Nice on the minuta. Once they flower get ready for babies everywhere. They'll self pollinate and the seed pod will rupture one day and spread them all over the tank. I've been keeping one for about a year now although mine stays pink/green. Do anything special for reds?

 

Congrats Joe!!!

 

Very, very impressive showing and a big congratulations, Joe!

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Congratulations, Joe! Top three placement 4 years in a row, wow! You are an inspiration.

 

Thanks guys! I really appreciate it. It's an honor to place second. Overall I was pretty happy with it. The plan executed and there were no last minute catastrophe, lol. Could've used a little more time with it, as usual

Here's the link to the entry page - #793: 284L Dutch Aquascape “Through The Looking Glass”

This tank is a good example of how difficult it is to get everything peaking at the same time. You can notice a few things on the right side are clearly behind the rest as far as filling in to look right. One judge pointed this out. Part of this is me not starting with the final arrangement soon enough.

Needs more spatulata and rubin, smaller-leaved species in both those spots would actually be better. The Blyxa needed another month to get fuller

1. Corkscrew Val, 2. Limnophila green wavy, 3. Myriophyllum roraima, 4. Hygrophila balsamica, 5. Hygrophila siamesis 53B, 6. Red Tiger Lily, 7. Gratiola viscidula, 8. Hyptis laciniata, 9. Lobelia cardinalis 'small form', 10. Blyxa octandra, 11. Ludwigia rubin, 12. Bacopa sp CSP, 13. Staurogyne spatulata, 14. Nymphoides Taiwan, 15. Back Wall: Bucephalandra Mini Melawi

 

Here's a bulb update on the LED T5s. Gotta say I was pleasantly surprised at the color. They are strong too, 10-15% stronger on the par meter than a fresh 3000K (which is bright)

AgroLED iSunlight LED T5 Tube - Bloom | HTG Supply

Get the Bloom AgroLED iSunlight LED T5 Tube HTG Supply! Retrofit your existing T5 fixture with this advanced LED plant light technology for reduced power consumption, improved spectrum and longer life! Fast & discreet shipping guaranteed!

www.htgsupply.com

"Bloom spectrum 4′ lamps feature a combination of 450 nm blue, 660 nm red and 5,500°K full spectrum white diodes, and consume only 41 watts of power."

Here it is in a 2 bulb unit over a 50 gal, with a Geisemann Super Flora

105 PAR at the sub. My par meter is a old Hoppy diy and I suspect not entirely accurate. Its a good reference point to compare, but actual par may be more or less.

Here is with both LED, this is what it looks like by itself.

Par at the sub pushing 120

So decent color and powerful. I like it. I liked them so much I bought 2 of these - AgroMax 4 Foot T5 LED Bulbs - Bloom | HTG Supply

"3500K + 660nm red enhanced output for blooming plants"

Its a good bulb too, like a suped up 3000K. Its about the same strength as the iSun. Here is what one of each looks like.

Too warm as you'd expect, needs more blue in the mix.

Here it is with an ATI Purple.

PAR at the sub just over 100

I'll be using the 3500K in 4-6 bulb units, basically replace some 3000K with it. On the 50 gal Im running the iSun+Geisemann like in the first pic

Here's the iSun along with Agromax pure par, Truelumen flora, and Powerveg 660

Dutchy off-season

Here's the 75 gal Landen tank withTruelumen flora, iSun, Powerveg 660, ATI purple, 3500K LED, Wavepoint UG

 

Thanks for sharing the info and pics!

I'm impressed with those T5 LEDs. Not much more money than a regular T5, with good PAR, less wattage and much longer life. They look like winners.

 

I've got to say that is pretty impressive.

On the tank that was pushing 120 PAR at the substrate with two lights, what size is the tank? And how far from the substrate are the lights?

And they fit right into a T5HO fixture?

Wonder why these are not more widely known?

 

That tank is a 4' 50 gal, 18" tall, like a short 55. The light is 23" above the surface of the substrate

Yep, fits right into a T5HO socket

I really dont think these ones in particular have been out very long. Ive shopped at htg a good bit over the years and never seen them before 2-3 weeks ago.

Dose Nymphaea minuta flower underwater?

Profusely

 

Dose Nymphaea minuta flower underwater?

 

Congrats! The tanks are looking great as usual.

