# My 20H NPT attemp...



## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Well here it goes. This is my first thank since my 5gal goldfish aquarium. 

I'm going for an Amazon Biotope...

I've put 6x glowlight tetra's in my quarantine tank, taking their 2-3 week timeout. (my son loved picking these guys out, they are chilling at the bottom of the tank, can't wait for them to start checking the place out).

In the mean time, here is the list of substrate, plants, etc. for my 20H I'll be setting up.

I descided to go with Turf King Potting Soil (Aged Douglas Fir Bark, Peat Moss, Pumice, Genuine Compost) Then I added around a half cup of Prilled Dolomite and mixed it in evenly. I'm then going to layer that with a mix of natural and black gravel. (2-4mm in size roughly)










The white specs you can see in the picture are both dolomite and pumice.

I've run a jar test with successful results using this setup.

Results of Jar test were:

pH: 6.6-6.8
kH: ~4-5
gH: ~5-6
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate, Ammonia: These numbers aren't really useful at this point, but were within the allowable range and varied depending on whether or not I stirred up the jar before I took the measurements.

I've lined the back of the aquarium with basic black background (blue on the back to help with reflecting the sun light) to help with the amount of Southern Sun light I'll be receiving for around 4 hours daily. This could get intense during the summer, so I'm lucky we have the blinds we do.

My lighting (other than sunlight) is an Coralife Aqualite T-5 Double Linear Strip (28W total). It rests right on top of my glass top and has little metal extenders to make sure it doesn't fall in if the glass top fails (very unlikely, though I may knock it loose one day! ) Its compact and according to the knowledgebase, if you match the wattage to CF it gives off 10% more light. So if you grab two of these it costs close to the same amount and you end up with more light and the bulbs seem pretty cheap. Also because there are two bulbs per fixture you can mix and match lighting!

In the corner you can see my little Moon light LED from Hagen. Everything I've read suggests that this can greatly increase the happiness of my fish, guess I'll find out.

OK, PLANT LIST: (Suggestions are welcome!!!)

Alternanthera reineckii 'rosaefolia'
Cabomba caroliniana
Echinodorus tenellus
Heteranthera zosterifolia (Stargrass)
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Limnobium laevigatum (Amazon Frogbits)
Mayaca fluviatilis
*ADDED:*
Echinodorus parviflorus
Echinodorus horemanii 'Red'
*REMOVED:*
Myriophyllum tuberculatum

I'm new to plants, so I tried to go with easy/fast growing ones. Though I believe a lot of these are stem plants, so I'm still on the fence and reading the forums.

My filter is a AquaClear Powerhead 30 w/Quick Filter and my 100 micron filter's are on the way.

My heater is a basic 100 watt heater from visa-therm.

WHEW!!! Thats a lot of info. All I can think of right now.

Can't wait to get started!


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

That sure is a lot of stem plants. If you want a sword plant that stays small, World of Wet Pets sells compact sword plants (Tropica swords) for $3 or like 2/$5. They only get like 6-8 inches high. Of course, the E. tenellus can get about that high as well.

Stem plants won't grow a lot of roots fast, so you may want to get something that can grow some roots to help limit H2S in the soil. Also, what is the reasoning behind covering the back of the tank? I think Diana puts here in full view of the window. The floating plants if they cover the surface will greatly reduce the light getting to the rest of the tank. Of course, a southern exposure might be a lot of light, but you could use the blinds to help it. If you find the plants not doing well, you might want to try removing the backing and just using the blinds or nothing at all.

Looks pretty good. I can tell you the AC 30 pump will be moving plenty of water for that tank. It's moving plenty in my 24g right now.

I'm jealous you can get a normal light fixture...with my tanks weird dimensions, few aftermarket things fit it.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

> Also, what is the reasoning behind covering the back of the tank?


Well I believe Walstad said that if you don't cover atleast the soil with a black strip and it recieves direct light such as it will be, that algae and soil problems are almost guaranteed... please correct me if I am remembering wrong.



> That sure is a lot of stem plants.


