# My 55 gallon journal



## Boredomb

Over the coarse of being on this forum I have read many of y'alls journals and have enjoyed them very much. I thought I would do one of my own since I am redoing my tank. Here is a pic of how the tank did look.








That tank had issuse from the beginning. It was a used tank that I picked up years ago. It always had this "film" on the glass that would never come off. I tryed several different things on the it. I original bought the tank to hold firebelly toads. It was setup that way for 5 years. When they finally past I convinced my wife to let me turn it into a fish tank. It first looked like this. 









That was my first attempt at a tank that size and with plants. Many of those plant didn't make it as I didn't have enough lighting for them. The purple Cabomba is one that comes to mind right off hand. It just didn't do good at. Most of the stems would lose the leaves at the bottom. I now know that is a sign of poor lighting for that plant. I eventually pulled out those and some other plants. I collected some wood and took advice for many of you on this forum and ended u with this









Well from day one that tank had signs of ammonia in it. I never knew where it came from. It always rode about .25. That tank was like that for 5 months. I couldn't take it so I decided that it I had to do something to figure out where it was coming from. Well I went to Petco the other day and noticed they were having their $1 per gallon sale going on so I picked up a new 55 gallon tank.









Not sure where the ammonia was coming form. Thinking it was the substrate as it was really dirty. I knew it was as I could see it under the surface. I just didn't reallize it was that dirty. It had large peices of dead plants in it. :shock: I had thought I had gotten all of those guess not. With that said I decide I was going to use a different substrate altogether as I have heard eco-complete is to rough on some bottom feeders. 

Since day one I have always wanted to try using soil in the substrate. I have read several different post on using soil on this forum and some other forums as well. Well I thought since I was starting over I would try doing it. So Sunday I spent most of the day sifting though dirt and cleaning sand off as I am using that as a cap for the soil.









The soil consists of some cheap topsoil I bought and some topsoil from my yard. The soil from my yard consists of more clay then dirt so I thought that would be good to mix in. 









Last night after my daughter went to bed my wife and I started on the tank (this is the only time we really had to do the swap out.).
I took the fish and put them in a tote I had. I put the heater in the tank along with a airstone. I also put some driftwood and a plant in there in hopes it wouldnt be soo stressful for them. I know it may not be ideal but its all I had they could fit in.







all the plants I had in there along with some of the driftwood.







That leave the tank looking something like this







very dirty and you can see that film I was taking about earlier. It is a little worse now and some of it will come off but I have never been able to get it all off.

Now that the tank is empty we moved that tank to the floor and I put the new tank up there on the stand and begin to put the substrate in it as my wife is digging though the old tank for MTS lol 

With the substrate I made it layers so to speak. There is 5 total.
1st is all soil
2nd 25% sand, 75% soil
3 50/50
4 75% sand 25% soil
5 all sand








thats a bad pic! LoL I could see sthe layers but it didn't show up in the pic. 

From there I put some driftwood in there filled it up very slowly LoL added some plants and finally the fish. Now this was very late at night when I finally got most of this done. Here is a pic of what it looks like for the time being. 









This going to change as I was tired last night. I noticed something I am going to change. I am going to take the sword on the right and move it probably to another tank. then I am going to take anubias and put in that corner so it will be shaded by the vals. After that I am going to move some of the smaller swords around and I don't know from there. I am going to out today and look for some sort of floating plant. I think I have see some water sprite so I might try to get that today. If not then I will order it or maybe pennywort instead or prehaps both.

Looking at it now there is BIG difference but hopefully it will do better this time around.
Thanks for looking at this thread and looking forward to any and all comments and advice.


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## MarinePsycho

Wow, thats an awesome tank.


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## Boredomb

MarinePsycho said:


> Wow, thats an awesome tank.


Thank you. Its kinda bare to me. Am out looking for plants now LOL.


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## Boredomb

No luck with getting water sprite today so I am going to have to order some. There is only one store that really carries any plants around me and they don't have the best of selection.


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## Boredomb

Just ran some test on the water all is good. Ammonia 0 ( for a change I hope I can keep it there), nitrites 0, nitrates 5


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## Boredomb

I placed an order on Sweetaquatics today for 6 Sagittaria Subulata (Dwarf), 1 Cryptocoryne Undulata, 1 Java Fern Windelov (for my 29 gallon tank) and 1 Pennywort. Hoping it doesn't take as long to get my order as it has for some of y'all but the price was right with them so I can wait if it does take long.

I also took 2 of the swords out of that tank and moved them to my 29 gallon along with the extra jungle val in hopes to getting something to grow in that tank.


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## k19smith

Looks great but then I think it looked good before. I fail at aqua scaping.


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## Boredomb

k19smith said:


> Looks great but then I think it looked good before. I fail at aqua scaping.


Don't feel bad I am not that great at it. Besides it just takes time and patience and a little imagination. The best way I found is to look at others and try to imagine how to make it work in your tank.


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## k19smith

Boredomb said:


> Don't feel bad I am not that great at it. Besides it just takes time and patience and a little imagination. The best way I found is to look at others and try to imagine how to make it work in your tank.



Yeah I'm trying that now and my 55 looks like a train hit it. I'm also waiting on an order of plants from sweetaquadics. I just always think everyone else tanks look better than mine. lol


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## Boredomb

That's me I never think my tank looks good. My wife tells me I am crazy and they look good. LoL


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## Boredomb

Did another water test today got Ammonia. 25, Nitrites 0, nitrates 5. I am going to do a partial water change in the morning and test again.


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## Nubster

Is there ammonia in your water straight out of the tap?


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## Boredomb

Nubster said:


> Is there ammonia in your water straight out of the tap?


Nope. Not unless they just started recently. LoL


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## bigfish93

I placed an order with sweet aquatics last saturday and they emailed me back and said that the earliest my order will be shipped is this saturday (tomorrow) or possibly monday. The tank looks great by the way


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## Boredomb

bigfish93 said:


> I placed an order with sweet aquatics last saturday and they emailed me back and said that the earliest my order will be shipped is this saturday (tomorrow) or possibly monday. The tank looks great by the way


How many days later did they email you back? I haven't heard anything from them. I am hoking it won't be too long of a wait.


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## bigfish93

I put my order in on Saturday and emailed them on sunday morning asking if they got my order and when they thought they would ship it out. They responded later in the day on Tuesday. Although monday was labor day, so I am sure they would have responded sooner.


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## Boredomb

bigfish93 said:


> I put my order in on Saturday and emailed them on sunday morning asking if they got my order and when they thought they would ship it out. They responded later in the day on Tuesday. Although monday was labor day, so I am sure they would have responded sooner.


Okay thanks. I might email them tomorrow and see if I can get a response.


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## Boredomb

Boredomb said:


> I am going to do a partial water change in the morning and test again.


This did not happen as I work up to a basement floor of water :shock:. Water heater decided it was time to leak. So I spent all my morning/afternoon before coming to work replacing the water heater. I will reschedule this for in the morning with the hopes of actually being able to do it.


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## Boredomb

After all the craziness this week I got my water change done today along with moving the anubias I wanted to get moved. 







I am still waiting on my plants from sweetaquatics. I sent them an email this morning asking about my order no response yet.

Here is a pic of my 29 gallon that I moved some plants to. I will make a log on this tank as well. I am wait for some stuff to put Co2 in this tank. I am also going to get different plant as well


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## Boredomb

I found out today that my cities tap water will have some counts of mercury it it. The lvls are suppose to be in the safe zone but will be okay for my fish. I am asking cause I just did a water change without knowing this information.


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## Byron

Boredomb said:


> I found out today that my cities tap water will have some counts of mercury it it. The lvls are suppose to be in the safe zone but will be okay for my fish. I am asking cause I just did a water change without knowing this information.


Can you find the number for the mercury? Mercury is toxic because it binds to the sulphydryl groups of organic molecules found on all proteins, which inactivates the proteins and their cellular function. [This comes from Diana Walstad, a microbiologist.] Diana doesn't give specific numbers, but does mention that in tests, a level of <0.00026 of mercury affected the growth of juvenile minnows. I know from my previous government work that mercury that used to be used in some mining operations will kill the fish in streams. I would expect that the levels in public drinking water would be well below anything that could cause problems, given its nature of binding essential proteins.

Byron.


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## Boredomb

I don't know the numbers just that it is the "safe zone". I do know that the government allows that company to dump 70lbs a year into the river. In a coarse of 3 days they dump 50.49 lbs. Also read other reports satin that this cities intake for water was up river where that happen. So I don't know. Different reports say different things. My fish "seem" to okay. They are still eating and swimming normally.


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## Boredomb

Also found out this started last Tuesday and they got it stopped by Thursday or Friday morning. So I would think by the time I did a water change which was Monday of this week that it would be okay. When I wrote that first post about it. I had just heard about it then after the post I started reading reports about it. So I think everything is okay now.


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## Boredomb

To day I added some flourish root tabs under the plants as the sword doesn't look to happy nor does my jungle val. I also moved my intake for the filter as I think I had it covered up to much and it was not doing the job it was suppose to be doing.







I have still not yet heard anything about my plant order. Wondering when those are going to come in.


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## Boredomb

*Still no plants or response!*

I have still not gotten my plants nor have I even heard from Sweetaquatics.com. I just sent them another email
On 9/7/11 I placed an order (#1763). On Monday 9/12/11 sent you an email reguarding the status of this order. I have yet to hear back from you on this order. I would like to know what is going on with my order Please. Has it been shipped yet? If not when will it be shipped? Please get back to me on matter

Thanks
John

I am hoping I will atleast hear something. Does everyone else have this problem when they order from them. I don't mind the wait but the no response just bad business in my book!


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## BarbH

The first time I ordered from them I had quite a bit of a wait for my plants. I just placed another order myself last Friday. I am thinking about sending an email out beginning of next week if I don't recieve anything. When I placed the order I ended up having to email them about a correction, heard back later that day. Hopefully you hear something from them soon.


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## Boredomb

I don't mind waiting for something that is good and at the right prices. I just like knowing how long the wait is going to be. Its the no response that is really bothering me. This might be my first and last time ordering from them.


