# AS600 - Jade



## Fiske (7 Apr 2020)

In reality a continuation of my old AS600 journal. But since I really ripped it all apart, I'd better keep the journals separate. So here goes:

The gudgeons left the tank in vertical direction within a few weeks after my last update; their fry sadly perished too. A 20 cm piece of an (to me) unknown stemplant got tossed in the tank. Life took over. Waterchanges got skipped, CO2 ran out, ferts got added once a month, some fish food got thrown in when I remembered to.

So in march I removed several kilos of an (to me) unknown stemplant; and surveyed the damage. I'd lost all cories, and 5 of the oto's, only 2 left. All CPDs accounted for. 3 paros now reside in the lowtech. Hairgrass was GONE. C. crispatula  had bulked up, C. wendtii was full of runners. Lots of Bolbitis, with quite a bit of staghorn.

Only one thing to do.
Buy fish a hotelroom.
Buy plants.
Empty everything.
Sort hardware.
...
Rescape.


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## Fiske (7 Apr 2020)

Better shot:


 

Plants:
C. crispatula
C. wendtii 
C. willisii x nevillii
Eleocharis mini
H. bolivianum
Microsorum Trident
Bolbitis
... Oh and a few Buces from the lowtech, just to see how they handle it. Will up the count when (if) the tank behaves. 

Eheim Pro 4+ 350T
Aquarebell lilypipe and inlet
AquaClear 20 powerhead
Eheim skimmer

Tropica soil powder
ADA Powersand
Dragonstone
Redmoor roots

Maaassive CO2; dropcheckers bright yellow.


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## Fiske (15 Apr 2020)

Small update:

Second week. I've gone over to 50ish % waterchange every other day, down from every day for the last week. 1,5-2 ml of glut per day, slowly decreasing that.
Got white fungus on wood, and some diatoms. Couple of days ago 8-10 shrimp, a few nerites and my 2 Oto's made the move. I decided to bolster the Oto ranks by buying 6 more. Very small, and somewhat skinny. One had run out of batteries when I got home, unfortunately. The rest are having a munch  Hopefully they will bulk up. I might pick up some more... Also ordered a load of shrimp, the ones I have need some new blood. So fungus and diatoms are decreasing fast.

I believe I see some beginnings of growth from the chain swords and the hairgrass. I know I see a bit of melt from the Cryptocorynes, which was expected. Nothing alarming (yet). Moved another Buce in. Moved the trident out, it looked like oop; replaced with regular Java from the lowtech. Had a few large adventitious plants that fit well. 
Not really running ferts yet, apart from 5 mls of Specialized sunday. Will probably dole out root tabs soonish.


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## alto (15 Apr 2020)

Looks good (as usual) - love those floating crispatula leafs 
Trim the bolbitis as per Jurijs mit JS recommendation (unless you want Bolbitis takeover ... I feel it’s pain upon each leaf loss, so I’ve just quit growing it )

I saw this today so had to go back in time to catch up on the previous journal - unfortunately losses of dwarf Corydoras isn’t unusual, they often seem to do well initially, then slowly vanish 
I suspect this reflects them being predominantly wild caught and some latent (internal) parasites  or ???

Your Habrosus looked fantastic so was very disappointed to read they’d succumbed to the Vanishing 

I’m intrigued by the Fish Hotel - low budget dive or...  

Be brutal about cutting back any crypt melt


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## Fiske (16 Apr 2020)

alto said:


> Looks good (as usual) - love those floating crispatula leafs



Thanks. One of my favourite plants as well. Too bad it takes months to establish and get going IME.



alto said:


> Trim the bolbitis as per Jurijs mit JS recommendation (unless you want Bolbitis takeover ... I feel it’s pain upon each leaf loss, so I’ve just quit growing it )


I have more Bolbitis than I know what to do with :O Will check it out. Thx.



alto said:


> I saw this today so had to go back in time to catch up on the previous journal - unfortunately losses of dwarf Corydoras isn’t unusual, they often seem to do well initially, then slowly vanish
> I suspect this reflects them being predominantly wild caught and some latent (internal) parasites  or ???
> 
> Your Habrosus looked fantastic so was very disappointed to read they’d succumbed to the Vanishing



Yeah. They were charming little fellows. I'm afraid the sharp pieces of Seiryu stone in the original sandy beach version wasn't helping; some of them had damaged barbs.  Whether they had that originally, or I can be blamed I dunno. I'd love to do a proper setup for cories at some point. #needmoretanks #needbetterfloors

For now, the tank might be just Otocinclus and shrimp for a while, I just might put the CPDs into the low tech 45P to hidey-hidey with the paro's. Then I can have a tank full of fish I never see.
Not sure where I'm heading right now to be honest; mulling over options.



alto said:


> I’m intrigued by the Fish Hotel - low budget dive or...



45 l cheap glasstank with a light cover of tropica soil, and an assortment of plant cuttings floating around. Dennerle corner filter. A flophouse basically.



alto said:


> Be brutal about cutting back any crypt melt



With extreme prejudice, that goes for remaining staghorn on a few old crypt leaves too. I'd rather cut a leaf too many now... rather than cry later.


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## alto (17 Apr 2020)

Fiske said:


> some of them had damaged barbs.


I’m always inclined to think this is health related rather than sharp substrate - though perhaps the dragon stone is extremely? sharp
(at least I’ve never observed any barbel damage despite keeping Corydoras on what certainly felt like sharp substrates - especially Flourite red which was much sharper than anticipated (substrate change, already had the fish))
Barbel damage related to high bacteria levels in substrate has been documented
Also if fish have internal bacterial infections, these will often show as damage to fins and barbels (and general malaise - which is often not that easy to note in Corydoras)


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## alto (17 Apr 2020)

tried to do another Quote, but absolutely couldn’t get 2 in the same reply box, so posted and tried with a new box - it ain’t happening today - apparently I’ve made my Quote limit in this thread 
(yesterday I managed multiple quotes within a single reply box soooooo   )



Sometimes strong reduction in flow will greatly increase Parosphromenus sp. activity/visibility (some breeders on The Fish Hut page have switched to no filtration on their Paro tanks (with great success))
It does seem that placing them in a bigger densely planted/hardscape tank, just means rarely glimpsing them ... I suppose lots of places for them to move without ever venturing into the light - often a dangerous foolhardy move in their natural habitat, and they do seem more outgoing when aquarium more closely resembles natural waters


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## Fiske (19 Apr 2020)

Sundays are for watering the houseplants, baking rye, chilling a bit before the workweek....

