[rzn7z7]

Power was restored today after a 2 day outage - temps in my tank got down to the low 60s....good to know our fish and plants can withstand these extremes

I was eyeing a household generator if this stretched into a 3rd day

 

[Crazygar]

Our Fish and plants are more resilient than we think. Good to hear everything made it through ok.

Gary

 

[andrewss]

Tank is lookin real nice, keep up the good work! Glad to hear they pulled through despite the cold-front !

 

[Crazygar]

Thanks, that is an old picture though. I have not really posted anything new in a while, I may get around to doing that to show you how much the tank has changed.

Gary

 

[Crazygar]

45 minute session today. I noticed that some Green Hair Algae is starting to appear (lack of fast growing plants), so I have removed what I can find and target dosed with Excel on other spots that proved more stubborn.

I suppose I will throw in some Amazon Frogbit for the time to keep things balanced until I can do the rescape and put in the faster growing plants then (Rotala H'ra is still on the queue).

Basic maintenance water change, glass cleaning, algae removal, debris cleanup and restart. Really looking forward to doing this rescape. Will I make the next AGA? I should be able to without too much issue. Just going to take a bit longer to finally rescape things but April 2021 is the target date.

Gary

 

[Nebthet78]

45 minute session today. I noticed that some Green Hair Algae is starting to appear (lack of fast growing plants), so I have removed what I can find and target dosed with Excel on other spots that proved more stubborn.

I suppose I will throw in some Amazon Frogbit for the time to keep things balanced until I can do the rescape and put in the faster growing plants then (Rotala H'ra is still on the queue).

Basic maintenance water change, glass cleaning, algae removal, debris cleanup and restart. Really looking forward to doing this rescape. Will I make the next AGA? I should be able to without too much issue. Just going to take a bit longer to finally rescape things but April 2021 is the target date.

Gary

If you have issues controlling the hair algae, might I suggest getting 3-4 amano shrimp rather than spot dosing. They are escape artists, but they are really good at keeping algae down until you can do the rescraping the way you want too.

 

[Crazygar]

Thanks Nebthet78, that is exactly what I am trying to do right now. Problem is, my area, nothing. I was up in London for an appointment and Pets Paradise did not have any either. When I want something it is nowhere to be found (used to it) and when I do not want something, I am literally tripping over it.

Soon as Angelfins gets more stock, I am ordering a few.

Yes, I know about the Escape Artistry. I had a dog that used to hover to around my big display tank. Could never figure out why. Until one day, I saw an Amano jump out and he quickly ate it. Ahhhhhhhh

Gary

 

[Crazygar]

20 Minute Session Today

Did my usual water change, remove debris, scrub the rocks, clean the glass and refill.

I did add three new additions to the tank yesterday... Amano Shrimp. I am also adjusting my photoperiod to compensate as well. While I do have a bit of an algae problem but it is mainly to lack of faster growing plants. Had I moved forward with the new Aquascape I would have had not much of an issue. Alas, going to make some changes for now, April... things change.

Gary

 

[Crazygar]

40 Minute session today. Did the usual, glass cleaning, debris removal and water change/replacement.

The Amanos are starting to make a dent in the little tufts of Algae that appear. Mind you, if I see anything within reach (I have super long Tweezers) I will do a manual removal myself. But overall, things are improving. Though I need to back off on the lighting just a tad to help out.

The Blyxa is on it's way to take over the tank.. yet again.. I promise to put up a picture to show what Artificial Island currently looks like.

Today's album was "Sounds of 80's Glam Rock" playlist on Spotify. Had I had a lighter, that sucker would be out of butane by now. Brings back great memories of the Eighties.

Gary

 

[mooonmagic]

I've really enjoyed reading this journal, it's always good to hear how folks deal with the setbacks and emergent scenarios that pop up when you're moving a tank in a new direction. I have to say, I really like the contrast between your buce and blyxa in the new scape.

Eager to see a picture of your artificial island progress, too.

 

[Crazygar]

The thousands of tiny bubbles is my CO2 going. TO get the really nice pictures I usually shut this off for about 30-40 minutes and remove the Powerhead. Took this last night. Yes, the Blyxa is, as always, the dominant plant.

