Pepere

Fred Rogers! I remember my mother calling me in to the Living Room one afternoon and sat me down in front of the old black and white TV set on legs with a big wooden cabinet and speakers on the side and plants on top. It was 1968 and she told me there was a brand new TV show that would be playing that was designed especially for children my age.I saw the first episode of the nationally syndicated MisteRogers Neighborhood that afternoon, and I was hooked and made sure to be in the house in the adternoon at the same time to visit with my friend every day. My two favorite TV shows were MisteRogers and Captain Kangaroo… He didnt have a fish tank early on. That was a new addition iirc in 1970 or so. That Christmas after the introduction I received a metal fish tank stand, a 10 gallon chrome trimmed Metaframe tank, an air pump, a box filter, an airstone, multicolored pastel pink, turquoise, yellow gravel, a chrome reflector light fixture, thermometer, PH up and down, ph paper strips, plastic plants, a lighthouse bubbler, a fish net and an introduction to fishkeeping book with questionable instructions that were taken as gospel…. Not a single mention of the Nitrogen cycle or ammonia or nitrites or waterchanges or gravel vaccing…. Fill your tank, let it set for 3 days and get fish…. sigh… I still have the lighthouse….

Before and after pics.. Well this is both an after and before pic. It is after 1 weeks growth… and before trimming and water change for the week… cardinal Lobelia and Ludwigia repens need shortening, and time to trim and thin the pink flamingo crypt… haze in water is due to the dosing of Equilibrium during water change. It will be crystal clear again by tonight.. I will probably take a new pic tonight to show difference…

I find my plants grow better at 30 ppm than they do at 5 ppm…. I feel its useful to get somewhere close to knowing so you can know how much to dose after a water change… The API test is not going to get you there precisely, but I do find with doing a dilution test I get as close as I really need to.

I do 50% water changes weekly and clean out my canister filter monthly. my tap water GH is 1 degree and I boost it to 3 degrees with Seachem Equilibrium and my tap water KH is also 1 degree. I do not supplement that at all.. I have heavily planted tanks and dose Easy Green to 20 ppm after water change. At weeks end before water change my nitrates will be around 15-25 ppm. By doing a 50% water change it drops to about 10 ppm and dosing 20 ppm it rises to around 30 ppm. This is in my co2 injected tanks, in my non injected tank I dose 15 ppm after 50 % water change. I am not convinced by the mantra that algae is mostly an issue of balancing light and nutrients… I have found having good flow through the tank, cleaning substrate and filter, and weekly 50% water changes very helpful to reducing algae. As leaves die they release waste organics from the margins that attract algae. Waste metabolics leach from plants and build up in water that is not changed.. at least that is the theory I suffered through 8-10 months bowing down to the mantra of tweaking light schedule and nutrients and minimal water changes. I tried algae eating livestock, and daily gluteraldehyde products as well as spot treating gluteraldehyde and spot treating hydrogen peroxide and whole tank treatment with hydrogen peroxid. Once I started implementing the techniques described on the 2 hr Aquarist, I finally got my tanks to be free of visible algae. …. significant plant mass, weekly manual removal , trimming and discarding infested growth and replanting healthy new growth, 50% water change after Doing manual removal/trimming and glass cleaning to remove as much free floating fragments as reasonable, good water flow, cleaning canister filter monthly, keeping water parameters, growing conditions stable and not making frequent changes.. https://www.2hraquarist.com/blogs/algae-control I dont know that the explanation of the theory as to why this works is true or not. I do know these techniques finally got my tanks looking the way I wanted them to all along where prior efforts were not reducing algae at all…

I find I can easily tell the difference between 5 and 10, but hard to distibguish between 10 and 20. what I do is tjat if it reads 10-20,I will do a 50% dilution of tank water and retest. Ie if It looks more like 5 ppm on retest I know the tank water is closer to 10 ppm, but if the retest looks pretty much the same I know the original was closer to 20 ppm…

I felt that way until I learned how many millions of fish are born during the rainy season as the river floods and die within 12 weeks as they become landlocked in pools cut off from the river and then the pools dry up and they become bird feed or compost… being tank kept they have regular food, lack of predators. I keep my plants well planted and provide hatched brine shrimp regularly as well as varied food to enrich their lives in the aquarium as much as I can…

