davemonkey's 50 gal journal

Tex Gal said:

I think it really looks nice. I had the same problem with my sae's. They ate my Rotala wallichi. One of mine was about 4.4" and one 6". They went to live with somebody else. I really love your little tiny crypts. and your vals look so nice!

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HAH! Yes, my SAE's are about to move in with a friend. (He's the only other aquarist within 15 miles of me that I know of!!! And the closest pet store is 50 miles South in Abilene.)
Funny thing about the Vals, I heard they wouldn't do well with poor lighting and low-tech. But, from day one (when I only had 30 watts of questionalble light and no ferts/excel) they've been trying to take over the aquarium. I started off with 10 little baby plants and now I clip out runners every 2-3 days just to keep up! I'm going to let them eventually crowd out the egeria and then try to keep them just in the back and the left corner.

As for the Silver Dollar, he hasn't touched the plants yet, but he's still very young. I was thinking about trading in all the 'other' fish for maybe 20 serpae's and 10 or so bleeding hearts (they seem to be easy keepers for me). Of coarse, my wife gets her say in it....we'll see how it goes. Either way, the only fish I'm 100% going to keep are the Oto's. They are great fish!

xpistalpetex said:

i like the start, few questions though..
1. hows the aquarium plant substrate?
2. any thoughts on foreground plants?
3. which way are you using to diffuse the diy co2?

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oooooooooo, I was hoping no one would ask about my CO2. I'm going to catch a lot of flack on this one.

Okay:

1. I think the substrate is nothing more than Soil Master with a different label (according to rumors). It has done WONDERS for the plant roots, but it's VERY light-weight, so you'd have to be extremely careful when siphoning and adding water.

2. as foregrounds in my particular set-up, I've done well with Crypt. wenditii and C. parva (very slow). (I've managed to kill 5 pots of HC.) I'd like to try pygmy chain sword some time.

3. I'm rotating 2 bottles for DIY CO2 with the same ingredients for smaller set-ups (2 cups sugar, 6 cups water, 1/4-1/2 tsp yeast). I have these connected to a "T" valve and run the output line to my powerhead directly to the air intake (the venturi...it literally sucks/vacuums the CO2 as it is produced). I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS...IT CAN SUCK MUCK INTO YOUR TANK!!
The only reason I get away with it is because I'm using 1 gallon containers instead of 2-liter (1/2 gallon). This gives me a great deal of air space and prevents the vacuum from being enough to suck out liquid from the CO2 containers. I have a check valve at the "T" to prevent back suction in case the powerhead fails.

Anyway, it gives enough CO2 to give me just a bit of pearling, not too much (or else I'd have to have a high-tech...).

I'll post pics and complete details of the DIY CO2 I have set up in a later post (maybe tomorrow night) that shows everything set up. For now, I'm off to the zoo! Yippee!!

-Dave

Okay, this should probably go under the DIY forum, but since xpistalpetex asked, here is my version of DIY CO2:

Two 1-gallon bottles* (Tropicana OJ) that I alternate. Each has 4-weeks of CO2 production (1/4 tsp yeast, 6 cups water, 2 cups sugar).
(*if you have the output end in a proper diffuser, use a 2-liter bottle to reduce the air space "void")
I have a T valve connecting the two containers and run only one line as output.


The 'make' was simple. I punched a nail through the cap, cut the tip of the tubing to a point, and pulled it through about 1-2 inches with pliers. (The dark color of the contents of this bottle is because I'm trying a cheap/no chemical wine-recipe.)



Check Valve between the T Valve and the output end


The "correct way"* to run the output directly to a powerhead. The CO2 bubbles get sucked into the intake and this provides a fine bubble spray with your waterflow. (*I took the picture this way to show what is recommended, but I actually have mine hooked up to the air suction intake and get a vacuum effect. I can only get away with this because I have so much air space in the 1 gallon jugs.)


Also, I don't use a bubble counter because the amount of CO2 I'm getting isn't near enough to over-dose my tank, but I recommend one for safety (muck guard) for anyone doing DIY and for smaller tanks.

-Dave

Well, someone wanted the SAE's afterall......so I had to re-catch them. The only problem is that one of them wised up and refused to get in the trap! I tried for 45 minutes to catch him.....looks like he'll be a lone SAE in my aquarium for a long time to come.

On the bright side, I was able to catch the pictus cat without snagging his fins in the net. So, he'll be joining the other 4 SAE's in a new home. And, since I uprooted several plants in the process, I 'cleaned house' a bit. I had enough Val to thin out spots and put it in the corner where the Egeria was. (No more Anacharis for my tank.) This really brought out the moss tied to my "Dino-Tail".
Then I moved the sword back a little and thinned out the crypts into several smaller plants and filled in that corner. I've decided not to have a 'foreground' there, just a thick corner.