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## Boredomb

I finally got a response from Mary at sweetaqutics and my order is suppose to be shipped Monday.


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## Boredomb

Today I finally got confirmation on my plants being shipped! I ordered them on the 7th so 12 days later they finally shipped them. Not so sure I will order from them again will depend on the quality of the plants.
Also did a water change today will check the parameters again tomorrow but Alls been good with them up to this point.


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## Boredomb

I will also take an update pic of the tank as I took out the plants that were floating as they wouldn't doing good.
My vals are finally showing some growth. My big sword still isn't good to good. Need to trim some of the leaves off. It did nit like the move and I hink it is showing some improvement since I added the root tabs to it. Will also rearrange some too as I am not happy with the layout but need to wait till my plants get here.


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## k19smith

I placed my order with sweetaquadics on 9-6 and I received them today on 9-19, it took a bit I'm happy with them except all my jungle val is brown hoping it comes around.


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## Boredomb

I recently changed my substrate and didn't add root tablets to the vals. they started turning yellowish and brownish. I added a few and now they are starting to grow and looking better even found a new runner today. I will say this I can't grow them in my 29 gallon tank. I have tried twice now this been my second time. For that matter I don't have much success growing plants in that tank.


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## Boredomb

Well yesterday I finally got my plants from Sweet aquatics. I have a couple of pics of the plants and their condition on this thread http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/aquarium-plants/ughh-need-advice-new-plants-81584/ I will not get into that anymore as the situation has been taken care of. 
I plan on going to the Local petstore and see what I can come up with for plants as I get paid tomorrow and will have a few extra $ (through not much and I am still waiting on my refund). What I can't find I will order online (not sure where as of right now am thinking from plantedaquariumscentral.com)


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## Boredomb

I just had time today to go to one store today but I got some Pygmy chain sword and some Wisteria. I got the Wisteria floating and some of it planted. I plan on going to some more store this weekend. Heres some pictures.


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## gmate

Looking through sweetaquatic's website, I see a ton of stuff seems to be 'sold out'. It's almost underwhelming seeing as I've heard so much about this place. Glad you finally got your stuff though, tank looks pretty sweet so far.


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## Santaclaws

gmate said:


> Looking through sweetaquatic's website, I see a ton of stuff seems to be 'sold out'. It's almost underwhelming seeing as I've heard so much about this place. Glad you finally got your stuff though


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## Santaclaws

Boredomb said:


> I just had time today to go to one store today but I got some Pygmy chain sword and some Wisteria. I got the Wisteria floating and some of it planted. I plan on going to some more store this weekend. Heres some pictures.



Nice Tank Try AquariumPlants.com I have ordered from them


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## Santaclaws

Some moss on the rocks would look good.


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## Boredomb

Santaclaws said:


> Some moss on the rocks would look good.


I have been thinking of that. Thought about trying some willow moss or flame moss. Just not sure how well it would grow in my tank.


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## Boredomb

I am hoping my pygmy chain sword will take off on that one side. The jungle val is starting to take off like I want it to. I am thinking of getting some slate rock and covering it in moss.


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## Boredomb

I have some update pic that I should be able to get up later tonight. LoL


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## Santaclaws

Boredomb said:


> I have some update pic that I should be able to get up later tonight. LoL


Cool cant wait to see it.


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## Boredomb

Santaclaws you have flame moss right? How well does it grow for you?


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## Boredomb

Here are some update pics to show some new growth plus some shots of my fish. The first pic is a couple of days old. I took a new pic today before coming to work but I guess my phone did not fell like saving it. LoL


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## BarbH

Looking good :-D


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## Santaclaws

That tank is starting to look really good nice job. :-D Nice fish too.


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## Jbrofish8

your oto is so fat!! Cute


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## bearwithfish

i love this thread so much i used the Facebook button to share it with my contacts!! 

you have done a great job on this tank....


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## Boredomb

bearwithfish said:


> i love this thread so much i used the Facebook button to share it with my contacts!!
> 
> you have done a great job on this tank....


Bearwithfish, WoW! Thank you! I was being to wonder if I had messed up by tearing it down from what it previously looked like. I am glad there are people out there who like the way it looks. Especially enough to share it with others! I originally started this thread for me to see the growth of the tank thanks for following along.


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## Boredomb

Jbrofish8 said:


> your oto is so fat!! Cute


LoL yeah he/she is! I am always worried about those little guys not having anything to eat. I throw in algae waffers in the tank at night for the snails to have something to eat. I wonder if the Otos are finding them as well? I have never been able to get them to eat prepared foods but they might be at night.


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## Boredomb

*A week later*

So here are some pics a week after planting the wisteria and the Pygmy chain sword. 
The wisteria is showing some growth. Nothing from the Pygmy chain sword. I have tried it once before with no luck hoping this time around will be a little better.




































Also my little crypt that looks to be a little better then when I got it.


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## bearwithfish

amazing pics..... i really hope you dont mind that i keep sharing your thread on my Fb page.... you are doing such a great job i can not help but to spread the word...


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## Boredomb

bearwithfish said:


> amazing pics..... i really hope you dont mind that i keep sharing your thread on my Fb page.... you are doing such a great job i can not help but to spread the word...


I don't mind at all Bear, like I said before just glad someone likes the way it looks.


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## BarbH

Tank looks great :-D Also love the fish ;-)


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## bearwithfish

whats not to like your a very caring person and this shows in your attention to detail..... great work !!


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## Boredomb

*New plant*

Today I went to Petco to see if I could find some different driftwood and as usual I didn't LoL but I did find this:















I have always wanted a Lily and though why not try it and see what happens. Has anyone ever try a of these bulbs before? The package says to plant the bulb 3/4 in the substrate is this right? Also was thinking of planting it behind the piece of driftwood that is laying down in the middle of the tank. If you look at the last FTS you see where I am talking about. Any suggestion where to put it?


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## Boredomb

Barb, Thank you!!

Bear, Thanks that means alot!!


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## Byron

The lily is likely the green or red form of the Tiger Lotus, it is in our plant profiles.


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## gmate

Check out the lilies in my tank, pictures are in my aquarium page on my profile. They take a while to bloom, like 2-3 weeks. They grow like crazy though, mine has sent over a dozen lily pads to the surface in about 6 weeks. You're going to need to trim and propagate the lilies once every three weeks or so. Fun plant though, my shrimp like hanging on the underside of the lilies. There's four plants in my aquarium, with 2-4 lily pads each, all from one bulb. Pictures below you can see three of my four Lily plants, the original bulb still sprouting in the foreground. Be aware that some bulbs are duds, and won't grow. So in that pack of 4-6 bulbs, one MAYBE two will bloom if you're lucky. And some take an incredibly long time, I bought sword bulbs that took three months to bloom from the time I put them in the tank. Some will decay and rot in the water too, so you need to keep an eye on them. Good luck!
_Posted via Mobile Device









_


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## Boredomb

Thank you Byron and Gmate! I am still thinking I will put it where I was thinking. Should look nice there. Also for fertilizer should I put a root tablet under the bulb?


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## Byron

Boredomb said:


> Thank you Byron and Gmate! I am still thinking I will put it where I was thinking. Should look nice there. Also for fertilizer should I put a root tablet under the bulb?


Beside rather than under, maybe 2 inches away. The roots will grow out from the bulb.


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## Boredomb

Byron said:


> Beside rather than under, maybe 2 inches away. The roots will grow out from the bulb.


Ohh okay Thank you Byron!


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## Boredomb

So its been about a week (I think LoL). I am going to try and update the tank about every week if I can remember LoL. 
So to start here is a full tank shot.















Then going from right side of the tank to the left. 
Here are the jungle vals. and the anubias. The vals have take off nicely started to cover the top of the tank as I was hoping they would for shade. I also have so wisteria floating on that side of the tank as well. 








The vals have sent out numerous runners even to spots I am not sure if I will let them stay there or not. LoL 















Next up is my Pygmy chain sword. Which hasn't done anything yet. I am still hoping it will take off and not die. Which I don't think that is the case yet.








Then the small variaty swords that I have. I have forgotten the names of them LoL. sorry. 















Next is the water lilly bulb that I bought a week ago. No growth out of it yet. Will see if it will make it or not. 








Next up is my little cyrpt undulata. I looks like it is going to make it. It seems a little brighter in color then when I first got it maybe also slighter bigger. 








The last couple of shots are of the left side of the tank. Here is where my big sword ( getting bigger by the day it seems like) along with my wisteria that I planted. 







I was wondering does this look normal for a sword. Some of the leaves look wider and a little lighter in color then the others. Also how tall do the leaves normally get? The two tallest ones in the middle are all the way to the top of the tank (well the water line which is right below the top frame, If that makes sense)















The last is the a pic of the wisteria that I planted. It was gotten pretty tall. 








P.s Sorry for the bad pics!! One day I might actually get a camera instead of using my cellphone.


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## k19smith

Your plants look great I hope someday mine look that good.


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## Boredomb

k19smith said:


> Your plants look great I hope someday mine look that good.


Thanks! They look better in pics then in person. I have some spots on the leaves on the swords from lack of nutrients from where I didn't put root tablets in when I changed the substrate. Also on my vals. They are starting to recover and need to go through and trim some leaves. I am also starting to get some bba again so I am going to reduce the hours of light.


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## Boredomb

Another thing I thinking I am going to do is get some black construction paper and put it on the sides of the tank as well as replacing the back background with that as well. I am also thinking of putting it on top of the tank behind the lights. As the tank sits infront of a window (just below it actually) and the sun in the morning hits it some on the left side. Which is the reason I am thinking I am starting to get more algae problems. Am hoping that will help stop some of that and reducing the lights back to 6 hours a day.


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## Boredomb

Here's a pic of how the tank looks in the morning with the sun shining on it.
















My wife doesn't like it when I close the shades as it makes it to dark in the living room so this is the reasoning for the construction paper.


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## Byron

That's looking great, nice work. And yes, keep the direct sun off the tank. Once the biology is established (after a couple of months) some direct sun early or late in the day (=when it is not as strong) is not too dangerous and can usually be controlled, but with a new setup the biology has not established and algae can very quickly take advantage and be terrible.