Yeah, I didn't notice it at first, but I seem to be "attracted" to stem plants. I added and removed some plants from my list.



> I'm jealous you can get a normal light fixture...with my tanks weird dimensions, few aftermarket things fit it.


Isn't that light fixture tiny, its pretty amazing how small they are getting!


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

I think you remember the quote better. Are you only covering the bottom portion and not the whole back? If you are, then I misunderstood and you're doing it right. Or least safely, anyway.

Nothing wrong with stem plant, just take longer to make good root structures. You'll have to keep us updated with pictures.


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## treesmcdonald (Mar 14, 2006)

Looks like you have every thing well planned out. For plants I would suggest ditching the Lilaeopsis brasiliensis it grows so slow that it often gets overwhelmed by algae. And adding Hygrophila difformis it is my favorite stem plant for breaking in tanks. Fast growing and beautiful,what more could you want? It grows extensive root systems so if you decide later that you don't want it cut it off at the base instead of trying to pull it out. Maybe add a nice red nymphea since they seem to like El Natural set ups so much. 

Yes, Diane recommends covering the bottom of the tank to block sunlight from the soil layer. This is to reduce algae problems. I didn't do it on my tank and didn't have any problems but every soil is different! 

Keep us posted!


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

OK, I'll ditch the Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, didn't know it was such a pain.  Guess I would have found out the fun way!

Well I'm trying to stick to the near Amazon biotope, any plants similar to the ones you suggested that have the same root properties?

Updated Plant List:

Alternanthera reineckii 'rosaefolia'
Cabomba caroliniana
Echinodorus tenellus
Heteranthera zosterifolia (Stargrass)
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Limnobium laevigatum (Amazon Frogbits)
Mayaca fluviatilis

ADDED:
Echinodorus horemanii ‘Red’
Echinodorus angustifolius
Echinodorus parviflorus

REMOVED:
Myriophyllum tuberculatum
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis


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## treesmcdonald (Mar 14, 2006)

Sorry I forgot when I was making my suggestions that you wanted to do an Amazon biotope. I think that if you have at least 3 swords they should be able to keep the substrate healthy. And don't forget Hornwort for breaking your tank in. It does a great job sucking up excess nutrients and you don't have to plant it so no mess when you are tired of it.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Thanks for the info! 

I did some research, riccia, hornwort and Amazon frogbit, perform the same for a new tank, rapidly leech out nitrates, etc. 

Do you think I need a combo or can I stick with my frogbit?

BTW, I'm just building a list of my fav's for now, don't think I could possibly fit all those.


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## treesmcdonald (Mar 14, 2006)

You will probably be fine with just the frogbit. Usually with a NPT its best to get as many different kinds of plants as possible in your tank. You will probably loose some of them so its good to have a large variety because you never know which species will take off. 

I have some Echinodorus parviflorus in my tank. They are really nice because they grow so fast but stay relatively small.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Excellent, are there ones on my list you recommend multiple of? 

Or should I just go for one of all of them?


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## treesmcdonald (Mar 14, 2006)

One of each should be fine. If you decide to get more than one sword get extra Echinodorus parviflorus. You can cluster them together to form a nice clump. If you are picking out your plants in person try to get some that are sending up a stems of daughter plants. That way you get free plants. Yah. This is how I ended up with 8 parviflorus. I gave a LOT away lol.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Alright here it is... let me know what you think. Think I'm going to place my AquaSpot order tomorrow and get the rest at the LFS.


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## treesmcdonald (Mar 14, 2006)

Looks good so far. I'm impressed with the amount of planning you are doing! I have a tendency to jump right in lol. 

Star Grass gets pretty tall and can grow fairly fast so you might want to consider planting it further in the back. It does handle trimming well so if you want to keep it in front and prune it that is an option. Mayaca gets tall but not as fast so I usually use it mid ground. But these are just my opinions and are based on my experiences. Who knows how they will grow in your tank.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Thanks.

