75 gal Riverscape Build

[thefisherman]

Originally Posted by Learner

Thanks Oliver77!

I like the repens and sunset hygro. Getting them wont be easy but I think I am going to really give it a try! I guess I will worry about placement when and IF I can get a hold the plants.

thanks for the replies

i can RAOK u some emersed star repens if you cover shipping Learner. i'm about to do a trim and edit of my emersed tank


- thefisherman

[andrewss]

tank is lookin good

[Learner]

Originally Posted by thefisherman

i can RAOK u some emersed star repens if you cover shipping Learner. i'm about to do a trim and edit of my emersed tank


- thefisherman

Very kind offer. I would love it. Do you think they would make it? I would hate to waste your plants on a risky ship up to AK. If you think they would have a good fightin chance, let me know and I'll pm you.

[Learner]

Originally Posted by andrewss

tank is lookin good

thanks man. I did some pruning tonight and removed a few plants on the back left. replaced them with a few stems from petco......we'll see what happens. Probably weeks of slow melting with a 50 % mortality and then some marginal stems to see thru.....hahaha at least that has been my experience with stems. still such a newb!

regards

[BoxxerBoyDrew]

AWESOME TANK!

GREAT JOB on the Foam Backgrounds and Scaping!

I think your plant growth is going quite good for the plants you have in there! Most of the plants you listed and that I can see in the pics are just SLOW GROWERS!They also take a while to get used to your tank conditions, then they will speed up!

Thinking about your stem plant problems, I would look at your water parameters to see exactly where they are. What is your Gh, Kh, Ph, Nitrate, and IF you have a TDS meter let us know what your Total Dissolved Solid count is. That will give us a clue to where ya need to go from. Where is the tank water coming from? Tap, Bottled, R/O? Also what type of Bulbs are You running? What Kelvin (color temp) are they?

As to the fish deaths, allot of it can come from the location you buy them from! I totally understand where you are located at, and your very narrow choices to buy fish and plants from! Heck I have had problems with big box store fish in my area, let alone where you are! I have tried many times to buy what looks to be good fish, slowly drip acclimate them, quarantine them in a well established tank, and still loose all of them! It is out of your control how they were treated before they got to you!

Also I seriously doubt you can get plants or fish to survive in Priority mail shipments, unless heat packs and good insulating boxes are used, especially this time of year! I have a few friends who have lived in Alaska, and have told me many stories about the bitter cold Yall face!

I would be happy to send ya some plants if someone can tell me what would be the best way to pack them so that they could make it through Priority Mail! I am unsure what kind of heat packs, etc. to use!


Anyway shoot us your water parameters so maybe we can help ya out there, and maybe we can get ya a care PKG of colorful plants to ya without them needing to be overnighted!

[Wy Renegade]

Very nice! Read through the original thread as well and would love to see more pictures of the paludariums you have going.

[MikeS]

Does drylock have the same issues as concrete for curing? I am thinking of doing a background, or even some other decor in the tank.

[Fishies_in_Philly]

the tank looks good JD. sorry i missed it up until now. a plant you may be able to find at Petco is Ludwigia arcuata. it's sometimes called narrow leaf ludwigia. as it grows taller, it will become more red. rotala walichii might be easier for you to get as well. pretty easy grow and colorful too. and don't expect to see fast growth from the crypts. i think my fastest only grows a leaf/week. some, i am happy to get a leaf a month out of.....lol

[Learner]

Originally Posted by Wy Renegade

Very nice! Read through the original thread as well and would love to see more pictures of the paludariums you have going.

thanks Wy, I am currently running only the 75 riverscape, a 20 planted, the newt build, whose inhabitants are being housed in a quick diy newt island venture that only lasted a few weeks before I wanted to rebuild in the 29. I also have a 20 hex that has become the most labor intensive betta tank. The build got very little interest on the forum so I scrapped it. I think its called the waterfall hex tank or something. I will look into it. thanks again for the kinds props.

[Learner]

Originally Posted by MikeS

Does drylock have the same issues as concrete for curing? I am thinking of doing a background, or even some other decor in the tank.

drylok has no major issues with curing. it dries inert and dries fast. I give it 3 days when I am completely done and then add water. I then fill some panty hoses with carbon and run a jet to mix the water around. I do this for a week or so just to be sure. I have never had a problem with the drylok. I know Bill uses grout, GS and titebond for his vivariums and paluds. He is definitely an expert. I have used GS + concrete and grout but mostly above the water line. Concrete took me forever to cure properly in my vivarium past. I had skyrocketing pH levels for over 2 months! We all have our own gig, but in my humble opinion, styrofoam + GS + drylok is the way to go for me. Easy to color what ever you want, easy to apply, and easy to shape. Good luck and keep us all posted. You can always pm me with any specific questions

[Learner]

Originally Posted by Fishies_in_Philly

the tank looks good JD. sorry i missed it up until now. a plant you may be able to find at Petco is Ludwigia arcuata. it's sometimes called narrow leaf ludwigia. as it grows taller, it will become more red. rotala walichii might be easier for you to get as well. pretty easy grow and colorful too. and don't expect to see fast growth from the crypts. i think my fastest only grows a leaf/week. some, i am happy to get a leaf a month out of.....lol

Thanks Bill!!!!!! So glad you chimed in. Your advice is always appreciated. I am trying L. arcuata right now (I think). Hopin for goo results. Its melting somethin fierce as we speak. My crypts (lutea) are my favorite plants by far and the most beautiful. I want more someday for sure! I see why you guys get so addicted to them. I will post a new pic of the tank tomorrow.

