[plantbrain]

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Tank was redone back in Oct, ripped everything out and tried to remove all the red moss algae, and the xmas moss.

Failed in both cases, but knocked things way back to a more manageable level.

CO2 solenoid broke and did not catch it for 1.5 weeks, the red algae went nuts.

I took every plant out and cleaned each as best I could. Then zipped tied the B catherines to the wood and then planted the purple centipedes in the soil/gravel.

I've breed the bristle nose in this tank going on 7-10X, something around there now. About every 1-2 months, I find new fry.

Tank is very resistant to algae(but the red algae moss is a bit more like a plant, extremely hard to eradicate from a tank without total tear down) and runs easily. Low labor input and lower light with rich CO2, rich sediment and ferts to the water column. I dose about 25 ppm x a week of KNO3. 5 or so of the PO4, traces 3-4x a week, GH about 3 with GH booster(no K2SO4, just MgSO4 and CaSO4). Not much more than this, once a week or so, I'll do a large water change. I can go 2-4 weeks without one without much issue.

Compared to say a high light stem tank, it's apples and oranges.

 

[lasutaku]

wow really cool tank man

 

[Mathman]

Great looking tan Tom.

Love the dwarf loaches...


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[roadmaster]

Nice tank .
When you say rich substrate ,do you mean aquasoil or home brew?
CO2 solenoid broke in open or closed position? (assume closed).

 

[TaylorTurner]

This is so lovely. It possesses an ethereal quality.

 

[ArchimedesTheDog]

This is so lovely. It possesses an ethereal quality.

Exactly the word I was going to use.

 

[plantbrain]

Nice tank .
When you say rich substrate ,do you mean aquasoil or home brew?
CO2 solenoid broke in open or closed position? (assume closed).

ADA AS. It's been recycled once so far, so I guess about 2+ years old now. Not much N left.

Yes, one those low voltage solenoids with the cheapo voltage adapter, those suck. The 110 Burkret's are better and I've yet to have one stick close or open for that matter. These stick close, so the sucker is on, the red light says so, but the valve does not open, if you hear no click when switching.......you likely have that issue.

Took it apart, no obstructions.

Switched out with a spare burkret I keep on hand.
You should get more than 2 years out of it.

 

[Straight shooter]

Are the fert levels so high to compensate for the exhausted AS?

 

[WaterLife]

Nice tank Tom!

What kind of growth are you typically getting for the Bucephalandra? (New leaf how often?)
Any noticeable faster growers? (oh wait, is it just 2 different Buceph species, Catherine and Purple Centipede?)

Just always wondered how long it takes for people to grow huge clumps. Unless they grow a ton faster emersed?

 

[easternlethal]

How many times a week do u dose 25ppm kno3 and is that cloudiness at the back co2, bacteria or something else?

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[plantbrain]

I dose 2x a week most of my tanks, 4-5x a week for traces. Ferts are not really "high", they are just what grows the plants well/better than other methods. There is a lot of plant biomass in this tank. ADA AS mostly loses NH4 over time. Not much is left after 1 year. Which is fine, as ADA suggest you redo it yearly anyhow. I guess this stuff is pushing 3-4 years at least. I feed the fish well, so there's some NH4, but the KNO3 helps at higher rates than what many might suggest. Tank does okay without dosing also, but it does better with it. There's no issues with algae either way really, you get more GSA if you do not dose/less growth. So that might be minor for some folks, but the people that claim it'll lead to algae, that's rubbish. I've been doing this for a few years, I see zero correlation independent of other factors for nutrients at higher rates. If those led to algae or other issues, then I would have to see them, but I do not. The tank does not say what causes the algae, only what it cannot be under a good example of controlled conditions and horticulture. And.......the method is not difficult at all. Plants happy, fish happy, hobbyists happy.

The cloudiness is called just a random shot after a water change. Muck from the filter. I only use a sponge filter in the sump.
I'm not doing some involved ADA photo shoot. Just a quick pic post water change. Tank is extremely clear and folks that have stopped by my place to see can easily attest to this fact.
I have a new sump with bag filters. Just lazy about installing it.

Tank is very easy to care for. One of the easiest I've done.
Less light= good sediment ferts/water column ferts/rich CO2/plants that are not weedy and fast growing= easy nice tank.
Fish have bred in here dozens of times now. I must have 100 or so Bristle nose plecos from this one tank.

I might clean the glass once every 2 months?

Those huge clumps of Buices are generally bought and then just set into a tank, they are not grown in, that takes many months, a year or so etc of good care.
A tank like this will take a good 6 months to mature decently, whereas a stem tank, maybe 1-2 months comparatively.

But after say 1-2 years....some trimming of tops here and there, then it's a real feast for the eyes.

 

[HeavyUser]

Wow

 

[mot]

Beautiful tank Tom. Im curious what light levels you have on this tank. Any idea what the par readings are at the substrate and also at the branch height?

 

[sohankpatel]

Woah... Dang that is a nice tank! That driftwood looks amazing!

 

[Mikeygmzmg]

Cool tank Tom. It reminds me of a scene from my favorite movie - Predator. lol.

I like the lowlight look, this fits my eye for sure. Good sense of depth!

 

[number1sixerfan]

wow

 

[jem_xxiii]

great looking tank Tom!