Streetwise Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Nice fishbowl! 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 I will have to find a way to keep light from infiltrating on this piece of equipment as it doesn't seem to fit tightly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daedalus Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Nice tank, your story about saving up to build your tank has inspired me. I was feeling a bit down today when I was thinking I couldn't afford to do a fully plated tank. I'm gonna keep saving and just buy it piece by piece as funds allow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanTruth Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 Even in “fishbowl view” your tank looks epic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiscoGrant Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Really gorgeous tank. I didn't see this in the thread, but how long do those CO2 tanks last you? Is the 2nd one there for backup once the first one is depleted? Also, I didn't catch, what size are those tanks? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 3 minutes ago, WiscoGrant said: Really gorgeous tank. I didn't see this in the thread, but how long do those CO2 tanks last you? Is the 2nd one there for backup once the first one is depleted? Also, I didn't catch, what size are those tanks? The cylinders usually last around 6 - 8 months, they are 5lb. cylinders, and yes the second is for back up, so I don't have to run out to get the first one refilled right away whenever it happens to run out. Funny enough I had to switch one out just this morning. I get them refilled at the local home brewers shop for about $14. The cheapest way to get cylinders is from an online brewers shop, my latest came from Kegworks, shipping usually runs around $10 in my experience depending on where you live of course. https://www.kegworks.com/5-lb-aluminum-co2-air-tank/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koi Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 (edited) Nice tank! Pics from both you and @Daniel having been really tempting me to shell out the dough for Kessil lights! I noticed your lobelia has hints of purple in it as well. Have you been able to get that shade of purple any deeper? I know a lot of people say you can’t do it but I still think it’s possible. Maybe not full purple but I’ve definitely had deep purple veins before. My lobelia usually gets darks stripes of purple from time to time but it’s very short lived and I’m still messing around with my nutrients to see if I can achieve it through nitrate limitation. What temps do you keep your tank at? I’ve also been considering colder water as a possibility to get more purple out. Edited March 31, 2021 by Koi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 @Koi thanks, the Lobelia cardinalis actually is the light green background stem plant in the middle of my tank, the reddish shades are on the Ludwigia repens. Lobelia cardinalis in its submerse form is light green, emersed it has red red leaves and bright red flowers. I keep my Ludwigia repens not as red as I could get it because I've got Christmas moss and Anubias nana petite and Bucephalandras on some of my wood closer to the surface and increasing the light intensity would have them covered in algae in no time. I keep my tank at 78.6 Fahrenheit for my Cardinals and Rummynoses. I have never heard of colder temperatures producing more red in plants, the deciding factor generally are light intensity, and the amount of red and amber light you might have added, which is also why the Kessil A360X Tuna Suns have this feature added. The reddest plants I have ever seen in the wild were in Florida while snorkeling. I hope this helps, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koi Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Maybe the photo is playing tricks on my eyes but these are the shades that I'm talking about. But no worries, it's something I've been working on the side to see how far I can push it on that plant. Just had to see if you knew of some secret that I wasn't aware of haha. I know for my lobelia, I get dark purple strikes around the veins but I just did a massive overhaul on my tank so they aren't showing anymore. When I get it to do it again I'll show you what I'm talking about if you don't mind me posting a pic on here. The only thing I know is that its some form of stress I'm inducing on the plant.I have a few other plants that show this kind of on and off symptom. For example, I get a vibrant red on my bacopa early in the morning and by the end of the day it turns back to green. I think my next attempt will be limiting phosphate so hopefully in time I'll find out how I did it before! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 @Koi I see the slight hue where you pointed it out but this photo was taken with the droid and it might have picked up a bit of light from an arts & crafts style stained glass torchiere my wife has in the living room. I would love to say I have some secret recipe, but they are just plain light green and having my intensity turned down to less than 50% for the benefit of my moss and epiphytes the best my Ludwigia repens will look is a deep burnt orange but it's not because of lack of capacity just preference to keep the status quo with my old nemesis the algae. If you are adding CO2, which I assume you do based on the description of the Bacopa, I would say it might be a fluctuation in CO2 level if it fluctuates through the day; but it could well be a combination of CO2 and nutrient/s. I would be interested to hear what you find out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koi Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 You are probably right with the co2 fluctuation but I'll will have to come to terms with my bacopa since I don't run co2 in that tank. The only thing in that tank is an air stone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 At that point you might consider that since plants don't use CO2 at night and actually use oxygen during that time instead of producing it, the CO2 level in your Bacopa tank is going to be highest in the morning, during the day when everything else in your tank including your S. repens competes with it for the CO2, the level gradually diminishes until the end of photoperiod when the lights turn off. I bet if you were to run pressurized CO2 in that tank your Bacopa would be as red as they possibly could be. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koi Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 I already have one co2 system and I'm scared of what I might do if I buy another cylinder or run a gang valve! I'll go real quick from having a hobby to having a problem! haha But thank you for allowing me to bounce some ideas off you, I will update you if I make any headway on the lobelia! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted July 11, 2021 Author Share Posted July 11, 2021 Little update! I'm really happy with how well my Christmas moss has grown on the driftwood and filled in to give me the natural look I intended. The fronds actually almost give it the appearance of an underwater fern. On the other hand my Amanos developed a definite hankering for the fine, needle like leaves of my Pogostemon erectus and decimated it completely. Here some pictures of my driftwood moss: 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 Looks great! Please add a journal link to your signature! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 7th Anubias bloom in one year. 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 Got a shot of my Phoenix moss (Fissidens fontanus) that I attached closer to the surface above the Christmas moss with Blue Dream shrimp cleaner crew, and another showing my number 8 Anubias bloom this year. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 On 7/23/2021 at 11:56 PM, Jungle Fan said: Got a shot of my Phoenix moss (Fissidens fontanus) that I attached closer to the surface above the Christmas moss with Blue Dream shrimp cleaner crew, and another showing my number 8 Anubias bloom this year. do you cichlids leave your shrimp alone? I want my qt tank open but I have 1 kribensis in it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 @quirkylemon103 my Bolivian rams don't mess with my shrimp at all, but I can't say that for all cichlids. Apistogrammas for example would take care of them in short order. It's been years ago that I've kept kribensis, I had some in a tank with Congo tetras but that was long before I kept any shrimp, so I can't really say if they would be a good mix. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 On 7/24/2021 at 10:20 AM, Jungle Fan said: @quirkylemon103 my Bolivian rams don't mess with my shrimp at all, but I can't say that for all cichlids. Apistogrammas for example would take care of them in short order. It's been years ago that I've kept kribensis, I had some in a tank with Congo tetras but that was long before I kept any shrimp, so I can't really say if they would be a good mix. ok I won't try yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 😍 Teach me your moss attaching secrets! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 (edited) Years ago when I became first attracted to using moss in my aquascapes I used to use moss cotton I had several plecos get tangled in the strings with their barbs and die over night. For a while I stopped using moss until a friend showed me how to use gel type superglue. My first few attempts were a mixed bag because I tended to use too much glue, or not enough, now it's become really easy for me but moss still takes a while to establish. The trick is to use as little glue as possible, and as much as you have to if that makes sense. In an established tank with driftwood when you attach moss do it while you are doing a 50% water change. Dry the wood where you want to attach the moss off a bit with a paper towel, water causes the super glue to set faster, so working quickly is of the essence. Make sure you have everything ready, the paper towel, the glue, a spray bottle with water and a drop of dechlorinator (I use Prime), and the moss. Look at the moss in which direction it grows, usually a strand of Christmas moss spreads out like a fan from one point at the base, that point is what you want to attach. Use only as much glue as it takes for that point to attach, after you've attached the moss give it a squirt with the spray bottle to help the glue set. Then when you attach the next piece of moss dry the spot where you are going to glue off again first. With Christmas moss I tend to alternate the sides on a branch so that one fan points one side the next the other. I also use moss fans to cover over over the attachment points, especially if I was heavy handed with the glue because the glue will turn white from clear once it sets. I tend to use shorter moss like Phoenix moss when I get closer to the surface because longer stranded mosses give the whole a more chaotic look when it continually blows about in the surface current from the filter outlet. I like to use Christmas moss to drape of branches on both sides, it presents a more natural appearance, and it creates a little cave under the branch that especially my Amano shrimp seem to value. Phoenix moss closer to the surface will build a little mound that tends to eventually grow outward, but as I said - moss is an exercise in patience. A key factor to keeping the moss appearance neat are the shrimp, they love moss and they keep the green string algae at bay especially so close to the surface and the lights. Rarely do I actually have to remove a bit with tweezers because the shrimp are doing such a great job at it. Sometimes the strands hanging off the branch get a bit too long, resist the urge to pull them with your finger, or tweezers as you will get more than you bargained for, always use scissors to just cut the length you intended off the rest; also have a small net handy to fish the piece out because tracking a piece of moss in a tank that's heavily planted can be a tedious endeavor. The most valuable advice my friend ever gave me was to not get frustrated over a bit of white glue that was visible because usually sooner or later the moss will grow to cover that spot. Where I still have a challenge and something where that is to this day is the use of super glue under water to attach moss, my friend is very handy with it but I have tried it only once and it turned quickly into a very unpleasant occasion with me exploring the darker sides of my vocabulary😄. Here some video links to attaching moss, or any plant really with super glue: Cory's video on working with super glue One technique Amano used but I haven't tried Edited July 24, 2021 by Jungle Fan 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Thank you!! Those are some great tips. I now have ideas about what I can do better next time. (I have also miserably failed at using superglue underwater. 😆) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 (edited) Sometimes I wonder if my fish can see the reflection of the moss inside the tank as well. Edited July 28, 2021 by Jungle Fan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 My favorite time of day with the Kessils, just before the lights turn off. The contrast is greatest at that time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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