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## Boredomb

Thanks Byron. I was trying to figure out why I was get an algae problem again and I saw the sun on it yesterday morning again this morning. I am not usually up early enough to notice this problem ad I work late nights. Once I saw it was getting the sun like that I thought that might be the problem. Thanks for reassuring that can cause some (if not all) of the problems (might be others as well just have to take one problem at a time) with algea.


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## Boredomb

I know a simple solution would be to convince my wife to leave the shades down. That would help the most. Though that may take a lot of convincing! LoL she is out for most of the day today and I have the shades closed will see if I can convince her when she gets home or it will be a trip to the store to get some construction paper.


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## Boredomb

Well problem solved I manged to convince my wife to keep the blinds closed. So I might still get some construction paper when the wife decides to open the blinds.


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## Boredomb

I went to do a water change yesterday and noticed that my Lily bulb was floating Grrrrrr .... So I replanted it in the same spot again will see if it will stay there this time or if it will even start growing. Has anybody had this happen when they planted a bulb?


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## Boredomb

Also caught one of my Otos resting on a wisteria leaf and couldn't resist taken a pic. I love those little guys/gals.









They are such neat little fish.


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## Boredomb

After going back and looking at some of my pic especially the FTS. I realized they were kinda hard to see because of the light for the window. So I took a little better pic(I hope LoL).

My daughter took the first pic so there is a little glare from the kitchen window. LoL


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## Byron

That is looking very nice indeed, well done.

When taking photos of the tank, it is best to close the blinds/drapes--just temporarily [tell the wife;-)] for the picture-taking.:lol:


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## Boredomb

The spot on the left corner right behind the sword and left of the wisteria is bugging me. I think I am going to take some of the pieces of wisteria I have floating and place them there just to fill it in. I think that would look better then that gap. Also how long does one need to wait till they can separate the val runner from the mother plant. I have a couple in spots I don't want them. I don't want to kill them off just relocate them. Didn't think about till now but I guess I could try moving the runner now without separating it from the mother plant.


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## Byron

Boredomb said:


> The spot on the left corner right behind the sword and left of the wisteria is bugging me. I think I am going to take some of the pieces of wisteria I have floating and place them there just to fill it in. I think that would look better then that gap. Also how long does one need to wait till they can separate the val runner from the mother plant. I have a couple in spots I don't want them. I don't want to kill them off just relocate them. Didn't think about till now but I guess I could try moving the runner now without separating it from the mother plant.


Once a plantlet has sufficient roots and leaves, it can be separated (cut the runner). I usually leave some of the runner on the plantlet as it helps to root it with more of the runner to bury.


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## Boredomb

Byron said:


> Once a plantlet has sufficient roots and leaves, it can be separated (cut the runner). I usually leave some of the runner on the plantlet as it helps to root it with more of the runner to bury.


Thanks. I will let them continue to grow where there are for the time being till I feel there is enough leaves and then I will move them over to where the rest of the vals are.


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## Boredomb

So on 9/23/11 I added the Pygmy chain sword here is a pic of the tank when I first added it.








Here is a pic I took just the other day of the tank








Now my question is how does it take for this plant to settle in and start to spread? It looks to now looking at the pics that it has grow a little bit but I am just worried it won't make it since I have tried it once before and it died on me. Any thoughts on this would be great!


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## Jbrofish8

Your tank looks great!

I have a few pygmy chain swords and they took a little while to settle. Some of them still dont seem settled.. but 2 or 3 of them are finally sending out new plants so yippee!! I did put a root tab next to them though, Im not sure if it helped.


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## Boredomb

Thanks Jbro! I also put a root tablet next to mine when I first planted them. To me looking at the pics its kinda hard to see them in the first pic but in the second pic they looks fuller (more leaves). So maybe it is just me being inpatient lol


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## Boredomb

LoL looking at those 2 pics now all plants have had lots of growth going on in the last 2 1/2 weeks. Looking at it everyday in person it doesn't seem that way but you can tell it in the pics. I am glad they are growing and not dying though


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## Boredomb

*Update photos*

Its been awhile since I updated the photos of this tank so here there are.








































































































These were taken this afternoon after the water change. My crypt has start to melt as you can see. I siphoned out the dead leaves today. The swords are growing nicely. The Wisteria is growing like weed! LoL I think next week I am going to cut the back. The Lily bulb...well I found it floating again. I got so mad I took out and throw it in the woods. I am going to try and get another one And try it again as I would really like a lily in this tank.


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## Boredomb

I was really worried at first about the wisteria as I had heard of some many people nit being about to grow due to the lights. That doesn't appear to a problem for me. LoL On the other hand the Pygmy Chain sword. Does anyone have any suggestion about that. It doesn't seem to be dieing but it doesn't seem to be thriving either. Does it do better in a group? Should I buy more and plant it close to where the other ones are? Any thoughts on this?


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## Byron

Boredomb said:


> I was really worried at first about the wisteria as I had heard of some many people nit being about to grow due to the lights. That doesn't appear to a problem for me. LoL On the other hand the Pygmy Chain sword. Does anyone have any suggestion about that. It doesn't seem to be dieing but it doesn't seem to be thriving either. Does it do better in a group? Should I buy more and plant it close to where the other ones are? Any thoughts on this?


Chain swords take time to settle, then off they go. I'll reserve comment on the Wisteria for a few weeks...;-)


----------



## Boredomb

Byron I understand what you are talking about with wisteria. Its been in the tank since 9/23 so has the Pygmy chain sword. The wisteria has lost 3 leaves since then and I don't see any died leaves or even any that any turning yellow. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that it continues to thrive. Here is a pic of when I first added the two.


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## Boredomb

*Need to do some trimming I think LoL*

Here is a full tank shot to start off.







You can see how everything has really taken off. The wisteria has done better then I ever thought. To the point I think it seriously needs to be trimmed now. 














Here's some shots of the tank from the top. You can see the wisteria growing along the top of the water line now. I don't know how big this plant better but it is getting pretty tall! 














The next two pictures you can see where my vals have sent out runners in places I don't want them. Tomorrow I am going to do a water change but before that I will move the vals. I am also going to cut back my wisteria.














Here is a pic of my crypt that melted. It looks like it is growing new leaves.







This last pic shows (to my surprise) my Malaysian trumpet snails(you can also see them in the rest of the pictures). I threw a couple in at the start as I wanted them for my substrate. I haven't seen any in the last couple of weeks. I thought I was going to have to introduce some into my tank. Well my timer for my lights got messed up yesterday and I didn't fix it till just a few minutes ago so when the lights came on. I found hundreds of them. :shock:


----------



## Byron

Looking very good John, nice work. Yes, that Wisteria will continue to grow at its present rate. And if left, the lower leaves will then likely start to die off.

Byron.


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## Boredomb

Thank you Byron, that's what I am afraid of which is why I am going to trim them tomorrow. I really like the look of the wisteria and don't want them to die off, I just didn't know they grew soo much. LoL


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## MinaMinaMina

You must be very proud! Fantasic!


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## Boredomb

PLEASE over look my spelling/typing. I really need to start proof reading my post before posting them. After reading some of my post I really feel embarrassed!!!


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## Jayy

Your tank has really turned out nicely. I hope mine does aswell as yours did.


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## gmate

Boredom, I can propagate my red dwarf lily and mail you some if you're interested. Shoot me a PM and we'll discuss pricing + shipping. I know you mentioned wanting a lily. I grew two from bulbs via walmart, and propagate them regularly now.

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/aquariums/photos/27ec1c8e23854bdee7a31e464e762c4e_full.jpg

Is what they look like. That's in a 10 gallon, so the stems are really long. They look much more natural in a taller tank (30g tall or 55g would be perfect).


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## Boredomb

Jayy said:


> Your tank has really turned out nicely. I hope mine does aswell as yours did.


Thank you Jay, I am sure yours will look just as nice!


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## Jayy

Boredomb said:


> Thank you Jay, I am sure yours will look just as nice!


I sure hope so .


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## Boredomb

*Just after water change*

I trimmed my wisteria today along with moving the vals that were in the middle of the tank. With the Wisteria being shorter now the tank seems much brighter! 








I also found my other water lily bulb and I am going to try and get it to grow in a cup on the window seal. As someone told me to try that.







Don't know how well that will work but its worth a shot.


----------



## Jayy

I got mine to grow when I took it out of my tank and put in a kritter keeper and let sunlight hit it. Once it stared to grow I placed it in the tank and now its big, pink, and beautiful .


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## Boredomb

Jayy said:


> I got mine to grow when I took it out of my tank and put in a kritter keeper and let sunlight hit it. Once it stared to grow I placed it in the tank and now its big, pink, and beautiful .


Did you have problems with your bulb wanting to float? Both bulbs I have tried now want to float. I have got a rock sitting on the corner of this one to hold it down.


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## Jayy

Boredomb said:


> Did you have problems with your bulb wanting to float? Both bulbs I have tried now want to float. I have got a rock sitting on the corner of this one to hold it down.


To tell you the truth I don't remember if mine floated or not.


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## Boredomb

Jayy said:


> To tell you the truth I don't remember if mine floated or not.


Well thanks anyways hoping this bulb isn't a dud like the other one was.


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## Jayy

Boredomb said:


> Well thanks anyways hoping this bulb isn't a dud like the other one was.


No problem, I hope everything turns out ok.


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## Boredomb

I started this tank on 9/5/2011 and I thought it would be cool.to show the progress of this tank. Here is a group of pictures that show it from week to week. The first being from day one and the last taken yesterday.


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## Boredomb

*heres some new pics!*

Just did a water change and thought I shoot some pics. 
















































Also here is a bad video lol was taken with my cellphone
My tank - YouTube


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## bearwithfish

beautiful as always!!


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## Boredomb

Thanks Bear! I got some Java moss coming in this week that I am going to add to some of the driftwood.


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## Boredomb

*Added my Java Moss!*

Today I got my Java Moss in. I tied it down to two of my driftwood. It doesn't loo like much but hopefully with a little time it will fill in and look nice.