Interesting on the LED / T5 combos.

Is there any point on running the reflectors with the LED tubes? I'm a bit pressed for space and if I can get away without a reflector, those LED tubes might be a good option for me.

 

Congrats! The tanks are looking great as usual.

Interesting on the LED / T5 combos.

Is there any point on running the reflectors with the LED tubes? I'm a bit pressed for space and if I can get away without a reflector, those LED tubes might be a good option for me.

Somewhere above or in another thread we were discussing the reflector issue (cause I asked, lol) - reflectors not needed as the LED chips are directional. So, in your case you probably are only limited by the width of the tombstones that the bulbs plug into.

 

After trimming and replanting, how long do you usually wait to take photos for contests? I've noticed my scape looks the best like 1-2 weeks after messing with it.

 

Usually as time winds down Im just giving each group whatever attention it needs. Its not really a case where most of the whole tank gets a final trim. Im trimming/adjusting something most every day those last two or three weeks.

 

What's up guys?? Here's a couple random pics, two sand 75's and the 50 with soil. Nothing really scaped much, just growing...

White balance is a little off on this one

 

Is this AR I see growing in sand? Conventional wisdom is that it needs an active substrate.

Can you link your dosing? Root tabs?

It grows in my sand tank BUT the whole tank is algae prone, so I'm not sure how well its growing. It seems that when I plant a top, it takes a month for the growth to pick up, and a couple weeks for the donor to start growing reliably. By that time lower leaves have algae. If you trim lower leaves, will they eventually be replaced?

 

Still the best farm tanks I know of.

I look at them like I am window shopping.

What's the yellow/orange narrow leaf Ludwigia left center top picture? And the small red one center? Looks like a small Lotus?

 

Still the best farm tanks I know of.

I look at them like I am window shopping.

What's the yellow/orange narrow leaf Ludwigia left center top picture? And the small red one center? Looks like a small Lotus?

Haha thanks. Thats Ludwigia brevipes, pretty cool plant, easy.

The red is a couple of baby Red Tiger Lotus, like the big one in the last dutch layout.

 

I will never own another marineland black siliconed tank in my life.

Heard a weird splashing sound, walked into the living room to this. Coming out of the bottom seam apparently..

Like de javu, same thing happened to the 120

 

I will never own another marineland black siliconed tank in my life.

Heard a weird splashing sound, walked into the living room to this. Coming out of the bottom seam apparently..

Like de javu, same thing happened to the 120

😱😱😱. Thank goodness you noticed so quickly. What did you do?!?

 

Oh my not again.

As you know my 120 did the same thing a few years ago. It makes me wonder if I am on borrowed time.

What would you replace it with? I started searching tanks last time and it seems like they all have horror stories. And then you also have people who have them for 20 years and no problem. Is it just luck of the draw? Or are some really more prone than others? I don't know.

 

Maybe it won't be a bad idea to reseal your first tank. As in take it completely apart and completely redo all silicone. I would think it's definitely better to have a backup than no backup at all. When I set up my 125 I had resealed the inside seams since this tank is of unknown age.

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I can't believe that happened to you twice!
what are the odds

 

Dude, that sucks!! I definitely prefer Aqueon when it comes to mass-market aquariums, though the TopFin 5' 120 long is gaining traction in the ol' noggin.

I hope you're able to get this resolved quickly.

 

Thanks Phil

Got a new Top Fin 75 gal. Plants stayed in the bag 4 days. It was a little hard on some, a few L rubin melted but everything else made it ok.

Its a little empty atm.

 

Thanks Phil

You're welcome. . Would you please share your maintenance and dosing regimen so I can follow it while the tank establishes and the plants grow in?

 

Hi.
I want to come back to your low level potassium experiences. Maybe you can answer me some more questions. I have in mind that you mentioned that potassium deficiency does not look like these small pinholes all over older leaves. Can you give a small summary how in your case potassium deficiency looked like? I do similar experiments and see issues like necrosis , yellowing older leaves. Bad color and twisted new leaves. Is that similar to what you saw?

greeting
Sebastian

 