My idea was to use the stargrass as a frame, from what I've seen if you trim it you can keep it tall and skinny. I had a feeling the mayaca would be midground, I'll move it forward. I'm probably going to move the stargrass to back right, but leave the left one to cover the powerhead, then add more tenellus up front and just have grass covering the front for more swimming room.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

OK, updated my layout, ordered my plants... now I just wait.........


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

looks like a fun layout. Just remember, when you get your ordered plants, they are going to be smaller than you'd like. my E. tenellus has REALLY taken off though.

I agree about maybe not putting the mayaca in front because you will be trimming it more often, but I'm guessing you put it there to hide the powerhead more. Which is fine. I've had mayaca before....resist the urge to plant a few stems together at a time like most stem plants. They can get so frilly that they can block water flow and get algae easily.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Yeah I've been following your layout Tueton, I figured I would pickup tenellus and a few others at LFS so I have a mix of new and established plants. Hope it works out.

Yeah I fought with myself about that Mayaca, I just really want to try it out. The great thing about making a layout is that its not permanent until you put them in!


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

Probably a good idea to get some slightly more established plants. However, the tenellus you will buy at the store was probably grown emersed based on it's height (4-6 inches) and they usually come with flowers (especially from Florida Aquatics). The E. tenellus I got in my order was short and didn't grow for about two weeks, but now it's REALLY starting to spread around and is about 2-3 inches in height.

And for reference, if you get any plants from World of Wet Pets, they order from Florida Aquatics as well as our local (and APC sponser) AquaBotanic. So anything not with the FA label probably came from Robert.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

So I'm confused, whats the benefit of the small vs the large (emersed) tenellus?

Yeah, I'll have to check out the labels...


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## littleguy (Jan 6, 2005)

The emersed leaf form does not survive very long underwater. They will die off in a matter of days or weeks, and the submersed leaf form will start to grow instead (smaller and narrower). This is the natural order of things - the plant is designed to do this. The problem to the hobbyist is that it may take several weeks or longer for the submersed leaves to really fill in, plus you'll need to clean up the dying emersed leaves. This is more of an annoyance than a real problem usually. Starting with emersed leaf-forms just delays the settling in process for the new plant.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

So if the tenellus I buy is submerged, is it going to lose its leaves? The LFS has all of theirs in a tank and from what I've seen they have been their a while...


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## littleguy (Jan 6, 2005)

It will lose its emersed-form leaves, if it has any. If they've been there a few weeks, this may have already happened and they may have some submersed-form leaves.

Here's the emersed form - note the flower pods, which are a tell-tale sign. After the flower pods have been submersed for about a week, they become brown and die off - which tells you how long they've been underwater.
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/echinodorustene.html

And here's the submersed form
http://planta.aquariana.cz/Ech_tenel.htm


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

Littleguy would be correct with statements. Plus, if you aquascape based on the emersed form, you may be sad (or happy) when the form changes to the submerged form. You have the E. tenellus in the foreground anyway, so it won't be a problem. More of a warning in case it suddenly starts loosing leaves so you don't freak out that it's dying.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

> More of a warning in case it suddenly starts loosing leaves so you don't freak out that it's dying.


And I would have! LOL

Thanks for the clear answers, and great picks! Should be easy to spot the difference now.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Well I finished, 1 AM, whew... details tomorrow. Hopefully fish as well if all goes as planned.


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

glad you finally got your plant order in. It stink that it missed being shipped for a week, because I was all excited to get mine and know how crazy I would have gotten to find the order wasn't shipped. It will be good to finally see the tank. 

How are the glowlights doing?


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

*31 Mar, 2007:*

*Substrate:*
Well I finally did it. It was slow going and I made a mess of my first attempt and started over. Luckily I only messed up the substrate not the whole tank. I had been letting my soil and dolomite air out for weeks while waiting for my plants to arrive. This sounded like a great idea, but when you're a beginner and clumsy like me it spells disaster when it comes time to put the water in! 