Then, I thinned out my foreground plant in the center of the tank and turned 4 plants into 19! So, now I can get a better cover in the front/center of the tank. (I'm still not 100% sure what it is, but it's looking like Crypt. willisii x lucens?)



Anyway, that's what's been happening this morning.

-Dave

Well, I did it again. I've got this Ozelot Sword that I decided to make my focal point, so I moved some stuff around. The only problem is that the sword is currently too small to pull it off, so this will just have to take some time to start looking the way I intended it. I debated posting pics, but I figured it couldn't hurt anything, and everyone likes to see pictures!

Just think "two months from now it would look like..." The sword will be flanked on either side by Bacopa that slopes downward to the sides and front (I'll have to trim it that way). I'm hoping it won't be long before the sword can compete with that large piece of 'mopani wood'. The darkness of the wood should start to be hidden by an anubias and the moss I've attached. (I may have to put some crypts in front, but we'll see.)

Pics are Full Shot, then Left to Right, then a close-up of the sword.









Here are more pics of what has been identified (for the time being) as Cryptocoryne X willisii lucens 'bronze'. (I think C. lucens 'davemonkey' has a better ring.)
(The larger small crypts in the midground are C.wendtii 'brown' or 'red')



-Dave

Edit: I forgot, the back right corner will eventually be filled in with Hygo. difformis. It's there, but it just got a major trim and hasn't recovered yet.

Howdy, Shurik!

Well, I'm totally pleased with how the moss is turning out. I had done two 'Very Light' trimmings on it, and then I hacked it down pretty low just recently. But it's growing surprisingly fast for moss. And I had some doubt about whether the Flame Moss would attach as well as other mosses, but it has latched on with a death-grip just like the Christmas Moss!

My C. willisii x lucens 'bronze' carpet plants haven't done much since splitting and replanting. Each plantlet has put on 1 new leaf, and so far they are still 'low-growing'. I was heavily tempted to 're-bunch' it all and buy some Hemianthus micranthemoides this afternoon after Church (we took a trip to PetsMart for some food and they actualy had some nice aquatic plants...even some of that lacey-topped Java Fern that I forget the name).
But, I really want to give these little guys a chance to reacclimate and start spreading. I'm a very impatient person by nature, but I'm giving these plants every bit of patience I can muster. I don't think they'll let me down. Maybe in another couple weeks they'll start spreading again.

BTW, "Hagrid's Woods" is looking WONDERFUL!

My tank isn't really ready fo ran update, but I thought I'd better do it now while I have access to a camera. I moved a couple things around, and my Hygro. difformis has not grown AT ALL! I think it's because I had it planted in the highest flow area of my undergravel filter (nutrients got pulled past the roots before they could be taken up), so I've moved them over several inches and put Bacopa in their place. (Don't use UGF in a planted tank.)

Enjoy:







Flame Moss and Christmas Moss coexisting on a small rock






Cryptocoryne willisii x lucens 'bronze'


-Davemonkey

Curt, I got a notice that the package arrived yesterday, did they survive the treck?

I just re-did the middle section of my tank and part of the right side thanks to TexGal's generosity. :bounce: I wish I had a camera again so I could show pics, but it's probably best to let it all grow and fill in a bit so it will look it's best. By then I'll either have a new camera or I'll borrow the office camera again. hoto:

I ripped out 60% of the Vallisneria, a few crypts, and most of the Bacopa. Some things got moved around and then I added:
Phyllanthus fluitans, duckweed (which my rainbowfish LOVE to snack on), Ludwigia repens, Sunset Hygro, 'Windelov' (just a tad), Blyxa japonica (a whole fore-ground worth), downoi (we'll see if it lives), and a great big Aponogeton longiplmphnfdlunphemus :-s (the one with LONG, narrow, wavy-curled leaves...very elegant!).

I went back to doing DIY CO2 (4 gallons of wine in the making... :drinkers: ) and added 30 watts to give me 2.8WPG.

My tank has really changed alot. The middle is more open and alot more light gets through to the foreground.

Anyway, I'll let it grow for awhile and then update with pics.

-Dave

Some updates. I just got back from out of town for a week so I avoided close-ups of the algae spots. A few differences, but the same concept. 'Sunset' Hygro is replacing most of the Val (still needs to grow out) and Ludwigia repens replaces the Hygro. difformis that would not grow. Some Blyxa and Downoi in the foreground. All the duckweed and red-root got gobbled up by my rainbows (PIGS!!!). :hungry: Thanks to TexGal for the majority of my aquascape!







Here's a new moss I found (to the right of my "moss rock" )in Ohio growing in a yard in a shaded spot. Been in water for 5 days...only time will tell if it can be grown submersed.








Thanks for looking.

-Dave