55 gal, lower light trial continues, 9/24/07, new pics!

[newfound77951]

...after winning a bout of GW that some of my plants liked and some did not! It's interesting to see how much some plants have grown (esp the R. rotundifolia on the right). I liked the way it looked before, I think I to create more "levels" now, which is hard to do in a narrow 55. Any suggestions are welcomed!

Here's the tank a couple of months ago, after I "finished" aquascaping it...

And here it is last night, after a major cleaning, pruning and replanting...some of the plants are a little pale after a month of GW, I may have to remove a few completely but i'm waiting to see if they make a comeback.

 

[Glenc]

Tank looks great, Lots of growth. Gained some, lost some. What is the red plant on the left, just off center? It must feel great to get rid of the green water. I've had my problems with it as well. How long has the tank been clear? Hopefully the tank will stay clear for you, good luck!

 

[Tiffi]

The tank how you first had it looked wonderful!

First thing I've recognized are the root thingies that grow into the water from the top. I would take them out, because they disturb the flow how your eyes wander over the under water landscape.

Second, I would try to group plants of the same species closer together. I just rescaped my tank tonight. Did the same thing, took everything out and put it back in. Took me about 4 hours lol. I think after you've regrouped them/put them closer together, you will have the look you're after. I think it will look like the picture on the top again.

 

[newfound77951]

The red plant to the left is Alternanthera reineckii. It's growing slowly but starting to look good, really bright pink now.

I am trying to get rid of most of the floating plants...they are really cool but kind of a pain, as you mentioned. If anyone wants them, they're listed in the barter/trade forum....

I think the big rubin sword in the center has to go, or at least get a huge pruning to get rid of all the bad leaves. I might move the ozelot that is over to the right into it's place. Right now it's battling with the Rotala for space and doesn't look good. I also need to fill in behind and underneath the big sword on the left, the wisteria looks messy and is growing weird, looks like a poodle, all the leaves on top with stems underneath.

I will update when I rescape, but keep the advice coming!

 

[Tiffi]

See, that are already some very good ideas. If the rubin really looks half dead (not very clear on the picture) I would take it out too. Putting the ozelot in its place is a great idea as well. So I would cut everything away that's dead and group the stem plants closer together.

 

[newfound77951]

Here's another pic...still in transition as I am waiting for some plants to come in today or tomorrow. I think the right hand side is starting to look better. I put the Bacopa in front of the Rotala but it doesn't show up very well. The new Tiger lotus looks good over there. The ozelot is in the center now and is much more visible. I think the Hygrophila needs to go into the left hand corner and get trimmed down a lot.... I added another Alternanthera in front of the first one which looks good as the new one is shorter. Honestly I think I need to get rid of a few plants completely but I like all of them...can't decide....help please!

 

[newfound77951]

OK, so somehow I can't seem to take as good a picture as I did before, but I did another major rescaping last night and I think it's really starting to look GOOD!!! Just need to let things grow in a little, and get the last of the floating plants out.

Whole tank:

Left side:

Center:

Right Side:

 

[Zezmo]

That is a very nice tank. Some of those plants have awsome red color. I really like the Driftwood, and it's placement.
In the last pic, on the upper right. What kind of fish is that? What kind of lighting, CO2, ferts etc do you use?

 

[BrianNY]

I think you've done a wonderful job. If I would critique anything it's round stones. Somehow they don't look natural. But maybe that's just my eye.

 

[GlitcH]

Lookin good Newfound........I know what ya mean about the photography.

It's a shot in the dark (no pun intended) for me too.

What's the little tiny plant over on the far right foreground, regular hair grass maybe?

Oh and the floater on the right......what is that?

 

[newfound77951]

Lighting is 2x96 watt PC. CO2 is 2xDIY, diffuser is the Red Sea venturi (works really well), plus I supplement with 5ml Excel daily. Ferts are mostly from Greg Watson, plus a couple I "borrowed" from work. I dose CSM+B every other day (0.1 ppm Fe equivalent), 10-15 ppm K2SO4 twice a week, N and P as needed (usually 1x a week; my trace has some N in it.) I've had some algae and GW problems, I think because my CO2 is probably a little low, but no $$$ for a pressurized system at the moment.

ID's...

sparkly fish on the far right is a large diamond tetra. I had 6 of them in my 30 gal but lost all but this one a while ago. he is gorgeous, they are pretty common around here but don't seem to be popular fish.

Foreground plant on the right is hairgrass...I found out that both dwarf and regular hairgrass are usually grown emersed, and consequently tend to die when submersed. That's all that was left of my giant hairgrass. I mowed down the dwarf hairgrass when it died and it is now coming back in and spreading.

The large floating plant is a floating water sprite...not the same species as the rooted variety. It grows at an amazing rate....about 1 month ago that plant was maybe 4" across and now it spans the tank (12").

 

[newfound77951]

Wow.....I just came back from 5 days away from home.....and apparently my tank decided to turn into a jungle while I was away....if anyone wants to know what 192 watts of PC on a 55 will do, here it is, in graphic detail....

one week ago, just after a pretty big pruning (!!!) and cleaning:

What I saw when I came in this afternoon: YIKES!!!! Yes, I'm still battling a little cloudy water. Going to clean and prune now, will save all the trimmings and take a pic.....check the barter/trade forum soon!

 

[czcz]

Very nice. Looking forward to the next pics. I especially like how you're shaping the center.

Do you find the lotus' size enhances or limits the aquascape?

 

[newfound77951]

I really like the color, leaf shape and movement the lotus adds, I just wish they would stay the same size for more than, oh, 2 minutes. I had 2 lily-pad surface leaves when I got back that were pretty big and were not there 5 days ago. They are a little tough to plant around, but I like how the one on the right looks against the wall of fine leaved Rotala. I think they are great centerpiece plants, and would look nice with an understory of shade-loving plants like crypts or anubias. Fortunately they are easy to prune, so depending on how much you like to prune you could "mold" them into a lot of different aquascapes. Maybe with less light they wouldn't shoot for the surface so darned fast. I am envious of all the tanks I see with nice, bushy lotuses but I am starting to think that is the result of incessant pruning. The fish love them, they hang out under the leaves all the time.

Just finished up pruning....diatom filter is running now so will take a new pic when it's done. I removed an enormous amount of plants....many bottom to surface stems!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

It's looking great......

 

[Zezmo]

Nice growth and a good looking tank. I like the reds they give you some nice contrasts.

If you trim those lilies very aggresively they will eventually stay more in control. Dont be afraid to trim all the leaves that are not doing exactly what you want. And that may be every one of them for a while.

 

[hashbaz]

Maybe with less light they wouldn't shoot for the surface so darned fast.

This has not been true in my experience. I have grown them in 1.4 and 2 wpg and have always had trouble keeping them down. Like you said, they are perfect for about 2 minutes and then are too tall and need to be cut back.

Do you have any qualms about cheeting to get a "bushy" tiger lotus? You can squeeze a few "sparse" plants together to look like a single "bushy" plant.

 

[Glenc]

That is some huge growth! Tank is looking great. looking forward to more pics.

 

[GlitcH]

wow......5 days!!........u fertilizing with steroids dude?

I can attest to the growth speed of the lotus......I watched mine grow a surface leaf in 2 days from a depth of over a foot.

 

[newfound77951]

yep, I've got another leaf heading up today, gotta clip it off.

no steroids....just plain ol' ferts....but a lot of light. Pretty amazing on DIY CO2. If I ever got pressurized CO2 and left for a week I don't think I could get back in my apartment, it would look like the Amazon!