If you look at earlier posts you can see my soil in the tank. I started by placing a large dinner plate on top of the soil and slowly started pouring water into the tank. Everything was going great the first two buckets went in fine, just a few floating bark chips (very small) and some pumice (as expected) floated to the top of the water, but then I slipped and bam to much water floating dry masses (4"x4"x1") of soil appeared at the top of the tank water (icebergs). I panicked at this point and just decided to add more water so if things didn't settle I could siphon out the water and see if that helped.

After waiting for about 2 hours some of the floating mass had settled, but it wasn't looking good as some of the Douglas fir bark had dried out so much it was never going to sink. This is when I took drastic action and siphoned all the water I could out grabbed the tank and dumped it on my garden.  I wasn't going to let this mishap beat me darn it! I wanted to plant that night, I'd waited way to long for setting up the tank.

Anyway, I grabbed some moist potting soil leftover and ½ cup of dolomite and mixed it together in my renewed tank. It just looked better, no idea why. This is where I got smart, just in case. I then put ¾ of my gravel on top of it and said forget it about trying to remove floaters, I figured at that point if something wanted to get out it would. I then siphoned all the water slowly into the tank from my 3 gallon bucket, one bucket at a time. This did the trick and I was on to planting, whew, how annoying but a great lesson that all soils are not created equal.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

*31 Mar, 2007 (cont.):*

*Plants:*
I ordered them the Thursday before last, before the set deadline at AquaSpotWorld.com, but it still took two weeks to arrive. I wasn't upset that my order didn't ship the week before as I had seen previous posts about how their deadlines work and assume they didn't have time or couldn't get a plane that week. In the meantime I collected plants from two LFS's and was pretty happy with the plant selection I had amassed upon my shipments arrival.

Here is the exact plant list that I started with and quantities:

*AquaSpotWorld.com: *

They are just awesome when it comes to quantities for your buck as you will see.

First note: I meant to order E. agustifolius, which was what I was looking forward to the most, but I forgot to put it into my order.  HINT!!! Check your checkout screen before submitting a PAYPAL payment as you will not receive an order receipt with any information about your order from Aquaspotworld.com, other than confirmation of payment email, was very disappointed about this, but their prices and quantities and overall great service way outweighed this tiny problem.

10x E. parviflorus (this is just crazy for the price and they were not small)
2 orders 10x Heteranthera zosterfolia
10x Hydrocotyle leucocephala
2 orders 10x Limnobium laevigatum
10x Mayaca fluviatilis

*LFS's:* These were all a bit pricey, but established so I think it evens out.

4x Potted E. Tenellus (w/ runners)
2x bunch 5x Alternanthera reineckii
2x bunch 5x Cabomba juscata (Purple Cabomba)
2x Compact Sword, E. parviflorus 'Tropica'

*Notes on plants:*

I floated all the plants in my extra 5 gallon tank for several hours with a heater just to let them air out a little and so I could check them over and do any damage control.


















Heteranthera zosterfolia, was tiny and fragile and very hard to plant, darn things kept floating to the top because they were so light. Not sure about its health was a TINY bit melty.

Hydrocotyle leucocephala (Brazilian Pennywort), completely melted leaves!  Stems were in perfect condition along with roots, which appear all along the stem nodes. I just removed the leaves, hope this was the right thing to do as they were just polluting the water in my 5 gal and 20H after planting. Oh man do these plants smell good, like freshly chopped celery or something similar. Loved planting these ones.










Cabomba juscata (Purple Cabomba), is that what these are? Just a guess on my part&#8230;










E. parviflorus 'Tropica' vs. E. parviflorus, I think I have both. (See finished tank picture below, the Tropica is on the left by the powerhead, I think&#8230

Alternanthera reineckii (how do you pronounce this?), is this the Rosaefolia species?


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

*31 Mar, 2007 (cont.):*

*Finished Tank:*

After 4-5 hours of planting and tons of fun (6 year old loved watching this whole event happen, my 2 year old was getting into everything, I did my best to keep it fun (though I was freaking out in my head every time she would grab a plant! LOL). Eventually everyone went to bed and I was left in peace to complete my work. I think it turned out ok for my first attempt.