I have green neon tetras in 2 different tanks. I have a group of 14 in a 29 gallon tank and a group of 6 in a 20 high. I can always see them readily swimming around in both tanks…. They are not hiding in either tank. Sometimes they are scattered all over the tanks, sometimes they congregate. At least the ones I have, I would not classify as shy in any way…

I have had very good results with Green Neon Tetras from Aqua Huna.They are absolutely stunning the rare times direct sunlight hits thetank in winter when the sun is angled low to the horizon and makes it to the tank…. They absolutely light up the tank… They have been a no drama fish for me with very soft tap water, kh of 1, GH of 3 degassed ph of 7.2. High survival through quarantine when I have bought them from Aqua Huna, in 2 1/2 years I have only lost 2 to swim bladder issues out of maybe 40 in 4 tanks…. I also like that they are the smallest at about 3/4 an inch full grown… Lambchop rasboras pair nicely with them as well…

I have a Stingray 2.0 and it does put out a lot of light. I use a Nicrew inline timer dimmer that allows you to throttle back the light intensity to a percentage of full power, ie 1 to 100% and also ramp up or down from on to off vs instant on… https://www.amazon.com/NICREW-Channel-Digital-ClassicLED-BrightLED/dp/B07WT8VK28/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LO7GCENYIW9L&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XQ90iiDeO8xRKPgQSpMXWKNC9HjRhuertpa678Ed1OTMnSL4KTDLUaVjK9PMsI7-6_fd896NDL9Zff49zP8_XqI2b1FjyrixQlM_Q1RZ_pVWsQT0FOgc6wCzua52ZjqeiocyqkjRe_A9wAVgXOoNBJusnki0PXFQU3InGCNjo3hd_4NcxZ2OV-7uVOCW-tnOqw0u7EzSGg8wcRf-CB5wnrHN3Mo8pR09o0rJrK_9ryCETpB1JibHj_lRdwDJe4UXGh8vdTeVYHdqd_jiJJO1VrgUDtVXtkNG1sE9R3AuoJs.efry6c3s3z7KBCpJXRonSizUqyfYEk2cgiEuXB5QysA&dib_tag=se&keywords=Nicrew+inline+timer+dimmer&qid=1717045104&sprefix=nicrew+inline+timer+dimmer%2Caps%2C310&sr=8-1 best fifteen dollar upgrade I ever spent on tank… what does your water change schedule look like? what is your substrate?

Yes. No. Like so many things in fishkeeping it is not necessary.. there are lots of ways to keep fish and grow plants well… I like it in part as a redundancy. In the event of a power failure the beneficial bacteria in my substrate would fare fairly well for an extended period of time even without any flow. A simple air pump consumes 3 watts of power and will keep the bacteria colony happy and healthy, assuming bacteria has emotions…. I don’t need much battery backup…. The bacteria in my canister filter on the other hand would not be doing well If I was away from home when the power went out and could not get to it within a few hours. In that case, I could give the media a thorough cleaning once I got home and the colony in the ugf and gravel substrate would be able to handle the ammonia from remaining bacteria decomposing in canister filter. The other reason I like it is that it continually pulls water column fertilizer from tank water down through the substrate around the roots and through the Safe T Sorb to take advantage of the Cation exchange of the baked clay. Does it have real world benefit? I have no idea. I wouldnt know how to test it, but it sounds scientific…. In any event ugf plates are pretty cheap and have no moving parts.. the last a very very long time… I use Penn Plax ugf plates on my 29 gallon that cost $15.00. I fitted two Easy Flow kits from the co op that greatly increases flow for $6.00 each that are a worthwhile upgrade in my book for the dramatic increase in flow… it took about 15 minutes to make adapters from 3/4 male pipe thread adapters from local hardware store… https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Plax-Premium-Gravel-Filter/dp/B005Q4900Q/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3QOHXPVK3I7WG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.S-JadbyzitRyQ3hlLdJRYa0i3ABPrZ0znzaC-Fprt4y_EvzdEbUqgMyhrvf2XGoOk18O5qzHvKwskK5_QgNiljOq0Z_LU-9Q0g-PTOVAM047Od5dYoa0aNZ1PP-YTpyqp0sPfx0S3PnpCmYMF1TO6g3U6peC3gNCvMF-qVx4rnmI24xtFxR58XxAFA3GmMSZwbOKu4LFLQZbpesmNxRqG2al442W6_C9TKL4I22n0LzQd9oat31FWRp_PGxuM4gyLhrSwEB_dR_2D79NMourYFUNuZnHE37MdRkG_vPOJi8.9GoJAN9KNTniDwZXg1wKbpbJJh8uSvfYE5qYM5Xg6Aw&dib_tag=se&keywords=Under+gravel+filter&qid=1716848149&sprefix=under+gravel+filter%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-3 https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/easy-flow-sponge-filter-upgrade-kit

