[mourip]

I remembered to turn off my pump so that I do not get "shooting star" CO2 bubbles in my shots!

Things are mostly going well except for the beginning of some BBA. In my last tank it was always the hardest to keep away. About a week ago I turned the lights up by just 5% and turned on the auto doser. I will probably need to push some Easy Carb on the affected areas during my weekly water changes today. Otherwise starting to really fill in.

 

[mourip]

Starting to fill in nicely. Used a bit of EasyCarbo with my last water change and the BBA has lost it's momentum. The autodoser is running like a clock, which I guess it is

I have a daily dose of Thrive mixed with 100cc of RO water that goes in an hour or so before the lights go on. The reservoir is 5 liters so this is pretty much hands free now. Hopefully the Thrive will not settle to the bottom too much.

 

[mourip]

A couple of current pics. The Val in the back is creating a nice screen but is starting to take over with lots of runners. It has also produced two extremely long white extensions that look like they may end up as flowers. My guess is that they are ~48" long. I think that I may eventually remove the Val once the Rubin swords get taller. I also am starting to have way more shrimp that I had planned for. My guess is that there could be 100 in there with lots of juveniles. Last week I probably pulled 20 shrimp out of my Oase prefilter when I cleaned it. I think that I may post for a local pickup of a couple of dozen (Washington DC)

 

[vijay_06]

Just came across this thread and subscribed to it. The scape seems to be filling in nicely and it looks very nice!


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[Wasserpest]

A couple of current pics. The Val in the back is creating a nice screen but is starting to take over with lots of runners. It has also produced two extremely long white extensions that look like they may end up as flowers. My guess is that they are ~48" long. I think that I may eventually remove the Val once the Rubin swords get taller. I also am starting to have way more shrimp that I had planned for. My guess is that there could be 100 in there with lots of juveniles. Last week I probably pulled 20 shrimp out of my Oase prefilter when I cleaned it. I think that I may post for a local pickup of a couple of dozen (Washington DC)

Looking really great! Scape, fish, and those proliferous shrimpses.
Vals tend to get a bit of a nuisance when they do really well... trying to take over. Same can be said for certain large swords. Have you looked into 'Vesuvius'? I couldn't really get that to grow, but it may look great in your tank if you are looking to replace the Vals. Crinum calamistratum is also very showy in the background (with awesome smelling flowers, if they can poke out of the water).
Nice pics. I just got back into Sony, with an A7C, I like the compactness. Pretty good images too.

 

[mourip]

Looking really great! Scape, fish, and those proliferous shrimpses.
Vals tend to get a bit of a nuisance when they do really well... trying to take over. Same can be said for certain large swords. Have you looked into 'Vesuvius'? I couldn't really get that to grow, but it may look great in your tank if you are looking to replace the Vals. Crinum calamistratum is also very showy in the background (with awesome smelling flowers, if they can poke out of the water).
Nice pics. I just got back into Sony, with an A7C, I like the compactness. Pretty good images too.

Thanks. A week or so ago I trimmed the ends of the Val and pulled a few runners out. I will see how the leaf ends turn out but visually it is working. Earlier I did pull the very large sword out and replace it with another Red Rubin. The Rubin look good to me and work with the reddish colored wood. I also bought some Hygrophila Pinnatifida and planted it on the back side of the wood on left side where the sword was removed.

Thanks for the tips on other background plants. I will check them out.

 

[Nicecook]

A couple of current pics. The Val in the back is creating a nice screen but is starting to take over with lots of runners. It has also produced two extremely long white extensions that look like they may end up as flowers. My guess is that they are ~48" long. I think that I may eventually remove the Val once the Rubin swords get taller. I also am starting to have way more shrimp that I had planned for. My guess is that there could be 100 in there with lots of juveniles. Last week I probably pulled 20 shrimp out of my Oase prefilter when I cleaned it. I think that I may post for a local pickup of a couple of dozen (Washington DC)

View attachment 1028423

View attachment 1028424

Great tank!! Can you share your daily schedule with intensity using the dimmer for your Twinstar light?
Thanks!!

 

[mourip]

Great tank!! Can you share your daily schedule with intensity using the dimmer for your Twinstar light?
Thanks!!

