Miller's Journal

[Mmiller2001]

On 11/18/2022 at 11:19 AM, gjcarew said:

You can see in the original how the ferns protrude out in places making for visual interest

I was thinking he staggered Trident and mini Trident to build the effect. 

Never saw that log once 😂.

[Mmiller2001]

On 11/18/2022 at 9:05 AM, Minanora said:

What is your schedule for that nutrient dosing? And how often are you going to change water?

 

On 11/18/2022 at 12:18 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

15N

4P

25K

.2Fe (CSM+B)

.2Fe (DTPA 11%)

1dKH (K2CO3) 

I may also raise GH to 5dGH @ 3:1 Ca:Mg

I'll do a minimum of 50% water changes and they will be done every 7th day.

I'm going to front load Macros starting next week. I definitely want this to be less work.

I pulled out the CO2 reactor, they are great but it dropped head pressure a bit. I also dropped CO2 in half and dropped light by 40%. Outside of ramp up and ramp down, peak hours are pretty close to white light.

[Mmiller2001]

Mhmm

 

[Mmiller2001]

I'm beginning to think that the Trident is attached to a wall and is running across in a line and the lower positioned Trident creates a forward arch look.

[Minanora]

Good times, good times. I think that's a valid thought for the tridents. Meanwhile, it's Thanksgiving on Thursday. 🫣

Keep an eye out for deals. I'm just sitting with carts full of stuff on various sites, waiting for the deals. The deals!!!! GLA came though this morning with a tiny one. 😂 My husband already asked me how much money I've saved him today.

[Patrick_G]

For me it seems like narrow leaf Java is easier to keep healthy than the common broad leaf.  I bought some trident recently and I’m hoping it responds to my care as well as the narrow leaf variety. 
 

[Mmiller2001]

Per @Minanora recommendation,.placed some rocks around to sink a few pieces. I cleaned the moss wall, installed better support and tried to attach some wood to it. This was a fail. I'm not sure how I will get the overhang look without specific wood pieces. 

Anyways, did a few more plant attaching, seeing lots of Trident melt and diatoms have started. 

[Odd Duck]

On 11/25/2022 at 11:08 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

tried to attach some wood to it.

I don’t know if it will help, but in my 100 G angelfish tank thread I used slate drilled, then screwed into my wood pieces, then magnets epoxied to slate (thanks again to @dasaltemelosguy for the idea).  I have magnets on the outside of the glass holding the slate where I wanted it at the left end of the tank near the top.

I think you could easily use this technique to hold a long, nearly straight piece of wood at both ends, or 2 shorter pieces from one end of each.  It’s not like the wood needs to be super thick and heavy to hold Java ferns, and the ferns themselves are pretty neutrally buoyant, so wouldn’t add any weight.  If anything they might add a touch of lift.  If you use wood pieces that overlap slightly it would look like one piece once the ferns grow in and cover the wood fully.

 

[Mmiller2001]

On 11/25/2022 at 10:17 AM, Odd Duck said:

I don’t know if it will help, but in my 100 G angelfish tank thread I used slate drilled, then screwed into my wood pieces, then magnets epoxied to slate (thanks again to @dasaltemelosguy for the idea).  I have magnets on the outside of the glass holding the slate where I wanted it at the left end of the tank near the top.

I think you could easily use this technique to hold a long, nearly straight piece of wood at both ends, or 2 shorter pieces from one end of each.  It’s not like the wood needs to be super thick and heavy to hold Java ferns, and the ferns themselves are pretty neutrally buoyant, so wouldn’t add any weight.  If anything they might add a touch of lift.  If you use wood pieces that overlap slightly it would look like one piece once the ferns grow in and cover the wood fully.

 

Hmm, interesting. Pretty cool actually. I will look into doing that. Thank you.

[Mmiller2001]

For those interested, I moved the tank to 5.2dGH 

I'm still using 3:1, so 24ppm Calcium and 8ppm Magnesium.

 

[anewbie]

What test kit do you use to measure calcium and magnesium? 

[Mmiller2001]

On 11/26/2022 at 1:28 PM, anewbie said:

What test kit do you use to measure calcium and magnesium? 

