# "Flooded Plains" 56k bad! A LOT OF PICS!!!



## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

I finaly HAD to flood my tank  
i was keeping it too moist and had a BGA out break. In order to treat it i flooded the tank.
this is my first nice layout i think. im really happy with it so i named it  Flooded Plains.

after some measuring i figured out my tank stats:
4.4 gallons
1/4" composted potting mix
1/2" moon sand (i think)
1/4" river sand (as river)

diy co2
hob junk filter (to clear water)
27 watt quad cfl 6500k 7 hours
no ferts
no fish yet.........

emersed start around 3-20-08 Im aware their was not a lot of growth for such a long period. i contribute this to the fact i over watered and didn't have enough air circulation. 
flooded 5-14-08

and pictures of my tank and most likely soon to be algae farm. and close ups of bga.
i was playing with my macro lens so lots of pics.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

p.s. i would like to here some crit. on this? what do you think?minus the BGA of course. i can take it i swear. (maybe)


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

ok added some fish and shrimp.

3x Amano shrimp (Caridina multidentata)
4x Neon Rasbora (Sundadanio axelrodi)

and now for more pics.... BTW has anyone ever tried to get a nice picture of neon rasboras? im pretty sure the only way to get a clear pic of them is if they where dead! but the shrimp where easy.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I think it's very nice. The spike in the middle is somewhat distracting. I know it's supposed to be a focal point, but I think it needs to be softened a little. Maybe moved next to some hairgrass and not dead center in the tank.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

> Tex Gal
> Re: "Flooded Plains" 56k bad! A LOT OF PICS!!!
> I think it's very nice. The spike in the middle is somewhat distracting. I know it's supposed to be a focal point, but I think it needs to be softened a little. Maybe moved next to some hairgrass and not dead center in the tank.


thanks Tex gal

are you talking about the rocks? i have been thinking of swapping the rocks with each other.
if your talking about the wood its glued in.
and the erio is stuck their to i don't wanna mess with its roots.


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## arto (Jun 11, 2008)

wow i think it looks nice as is and would make any arrangements until your bored with it


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## arto (Jun 11, 2008)

wouldnt*** sry bout that


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I was talking about the erio. I understand about not wanting to move it because if its roots. Maybe just incorporate it into the scape with another plant. For instance insert plant next to it going back toward the tallest pointed rock. I really like your rocks.

Don't get me wrong the tank it great, just imho...


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

i like your idea! Robert is supposed to be getting some erio in soon, im hopeing their the smaller ones then i have. If they are im gonna get 2 of them for this scape maybe that will tie in the big Erio Cinereum (Sp. Thailand?) better.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I'll stay tuned to see it!


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

well its been about 26 days and here we go UPDATE:

this is with no water changes and no ferts. maryicin was added for first week to kill BGA at 1/3 a packet a day. it was super messy when the BGA died. pieces floated every where. still some clinging to plants in photos, will have to clean it out soon.

3 three shrimp are dead lost the last one 4 days ago. going to have water tested to see if anything is going on, then get some cherry's and try again.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Love the small grass that you have in the back. What is it? Looks good with the rocks. The downoi is doing great! When the pellia on your logs fills in I will love that. You've got a nice tank going on there. 

Looks like your fighting a bladderwort plant  At least it's easy to pull out. Course with all those fine small plants maybe not.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> Love the small grass that you have in the back. What is it? Looks good with the rocks. The downoi is doing great! When the pellia on your logs fills in I will love that. You've got a nice tank going on there.
> 
> Looks like your fighting a bladderwort plant  At least it's easy to pull out. Course with all those fine small plants maybe not.


the plant in back is Utricularia graminifolia funny enough a bladderwort?


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## mommyeireanne (Oct 24, 2007)

I believe Utricularia graminifolia/bladderwort is actually carnivorous. It eats small shrimp/decopods,copapods,bugs etc. Check it out. You won't want to put shrimp with this plant.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I have UG in my shrimp tank. I think the bugs have to be quite small! It's no problem with my baby shrimp. There are TONS in my tank.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

UG is carnivorous but it eats only really small stuff i dont even think it could eat baby fry.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Looking good! Tilting the rock so it was closer to the erio looks much better, it ties together more now. I'm looking forward to seeing how this fills in.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

OK UPDATE: Dosing did not go well downoi was gone pretty fast, UG followed with in a day or two and the a green slime type algae and a stringy mess followed. I Was dosing very very small amounts to see what would happen with the white downoi. 2-3 days of dosing put the tank out of whack.

So i did a water change cleaned the algae off the glass only, bumped up the flow on the hot filter. after a week or two it looked better but still some algae.

So I added some of the ramshorns snails i got from dgphelps, and they had the tank clean in about 2days.

Im going to add a betta to help control the population (I hope)

Also i have a surprise plant in front middle that popped up.

