Going Dutch with Aquasoil

Pikez

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Liking the Lagenandra meeboldii here for contrast. I suspect the plant will get way too big to remain in the mid ground. Will deal with that as it plays out.


Plants around the Lagenandra are (clockwise): Eriocaulon parviflorum, Eichhornia azurea, Syngonanthus sp. Belem, Cyperus helferi, and I think Limnophila rugosa. Not certain about the Limno ID, but the snails absolutely love eating the plant.


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Pikez

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Tank is doing OK. Not perfect, but OK. It's a bit cloudy. May be California summer heat related. Tank is in garage - I know, a pity. So it gets HOT. No algae blooms though. A bit of GDA and GSA but not out of control.


CO2 bumped up a tiny bit and BML lights toned down to 40% intensity. This definitely reduced algae. Plants are not complaining about the reduced light at all…except the Blyxa alternifolia is no longer red.


Limno Mini Vietnam is now spreading horizontally along substrate. It's a really pretty mid size plant that grows like a weed. They won't be charging $2 a stem for this much longer. Very easy to prune into a mound.


Eichhornia azurea is growing too fast. It needs a LOT of everything - space, CO2, nutrients, and light. It's a hog in every sense of the word. But also makes the most stunning focal point plant if you can keep the leaves from touching the surface. Once it even touches the surface, the leaves become spoon-shaped floaters. If this happens, uproot, top and plant the BOTTOM. Toss the top.


Crypt sivadasani. First specimen imported to the US, I believe. They're starting to look like they do in the wild, with the thinnest and longest crypt leaves. Leaves are 1/8" wide and get several feet long. I've seen them grow to 8 feet long in the wild. Yes, I know, pics soon. If anyone else has this plant, I'd like to hear about it.


Erio parviflorum doing nicely - similar but slightly bigger than compressum. Erio breviscapum is easy - smaller spiky leaves. Erio 'Father Duster' is easy but has been visually disappoint so far. Went to Malayatoor locality but did not see the namesake.


Had to increase Macros a bit as I was seeing some macro deficiency in the Floscopa and 'Limno rugosa' (?) older leaves.


Now dosing:


4 tsp KNO3 3X a week.


1 tsp KH2PO4 3X a week. Yeah, I know, it's a lot. But my plants like it. And as you can see, I'm eye ball deep in algae. ;-)


1 tsp K2SO4 3X a week.


1/4 tsp CSM+B mixed with 1/8 tsp Fe DTPA 6X a week.


10 tsp CaSO4 + 6 tsp MgSO4 after 60-70% weekly water change. If I suspect GH is creeping up, I will dose half as much.
 

Andrew T

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^ any reason you dose micros every day?id like to know if I can improve anything by doing the same..


When you're dosing macros, how long do you wait until you dose the micros ?


Isn't your water turning yellow by the time it's due for a water change because of the Fe considering your dosing schedule?


Thanks
 

Pikez

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Hey Andrew - I typically dose micros every other day - one day after macros. I still do that. But I am starting to suspect that the iron in CSM+B doesn't stick around very long. So I began dosing half as much twice as frequently. If I dose macros in the morning, I'll dose 1/4 tsp in the evening, instead of just 1/2 tsp every other day. So by dosing 1/4 tsp every day, I'm hoping to keep the iron around longer. I also add a pinch of Iron DTPA, which remains in the water longer.


What brought this experiment on is my Eichhornia azurea. It is an extremely fast grower and the new leaves turn pale overnight if there isn't enough iron. And it turned pale a few weeks ago. A shot of iron fixed that quickly. Amazing how fast that plant reacts.


None of the other plants were showing iron issues. So it's a temporary experiment for me. I did pretty well dosing every other day. Most people following EI dose every other day. Can't say that you should.


The water is not yellow at all. Not even remotely yellow! It's a 180-gal tank - it will take a LOT more iron than that to make it yellow. I tried 1/2 tsp every day for a month last year…no yellow but I succeeded in melting a few plants. :)
 

Andrew T

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Pikez thanks! So are you saying iron can melt plants? Hmm, I'm dosing CSM+B and flourish Iron every other day, I've noticed some parts of my A.R Mini melting but nothing too bad, the rest of it looks good...


