Mmiller2001 Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 How's your Ovalis Purple doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 On 6/22/2022 at 2:46 PM, Mmiller2001 said: How's your Ovalis Purple doing? It needs tidying up but it's growing well! One of the few plants to make the "final 12" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 On 6/22/2022 at 4:40 PM, gjcarew said: It needs tidying up but it's growing well! One of the few plants to make the "final 12" No problems with the lower leaves? Mine kind of disintegrate and have a few holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 On 6/22/2022 at 3:53 PM, Mmiller2001 said: No problems with the lower leaves? Mine kind of disintegrate and have a few holes. Yeah the lower leaves get holes and fall off but I don't see that as real problem. That happens with most aquarium plants, I just try to pull them off as they start to get unhealthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 On 6/22/2022 at 5:27 PM, gjcarew said: Yeah the lower leaves get holes and fall off but I don't see that as real problem. That happens with most aquarium plants, I just try to pull them off as they start to get unhealthy Okay, I was going to boost potassium a bit, but it's the only plant that does this. I'll probably just leave it alone, the other plans are doing fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 Pond update! First I thought I'd post my rainbow shiners. They seem to be doing just fine, I'm only feeding once or twice per week. I have some coarse gravel in the bottom of their tub pond so I'm hoping I'll get some babies out of there come fall. They do look very pretty in the sunlight, but I think that's true of all fish! The second pond contains (used to contain?) Rhadinocentrus ornatus "Seary's Creek", a type of rainbowfish. I put them in the pond when temps were still in the low 50's, and we have had a very cold, wet, long spring here in the Seattle area. Since I added them, I haven't seen them once. I won't know until I drain the pond in the fall, but at this point I'm not optimistic. BUT......... I found some fry in that pond! They are tiny, the size of an eyelash. I assume they are baby rainbows but I have no idea. For the time being they should be good with the microorganisms and green water in the tub pond. I'm going to have to start hatching some baby brine soon, though. So the questions is- are they rhads? Something that hitched a ride on the pond plants? Are there more fry hiding in there or is it just the three? And did any parents survive? It's all terrifically exciting and requires about 3 hours of work per year. This is why I'm so crazy about ponds! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted June 24, 2022 Author Share Posted June 24, 2022 Now back to the regularly scheduled programming... I confess I went and bought some more hygrophila difformis. I just didn't want to have to propagate it down to nubs. Things are coming together and all the plants are appreciating my holiday from moving them around. Gonna give it some more time but the Rotala is not currently working in that back corner. Too similar in color to the blyxa japonica. I may replace it with the that myriophyllum roraima in the center. The myrio is currently a bit too dominant IMO and really breaks the tank in two. Overall there needs to be a group crossing the middle line to tie it all together. Maybe that street could go back to the left rather than circling around the lily. Speaking of which, that plant does NOT want to grow upwards. Anybody got tips for it? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minanora Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 Looking forward to seeing the next update. I think the myriophyllum is very striking but it grows so tall so fast it's very dominant. Maybe move it to the far left? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkaleyAquatics Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 On 6/23/2022 at 5:50 PM, gjcarew said: Pond update! First I thought I'd post my rainbow shiners. They seem to be doing just fine, I'm only feeding once or twice per week. I have some coarse gravel in the bottom of their tub pond so I'm hoping I'll get some babies out of there come fall. They do look very pretty in the sunlight, but I think that's true of all fish! The second pond contains (used to contain?) Rhadinocentrus ornatus "Seary's Creek", a type of rainbowfish. I put them in the pond when temps were still in the low 50's, and we have had a very cold, wet, long spring here in the Seattle area. Since I added them, I haven't seen them once. I won't know until I drain the pond in the fall, but at this point I'm not optimistic. BUT......... I found some fry in that pond! They are tiny, the size of an eyelash. I assume they are baby rainbows but I have no idea. For the time being they should be good with the microorganisms and green water in the tub pond. I'm going to have to start hatching some baby brine soon, though. So the questions is- are they rhads? Something that hitched a ride on the pond plants? Are there more fry hiding in there or is it just the three? And did any parents survive? It's all terrifically exciting and requires about 3 hours of work per year. This is why I'm so crazy about ponds! Regarding the Rhads, I put mine out and thought I lost them all as well. They are pretty hard to see from above, If I go out after dark and shine a flashlight into them I can see them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 I have the same thing going on with my Lily. If it has enough light, dwarf starts making sense. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted June 25, 2022 Author Share Posted June 25, 2022 (edited) Finally getting around to the cabinet update. First of all a club member 3D printed some cool tool holders. They seem pretty convenient! I installed this flow meter which allows me to see how much CO2 I am injecting. CO2 injection has generally been low in this tank because the new Chihiros app sucks and sometimes the light doesn't turn on. For example, that happened today. I turned the light to "manual" mode in the app last night, then turned it back to "auto" mode before going to bed. The light turned off, so I thought it worked, but when I got home from work the light wasn't on yet! The good news is injecting 10 cc/m like I was the fish weren't stressed at all, they were actually super colored up. I just raised the rate to 17 cc/m while it seems around 30 cc/m is "high" CO2 in a 75 gallon (from what I've read). One thing that I've noticed is a seemingly tiny bump on the needle valve can double your injection rate. Makes me think I should invest in a more precise needle valve. Last change is I added a Jebao DC pump. It's way quieter than the Oase one, has triple the output, and has a 10 minute "feed" mode. I haven't had it long enough to know if it will last, but so far I'm pretty