Since it's been a month since the last update, lots of pics.

comment please

edit: P.S. sorry for the dirty substrate i took pics before i cleaned
Full








Left








Center








Right








The last bit of my Downoi








Erio. 








surprise plant








Snail








Same snail








Erio. "mini" just added








Attempt at catching a fish pic








play shot








second play shot


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Your surprise plant looks like blyxa. Sorry about your downoi. That is a sensitive plant for me. It took me about 5 or 6 tries to get that stuff to grow. It melted all the time. I finally have it growing in my shrimp tank. 

Looks like you might finally have things under control. Your HC and grass is going great guns! Looks like you might have a few strands of UG around your erio. Look at your px. Another surprise for your!


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> Your surprise plant looks like blyxa. Sorry about your downoi. That is a sensitive plant for me. It took me about 5 or 6 tries to get that stuff to grow. It melted all the time. I finally have it growing in my shrimp tank.
> 
> Looks like you might finally have things under control. Your HC and grass is going great guns! Looks like you might have a few strands of UG around your erio. Look at your px. Another surprise for your!


I think you might be rite! I will look closer tomorrow i cant get to the timer.

I will not let downoi defeat me! I will try again in another tank that isnt so sensitive to changes.

as for the grass it has been unfazed (sp?) by anything and i have had to control the runners alot.

I think if i can get the erio mini to grow good i can use that to replace the downoi, the big erio has been really happy.

If that is blyxia it would be a huge surprise! i dont recall putting any in the tank ever but i could have.


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## ferris89 (Jul 31, 2008)

very very nice!!! It has come along nicely!


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## Nexed (Aug 7, 2008)

You did a great job, it looks very nice!


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

> ferris89
> very very nice!!! It has come along nicely!





> Nexed
> You did a great job, it looks very nice!





> korasonek
> Nice nano tank


thank you all, i have to say im really happy with it!!! A little scary for a bit but came around!

I have baby snails!!! I figure by Friday i should have 1 or 2 billion babies. LOL time for some snail control!


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Well time for a picture update.

Did my first ever trim of HC and......... I need practice! It's pretty messy to! in a couple of spots i went to deep.

My pellia is not doing well at all. Have to figure out why.That weird bladderwort has shown up again twice in same spot.Snails has babies but its not to bad yet.

Have some new erio. cinerium im trying to get the one in the middle fit in to the scape more.

Next week or so im adding some new shrimp! I hope i have this figured out and they don't die again. I want to get a good stock going for the 46 gallon. I believe the tank was just not ready for them before.

Sick Pellia








Whats left of the downoi








New erio








New erio








Recovering erio mini








healthy erio mini








the big mama Erio 








Full shot








Top shot of fish








the rest are just shots of the same fish i am really trying to learn my camera and better my close up skills. I need lots more practice. I also need to learn how to edit my photos!


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Your poor downoi, at least you got it back to green. Hopefully if you try it again you'll have better success. I've been wanting to try downoi for a while now but I'm wondering if I really want to try such a persnickety plant. I probably will, but at least I'll go into knowing it's a risk.

The placement of the new erios should really help tie the main one into the scape.

Is it the stringy bladderwort that showed up again? If you miss one tiny piece of that it springs back with no problem. I can not see it in my tank for months and then suddenly there's a 6+ inch piece of the darn thing front and center. I always wonder where the heck it came from and why I didn't see it sooner.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

cs_gardener when you do try downoi at least your in the same city as Robert and can get your plants from him with out shipping. Its painful waiting the whole day or two it takes to get here! 

Yes it was that stringy one in the same exact spot, that was the weird part.

I think when the erio bush out, i picked a good spot and it will pull the scape together. Putting that one in the middle was a mistake, but i did and do want it to be a focal point, its the first thing people talk about when they see my tank in person. Plus im not messing with it or its roots LOL.


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## jtburf (Jul 23, 2008)

Stupid question maybe...

Is BGA, Bad Green Algae?


john


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

BGA = blue green algae =0)


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

Nice little tank.

I'll be bringing some Downoi to the Oregon plant swap meet. the stuff grows like a weed in my tanks.

Brian


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Ohhh i cant wait! I have converted my main tank in to a temporary grow out tank so i can have some nice plants to share with everyone!

How do you grow your Downoi? I have tried a couple times and it ends bad.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

BIg? update: Well 4 months later the tank has changed. All erio are gone=0( i had a pitty party for a bit, wiped my tears away and went with it. The minis went first then the others. I moved the surviving pieces into another tank where they where promptly uprooted and floated in to who knows where. I had some snail problems where somehow some pond snails and MTS got in the tank. I worked very hard to get them out as i worried about the MTS mixing the potting soil up to the top of the substrate, and i just dont like pond snails. The only snails i have wanted in this tank was ramshorns to breed and add to my 55g for cleaning and food, this has worked well as i have a ton of them=0).

