# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Tank pictures - updated



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

One of the first pictures I took with my Nikon 4300, this semi-focused picture shows the flower of Limnophila aromatica I was growing emersed last summer. I have since learned to take better closeups...


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

One of the first pictures I took with my Nikon 4300, this semi-focused picture shows the flower of Limnophila aromatica I was growing emersed last summer. I have since learned to take better closeups...


----------



## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Nice! Cavan, I have never seen pictures from you before. I feel like I know you a little more now!







Your sibthorpioides looks very nice. I could never get that plant to grow well for me. You must be doing something that it likes.


----------



## Guest (Mar 31, 2004)

Cavan,

Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides is looking great. Your tanks looks promising as well. Can we get bigger picture ?

Try setting manual balance. I could already tell that it wasn't setup.


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Thanks guys. 

I've found that the sibthorpioides loves really strong light and lots of co2. Even then it doesn't grow very fast. I grew all that and lots more from one little sprig I got about a year and a half ago. I'm going to plant a bunch of it on the other side of the tank to balance things out. 

The tank itself is pretty overgrown right now with arcuata and Hottonia (I'm letting the latter grow out so I send some out to some people). I'll post whole tank pics when I get everything straightened out (maybe even before then). 

What do you mean Jay? It is on manual mode, if that's what you mean. H. sibthorpioides has a very unique shade of chalky green that didn't really show up when I took the photo. I fooled around with the color balance on the editing software to bring it back but I think I overdid it with the blue. I'm assuming that getting the white balance right will fix that problem. Correct? I'm still learning...


----------



## Guest (Mar 31, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Cavan:
> What do you mean Jay? It is on manual mode, if that's what you mean. H. sibthorpioides has a very unique shade of chalky green that didn't really show up when I took the photo. I fooled around with the color balance on the editing software to bring it back but I think I overdid it with the blue. I'm assuming that getting the white balance right will fix that problem. Correct? I'm still learning...


What camera do you have ?

Setup your white balance manually. Place white object inside the tank and use those settings to calculate "correct" balance.

Are you still interested in L. cuba ?


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Jay: It's a Nikon Coolpix 4300. 4 megapixels, manual controls, etc. No external flash though. 

I will try adjusting the white balance manually.

I would still be interested in the Cuba. I'll send you an e-mail.


----------



## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Cavan, do you have more pictures? I'd like to see the whole tank!


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I will in a little while. I'm growing out some plants to send along to other people, so my tank isn't very fit for photography right now. The Hottonia is almost to the top. Next week maybe.


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I would hardly say my tank is ready for photographing right now, but I went ahead and took a few shots today anyway. I guess it can't hurt to get some feedback now before I change things around a bit. 

Obviously, things are a bit overgrown, especially the Bacopa. It really took off this week. I'd say I'm going to have to move the Cyperus.

I'm establishing another stand of the Hydrocotyle on the left side to balance out the stuff to the right. 

The plant getting swallowed alive by Marsilea on the left is Ranalisma rostrata. I wanted to propagate it for our AHAP program, and since I probably have enough now, I'll give it to a friend locally.

The Limnophila aromatica will probably go outside as soon as the weather gets a bit warmer. I thought I pulled it all out and gave it to a friend, but I guess some remained. I really don't even know what's in my tank anymore. I even found some Lilaeopsis the other day. Weird. 

I have more branchy driftwood that I can have coming out of the narrow leaf. Why does it now grow so tangled looking? I HATE that! It has officially attained weed status, but doesn't look as nice as it used to. Maybe I just need to prune ruthlessly. 

I'm not sure that I'll keep the "Ceylon" polysperma in there (but will spread it around locally first). If the "Cuba" keeps doing well, I forsee having a big stand of it in the left corner. I'll probably keep the big E. angustifolius in the back where it is. The smaller one in between the Hottonia got there by a runner. That will probably go too. 

I'm still not totally happy with the way these pictures turned out. I manually set the white balance, but the photos look a bit grainy when I post them here. I think the tank still looks better than you can see here. 

Comments? Suggestions? 

Thanks, Cavan


----------



## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Do you really want aquascaping critiques? Is that your goal? If so I guess my comment is that there isn't quite enough contrast between light and dark, although I understand this may be in part due to the photo quality. I think you need more red or brown or dark green in the middle of the tank. I like your layout and all the plants look great.


