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  1. tam

    Help..my plants look awful

    Welcome to the forum :) How are your floating plants? Could we have a photo? They are a really good way to judge nutrient deficiencies in your tank.
  2. tam

    Flowering Bucephalandra

    Mine go on at 8am, ramp up until 2pm, then ramp down from 5pm to 11pm, blue light from 11pm until 1am. So more of a 7 hour light off cycle. I enjoy the ramp up/down and seeing fish at different times of the day. I don't both with room lights as much so it probably evens out the electricity...
  3. tam

    Overhanging grasses in riparium

    I've grown Lilaeopsis Mauritiana on a window sill, that was under a plastic lid, but I didn't try it without that I recall. Now you've said that, I also grew Echinodorus tenellus (I think they renamed it but I can't remember the new name) in the same way and emersed it has a much broader leaf...
  4. tam

    Overhanging grasses in riparium

    There is a list of 'pond edge' grass species here: Pond Edge Seed Mix Common Bent Agrostis capillaris Crested Dogstail Cynosurus cristatus Slender-creeping Red-fescue Festuca rubra Meadow Fescue Schedonorus pratensis - (Festuca pratensis) The dogstail looks promising...
  5. tam

    Overhanging grasses in riparium

    Actual grass? Cocksfoot is a wider bladed, clump forming one - you can find it in a field. Or there might be an ornimental grass that would suit - this looks like it might be an option if you aren't planting directly into the water. Buy Hakonechloa macra from Woodhams Plants Or just go for a...
  6. tam

    Any suggestions?

    Are you looking for little plants (couple of inches max) that leave the wood visable but add a hint of greenary or do you want big plants (6-12") that will hide the wood but give you alot of foliage above the water?
  7. tam

    Red Tiger Lotus taking over...

    I think it looks good, but it won't mind if you want to chop off the biggest leaf(ves) each time it grows a new one to keep it from getting any bigger than it is.
  8. tam

    Are there any interesting emersed echinodorus ?

    My swords grow emersed from the substrate - it's only a 12" deep tank but I imagine they'd grow taller if they need too. A lot of the plant photos are taken emersed (if they have a stalk with a leaf on the end it's emersed) so it's actually easier to select plants for for how they look emersed...
  9. tam

    Anubias help

    I think it will vary depending on things like tanks size, how much algae you grow, what commercial food you put in, what tasty plants you have for snacking on etc. See how quick they eat it and then find the balance.
  10. tam

    Anubias help

    Try feeding them some fresh veggies and see if the damage stops. Courgette is a good one. Cut a slice, pour boiling water over to blanch it, stab it with a fork or spoon handle to weigh it down and drop it in the tank.
  11. tam

    Anubias help

    What's in the tank? That looks like physical damage - got any vegetarians?
  12. tam

    Holes on anubia leaves

    Could they be breaking the surface and getting little dry damaged patches? Is it just on the ones near the surface or all over?
  13. tam

    Suggestions for low light, low tech plants which aren't green?

    Anubias nana golden might be worth a look, although it's green, it's quite a bright green compared to a lot of leaves. There are a few Bucephalandra that have different shades in too.
  14. tam

    Tropica Dose split into 7

    You could buy a 1ml pump bottle head and use that to dose daily, with a one day a week rest day if you wanted to be super accurate. Or you could pick up a 1ml syring and dose 0.85ml per day. Or dose every other day with the 2ml bottle. Or over dose - many use 2-3 times recommended if they have...
  15. tam

    Please recommend plants for 30L tank

    There are quite a few buces so you could consider more varieties of that. Schismatoglottis prietoi looks like small anubias with crinkly leaves. Have you considered some small crypts? Floating wise, I'd go for smaller so either red root floaters or salvina natans.
  16. tam

    To greenhouse or not greenhouse? Emersed growing

    I think there is a lot of over engineering going on. Potting compost, or garden soil, in a container e.g. a seedtray with some drainage holes. Plant the chain sword in that. Cover over with something e.g. an upturned clear plastic container (doesn't need to be sealed). Poke soil with finger now...
  17. tam

    Removing Duckweed (Lemna minuta) - any natural solutions?