Here is what I last wrote down. It may seem odd but according to posts I have read if one does not use the first and last settings as a "0" my particular model timer may not work properly. With these settings it works perfectly. Looking at it now I cannot remember why I have the 5pm setting. As I have very little algae I may turn it up a bit more soon. I am have problems with my new Hygrophila pinnatifida which is leggy, yellow and has some holes in the leaves, which seem short to me. Everyone else seems happy and growing well.

1. 10am 0%
2. 10:01am 10%
3. 11am 45%
4. 5:00pm 45%
5. 7:01pm 10%
6. 8:00pm 0%

 

[mourip]

Hygrophila Pinnatifida not doing as well as my other plants. Auto-dosing Thrive daily at recommended amount. Adding a small amount of Excel with it. Other plants doing well.

 

[Nicecook]

Here is what I last wrote down. It may seem odd but according to posts I have read if one does not use the first and last settings as a "0" my particular model timer may not work properly. With these settings it works perfectly. Looking at it now I cannot remember why I have the 5pm setting. I also may have turned the daytime setting up to 45%. As I have very little algae I may turn it up a bit more soon. I am have problems with my new Hygrophila pinnatifida which is leggy, yellow and has some holes in the leaves, which seem short to me. Everyone else seems happy and growing well.

1. 10am 0%
2. 10:01am 10%
3. 11am 40%
4. 5:00pm 40%
5. 7:01pm 10%
6. 8:00pm 0%

Thanks for sharing. About the 5 pm setting being the same as the 11 AM might be because at one point you have different settings between those 2. Those dimmers are tricky however I do not have any issues staring mine at more than 0%. This is what I have now:

MOONLIGHT FOR 15 MINUTES (F2)
1 - 12 PM - 30%
2 - 2 PM - 40%
3 - 4 PM - 50%
4 - 6 PM - 40%
5 - 8 PM - 30%
6 - 10 PM OFF
MOONLIGHT FOR 15 MINUTES (F2)

Hygrophila pinnatifida - Mine looked like yours a few weeks ago but seems to do better now. The issue right now for me is Cryptocoryne Wendtii Brown that I have on wood is not doing that good, decreased lights 1-2 weeks ago since this one is low-moderate. Will see if it gets better in a few weeks.

 

[mourip]

Thanks. I think that I will boost a bit for a couple of hours as a "mid-day sun".

 

[mourip]

Feeding time in the inadvertent shrimp tank...

These are the bigger ones. Normally the "beach" is populated by their kids!

If I sneak up on the tank the Pygmy Cories are there too...

 

[mourip]

Hygrophila Pinnatifida has changed it's mind and is doing very well. I will probably need to start trimming it now that is seems to be attaching to the wood. Photos to follow soon.

I am now trimming the tips of the Val and that seems to be working well. They are not melting and keep growing.

I am finding local takers for my shrimp which are still proliferating. The tank has found a good balance.

I would like to add more fish but feel that may start me on a fresh cycle of rebalance. Currently I have 18 Glowlight Rasboras, 12 Pygmy Cories, 5 Silver Tipped Tetras and 3 Otos for my 75g tank. Plus some Nerites and a LOT of shrimp.

 

[EmotionalFescue]

Did you end up increasing the light a bit for the hygro?

 

[mourip]

Did you end up increasing the light a bit for the hygro?

I did, but just by a bit. Probably 5%. I think that my original issue was just having patience while the plants had a chance to acclimate.

I think that they are a great looking plant. I love the leaves. Once they are firmly rooted on the wood I may trim them way back to get a more thick look as in some of the more legendary Amano tanks.

Thanks.

 

[mourip]

Tank is starting to fill in and headed toward "jungle" territory. Hygrophila is doing well and now even needs to be tamed a bit.

I had a brief problem with my lily pipe skimmer "bobbing" to the point of pulling in air to the filter but I moved it closer to the filter output and the oscillation stopped.

I would like to add one more small school to Tetras but hate to tip the balance which is pretty good currently.

 

[gjcarew]

Pretty sure those are trigonostigma espei AKA lambchop rasboras and not glowlight tetras

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[EmotionalFescue]

Looks fantastic. So clean!

 

[mourip]

Pretty sure those are trigonostigma espei AKA lambchop rasboras and not glowlight tetras

They were sold as GlowLight Rasboras. They do certainly look like Lambchop Rasboras though...

The are very active, school continually and always in view. Great fish. They must have been tank raised as they always approach when I move toward the tank. Food please?

 

[gjcarew]

My mistake, I thought you had written glowlight tetras!

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