FresH2O's 20g planted rescape

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
The plant growing in front of the DW sent several leaves across the surface so I cleared some space and moved it to the back. I can see the DW again! Now there is more room for the dwarf sag to spread. There are 4 dwarf sag runners heading toward the back of the tank so I use plant weights to "steer" the runners in a more favorable direction.

Lookin good!
 
Was wondering why the CO2 bubbles were slowing down and realized I went over 3 weeks on the same batch of yeast. Made up a new batch and this time I used a cooking thermometer to adjust an aliquot of the sugar/water solution to 110 deg F so that the yeast can be properly activated.

Added a T connector and more check valves so that I can add/remove a yeast culture bottle(s) without depressurizing the system.

Got some black silicone airline tubing; should look nicer in the tank than the neon blue silicone tubing I have been using.

Also picked up a TopFin 30 powerhead to mix the CO2. Returning it to Petsmart because it is too noisy :(
 
To add a little water movement and another option for mixing in DIY CO2, I hooked up an old Penguin 150 HOB. I then remembered why I stopped using it (noise). Not as noisy as an Emperor 280 I ran in the past but still audible. I guess using the AquaClear filters spoiled me. Returned the Topfin 30 PH and picked up an AC50 at Petsmart for about $35. I like the insurance of running an extra filter; in the event the first one fails I have a backup. Same type of filter; interchangeable media.
Oh such fun on a Saturday night!
 
So I setup the new AC50 and it sounds about as loud as the Penguin I just removed. Let it run for a day thinking it would "settle in". Nope.

Inspect, re-inspect the impeller, reseat it...no change. So I swapped the old one (dead silent) with the new one (noisy)...BOTH are pretty quiet now!

Also, not having good luck with the plastic adjustment knob that rotates at the bottom of the motor housing. Both fell off each filter. When I put them back on, they don't go in easily and do not seat very well. So I removed them and placed a block of wood to keep the filters level.
 
Just an update. The dwarf sag is taking over. This is what it looked like a month ago:
AdENiW2.jpg


And this is what it looks like now:
I6pJo5t.jpg


Time to trim the Bacopa caroliniana. I think I'll put the trimmings in the shrimp tank.
 
Tanks look great Fresh! What kinds of fish do you have in it? OS.

Thanks!

7 Longfin Blue Danios
4 Gold Tetras
1 Amano Shrimp
Lots of Malaysian Trumpets Snails

Fish-wise I believe it's understocked but fish were not the focus of this tank. Have not added any fish since October 2012.
 
Looks good! Do you think the DIY co2 really helped? I'm gonna use it for the first time soon, so I want to make sure that other's have had lots of success with it.
 
Looks good! Do you think the DIY co2 really helped? I'm gonna use it for the first time soon, so I want to make sure that other's have had lots of success with it.

Yes I believe it helped. For the first 3 months (after the plants arrived), the growth was very slow using a Coralife AquaLight dual T5 NO fixture. Then I switched to a Finnex FugeRay. For the next 6 weeks growth improved but not what I would have expected. After 2 weeks with DIY CO2, increased growth was apparent. At 4, 6, and 8 weeks (after starting CO2) the plants continued to grow taller, with larger leaves and each runner was producing about 2 plants per week (for the dwarf sag).
I wished I would have started with it sooner. Pretty easy setup. I wonder how the plants would have responded to CO2 under the dual t5 NO lights.
 
Okay, now that I've figured out to grow dwarf sag, I need to start thinning it out. Initially it was not growing against the glass but there is overcrowding going on.

s6OKnwQ.jpg


I am contemplating a few options:
A. I was thinking of possibly removing the other plants and doing a "field" of dwarf sag with a few DW branches poking out. I would essentially remove all of the plants and replant the dwarf sag spaced appropriately.
B. Removing the Bacopa caroliniana which occupies the center/back of the tank and replanting the dwarf sag in its place. Not quite as extreme as option A but a simple solution.
C. See if the LFS will take the excess trimmings and hopefully get more than a 20% off coupon.
D. Just thin out the dwarf sag and host a ROAK giveaway.

What to do, what to do.
 
Haha all good options... You should grow it out even more and do each!
 
Have you ever suspected your dwarf sag wasn't in fact dwarf sag? It looks....different. Much to wide for subulata.
 
I think option A would look cool and very natural... I was thinking of doing something similar with DHG.

Yeah I'm on the fence between A and B, leaning towards B because I would like to keep some low maintenance, vertical greenery along the back. Also, a small group of Crypt wendtii red has sent out runners.
 
Have you ever suspected your dwarf sag wasn't in fact dwarf sag? It looks....different. Much to wide for subulata.

Of course you got me scrabbling through Google images for Sagittaria subulata. I do see variation in leaf width amongst the images and possibly more examples with thinner, strap like leaves.

The dwarf sag growing along the front is from AquariumPlants.com. I also ordered dwarf sag from PeabodysParadise and the leaves looked much thinner than the original group. It was also a bit taller than the other dwarf sag.

When the growth explosion took place a month or so ago, the dwarf sag from PP grew up and along the surface, much taller than one would expect from dwarf sag. I initially planted both groups next to each other thinking dwarf sag is dwarf sag but as soon as I saw differences I separated them.
 
Dwarf sag will grow taller when it grows thick or in lower light conditions, but its always quite narrow. What you have is wider than I've ever seen it, which makes me dubious. It looks like its growing like dwarf sag, but its way tall and wide. It almost looks like a smaller echinodorus species I've been seeing lately, but I can't remember the species name. I'll find it though.
 
Back
Top Bottom