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## Boredomb

*Some changes*

So today I was doing a water change l and didn't like how the rotala indica was looking every since I put in the left side of the tank I was not doing great. It was growing but very poorly and had a bunch of bba all over it. So it got took out completely.I moved a sword over to the left corner and some of the wisteria in the back corner to fill in the space.
Here is what the tank looks like now.
View attachment 41418


View attachment 41419


My phone is being difficult at the moment so these are the only 2 pics I could get to upload.


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## Boredomb

Ok so maybe it loaded all of them anyways? Hope y'all can see them.


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## Jbrofish8

Aww looks like your crypt is coming back! Lucky you! My undulated crypt is slowly starting to come back... but my wendtii is so sad and dead.  

The tank looks great!


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## Boredomb

Yes it is slow making a recovery. I hope it continues to grow and not melt again since I move some stuff around and it is a little brighter in the tank now.


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## Calmwaters

I love your tank! I just read the whole thread and your tank has really come a long way. I really like the Valls and am thinking about ordering some for along the back and maybe one side of my tank.


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## Boredomb

Wow that's a lot of reading lol. Thank you the tank has come along nicely. Also the jungle vals get really tall and will also sends out runners in places that you don't want them lol but they are a great and easy plant.


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## Calmwaters

Thats what I want nice easy pretty plants. LOL


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## Boredomb

If you get them make sure to use root tablets with them. Also I think I have heard they don't fair well in soft water


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## Calmwaters

If I remeber right my eater hardness is 8 I thinkl not sure if thats hard or soft. LOL


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## Boredomb

That's towards the softer side probably medium. Mine is about 10dgh with a ph of 7.4 and it grows for me.


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## Calmwaters

I am sure my ph is 7.8 but do not have a test kit for hardness and it has been a really long time since I had it checked but I think it was 8 I will have to take it to my LFS to have them check it with thier liguid.


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## Boredomb

When I first started this tank in April I bought a API master test kit plus the GH &KH test kit. I am glad I did as most stores around me either don't have a kit to test the water or I don't trust them to test it lol


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## Calmwaters

I have one small fish store that is really good and they will test if for me for free and I can trust them I have dealt with them for years.


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## Only One Haze

Boredom, love your tank! Couple of questions, are the root tabs the only ferts you have used? And is that play sand that you used with the top soil? Thinking about using soil (Miracle Grow Organic Potting Mix) and play sand for my tank.


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## Boredomb

Only One Haze said:


> Boredom, love your tank! Couple of questions, are the root tabs the only ferts you have used? And is that play sand that you used with the top soil? Thinking about using soil (Miracle Grow Organic Potting Mix) and play sand for my tank.


Thanks a lot! Its actually pool filter sand. I got it on sale at Home Depot. As far as the fertilizers go I use both root tabs and flourish comprehensive (2x week on that).


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## Only One Haze

Awesome, thanks!


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## Boredomb

This weekend I went over to my friends house who was getting rid of all his fish tanks and the stuff he had with them. I ended picking up a bunch of things for cheap cheap cheap. One of is this stand for a 55 gallon for $10.
























I am hoping this weekend I will be able to transfer my tank to it. I also picked up a 40 gallon breeder tank. A filter for it (not sure it will work but am going to try and see). I also got a bunch of slate rock. All for $35 lol


----------



## Jbrofish8

WOW. Jealous!

Nice buys!


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## Boredomb

He told me a week ago about the 40b and said I could have anything else I wanted. I just didn't know he had that stand so that was a surprise. He actually gave me the slate rock and filter for free ooh and a test kit I forgot about lol he had other stuff to but I didn't want to be greed. Since was trying to sell the stuff and was just being nice to me and letting me have lots of it.


----------



## Calmwaters

Wow I love that tank stand! You got an awesome deal!


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## Only One Haze

Nice pickups! 40 breeder has such nice dimensions. Look forward to seeing that one setup!


----------



## Boredomb

Yes they do I have always wanted one. It will be awhile probably after the holidays are over before I start working on it.


----------



## Boredomb

Its been awhile since I have updated this thread. The tank is due for a major trimming. My poor crypt has melted again :/ This weekend I plan on doing some changes and get it on that stand finally. LoL


----------



## Boredomb

I am finally getting to setup my tank on my new tank. I am currently letting my QT run for a few mins before putting in the fish in there for a holding tank. This a 40b and I am using seeded filter media on the filters. Once I get the fish into the tank I am going to tear down the 55 and clean it and change the substrate. Pics coming later tonite when I get done.


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## Only One Haze

Nice! What are you changing to?


----------



## Calmwaters

Looking forward to the pictures.


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## Boredomb

Here is are some pics. Not very good though as it is late and I am tired. It has taken me most of the day to get this done LoL






























. 
This not the end result as i am going to be adding more plants and driftwod soon.


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## Boredomb

I will go into more detail tomorrow after I get some sleep lol. Sorry for the bad pics!


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## bearwithfish

your pix are always great!!! very very nicely done.. can not wait to read more..


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## Calmwaters

Looks good I would add a black back ground it would really make the plants/fish stand out. ; )


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## Only One Haze

Lookin good as always Boredomb!


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## Boredomb

Calmwaters said:


> Looks good I would add a black back ground it would really make the plants/fish stand out. ; )


LoL it got mesed up with cleaning the tank out. I am still debating on adding one. I know it really makes it stand out but kinda like it without one. In the end I probably will add on though as the window shades behind the tank will end being left open.


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## Byron

Two suggestions from me. Definitely, a black background; the depth (front to back) will be less obvious. And I would move the large Echinodorus in the centre to the right, about where the small E. parviflorus "Tropica" is now, and probably back a couple inches. The small sword can then move to the right a bit. The large sword is obviously cutting the tank in half.


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## Boredomb

I went and bought some black construction paper will put it on tomorrow as I am fixen to go to work and it is raining cats and dogs here lol. Byron I was originally thinking I would have 2 water lilies on either side of the big sword but I think I am going to move it like you suggested as it would open it up more. When I finally got to start to plant the plants last night it was really late and I was having a hard time imagining what I was wanting. Thanks for that suggestion!


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## Boredomb

So I am thinking I am going to move the big sword off to the right and back some then move the small sword (the one right of the big sword) to the left and by the driftwood. Might do something there with that not sure yet. 
I bought Pygmy chainsword today along with a crypt (not sure what kind it just said crypt on the label) and then one other plant that's in question LoL. I also bought some more lily bulbs and if these don't grow I am going to send them back to the company. I saved my reciept and box this time around. I think I am going to plant those on the left side of the tank some where not sure where yet. I am hoping my driftwood will stay down some as well so I can take the rocks off of it. Then I plan on putting a Anubias there in the middle of it where the rocks are now. I plan on doing some more work to it tonite when I get off work LoL well that's my thoughts now but I wont get home till almost 4am and then have to be up again at 8:30 so yeah I don't know time will tell. Anyways these are my thoughts. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestion Please share !


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## Calmwaters

I think it will look good. ; )


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## Boredomb

*12/9/2011 new additions.*

Today I put on the background. Which makes it look a lot better! I also planted the plants I picked up the other day.







Here the three water lily bulbs I bought (in one package) Crossing my fingers that they grow.







Can someone tell me what kinda crypt this is ? I was thinking it was a Lutea Crypt?







Also not sure what this plant is either maybe micro sword ?







Here is my lonely Pygmy chain sword LoL am planning on getting a couple more.







Ohh and I was able to take off one rock today on the driftwood. Hopefully it wont be much longer and it will stay down on its on.


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## Byron

Much better, on the background and moving that big sword. More natural look, and the aquarium looks larger. I know some may suggest there is a "vacant" spot left of centre but that is good; I always say one should have a line of vision through to the back which adds depth esp with a black backgrouond, and the plants on the left will extend into the tank as they settle and make it less conspicuous and further enhance the preception of depth into the distance.

Byron.


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## Boredomb

Yes I have to agree the big sword looks better where it is now Byron. Thanks for point that out to me.
I still have a few more plants I want to get especially some floating plants. I am trying to find some water sprite for that and I can't get any locally but I think I know a place that can order it for me. I am going to check this weekend if I get a chance.


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## Only One Haze

Looks great! That Amazon Sword is HUUUUUUGE! Is that the same single Pygmy Chain sword you had before? It still hasnt sent runners? Out of the 6 that I have had for a week now, 4 already have runners and thats still with no root tabs in play sand. Thats weird. Maybe he needs some buddies.... Tank looks awesome though!


----------



## Boredomb

Only One Haze said:


> Looks great! That Amazon Sword is HUUUUUUGE! Is that the same single Pygmy Chain sword you had before? It still hasnt sent runners? Out of the 6 that I have had for a week now, 4 already have runners and thats still with no root tabs in play sand. Thats weird. Maybe he needs some buddies.... Tank looks awesome though!


LoL it is a huge sword that is not doing good at the moment (mostly from my part. I was slacking on dosing fertilizer there for a little bit). It should recover as I am seeing one new leaf. Nope not the same little Pygmy chain sword that one didn't like my tank and substrate . Will see how this little guy does. I just added some Wisteria and am letting it float for now. I took it out of my Holding tank which is where my fish are btw.


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## Calmwaters

Much much better!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Boredomb

Calmwaters said:


> Much much better!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Thank you! I have agree it does look much better this way.


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## kangy

I think the crypt is a Lutea Crypt. Tank looks great by the way, that sword is friggin huge!


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## Boredomb

kangy said:


> I think the crypt is a Lutea Crypt. Tank looks great by the way, that sword is friggin huge!


Thanks man ! I pretty sure that is what the crypt is when I bought it it just said crypt.
I had no idea that swords would get that big. The thing does take up a lot of space but it looks nice from a distance lol


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## kangy

LOL well I'm screwed then. My Melon Sword is already growing like a weed, I also recently put in a batch of Argentine Swords in the back right which in a week have already sprouted 9 new leafs and grown 2 inches, I have an Amazon sword in the front right also (was the sole survivor of the small 3 inch "3 pack" tube from Petsmart) which has also recently sprouted 5 new leafs haha. I've already had to trim two stems of my Bacopa and replant which now both have secondary stems growing out of them. My java fern is also getting very very thick.

