouse??? Pictures or update would be awesome!!!


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