gjcarew Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2024 at 12:22 PM, knee said: They look amazing! How did you get them to stay? I have a BN pleco that likes to rearrange my anubias if they're not glued to harscape. I currently have some 4 types of buce that I glued to some rock but I really like the carpet that you have. I want to try it too 😁 I don't have any plecos, but I have cories, SAE, and otos and haven't had trouble keeping them in place. Might as well just try it out and see what happens. Worst case scenario you could tie them to some mesh, then bury the mesh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2024 at 12:37 PM, gjcarew said: Worst case scenario you could tie them to some mesh, then bury the mesh Thanks for the tip! I'll try that soon when I'm able to get some mesh 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/29/2024 at 2:01 PM, gjcarew said: Sorry, @Patrick_G got them all That rat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 Did a little trimming session this weekend. Before I start I usually spend 15-20 minutes just looking at the tank and imagining what I want it to look like. I also usually take some photos to critique the layout. These were my observations this time: - Limnophila sp. Wavy needs more density - The rotala macrandra "green" has some unruly horizontal growth - The group of lilies has migrated off the 1/3 line too much and needs to be moved - The Hygrophila angustifolia is lost behind and among the surrounding plants - The lobelia cardinalis street needs smoother lines, and terminates abruptly - The ludwigia repens is too big to be a focal point - The bolbitis is growing too far forward and needs trimming back, plus is just a little boring and dark - The group of crypts looks smashed against the front glass And here is my attempt to fix these problems: I tried to focus on creating space between groupings so they don't seem cramped. Most have a good 2-3" of elbow room at the substrate level, but in looking at this photo I wish I had gone even further. I need to start growing out moss walls soon. They are a P.I.T.A. but they are pretty undeniably cool looking. The fishies are all looking stunning. I know I need to get rid of some as I'm a bit overstocked but I just really enjoy all of them! 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Looks amazing, both plants and fish. I’m pretty sure I’m giving up on my AWF, it just gets lost in the other plants and keeping it smaller in front seems like a pain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 On 2/13/2024 at 6:06 AM, Mmiller2001 said: Looks amazing, both plants and fish. I’m pretty sure I’m giving up on my AWF, it just gets lost in the other plants and keeping it smaller in front seems like a pain. Because it's darker it definitely needs a prominent place in the background to be noticeable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 Adding some recent photos... 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 I really like this crypt nurii "luminous green", so I wanted to feature it more. It's less brown then the crypt jacobsenii, which I thought was maybe clashing with all the other reds. I also had to replant the lobelia cardinalis street, which is just something that has to be done every once in a while. It doesn't take long to recover. Finally, I got some myriophyllum Guyana to act as a taller midground plant. All the midground was a similar height so I want to break it up a little 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 Your luminious green looks a bit different than mine; it seems to have more pa-hang look which is another crypt that is somewhere between nurri rosen and luminious green. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 21 Author Share Posted April 21 I sold $130+ of plants out of here today, I've been putting off trimming. Most of that was from selling significant amounts of buce and and half the bolbitis. I think I want the Limnophila sp. Wavy to come down between the buce and the crypt nurii, it currently is just not green enough in that area. Plus, too many of my groups are just "blobs", I want them to have defined shapes and directions. One of the more common things I get asked is how I keep my tiger lotus compact. Well this is after trimming it down pretty significantly since it was getting too tall: Unfortunately it was still too tall. You see how there is a big gap between the lowest leaves and the substrate? Well a lotus will always grow leaves higher than the highest existing leaf in my experience, they just keep growing upwards until they are no longer shaded out. So unfortunately I needed to cut it back even more. Yeah, it looks stupid now, but that's the price you pay for a compact lotus. Luckily I only have to trim it back this far every few months, then it's just a matter of trimming any particularly tall leaves. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 23 Author Share Posted April 23 The title of silliest little plant in my tank is this tiny Nymphaea minuta. It's about an inch tall and has been around that size for many months. This is one of the babies from when the bigger Nymphaea minuta flowered a while ago. No idea why it refuses to get any bigger, but I love it and I'm keeping it 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 4/23/2024 at 9:42 AM, gjcarew said: The title of silliest little plant in my tank is this tiny Nymphaea minuta. It's about an inch tall and has been around that size for many months. This is one of the babies from when the bigger Nymphaea minuta flowered a while ago. No idea why it refuses to get any bigger, but I love it and I'm keeping it Fyi been renamed n. dimorpha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted April 29 Author Share Posted April 29 The streets need some work, and the myrio Guyana needs to grow in, but overall I like where this is headed. I also finally got some decent pics of my chilatherina sp. Upper Tor 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 It’s looking very solid! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 It's been about 3 weeks since my CO2 regulator stopped working, then I got another that was leaky and now I'm waiting on the solenoid to be replaced. Nothing seems to mind too much, although growth has stalled pretty significantly. I'm trying out some mayaca fluviatilis on the right since Aquarium Coop had a two for one special, and the Brazilian pennywort is just downright unruly. I got rid of two groups of rainbowfish. I'm down to just the melanotaenia trifasciata. Thinking about switching back to nano fish and shrimp for this tank, but I'm in no rush to get rid of these guys. For now, the tank is at a much less hectic stocking level. My carnivorous bog is waking up for the spring as well! I'm planning to try to raise some medaka in here this year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted June 20 Author Share Posted June 20 I turned a big trough I was using as a raised bed into a pond for plants and medaka. It's definitely not at its optimal state but seeing progress is why we keep journals I guess. I had one of my big females die yesterday (I only have 5). She spent the winter in the pond, so maybe it was just her time. I checked the water conditions and didn't see anything surprising. I am somewhat concerned about zinc leaching from the galvanized tank - although my tap water is basic enough I wouldn't expect that to be a problem. I'm trying out some ludwigia panatanal again for a curtain plant. I also got some rotala tulunadensis. Forgive the blurpleness, this is right before lights out. My pH and kh are pretty high in this tank, and these plants really don't like hard water. Its just too annoying to make RO water, so I'm going to try some muriatic acid in here to try to lower kH. I'll update with how that experience goes later! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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