Non, I dose the incoming water to my targets and then use water changes to adjust the tank.

I use CaSO4 and MgSO4. Then set the ratio using rotalabutterfly for the calculation. 

 

[anewbie]

On 11/26/2022 at 2:32 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

Non, I dose the incoming water to my targets and then use water changes to adjust the tank.

I use CaSO4 and MgSO4. Then set the ratio using rotalabutterfly for the calculation. 

 

So you use per ro water so you know the base has no magnesium or calcium and then dose ?

[Mmiller2001]

On 11/26/2022 at 2:48 PM, anewbie said:

So you use per ro water so you know the base has no magnesium or calcium and then dose ?

Yes. 

[Mmiller2001]

Just went through the AGA tanks this year. I'm not sure how a third place tank happens with no Dutch street.

I might have gotten a top 10. Ah well.

[Odd Duck]

We’ve all been telling you that you’re too hard on yourself. Your tank was lovely!

[Mmiller2001]

😭

[gjcarew]

On 11/26/2022 at 4:54 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

Just went through the AGA tanks this year. I'm not sure how a third place tank happens with no Dutch street.

I might have gotten a top 10. Ah well.

It's perplexing. The judges said it didn't look like a Dutch aquarium, then it got top three? I don't really understand the criteria anymore

[Mmiller2001]

On 11/28/2022 at 5:35 PM, gjcarew said:

It's perplexing. The judges said it didn't look like a Dutch aquarium, then it got top three? I don't really understand the criteria anymore

Yeah, I definitely don't get it. 

[Patrick_G]

I definitely get the feeling that AGA is having trouble judging Dutch aquascaping with it's objective criteria verses the completely subjective criteria in the other categories. 

[Mmiller2001]

On 11/28/2022 at 6:05 PM, Patrick_G said:

I definitely get the feeling that AGA is having trouble judging Dutch aquascaping with it's objective criteria verses the completely subjective criteria in the other categories. 

Agree. Turnout for the Dutch category seemed low too. 

Maybe they relaxed the rules to encourage more next year?

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Ahem therefore someone needs to just enter and stop the mental gymnastics…..kidding not kidding. 
Contest tanks often don’t make sense you’re always seeming to be trying to hit a moving target. 
Now I have to go down the AGA rabbit hole. 

[Odd Duck]

On 11/28/2022 at 10:53 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

Ahem therefore someone needs to just enter and stop the mental gymnastics…

Yes, exactly!  @Mmiller2001 Even if the tank doesn’t do precisely what you wanted to achieve, if it’s still beautiful, enter!  It may not perfectly match what you had in your minds eye, but it was gorgeous to everyone here, you should have at least given it a chance.

So you don’t win.  So what?  You got to show off your tank to a bunch of people that really appreciate a beautiful tank and you gain a bunch of experience.  Even more to gain from professional critiques.

Then what if you DO win? Even just a top 10?  Or a top 3?  Or a First?  What a sweet reward for all your hard work!

[Mmiller2001]

Next year. Bigger better right! Thank you both.

[nabokovfan87]

Just do what you do @Mmiller2001 !  I totally understand holding yourself to such a high standard.  I also will always be reminding you how great the work you do is. It's seriously impressive. Jokingly I think any of us would cherish the clippings from any tank you keep. The plants always look great to us.

This reminds me of a movie where a guy writes something on the piece of paper and carries it around in his pocket all day.  At the end of the day he has to make a major choice and instead of going with emotion or going with the conversation in the room, he pulls out the paper and does exactly what he said he would that morning.  I imagine your piece of paper, tape it to the wall, whatever you would do with that note.... "hit submit on that application".

The result is going to be whatever it is going to be.  I hope, and I am pretty certain you do, that you appreciate the journey as much as the result.  Sometimes we can't capture the story behind a photo, but that is usually what speaks volumes.  You, and all of the amazing aquascapers here inspire us.... every time you post.  Just remember that. (cc @gjcarew @Seattle_Aquarist , I'm sure I am missing many others that have that same affect on the group here )