Other changes: well some java fern needle leaf was added to the left corner and i have to say to me it has changed the whole tank i really like it. A plant was added to the middle between the java and a rock but i cant remember what its called. I have been growing out some peacock moss and finally had enough to cover the rock so i just tied that down yesterday with my new favorite tie down....... glide dental floss. In my experiments it last longer then cotton thread but still degrades after some time and is easier for me to work with and tie down. This is my first attempt at putting it in an aquarium with fish so we will see how it does. IM tired of the HC it just not worth my effort in this tank to trim replant and clean all the time. So im letting the hair grass take over.

The pellia is gone dont know why but has been replaced with a piece of weeping moss.

I have done 2 50% water changes in 4 months due to a sudden cloud after i uprooted the erio's. Still absolutely no dosing of excel or ferts of any kind.

*i need your help i need a small easy plant to break up this green. Ideas welcome...........PLEASE.*

and now pics. Camera has been a little screwy since i droped it so sorry if pics are worse then normal.
FULL SHOT








LITTLE CLOSER








MYSTERY PLANT








JAVA WITH RCS he is a camera hog as you will see








WEEPING MOSS WITH... RCS








GRASS MOVING IN ON HAIR GRASS WITH...............RCS


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Once your ammania bonsai and neddle leaf java grow up and fill in it will look nice. I'm not sure what your asking. Do you just want a plant with a different color? There are lots of red plants out there. Did you take a look at the plant finder?


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> Once your amania bonsai and neddle leaf java grow up and fill in it will look nice. I'm not sure what your asking. Do you just want a plant with a different color? There are lots of red plants out there. Did you take a look at the plant finder?


BOnsai thanks Tex-gal. I have looked at the plant finder, as much as i like it it needs some updating. IM looking for an easy plant that will help break up some of the green. I think my tank is way to green. Problem is i really cant think of any small red or like plants that dont need co2. I really think i might just have to skip it as i really dont think i can fit another plant in their with out loosing the scape. plus i cant find or think of a single small red plant that wont take over.

Maybe its not to green and its just me?

The amania bonsai was a plant i picked up at the Oregon plant meet, i instantly forgot its name and have not been able to find much info on it since i got it. I hope to make a bush of some sort out of it but its one of the slower growing plants i have dealt with. You know much about it?


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Let me back up a little. I'm not sure whether it's ammania sp bonsai or Rotala indica bonsai. I don't know how to tell the difference between the two. What I have was sold to me as Rotala indica bonsai. I hear that they are slow growers and like nutrients at the roots. 

A red plant that might work and does well without CO2 is Combomba frucata. Crownman is growing it quite well without CO2. You would have to trim it but it would give you that beautiful red color. It's not small though. There is another small red/green that is Rotala sp 'araguai' but I think it needs CO2.


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## THHNguyen (Dec 2, 2006)

I think the tank looks much better without the erios. I'm starting to dislike them as a group (well at least the short squatty ones). Your tank has a very natural feel to it. 
An easy red plant you can try is Ludwigia arcuata. It just needs good light and iron to turn red.


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## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> Let me back up a little. I'm not sure whether it's ammania sp bonsai or Rotala indica bonsai. I don't know how to tell the difference between the two. What I have was sold to me as Rotala indica bonsai. I hear that they are slow growers and like nutrients at the roots.
> 
> A red plant that might work and does well without CO2 is Combomba frucata. Crownman is growing it quite well without CO2. You would have to trim it but it would give you that beautiful red color. It's not small though. There is another small red/green that is Rotala sp 'araguai' but I think it needs CO2.


Correct me if im wrong but i thought that Rotala indica bonsai and ammania sp bonsai ended up being the same plant? Co2 is something i can consider down the road maybe, so that might make the plant choices easier.



THHNguyen said:


> I think the tank looks much better without the erios. I'm starting to dislike them as a group (well at least the short squatty ones). Your tank has a very natural feel to it.
> An easy red plant you can try is Ludwigia arcuata. It just needs good light and iron to turn red.


Thank you. I had wanted a erio foreground but im pretty shure thats imposible lol. I do like the bigger erios over the smaller ones thats for sure. I have seen some newer big ones that i am really envios for. I dont think i could plop that much money down on a plant again though.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I'm sorry you lost the erios. It's always disappointing to lose a plant you tried so hard to keep.

You might try Rotala wallichii for some red. I'm growing it in a mineralized soil based tank with good lighting and low dosing of gluteraldehyde. It grows fairly slowly but looks healthy and keeps a nice red. With it's fine leaves and narrow width it shouldn't overwhelm a smaller tank.


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## hristoz (Oct 2, 2008)

I think your mystery plant is Bacopa monnieri

It is a slow grower.


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## bru (Dec 10, 2008)

How about a Bronze Crypt for a different color? It does fine in low lighting.


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