Marc's First! 55gal Journal! Updated 4/15/2006

[jeffboyarrdee]

hey

i like the look of simple tanks, im gonna start a 30 gal with only rotala indica and glosso...and go for a simple look

i think ur tank looks great! and if u want to add more plants wihtout taking away from the ludwiga look, you can just take the front portion out and keep the 2 lumps of ludwiga in the back half of the tank!

but i think it looks great the way it is, especially if u have a nice good foreground of hairgrass.

[kzr750r1]

Nice growth. You have convinced me that i don't have enough light. Although things are growing. My ludwigia has never looked that lush. What do you have between the two stands? If allowed to grow out some more this would add a nice shape contrast...

[Marc]

Originally Posted by kzr750r1

Nice growth. You have convinced me that i don't have enough light. Although things are growing. My ludwigia has never looked that lush. What do you have between the two stands? If allowed to grow out some more this would add a nice shape contrast...

Between the 2 bushes, i have some Limnophila aromatica, 2 stems. and of course the hair grass.

The hair grass is starting to send out new shoots. its growing in quickly.

[kzr750r1]

Originally Posted by Marc

Between the 2 bushes, i have some Limnophila aromatica, 2 stems. and of course the hair grass.

The hair grass is starting to send out new shoots. its growing in quickly.

It's the Limnophila aromatica I was looking at. If you can keep building up your clippings in that location it'll look cool with the hair grass path. I'm still shaking my head why didn't i pick up the 4x54w T5 fixture. After looking at your phenominal tight leaf internodes I may be able to sell the idea to boss and use my current fixture for a couple of smaller tanks.

[Marc]

Originally Posted by kzr750r1

It's the Limnophila aromatica I was looking at. If you can keep building up your clippings in that location it'll look cool with the hair grass path. I'm still shaking my head why didn't i pick up the 4x54w T5 fixture. After looking at your phenominal tight leaf internodes I may be able to sell the idea to boss and use my current fixture for a couple of smaller tanks.

If i were to choose my light setup over again, i would go for 4x55watts to cover the whole length of my tank. Running 2x96 only gives me the length of about 36 inches but my tank is 48. Im glad that the AH supply kits came with good reflectors because the ends of my tank are getting decent light.

The l armomatica was given to me when i bought the hair grass. It seems to be growing okay and the leaves are staying nice and red. I hope it keeps on growing. Do you have any experience with the plant?

[kzr750r1]

Not yet. I'll wait till you have some clippings to share.

The only issue I'd see with your choice would be heat over acrylic. From my experience with compact flourecent bulbs they run hot. Ive never seen a 96 in person but from the info at AH they look like the monster of the bunch. If the T5 fixtures were not available I would have done the same.

But then again I think too much about all the little things that may never be a problem.

Please keep us updated. The comming changes should be interesting...

[Buck]

Pretty tank... the color's must wow you when you walk in the room.. ! The simple look sure goes a long way in there.

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Buck

Pretty tank... the color's must wow you when you walk in the room.. ! The simple look sure goes a long way in there.

Thank you Buck! I noticing that some of the new growth is looking a little light and yellow- i might have to dose extra iron. Im dosing CSM+B but im not sure if its enough iron.

[Marc]

Its been about a month since I last posted and I wanted to share what my tank currently looks like right now. The tank is in need of major trimming.
I have a few ideas and plan on rescaping the tank. Im a little afraid to ruin the look that the tank currently has.
Ive got some baby tears on the left but i think it needs more light- I may just move that out to a new tank.
I used to run a 9watt UV filter 24/7 but getting some pale colors. I now just run it a couple of days after water change and its made a dramatic effect on the new growth.

[Aussie_Star]

very nice

[kzr750r1]

Impressive. So are you atributing the coloration change to micro loss? I noticed you decided to turn off the UVS 48 hrs after a water change.

[Aphyosemion]

That Ludwigia looks fabulous! I'm often surprised how simple arrangements can look so striking at times. I often start out with complex arrangements and end up rescaping over and over again. Out of my 7 tanks, I only have one so far that I consider to be my "final" arrangement. I guess it would be 2, if I consider my java jungle complete.
Oh, and by the way, the baby's tears do NOT need more light. I have them as a background plant in my 1 gallon tank, which only has 13 watts and it is suspended fairly high over the tank. Baby's tears (H. micranthemoides) grows under any decent amount of light. I actually prefer the growth under lower light, since under high light, it seems to want to grow horizontally, rather than vertically.
I am saving the latest pic of your 55 to inspire me that simple can work and I don't need to overcomplicate things as much as I do.
-Aphyosemion

[Marc]

Originally Posted by kzr750r1

Impressive. So are you atributing the coloration change to micro loss? I noticed you decided to turn off the UVS 48 hrs after a water change.

From my experience yes. With the UV on 24/7 new plant growth would come in yellow and holes would form. I tried increasing my dose and even adding more iron and nothing. Once I turned the the UV off, growth over a week was crazy!

Here is the tank 3/22/05

3/29/05

Originally Posted by Aphyosemion

That Ludwigia looks fabulous! I'm often surprised how simple arrangements can look so striking at times. I often start out with complex arrangements and end up rescaping over and over again. Out of my 7 tanks, I only have one so far that I consider to be my "final" arrangement. I guess it would be 2, if I consider my java jungle complete.
Oh, and by the way, the baby's tears do NOT need more light. I have them as a background plant in my 1 gallon tank, which only has 13 watts and it is suspended fairly high over the tank. Baby's tears (H. micranthemoides) grows under any decent amount of light. I actually prefer the growth under lower light, since under high light, it seems to want to grow horizontally, rather than vertically.
I am saving the latest pic of your 55 to inspire me that simple can work and I don't need to overcomplicate things as much as I do.
-Aphyosemion

Thank you! I really like the simple look also but sometimes my fingers get itchy and makes me want to mess with stuff in my tank. Ludwigia is a tricky plant because it likes to drop its lower leaves if they do not receive any light. I'll have to trim them soon to let some light get to the lower leaves.

[Urkevitz]

The Aromatica looks amazing, how much iron, Micros, and Macros are you dosing?

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Urkevitz

The Aromatica looks amazing, how much iron, Micros, and Macros are you dosing?

It has really taken off! I started with only 2 stems.
Im dosing per EI

1/2 N
1/8 P
1/4 K

10 ml CSM+B 1tbs per 250ml H2O
5 ml Iron

You cant really see it in the picture but I do get a little spot algea on older growth- Im trying to up the P a little to see if it helps. Urkevitz do you have any experience with spot algea?