... And tank maintenance.
Big waterchange. Tried out how easy it was(n't) to clean the prefilter on the Eheim. Turned out it really wasn't necessary though, shrimpguard catches most of the larger pieces which I remove on the bidaily waterchanges. I do ask myself if designers of intricate prefilter solutions on bucket filters actually try them out themselves. Still I like this filter over the Oase because:
A) it is way smaller
B) it has at the very least the same amount of flow (a fair bit more in my assessment, actually)
C) it is way less noisy. The Oase would always trap air, so it was like having Victoria Falls in a cabinet at times. And juggling it around was having fun tilting a bucket @ some 10-12 kilos inside a cupboard. Again and again and again. And then a couple of times more. Everytime you had cleaned the prefilter (ie every week, because then it got so noisy you knew it was time). The air trapping part probably also contributed to the glassheater breaking, which I noticed on a major filter clean. Oh, humanity....
I guess I'm just an Eheim guy.

Added a bunch of root tabs for crypts+chainswords. Dosed one pump of Tropica Premium. Slowly cutting down on EasyCarbo, down to 1 ml pr day now, will probablydecrease if everything stays stable. Bit of diatoms and green dust on glass, which gets munched, as did the white fungus (now almost completely gone). Bit of diatoms on the large crispatula leaves gone courtesy nerites and shrimp. None on hardscape (that I can see anyway).

In other news: I've lost one of the new Otos every day since I got them. Down to 3 now which is a 50% mortality rate over 3 days. The remaining 3 ganged up with the 2 old ones and had a swim around during wc. They've always done that, this time it was like seeing Mum, Dad and the 3 Oto kids  I'm crossing my fingers. I hope I can get some more, but options are a bit limited at the moment.
Added 30 shrimp; 50/50 Sakura Extreme Red and Sunkist Orange. Yeah, I know they will interbreed, and no, I don't care. Sue me. At least one was berried, so maybe...
Also 'seeded' the tank with some Hyallela, so hope I can get a good colony here too. I want some Asellus too, so gotta go fishing soon.

Trimmed the Bolbitis, but did leave some leaves. Added more Bolb rhizomes too, heavily trimmed. 
And I've started a carpet fight by adding a few tufts of Lilaeopsis brasiliensis which seems to get going fast. I'm expecting great battles for territory in the future. Why have I postponed trying this plant for so long btw?
Hairgrass has bulked up and ready to take on competition, chainswords likewise; plenty of runners too. It will be glorious.
No major melt on crypts yet, transplanted Buces seems to be doing well so far.

Speaking of; everything is going way too well. I'm scared! Surely disaster is lurking around the corner.



alto said:


> Sometimes strong reduction in flow will greatly increase Parosphromenus sp. activity/visibility (some breeders on The Fish Hut page have switched to no filtration on their Paro tanks (with great success))
> It does seem that placing them in a bigger densely planted/hardscape tank, just means rarely glimpsing them ... I suppose lots of places for them to move without ever venturing into the light - often a dangerous foolhardy move in their natural habitat, and they do seem more outgoing when aquarium more closely resembles natural waters



They're in the lowtech 45P with an Aquaclear 20 HOB. Circulation is almost nonexistent. They have always been extremely incognito. I guess I might also have a bunch elderly citizens actually, they don't seem all that spry anymore.

Still having a big think on what's going to be stocking in the 600 though, I've got a couple of options I'm mulling over:

1. put back the CPDs + try Peacock gudgeons again.
2. put CPDs into the low tech, get some eg. Pseudomugil or Iriatherina and try Peacock gudgeons again...
3. As above but something that is not Peacocks. I'd really like the gudgies, but last batch jumped. And apart from the fish dying, which I really don't like; they were quite expensive too. This time around though the tank is darker (thank you, black backing), maybe that will help?
4. Something else. I've been considering Apistos or Laetacara, although I'd rather do a proper blackwater set up for Apistos, and the Laetacara I saw in the shop were huge (for dwarf cichlids), I guess the shrimp will be food in either case.

Yeah, Otos and shrimp for a while, I guess.

No pictures right now, it's all sunny so it's reflection city. Will update that later.


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## Fiske (19 Apr 2020)

Just a couple of crappy phone pics, reflections and all:


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## Jayefc1 (19 Apr 2020)

Love the title @Fiske it will be a death match lol


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## alto (19 Apr 2020)

Peacock gudgeons will take significant shrimp so I’d add these last 
I’d also consider treating them with eSHa ndx (levamisole) - prepare soaked foods in combination with Seachem Focus if possible (greatly enhances medication binding to food particles) - they often seem not to do well longterm 

Purchase juveniles if possible 

I’m somewhat surprised at the jumping - unless they’re arguing over territory/dominance etc 
While some people report very gentle behaviour in these fish, others report significant aggression


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## Fiske (26 Apr 2020)

alto said:


> Peacock gudgeons will take significant shrimp so I’d add these last
> I’d also consider treating them with eSHa ndx (levamisole) - prepare soaked foods in combination with Seachem Focus if possible (greatly enhances medication binding to food particles) - they often seem not to do well longterm
> 
> Purchase juveniles if possible
> ...



Mine didn't touch the shrimp, but they were quite aggressive towards each other. That I very quickly only had 3 meant they couldn't spread it out amongst them much, jumping were by pecking order. I also think that the tank was to bright and busy for them. I'm hoping that this time, as the tank is darker they will be more relaxed. I might also get a larger group. It will be a week or 2 before I do though.


End of 3rd week update:
Still going well. Only algae I see is some GSA on the glass (lower front and right side); this corresponds well with where the sun hits the tank in the afternoons. I'll look into some paper for the hindmost 2/3rds of the side like I have in the left side. Hilariously, I also have GSA in the glasspipes. That's a first.
I've been pushing CO2 injection a bit over the last week, I think I'm about maxed now. Proper pH profile will have to wait a weeks time.
Started to add a bit more of Tropica ferts, still a bit on the low side. I also made up a phosphate mix, just to see if upping phosphates will do anything about GSA. 
WC's are every other day for the next week too @35%.
Did my first proper trim, of Helanthium runners that were crossing the current frontlines in the Great Battle of Carpets; about to commence soon, just need to get the troops sorted and ready.
Added more Buce.
CPDs went in a few days ago. Watching them fool around in the hairgrass is a delight. The 3 remaining noob Oto's still doing well.