----------



## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

what is the grass plant in front of the hydrocotyle and the rust colored plant in the back?


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

On the very right side? If so, that's Cyperus helferi.


----------



## imported_Alex Ribeiro (May 10, 2003)

Hi,

Great tank!
You can post some pics of E. dageti?


----------



## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Cavan:
> On the very right side? If so, that's Cyperus helferi.


sorry, i was referring to the short stuff that is mixed in with the hydrocotyle, more towards the center of the tank.

also, what is the red plant is in the back right of the tank?

and is that just one java fern plant that has grown out of control, or several java plants grown together? either way, it looks great! i love it.


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

The grass-like plant in the front is Elocharis parvulus (aka dwarf hairgrass).

The red plant in the back is Ludwigia arcuata.

I planted a handfull of narrow leaf java ferns and it has expanded. I think it grows a lot faster than the normal variety (assuming they're the same species). If only it would grow straighter. 

Thank you for your comments. 

I will try to get more pictures of the killies. Oddly enough, I found a juvenile in a friend's tank. There must have been eggs on plants I gave him.


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Submitted for your approval are these new tank shots I took today. I think I'm done with plant collecting at last. 

My only goal now is to create an aquascape that is more easily maintained and easier to live with. Obviously, there are far too many plant species here, so I'm going to get rid of a few.

Plants in this tank (that I'm aware of) are:
Eleocharis parvulus
Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides
Marsilea sp.
Echinodorus angustifolius
Cyperus helferi (back right corner)
Ludwigia arcuata
Ludwigia brevipes
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata (looks horrible)
Ludwigia palustris (locally collected and unconverted - back left)
Eusteralis stellata 'broad leaf'
Bacopa caroliniana
Aldrovanda vesiculosa (not visible in photos)
Myriophyllum heterophyllum (arrived as hitch hiker)
Cryptocoryne wendtii
C. albida
C. walkeri 
C. parva
Callitriche heterophylla 
Monosolenium tenerum

The H. sibthorpioides is a nightmare to aquascape with. It tends to smother everything (like the hairgrass and C. parva) and tough to keep looking good because no matter how well the tank is doing, older plantings tend to decline and look pretty crummy after a while. It's pretty hard to find, but I think I've spread it around enough to consider it a candidate for removal or at least scaling way back. 

The Bacopa is a weed. I seem to have found ideal growing conditions for the stuff, but be careful what you wish for. It grows very fast and turns everywhere from tan to full red (which I actually don't want). It spreads all over the tank in the blink of an eye and it's a huge PITA to replant the stuff. I want to get away from the overly colorful look. Definitely more green. 

The "Cuba" is looking horrible. The newer red growth has been red after I increased Flourish Iron. If that doesn't result in dramatic improvement, it's history. 

The Eusteralis stellata 'broad leaf' is probably a keeper. I just didn't expect it to get so large. It really is almost 6 inches across. A couple stems of it could make a good centerpiece? 

The Callitriche is a keeper. It would look better if the SAEs would leave it alone though. I'm probably just going to cut the top half down and make a hedge around the arcuata or something like that. 

I want to keep the bigger Echinodorus angustifolius in the front where it is and let the one behind the Monosolenium fill in for a sort of staggered look. At least that's what I had originally planned. It really is a nice plant. It's a chain sword that grows about 10 inches tall in my tank and spreads everywhere. I just removed about 9 today (want some?). 

The Hottonia isn't going anywhere. It's definitely one of my favorite plants. 

I don't know why I added the palustris. I can always get as much as I want for nothing, so I may just grow it outside instead. Really nice plant though! 

I think I need to tie the whole tank together somehow. I may go driftwood hunting soon, so that's a possibility. So is doing the Riccia thing (never done that). I do want to stay with the parvulus and probably the Marsilea. 

I've thought about using easy to prune plants like Rotala sp. 'green'. 

I don't know where I'm going with this, so please just give me your thoughts. I've horded some of these plants because I can't readily get more, etc. Help me get the courage to part with some of them! Maybe I should just totally rescape. I seem to have made it hard for myself.


----------



## Josh Simonson (Feb 4, 2004)

Killies are so hard to photograph because they're so boisterous when they're flashing. I've found I must use a tripod and flash, take the photo at a angle to the glass so the flash doesn't create a white spot in the center. I also use maximum zoom so I can move back and get a greater depth of focus.


----------

