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Something... Something... Shallow UG Tank!
- Thread starter Geoffrey Rea
- Start date
Steve Buce
Member
Love the shallow tank and fingers crossed for the UG
It’s a mish mash @Gill
The outlet is a Blau jet. For no other reason than that’s what was available.
The inlet is a VIV which I hope never breaks, have two of them:
The pear shaped inlet section is really easy to clean. Stuff it with dried rice and give it a shake to clean then finish with a pipe brush. Find straight piping always has a spot that can’t be reached even after bleach but this design plus a bit of rice shaking works well by manual removal.
Most nano glassware lacks suction cups so using these suction cups with 13mm clips:
Can set the jet with the desired amount of surface agitation now:
The outlet is a Blau jet. For no other reason than that’s what was available.
The inlet is a VIV which I hope never breaks, have two of them:
The pear shaped inlet section is really easy to clean. Stuff it with dried rice and give it a shake to clean then finish with a pipe brush. Find straight piping always has a spot that can’t be reached even after bleach but this design plus a bit of rice shaking works well by manual removal.
Most nano glassware lacks suction cups so using these suction cups with 13mm clips:
Can set the jet with the desired amount of surface agitation now:
One week:
No melt anywhere a week after startup which is reassuring. All the UG still appears in good health:
Off the back of recent commentary on the forum have increased the photoperiod from 8 hours to 12 hours per day, extra hour every second day. ONF nano still at 50% though and running 12 hours as of today.
Co2 on 24/7 with ample surface agitation and no livestock to consider with this tank so probably the norm going forwards. Roughly 1/3 to 1/2 water change per day which takes no time at all using a 1 litre jug. Just pour fresh water onto the rock in the middle and it fills without disturbance. Will keep that up for the first month then drop to a weekly water change schedule. Daily dosing is still just some K everyday.
Anyway, so far so good. May it continue....
Have a nice weekend folks 😎
No melt anywhere a week after startup which is reassuring. All the UG still appears in good health:
Off the back of recent commentary on the forum have increased the photoperiod from 8 hours to 12 hours per day, extra hour every second day. ONF nano still at 50% though and running 12 hours as of today.
Co2 on 24/7 with ample surface agitation and no livestock to consider with this tank so probably the norm going forwards. Roughly 1/3 to 1/2 water change per day which takes no time at all using a 1 litre jug. Just pour fresh water onto the rock in the middle and it fills without disturbance. Will keep that up for the first month then drop to a weekly water change schedule. Daily dosing is still just some K everyday.
Anyway, so far so good. May it continue....
Have a nice weekend folks 😎
Karmicnull
Member
Really interested in seeing what difference the 12 hours makes. To help differentiate between the impact of light intensity vs. the impact of light duration.
More growth than 6 hours. Simple. Hence the insurance of 24 hour Co2 and less dramatic pH fluctuation. But it’s a mono species tank and a carpeting plant.
After having a hand in over 60 setups can confidently say 6 hours of high PAR light also works. It won’t condemn you to misery and wrath from the plants regardless of what happens in nature. It does require a disciplined caretaker though who always covers the maintenance basics. You’re limiting the plants processes and simultaneously slamming the accelerator pedal down in a condensed period of time. You then need to ensure enough o2 for the other 18 hours.
The mindset isn’t one of catering to nature though; it’s concerned with growth height, just about meeting demands, management for aquascaping purposes. That plant, in that colour, in that form for that specific date. It’s a world apart from running a beautiful setup for 20 years. Nothing in this house survives two years before the aquascaping itch takes hold and change is inevitable.
If the 20 year setup is Picasso then the 1 year scape is the crayon drawing of a toddler who’s easily amused... But I like my crayons 😂
Would say try it all for yourself and see what satisfies your desired outcomes. Grew up in a house of low tech tanks running for over a decade with 12 hours of light from T5’s. Have seen this method work and work really well long term. Will never be a goal in this house though, too unashamedly present hedonistic.
John q
Member
Doing the same thing for similar reasons as above. I'm lacking your confidence and increasing duration at a snails pace, 10 mins every day.
This is the first journal I've watched in real time so will be interesting to see it develop.
Deano3
Member
- Joined
- 8 Feb 2012
- Messages
- 2,485
Just catching up on jurnals Geoffrey and looking forward to this one, yes not many people use ug , i have read its difficult etc but it's a stunning plant when established. Watching with interest, i also love a shallow scape and yours looks great 
.
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.Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
Two weeks:
John q
Member
Looking good, have you noticed any pros or cons with the lighting duration change?
It’s hard to say anything reliably @John q .
Brown diatoms on the rocks immediately after the increase but that may be multiple factors. Would be more worried if there were no evidence of diatoms somewhere though. UG is growing and showing signs of spreading quite rapidly, but compared to what? No experience of growing UG before so nothing to compare it to.