Obligatory crap pic, from yesterday:


 

Cleaning the dc:



 

Colours a bit more natural on this ackshully:


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## Fiske (13 May 2020)

Yeah. Crossed the 1 month anniversary without much fanfare. Now running in the 6th week, and things still look good.

Still have GSA, I still blame it on the sunlight. Heaviest infestation is in the glasspipes, which do need a good clean. I might purchase a backup set though, just in case I'm having a tuesday. The upped phosphates didn't make any difference... I've had a wee bit of staghorn and BBA, truth be told; but only on leaves that were on the crispatula when it was moved. A lot of it looked dead tbh, and the leaves leave promptly. Had a bit of black tufts, which actually looked like new growth, prompted me to check if filter needed cleaning. It did.
Cleaned the filter, and started wondering whether I'd go full Eheim Classic next time. 

Got a new hobby btw: Cutting chainsword runners. These things would take over everything if I turned my back for a few weeks.
Carpet is almost full, deathmatch commencing (although I'll still be restraining the chainswords). HG got the upper hand for now.
Changed out the planting on the right side, bolbitis just looked wrong here, and they were just thrown in with a pitchfork. So more javafern, 'Narrow' this time, as was the plan, some Xmas moss, some H. pinnatifida (if at first you don't succeed, try and try and try ad infinitum.) Also, more Buce (Kedagang), because Buce.

Bought 10 T. ocellicauda yesterday, and picked 5 dry peacock chips of the floor this morning. Damn. Reeeallly hope the last 5 stay cool and stay put. Swim, don't fly, guys.

At least my 5 oto's are still going.

Obligatory crap photos:





Sorry about the clingfilm, just a desperate measure against flying peacocks. Clearly didn't help.


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## Jayefc1 (13 May 2020)

Tank looks really nice mate cant wait to see how the death match pans out


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## Fiske (13 May 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Tank looks really nice mate cant wait to see how the death match pans out



Thanks. I'm super happy with it, aside from jumping gudgeons. Especially after I did something with the bolbitis area, it wasn't working right.

Lilaeopsis is vastly outnumbered though, but it seems like it holds its own for now.


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## Fiske (31 May 2020)

Update beginning of week 9. Closing in fast on the 2 month celebration.

The rest of the gudgeons followed the vanguard to certain death on the floor. One of them did it while I sat there drinking my morning joe, so I got him back in a hurry. So next time he chose a moment where I didn't watch. Literally. I checked, and it was in the tank. Watched an episode of some stupid show, and it was on the floor, nice and dry when it finished. That one I tried popping back on the off chance, but he was gone for this existence. 
It was a bit of a gamble, and I'm not too happy about it; actually I feel fairly bad since I knew it was a risk . I want some gudgeons again at some point, but not in an open top tank, that's for sure.

I'm not certain where I want to go from here; I still want some fish that can lure the hidey CPDs out in the open; preferably some that don't snack on shrimp, can handle a bit of flow and don't get too big. And don't jump. 
Preferably some that don't need a large shoal.
Open to suggestions here....

In other news; as far as I can count, all Oto's are still going great. Spotted lots of shrimplets and halfgrown shrimp this last week. 
Algae are minimal, it seems like the GSA is on it's last legs. Got a bit of BBA on a few select leaves, mainly the crispatula and the chainswords. Speaking of, the chainswords were getting too unruly, I removed them and planted more hairgrass and Lilaeopsis. So the deathmatch is still on, one-on-one for now. Hopefully the nevillii/willisii can gain a bit of foothold. On cryptocorynes: both crispatula and wendtii are sending out runners now, at some point I might have to start reining them in. I have been having a bit of hairloss from the lawn lately, probably fert related?

Cleaned glassware and filter today, popped in root tabs for everyone. Mixed up some EI solutions which I will probably start dosing in ½ or 3/4 doses soon.

Obligatory deluge of crap phone pics, also commemorating the lost :


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## Fiske (15 Aug 2020)

A month ago:


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## Fiske (24 Aug 2020)

Not really an ideal time for pics, too much sunlight and reflections. This is from last week. 
Tank is nicely stable these days. Added a bunch (10) of P. titteya saturday. They are nice, and not as shy as the cpds; although they are learning to fear the daughter 
One oto had jumped out one month ago, by mistake I think; it's the first time I've seen that. The remaining 4 still going.
Dosing ½ to full EI + I add some root tabs when I remember it. 
Chugging along nicely, need to do some trimming and I keep postponing glassware clean as long as possible.
Yeah.


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## Sarpijk (24 Aug 2020)

And I thought I had a lot of balansae! Great healthy looking tank!


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## Fiske (24 Aug 2020)

Sarpijk said:


> And I thought I had a lot of balansae! Great healthy looking tank!



I have too much  This is how it looks 'backstage';






Damn runners shoot up everywhere, and since everything is so dense/hardscaped with epiphytes, some of them are nearly impossible to cut.


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## Fiske (27 Aug 2020)

Removed about ½ a kilo of C. crispatula yesterday, not that you can see it:






Fishies out and about way more as result.

pinnatifida looking a bit oof after growing in the dark:





Reflections are win:


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## Fiske (9 Dec 2020)

Oh

It's been awhile. 








I'd say Lilaeopsis won the deathmatch, although the carpet looks quite naff these days. Got myself some kuhlii loaches for kicks. And more buce.

Thinking of rescapes these days :O


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## DeepMetropolis (11 Dec 2020)

Really love that carpet.. planning a capret too in my next scape but I like to combine different types also and with so much options it's pretty hard..


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## Fiske (11 Dec 2020)

DeepMetropolis said:


> Really love that carpet.. planning a capret too in my next scape but I like to combine different types also and with so much options it's pretty hard..




You should zoom in 😁 it looks like absolute crap these days. It was much better some months ago, before the hairgrass balded. Don't know what caused it, it got yellow and started losing leaves en masse. Probably lack of light, or some deficiency.


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## DeepMetropolis (11 Dec 2020)

Fiske said:


> You should zoom in 😁 it looks like absolute crap these days. It was much better some months ago, before the hairgrass balded. Don't know what caused it, it got yellow and started losing leaves en masse. Probably lack of light, or some deficiency.