    Disturbing the water surface so it's pushed underneath will help.
  18. tam

    How to keep floating plants together

    You can also reverse the principle if you put a ring around the outflow or above an airline you can have some surface disturbance but let the rest of the tank cover. Anything that blocks the current works too, if you have a lilly with emersed leaves, for example, in the centre and outflow one...
  19. tam

    Guess that sword

    I ordered some lucky dip plants from pro-shrimp, which look great (well a bit yellowish but you know they'll perk up and great value at £1 each!) No labels though, so anyone want to play guess that echinodorus?
  20. tam

    Your experience with Bolbitis heudelotii, hints and tips please.

    Although they are grouped as epiphytes - mine have always done best as soon as they hit the substrate. I just pulled one out of my 1' cube (tank started leaking) which literally filled it and was growing in the fine gravel. All the times I've grown it well it's been along substrate rather than...
  21. tam

    Alternative to "carpet" plants

    How fast do you want it to spread? You could use some common low tech plants as carpet e.g. anubias petite, some buces or a small crypt.
  22. tam

    bolbitis heudelotii or trident fern?

    Yes, you what the horizontal part just sat on the gravel surface and the roots going in. You can tie it to something if you need to keep it in place. Mine is about 1-2mm inert gravel, although in fairness it's an established tank so I imagine there is some yummy mulm underneath that.
  23. tam

    Half-emersed plants

    A lot of things won't look good under the water once they hit the surface and put top growth on, as leaves in the air have more access to CO2 so why bother with below the surface ones. Many do grow out the water though, it depends what look you want. Hairgrass would look the same above and...
  24. tam

    bolbitis heudelotii or trident fern?

    I find my blobitis grows better in the substrate than attached to anything. A few times I've attached it and it's growing slowly, but then it will hit the substrate and really take off! I've a low tech 30L and it's growing in the substrate with leaves touching the surface (30cm tall).
  25. tam

    What small lilly for indoor pond?

    Maybe just try the tiger lotus that's sold for aquariums. That reliably produces floating leaves under aquarium light, so should do so with sun and I've seen occasional reports of flowers, so again I would guess with sunlight you'd be more likely to see them. It seems to cope better with lower...
  26. tam

    Giant Vallisneria planting advice

    Eleocharis runners grow under the substrate, vallis runners grow above with the base of the leaf starting at the surface (or a bit above as the plants get older), most stem plants will grow roots from the nodes so burying them encourages more root growth. I try an mimic whatever the plant does...
  27. tam

    Giant Vallisneria planting advice

    Nothing special, you want the roots in the substrate, but don't bury the bottom of the leaves.
  28. tam

    Removing superglued plants

    Have you given them a tug? Might not be particularly firmly fixed if it's been in the water awhile.
  29. tam

    Red lotus Bulb not growing

    That's what I did with mine, however mine didn't have the little shoots. It's just grow them so I've put it back in the water. I shouldn't think leaving it in the back for a couple of weeks would hurt it so you could still try that and see if it triggers a growth spurt when you put it back in...
  30. tam

    Red lotus Bulb not growing

    It was the end of April I broke the tank down and I left in on a bookshelf at room temp - would have had some indirect light. I noticed a few days ago it had sprouted and moved it to the window sill. It doesn't seem to have grown much more so I've dropped it in the water to see if that...
  31. tam

    Red lotus Bulb not growing

    I found one that's been dormant for a year plus buried in the substrate when I completely emptied a tank out a couple of weeks ago. After a google, I put it in a ziplock bag sat on a good scoop of the wet substrate (no standing water but quite wet muddy substrate) sealed it up and left it. Just...
  32. tam

