Tom's 180 wood scaping

[bsmith]

King Tiger?

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by shewey

Well yes that was obvious, but my question was how much macro/micro and on what schedule.

Cheers,
Mark

I dose when I feed the fish, every other day, macros and micros, sometimes micros daily(3-5x a week).

I add about 2 tsp of KNO3, 1 tsp of KH2PO4 each time for the macros, 60-70mls of Secret Blend of micros I developed(and some day should get around to selling to the vendors for retail sale) for the micros.

I add about 3 tsp of GH booster after every water change(60-70% weekly).
KH is 30ppm. Temp is anywhere from 82-85F

I use plain old Tap, but we have the ultimate source, Sierra snow melt.
I add prime.

Tank has mazzei venturi, high current etc.
I ran into some issues as the filters clog, the venturi rate goes down due to less pressure on the output side of the filter, this reduces gas flow and dissolution. So I have to keep the filters clean Yes, taking my own CO2 advice Another issue with the mazzei's is that if they get a leak, you cannot use the soapy water trick, they suck air/gas in, not expel it out. So filters need oversized and cleaned often, and the gas lines need over built.

As fish food is also nutrients, I consider it part as well, I feed as often as I can but small amounts and varied diet. Mostly live brine, frozen spirulina brine, Mysid shrimp, Blood worms, the spirulina dry sticks, crushed snails if I find any alive, a little flake.

Nice thing is, I do not have to heat my home or add a humidifyer, the tanks and lighting do it for me.

Stays about 68-72F most of the winter.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by shewey

Well yes that was obvious, but my question was how much macro/micro and on what schedule.

Cheers,
Mark

I do test here and there for answering more specifics for folks.
Mostly for KH, and leaching from fish/food waste and the sediment(ADA AS).
And when I do test, I do measure quite a few things and spend a few hours doing it.

I am not the spot tester. I have a box full of sciny vials I use to measure things over time and test all at once, not day to day week to week.
Then I'll use a nice spect and calibration solutions to take the measurements.
Then you graph the results out etc and get error bars and look for patterns.
I take a sample(a 10 second operation), then freeze it till later.

Bit more involved, but I ask questions that are pretty specific. Most every aquarist does not need to do this to keep a nice planted tank.

Still, I prefer time series when testing, not one sample from one point in time that's not been measured using a calibrated test method. Calibration takes time and work as well. So does dragging it out. But by simply freezing the water samples, I can put off doing a large batch all at once.
This greatly reduces errors, bias in sampling, testing methods/procedures, greatly reduces the labor per test and is much better time management.

Some folks are just plain foolish about testing, thinking they need/must test day to day/every week etc. I'm more clever than that/too lazy, but it's not me that came up with that, it's many folks that do research long before me or anyone else here. Some hobbyists act as if they are the only people who have used test kits to dose nutrients and it's their idea or something

The trick is to learn enough to not have to do as much work.
That's what smart lazy folks do

Hard to argue with that.
Still, what is it that we really want to test?
Plants, aquarium stability, little if any algae presence, happy fish and critters.
The organisms themselves make excellent examples of "test kits".
I've found over the years, that those who watch organisms this way are the best and most successful.

EI is a general method to do that, hardly my idea about serial partial dilutions nor is it my idea that I dose a certain amount of PPM based on a dry weight into a liquid. I just argue that it's an easy simple method to provide non limiting nutrients.

I have plenty of long term examples of the most sensitive fish and invertebrate species to counter any such health claims about the ppm's being "bad" or that higher than whatever they claim is "unethical", as well literature research references.

Altums are just one more example

And I'll just keep heaping on the evidence tank after tank, year after year.



Regards,
Tom Barr

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by bsmith782

King Tiger?

No, it's a rarer pleco.
I've had L-333 and the queen's:
http://www.amazon-exotic-import.de/G...en/L%20260.htm

Tere is this one which is also very nice:
http://www.amazon-exotic-import.de/G...ten/L%2066.htm

I've had these in some tanks, very nice fish.

But these are different.


I've got 5 of Chocolate zebras in my tanks and also in a client's:
http://www.amazon-exotic-import.de/G...en/L%20204.htm

these do very well in planted tanks.

I'm not sure what this guy is, his markings are different and the form and behavior are as well.

Some of the larger species I have in a client's tank, they are 3-4 years old now and some are very dramatic.

I do not want them that large in my tanks, so I have chosen smaller species and likely need more caves in the back for them. I'll make a nice holey wood cave back in the rear of the tank to accommodate more hotels for them.

If they do not have a nice hiding spot of their own, it is very stressful on them.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by Raul-7

It's been done, just not regularly.

http://www.archangelus.com/breedingaltums

I'm not getting my hopes up, if I see eggs...........I will remove them asap.
It will be a few months, years before they are good spawning size.
I have live brine so feeding fry is not an issue.

I am feeding similar foods and they have more room, better tap and other water quality parameters. They come running to the tank edge like rabid Rift Cichlids, not the shy sensitive fish folks have claimed them to be. Even my clients claim this, need live blackworms etc but why cannot I see this then?

Be sad though, if they did bred for me, the first angles I spawned where Altums?


Would that convince folks that basic EI and good high CO2 are fine for even sensitive hard to bred species?