Yes I noticed but i did look at earlier pictures and i liked that.. Myself was thinking about lileanopsis b. in the front and e. parvula in the back to create a bit of depth.. And then gradient in to each other..


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## Fiske (22 Aug 2021)

Whoosh


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## John q (22 Aug 2021)

Fiske said:


> Whoosh


I think you over did it with the trimming. 😅


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## Fiske (23 Aug 2021)

John q said:


> I think you over did it with the trimming. 😅



It's a full body brazilian. 

In reality, I had to. 8+ months of neglect, infrequent, if any, dosing, no waterchanges, no CO2, and a Twinstar light going bad had the following results. Crispatula took over the tank. Carpet died off mostly, except for a bit of Lilaeopsis hanging on (the official 'winner' of the carpet deathmatch then), everything was mulmy, staghorny and generally in bad shape. Even the java fern was ailing.

Everything had to go.

All critters went to the no less messy 45P, where they will spend the remainder of their days (probably having to suffer another rescape there some time this fall). Count was 4 cpd's, one oto, 6 titteyas, and 6 (7?) extremely fat kuhlii loaches. Tbh I thought the loaches were goners, not having seen a single one in ½ a year. On the other hand I'm almost out of shrimp, laying the blame firmly on the titteyas (I saw them gang up and demolish a shrimp yesterday), leaving a bit of blame for the loaches for maybe eradicating the offspring. Hence the fatness.

Most plants hit the compost. I did save all buces, they got quite a bit of algae, but are generally fine. Saved some heavily trimmed willisii and wendtii too.

Halfway through planting it already looks better:




Crap photo, I know.


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## Karmicnull (23 Aug 2021)

Fiske said:


> I'm almost out of shrimp, laying the blame firmly on the titteyas (I saw them gang up and demolish a shrimp yesterday)


Whoa - is that titteyas as in Puntius Titteya?  You clearly have Krav Maga Ninja ones.  Mine are about as placid as you can get - they can just about square off to a cherry shrimp and are definitely lower in the pecking order than the Amanos!


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## Fiske (23 Aug 2021)

Karmicnull said:


> Whoa - is that titteyas as in Puntius Titteya?  You clearly have Krav Maga Ninja ones.  Mine are about as placid as you can get - they can just about square off to a cherry shrimp and are definitely lower in the pecking order than the Amanos!



Yeah, cherry barbs. There was some commotion when I passed by the tank, and sure enough, 4 or 5 titteyas was shredding a medium sized cherry shrimp. They're totally peaceful the rest of the time, and do not usually hunt shrimp AFAIK. They're just always looking for FOOOOD! I do liken them to be the fish equivalent of black labradors 🤣, as are most barbs.

I do have a suspicion someone has been snacking on my shrimp though, because there really wasn't many left...


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## Fiske (23 Aug 2021)

Almost done planting, except for java ferns, the rest of the buces (ok, halfway with the buces), and maybe a spot of bolbitis too. 

Slightly better, slightly colour corrected, crappy phone pic as per tradition:


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## Fiske (25 Aug 2021)

So, planting almost done, except for where the grey rock is (looking forward to be able to move that. There might be a few changes if something goes bad or melts, hopefully not.

Added a few root tabs along the back, have added small amounts of micros but most have gone down the drain I suspect. 50-60 % wc everyday. 

I'm going to give the remaining staghorn a knockout 1-2 punch tomorrow followed by a 90+% waterchange.

The tank is on the 3rd filter. After ditching the Oase/Niagara emulator, I got an Eheim Pro 4+ 350T. All those numbers are there to disguise the fact that this is another overengineered piece of expletive. It leaked around the pump head almost from first clean, and was impossible to prime. Made a fair amount of noise too, since it really liked to trap air like the Oase. 

Enter a Classic. Eheim 600 or 2217. It's a bucket with a pump. Works. Just as good as the 100-150 % more expensive Rube Goldberg contraptions that I could design better in the sunset hours of a one week beer binge. Maybe with more flow than its predecessors. Yeah, I need to add a heater to the tank, small loss. Not gonna waste more time on crap designed by engineering school dropouts /rant over

The Twinstar light tried to burn the house down, doomed project since there was 100 liters of water above the ignition point. That explained the erratic lightning schedule it ran towards the end, that was true new age psychedelics.

Seems I have crap luck in aquarium technology, or maybe a lot of it really just is expensive garbage.

So for the listicularily inclined:

Aquascaper 600 (doh)
Chihiros WRGB II
Eheim 2217
Qanvee atomizer
Tunze dual reg
Eheim skim 350 (on a timer)
Aquael 100w heater
Glass pipe for sucky, Eheim-green Eheim spraybar for blowy (eeww)

And inside, apart from water:

Dragonstone
Redmoor wood
crushed lava
ADA Powersand 
Tropica soils
ADA Colorado sand

Plants:

Anubias nana
Aponogeton crispus
Barclaya longifolia
Bolbitis heudelotii
Bucephelandra sp. 
                Bukit Kelam/sintang
                Lamandau purple
                Theia
                Braun-Rot /serimbu
                Alamanda v3 Dark
                Velvet Leaf Entikong
                Alamanda v1 Blue
                Melawi Fine Edge
                Kedagang
                Pheww (not a buce)
C. albida (again-again, this one I've not gotten brilliant results with prior)
C. wendtii
C. willisii (nevillii?)
C. beckettii, (don't melt! don't melt! don't melt! don't melt!)
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (Official Carpet Death Match winner of the World 2020-2021)
Microsorum pteropus 'Narrow'
Phyllanthus fluitans (temporary)
Riccardia sp. 'chamedrypholia'

Still needs more Microsorum, and  am going to add more Riccardia too. I bought more plants than I could use, and seriously, I've got 7 or so Apo's in the back so will probably need to remove a few when they get going. I have Ceratopteris, Ludwigia lacustris, 3 pots of C. willisii 'Lucens' and Vallis nana in the holding tank + more Apo's and Bolbitis, some wendtii and one Barclaya went into the 45P. And  a bucket of Xmas moss + one H. tenellus. Enough for a tank more. 
Ridiculous.









Since I'm using old established filtermedia I expect to send in the vanguard Clean Team very, very soon. 