    DSM advice

    What's the goal with the dry start? Lots of root growth and multiplying plant mass quickly and cheaply? Remove the wood and level out the substrate - water until it's wet but no standing water. Plant your plants. Cover with a piece of clear plastic leaving a small gap. Wait until you have...
  33. tam

    DSM - too humid

    What plants are you growing?
  34. tam

    Anubias identification

    It looks pretty happy growing emersed, could you raise it higher so the rhizome was near the surface, freeing up all the space below. Even go higher and put something like a trickle box on the back and grow it like some people do peace lily.
  35. tam

    Something dense for the back

    Nice, might even be the same species, looks the same leaf shape. Mine does have a few brown patches around the leaf edges, but I'm not sure if that's where it's resting on the hot LED as much as being too dry.
  36. tam

    Something dense for the back

    That's a shame! Looks good to me, but I guess things go in and out of popularity. Maybe it will swing back around in future.
  37. tam

    Something dense for the back

    I've some on the far right, doesn't show too well in the shadow of the anubias but seems very happy under the outflow of the filter. I'm wondering about adding a light above the tank for the anubias and adding more emersed plants? At the moment the anubias keeps sticking it's new leaves directly...
  38. tam

    Something dense for the back

    I need help with picking a plant(s). I want to fill out this blue bit particularly, at the moment it's the tail end of a very large anubias that's front end is escaping out of the tank, wrapped with some pennywort (which is a bit messy looking). I was wondering about maybe a sword? Haven't...
  39. tam

    Plant ID

    Here it is, Echinodorus 'Aflame', could it be this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquascape/comments/94r6dj/echinodorus_aflame_showing_that_even_in_low_tech/
  40. tam

    Plant ID

    I was just googling sword plants and saw something that looked just like that... let me see if I can find it again!
  41. tam

    Avoiding Eleocharis melt

    It's grown emersed so the old leaves die and new grow in. It grows very easily emersed if you want to multiply it more quickly then transplant it.
  42. tam

    Problem with Lagenandra Meeboldii 'Pink'

    I'm growing it happily in low tech, no added CO2, in a fairly low flow area, with low lighting - if that helps cross out some variables.
  43. tam

    Planting after filling tank?

    Yes, you have to remember that most of the fancy videos come from a small minority of skilled (and well budgeted) aquascapers. Most of the general public buy plants on and off - rearrange things, add things, replace something that's not growing well etc. they also often don't buy more than one...
  44. tam

    Cutting anubias nana roots

    The old ones won't, although offshoots from them will - it's fine to trim them. I guess about an inch or whatever works for where you are trying to put it.
  45. tam

    Can I grow a water lily indoors? (In a big enough tank?)

    Hmmm, I'm thinking maybe light then for mine. I don't know the species, only that it's a lilly out of my pond so it will grow leaves and flower in non tropical temperatures and survives outside over winter in about 8" of water that ices over. It's in brand new tropica soil so I would think ferts...
  46. tam

    Can I grow a water lily indoors? (In a big enough tank?)

    Any tips on getting them to develop floating leaves? I'm now eight weeks in and mine looks like this, lots of new leaves but they are all only 1" off the substrate!
  47. tam

    Can I grow a water lily indoors? (In a big enough tank?)

    I don't know anything about axolotls (other than clearly very cute) but would root tabs been an option or you could even plant the lilly into a pot/basket as you would in a pond using some aquatic soil. Might work just on poop but you will hit a limit on the amount of plants it can support.
  48. tam

    Can I grow a water lily indoors? (In a big enough tank?)

    We had a discussion on it in my journal here: https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/90cm-low-tech-wood-cobbles-emersed-probably.53444/ I broke a piece off a pond lilly, still waiting on it to put up surface leaves though. It looks happy enough but is only 4" tall at the moment. I'm not sure what...
  49. tam

    Rotting Anubias

    If there is some rhizome left that's solid and not brown down the centre it should regrow :)
  50. tam

    Why do rotala leaves look like this?