I do think that is Micro Sword in that picture, but not 100% sure. I literally just bought the same Crypt and the same 'Micro Sword' last weekend so that's why they are familiar to me. My 'Micro Sword' as I'm going to call it has already sprouted a couple runners in just one week. I wasn't sure how to plant it from the pot so I just bunched it all together and stuffed it in the substrate, a few little chucks have come lose and floated to the top, I'm just leaving them tangled in the Anacharis for now.


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## Boredomb

kangy said:


> LOL well I'm screwed then. My Melon Sword is already growing like a weed, I also recently put in a batch of Argentine Swords in the back right which in a week have already sprouted 9 new leafs and grown 2 inches, I have an Amazon sword in the front right also (was the sole survivor of the small 3 inch "3 pack" tube from Petsmart) which has also recently sprouted 5 new leafs haha. I've already had to trim two stems of my Bacopa and replant which now both have secondary stems growing out of them. My java fern is also getting very very thick.
> 
> I do think that is Micro Sword in that picture, but not 100% sure. I literally just bought the same Crypt and the same 'Micro Sword' last weekend so that's why they are familiar to me. My 'Micro Sword' as I'm going to call it has already sprouted a couple runners in just one week. I wasn't sure how to plant it from the pot so I just bunched it all together and stuffed it in the substrate, a few little chucks have come lose and floated to the top, I'm just leaving them tangled in the Anacharis for now.


LoL yeah sounds like your tank is going to be full! Should look nice though. I have always like tanks that are heavily plant though.


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## Boredomb

So I started this tank on Dec 6. I have let it run pretty much like it has from day one. Tonight I tested the water and the numbers are
NH3 = 0
NO2 = 0
NO3 = 5
PH = 7.4
KH = 7
GH = 9
I am going to let it run for another 5 days and see what the numbers are then.


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## Boredomb

*Never again....*

Will I buy waterlily bulbs in a package locally! This time around they formed a fungus on them that has now spread out on my substrate!!! If I could figure out how to get ahold of the company other then sending a letter I would call them and complain about it. This makes 3 times that I haven't had any luck with the bulbs and this is the worst of all the times! 
















Now I have to get the bulbs out and siphon some of my substrate out in hopes I get all the fungus. :frustrated:


----------



## Boredomb

The more I think about it the more I think I am going to mail them back the bulbs with a letter telling them about my experience with them. They have their address on the package. That stats if the bulbs do not grow with in 30 days to send them back and they will send you new ones. I am not going to leave them in the tank that long nor wait that time. In the morning those [email protected]*# things are coming out and I am going to mail them to them. Oh I am going to send the pics also. I am done with this company and the bulbs they are selling!!!! This is crap!


----------



## Jayy

I got my lily bulbs from wal-mart and they did pretty good. Right now I have two. I didn't keep mine in the tank that long ,because some got fungus. Instead I took the good ones and put them in kritter keeper and let the sunlight hit them. Once they started to grow I put them in my tank.


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## Boredomb

I got the bulbs from different stores even some that were in a different town. It doesn't seem to matter. I'm pretty much done buying these things just to watch them float and never bloom or mess up my tank.


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## Boredomb

I got the bulbs out and in their original package. I am going to go and get an envelope to mail them in. I am also going to include a letter along with a picture showing the problem. Hopefully I can get it mailed today if not then definitely tomorrow.


----------



## Calmwaters

Let us know what they tell you. I have tried the bulbs from Walmart 2 times one of the lilly packs and one of the other and only one plant from each pack grew but mine never got the nasty looking fungus like yours did.


----------



## Boredomb

Calmwaters said:


> Let us know what they tell you. I have tried the bulbs from Walmart 2 times one of the lilly packs and one of the other and only one plant from each pack grew but mine never got the nasty looking fungus like yours did.


I will let ya know if I get a response.


----------



## Boredomb

*Fungus again this morning!*

After siphoning some of my substrate out from the bulbs I notice the crap is back again this morning. 
I really hate having to deal with kind of fungus. I have had once before and that time I had to siphon out a big section of substrate down to the glass of the tank. I really don't want to do this as I have soil under my sand and its going to make a mess. Grrrrrr Those bulbs have cased nothing but a big headache for me!


----------



## Calmwaters

Could you maybe gently scoop out the affected gravel with a fish net, scrub it real good and then put it back in the tank?


----------



## Boredomb

Calmwaters said:


> Could you maybe gently scoop out the affected gravel with a fish net, scrub it real good and then put it back in the tank?


I have more substrate I can put back in it is just the headache of having to move stuff around in the tank to make sure to get ALL of the fungus out. 

When I first set my 55 gallon tank up back in April I used eco complete after about a month it formed this kind of fungus. Time after time I would siphon it out just to watch it come back. Someone on here suggested that I take the effect area out down to the bare bottom of the tank. Also just throw it away as it would continue to grow. SO I did it never came back in that old setup. I pretty sure this is the same stuff and I wll end up having to do the same thing again.


----------



## Calmwaters

Oh man boredom that is awful.


----------



## Boredomb

Calmwaters said:


> Oh man boredom that is awful.


 
yeah pretty much why I am :redmad::frustrated:


----------



## kangy

That friggin blows. I hope I never have to deal with that. Keep your chin up.


----------



## Boredomb

Both times it came from plants. The first I am not sure what plant did it. 
I am trying to figure out how to get it out without tearing down my tank. Thinks I can siphon the sand and drain most of the tank and add new sand to it again.


----------



## Boredomb

Here are some update pictures of my tank. This taken after a big trimming. And some moving of plants. 
















































































This is why I trimmed my "big" sword. After not supplying fertilizers for a couple of weeks this is what happened to my sword. Now that happened right before me redoing my tank keep in mind. Also it has put out 5 new leaves since I replanted it the last time.








Also here are the newest inhabitants of the tank. I spend most of this afternoon trying to.figure out where they came from. Then it accord to me it had to be the new plants I added even though I forgot about adding them till just a few minutes ago. LoL 
























I still have a few more leaves to trim on a couple of swords as you can see. I also have some Pennywort coming in that I am going to be putting in the left side of the tank to fill in the back left corner. I am also planning on planting the Wisteria tomorrow as it has always done better for me when it was planted verses floating.


----------



## Boredomb

On the same note I have seen good growth out of all my plants with the exception of the Pygmy chain sword and the micro sword. Thinking I just don't have enough lighting or they just don't like my water! LoL


----------



## kangy

Same here, all of my plants are showing great growth with the sole exception being the micro sword. It's still healthy but showing zero spreading or growth. I didn't exactly know how to plant it or how I wanted it so I basically lumped it together tightly after removing from the pot. I read that it will spread and grow faster if it's spread out a bit so I pulled it up yesterday, separated it, then replanted in roughly 1/2" spacing. I read that it will grow and spread faster like that since more water/lights/nutriends get through to the roots. I'll see how it goes over the next few weeks


----------



## Boredomb

Well hmmmmm, I might have to try that tomorrow. I figuring lights are the issue though so I threw another light on top of the aquarium tonite and will leave it there for a couple of weeks and see if that helps. It might not make a difference but I don't think it will hurt anything either.


----------



## Only One Haze

Tank looks great.

That is weird about the Pygmy Chain sword. Mine has just about doubled in the maybe 3 weeks I've had it. It is in play sand with no root caps yet. 4 15watt cfls over a 30 gallon. Only use Flourish Comp. 2 times a week. That seems to be about the only thing I CAN grow. Even my java fern is getting black spots.....


----------



## kangy

keep a close eye on your algea. you want light to be the limiting factor. Too much light with not enough CO2 and nutrients it will cause more algae


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> keep a close eye on your algea. you want light to be the limiting factor. Too much light with not enough CO2 and nutrients it will cause more algae


Yes I know thanks though. I only added a 15w bulb to that side of the tank. I am working on some DIY Co2 I got it bubbling in the bubble counter but its not making it to the main tank yet. I am going to make up another bottle today and add it on.


----------



## Boredomb

Only One Haze said:


> Tank looks great.
> 
> That is weird about the Pygmy Chain sword. Mine has just about doubled in the maybe 3 weeks I've had it. It is in play sand with no root caps yet. 4 15watt cfls over a 30 gallon. Only use Flourish Comp. 2 times a week. That seems to be about the only thing I CAN grow. Even my java fern is getting black spots.....


LoL I can grow my swords and Vals just fine as long as I remember to add fertilizer. That's part of the reason I added a potting mix to the bottom of the tank. Now I have all my swords growing about 4-5 new leaves since I did that. That's without any extra fertilizer added. So everything seems to love it except the Pygmy chain sword. 

You have 2 Watts per gallon over your tank. I only have with my original lights alittle over 1 Watt per gallon. Which is why I added another light.


----------



## kangy

hmm that may be part of my issue also, I never really calculated it, (not sure how I missed that step) but I only have a single 15W Aqueon 8000k bulb over my 29g. So I barely have half a watt per gallon. Strange, the rest of the plants are doing awesome, dosing ferts twice a week, only the microsword didn't grow a single new stem in 3 weeks.


----------



## Boredomb

*Last change before i add my fish back!*

I just did my final changes to my tank today. I am loving the new layout. I am going to let the water settle for today then I am going to add my Angels back tomorrow.


----------



## kangy

Looking good! How did it go with removing the mold?


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> hmm that may be part of my issue also, I never really calculated it, (not sure how I missed that step) but I only have a single 15W Aqueon 8000k bulb over my 29g. So I barely have half a watt per gallon. Strange, the rest of the plants are doing awesome, dosing ferts twice a week, only the microsword didn't grow a single new stem in 3 weeks.


I have been looking into lights a lot here lately. I got the Pygmy chain sword cause I was under the impression that it was a low light plant


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> Looking good! How did it go with removing the mold?


I kept siphoning it out over and over. Today I had my fill with it!! I siphoned most of my substrate out and refilled. I hope that does it!!


----------



## Boredomb

Here are a few more shots








































After all that I am done with this tank! Will see if the stuff grows or not now.


