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Post by Crazygar on Mar 5, 2020 18:53:34 GMT -5
I've sitting watching/studying the tank this evening and I have come to realization that I need at least 2 more pots of Hygrophila pinnatifida, as gauging its growth rate (there has been a noticeable increase in size and expansion) and how far away September is, I need to kick things into high gear a bit.
For the most part, the extra H.pinnatifida will go onto the rock directly and I plan to blend some in with the Buce. I think it will create a nice contrast.
Blyxa is finally rebounding from all the uprooting and replanting that has been done to it the last few weeks. Starting to see some growth and better coloration as well.
I believe I saw a baby Shrimplet today. Hiding out amongst the Buce (where most of the Shrimp have taken up residence). The real focus right now is the Hygro. I want to get that moving faster than what it currently is.
Gary
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 8, 2020 14:03:54 GMT -5
Time change!
Lights on now at 2pm to 10pm. 2 hours ramp up starting at 2pm, 4 hrs full light from 4pm to 8pm, 2 hours ramp down ending at 10pm. Summer mode is officially here. Also, added 2% to the Red spectrum to really make those Crystal Red Shrimp colors really pop out.
Which means, maintenance now starts at 1:45pm.
Arrived home just in time for my new alarm to remind me that Aquarium maintenance is shortly. Anytime Frank comes for a talk it is amazing, I stayed over and talked with nocturnalflower and happyfishkeeper about all things Planted (from CO2, algae eaters, stores, Youtube channels and sites).
That was a great discussion and I enjoyed the company, thank you.
I look forward to the meetings not only for the talks that we have, but the social aspect after. Its good to talk to the others in Club as I start to get to you better (I know, it took me a while) the more at ease I'll be with talking with you.
And now for maintenance...
1 Hour today.
- Trimmed the Staurogyne repens. Replanted a few
- Trimmed the large dead leaves of the H.pinnatifida (which were the last of the emersed growth)
- Readjusted one of the rocks in the right corner of the tank underneath the intake
- Target pruning of HC mound
- Clean the glass
- Perform the usual 50% water change
Hopefully by the next meeting I'll have some Buce for both gabor129 and freshwater. I'm going to let a few pieces grow out a bit more before trimming it off. As you'll see by the pictures this evening, the piece that I cut off in the front, has already formed a new plant.
Did a small spot solder on the powerhead impeller, looks like a small hairline crack is forming again, at some point, it will go kaput. Hence my urgency to build the dual output system. Eheim 2213, 250, whatever...
Blyxa seems to be chugging along. It's been a few months of drastic changes and as I stated, it's grow out time. I'm beginning to enjoy my accidental center island.
Album this time was Throes of Dawn, Our Voices Shall Remain. A hybrid of Nightwish, Radiohead and Pink Floyd. They have sound onto their own, really focused on amazing smooth (and I mean really smooth) Guitar work.
This is one of my evening albums. christopher you might appreciate this band.
Pictures this evening, as the water clears up fast now.
Gary
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 8, 2020 17:29:30 GMT -5
The tank sure cleans up good, the 2% addition of RED has really had a secondary effect as well: The Chili Rasbora coloration seems more vibrant.
As you can tell, the piece of Buce that I removed last month has been replaced with a whole new plant. Wow.
Gary
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 9, 2020 6:20:44 GMT -5
I took another picture which I posted on the Facebook Group, for those that are not a part of it (tsk tsk) here it is;It truly is taking shape. Looking forward to that AGA contest in September.
Next weekend, Hairgrass, Filter, Lily Pipe (the output needs a good cleaning).
Gary
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Post by freshwater on Mar 9, 2020 8:16:26 GMT -5
That looks awesome, great job with that tank
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 9, 2020 16:37:57 GMT -5
Thanks, more changes yet...
Gary
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Post by lesfromlakeshore on Mar 10, 2020 15:01:49 GMT -5
Tank looks great as always
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 10, 2020 19:00:12 GMT -5
Thanks, apart from getting more Hygrophila, I plan to start cutting pieces of the Buce and filling in the gaps, completely filling the driftwood. I also plan to mix in some H.pinnatifida with the Buce.