Maybe high nitrogen too? I always have 80ppm in my tank...my plants aren't the fastest growers...planning to add some faster stems but I'm thinking to reduce nitrogen dosing and only dose phosphate and potassium sulfate...I think that's what it's called... Do those have nitrogen in them already? I'm dosing double phosphates and cranking my CO2 and flow up to make sure everything is in balance, but my nitrogen is always red in the test tube.
 

Pikez

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Thanks. Yes, trimming takes a lot of time. But fortunately for me, I find it calming, like doing yoga or meditating. It relaxes me. Now, if there is an algae outbreak, the calmness is out the window!


I knew it would be a commitment. I am slowly switching out fast growers for slower ones. Right now I'm hanging onto a few fast growers like Rotala mac, Ammania gracilis, and Pogostemon stellata, and Eichhornia simply because they're such cool plants to keep. And they're great indicator plants - they tell me when I'm screwing up something. These plants are easily offended. They openly share their displeasure with my husbandry. Plants like Blyxa, Staurogyne, hair grass, Crypt spiralis etc. aren't overtly communicative…they don't give me the finger when I've slacked on CO2 or cleaning.


So, yes, the Diva plants take more time. They teach me new things. A big tank of demanding, fast-growing plants kept in a Dutch style is like going to school. You learn a lot.
 

Amanda Adkins

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What a beautiful tank! I really like the scattering of red leafed plants among the green.And the Repens is spectacular. You will want a source of iron to keep them red. Aquariumfertilizer.com has 3 different iron compounds for that purpose.
 

Pikez

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Hi Julia - thanks - I get my dry ferts from both you and green leaf. :)


I've had pretty good luck with just CSM+B every other day, but as you see above, i've been mixing it with just a little Iron DTPA to see if it makes a difference. No verdict yet.
 

Pikez

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Trim time!


Harvested a forest of Alternanthera today. It's an old school plant, but when you need that slap-you-in-the-face splash of color, nothing quite does it.


I struggled with this plant for years - twisted new leaves. It looked hideous. That was because I assumed my water had enough Calcium. Once I began adding Ca, new leaves straightened out within a week! After that, new leaves were 5" long and flat as a pancake. I add 1 tsp of CaSO4 for every 10 gals of water. It's a good indicator plant for Ca sufficiency.


If this plant gets shaded, it looks pathetic and lower leaves slowly get translucent and brittle.


Otherwise, it is a pretty drama-free plant. Good for newbies.


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nicpapa

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Pikez said:
Trim time!

Harvested a forest of Alternanthera today. It's an old school plant, but when you need that slap-you-in-the-face splash of color, nothing quite does it.


I struggled with this plant for years - twisted new leaves. It looked hideous. That was because I assumed my water had enough Calcium. Once I began adding Ca, new leaves straightened out within a week! After that, new leaves were 5" long and flat as a pancake. I add 1 tsp of CaSO4 for every 10 gals of water. It's a good indicator plant for Ca sufficiency.


If this plant gets shaded, it looks pathetic and lower leaves slowly get translucent and brittle.


Otherwise, it is a pretty drama-free plant. Good for newbies.


28hevde.jpg

Interesting...


I think i have the same problem wiht hygrophila polysperma.


The leaves closed.


I use tap and ro water for the tank to take a gh 4-5 and kh 3-4 .


but ist possible the tap water change ca mg due to summer.


Maybe it is from mg , i dont know, i have a monht that use a trace tnc without mg.
 

Pikez

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nicpapa said:
Interesting...


I think i have the same problem wiht hygrophila polysperma.


The leaves closed.


I use tap and ro water for the tank to take a gh 4-5 and kh 3-4 .


but ist possible the tap water change ca mg due to summer.


Maybe it is from mg , i dont know, i have a monht that use a trace tnc without mg.