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## Only One Haze

Looks great. Will be awesome once the plants take off.


----------



## Boredomb

Only One Haze said:


> Looks great. Will be awesome once the plants take off.


Thanks hopefully they will take off! LoL I am done changing this tank unless there is another major Breakout of some kind or if all the plants decide to die!


----------



## kangy

Boredomb said:


> Thanks hopefully they will take off! LoL I am done changing this tank unless there is another major Breakout of some kind or if all the plants decide to die!


Uh huh... sure... that's what they all say... until you are 'passing by' the aquatics section at the pet store and see a new fish and/or plant :lol:


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> Uh huh... sure... that's what they all say... until you are 'passing by' the aquatics section at the pet store and see a new fish and/or plant :lol:


LMAO!!!! Yeah I know but the good thing is there really isn't any place around me that sells any good plants. Also my Angels are getting kinda big so not a whole lot else I can put in there with them.


----------



## kangy

Ever since I got those dumb hitchhiker snails I've been really interested in the micro aspect of the tank. From trying to find the little buggers I've really started to notice the little things in the tank and just how alive it is planted. I want to get some ghost shrimp to watch graze. Some MTS would be cool too watching them burrow. What kind of critters do you have in there


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> Ever since I got those dumb hitchhiker snails I've been really interested in the micro aspect of the tank. From trying to find the little buggers I've really started to notice the little things in the tank and just how alive it is planted. I want to get some ghost shrimp to watch graze. Some MTS would be cool too watching them burrow. What kind of critters do you have in there


Bladder snails, MTS, 5 Angelfish, and 3 Otos catfish. Is all I am aware of anyways LoL I would love to add some shrimp but don't think they would last to long with the Angelfish.


----------



## kangy

That's what I wasn't sure about with my blue gourami. He's a few years old though and doesn't bother anybody, he'll go sniff at a snail once in a while but he's otherwise a recluse. The emerald cory's I don't think would bother them, they do the same thing with sniffing at a snail but nothing more than that, not worried about my rasbora or black neons. The giant danio's might be a problem though. I think I'm going to grab 10 or so ghost shrimp before xmas and might get some wisteria while I'm there lol and maybe some java moss to cover the wood with.


----------



## kangy

Oh I see you spread out the micro sword a bit. Curious to see how it will do for you, I don't have much hope for mine and might replace it's position with another Crypt


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> Oh I see you spread out the micro sword a bit. Curious to see how it will do for you, I don't have much hope for mine and might replace it's position with another Crypt


Yeah that stuff is a pain in the @$$ to separate too!


----------



## kangy

Getting it apart was easy for me, getting the seperated strands to stay in the substrate was the pain in the a** for me. I have 50/50 sand/floramax and was using tweezers. I could get the first couple to stay then the next one would dislodge the other two, etc. Maybe if I tried to spread it out more it might of been easier. My spacing is about the same as yours. If I tried to keep a couple pieces together one would stay in and the other wouldn't etc. Was not fun, started getting pissed at it lol so just kind of took it with my fingers and lumped it in the substrate then moved my fingers around a bit to spread and finally just swept over some substrate with my other hand and viola was a lot easier than trying to plant it haha.


----------



## kangy

They make it look so damn easy on the youtube planting guides hahaha


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> They make it look so damn easy on the youtube planting guides hahaha


LoL yeah those things make me mad LoL . I don't even have the "proper" tools like they do. So I have to end up using my fingers. Fat fingers and small plants don't mix!!!


----------



## Boredomb

I took this video last night right before the lights went off. Hope y'all enjoy


----------



## kangy

I don't see any video


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> I don't see any video


yeah oops lol was trying to figure out how to embed a youtube video here and messed up then my computer went crazy!


----------



## Boredomb

That should take you to the video. My freaking computer has lost its mind and is going to be wiped out as soon as I can find my copy of vista to reinstall it again Grrrrrr


----------



## Boredomb

Ohhh okay so it is embered now. Not sure how? LoL anyways there you go!


----------



## Boredomb

I am terrible at shooting videos soo sorry for the bad video!!!!


----------



## kangy

Awesome! I really like it, excited to see it after some more growth. I would love to get some moss for my driftwood but nothing available local. What kind of algea eater is that?


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> Awesome! I really like it, excited to see it after some more growth. I would love to get some moss for my driftwood but nothing available local. What kind of algea eater is that?


I actually had to get the moss from someone on here as the only place I can get it locally wants a arm and a leg for a small amount. 
The algae eater is an Oto catfish. I actually have 3 in the tank but that's the only one I saw as they like to hide a lot on plants.


----------



## Boredomb

*A few update shots...*

A few new pics









































@ Kangy if you see this thread/update post. How is your micro sword durning? Mine is growing but growing slowly here is the first pic of it when I first put it in








Now here is a close up of it now. You can see how it is spreading a little bit.


----------



## kangy

When I recently added some new plants I split mine up into a few smaller patches. One of them has shot off a few runners, one has just kind of sitting idle, the other two I ended up moving to the 10g as the Cory's kept uprooting it. I had to replant it almost every day since I would find it floating, assumed that wasn't good for it. The 10g has a little bit higher lighting and it's been doing well, probably just re-establishing itself. Yours is looking realy good though.


----------



## Boredomb

Well it looks better in the pic. It has some bba on it now. Not really sure how to address that issue yet will have to check into it. I am just happy to see some kind of foreground plant grow LoL unlike that dang pygmy chain sword that refuses to do anything!


----------



## Byron

Boredomb said:


> Well it looks better in the pic. It has some bba on it now. Not really sure how to address that issue yet will have to check into it. I am just happy to see some kind of foreground plant grow LoL unlike that dang pygmy chain sword that refuses to do anything!


Micro sword is very slow growing; many say it needs higher light and perhaps CO2, so don't expect great things. Each tank is different though. As for the pygmy cahin sword, it takes up to a couple months to become established before it will suddenly begin to spread everywhere.


----------



## Boredomb

Byron said:


> Micro sword is very slow growing; many say it needs higher light and perhaps CO2, so don't expect great things. Each tank is different though. As for the pygmy cahin sword, it takes up to a couple months to become established before it will suddenly begin to spread everywhere.


Yeah I am not expecting it to flourish in my tank. Actually shocked it is even growing at all.


----------



## Boredomb

*Just a few pics after WC and trimming yesterday*

I thought I would share some pics of the tank and have acouple of questions about three plants.
Here is a full tank shot first







Now I know this a inflorescence stock but I am kinda confused here. I would have thought by now it would have put off little plantlets by now but instead it just keeps getting taller. Can someone please explain this one to me? 







Here is my Crypt umm Lutea I think not sure here but my question is this. Is this crypt looking Ok? I have never had a crypt survive this long. Some of the leaves are taller then the rest and starting to turn brownish red. Just wondering if this is normal for this plant.







Just some random shot of the rest of the tank and my Angelfish and Otos catfish


----------



## Byron

You people keep posting these photos and I am running out of superlatives.:lol: Have to keep repeating, good work, well done...

I note the angelfish are under the floating plants...;-) Certainly well done on that.

To the quesitons, of which I only found two, not three. The inflorescence on Echinodorus vary, as do the leaves. Light, nutrients all play into this, along with tank size and water. I have had inflorescences from the same plant grow to different lengths from what they were previously. If it grows to and above the surface, it might flower. Rare, but has happened.

Crypt is fine, the colouration is due to light, so it will adjust. New growth is frequently "redder" (or brown to me) and greens as the leaf matures. Swords do similar.

Byron.


----------



## Boredomb

LoL Oops Sorry the third question is or was. Does the roots of Pennywort generally look like that in my pics? 
Also Thanks Byron, I have decided to just step back and watch the tank instead of interfering with it so much. The Angels seem to LOVE the Pennywort as so do I. It took me awhile to actually get of some but glad I did.


----------



## Byron

Boredomb said:


> LoL Oops Sorry the third question is or was. Does the roots of Pennywort generally look like that in my pics?
> Also Thanks Byron, I have decided to just step back and watch the tank instead of interfering with it so much. The Angels seem to LOVE the Pennywort as so do I. It took me awhile to actually get of some but glad I did.


Roots look fine to me; they will length and thicken as the plant settles in. Some of my floating Pennywort has a good 3 inches of roots stretching down into the water.

Fish love floating plants, what can I say.:greenyay::fish::thankyou:


----------



## Boredomb

Byron said:


> Roots look fine to me; they will length and thicken as the plant settles in. Some of my floating Pennywort has a good 3 inches of roots stretching down into the water.
> 
> Fish love floating plants, what can I say.:greenyay::fish::thankyou:


I have had different plants for floating plants. The thing is from just what I have found in my tank with the Angels anyways is that they seem to really enjoy floating plants that put out roots. They didn't really seem as interested in the Jungle Val when it get tall enough to float but Duckweed or Wisteria and now especially the Pennywort. They really seem to like the to roots of floating plants. I can only assume that the roots collect particles or maybe some other things that I can't see. As they seem to always be picking at the roots or nibbling at the roots might be a better way to put it. I know floating plants also provide shade for the fish but they seem to really enjoy the roots also.


----------



## willow

tanks looking fab,keep up the good work. :-D


----------



## Boredomb

*New additions added*

For the longest time I have wanted to add a shrimp of some type. Well with having Angelfish I didn't think it would be a good idea or possible to add any of the dwarf species. So after looking around and trying to figure out the best kind to get I decided to get some Bamboo shrimp. I took my powerhead and faced it towards a piece of driftwood in the tank to make a place for them to sit and fan for food. Well they haven't been in the tank for a day now and I have seen them there once. Anyways this guy/gals are pretty cool looking and hope everything works out okay for them in my tank.
















I will see if I can't get a better pic of them tomorrow and post them.


----------



## Clubber

excellent additions! I love wood shrimp. 

Tank looks stunning, keep up the great work.


----------



## Boredomb

Clubber said:


> excellent additions! I love wood shrimp.
> 
> Tank looks stunning, keep up the great work.


Thanks Clubber! I was unsure about getting them but after talking to another member here I think they should work out and be fine.


