Miller's Journal

[Minanora]

I'm obsessed with rotalas.... I love your tank even when it's 'a mess'. I'm glad your wife is so supportive and pushing you to do the 40G. It's good to challenge yourself! We are our own worst critics though. Just keep that in mind! 🙂

[Mmiller2001]

And now I see a huge injury on my male apisto. He's going to die. What a day.

[anewbie]

How do you manage your rotala? My problem with the stuff is that if i don't heavily prune it weekly it covers the entire tank (40B); which causes some real problem since the shading of lower plants really hurts them. I've been so tempted to rip it all out of the tank but i love the colour of the h'ra.

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/14/2021 at 1:31 PM, anewbie said:

How do you manage your rotala? My problem with the stuff is that if i don't heavily prune it weekly it covers the entire tank (40B); which causes some real problem since the shading of lower plants really hurts them. I've been so tempted to rip it all out of the tank but i love the colour of the h'ra.

I trim it until the lower bottom looks ratty. Then I top and replant and start all over.

Sadly, I must report my Apisto is dead. I'm rather upset about this. He was beautiful.

 

[RadMax8]

I’m sorry to hear about your fish. I wonder what caused the initial injury? Always disappointing to lose them, a feeling I’ve been going through too much lately. 

I’ve got a question for you: What types of resources do you use to understand and learn about the needs of a particular plant? What, in your opinion, makes a plant difficult to take care of?

Your 75 looks great, I’m a big fan of the color variation in there. 

[anewbie]

Was it a pair and what species? For harem breeders the male need a place to escape from the female when she is in breeding mode. Basically when the female doesn't want to breed and the male wants to breed there is a danger the male will kill the female; but conversely when the female breed there is a danger she will kill the male - it is important to have hardscape (driftwood,, caves, ...) where they can hide from each other.

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/15/2021 at 9:58 PM, RadMax8 said:

I’m sorry to hear about your fish. I wonder what caused the initial injury? Always disappointing to lose them, a feeling I’ve been going through too much lately. 

I’ve got a question for you: What types of resources do you use to understand and learn about the needs of a particular plant? What, in your opinion, makes a plant difficult to take care of?

Your 75 looks great, I’m a big fan of the color variation in there. 

Thank you, I think he scrapped his head on the ECO Complete and it developed a bacterial infection. He was perfectly fine 2 days ago, so it was a very fast progression.

As far as resources, I will PM you, I think it's a rule violation to link it here. As far as "the needs of the plants", I 100% rely on the Estimative Index dosing philosophy. And in a nutshell, that means making sure there's "enough" of each nutrient that the tank never reaches 0ppm of any component. This goes for both high energy and low energy tanks. Many assume EI is for CO2 injected tanks, and my experience with EI in my non CO2 tanks, is that they have never looked better. And recently, I've noticed that these "easy" plants have responded quite well to Micro dosing near EI ratios.

If a plant is not doing well under the parameters I set, then I would consider them a difficult plant. Usually this means it requires a specific pH, or some parameter is not being met that's atypical. Some plants like lower amounts of X nutrient, or higher, and some get upset with tiny fluctuations in consistency. Usually, this is a TDS fluctuation. Plants love consistency, and they will regulate themselves to the tank they are in. If the tank has a large enough detour from your consistency, those "difficult" plants well let you know. I find myself going away from difficult plants, and sticking with easy/ moderate plants. Most of us just want a pretty tank, and I'm no different.

To quote an expert underwater gardener Greggz, "sometimes, it's best to invite those that like the soup you are serving." This is one of the best pieces of advice I have read. I'm all for trying different plants, but do you alter the whole tank for one plant? I don't, because it's a pain in the butt 🤣.

On 12/15/2021 at 11:42 PM, anewbie said:

Was it a pair and what species? For harem breeders the male need a place to escape from the female when she is in breeding mode. Basically when the female doesn't want to breed and the male wants to breed there is a danger the male will kill the female; but conversely when the female breed there is a danger she will kill the male - it is important to have hardscape (driftwood,, caves, ...) where they can hide from each other.

This is most likely what happened, I moved these guys from the 40 to the 75 with the substrate change. I only have plants in the 75, no hardscape. 

[Mmiller2001]

There's no way around it. I'm going to have to reduce the amount of species if I want to get away from this jumbled mess.

Decisions decisions.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

For me it'd be like picking my favorite pizza. Impossible tasks.....

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/18/2021 at 6:51 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

For me it'd be like picking my favorite pizza. Impossible tasks.....

Exactly! I need a grow out tank, but that's more work.

[Odd Duck]

On 12/18/2021 at 7:10 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

There's no way around it. I'm going to have to reduce the amount of species if I want to get away from this jumbled mess.

Decisions decisions.

Clearly, you and I have different definition points for “a jumbled mess” because I think this is GORGEOUS!