But mostly, letting it grow out.
Gary
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 11, 2020 20:31:02 GMT -5
I awoke to the most bizarre event in a long time.
Strolled into my Office just a bit after 4am this morning and turned on all the computers. I happened to glance over at Office Space II and something long and white was stuck on the Powerhead intake (becoming a more common thing)
What the heck? As I started to move closer I noticed that the flow of the Powerhead was also greatly reduced. Figuring it was just a leaf (Stauro underneath is more pale) I went over to move it.
My heart just about stopped.
It was my last Zebra Otocinclus. Oh no! I had noticed it wasn't as active as it usually was the last few weeks, so I was assuming it's geriatric and it's finally succumbed to old age.
The tail was stuck INSIDE the Powerhead intake. I decided to use my long tweezers to move the body out into the garbage. As I grabbed it, the Oto shot off, bounced off the glass on the other side of the tank and disappeared into the Blyxa behind the wood.
Scared the hell out of me. It was literally dangling in space with it's tail stuck in the Powerhead and it's still alive.
When the lights came on today, it had a large mark on top of his head. I going to wager the fish is living on borrowed time. All I can do is make it comfortable and watch. It's been on one piece of wood for a good portion of the day. Not long now.
I fully expect to find the body tomorrow.
I also lost the largest of the Crystal Red Shrimp today. It too was sitting motionless, but on a Buce leaf. I decided to move it a bit with the tweezers and it simply fell over into and under the Driftwood. Dang, what is going on.
The water felt warm, did a temperature check and it was reading 80F, I usually keep it at 76F. Also, the Powerhead has reduced output and the intake was "clear". I disconnected the power and scraped the inlet. As usual a metric ton of little snails came pouring out... into the garbage. Replaced the unit, turned it on and boom, flow.
Darn snails! It's the little ones that are causing all the damage. Temperature dropped back down to 76F in about an hour after the flow returned to normal.
It's been a weird day for the Aquarium today. Some of the smaller CRS are out about and most are feeding on the remains of the larger one that died.
Gary
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 12, 2020 19:03:16 GMT -5
Zebra Oto is still kicking and actually a bit more active than he has been in a little while. I am guessing whatever happened, I may have saved him. Just wondering if this is the calm before the storm.
Thought I had lost a small CRS today, but it turned out to be a piece of meat from the large dead one, the rest of it is quite literally gone. The other Shrimp/Snails must have consumed it all.
A good deal of the Shrimp are out at dawn/dusk/night than during the day. Lights too bright? Not really sure, but they sure love behind the Driftwood amongst the Blyxa and Buce, much to my viewing dismay.
I do plan to increase their numbers to see if that will change their habits or if I am buying more introverts like myself.
Tank is remarkably clear for a Thursday. Usually I can tell the tank needs a cleaning by this point. Today, however, no. Maybe because I've started something new..
I have stopped dosing Flourish Excel. The tank is balanced. The plants are doing fine. The algae that is in the tank is neither unsightly or getting out of hand.
I will keep it around and do spot dosing (then a scrubbing with a Toothbrush) if need be, but I plan to continue this experiment and see what happens.
Flourish Excel is more of an algaecide than organic source of CO2. It contains glutaraldehyde which is C5H8O2, which is also a steralizer amongst other things. Going to switch it off and see what happens.
Water seems to be less "oily". Starting to believe the Excel may have had a part to play in this.
I can see some growth actually when I compare it to the picture I took Sunday.
Gary
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Post by christopher on Mar 12, 2020 20:02:37 GMT -5
I have neos. There are over a hundred in my tank. Right now at a glance I can only see a dozen. I have to feed a pellet for them to come out from the abyss. That tank of yours is sweet.
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 12, 2020 21:10:04 GMT -5
Funny when I feed the Chili's decimate anything that is in the water column or lands on the ground. Voracious little fish, a lot more so since I increased their numbers. The Shrimp that brave it and come out, simply sit and watch the fish eat the food intended for them.