----------



## willow

looks like he's enjoying himself on that wood. :-D


----------



## Boredomb

willow said:


> looks like he's enjoying himself on that wood. :-D


Yes he is and actually there are 2 in there. Pics are of both of them just on different sides of the same piece of wood.


----------



## willow

i'd love some shrimp,but my fish would think it's christmas.lol


----------



## Boredomb

willow said:


> i'd love some shrimp,but my fish would think it's christmas.lol


LoL yeah that's why I went with this as the are a good size and my Angels can't eat them


----------



## kangy

My ghost shrimp eat brine shrimp lol none of my fish really mess with the shrimp. Once in a while an Emerald Cat will plow over one of them and the Gourami gets fiesty if they come near "his plant" and will give them a head butt.


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> My ghost shrimp eat brine shrimp lol none of my fish really mess with the shrimp. Once in a while an Emerald Cat will plow over one of them and the Gourami gets fiesty if they come near "his plant" and will give them a head butt.


Shrimp eating shrimp LoL. Well I was really wanting RCS but thought that was really a bad idea as those would be small enough for the Angels to eat. LoL they eat everything that goes into the tank usually as there are pigs! All of the angels have checked out the shrimp with curiosity but haven't tried to eat them. LoL these bamboo shrimp are pretty big and I think I like the look of them better then the dwarf shrimp.


----------



## kangy

I agree, they are great looking shrimp. the LFS gets them in stock once in a while. I thought about getting some in lieu of the ghost shrimp but I have a very low flow sponger filter in my 29g and wasn't sure if that would give them enough to feed on properly.


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> I agree, they are great looking shrimp. the LFS gets them in stock once in a while. I thought about getting some in lieu of the ghost shrimp but I have a very low flow sponger filter in my 29g and wasn't sure if that would give them enough to feed on properly.


Yeah you would need to put a powerhead in there to give them some flow then it would be doable.


----------



## Boredomb

*Do Angelfish eat plants?*

I have always seen mine nibbing at plants but assume they were picking something of of the leaves Today I noticed my inflorescence stock forming little plantlets. There were two leaves coming out at two different spots. Well when I just got home I noticed this. 
























Something has been nibbling one the leaves.......:shock:


----------



## Clubber

I've never had angels nibble at my plants.

Mollys, swords and even a few gouramis but never known my angels to. Maybe it depends on the plant species.

Stunning tank btw.


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## Boredomb

Clubber said:


> I've never had angels nibble at my plants.
> 
> Mollys, swords and even a few gouramis but never known my angels to. Maybe it depends on the plant species.
> 
> Stunning tank btw.


Yeah I have heard of those fish eating plants but haven't about angels. I know something in my tank is eating it though. The leaves are completely gone today. :-(
Thanks btw about my tank. Its been a working progress that may never be done LoL. For the time being I have decided just to leave it alone and see what happens. I just got done with wc and trimming a few mins ago.


----------



## Boredomb

Thought I would share some photos after I did a water change and some trimming today. 

































































Sorry for some bad pics. Everything seems to growing pretty nicely expect that Pygmy chain sword. Its still hanging in there. Though I had to pull a couple of dead leaves off of it today. The plant I am the happiest about is the crypt! It is filling out nicely and knock in wood has not melt once! Every other time I tryed a crypt it melt and or die and no matter in the would eventually die from melting multiple times. So am happy to actually see growth out of this one!


----------



## Jayy

Very nice angels. What kind of plants do you have?


----------



## Boredomb

Jungle vals, Amazon sword, 3 different types of dwarf swords sorry forgot the names of those, Java moss , anubia,
Micro sword, pygmy chain sword, and Brazilian Pennywort. Oh and stem of Wisteria


----------



## Jayy

Ok thanks


----------



## willow

glad you posted some pictures,it's nice to see how everything is growing.
Angel looks really pretty.


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## Boredomb

*Vals took a crash along with my Sword....*

Over the past week I have bee redoing my floors in my house. It had carpet that my wife decided had to come out and I had to put Lamanite flooring in. I love how that works she decides on something that causes me a lot of work. LoL Anyways so I drain my tank to be able to move to get to the carpet it was sitting on. I fill it back up leave it sitting in its temp spot. A few days go by during this time I am putting the new flooring down I noticed half of my Vals decided melt?!? Not sure why I did two major water changes in a course of a week like 90%. I would not think this would cause my Vals to melt especially when my Crypt went without melting during this process. So I thinks it might be time (actually past time) for new root tablets especially since my sword is showing signs from lack nutrient. The rest of my plants seem to be doing great so are my fish and shrimp! 







PLEASE excuse the mess!!! 








































I know I still need a black background!! LoL will see if I can get one tomorrow.


----------



## Byron

Probably nutrient related. Or significant water parameter difference in too short a space of time. My corkscrew vall reacts to this.


----------



## Boredomb

I am thinking nutrient related through until the wc they were looking great! This is why I am confused it has not been 3 months since I added my last round of root tablets (well I don't think so anyways). If it was a major water parameter difference I would have thought my crypt would have melted also? At any rate I am going to try and get some more root tablets this week amongst all the craziness going on. I still have to finish the flooring. Tomorrow is my daughters birthday and we are planning on having her party this weekend so EVERYTHING has to get done around the house before then. So yeah I dunno if I can make it or not. I am still dosing flourish comprehensive 2x so hopefully they can make it till next weekend when I can for sure get some root tablets.


----------



## willow

feed them up. 
wifey was right about the floor,it's lovely.
don't you hate it when we're right.;-)


----------



## Boredomb

willow said:


> feed them up.
> wifey was right about the floor,it's lovely.
> don't you hate it when we're right.;-)


LoL but the Husband is never "right" so don't know that feels. ;-)
I do think the floor looks better then carpet but I like walking on carpet much better. Anyways I was told last night we had to go out today for my daughters birthday. So that being said we will be going right past the only store that sells the root tablets so will be able to get some.


----------



## kangy

willow said:


> don't you hate it when we're right.;-)


Well considering it's not very often I don't let it bother me, we all have to win one sometimes ;-) *runs and hides from wife*

We have tile throughout our house other than the bedrooms and most of it is covered up with area rugs kind of defeating the purpose :lol:


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> Well considering it's not very often I don't let it bother me, we all have to win one sometimes ;-) *runs and hides from wife*
> 
> We have tile throughout our house other than the bedrooms and most of it is covered up with area rugs kind of defeating the purpose :lol:


The wife wants to get rugs for the living room, dinning room, and hallway. Which will kinda defeat the purpose like you said Kangy. She already had ones under the dogs dishes, one by the back door, and in the kitchen. LoL


----------



## kangy

Boredomb said:


> The wife wants to get rugs for the living room, dinning room, and hallway. Which will kinda defeat the purpose like you said Kangy. She already had ones under the dogs dishes, one by the back door, and in the kitchen. LoL


LMAO, wait until she wants you to fix the rugs so they don't slide around anymore. I had to get some rug tape to hold them all down because when our spazzoid dog would go running through the house she would pull up and move the rugs around. We have an entrance door rug, hallway rug, kitchen rug, living room (huge area rug), patio door rug, and a laundry room rug... I do like the tanks on a hard surface though, and makes cleaning up spills *whoops did I admit to that lol* a heck of a lot easier. Takes longer to clean the rugs than it would to run a quick steam vac over the tile...


----------



## Boredomb

kangy said:


> LMAO, wait until she wants you to fix the rugs so they don't slide around anymore. I had to get some rug tape to hold them all down because when our spazzoid dog would go running through the house she would pull up and move the rugs around. We have an entrance door rug, hallway rug, kitchen rug, living room (huge area rug), patio door rug, and a laundry room rug... I do like the tanks on a hard surface though, and makes cleaning up spills *whoops did I admit to that lol* a heck of a lot easier. Takes longer to clean the rugs than it would to run a quick steam vac over the tile...


Oh slip resistant rugs are a must with her! LoL I already had to buy the stuff that goes under normal rugs that make them non-slippery on smooth surfaces.


----------



## Boredomb

On the plus side I did manage to get some root tablets today and my wife said she kept my old background so I don't have to buy a new one. I will put the background one tonight or tomorrow and take new pics.


----------



## kangy

We love pictures! I just did a photo shoot of my three tanks the other day but have been too busy (IE: lazy) to upload them. I'm due for new root tabs also, my baby argentine swords are starting to show some deficiencies.


----------



## willow

i put a towel down before water changing,as i usually end up spilling water.
i'd like a rug in the living room,only because when the grandchildren come to visit
they like to sit and play in the floor,and it's not really warm and comfy.


----------



## Boredomb

*Need everyones Opinion Please!*

Its been awhile since I have posted anything about this tank since redoing my floors. Well after that I said that my plants got mad and some melted and I ran out of root tablets at the same time. LoL so my tank was looking kinda pathetic. Well since then the plants are filling back in and the fish are doing great! Here is a full tank shot. I added a piece of driftwood with some anubias on it. I really didn't t have time to figure out where to put it soo Please tell me what you think where it needs to be. Its kind of growing on me where its at now.







Here is a closer pic of the piece of wood and the plant. Its kinda hard to see the wood in the picture but it is standing up between the Jungle Val.
Sorry for the really really bad pics! So if anyone has any thoughts Please share! Also here are some pics of the rest of the tank.


----------



## willow

hi
i don't think anything needs moving,it looks lovely,and the fish look like they are happy,
so you've got it right if they're enjoying it. :-D


----------



## Boredomb

Also I am thinking about going out this weekend and go looking at some local fish store and see what kind of plants they have (if any). I am thinking of finding something to fill in the gap in the back between the Vals but not sure what? I am not sure what I will even be able to found either. Any thoughts on this matter or any suggestion on plants that should be added or removed? I am getting some. Dwarf Sagittaria coming to replace the Microsword that has just stopped growing.


----------



## Boredomb

willow said:


> hi
> i don't think anything needs moving,it looks lovely,and the fish look like they are happy,
> so you've got it right if they're enjoying it. :-D


Thanks Willow! The Angels really seem to enjoy it more now since add the Pennywort as they seem to enjoy looking to what they can find in the roots. The shade is also a plus for them.


