Sounds like a decent lfs, a lot of places would give them to you regardless.
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70L planted - first tank
- Thread starter LFNfan
- Start date
Thanks very much.
I've revisited some reading I did on gas exchange and am thinking that adding an air stone might be a good way to go. I think there's a trade-off, though, between the benefits of promoting gas exchange via HoB plus air stone vs. 'keeping some CO2 in' for the plants by having just the HoB surface agitation. Appreciate advice or pointers to key posts on that trade-off in my case. As you all know I only have one lil' fish at the moment but hopefully that will be changing next week when I get my hands on three or four corys and I think six x-ray tetras.
Importantly, my pleco seems fine, and plants don't seem to have batted an eyelid at the outage (unsurprisingly).
I have this semi-canister HoB filter - it does 'hang on the back' but is pretty much fully sealed, compared to some of the more open 'waterfall-type' HoBs I have seen. Not sure.
I've revisited some reading I did on gas exchange and am thinking that adding an air stone might be a good way to go. I think there's a trade-off, though, between the benefits of promoting gas exchange via HoB plus air stone vs. 'keeping some CO2 in' for the plants by having just the HoB surface agitation. Appreciate advice or pointers to key posts on that trade-off in my case. As you all know I only have one lil' fish at the moment but hopefully that will be changing next week when I get my hands on three or four corys and I think six x-ray tetras.
Importantly, my pleco seems fine, and plants don't seem to have batted an eyelid at the outage (unsurprisingly).
This is what I love so much about the whole concept of a planted tank - it's a proper ecosystem where everything works together, and there's therefore some built-in resilience.
This is really interesting. Not least to learn that there's such a thing as archeia. My slightly heavy-handed approach to setting up my tank means that I have a pretty thick substrate layer throughout, which sounds like a good thing in hindsight.
I got the Kanei! They are chilling on the substrate. I hope they are OK. I must say, I find transferring fish from bags to aquarium exceedingly stressful! Possibly more stressful than the fish.
I also saw a really nice variegated plant, growing immersed. Stupidly I didn't get the name, but it had quite rounded leaves, green but with bright white veins. Seemed stem-ish.
I also saw a really nice variegated plant, growing immersed. Stupidly I didn't get the name, but it had quite rounded leaves, green but with bright white veins. Seemed stem-ish.
Hi all,
cheers Darrel
Brilliant. <Corydoras (ln9) kanei>.
A photo would help, but have a look at <"the links in this thread">.
cheers Darrel
The Miniaturist
Member
Congratulations on getting the Kanei!
I can completely empathise with the stress of transferring fish from bag to tank. I bought some pygmy corys, got them home & panicked! They were so tiny I was afraid of squashing them, fortunately all went well & they settled in quite quickly!
I can completely empathise with the stress of transferring fish from bag to tank. I bought some pygmy corys, got them home & panicked! They were so tiny I was afraid of squashing them, fortunately all went well & they settled in quite quickly!
Thank you both! Transferring is mad isn't it. Not sure I will ever get used to it. This time was 4x worse than transferring the pleco because there was just one li'l pleco in that bag - I had four Kanei in the bag today. I think what stresses me out most is not so much the size, but the worry that somehow the fish will end up on the floor (I imagine various scenarios, all of which I will spare you).
I'll have to get some pics, all being well. May dust off the DSLR.
Interesting thread on the non-aquatic plants Darrel. Sadly the one I saw looked very much like this one: fittonia. According to the RHS it likes loamy, well-drained growing conditions 😱🤣
I'll have to get some pics, all being well. May dust off the DSLR.
Interesting thread on the non-aquatic plants Darrel. Sadly the one I saw looked very much like this one: fittonia. According to the RHS it likes loamy, well-drained growing conditions 😱🤣
Hi all,
I'll be honest I don't consider that a lot of the plants that will survive under water are <"really suitable as aquarium plants either">. Companies promote plants that they <"can produce emersed">, because it suits their production methods, not because they are the most suitable plant for long term submerged growth.
Have a look at @Kezzab 's thread <"Messing about"> and that will show you what Rotala rotundifolia and Staurogyne repens really want to do.
cheers Darrel
That was my initial guess from <"your description">. Unfortunately Fittonia is a really common houseplant sold as an <"aquarium plant">.
