My tanks, pre AGA trip trim

[ingg]

Been quite a while since I posted pics of my tanks here.

Also been a while since I've gotten to catch up with Neilanh, hope all is well bud and maybe see you att he Holiday potluck for GWAPA?

All of these tanks use a mineralized soil methodology that a friend in GWAPA created to simulate the silt he saw in nature.

The great thing about the system is the need to dose the water column, even in high light, is almost eliminated. I occasionally dose traces of Potassium and that is it.

The down side of the system is Twofold.

One, you need patience. Plants take longer to establish and grow in the beginning, and you are very prone to excess nutrient based algaes like green water in the beginning. It takes patience and restraint to let it work the kinks out.

Two, you can not dose the water column to any great degree. This means there are some plants I cannot keep alive - Ludwigia Pantanal, Tonina Belem are a couple that are utte failures. Blyxa Japonica, Blyxa Aubertii do not do well, hanging on for a long time but slowly fading.
All in all though, an amazing way to keep a higher light tank.

180g, set up in January:


33g shrimp and cray tank, set up in February:

Ammania Bonsai,some say this is the true original Rotala Indica:


75g, set up in spring:

stems like Ludwigia 'Cuba' and broad leaf Stellata showing color:

50g, set up, umm, 2 months ago?

 

[ingg]

You can just barely see this on the right hand side of the 180g pic.

Pretty neat when you get crypts to flower, here is C. Usteriana, second one I've gotten to throw spathes (Willissii obviously cannot make it out to flower, but spathes do come up):

 

[mgamer20o0]

very nice set ups.

 

[ksteady]

Tanks look really really nice. What are you keeping for fish in them ?

 

[rob28]

wow, very cool!!

 

[neilanh]

Dave, things are looking nice!

I've been swamped with work, and other things, so yeah I haven't made it out in a while. I did make the GWAPA meeting at Rob's 2 or 3 months ago, but have been buried ever since. My 125 has suffered severely, to the point it needs to be redone. I've lost all of the stellata (which Im hoping you can help me with) and moss has almost taken over the whole tank.

Anyway, back on topic.

The 180 filled in quite heavily, which I think we expected. The 33g surprised me, I guess I didn't expect it to look like that. The 75 looks good, I like it, but the 50g is what is really standing out to me. Your hardscape you put together in there is trully amazing looking - Good Job!

 

[ingg]

For fish:

Wide variety.

180g - dwarf neon rainbows, rummynose tetras, pygmy cories, otos, german rams

75g - Espei pencilfish, peacock endlers, one nasty betta that needs a new home - because he killed my 4 pelvicachromis Moliwes!, and some hillstream loaches

50g - golden pencilfish, otos, and red neon sumatran gobies (coolest fish ever, that I'll never see - I learned they burrow in, all I ever get to see is there snouts peeking out )

33g - espei and green eye rasbora, cambarrellus shufeldtii (dwarf cajun crayfish)

All tanks but the 50g also have an assortment of cherry and amano shrimp.


Neilanh - 33g never does look like I want it to So tall and narrow, tough to get stems looking right, it turned into a farm tank for Rotala Viet Nam. Need the rocks for the crayfish, besides, it'd be a jungle if it had too many stems. This thing'll end up salt someday I think.

75g has a hardscape - remember the driftwood? Thing is just overgrown, and a collectoritis of too mane stems, hehe. Was testing different stems in the soil, see what grew best. Badly needs some cleanup and rearrangement!

Let me know if you need stems. I stunted my Stellata (finally) a while ago, but it is now coming back strong. Have some other neat stems too. You gotta try Ludwigia Cuba, just so awesome!

 

[An t-iasg]

Wow - those tanks are simply amazing. I have never seen Bacopa monnieri so tall.

I did my pre-AGA trip trim this morning too - it was nothing like yours 8O I hand-pinched some Ludwigia repens, asian ambulia, and rotala rotundifolia.

See you in Atlanta!

 

[An t-iasg]

Just finished reading your fish list - a betta killed dwarf cichlids? Wow. How does he do with the pencilfish?

 

[ingg]

He ignores all other fish, but he slowly hunted and killed those poor Moliwes. Odd Betta, he hides in the plants down low, rarely swimming upper levels.

No Bacopa in my tanks. I think what you are seeing is the Ammania Bonsai - it sort of looks like Bacopa in pic, but in scale, much much smaller - those stems are maybe 1/2" total width, outer edge of leaf to outer edge of leaf.

An, I'm Dave, will be with the GWAPA crew most of the time. Do look for us, be a pleasure to meet folks from forums!

 

[An t-iasg]

The betta was probably aggravated by the colorful moliwe.

Thanks for the ammania explanation - I've never seen those in person. I suppose I'll have a chance to this weekend!

My name is Deb - I'll be hanging out with Purrbox (Joy). We'll look for you!

 

[brutus]

great looking tanks and pictures. i don't know which one i like the best.

 

[czcz]

Wow. Incredible tanks and plants.

 

[ingg]

Thanks for the kind words folks!

An, you hit it, it hit me too late - Moliwe are white with a purple tinge, orange fins, females dark purple bellies.

The betta is a white pearl body and purple tipped fins - he had to see the similar colors, white and purple, and freak out.

Still made me want to do reeeeeaaaaallly bad things to him when he killed some pretty darn rare fish on me tho.

 

[elwaine]

the 50g is what is really standing out to me. Your hardscape you put together in there is trully amazing looking - Good Job!

Ditto! Although I can imagine what the 180 will look lie after a hair cut. I'll bet it will be incredible.

Based on the thread's title, have you already trimmed the tanks? Are more pics coming? (Looking forward to that!)

Best regards...

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

I want to know why everyone is getting so lucky finding those sweet peices of drift wood

 

[Fluff]

Beautiful tanks!

 

[neilanh]

All that wood came from manzanita.com. Dave (Ingg) was the one who sold me some for my 125 too.

 

[ingg]

Back. Pooped.

Neilanh, you are SO coming to the next one. That was simply unreal. Got to meet Karen Randall, hang with Neil Frank, sit on the balcony and talk with Jason Baliban and Jeff and Mike Senske. Got to share a plant with Mr. Amano he'd never seen before, and talk with him and get some pics with him.

It was unreal man.

 

[neilanh]

Yeah, I was just reading your thread on GWAPA. Definately next time!