----------



## willow

i can't help with plant advise,i've only got an amazon and some vallis in mine,
the rest are fake.
depending on your lighting,maybe something with a different colour ?


----------



## kangy

looks like it is recovering nicely
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Boredomb

*New Pics*

So today I found a Red wendtii. I have found this plant once before locally but was pathetic. This one was big enough to split into two plants so I did that. I took some more hopefully better pics today also.


----------



## Boredomb

Just did a trimming yesterday as my pennywort and Jungle Vals were over running the top of the tank to the point it was hard to find "open" water to feed the fish. I might have cut too much though :-?

Also any suggestion on what to replace the Jungle Val with? I like the look of it but it gets sooo hugh! Also if you cut the leaves it seems to growing but it also seems to encourage it to send out runners more.

Anyways here are some pics not the best and over look the brown spots on my Sword as I know they are nutrient deficiency spots. I got to get better at dosing fertilizers on a regular bases. So it all comes down to me knowing and still forgetting. :-(


----------



## Jayy

Looking good! My vals are spending out runners.


----------



## Boredomb

Jayy said:


> Looking good! My vals are spending out runners.


Thanks Jayy! I don't think so and frankly am mad at myself for letting it get to this point. The pics really don't show what I am talking about except for the one with the shrimp. Most of the leaves on my sword are this way well I wouldn't say most a lot is a better word. My vals are or were getting soo long that they were getting tangled together along with the Pennywort. That was just a mess! Am looking for something that's similar to the Jungle Val as I like the looks of them just not how tall they get.


----------



## Byron

The brown spots are likely due to an excess of iron. What ferts and how often? And what is your GH?

For an alternative to the Valls, there is Sagitarria subulata that grows tallish and very narrow leaf. There is an Echinodorus that grows much the same, with slightly wider leaves than the Sag, I think it is E. uruguayensis.


----------



## Boredomb

Well if it is excess Iron then it must be coming from my soil substrate but heres the deal. I have not and I am ashamed to say but I haven't actually dosed any fertilizer for about 3 weeks now. There are some root tablets there by the Sword. I know there is at least 1 if not 2 near by the sword. This is why I just assumed it was a deficiency not an excess hmmmm .... Maybe to many tablets near by but those are from Flourish so they shouldn't be unbalanced or have more iron then the rest of the nutrients. I also don't dose just iron or haven't added anything like clay for Iron. So not sure there. 
My GH is 10 the best I can remember. Also didn't mention the liquid fertilizer is Flourish Comprehensive.


----------



## Byron

Boredomb said:


> Well if it is excess Iron then it must be coming from my soil substrate but heres the deal. I have not and I am ashamed to say but I haven't actually dosed any fertilizer for about 3 weeks now. There are some root tablets there by the Sword. I know there is at least 1 if not 2 near by the sword. This is why I just assumed it was a deficiency not an excess hmmmm .... Maybe to many tablets near by but those are from Flourish so they shouldn't be unbalanced or have more iron then the rest of the nutrients. I also don't dose just iron or haven't added anything like clay for Iron. So not sure there.
> My GH is 10 the best I can remember. Also didn't mention the liquid fertilizer is Flourish Comprehensive.


Diagnosing nutrient issues is not easy, as many different deficiencies can have much the same appearance. Deficiencies and excesses can also be caused by some other nutrient being in excess or deficient. Brown blotches can be caused by an accumulation of iron when calcium is deficient, but also it may indicate iron deficiency, and I believe potassium deficiency. Knowing which this may be can sometimes require experimenting unless a deficiency of one of these is a known certainty. In my case when my swords all developed these brown blotches it turned out to be calcium deficiency allowing iron to accumulate.

In your case I would doubt this as the GH is 10 which is fine for calcium and likely magnesium. Potassium may be deficient however, as this would result from the lack of liquid fertilizers which you've mentioned. Plants can only take up potassium as an ion directly from the water, not the substrate. Potassium in the substrate is thought to possibly increase the availability of ammonium to plant roots.

If this is something that was not occurring previously, I would simply get back to dosing Flourish Comp once or twice a week and after a couple weeks observe the plants' reaction. This deficiency is usually on old leaves (outer leaves) first, so if newer leaves (those within the crown) do not show this, problem solved. The existing blotchy leaves will not change, and it is up to you to leave them or cut them off. Some nutrients within the leaves are mobile, meaning the plant can transfer them from old leaves to new growth. If the stem at the crown is brown, the leaf is basically dead and with no connecting veins this can't occur so removal of the leaf is best. But if the stem is still white then the plant is able to move nutrients up and down.

It only takes a couple weeks in my experience for issues to become evidence due to nutrient changes, so there you are.

Byron.


----------



## Boredomb

Byron said:


> Plants can only take up potassium as an ion directly from the water, not the substrate. Potassium in the substrate is thought to possibly increase the availability of ammonium to plant roots.


Thats something I wasn't aware of, I assumed (and obviously assumed wrong here.) that with heavy root feeding plants such as Swords and Jungle Vals that root tablets would be fine. Now I generally dose liquid ferts as well and did this week once already. Things here lately have been crazy at my house and I haven't been dosing the fertilizers like I should. I will change that and now that I know liquid fertilizers are a must with any plant I will not be leaving it out anymore. Thanks Byron for the help.


----------



## Byron

Boredomb said:


> Thats something I wasn't aware of, I assumed (and obviously assumed wrong here.) that with heavy root feeding plants such as Swords and Jungle Vals that root tablets would be fine. Now I generally dose liquid ferts as well and did this week once already. Things here lately have been crazy at my house and I haven't been dosing the fertilizers like I should. I will change that and now that I know liquid fertilizers are a must with any plant I will not be leaving it out anymore. Thanks Byron for the help.


You're welcome. We continue to learn. I've been having potassium issues too, on top of the calcium, so I learn as I go and try to pass on what I learn. I think my disappointment with the enriched substrate is connected to all this; I found it odd that I had to still dose Comp in this tank same as the sand/gravel substrate tanks, and the plants were about the same in all.:roll:


----------



## Boredomb

So I look at some pics of the Uruguay Sword (E. Uruguayensis). Not sure if that will achieve the same effect as the Vals although it looks like a very nice sword.


----------



## Boredomb

*New plants*









































I have always wanted to try some Tiger lotus but didn't want to pay the price places were asking for it. Well I found some for cheap along with finally getting Dwarf sag. 
(Kangy still would like what you are holding for me. If you still are?)


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## kangy

Still holding it, was in Texas all week, heading to Chicago next week, then a week or two at home before heading to Vancouver (Byron, if you read this, I might give you a call, probably the second or third week of June) In fact, your three runners I cut are doing very well and have actually sprouted runners of their own so by the time I get it shipped you might end up with 5 or six plants lol. Sunday is really my only day without travel/office/kids and the post office is closed. I'm nervous about how long they can stay "packaged" so I want to try and get them pulled, boxed, and shipped all at the same time. My wife has alternate days off than me and I might be taking a personal day mid next week or the one after to give her a complete day of 'alone time' to finish up a paper for school, will hopefully have a chance to cut, box, and run to post office during that time  lol wow did I just write a memoir lol

Tank is looking great BTW


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## Boredomb

Kangy sounds like you have your hands full. If you want you can wait till the week you are at home. Usually its best to ship the plants on Monday or Tuesday at the lastest so they don't get stuck in the truck/post office over a weekend.


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## Jayy

Nice I also have an tiger lotus. How do get your pennywort to grow soo well? I can't get mine to really spread.


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## Boredomb

Jayy said:


> Nice I also have an tiger lotus. How do get your pennywort to grow soo well? I can't get mine to really spread.


I got that pennywort from a member on a different form. I am not even sure if it is actually Brazilian pennywort or not but I took it throw it in my tank and it melted pretty bad then took off like a weed. I couldn't get it to grow submerged through.


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## Jayy

Oh, maybe I just give it time.


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## Boredomb

Yeah just give it time it should start to take off in a couple of weeks


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## Chesh

LOVE your tiger lotus! I just added one of these into my tank. . . I'm not sure how well it will do, it came to me as a bulb and I'm finally seeing some teensy tiny leaves (very exciting). I'm also looking for a new option for floating plants, as my Watersprite didn't make it. . . aside from Pennywort - what exactly do you have floating around in there, lol! You've always given me great planting advice


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## Boredomb

Chesherca said:


> LOVE your tiger lotus! I just added one of these into my tank. . . I'm not sure how well it will do, it came to me as a bulb and I'm finally seeing some teensy tiny leaves (very exciting). I'm also looking for a new option for floating plants, as my Watersprite didn't make it. . . aside from Pennywort - what exactly do you have floating around in there, lol! You've always given me great planting advice


LoL that is one big mass of Pennywort you see floating. I don't actually have any other floating plants with the exception of my Jungle Vals getting huge and floating on the surface. There are abunch of choices for floating plants. A couple I have had are Duckweed, Brazilian pennywort, and had Wisteria floating at one time also. Then you have Salvinia, Forgbit, and Dwarf water lettuce just to name a few. I love the look of regular water lettuce but it gets pretty big and needs lots of room (well this my understanding anyways).


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## Chesh

Thank you! I've looked into a few of those, and will double check them now that my Watersprite is good and gone. I honestly have always had an obsession with (natural) duckweed - since getting into aquaria, I've found that I like the way they look beneath the water surface, as well. But I've heard SO many horror stories about them clogging filters and making a mess of things!!! I don't have much clearance between the water and the hood in some spots, and I think this is why my Watersprite didn't end up doing so well (that and my Molliy fry seem to like the taste of it)- duckweed would be PERFECT in that regard. I also really love the look of water lettuce. . . but doubt it would fare very well.

Anyway, thanks for the advice (sorry to hijack your thread!) I'll double-check everything you've suggested, and your tank looks great!  Keep us posted on how that lotus does!


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## NUNSTER

Are you using CO2 or any additives for the plants?


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## Boredomb

NUNSTER said:


> Are you using CO2 or any additives for the plants?


No Co2, I do have a soil substrate and I add flourish comprehensive 2x week.


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