The water is cloudy, but in time I know this will go away.


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

hey good start krisp .....keep us posted.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

*1 Apr 2007:*

Woke up, made some changes to the layout, added more penny (chopped all the leaves off, it hurt me more than it hurt them), moved some reineckii, added more E. parviflorus. The Frogbits have already grown and their roots are double length, or maybe I was just tired last night. 

*Water Parameters:*

pH: 6.8
NH3/NH4: <.25 (I think this was due to the dead leaves left by the melty ones)
No2: 0
No3: 5-10ppm
GH/KH: 2/2 (not happy with these yet, hope they slowly build like my jar tests)

Waited until 5PM, still no ammonia buildup.

Broke my own quarantine rule! 

As my glowlights are in my hospital/quarantine tank and are going to need to be there a few more weeks for observation. They are doing great btw, not happy that I used triple sulfa before I found other methods, but you live and you learn! I think the key to my success vs. the LFS's still lingering problem is the darkness I provided along with dosing Melafix and having higher heat, but who knows could just be the volume of fish they are treating. Either way I think they are over the hump, as fin growth is fantastic with 4/6 having full dorsal fins again!

Anyway long story short, I brought home 6x Black Phantom Tetra's that I've watched at the LFS for weeks now, so I'm confident they are healthy. Yeah I know, not a good excuse, but I couldn't' bear waiting several weeks to add some fish to my established tank, and these 3 females 3 males are amazing and after just 4 hours are very comfortable with their new home. They are diggin' my blue LED's they shimmer just above the surface and look very nice. Can't wait for my glowlights to move in and then it's on to my Marthae's! (After my Frogbits have grown a bit, of course.)

I will post more pictures this afternoon/evening.


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

looking good. Is is sad that by your plant list I can probably tell you which store you got each of them at? ha.

E. parviflorus and the tropica sword will look different. The tropica will stay short (like 6 inches) and get the same hammered like leaf of a normal amazon sword. The full version will have more of a longer, narrow leaf.
http://www.tropica.com/productcard_1.asp?id=071D
vs
http://www.tropica.com/productcard_1.asp?id=071E

Strangely, the babies I have off of my compact sword have those longer leaves as they are growing out. It must be a more mature form of the leaf that stats small. Or, maybe the cultivar isn't genetic and the plants we buy are tissue clones versus reproducible at home.

And oh yes...I agree about never getting the confirmation of order from Aquaspot...it would be nice to double check the order. I had some many potential orders in the day up to finally doing it that I had almost forgotten what I finally gotten. I had to reconstruct it based off of the price and my order total.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

> Is is sad that by your plant list I can probably tell you which store you got each of them at? ha.


LOL, yeah I don't think its sad though, I think its great. Means you really love plants!

Any suggestions on my plantings? I had so much I didn't know what to do with it, trying to configure at 5 gallon tank right now to use up the extras!


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

2 Apr 2007:

Totally clear! Had no idea it would happen so fast, blown away really.










Here is a pic with the leds going.










I fed my Black Phantoms this morning, WOW can they eat. This overfeeding thing is going to be hard to do when my other fish are introduced.










Here are several updated photos, note the growth on the tenellus and penny's (guess chopping them was the right choice&#8230. I hope my stargrass takes off soon, can't really trim it because its so small and fragile right now.  All I can do now is feed and wait for growth. Need something to do.  Tending to my glowlights takes up enough time right now I guess.


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

looks pretty good to me. The E. tenellus still really look like emersed form still...the will change on you. and once they start to grow....they will really grow.

From the Tropica swords you have, it seems they are younger specimens. I got a big older one (it had 5 babies plants growing on it as well), it has longer stems before the leaves and rounder leaves. So those will change a little bit too, I think. Unless those are actually the real parviflorus, then they will just get bigger. Ha.

I have problems feeding my plants as well, as all the fish are super hogs.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

I don't know the E. tenellus is growing like mad, not sure what it is.  

The penny's are out of control all the nodes have stems and leaves already! I'll post a pic in a few days so the change will be more apparent. 