Cheers

[Learner]

GREAT JOB on the Foam Backgrounds and Scaping!
thanks so much! man I worked my tail off on that beast. thank you.[/B]

I think your plant growth is going quite good for the plants you have in there! Most of the plants you listed and that I can see in the pics are just SLOW GROWERS!They also take a while to get used to your tank conditions, then they will speed up!

They have been planted since September. I guess I just get impatient seeing all of these goregous tanks that the gurus are keeping. Cant wait to achieve that someday

Thinking about your stem plant problems, I would look at your water parameters to see exactly where they are. What is your Gh, Kh, Ph, Nitrate, and IF you have a TDS meter let us know what your Total Dissolved Solid count is. That will give us a clue to where ya need to go from. Where is the tank water coming from? Tap, Bottled, R/O? Also what type of Bulbs are You running? What Kelvin (color temp) are they?

Water seems decent: Gh:8 Kh: 9 Ph:1.5 NO3:20-25, NO2: 0, NH4: 0, No idea on TDS but I know the tap water at my school where I have my tanks has a good filter system becasue of its hardness. I am only running one of my 48" T5 bulbs in 10,000. every now and again I give em a burst for a few hours with another one. I have a 4 bulb corallife fixture with "OK" reflectors. I am afraid of algae..............i hate the stuff. I have only minor green algae growing on high parts of the BG and I tremble at the thought of fighting some of the issue I have read about on this forum. Seems like such a fine line between massive growth / vivid colors and possible single celled explosions. Being only a 2 year newbie, I walk softly and only whisper of such things in dark corners, afraid the algae will smell my fear.


As to the fish deaths, allot of it can come from the location you buy them from! I totally understand where you are located at, and your very narrow choices to buy fish and plants from! Heck I have had problems with big box store fish in my area, let alone where you are! I have tried many times to buy what looks to be good fish, slowly drip acclimate them, quarantine them in a well established tank, and still loose all of them! It is out of your control how they were treated before they got to you!

So glad to read this. Great to know I am not alone.

Also I seriously doubt you can get plants or fish to survive in Priority mail shipments, unless heat packs and good insulating boxes are used, especially this time of year! I have a few friends who have lived in Alaska, and have told me many stories about the bitter cold Yall face!

Tell me about it................-13 when I went to work this morning!

I would be happy to send ya some plants if someone can tell me what would be the best way to pack them so that they could make it through Priority Mail! I am unsure what kind of heat packs, etc. to use!

Very generous offer. However I fear it would only end badly for what I am sure are very nice plants. I would however take you up on a package that I would be more than happy to pay for once the weather warms up in May.


Anyway shoot us your water parameters so maybe we can help ya out there, and maybe we can get ya a care PKG of colorful plants to ya without them needing to be overnighted![/QUOTE]

Awesome, thanks a bunch. Maybe I'll jsut save some coin after xmas and pay for the overnighter! Thanks for reading and any advice you may have for plant growth.

I did jsut change my CO2 diffuser from the intake of my 2213 over to the intake of the 2217 on the other side of the tank. It faces left to right instead of back to front like the 2213. HOpefully with its greater flow rate and position, I will get better coverage from the CO2. I have also got to stick to my EI regiment better. I have missed some days since fighting the ick in the wonderful petco neons i brought home. Cant believe i didnt quarantine them first. I'll never make that mistake again!

AS always, thanks to everyone for helping out.

JD

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Yeah, those crypts are addicting. I told you when your spring hit, i'll send you some plants, well, there might be a rare crypt or two in that package. If they are ready of course.

[Wy Renegade]

Originally Posted by Learner

thanks Wy, I am currently running only the 75 riverscape, a 20 planted, the newt build, whose inhabitants are being housed in a quick diy newt island venture that only lasted a few weeks before I wanted to rebuild in the 29. I also have a 20 hex that has become the most labor intensive betta tank. The build got very little interest on the forum so I scrapped it. I think its called the waterfall hex tank or something. I will look into it. thanks again for the kinds props.

Thanks, I think I found all of those. I would say on the hex build that people must not have seen it. Interest seems to have picked up .

[Fishies_in_Philly]

That's because i found it last night and gave it a bump.......lol