The constants are:
Things that have varied throughout:
Brown diatoms on the rocks immediately after the increase but that may be multiple factors. Would be more worried if there were no evidence of diatoms somewhere though. UG is growing and showing signs of spreading quite rapidly, but compared to what? No experience of growing UG before so nothing to compare it to.
The constants are:
- 50% light intensity with the ONF Nano
- One pump/ml of Brighty K neutral daily
- minimum of 30% water change daily
- RO water remineralised to 1KH and 5GH
Things that have varied throughout:
- Photoperiod duration increased to 12 hours
- Temperature between 19C-22C (no heater)
John q
Member
True a direct comparison would be ideal.
I'm about two weeks into light increase (now up to 9.5hrs) and have definitely noticed increased new growth, on the down side the new growth leaf size is noticeably smaller.
I suspect I'm co2 challenged so have further reduced light intensity.
Only other variant in last two weeks is increase in iron and magnesium.
I'm about two weeks into light increase (now up to 9.5hrs) and have definitely noticed increased new growth, on the down side the new growth leaf size is noticeably smaller.
I suspect I'm co2 challenged so have further reduced light intensity.
Only other variant in last two weeks is increase in iron and magnesium.
Hmmm.... Used to run multiple test tanks side by side @John q . But all it leads to is new and even more complex questions that tend to lead you down rabbit holes. Ultimately you’re dealing with dynamic systems with entire setups. Claiming replication should be taken as a faux pas if you want to claim it. Simple jar tests are useful though.
Taking a modest measure easily ascertained like longevity of a setup - after a year, if the six hour photoperiod UG tank is no more and the twelve hour photoperiod UG tank is still trucking, that’s useful information. You can sort of say this species favours a more natural length of photoperiod if you’re interested in the species.
But if you’re so inclined, you then investigate how to keep it under the six hours of light. Maybe don’t challenge it with stimulus and response like trimming then it does just fine for example. You then know how to keep it happy in six hour photoperiod tanks, it could be taller in that ‘never trimmed’ state so suitable for mid ground in a mixed carpet. That’s useful info for an aquascaper. No rules just outcomes.
Is this one species or multiple species @John q ?
Co2 management is the main workload of high tech so you’re in good company, see what happens when it’s dialled in if you think you’re out from optimal. If EI dosing correctly you should be able to rule out the rest of the nutrients.
John q
Member
Sorry for the late reply, was in the garden filling rabbit holes.
My tanks are low tech so reduced intensity is the only weapon in the armoury.
For definite like for like comparisons it would be Hygrophila polysperma and limnophila sessiliflora, both have been in the tank about 6 months and have always done well but in the last couple of weeks have definitely started sprouting off shoots, the polysperma is showing new growth at every leaf node.
Anubias barteri var nana also seems to be sprouting a lot more new leaves from the rhizome.
The ones I can't directly compare as they've only been in the tank 3 weeks would be p gayi and rotala hong-kong, both showing lots of off shoot growth. These plants spent a previous life in wookiis high tech tank, so this growth could be normal.
Could all be unrelated off course, either way for the most part its all good.
My tanks are low tech so reduced intensity is the only weapon in the armoury.
For definite like for like comparisons it would be Hygrophila polysperma and limnophila sessiliflora, both have been in the tank about 6 months and have always done well but in the last couple of weeks have definitely started sprouting off shoots, the polysperma is showing new growth at every leaf node.
Anubias barteri var nana also seems to be sprouting a lot more new leaves from the rhizome.
The ones I can't directly compare as they've only been in the tank 3 weeks would be p gayi and rotala hong-kong, both showing lots of off shoot growth. These plants spent a previous life in wookiis high tech tank, so this growth could be normal.
Could all be unrelated off course, either way for the most part its all good.
👀
The P Gayi grows like an absolute weed for me, it’s actually quite hard to control in my high tech, I imagined it would grow well in a low tech, so that’s good to hear John, I don’t know whether thats because it’s a true aquatic and so is better adapted to grabbing what it needs submerged.
Good to hear the Honk Kong growing too - I figured that would be a bit more challenging low tech.
Three weeks:
Now set to 12 hours light at 100% with 24 hour Co2 injection. Bladders appearing, some critters introduced from the rain barrel. Paramecium culture being added later this week. Salvinia auriculata added for feedback and to dapple the light (there’s more but been removed for the photo).
Now set to 12 hours light at 100% with 24 hour Co2 injection. Bladders appearing, some critters introduced from the rain barrel. Paramecium culture being added later this week. Salvinia auriculata added for feedback and to dapple the light (there’s more but been removed for the photo).