Amanos, don't think I've ever had those while they were known as amanos.


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## Fiske (30 Aug 2021)

Smallish 1 week update:

Everything trucking along, not much different from a week ago. Starting to see very minute signs of growth. Big root still wants to float :/ Bit of melt here and there on crypts, which was expected. I punched staghorn in the kisser with some peroxide, then roundhouse kicked it with glut. Almost gone. Not dosed glut since, and hope I can avoid it. Amanos are in. Doing short work with the few remaining strands of algae.









Running CO2 as high as I can, which is a bit lower than first week. One pump of Specialised per day, since friday, after waterchange ofc.


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## Fiske (2 Sep 2021)

Did a heavy trim on old/melty leaves today. Will keep on doing this over the coming week. Very nice to have a job that respects your free time, so I can keep on top of things. That's a first since I started having tanks some 4-5 years ago. Hope it will reflect on the quality of the scape for the future.

FTS


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## John q (2 Sep 2021)

Looking good 👍


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## dw1305 (7 Sep 2021)

Hi all,


Fiske said:


> Enter a Classic. Eheim 600 or 2217. It's a bucket with a pump. Works. Just as good as the 100-150 % more expensive Rube Goldberg contraptions that I could design better in the sunset hours of a one week beer binge. Maybe with more flow than its predecessors. Yeah, I need to add a heater to the tank, small loss. Not gonna waste more time on crap designed by engineering school dropouts /rant over


<"Rant on">, I couldn't agree more. Clive's @ceg4048 immortal "_pump in a bucket_"  description was one of the statements that really got me thinking about <"coffee and froth">.


> ........... _that I could design better in the sunset hours of a one week beer binge_..........


Now that is sheer poetry.


> https://www.ukaps.org/forum/attachments/20210902_154429-jpg.173802/


Like your Cycad (_Cycas revoluta_).

cheers Darrel


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## Fiske (7 Sep 2021)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> <"Rant on">, I couldn't agree more. Clive's @ceg4048 immortal "_pump in a bucket_"  description was one of the statements that really got me thinking about <"coffee and froth">.
> 
> ...


It's simply so much easier too handle the pump in a bucket. And I don't postpone filter maintenance because priming and bleeding air is a pain. Double win. And it has easily as much flow as the previous much more expensive models. Triple win.

I hope I can keep the cycad alive this time, after having failed  several times. The trick so far this time is NOT replanting it in potting soil.  So far so good. Now I need to find some nice loamy, sandy soil for when repotting is inevitable.


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## dw1305 (7 Sep 2021)

Hi all, 


Fiske said:


> It's simply so much easier too handle the pump in a bucket.


Yes, they are just "Classic", a minimum of gaskets, <"no electronics, water in at the bottom and out at the top">.


Fiske said:


> The trick so far this time is NOT replanting it in potting soil. So far so good. Now I need to find some nice loamy, sandy soil for when repotting is inevitable.


That sounds a good potting mix, I'd probably add some perlite or pumice as well. I've had some for over thirty years, they haven't grown much, but I've very rarely re-potted or fed them.

They thrive on neglect, the only thing that normally kills them is too warm and wet in the winter. They want dryish, as much light as you can give them and <"cool in the winter">. 

cheers Darrel


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## Fiske (10 Sep 2021)

Minor update:

Cryptocorynes has mostly stopped melting. There's a few I have to keep an eye on, but nothing alarming. Did massive trim of all leaves that were not actively growing on the ferns, hence the windswept look... Big root almost ready to stay put; almost removed the rock today, but felt a slight buoyancy in my fingertips and promptly got cold feet. 
Plants have started growing all around, aponogetons still a bit slow on the lift off. 

Almost no algae. Minute amounts of diatoms, some other stuff on the silicon along the front pane, that I couldn't get rid of. Amanos have gotten rid of every trace of staghorn/BBA.

Since last post, amanos have gotten company of several horned nerites, a boatload of ramshorns and oodles of Hyalella. And today I took delivery of some lovely green jade shrimp. 

And two hours later saw an amano eating one...  Hope that's not a regular occurrence, that would be... mildly disappointing, to say the least.


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## bazz (15 Sep 2021)

Hi,
Be warned regarding A. Crispus. Mine has suddenly taken off and is now producing a new leaf every couple of days which are 30mm wide and over a metre long. I'm going to try and remove it tomorrow during maintenance and may well have to sever the leaves just below the top of the substrate as I fear pulling it up will destroy the integrity of the substrate.
My aquarium is 900 x 550 x 530mm:
Cheers!


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## Fiske (15 Sep 2021)

bazz said:


> Hi,
> Be warned regarding A. Crispus. Mine has suddenly taken off and is now producing a new leaf every couple of days which are 30mm wide and over a metre long. I'm going to try and remove it tomorrow during maintenance and may well have to sever the leaves just below the top of the substrate as I fear pulling it up will destroy the integrity of the substrate.
> My aquarium is 900 x 550 x 530mm:
> Cheers!



Looking forward to that, actually. O:
They can get massive, as I well know. I had two bulbs taking over a 63 L tank (600 × 300 × 350 mm). Ofc, this was back in the '90s, and my software wasn't updated, so I ran that tank as most would've done in the '70s (ie. no CO2, ferts was occult knowledge, waterchanges bad etc), so the bulbs eventually gave up. Flowered several times too.

I probably have way overplanted with them, and will hopefully have to remove half of them once they take off, but it's anticipated and planned for.

At least they don't produce runners everywhere like the crispatula did, in addition to roots almost pinky finger thick; covering almost the entire footprint of the tank. The back corner where they were originally planted had a 2-3 cm layer of roots at the bottom glass, no substrate, just roots...

So,  warning noted, but I'm not too worried : D

In other news, chugging along nicely. Waterchanges (almost) everyday, dosing EI as of today. No melt, no algae, no problems. There must be mayhem just around the corner...

I probably lost a few green jades, maybe they had trouble acclimatising, and at least one seemed to have some molting problems. Also saw an amano munching on one more...  Last count gave around 12-13 minimum and amanos seem to leave the rest alone, so fingers crossed.