Bah, stargrass is just depressing, hope it does something soon.

Bought some hornwort today to help out with the first phases, just thought it was a good idea...

The center is parviflorus so they will get big, hopefully as I planned, lol. The right was presented to me as Tropica, so who knows.

NOTE:
I'm setting up a 5.5 gallon tank right now same method, different plants, all fast growing, ie. wisteria, java fern, rotala indica, and my left over parviflorus. Floating hornwort in it now as well and plan on tying the java on to a little piece of african driftwood I picked up and am boiling as I type. I'll start a thread when I have it planted. Maybe a twig cat?


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Well I need help with my stargrass, does anyone know how far back I can trim them?

They are about 4-5 in each and all the leaves are melting on the top half, the stem is bright green though.


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## Aquaspot (Jan 19, 2006)

The Stargrass should grow faster than anything you have in there. Cut the top off and they will branch quite profusely if the conditions are right. Once they take off, you can't stop them.

It could be that you do not have enough light for them. Float a few stems to see if these grow faster nearer the light.

P.S.: I think you were able to check the order on our website just before you checkout, so that you can confirm the order and add/remove anything before making payment. In any case, just send us an email to run a check on your order if anything's wrong!


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

How much light do they typically require? I only have 1.5+ watts per gallon, plus ~10 hours sunlight.

Thanks for the help!



> P.S.: I think you were able to check the order on our website just before you checkout, so that you can confirm the order and add/remove anything before making payment. In any case, just send us an email to run a check on your order if anything's wrong!


Yeah like I said, make sure you check before you checkout!  I know good and well I wasn't paying enough attention, and I was confident that I had ordered correctly. I'm not putting any blame on you guys.  Though it would just be nice to receive a detailed receipt via email after my purchase, this is a pretty common practice at most e-stores, but if it raises the prices then forget it!


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## Aussie_hippie_2 (Nov 11, 2006)

Sorry if this had been answered before, but what it that floater? I have some, but am clueless as to what it is...


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

> what it that floater?


Limnobium laevigatum (Amazon Frogbits) (not enjoying the smell they put off, wish I could smell the penny's).

BTW! Anyone here in ptown that would like my leftovers? FREE of course. Now in a bag waiting to die. 

Extra list:
~5x Mayaca
~3x Alternanthera
~4x Pennywort (no leaves, but as you will see grow super fast)
~3x Purple Cabomba
~1x Parviflorus


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

well, if you have somewhere you can float them, the GPAS annual plant sale is coming up. You can make a little back for them at least (probably a very little but its still money back), and send then on to a home where they will get used.

And regarding the stargrass, I those definitely need high(er) light. I had some in my tank, and they always just got covered in algae and never grew to what the pictures show. I think having good water flow around the stems would help too.

But don't feel bad if it dies...remember, I lost the mermaid weed in my tank, but now everything else is doing wonderful.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Loses are expected. Was just hoping it wouldn't be my two corner background plants!  I may have a use for my plants yet.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

OK, stargrass was just polluting the water column, so it got the boot. 

~20 stems of zosterfolia (stargrass)
4-5 stems of Mayaca
3 stems of alternanthera
4 penny's

If anyone wants them...

Mayaca, penny were added and parviflorus was moved around to stop the current from blasting the cabomba. Frogbits are out of control!

Pics tomorrow if I'm happy with the clarity of the water, I made a mess. I found some decaying food! Alright! The piglets are missing some.

I've given up on the LFS for ramshorn, anyone have any or know where to get some?


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

well, not to sound like a drone, but GPAS usually has a bag or two up for auction. I don't have tons of ramshorns yet, but I probably will in a few weeks. I do have some pond snails in more adundance.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

OK, heres a quick picture of what it looks like today. Still working on arrangement, but think its pretty much done now. The water is a bit murky, but I think that will clear up soon.










Added a ramshorn, and a few malaysian snails. I think I have some other type, but its still to small to tell at this point.

KH and GH are giving me a headache, but I think they are slowly rising... (I hope)


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Alternanthera has a slight green algae coating on its leaves. 