Everyone has their setbacks and unexpected series of events. The goal is to keep at it.

Gary

 

[Nebthet78]

Wow is your Blyxa ever growing... I can see that patch in the middle will lift and throw off a bunch of daughters soon.

What plants, if any are you considering putting in the front? I would almost suggest the AR Mini for the front left, and something like Downoi with the wavy leaves on the front right, then in the back left, something tall and red to sort of move your eye around the whole tank as you look at it.

I really like watching as it all comes together though.

 

[Crazygar]

Funny enough Nebthet78, I was thinking Downi myself. Once again, I want to try something different. This is what the hobby is all about! Yes, I throw away 3 or 4 plantlets per week, had you lived closer, I could easily fill your tanks within weeks.

Though the scape will not remain the way you see it here. Since I have a spare tank, I have permission to setup an aquarium in advance of my move to the new location. I may, just for kicks, setup and cycle ahead of time so that when moving day arrives, it is simply add fish/shrimp, enjoy. Saves the woes of moving an already established aquarium. Of course that means catching Amano Shrimp and Chili Rasboras amongst a thicket of Blyxa... pros and cons.

------------------------------------------------------------------

30 Minute session today. Oh how i want to redo the hardscape and start my entry for next years AGA, but I know I will have to tear it down again.

Today was the usual, water change, glass glass inside/outside, remove debris and bits, throw away the endless daughter plants that my Blyxa sends out on a weekly basis. Once this Pandemic is over and things return to the new normal, plenty of people will be gifted Blyxa.

I did move the powerhead to the back of the tank creating a more circular flow in the tank. This may help reduce the amount of dead spots where algae can get a foothold.

Picture forthcoming tomorrow. Album this week was "Seelie" by Clann. I am not even sure how to describe this band.

Gary

 

[Crazygar]

Another quick 30 minute session. A major amount of Blyxa had popped up to the surface. When I removed the floaters, I found these were all daughter plants. The amount I threw out had some serious weight to it. I am obviously good with Blyxa.

Did the usual, glass clean inside/outside, water change, rock scrub but I did do some plant cleanup and rearranging. My Buce seems to be going a bit more than I originally thought as well. I am going to have surplus once I am done the rescape in April.

Have the Amanos (saw Two, not sure if the other hiding or dried up behind the aquarium) so that is also a good thing. I removed the piece of wood. Its function was merely a place for the algae to grow. I removed a few more bits but I am winning the war.

I did take a picture last night showing what happens when plants float up:

Not only the floaters, but this morning you can clearly see which other ones floated up! It was a lot of extra Blyxa... that was thrown in the garbage.

Gary

 

[Nebthet78]

Every time you throw out Blyxa I cry inside!

 

[Crazygar]

When the weather warms up again, I will send up another care package. Do not worry, I have plenty.

Gary

 

[Nebthet78]

When the weather warms up again, I will send up another care package. Do not worry, I have plenty.

Gary

I think I just have a hard time with throwing out plants. I really should get used to it. It's no wonder my tank always looks like a jungle.

I'm really liking seeing the differences each week with your trimming and what not, and how you shape your design.

 

[Crazygar]

LOL wanna hear a secret... no trimming. I am just letting it grow out and cleaning up either daughter plants or debris. Other than, the tank is on autopilot (I remove the Buce mounds each week and give it a good cleaning, it is so dense a lot of debris gets stuck in there).

Gary

 

[Crazygar]

An extremely quick session today. I have had the time during the week to do little things ahead of time of maintenance day. So, it was a simple 13 minute session.

During the week I picked at the last few algae stragglers, cleaned the glass numerous times, manual snail removal (I barely have any left, and it seems most of the ones I remove are tiny) and either replant or removal of Blyxa offshoots.

I did do the usual flush of the Buce Clusters, water change, glass clean (inside/outside), and refill with regular tap water (with Conditioner added).

Seems my H2O source needs to take holidays as well. I plan to pay them a visit during the day on Thursday, unlike most people, I am not on holiday. Though I plan to take a break the second week of January.

Gary

 

[second]

Nice looking tank, it can be tough scaping a small tank like that. Good job!