Looking forward to the year 2525 where I can finally remove the grey rock from the big root. 🤔


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## Fiske (26 Sep 2021)

One month update:

Boasting "no melt" has its way of getting back at you. C. albida is losing a couple of leaves everyday. Hopefully this will end, this is one of those few crypts I have not have any luck with. At all.
So would like to get this going right. Not sure if my water is too hard for it?
Everything else is growing, or rooting, even Aponogetons seem to have picked up speed and is now almost as fast as Bolbitis and java fern 😅 C. petchii is putting out new, low dark leaves entirely different to the old ones. Same pattern for wendtii and willisii, the latter also has send out its first runners. Willisii also have put out new leaves with beautiful red/brown edges. 
Have sorted Bucephs in the right hand side. Most were just stuffed in, and I decided to get some of them glued to pebbles and placed properly. Need to get the last 6-7 individual plants sorted on the left side, no biggie.
Sir Grey Rock has left the building, leaving room for a few more crew cut java ferns. Hooray.

On the whole start up: I was halfway through first week of the usual "low light, 50% daily wc first week, every 2nd day etc" when I read @Geoffrey Rea's New Decadence journal (again). Aside from being riddled with glorious tanks and onions, he also had some notes on his start up method. Now I'm nowhere near Geoffs talent, but the general idea made sense, so I thought might as well shoot both feet off and do something similar. I was quite certain my CO2 were settled, so after that first week I upped the light considerably, and trucked on with daily waterchanges for 3 weeks (I think I missed 2 or 3 single days, and some wcs were only 30-40% due to time constraints, but yeah...). I also started dosing full EI at the end of the 3rd week.
In retrospect, aside from the constant waterchanges, this has probably been the most troublefree startup ever. No huge algaeblooms and no en masse melt of everything. Granted, filter was already mature and a lot of the plants already settled for submerged growth. I'm going to do something similar with the 45P, see how that goes.

Issues encountered:
Melt on crypts (was expected and was over quickly, except albida)
Minute amounts of brown diatoms getting munched overnight by various inverts
Some GDA on glass when ferts got upped and on Sir Grey Rock (who has left the building) in particular...
A leech
I have hydra, although not seen one for days

Have a berried amano, so infanticide is in progress. Seeing fewer and fewer green jades, I hope they are just hidey, but not too sure if I'm not losing them slowly. They do seem to be some of the less hardy cherry types. 
Mr. Oto has moved in. When I started the dismantling of the 45P, I had the chance to nab him at the front glass without drama so he moved in. Doing fine, although he is not too keen on the amanos; they are larger than he is. Just checked, and Mr. Oto has been with me 18 months. He might get a friend or 2.

Speaking of this: Adding fish is probably at least a couple of weeks out, I want everything to grow in more. That has not stopped me from considering stocking. This far I'm considering:

1. A good sized group of Emperor tetra (N. palmeri). Completely smitten with these after reading @CooKieS Lazarus journal. Sources say that would be shrimp holocaust, others that they don't bother shrimp. I'd really like them though, so if green jades do multiply... Hmmm...
2. A big bag of neons (P. axelrodii or innesi), maybe a handful of cories.
3. Some other tetras... or dwarf pencils
4. Outsiders are something like Pseudomugils or a bunch of Boraras, Hara jerdoni, or...

Really hot on tetras this time around though...

Looking to splurge immense amounts of dough on a new camera, but for now: still crappy phone pics


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## Geoffrey Rea (26 Sep 2021)

Really nice scape @Fiske 

Can see Cories popping out onto the foreground sand for dinner being a really nice addition 😎


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## Fiske (30 Sep 2021)

Geoffrey Rea said:


> Can see Cories popping out onto the foreground sand for dinner being a really nice addition 😎


I think you just might be right


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## Fiske (2 Oct 2021)

So, finally got around to buying a new camera. Just for @£$€ and giggles, I went nuts with manual settings and fooling around in the editor. 
No. 
Tank doesn't look like this in meatspace, although this isn't all that far from the original RAW file. 
I expect to get a little more serious with the pics in the future though, just a bit giddy from excitement over my new expensive toy. And real macro fun is on the table, in time...


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## John q (2 Oct 2021)

Very atmospheric. Nice pic 👌


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## Fiske (2 Oct 2021)

Thx. Complete noob at this, except for fooling about a bit with my dads Voigtländer 35+ years ago.


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## Fiske (8 Oct 2021)

Some staghorn started to pop up, mainly on older not so hot buceph leaves. Had a big think: When did I clean the filter? Oh right, I didn't. It was nasty.
Filter clean a monthly exercise from now on, I guess.
Apo's slowly starting their bid for world domination. Lots of new leaves on ferns.

Another silly pic of the central area + a shot from  my playing around with the Canon 28 mm macro. Entirely unsuitable for tank photos, unless your subject is right next to the glass.





 

Whatever tetras I decide on, they'll still be a couple of weeks out.


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## Fiske (24 Oct 2021)

2 month update:
Chugging along nicely. Did have some melt on bucephs coming out of nowhere really. Flow was a bit low too... 

So, remember to clean your shrimpguards, people, if using any. Flow much better now, hope I nipped this in the bud. 

Moved the filter intake towards the back, also moved a few plants around, and removed some wendtii. Love this plant, but it was taking up space towards  the back right. Nowhere to put them, so some very healthy looking plants wendtiiinto the compost  (so, so sorry, I'm not sorry). Aponogeton slowly getting it's game face on, and start taking over the joint,  2 flowerspikes coming along.

Got more green jade, since I've lost a few. New batch of course has scutiarella. Also still have hydra.

Got 25 green neons, hilariously enough those are called blue neon in Denmark, green neon was another one, hardly seen anymore (guy in LFS reminded me, but I had to goog to go "aha! yes" In case you're puzzled, these were known as green neon/costello tetra back in the day (probably 15+ years back). Haven't seen these around for a looong time, apparently also known as January tetra in the big abroad, never seen that used here.  Hyanuary )

We're talking P. simulans to dispel any confusion. Guess I'm fully stocked now 
Pygmaeus and simulans frequently grouping up for a few rounds around the tank. So far clockwise is the preferred direction.

Quick phone snap from yesterday:





Also had a bit of fun shooting macros, almost everything ended up blurred due to too long shutter times. I really, really need a flash. Also, the borrowed tripod was a plastic wobbly thing, but can get around that with remote control. Had luck with a few, though:







That's it for now I guess.


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## Garuf (24 Oct 2021)

Fiske, where in Denmark are you based?
I was told the same story in my lfs! With the added wrinkle that the name blue neon was picked by Glazer over in Germany.


