BryceM

For no particular reason, here's an update. Sorry I never got around to doing before & after photos with the new ADA bulbs. Suffice it to say that they're fabulous. Actually they're not even on in these photos. These are just a couple of quick shots I took after the "sun" turned off for the day.

The new red plant at the left is R. macranda (which would do better with more light). The plant in front of that is some R. 'green' that I just received from Dennis. It's there temporarily while it grows out a bit. There are a few stems of R. macranda 'green' too. I moved the didiplis from center mid-ground to the right mid-ground. It's getting more light and is doing much better there. It got a huge whack yesterday so it needs some time to look good again. The tops are getting a nice pink finally.

The Crinum calamistratum is doing too well and might be overtaking the right side a bit. I like the Blyxa auberti just right of the R. 'vietnam' though. It's finally showing its stuff and hopefully it's finally in a good position. It's hard to see in this photo though. The HC has filled in quite densely, but is starting to come loose from the substrate. Time to replant and let it fill in again.

There are currently three plants in the middle background. L. v. var. 'cuba', P. stellatus, and P. stellatus 'Broad Leaf'. I'll probably cut it down to two soon. The P. stellatus 'Broad' is becoming a favorite. It grows reasonably slowly, never seems to stunt (unlike the other 2) and the coloration is fabulous. L. 'cuba' just grows too darn quickly - almost an inch a day. The whole region is a mess right now. The P. stellatus stunted a bit during a recent week-long vacation and is just starting to recover.

Feel free to comment. I'm toying with the idea of entering a shot in the ADA contest just for fun. It's certainly nothing worthy of high marks, but I like it, and maybe someone else will enjoy looking at it. It's sort of a mutt combination with elements from Dutch, Amano, and who-knows-what schools of aquascaping. Mostly its a personal experiment on the way to something better. It will need careful trimming to have it all reach peak on the same day - a huge problem with so many different stemmies. Some much better photography will also help. We'll see.

Yes, that's an algae scraper. Yes, it's still needed , hehe.



Gotta love congos!! This is a pretty good shot of the B. auberti too.

AaronT

That's looking awesome man. Well worth the algae hell you went through initially. You might try Ludigia 'Araguaia' instead of 'Cuba' if you can find it. It has the same coloration, but with more delicate leaves and it doesn't side branch quite so crazily as 'Cuba'.

freydo

man! i just finished reading this thread after having forgotten about it when you first started it. it was great to see your trials and tribulations in getting this tank set up, and your results are superb!

i loved this journal, more for the fact that you experienced so many "d'oh!" moments, but managed to work through them.

great journal, tank, and photos!

ReefJones

WOW! Looks great! I love your Congo tetras in there too!!!!
Reef

John N.

Great thread and journal! My favorite scape of this tank thus far has to be this one.

You have one heck of a master piece there. What a dream tank!

-John N.

greenman

I just read through the entire thread.

Thanks for the ride.

T-Bone

I have to agree with John N it is a masterpeice. I remember when you were talking about setting it up. It has come so far and keeps getting better. Such thick lush growth, but not too thick or overgrown. The congo tetras, really add to the beauty too. How many are in there now? Ive always wanted a big tank like that with a large school of congo's. How well is their schooling in there? Have they attempted to breed? or bred?

BryceM

There are 15 congos in the tank, 10 males & 5 females. They actually school loosely and cruise around. I've never seen them really do that in a smaller tank. I don't know if they're actually spawning (the females are still pretty small, even for females), but the bigger males definately spar and display to each other.

I've taken out the stargrass and placed the R. 'green' in the back left corner. The HC all came up and got a big replant. I also grew tired of the hairgrass, which was full of debris, and pulled it up completely. The whole thing will take 2 or 3 weeks to look good again. Hopefully it will all reach "peak" at the same time for a few good photos. I kind of think the C. calamistratum needs to be thinned out a bit too, but I almost hate to do it. Like John, my favorite photos are the ones with slightly less overgrowth.

slickwillislim

Yeah dwarf hairgrass catches everything. I can't wait to see some updated photos when it grows in a little.

Glad you haven't add many algae problems lately. Those congo tetras look pretty cool.

Out of the three foregrounds I think the HC looks the best for your tank. You also seem to be able to grow it quite well. I can't wait to see HC where the dwarf hairgrass is now.

apistaeasy

Bryce,
I know you were interested in a little bit of mine last time you were in town. I don't have any now, but I'll prolly have some in a coupla weeks if you're interested.

Looking good with the tank. I appreciate the HC on the left hand side, looks thick. We need larger pics! oh, btw, if you do get a larger pic. send it to me for that project I contacted you about a while ago.