I place it in mesh bags cause it keeps the substrate cleaner. I used to just lay it in the tank and cap on top, but as you pull stems up to trim and replant them, you pull up some of the Safe T Sorb with it and it sits on top of the black sand. I put a strong 2 inches of BDBS on top of the mesh bags. The mesh bags do not pose any trouble to roots entering into it. I had plenty of roots enter in to Aquasoil filled mesh bags… I also use UGF (under gravel filter plates) below the Safe T Sorb but used as an Under Gravel Filter, not as a plenum as Novak advocates for. I also built adapters to use Easy Flow kits from the Aquarium Co Op instead of stock air risers. This is in addition to aFluval 207 canister filter and a spray bar… I believe Safe T Sorb is a brand name. I bought a bag of that and the BDBS at a nearby Tractor Supply. Both makes exceedingly low cost substrate for an aquarium. for more proof that outstanding planted tanks do not require special substrates, check out @Mmiller2001 tank build thread… his work puts mine to shame, and he has been a big influence in my improvement in plant keeping.

In bright light s. repens stays very short and spreads out in the tank. In lower light it grows up to maybe 2 inches tall. Here is some in a high light co2 injected tank. Here is some in a non co2 supplemented tank with much lower light.

Every time I have seen used tanks for sale on craigslist, the asking price has been higher than a new tank on sale at Petco… I guess mineral deposits and scratches command a premium… I would never pay higher for a used tank than a new one… to be honest a used tank would have to be more than 50% cheaper than a new one to even consider it, and anything less than a 75 gallon tank just not worth the bother and aggravation to me.

Wisteria tends to grow fast and need trimming often, I would probably leave it out myself. for ground cover that does not need much in the way of trimming, perhaps you might consider S Repens. Java fern might be a bit overpowering size wise in a 2 gallon and look a bit out of place…

My kh out of the tap is 1. I used to supplement it with Seachem Alkalinity booster to between 3-6, but six months ago I tapered off over the course of a month and no longer supplement at all… If anything plant growth is more robust now and livestock are as healthy as always… Bear in mind aragonite and crushed coral only adds calcium and carbonates and does not add magnesium. Calcium magnesium balance is important to plant growth. Also aragonite and crushed coral will cause significant fluctuations in levels if you have really soft water and do significant water changes. These substrate amendments dissolve slowly over time slowly raising gh, and kh and hence ph. In a planted tank plants will continually work to reprogram new leaves to optimize growth for conditions. I choose to raise GH with Seachem Equilibrium which contains the right ca mg ratio and the water going in to the tank is already the sane GH and KH AS THE WATER i am taking out. my preferred substrate of late is mesh bags of well rinsed Safe T Sorb as a base with more bags where I want to add height. This is a baked clay product with a high cation exchange rate and is incredible cheap. By putting it in mesh bags, it does not migrate up through my capping substrate fir aesthetics and is easy to keep the two substrates separate when I tear down a tank. I like coarse Black Diamond Blasting Sand(BDBS) forcapping and aesthetic. It is roughly a 1 mm grit black inert substrate. I used to add rolled up bags of aquasoil looking like little logs or burritos in areas, and without question, plant roots do migrate to the bags, but it would reduce freedom of where to site plants and I largely gave up on them, and removed the ones I did have as I have admired @Mmiller2001 tank that is simply inert substrate BDBS. His plants look better than mine…. I have not noticed any loss since removing the aquasoil… This is my first tank, and it still has the original cheap inert brown aquarium gravel and plants grow fine with just Easy Green water column feeding. No root tabs… I much prefer the black coarse sand substrate look, but I do not have the motivation to tear this tank down to replace it currently. Some day I plan on a 75 gallon tank, and I will transfer all of the plants and livestock from this tank into it and replace all of the substrate in this one and try my hand at a true Dutch aquascape layout in here.