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## Fiske (25 Oct 2021)

Garuf said:


> Fiske, where in Denmark are you based?
> I was told the same story in my lfs! With the added wrinkle that the name blue neon was picked by Glazer over in Germany.



Outside Køge. 

It makes sense though. We have the regular neons, red neons (cardinals) and blue neons. Very little red on the simulans I have, and not any green either, really  
If anything, violet neon would be closer to the mark.


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## Garuf (27 Oct 2021)

Ahh nice. Not so very far from me then. Where did you pick up the tank, amazoonia? 
Are there any nice shops your way? I use akvariunbuttiken and poppi osterbro mainly and neonfisken in a pinch but always nice to know my alternatives. 

Ps. If you ever want any trimmings or breedject shrimps or endlers feel free to write me. 
I often just give the plants away and the shrimp pay for themselves in store credit so it’s no big thing to pass on some stuff to another aquarista


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## Fiske (27 Oct 2021)

Garuf said:


> Ahh nice. Not so very far from me then. Where did you pick up the tank, amazoonia?
> Are there any nice shops your way? I use akvariunbuttiken and poppi osterbro mainly and neonfisken in a pinch but always nice to know my alternatives.
> 
> Ps. If you ever want any trimmings or breedject shrimps or endlers feel free to write me.
> I often just give the plants away and the shrimp pay for themselves in store credit so it’s no big thing to pass on some stuff to another aquarista



Yeah, the tank is from Amazoonia, although they didn't use that name then.
I use the same shops mainly, not Poppi Osterbro as it is a bit out of the way, is it worth the detour? Only shop down here is a Superpet, which I haven't been to for years as last time I left it disgusted at the state both tanks, but also other pets were in. Things might have changed there since, I wouldn't know... I believe there's a few other smaller shops within driving distance, but haven't really checked them out.
Tbh, I buy a lot of stuff from Aquasabi too, since it's easy...

And the same goes for you, currently my multies are back to spawning like psychos again LOL I think they heard me mention a bigger tank...
Currently I have a surplus of Aponogeton bulbs, and am going to rip more wendtii out in a week or two.


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## Garuf (27 Oct 2021)

Hmmm. Probably not worth the detour unless they have just come back from their German jollies to buy fish, the 2 weeks after that is when they have all the fish you wished you had a tank ready for. For example right now they have tucano tetras and I have no space. I like the owner a lot and the staff are very friendly with me whereas AB are very knowledgeable but not exactly friendly.


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## Garuf (27 Oct 2021)

I’ll have a lot of rotala variants available every other week and always have a surplus of mini Christmas moss. I’ve got half a pot of persicaria soa Paulo that will have to be thrown out in a week or two that’s surplus if you want


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## Fiske (1 Nov 2021)

@Garuf : thank you for the offer. I might take you up on it sometime. Currently, I have way too many plants, though (or too few tanks, however you look at it).

By way of minor updates, everything is going along nicely. I removed the metal mesh shrimp guard over the filter intake, which turned it into a snail death trap. Now there's a sponge over it. Less of an eyesore, and probably better in the long run.

Fish are doing well, no jumpers, and they have learned to beg when I approach the tank. 
Doing waterchanges with 80-90% rainwater these days, to see if I can get some softer more acidic water going. Probably have to ease up a bit on that soon-ish, although after several weeks of this, my water is still alkaline when not injecting CO2, and about 300 ppm... Neons seem to appreciate my efforts on that front + tinting, and have coloured up nicely,
Aponogeton did send up a flower spike, the other was what I guess would have been a floating leaf. Surface agitation was to much for it, and now I just have a small curled leaf at the end of a very long stalk... Another flowerspike is on it's way, though.

Ordered a flash, but it will be a couple of weeks in delivery, so I'm mostly getting my macro on outside the tank.

A couple of tank shots, and a few macros; arachnophobes should be advised to stay away from the last one.


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## Karmicnull (1 Nov 2021)

Looking fabulous!


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## Fiske (2 Nov 2021)

Shortish and insanely crappy video with assorted household sounds:







I promise to use a tripod next time 😂🤣🤣


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## Fiske (28 Mar 2022)

Better late than never. Pictures are a couple of months old though.
Tank looks much the same today.


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## Fiske (28 Mar 2022)

Just noted that half my cryptocorynes did a massive melt while I worked the nightshift over the weekend 😳
Not sure what caused that...


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## Jane of Upton (30 Oct 2022)

Fiske said:


> 45 l cheap glasstank with a light cover of tropica soil, and an assortment of plant cuttings floating around. Dennerle corner filter. A flophouse basically.


LOL, your elaboration about the "fish hotel" actually being a flophouse was made me snarfle my coffee...... 😆


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## Myrtle (30 Oct 2022)

Jane of Upton said:


> LOL, your elaboration about the "fish hotel" actually being a flophouse was made me snarfle my coffee...... 😆


I've just read through this and had a few chuckles too!


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## Fiske (3 Nov 2022)

Way too lax on the updates here, but there's not much to mention. Have been slacking with maintenance/ferts so have a bit of green algae on glass. I will look into it now it's winter, and I am not in the garden shooting macros of bugs all day long🤣 (yeah, I needed another expensive hobby like a hole in the head, and now I have it (the hobby, not the holey head)).
Lost most (all?) of the Cories over summer, but I guess I still have most of my neons, at least afai can see when I feed them. Wife did some hulahooping next to the tank, and they've been in hiding ever since😅
Most plants are still doing fine, the Aponogetons are in worst shape... guess they dislike the lean (read: no) ferts. Ferns are massive, crypts and buces ok.
Still have plans for moving the tank to another room that is more quiet but it is sort of connected to a lot of other stuff that needs to be done, so I'm obsessively procrastinating. Any major tank shuffle are probably postponed to some time next year.
Will throw some pics up soon-ish, but don't hold your breath 😵


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## Myrtle (3 Nov 2022)

Fiske said:


> I am not in the garden shooting macros of bugs all day long🤣


That's what my summer usually consists of! I love identifying all the insects and then spend too much time trying to enter them into iRecord!