ADDED: Hair algae now forming, just a few. Green spots on the front of the tank. Hornwort and frogsbit are both present, shouldn't that be enough? Tenellus has countless runners planting themselves, penny is out of control. Mayaca is spliting repeatedly. Swords are growing. Hmm...

Cabomba is melting, allelochemicals at work, I'm sure of it. Anyone have any suggetions for a replacement? (Amazon biotope, background, fast growing)

Going to read the algae section again, but reducing direct sunlight for the time being. Have several uknown snails, malaysian's, and a ramshorn and they are cleaning very well. I did add some ph stabilizer, was using baking soda while I wait for the dolomite to kick in, could this have caused it? The stuff wasn't supposed to raise my pH, but it did! I have to stop just taking the word of the LFS. 

Any suggestions or will this clear up when the iron runs out?


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

you could put the Mayaca back in...that is SA, I believe. It's looking pretty good.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

I started with 6 stems of Mayaca and now have 10+, prior to algae growth.

I read in Walstad that high light won't hurt so I'll go back to that tomorrow. Maybe the soil just has a large store of Iron, so after a while it should go away. 

I have red algae on the tenellus now, boy there must be a ton of iron, bummer. The water may even be turing green. I'm not used to this, someone talk me down.  

Should I be cleaning up the hair algae? Any emergent plants anyone can think of? I guess if it has to happen I will go non Amazon. Much better than algae!


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Cabomba gone, was half squishy, very cool.

Reading algae control section again... Basic rules seem to be as follows:

Add 3" of dark material over substrate. (did this anyway at beginning)
Add diffuse material to back of tank. (did this with 2 sheets of wax paper, looks like it shall work)
Replace all full spectrum or blue peak bulbs in fixture.

Here are my two bulbs currently:

Plant Grow:








Colormax:









, so I remove the Colormax, because it has a peak below 520 wavelength and algae become iron deficient above this level?

Do I replace it with another plant grow bulb or a full spectrum light?

Full Spectrum:


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

I'm running 6700k and 10000k (36w each of CFL). Plants doing well. But, your mileage may vary.

You still only have te 6 fish in there, right?


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Yeah, 6. Think I'm going to pickup another light strip today. I only have 28w, wasn't thinking when I bought it.


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

well, don't do that based on my numbers. 72W is technically above the recommendation. Plus, the bulbs I have are over a year old (they had about 8+ months on them when I set this tank up this time). And the reflector design is a plain POS. The bulbs are too close together, too close to the front of the tank, and too close to the reflector. They were designed to fit in the hood dimensions and for viewing, not for plants (or plants at all...it's technically designed for SW).

I'd guess I probably have like 40-50W of useable light hitting the tank. Of course, that's just a guess. And I think you get a lot more sun than I do.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Well I bought one...  It will work out ok, because I have wax paper double thick on the back of my tank now. Tons of sun, even raises the tank temp several degrees.

Update:

Disaster... This is the moment all the planted books talk about, when you think your going to lose it.

My Nitrite level just spiked. Hadn't measured it in a few days and bam its now at 5ppm. I was hoping this was a mistake, did another test same result.

After several huge water changes throughout the day and a filter squeeze (needed to do this into my quarantine tank anyway, so it worked out) Nitrite is now reading around 1-2ppm. Went to find something to use to detoxify the nitrite, saw Amquel+ or whatever it is and didn't think it was right for me as it warned about oxygen and other issues. Got home read the forum and everyone suggests it! LOL  Added 1tsp of aquarium salt, way less than the dosage on package as per walstad and others recommendations, as it should detoxify the nitrite while I work this out.

Between this and the algae, I've got a battle on my hands. Well I just can't wait for things to finally calm down so my glowlights can make the move and I can start enjoying el natural maintenance.


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Nitrite went up to 2+ppm, so I went and got AmQuel+, was skeptical, but alas several minutes after use nitrite down to .25ppm! WOW! Hope this is maintained for a while, will post results of tonights test.


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