    Are they new growth leaves or did it have them previously underwater? Emersed it usually has thicker round leaves.
  51. tam

    Brown spots...not diatoms!

    Does it rub away easily with your finger?
  52. tam

    Low Tech Plant Suggestions 10-15cm height

    You could go for C. wendtii brown if you wanted a bit of colour contrast too.
  53. tam

    Help needed choosing plants

    For the wood anubias nano petite or bucephalandra. Anubias are more bomb proof but buces come in a wider range of colour/leaf shapes. Fern like = bolbitis. I'd look through the journal section and see what you like the look of when it's growing under water in a real tank. The pictures in the...
  54. tam

    My Green Plants Suffer From Yellowing

    Does the benefit of dosing daily v. weekly still apply to all in one fertilisers rather than split bottles. I'm using TNC+ weekly rather than daily as I figured it's all mixed together in the bottle anyway.
  55. tam

    Does Anubias only grow from end of rhizome?

    It can sprout anywhere along and make a new branch that will have leaves - I did the same, stripped all the older leaves off one end and it's regrown a little offshoot with lots of new ones. You can also break the bare end off into one or more pieces and each will grow new leaves.
  56. tam

    What happened to my anubias?

    If those bits dried out and and died the shrimp would come along and treat them like dead plant matter - eat it. The plant will recover but the damaged leaves won't. Up to you if you prefer some but damaged leaves, or want to take them off and wait for new ones.
  57. tam

    Upright Crypt

    "So your dismissal of the possibility of a CO2 effects is therefore not logical." Seriously? Do you have an issue with me or something? Because picking apart what I say, making assumptions and then lecturing me is really unnecessary. When I say 'I have no CO2 and my crypt grows upright' that is...
  58. tam

    Upright Crypt

    Your statement should read "...I've no enriched CO2..." I'm pretty confident that the majority of people would, just have you have successfully done, interpret my statement to mean I am not deliberately adding additional CO2. And therefore understand my description is of my experience of how...
  59. tam

    Upright Crypt

    I've no CO2 and my wendtii grows long upright stems in one tank (it got a bit shorter and lighter coloured after I swapped out bulbs for LED, but it could also be related to the ferts in the original substrate running out over time), and the same plant (as in a cutting) is about half the height...
  60. tam

    Need to remove sword roots?

    Works for me. Just focus on the thickest roots - lift the plant - trim through everything and remove. You'll have a batch of root ends stuck up. Peel them back on themselves until they start to tapper/feather out or reach something you don't want to disturb and chop/break off. You'll get a lot...
  61. tam

    Need to remove sword roots?

    It's easier if you pull it up slightly and break off the plant, then peel up the main roots up one by one. Then you are only pulling in one direction at a time and can lift/peel them upwards instead of dragging the whole root system through the substrate from every direction and up through the...
  62. tam

    Small floating flowering plant suggestions please

    I thought that but I checked and it still seems to be available: https://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/water-hyacinth-eichhornia-crassipes-5x-young-pond-plants-pid6169.html I think temperature is part of the trigger for flowers, so I'd presume indoors/in the greenhouse would help with flowering...
  63. tam

    Small floating flowering plant suggestions please

    Water hyacinth - not very small though
  64. tam

    planting buces in substrate

    Maybe mine are just weird. Most of my anubias seem to put normal (green fairly thick) roots down to the substrate and then have a mass of branching roots once under it. This is a biggish anubias (about 10" long rhizome as thick as my finger) I had growing horizontally at the front of my tank on...
  65. tam

    planting buces in substrate

    I got a few recently and smashed a plant weight (they are surprisingly tough!) and glued a bit to the bottom of each and wriggled it down a bit. That way they sit right at the surface but don't float away. My anubias seem to like having their roots in the substrate - they have massive root...
  66. tam

    Salvinia help

    I have it in tanks with closed lids doing fine, it might be more the splashing/being driven under water if you have a lot of flow - it doesn't like that.
  67. tam

    round leaved plants

    For lillies, Nymphaea lotus: http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/4432/4432 they come in red and green leafed varieties. Move oval shape than round.
  68. tam