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## Jane of Upton (6 Nov 2022)

You mentioned you've had issues with C. albida, and you think it may be that your water is too hard for it; was it the "regular" albida, or the albida 'brown' variant you've tried? I've been lusting after the C. albida 'brown' based on pictures and YouTube videos from European aquascapers (can't find any sources here in the US) but started to realize I've not seen any representations of mature stands of it on any of the forums. Is it known to be one that prefers soft water? I had not come across that interesting tidbit (yet).

Also, in the previous iteration of your tank, there is a lovely group of very reddish crypts on the left side - are those C. wendtii 'red'/'bronze' or the C. wendtii 'Tropica' variant? Beautifully grown, regardless!

And is the Aponogeton crispus the large bright green one in the center of the tank, or the plant to the left, with the upright lance shaped leaves and undulate leaf margins? That bright green one looks similar to an A. undulatus I grew years ago, which became a huge monster, and completely filled a 20g tank to the point I could no longer see the fish, and the tank just looked like a rectangular green blob from across the room. I didn't realize crispus has that size potential - wow!


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## Fiske (6 Nov 2022)

Jane of Upton said:


> You mentioned you've had issues with C. albida, and you think it may be that your water is too hard for it; was it the "regular" albida, or the albida 'brown' variant you've tried? I've been lusting after the C. albida 'brown' based on pictures and YouTube videos from European aquascapers (can't find any sources here in the US) but started to realize I've not seen any representations of mature stands of it on any of the forums. Is it known to be one that prefers soft water? I had not come across that interesting tidbit (yet).
> 
> Also, in the previous iteration of your tank, there is a lovely group of very reddish crypts on the left side - are those C. wendtii 'red'/'bronze' or the C. wendtii 'Tropica' variant? Beautifully grown, regardless!
> 
> And is the Aponogeton crispus the large bright green one in the center of the tank, or the plant to the left, with the upright lance shaped leaves and undulate leaf margins? That bright green one looks similar to an A. undulatus I grew years ago, which became a huge monster, and completely filled a 20g tank to the point I could no longer see the fish, and the tank just looked like a rectangular green blob from across the room. I didn't realize crispus has that size potential - wow!



It is C. albida 'Brown'. Absolutely beautiful plant that I'm absolutely unable to grow apparently. I've a handful of failed attempts behind me. The soft water thing is mostly just a need to blame something,  in reality I've no idea. My predilection for stuff like C. crispatula,  Aponogeton etc has a tendency to leave the lower half of my tank in grotty darkness, which doesn't help. Only thing that survives that is Buces and Anubias. And riccardia apparently, it still looks quite ok, afai can see, although not growing much.

The wendtii are 'Tropica', IIRC. The original plants are 5-6 years old.

Yeah, the light green undulate leaves in the middle are Aponogetons, and yeah they did take over everything.  I've cut them back massively and the lack of ferts lately was not to their liking so they are just a shadow of their former glory.
I really need to either do the tank move/slight rescape, or a massive clean/maintenance session.  Still trying to decide which it is.


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## Jane of Upton (6 Nov 2022)

Thanks for the quick reply! Also - a correction-  it was A. ulvaceous I'd had completely fill a tank (I'm always trying to call it undulatus  - the undulating leaves made a huge impression on me, as the large folds were the favorite hammocks for the yo-yo loaches).

Oh, I hope you'll just do a maintenance - I really like this layout with the wood branches making nooks and crannies in the lower part of the tank - it keeps the eye moving with all the areas to explore! And that is REALLY neat to see the fully mature C. 'Tropica' - your group is stunning.

I've had the C. crispatula types running all over, too - those that come to the front get their rhizomes snipped off back to the "tall stuff area" and go to my local club auctions (pre-Covid) or to the LFS as trade-ins. I've toyed with the idea of planting them in a short segment of just-buried horizontal pipe, to try to corral them in, but haven't actually done it yet. I've wondered if they need to get a certain distance away from the mother plant before they pop up to grow leaves, and if they could be "tricked" into just encircling an open-bottom corral of sorts, and make a dense stand. My envisioning along this line usually don't work as planned, (the plants rarely comply) but are fun to dink around with.


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## Jane of Upton (6 Nov 2022)

Also, I think your Buce and Anubias look great; though they might grow a bit more slowly in the shade of other plants, I think they're less prone to algae or other issues when they're not "pushed". The swaths of the dark Buce are a really nice composition in your tank. 

I'm beginning to believe that some of the C. wendtii varieties really DO need a few years to settle in. I've had 'Green Gecko' just kind of puttering along in a 10g tank I've been threatening to tear down for at least two years now (but then I get sidetracked). This past summer it's expanded into the forefront, where it gets a bit more light, and it has really come in to its own; the leaves are a little wider and slightly hammered, and I'm suddenly completely smitten with it. The "earlier" plants are still there, and look fine, but they look more like the "typical" photos I've seen online - just a "nice" crypt. But this recent growth is really lovely. Now I'm letting it just keep growing to see what it does, and I've been surprised that some runners have moved into shadier areas again, but are retaining this subtly different, but far more beautiful (in my opinion) leaf form. This is making me think that it is not just the difference in light, but some maturity related quality.


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## Fiske (6 Nov 2022)

Jane of Upton said:


> Thanks for the quick reply! Also - a correction-  it was A. ulvaceous I'd had completely fill a tank (I'm always trying to call it undulatus  - the undulating leaves made a huge impression on me, as the large folds were the favorite hammocks for the yo-yo loaches).
> 
> Oh, I hope you'll just do a maintenance - I really like this layout with the wood branches making nooks and crannies in the lower part of the tank - it keeps the eye moving with all the areas to explore! And that is REALLY neat to see the fully mature C. 'Tropica' - your group is stunning.
> 
> I've had the C. crispatula types running all over, too - those that come to the front get their rhizomes snipped off back to the "tall stuff area" and go to my local club auctions (pre-Covid) or to the LFS as trade-ins. I've toyed with the idea of planting them in a short segment of just-buried horizontal pipe, to try to corral them in, but haven't actually done it yet. I've wondered if they need to get a certain distance away from the mother plant before they pop up to grow leaves, and if they could be "tricked" into just encircling an open-bottom corral of sorts, and make a dense stand. My envisioning along this line usually don't work as planned, (the plants rarely comply) but are fun to dink around with.



If I do a move/rescape I have an idea that will keep the general layout as is. That's all I'm going to say for now.
A massive maintenance/clean session is in the cards though.
Tbh, my wendtii has had better days, it's  a bit grubby  these days....


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