I'm not Burr, but he has commented on my issues that might be low K. For me, I do have pinholes on the lowest Hygro leaves, but also virtually no growth whatsoever in Acmella Repens, Persicaria Sao Paulo, and A Reineckii regular. Hygro also grows slow compared to what it can normally do. Root tabs don't help, and the plants get very good flow with CO2. Over a dozen other plants are growing great, but these just sit there. New growth looks OK - maybe a little pale, but since they don't grow I don't top them, and lower leaves eventually deteriorate. For me, it's also been a while since I did a >50% water change, so I plan to do that plus a really good trim tomorrow. I suspect organics are keeping things from being their best as well. A recent NO3 measurement was 45 ppm, so I have been bringing that down too with no KNO3 this past week. From a distance, the tank looks pretty good, but when a few stem plants don't grow at all in a high-tech setup, something is off. A big water change, trim, and front loading macros at 20/4/25 hopefully will get things on track again.

 

Hey Joe good to see an update and pics. Lot's of great looking plants and great mix of colors.

Sorry to hear you won't be entering the AGA, but I get it. That is a massive undertaking. Don't think I could ever have the discipline to do it justice.

Interesting comment on the micros. After we discussed this a few weeks ago, I lowered my micro dosing by half just to see what would happen. Funny you mentioned the Pantanal and Furcata. They started pouting right away and clearly weren't happy. I went back to my regular dose a few days ago and they perked right back up. Since they aren't going anywhere, micros will stay back at 0.4 weekly.

And your AR looks great. As you know, I have never had much luck with it. Of course, hope springs eternal so might have to torture it again sometime in the future!

Also have to ask......what's in the plastic pot and why???

 

Haha, the plastic pot is an a-flame purple knight. it was about 8" with 6-7 leaves...but it got algae. had it in another tank. So I took it out and soaked it with peroxide and let it sit for about 20 minutes. That was too long, leaves melted a few days later. its coming back now though, it'll be fine

That IS interesting how close it is. I was thinking you were lower on macros than I was

 

That IS interesting how close it is. I was thinking you were lower on macros than I was

As you know this gets into that long discussion about dosing and how water change percentage affects accumulation.

I report my dosing as a "target". That is what I am dosing the incoming new water to.

If you really want to compare more exactly, your 18:6:27 at 90% is the equivalent of mine at 20:6.66:30.....almost exactly the same.

 

Heya Joe,

I feel you on the AGA entry thing. Maintaining a competition-level tank is a heck of a lot of work and is fun for a while, but can get a bit tiring as time goes on; especially when Farm Mode kicks in and the joy of just growing plants becomes your hobby focus.

I hope you continue finding enjoyment in the hobby,
Phil

 

Thanks Phil. Im still planning to compete, it just may not happen this year because this tank that leaked was gonna be the dutch entry. Now its pretty late to start from scratch but I might try to put a smaller tank together. We'll see..

 

Thats Rotala mexicana goias. It naturally grows sideways and branches a lot, best for a foreground bush or carpet

 

If I have Rotala Indica and its growing sideways, what is the deficiency? I am suspecting a K deficiency.

 

I am completely new to the planted tank. Looking at these amazing photos and then reading tons of comments about the technical aspects of the hobby makes me think I'm in way over my head! 😂

Oh well, gotta start somewhere, right?

 

Haha, dont even sweat it because we've all been there. I remember when I didnt know the difference between a ppm and a drop checker lol. Just keep reading and learning, it will all become very simple before you know it.

Understanding the importance of good cleaning and maintenance will go a long long way in this hobby. It doesnt matter how many big words a person can rattle off. If they're not stressing good cleaning and maintenance first and foremost....better listen to somebody else...

 

The purple stauro is slowly coming back out, just now starting to show a little new growth. Looks like the existing growth is pretty much toast, none of these crappy leaves will get right just have to wait on new growth. I gave each one a couple single O+ balls. Thats the only O+ Ive used so far

Hygro balsamica you can notice some of the older leaves are a little rough around the edges, almost like they've been singed. Its from spending 5 days in a bag, and of course any leaves like that are gonna get algae. Thats really the only other plant with lasting damage from the whole ordeal

Rotala mexicana goias makes a nice little colorful bush. Pretty easy plant too. Gratiola viscidula to the left took a little damage, you can tell which leaves... just look for the algae

The two green stems shaped like a pantanal is Pogosteman heidelberg. I like this one a lot, nice slow growth rate. Its a little finicky, stunts easily but recovers well too. Never tried it in sand, gonna see how it does.

Guess thats all for now