I'll be honest I don't consider that a lot of the plants that will survive under water are <"really suitable as aquarium plants either">. Companies promote plants that they <"can produce emersed">, because it suits their production methods, not because they are the most suitable plant for long term submerged growth.
Have a look at @Kezzab 's thread <"Messing about"> and that will show you what Rotala rotundifolia and Staurogyne repens really want to do.
cheers Darrel
The Miniaturist
Member
I still have one one of my first aquarium plant books I bought in the early 80s. The reason I kept it was because all the artists colour plates have the waterline showing & how the plants behave above it. All my tanks have covers otherwise I would be very tempted to let the plants do their own thing & grow an aquatic flower garden!
Morning All
I'm getting a bit of yellowing on my Hygrophila Siamensis 53B's older leaves, and in some cases yellowing and disintegrating tips, and I'm seeing a few semi-transparent leaves floating around the tank. The new growth still looks good, and there seems to be a fair bit of new growth happening around nodes, not just at the top of the plant, so I'm not too worried at this stage. I am dosing around 2 - 3ml of TNC Complete into the water column every other day (or so). I did put some TNC root tabs under the 53B when I started the tank at the end of March. I wonder if they need refreshing by now?
Separately, I managed to catch sight of my pleco on the glass last night. Got a bit of a shock because its tummy - if I am looking in the right place - looks pretty empty. It doesn't touch the algae wafers I bought originally so I have ordered a different brand which are coming tomorrow - hopefully it will have a liking for those. There's not a spot of diatoms in the tank any more, and so just feeding veggies seems to have been a bit of a blunder these last few weeks. Here's hoping I can recover it.
The Kanei are good fun as long as I don't surprise them and they scoot for cover. They busy themselves around the substrate in a pack or individually, and are onto food like a flash. A couple of them have fun swimming up and down the airstone bubble column repeatedly which is great to observe.
I'm getting a bit of yellowing on my Hygrophila Siamensis 53B's older leaves, and in some cases yellowing and disintegrating tips, and I'm seeing a few semi-transparent leaves floating around the tank. The new growth still looks good, and there seems to be a fair bit of new growth happening around nodes, not just at the top of the plant, so I'm not too worried at this stage. I am dosing around 2 - 3ml of TNC Complete into the water column every other day (or so). I did put some TNC root tabs under the 53B when I started the tank at the end of March. I wonder if they need refreshing by now?
Separately, I managed to catch sight of my pleco on the glass last night. Got a bit of a shock because its tummy - if I am looking in the right place - looks pretty empty. It doesn't touch the algae wafers I bought originally so I have ordered a different brand which are coming tomorrow - hopefully it will have a liking for those. There's not a spot of diatoms in the tank any more, and so just feeding veggies seems to have been a bit of a blunder these last few weeks. Here's hoping I can recover it.
The Kanei are good fun as long as I don't surprise them and they scoot for cover. They busy themselves around the substrate in a pack or individually, and are onto food like a flash. A couple of them have fun swimming up and down the airstone bubble column repeatedly which is great to observe.
Hi All
I got some different algae wafers, and these seem more palatable, although still a bit hit-and-miss. I'll be picking up some green peppers shortly (the green ones aren't so popular in our house!). Not got a good view of the plec's tummy since I last posted, but seen it around and its colour - such as it is - seems to have improved.
The corys are a lot of fun - they like mucking about.
I've attached a pic of my 53B - yellowing and melting ends, mostly older leaves, it seems. Welcome any advice or thoughts. I'm going to stuff a few new root tabs down in the substrate - maybe the others have run out after 3 months.
I'm also starting to see some dark green algae on the edges of the 53B. I wonder if this is due to me now feeding more fish food?
Finally, I learned what a racket the HoB makes when you run it dry for half an hour - high pitched whistle. Oops. Still works but I bet I scrubbed a few hundred hours of its useful life. Oops.
I got some different algae wafers, and these seem more palatable, although still a bit hit-and-miss. I'll be picking up some green peppers shortly (the green ones aren't so popular in our house!). Not got a good view of the plec's tummy since I last posted, but seen it around and its colour - such as it is - seems to have improved.
The corys are a lot of fun - they like mucking about.
I've attached a pic of my 53B - yellowing and melting ends, mostly older leaves, it seems. Welcome any advice or thoughts. I'm going to stuff a few new root tabs down in the substrate - maybe the others have run out after 3 months.
I'm also starting to see some dark green algae on the edges of the 53B. I wonder if this is due to me now feeding more fish food?
