Frank's Planted Tank How-To Mini Novel - The Mini S Returns! New Layout

[Francis Xavier]

The 60-P Journal has begun.

[@marko@]

good luck on in the contest.
i might put in my 30C, just to see what spot i get....IF i get the time to replant my UG this week, otherwise itll be to unruly by the time the contest rolls around.
how do you deal with UG frank? trim or replant?
i try trimming, but UG just flips me the bird and floats up anway.

the latest FTS, is absolutely stunning frank.
looks like something right out of dream. the r. fluitans especially.

[Francis Xavier]

Originally Posted by @marko@

good luck on in the contest.
i might put in my 30C, just to see what spot i get....IF i get the time to replant my UG this week, otherwise itll be to unruly by the time the contest rolls around.
how do you deal with UG frank? trim or replant?
i try trimming, but UG just flips me the bird and floats up anway.

the latest FTS, is absolutely stunning frank.
looks like something right out of dream. the r. fluitans especially.

I think that's one of the coolest compliments I've ever gotten. Thanks!

As for UG, I stick to trimming plants as much as possible vs. replant. Though Dollface would be best to ask on UG, as my experience with UG is limited.

[Francis Xavier]

So I've been thinking about the challenge for "low tech," and have devised a potentially better way to start, inspired a bit by Amano.

First, I'm thinking a small container using riccia, dwarf Belem and a stem of a rotala or so.

In this manner building up slowly towards creating a more formulaic system behind growing things out in a modern way.

I do really want to do a layout with Oiso sand for experimentation, however for many plants they don't grow well in pebbles, but crypts tend to grow really well there so it will be interesting to see what can be done.

[FlyingHellFish]

Originally Posted by Francis Xavier

You can do 25% twice weekly, sure. The idea is to do as many as is necessary to keep things balanced. You need to consider the health concerns of your animals as well, so if 25% twice a week is less stress than 50% once a week, go for it.

Go ahead and up your dosing of micro's to compensate with the increased potassium and iron. The idea here is you're slowly increasing amounts to eliminate deficiencies, so if one has a problem, you increase it, then the other might need to come up a bit.

If you're lacking N, can I ask what soil you're using? If it's aqua soil, you very rarely lack in N or Phosphorus.

I'm just using Flourite Black, the tank started out as a testing for my Co2 system which turned out stable.

The HC Cuba kept growing so I'm sticking with it now. I'm seeing a colour change and I'm glad I took your advice.

What is different is the growth rate, I started mine a week or two before your tank, yet you have a nice stable growth. Mine is dense instead of tall, maybe the light is to blame. Not sure how a 23 watt CFL on a 6 gallon compares to those Solar Mini.

[supersbite]

All the Best for the contest Frank and thanks for all the guidance
Cheers

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by Francis Xavier

I think that's one of the coolest compliments I've ever gotten. Thanks!

As for UG, I stick to trimming plants as much as possible vs. replant. Though Dollface would be best to ask on UG, as my experience with UG is limited.

About 4 weeks ago the day I replanted:



I use to replant like this:


Notice the care(lack of care) in the replanting and denser packing above vs the below:

Then I started really working it back in with denser replanting:


The UG is a L shape a couple of rows over, I changed it back but this denser packing really is the cat's meow.

Looks much better than mowing it, which you recover nothing you can really sell for a decent $. This is just a simple technique that really works, recovery to this level takes about 4 weeks and it looks nice as it fills back in.

A dense patch will provide ample plant material to make a real serious repacking/replanting that will fill in fast. Then whatever is left over from that rug, you sell. About every 4-8 weeks, I'll sell 50-100$ worth.

I refer to this as repacking the rug vs simply replanting plugs spaced 1" apart.That's fine if you lack plants to start off with...........but if you want to have fast recovery and trim as it gets overgrown, then you have plenty of plant material.........so do not sell it all, leave yourself with the min amount etc

Replant as densely as you possibly can.





when I replant, I take 1" plugs off the mat and leave then nice and dense. Then I twist them into the soil gently and pack from one part to the other side of the area, just like painting into a corner. I use about a180degree or so twist to keep the plants lodged in good, and I'm only using 1" of ADA As or less!
These mats stay put. I do trim the runners that will pop up and make the mat look ratty unkept etc and I use a paint scraper to push the edges on the glass downward to give a well manicured look.

[@marko@]

thanks tom.
sounds good. ill try that out this week.

[markusdowny]

This question seems kinda stupid and the answer is perhaps somewhere...but what are the plants at the back?

Originally Posted by Francis Xavier

Let's fast forward to the present day so I can cover day one maintenance of the tank, i'll keep this short and brief with mostly pictures (for the first week, there will be a water change EVERY DAY, this is huge for preventing algae) :

Frank's water change & maintenance methods:

Drain water into a bucket with eheim tubing (obviously, you should consider turning off the filter first) :



Drain to about half full (make sure to leave enough water to fill back up with ease without disturbing substrate):



Trim any yellow or brown leaves (these suck out the plant's energy / nutrients so get rid of them asap for best growth) (using Trimming scissors curve type) :



Use a small cup to fill over, gently pouring water on the big main stone (this distributes water flow over the tank and doesn't disturb substrate:



Turn filter on when the water level is about halfway level with the outflow, this helps to super oxygenate the water at fill up:



At this stage in the game, I am only dosing Green Bacter, will start adding Brighty K + Green Bacter on the third day, add about 3-5 drops:



Use a net to remove any old or dead leaves at the top (doing this for a few minutes each day keeps the tank clean and makes it so you don't have to spend major time doing it later) :



Maintenance Complete (approximately 10 minutes)



One last tip: of course, if you're using tap water add dechlorinater first. I use pure RO/DI water as the water in Texas is very hard. I recommend it for anyone who has the means.

P.S. if you've found these techniques valuable, help share the information with new comers by linking back here in your own journals when you use my techniques!

[Francis Xavier]

Originally Posted by markusdowny

This question seems kinda stupid and the answer is perhaps somewhere...but what are the plants at the back?

Plants in the very back: Eleocharis Acicularis (dwarf hair grass)
Back-midground: E. Tennellus Micro

There used to be a microsword in there, but I removed it.

[markusdowny]

There are some moss in front too, right?

So there are HC, a kind of moss, E. Tennellus Micro, DHG, riccia and micro sword (before)?

Is there any particular reason why you removed that?

Thank you so much for answering my questions...!

Originally Posted by Francis Xavier

Plants in the very back: Eleocharis Acicularis (dwarf hair grass)
Back-midground: E. Tennellus Micro

There used to be a microsword in there, but I removed it.

[FlyingHellFish]

Where the updates man?

[Francis Xavier]

I have two goodies for you guys today:

How To Trim Riccia

Part 1

Part 2

[darkrainer]

Again Tom how did you manage to keep the UG so healthy?

[mluk27]

Wow Frank, the Riccia looks so lush and I can DEFINITELY see all the pearling in that video. Thanks for the informative video!