    Rotting anubias

    Only fish are four Syndontis catfish - angelicus, decorus, eupterus and a hybrid. I didn't think they were plant eaters, but I'm not sure that algae munching looks like a snail as the marks aren't joined up in one trail so maybe they are having a midnight snack :( I think I'll start adding an...
  69. tam

    Rotting anubias

    I will poke them tomorrow. Not sure, looking online there seems to be a tropical and daylight version - I'll turn it on tomorrow and try and count the colours to see which it is. That first photo is nana golden, so it is pale, but I think within what would be acceptable for that. The darker...
  70. tam

    Rotting anubias

    Yep, that second pic looks like fairly healthy rhizome that someone has taken a vegetable peeler too. There weren't snails and I haven't seen any but it's possible I introduced some with the plants. I just shined a torch in to do a snail check and noticed there are some odd patterns in the bit...
  71. tam

    Rotting anubias

    @zozo they are catfish no plecs. They could be causing damage but the fact there is no growth happening either makes me think that's no the issue. Not a single new leaf and the roots aren't doing anything either. If it was just physical damage I'd expect a bit of new growth too. I've got some...
  72. tam

    Plant suggestions

    You can pull off the plantlets. Do you still want something that attaches to wood or is it the leaf shape/colour you like?
  73. tam

    Keeping Moss Looking Good

    Best javamoss I grew was in a tank with silver dollars, they kept it pruned to a thin fuzz. I've just glued some flat to a rock to practice my trimming on.
  74. tam

    help with java fern

    I agree, it could well just be the old emersed leaves dying off so I wouldn't panic yet. Are you getting any new growth?
  75. tam

    Rotting anubias

    Bump - anyone? Anubias is usually so tough I don't know what to try :(
  76. tam

    Rotting anubias

    The anubias I planted here: https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/planted-tank-for-catfish.51350/ aren't doing too well. A month on and there is slow but new growth from the ferns, but the anubias not really anything and it's now shedding leaves. The leaves themselves look healthy but are rotting...
  77. tam

    Floating plants and surface agitation

    I have an overhead trickle, which basically gives a spray bar sitting 3/4" above the waterline and I still have no issue with floating plants. They do occasionally get bunched/pushed under, but usually only after I've been mucking about in the tank and upset the natural distribution. Salvina...
  78. tam

    Floating plants

    Those are some plump embers! I have long, but brown, roots. Just added some Hygroriza to another tank - is it normal for the new growth to have paler green leaves or it that a sign of deficiency?
  79. tam

    Emersed plant dying back

    I'd trim it back - those leaves aren't going to recover - and then feed it.
  80. tam

    Cryptocoryne sizes

    I've got what I'm fairly sure is Wendtii brown (right) - I've had it years. It grows about 8-10" tall. I was thinking about replacing it with something a bit smaller but the crypt descriptions vary on height imply it's part down to tank conditions and I don't know if anything I put in the same...
  81. tam

    Miniature Water Lily Market Questions

    I didn't know there was a UK market, other than people buying them for small outdoor ponds. I imagine the 'popularity' of those varieties is probably down to the fact most shops source from the same supplier and that's the varieties they offer. I could see people liking the ones in the glasses...
  82. tam

    Dwarf lilies?