That would seem reasonable since even with injected co2 the plants are only seeing 30-35 ppm co2 at best under water and even without co2 supplementation in a grow facility the plants will very likely see 450 ppm minimum.., And commercial grow facilities typically supplement co2 for more robust growth… With extra co2 you would need more nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus to utilize the CO2…

Well, well, well,…. this just appeared in my news screen… https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/the-reason-that-googles-ai-suggests-using-glue-on-pizza-shows-a-deep-flaw-with-tech-companies-ai-obsession/ar-BB1mZdEv “As shared in a screenshot on X-formerly-Twitter, someone looked up "cheese not sticking to pizza" on Google. The search engine's AI Overview authoritatively began that "cheese can slide off pizza for a number of reasons." “"Here are some things you can try," it lectures. Its first suggestion is to mix in cheese into the sauce. Then, without so much as a warning, it recommends adding "about 1/8 cup of non-toxic glue to the sauce to give it more tackiness."” Must have been written by one of the kids I went to Kindergarten with in 1972 who delighted in eating the school paste we used to “cut and paste” with before computers…

Wednesday when it hit 94, it was worth sticking the AC in the window. I ran it 3 days this past week. $160.00 for a 6,000 btu window unit is very worthwhile in my book. the extended forecast shows only 1 day of 80 degree weather for June currently, but that can change quickly… Last summer it was running for weeks at a time… $20-30.00 a month for electricity to keep comfy is well worth it in my book. Most people fritter that away weekly on take out coffee… It is sort of like a snowblower. The joke is, “ I bought a new snowblower this fall and it never snowed more than a few inches! Best investment I ever made! If I could guarantee that every year I would buy a new one every year!…

Yes, but algae tends to grow more when the water gets warmer… and I feel much better with my bedroom 73 and 50 % humidity in summer and winter…. 12x13 room R 30 walls single window. Electricity cost is not terribly high as heat loss/gain in small well insulated room is quite reasonable…. And living in Maine the number of Cooling Degree days is not high…

my tanks never looked this good when I was using Gluteraldehyde products.. They always had lingering algae issues.. The Gluteraldehyde products never seemed to do much of anything for me…

24 days later… the Crypt is thriving and expanding. It will be time to start thinning it out soon. This was right after water change, haze due to Equilibrium dosing…

Emailing customer service is also a good idea too. I got a text today saying brine shrimp eggs were 25% off while supplies last. I sent an email to CS asking if they were being discontinued or something and they wrote back within 15 minutes saying they were just looking to reduce inventory due to warehouse move… I placed an order for that and some more Easy Green, Easy Iron… I think minimum order for free shipping might be lower now with new warehouse. It was only $49.99 minimum order for free shipping today and iirc it was closer to $90.00 the last time I ordered…. But I might not be remembering correctly…

My grandson will only eat chips…. Until he gets hungry and the chips arent provided…. At that point a ham sandwich starts looking more attractive…

Having a warehouse in the middle of the country is a good idea logistically… I never had time issues getting orders from the left coast to Maine…, but I bet they will save money on shipping costs….

I am not in to competition so much, just personal viewing enjoyment… And there is so much to learn… composition, timing, trimming plant selection… This is a pic after this mornings trim, shortening the Ludwigia repens. By weeks end it willbe brushing the surface again… My Pink Flamingo Crypts growth is accelerating and will need some retrenchment soon. I will probably go the Dutch route after getting a 75 gallon up and running. I am thinking of taking lots of plants and fish from my 2 29, gallon tanks to go in there and then cleaning this tank out and starting with a clean slate. Remove the substrate and place ugf plates down, mesh bags of SafeT Sorb to raise elevation and top with BDBS and try a Dutch layout.