hyped. Edited June 25, 2022 by gjcarew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minanora Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 What power supply are you using for your DC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted June 25, 2022 Author Share Posted June 25, 2022 On 6/24/2022 at 9:52 PM, Minanora said: What power supply are you using for your DC? Just the one that comes with it? Not sure I understand the question right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 6/24/2022 at 12:03 AM, gjcarew said: Now back to the regularly scheduled programming... I confess I went and bought some more hygrophila difformis. I just didn't want to have to propagate it down to nubs. Things are coming together and all the plants are appreciating my holiday from moving them around. Gonna give it some more time but the Rotala is not currently working in that back corner. Too similar in color to the blyxa japonica. I may replace it with the that myriophyllum roraima in the center. The myrio is currently a bit too dominant IMO and really breaks the tank in two. Overall there needs to be a group crossing the middle line to tie it all together. Maybe that street could go back to the left rather than circling around the lily. Speaking of which, that plant does NOT want to grow upwards. Anybody got tips for it? Hello there! I am also in the Seattle area. I had a recommendation for your plants growing straight. Have you tried using the wooden skewer, sunken down, then super light weight fishing line (5lb strength) to attach the stem to the rigid skewer? You can even super glue a few skewer together to get the full height. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted June 27, 2022 Author Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 6/27/2022 at 3:04 PM, Lauren said: Hello there! I am also in the Seattle area. I had a recommendation for your plants growing straight. Have you tried using the wooden skewer, sunken down, then super light weight fishing line (5lb strength) to attach the stem to the rigid skewer? You can even super glue a few skewer together to get the full height. I was talking about the dwarf aquarium lily which is only putting out pads with very short stems. I'm not sure if the skewers would work on a lily. I've tried pushing all the plants around it super close to it, sometimes by crowding plants you can get them to grow upwards. Thanks for the tip though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minanora Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 6/24/2022 at 10:10 PM, gjcarew said: Just the one that comes with it? Not sure I understand the question right That's a valid answer. I'm used to wiring things inside of enclosures.... so I have this problem where my brain doesn't think about the obvious answers. 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 You are totally right! I’m sorry, I must have missed the reference to which plant it was!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted July 2, 2022 Author Share Posted July 2, 2022 Working on some trimming. I know what you're thinking: "Gavin, you deranged freak, you can't have two streets in a tank under 5 feet!" True, but I kinda like it. I'm gonna add the remaining groups and If I still like the look of the blyxa japonica I'll straighten out the Lobelia street. Remaining groups are tentatively pearlweed just right of the Java fern log and Brazilian pennywort as the front right curtain. I've also kinda given up on the lily growing tall and I think I'm just gonna move it forward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 On 7/2/2022 at 12:46 AM, gjcarew said: "Gavin, you deranged freak, you can't have two streets in a tank under 5 feet!" Looks pretty cool, to me. But give the poor lily some time! 😆 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted July 2, 2022 Author Share Posted July 2, 2022 (edited) On 7/2/2022 at 7:38 AM, Odd Duck said: Looks pretty cool, to me. But give the poor lily some time! 😆 😉 Patience is not a virtue I was blessed with. Plus it's been like six months, I'm starting to think it is just gonna stay small forever. Edit: Ha! I went back to find when I added the lily and it has only been in this tank for a month. See point #1 😆 Edited July 2, 2022 by gjcarew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minanora Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 I like it! I like what you did with the myrio. It looks at home in that spot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 On 7/2/2022 at 9:48 AM, gjcarew said: Patience is not a virtue I was blessed with. Plus it's been like six months, I'm starting to think it is just gonna stay small forever. Edit: Ha! I went back to find when I added the lily and it has only been in this tank for a month. See point #1 😆 I’m ORD, but 6 months, 1 month, meh. Barely a difference. 😆 😂 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted July 2, 2022 Author Share Posted July 2, 2022 Double post day because I wanted to show how I trim and arrange stem plants. Step 1. Uproot everything Step 2. Arrange by height Step 3. Trim to the appropriate length, remove any branching stems Step 4. Remove adventitious ("aerial") roots and lower leaves Step 5. Replant. How you do this depends on the shape you're going for, but in general taller plants go in back This is only for plants where you don't want a "bush" shape. Since I don't have rotala anymore this is how I've been doing all my stems. It's kind of time consuming but you can get some very manicured groups with this process. Making round bushes is a whole other ballgame that I honestly need more practice with. Rosette plants are easy, I just rip any unattractive leaves off at the base. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 Added the pearlweed and Brazilian pennywort. The pearlweed and water wisteria still need some love but otherwise this tank will probably be ready for photos in the next month or so 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 On 7/2/2022 at 8:16 AM, gjcarew said: Step 1. Uproot everything Step 2. Arrange by height Step 3. Trim to the appropriate length, remove any branching stems Step 4. Remove adventitious ("aerial") roots and lower leaves Step 5. Replant. How you do this depends on the shape you're going for, but in general taller plants go in back Maybe this is a "beginner question" or just a very specific point in the fish keeping career, but I think it's an interesting one. Where did you learn how to keep plants? I enjoy the way you're discussing how to process the trimmings and I think it's something where myself, other hobbyists that might not be so in tune with plants, really can benefit from advice like this. Corvus Oscen has been my best source for trimming advice and learning how to actually care for the plants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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