I feed less to decrease snail population, but I'll put in a full wafer tomorrow, break it in half and place different pieces on each side of the tank to coax the Shrimp out. In the dark I can count at least 9 roaming around.
Thanks, sure wish that Hygro would grow faster. Though I am going to simply order more. I have a feeling my UK trip is going to be cancelled.
Gary
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 15, 2020 8:28:39 GMT -5
Rats. With the UK Travel Ban now in place for the US, looks like my UK adventure this year will most likely be cancelled. I am waiting on confirmation from the Event being cancelled to pull the plug. I always fly out of Detroit.
Canada will be following suit sometime this week. To slow down transmission rates, it's the smart choice.
Today is my Sunday maintenance which will be equipment focused -> Filter, Outtake, CO2 diffuser and Hairgrass trim are my primary objectives today.
My secondary, as always, trimming up the Staurogyne repens and starting to transplant some of the H.pinnifatada in amongst the Buce and glue a few pieces onto the rock (time permitting).
Chances are it will be a 2-3 hour session today, monthly maintenance of equipment will be the large portion of it, trimming I have a good feel for it now.
Though I am going to look for and order a small pair of curved scissors. Larger scissors, smaller tank, see my problem.
I have a feeling today's album is either going to be;
- Carbon Based Lifeforms - ALT:02. Been three years since their last release and I've been listening to this since I bought it yesterday. AWESOME stuff (I think I am addicted to this album, it's that amazing. I'm a big CBL fan)
- UNKLE - Never, Never, Land. I have revisited this album and it still holds up. A few the songs really capture me
- Lost in Kiev - Persona. I bought their latest album yesterday as well and WOW. Makes Insomnia look mellow. Basically guitars with limited vocals
Pictures and updates to follow later today as usual.
Gary
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 15, 2020 20:24:58 GMT -5
A little bit cloudy from the cleaning, a better picture tomorrow. I did some aggressive cleaning today.
First, 2 hour session, didn't get to the Filter output or Filter itself, next week. I spent a great deal of time cleaning, cutting, pruning and/or trimming...
- Staurogyne trim
- HC mound trim
- Extensive Hairgrass trim
- Cleaned some of the rocks aggressively
- Cleaned the CO2 Bell Ceramic diffuser
- Cut a piece of Buce and moved it to a more central position. My goal is to fill all gaps with Buce on the wood
Next week is Filter and Hygo.
Some revelations, I found my pH Pen and took a reading of the RO/DI water I am using. pH of 6.28. Took a measurement of the tank after filling and restarting, 7.18! What? Took another measurement, pH 7.18.
Now this could be because a scrubbed a few of the rocks quite hard this time. They released a lot of "dust", which I believe is causing the pH swing. I plan to take a measurement tomorrow morning in the AM (7 or 8am) and then one again at 4PM. Also the pH should not be over 6.86 which it was the last time I used this pen.
I am going to recalibrate it to ensure I am measuring correctly.
Small curve tipped scissors will go a long way on helping me trim the Hairgrass better. But I managed, and boy, cleaning it up was quite the process.
While I was trimming the Hairgrass and doing basic maintenance, I had the CO2 diffuser soaking in hot water from the kettle. When it came to cleaning the ceramic disc, it didn't take much effort to remove the algae coating.
Blyxa is growing Horizontal rather than vertical. It has some daughter plants that have grown past the CO2 diffuser again. Next week, going to replant the strays into the main Blyxa area and create another plastic strip border to stop it from creeping.
Albums, Carbon Based Lifeforms, ALT:01 and ALT:02.
Gary
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Post by Crazygar on Mar 16, 2020 20:36:27 GMT -5
Tank looks clear in person. Samsung did an update to the Galaxy series of phones, I wonder if that's what is going. Or is it just my eyes but it seems a bit foggy in the tank?
Since I don't foresee any more flights in my future for the time being, gives me more time with the tank. I plan to really work at it in the new few weeks to get things moving. I may, even something this week, during the evening, clean the filtration unit, giving me a quicker Sunday maintenance schedule.
It's disheartening that the Swap Meet was cancelled but I understand fully why. Next year...
Gary
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