Probably not.
But my CRS are still fine and all at EI+ 79F temps with dwarf Botia, galaxy danios etc.

I'd like to have the royal farowellas bred or any of the rare plecos.
I'd be happier doing that than Altums actually.
Some of the S panamese I gave to a local club member bred them.
I have the S arueum.



Regards,
Tom Barr

[CL]

Thanks for the pics, Tom! The tank looks great!

[MO3N]

i just read through the hole thread and beautiful tank. looks amazing. i love the look of the bulk heads on the tank very clean looking. i had a few questions about it.

1) i saw on one of the posts you had a rena filter under one of the tanks. on the tanks were you use a normal canister (built in pump and everything) do you go for a rena filter or do you just use your fav filter brand?

2) when doing this with a normal canister do you go for a filter that you would put on the tank without the bulk heads (traditional spraybar) or do you go for a larger filter?

3) in a rectangular tank like yours is it better to have two inlets and two outlets and run two filters to get better flow or is just one on each end enough? or does it all depend on your filter of choice?

thanks

[plantbrain]

Yanked out a lot of plant biomass yesterday.
Who knew I had fish in here?

I planted mostly Gloss in a large field. Plecos promptly have gone after it, but I think it can grow in pretty good in 2-3 weeks if I keep after it and replant as they yank it up.

I think the design will look better with an open lower growing layout.
I have a Dutch style weed chocked cess pool for the 120, so there's not lack of difference if both look the same

I also have considered adding more blyxa as a low background plant along the back right side(1/2). But Tonia is nice.
I removed the pantanal, infernal weed, but folks like paying $ for it and like the red color. I added some to the 120 gal instead.

If I do the Tonia, it needs kept low and a nice dome shape.
I trim it about 2x a month. It has a nice look to it. Erio setaceum and Tonia manuas are a couple of others I have not home for, but I like the belem better than the manuas.

I added another 9 liters worth of ADA AS on the back to give the slope more rise and moved the AS in the front and pulled it back. I may adjust the slope in the rear some still. Also, might add some Rotala green in some spots and replace the Blyxa in some of the lower light regions under the wood.

I might forgo the HQI MH's altogether and lower the light fixture some.
I have 96W x 4 on here and using the PAR meter, it's pretty good and even lighting. I only run the HQI's for 5 hours anyway(10 for the PC's).

Later I can add more light, for now, the Gloss will do just fine for a coupel of weeks and then I can add more light if I want and see.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[NanoDan]

Hi Tom, just wanted to say what a great job you did at the Sac Aquarium Society meeting Sat. night
Very inspiring demonstration of aquascaping. I was the guy you gave some Java fern to, I really appreciated that. Look forward to seeing and talking to you again.

[bsmith]

That Chocolate Zebra looks awesome, are they as expensive/hard to breed and find as their normal cousins?

Have you ever seen any starlight bristlenoses'?
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=221
I have a trio in my Anubis tank. They are very striking.

Originally Posted by plantbrain

No, it's a rarer pleco.
I've had L-333 and the queen's:
http://www.amazon-exotic-import.de/G...en/L%20260.htm

Tere is this one which is also very nice:
http://www.amazon-exotic-import.de/G...ten/L%2066.htm

I've had these in some tanks, very nice fish.

But these are different.


I've got 5 of Chocolate zebras in my tanks and also in a client's:
http://www.amazon-exotic-import.de/G...en/L%20204.htm

these do very well in planted tanks.

I'm not sure what this guy is, his markings are different and the form and behavior are as well.

Some of the larger species I have in a client's tank, they are 3-4 years old now and some are very dramatic.

I do not want them that large in my tanks, so I have chosen smaller species and likely need more caves in the back for them. I'll make a nice holey wood cave back in the rear of the tank to accommodate more hotels for them.

If they do not have a nice hiding spot of their own, it is very stressful on them.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by NanoDan

Hi Tom, just wanted to say what a great job you did at the Sac Aquarium Society meeting Sat. night
Very inspiring demonstration of aquascaping. I was the guy you gave some Java fern to, I really appreciated that. Look forward to seeing and talking to you again.

Thanks for coming out Dan, you might consider joining the local SAPS group.
We will meet Tues at Roundtable at Howe and Arden Way(7pm?).

Likely more about discussing a more formal organization, but other stuff will be there like plants.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[plantbrain]

Yes, I've kept those for several years, very nice little pleco.

The Pleco I have in the other tank is not a King Zebra, Queen Arabseque etc(they have those there as well for a comparison). I spoke with the importer and he is going to ask if there's an L number associated with this one.

Really cool fish, I have 6 now
Ain't cheap either, but they do well.
We also might have a small red farowella that eats BBA according to George at Aqua Forest. Cute, they are well suited for the planted tank.
Any critter that eats BBA is welcomed.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[plantbrain]

So I got 4 more Altums the same size and batch. So there will be a total of 11 fish.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[JDowns]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

60-70mls of Secret Blend of micros I developed(and some day should get around to selling to the vendors for retail sale) for the micros.

[SubliminalMessage]Start Selling It Already!!![/SubliminalMessage]

[NanoDan]

Tom is that meeting tonight? If so Ill try to make it if I get through voting in time lol.