    You can get dwarf/pygmy pond lillies, not tried them in a tank, but it would depend on how big your tank was. They are smaller leaved than the red tiger lotus when they put up pads, and I would guess more reliable about putting up surface leaves.
  83. tam

    Low light cold water carpet? (with CO2)

    Lilaeopsis mauritiana? It's grass-like and whilst I haven't kept it cold in a tank it seems very happy on my chilly winter window sill.
  84. tam

    Floater issues

    You could try a different species, red root floaters & salvina nanas are growing crazily in my low tech (even under the 1" drop from the spray return) but the frog-bit is slow and sometimes happier than others - hanging on rather than thriving.
  85. tam

    Glossostigma Dry Start

    If you want to try keeping it dry, I'd suggest a tooth brush or similar to wipe away any big stringy bits and rough up any bare patches or substrate covered in it, then let it dry out a bit. That's what I'd do with seed tray that had got a bit mouldy. It will probably go away once you change the...
  86. tam

    Glossostigma Dry Start

    Are you going too far in the opposite direction i.e. it's too damp rather than too dry?
  87. tam

    Anubias Nana Petite Brown/Dead Spots

    The change in compactness could just be it rearranging it's leaves to point towards the light. If you wanted to shade just that spot, you could use floating plants but contain them in something, for example a piece of airline in a circle, the rim cut off a plastic tub etc. You can anchor that...
  88. tam

    Low tech trimming

    Thanks, that tank looks very green and happy! The HC was growing on the window sill for a couple of months, so some of the unhappiness at the bottom might be it's adjusting to being underwater. I think I'll be brave(ish) and trim half and see how it turns out.
  89. tam

    Low tech trimming

    I was just wondering if you trimmed/pruned differently in low tech v. high tech? I lot of the trimming videos seem to be high tech tanks and very dramatic. Which is fine with high tech because the growth rate is so fast, but are there a different techniques when regrowth is going to take a lot...
  90. tam

    Low tech carpet plants?

    I've been multiplying my carpet by growing in emersed on the window sill and then planting it in the tank. I when I bought it I put half in the tank (low tech) and half in a seedtray on the window sill - the window sill is about 6x the area of the tank achieved and I'm just poping it back in and...
  91. tam

    Pruning grass in nano

    Can you just use a normal pair of nail scissors as they won't have the long handles?
  92. tam

    Melting Nymphea Lotus surface leaves

    Could it be being splashed and those are burn marks from the lights?
  93. tam

    Carpet plant and Mid-ground plants melting. Kindly advice.

    Some of it could just be the old emersed grow leaves drying off.
  94. tam

    Javafern - Brown Splotches

    To me, blasting javafern with CO2 is just another version of Nathaniel's brick, though I'll admit probably involves less water damage! I shall grow my 'duckweed' to ensure they are shaded, and monitor my KN03 and see how the new leaves grow in.
  95. tam

    Javafern - Brown Splotches

    You've obviously never dropped a couple of bristle noses in a tank with a bit of an algae issue - it's like Mr Muscle - grime to spotless almost overnight. I chopped my leaves off, no splotches here :P
  96. tam

    Javafern - Brown Splotches

    Not disputing that, but you can influence those without just pumping in more CO2, ferts or increasing/decreasing your light settings e.g. circulation, surface agitation, water change frequency (and what's in your water), plant density/type/competition, shade e.g. floaters, substrate, livestock...
  97. tam

    Javafern - Brown Splotches

    Nope, that's not at all what I'm saying :) I'm saying we have similar houses but there are lots of other factors that make our lives different and I'd like to understand which of those might be an influence, as I maybe able to replicate them in my house to effect the change I want without...
  98. tam

    Javafern - Brown Splotches

    Darrel - your duckweed index was mentioned in another thread I read and it sounded like a great idea so I introduced some about 10 days ago! This is the tank from the top: The filter is in the silver box at the back, the tank extends underneath it and javafern is on the back wall under it...
  99. tam

    Javafern - Brown Splotches

    Sorry to be contrary, but that is not how science works. If I've got two identical conditions (same light/no CO2 injection) and I'm getting different results then there is another factor at play. Maybe it is CO2 related e.g. different surface area to volume ratio or different volume/type of...
  100. tam

    Javafern - Brown Splotches

    Is there another factor? The reason I'm particularly frustrated is I gave my brother an identical light (I bought a twin pack) and his javafern (also from me) is a lovely lush green! He even has a clump attached to wood that's only 10" or so from the light (again no CO2). That's why I'm...
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