Recent content by ahelmes71

Here is another annual update of the growth my tank has experienced using the Marineland Double-bright LED fixture. I'm sure there's even better LED technology available now, but as far as I'm concerned, these work fine for growing easy to moderate level plants. This tank contains Amazon...

My melon sword had tall green rounded oval-shaped leaves on long stems when I got it at the store. Looked pretty cool. After a few months, those leaves died off. The new crop of leaves coming was very dark, almost blackish purple, when they came up. Now they are a purplish-rose color and the...

Thanks, I've been pleased with the results so far. Another side note: I think all the plants except the Crypt in this 2013 photo are those infamous Petsmart "Plants in the Tube." I know some folks are sketchy on those, but I think they provide some decent specimens. In my part of the...

Okay folks, I am posting pics almost exactly one year apart of how my tank looks after a year of the Marineland LED "Double-Bright" 48" hood on a 55 gallon tank. Obviously, there are some additional plants visible in the 2013 pic. Left to Right you will see an Anubias congensis variety, the...

My wife got one of those small 5 - 6 gallon desktop tanks as a gift. We set it up at her workplace with just two flame gouramis and a couple of live plants, might add some corys later. The filtration on it is surprisingly decent for a mini-tank: multi-stage with foam, carbon, phospate (I...

This is an interesting thread and something I was just reflecting on last night. We have a small local pet store that is part of a chain in our area. The people who work there know a lot about all kings of animals, not just fish. They are kind of dorky, but they grow on you and recognize...

Thanks for the info. I just commented on your great-looking tank on somebody else's post. I figured anything in the java fern family would be a no-brainer but I guess it is a little more temperamental.

Rivercats, your tank looks fantastic.

Betta, I have also been using Excel lately and my mostly low-light plants are generally thriving in it. I had used CO2 in the past, but sometimes had similar experiences where the system would go haywire and my fish would literally "crash" to the bottom of the tank due to too much CO2. You...

I have what is probably considered a "low light" (Marineland Double-bright LEDs) tank. I have Amazon and Melon sword, Java fern, two kinds of anubias, some hair grass, and an onion plant that are all doing pretty well. Oddly, my Windelov Java is not doing much at all. It is just kind of a...

Scouser, I have had similar result to yours with this plant, though no flowers (yet). I bought a couple Anubias in those clear plastic tubes from our local chain store (Petsmart) here in the U.S. and they have thrived, added many new leaves, etc. They don't grow "tall," but they have...

Aquachem, do you think if I use some Seachem Flourish Phosphorous it will help with that? I can buy some online and start dosing it in a couple of days. I'm always a little leery of getting too crazy with the chemical soup in the tank though. My lights are not particularly bright as I'm using...

Joe, Java Fern is truly the plant that keeps on giving. I had a girlfriend give me a Java for my tank way back in the early `90s, and 15 years later I still had plants in my tank that were descendants of that original fern. Even if you think you've gotten rid of them, you'll find one...

My two anubias are growing well, but I've noticed that some of the leaves are speckled with what I am calling "spot" or "dot" algae...looks like lot of green specks like the plants have chicken pox or freckles? I have a couple of SAE in there who I guess aren't eating this stuff. Is it...

Thanks, glad to hear they will develop more.