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/19/2021 at 7:14 AM, Odd Duck said:

Clearly, you and I have different definition points for “a jumbled mess” because I think this is GORGEOUS!

Thank you. But cut the tank in half and compare the left to the right. Notice how the right side has too many same leaf shape plants? It all kinda runs together. I'm thinking about removing a few of those species and moving the Nymphaea Stellata to the right side. I'm also pretty sure the Bacopa Salzmannii is going into the competition tank. That should free up some room there. And I'm considering ditching the Lindernia. Lindernia is a gorgeous plant, but it wants to grow too wide.

[Odd Duck]

On 12/19/2021 at 8:26 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

Thank you. But cut the tank in half and compare the left to the right. Notice how the right side has too many same leaf shape plants? It all kinda runs together. I'm thinking about removing a few of those species and moving the Nymphaea Stellata to the right side. I'm also pretty sure the Bacopa Salzmannii is going into the competition tank. That should free up some room there. And I'm considering ditching the Lindernia. Lindernia is a gorgeous plant, but it wants to grow too wide.

I do see your point.  But trimming to different levels can always add more definition.  I’ve been known to rearrange things as a tank progresses, or things just don’t look quite right to me, so I understand your motivation.  Sometimes you just need to tweak things.  I had that urge a couple days ago (hence the update on my 100 gallon tank), some updates work out better than others.  😆 

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/19/2021 at 7:36 AM, Odd Duck said:

I do see your point.  But trimming to different levels can always add more definition.  I’ve been known to rearrange things as a tank progresses, or things just don’t look quite right to me, so I understand your motivation.  Sometimes you just need to tweak things.  I had that urge a couple days ago (hence the update on my 100 gallon tank), some updates work out better than others.  😆 

I'm really digging your 100. I'm starting to favor the long flowing look. It's spectacular. And challenging to pull off well.

[Odd Duck]

On 12/19/2021 at 9:14 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

I'm really digging your 100. I'm starting to favor the long flowing look. It's spectacular. And challenging to pull off well.

Thank you.

Mostly I neglect it terribly compared to what I think I should be doing.  It’s under stocked and over filtered, so fairly forgiving, fortunately.

Edited December 19, 2021 by Odd Duck

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/19/2021 at 8:47 AM, Odd Duck said:

It’s under stocked and over filtered, so fairly forgiving, fortunately

People! Read this at least 3 times out loud! Ha!

[Ambush0908]

Wow.  I feel like Eric Clapton when he saw Jim Hendrix for the first time.   He wanted to quit playing guitar because he could never be as good.  😀.  Your tank looks great!   I am emptying my now.  🤪

[Mmiller2001]

On 12/19/2021 at 10:03 AM, Ambush0908 said:

Wow.  I feel like Eric Clapton when he saw Jim Hendrix for the first time.   He wanted to quit playing guitar because he could never be as good.  😀.  Your tank looks great!   I am emptying my now.  🤪

Never quit. You should have seen the disaster before a figured a few things out!

Not to mention all the poor fish I killed 😜

Edited December 19, 2021 by Mmiller2001

[Mmiller2001]

Bacopa Colorata, you need this. Get it, trust me. 

 

[Mmiller2001]

[eatyourpeas]

Looking amazing! That is inspiring! 😍

[Mmiller2001]

Thank you. 

I am getting BBA again and some weird looking white spots on a couple of plants. I'm thinking the flow is lacking in those areas causing CO2 fluctuations.. As for the white spots, I have no clue, honestly.

And more and more, this tank has become a repository for plants and I think it's definitely beginning to diminish the tank as a whole. There's 26 species in the tank right now and truth be told; it should be 12-16. I love the Dutch style, so why not try to stick close to those rules? The trouble I'm having is where do I put the plants I remove? Do I toss them? That seems wasteful, but some of them are very common and can be repurchased for a few dollars. I guess I could go up to a 120 gallon, but I really don't want to start over. And if I go bigger, I want custom, and that's going to be expensive. I really love the 75 size, it's big enough without being too big. I eventually want to get the UNS 120P, but that doesn't solve the current dilemma....

Let me know if you know what in the world is going on in these pictures!

Edited January 2, 2022 by Mmiller2001

[Hobbit]

Not sure about the white spots, but cute photobomber!

Could you get a tub or something and put your extra plants in there? Just as a holding spot?

[eatyourpeas]

On 1/1/2022 at 5:44 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

Let me know if you know what in the world is going on in these pictures!

From what I have been reading, you may be correct and the cause could be a CO2 deficiency. Perhaps checking the flow?

[Mmiller2001]

On 1/2/2022 at 11:07 AM, Hobbit said:

Not sure about the white spots, but cute photobomber!

Could you get a tub or something and put your extra plants in there? Just as a holding spot?

Good suggestion, but I'm maxed out on space...and the desire to maintain it! 😆