Finally, I learned what a racket the HoB makes when you run it dry for half an hour - high pitched whistle. Oops. Still works but I bet I scrubbed a few hundred hours of its useful life. Oops.
Attachments
Quick update.
Bought this plant from the LFS today. I'm such a doofus I have forgotten its name in my rush to get back to the office for a meeting ( I spent way more time than I realised looking at the tanks and chatting and lost track of the time). I think it's anubias, but I'm not sure. Anyway, it's clearly a rhizome plant so I've wedged it in to some wood as shown.
Pleased to report the pleco is eating better now, - likes the new algae wafers, and the pepper (!). Getting noticeably bigger.
I think the airstones I set up are contributing to green algae - it's started appearing on the lid and upper leaves of the 53B and some frogbit near the airstones.
Also included a full-length pic of the tank - it's growing in nicely, although I'd like to get that heater hidden!
That's it for now. 🙂
Bought this plant from the LFS today. I'm such a doofus I have forgotten its name in my rush to get back to the office for a meeting ( I spent way more time than I realised looking at the tanks and chatting and lost track of the time). I think it's anubias, but I'm not sure. Anyway, it's clearly a rhizome plant so I've wedged it in to some wood as shown.
Pleased to report the pleco is eating better now, - likes the new algae wafers, and the pepper (!). Getting noticeably bigger.
I think the airstones I set up are contributing to green algae - it's started appearing on the lid and upper leaves of the 53B and some frogbit near the airstones.
Also included a full-length pic of the tank - it's growing in nicely, although I'd like to get that heater hidden!
That's it for now. 🙂
Attachments
_Maq_
Member
Yes, it is.
I don't think so. But floating plants sometimes suffer from surface movement.
Looking at your Hygrophilas I think possibly there's nitrogen deficiency in your tank. Is it possible?
Hi Maq - thanks for the quick response and confirming it's anubias!
I think you are right about the nitrogen deficiency - with the Hygrophilas anyway (the frogbit and limnophila seem pretty green and happy, and my test kit is showing the nitrates in the water column as 80ppm+). I posted this last week though:
Many thanks
I think you are right about the nitrogen deficiency - with the Hygrophilas anyway (the frogbit and limnophila seem pretty green and happy, and my test kit is showing the nitrates in the water column as 80ppm+). I posted this last week though:
I have put some more root tabs down in the substrate this week, and will see if that helps. Not sure if there is anything else i should be doing?
Many thanks
_Maq_
Member
If frogbit is happy, I'd rather consider other possibilities.
Depends on what your root tabs contain. I never use any, anyway.
If your substrate is gravel-based rather than clay-based, root tabs might not be a good idea as gravel has low CEC compared to clay-based substrate. This page is a good explainer of CEC. It even mentions that managing cation ratios is 'controversial' 🙂
Cations and Cation Exchange Capacity | Fact Sheets | soilquality.org.au
www.soilquality.org.au
Interesting. I have read bits and bobs about cations and positive and negative charges - mostly in the context of getting Fe into plants, and it needing to be chelated to stay in the water column in such a way as to remain available for plants for a little while at least. You may be able to tell that this goes way over my head.
I think my simplistic take-away is that my gravel substrate does not hold a negative charge and so can't hold the cations near the roots where the 53B wants to pick it up. That seems to run contrary to what most of my Youtube-based research has indicated, which is that 'root tabs' are an effective means of delivering nutrients to root-feeding plants. Not that I would be in the least bit surprised if Youtube was labouring under a misconception (shocker).
Next time around (if I get another tank, or upgrade this one), I think I should be considering some sort of soil (or clay) base-layer.
I think my simplistic take-away is that my gravel substrate does not hold a negative charge and so can't hold the cations near the roots where the 53B wants to pick it up. That seems to run contrary to what most of my Youtube-based research has indicated, which is that 'root tabs' are an effective means of delivering nutrients to root-feeding plants. Not that I would be in the least bit surprised if Youtube was labouring under a misconception (shocker).
Next time around (if I get another tank, or upgrade this one), I think I should be considering some sort of soil (or clay) base-layer.
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_Maq_
Member
It's true that pure silica sand is a weak adsorbent. But things change quickly once it gets enriched with detritus, which is good (and the right one) adsorbent of phosphorus and transition metals. You need no chelated micronutrients.