I used to have leaf closing with Hygro polysperma too. But that was before I began adding Calcium. I used to think it was really strange because the plant is a pest and a noxious weed that cannot be easily killed. I should get some just to see if they do it with Ca dosing.


Oddly, my Floscopa scandens is now showing leaf closing symptoms and slowed growth. I don't know why. It's not calcium deficiency in this plant.
 

Pikez

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Seriously unhappy Eichhornia azurea. This plant is not shy about complaining.


It goes from bright green to wine red when conditions are less than perfect. Does this if it's unhappy about nutrients, CO2, or crowding. When it's not happy, it's a sign to get my sh*t together. Time to check CO2, calibrate probe, clean filters, check flow, do a couple of water changes, quit monkeying with ferts and go back to what works best. It's probably complaining about CO2. If I move it to another part of the tank, it will explode. Notice the same plant being quite happy in the second picture below…that was just 3 days ago.


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Blyxa alternifolia. No drama. Other than initially when the Aquasoil was leaching ammonia. Extensive branching with nice pinkish tips. The plant is still expensive given how easy it is to propagate. (Anyone know how to rotate images on Tinypic.com - annoying!)


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Tank overall is less than perfect. Slacked on cleaning the filters - now I see touch of BGA where substrate and front panel meet. Quite a few plants other than the Eichhornia are complaining: Floscopa is looking crappy. Rotala mac and Ammania are tip crimping. There is a little GDA and GSA on the glass.


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Pogostemon stellata is another plant that is not shy about complaining. I don't have the tip stunting that I used to 15 years ago and a lot of people still do. I get leaf shedding and stem necrosis. But this is not looking happy. They look wimpy. A few weeks ago, the stems were pencil thick and crowns of plants were 5" across.


fmiav6.jpg
 

Pikez

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Rotala Sunset misbehavior seems to have stopped. The plants are growing tall and branching a lot. No issues - fingers crossed. Seems mostly related to trimming. I have not trimmed the plant since I got it a few weeks ago. And will go without trimming as much as I can.


The problem with Rotala Sunset does not seem CO2 related. The person I got it from only has this issue when he grows the plant above water. And my CO2 has been cranked up. I have a pH drop of 1.2 with KH 2 water. pH is 5.9 to 6 with a brand new calibrated probe and calibration solutions. So I'm in the 40-60 ppm range.


So here is the tank. I'm off to Bora Bora for 10 days with my snorkel and GoPro. :) Let's see what disaster I come back to...


There was a burst of GSA and GDA a couple of weeks ago. Turned out the pH probe was near death. New probe and calibration fixed that nicely. New leaves are bigger and full of color.


Rotala Mac really suffered during the pH probe death. Stunted tips and melting stems. PITA plant but recovering now. Ammania tips had drama with probe/CO2 as well.


Getting to know Cryptocoryne sivadasanii. Thin, narrow, flat leaves that are 4 feet long. Looks just like vallisneria. It's all the way to the left, in-between the ovalis. It's not as aggressive as spiralis. It's still settling in. So far no runners. I will let the runners sprout wherever they want, even if it kills the scape. Need to get this plant spread around the hobby. Don't think it's available here in the US.


Bacopa colorata. Hardy. Unimpressive close to the substrate. Now that it's 8" tall, new leaves are turning pinkish.


Really enjoying Lagenandra meeboldii pink. Great color contrast next to green frilly plants.


Throwing away pounds of Limno rugosa every other week. Might attempt a street with it. Removed Floscopa scandens - wasn't looking good and not sure why. Growing it emersed now.


Did open-heart surgery and splitting on Erio breviscapum and parviflorum. Don't think these are available in the US either.





pic upload
 

Tom Barr

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Shorter trimming and more space between the groups will help
 

Pikez

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Was on vacation for 10 days. This is what I came back to. Not too shabby.


The tank only got two doses of macros and micros. And one water change in between. CO2 held up OK.


But there was a power outage at some point - when this happens, the BML Solunar controller resets to 100% light intensity and that is where the lights were when I got back. Normally around 50% intensity.


The plant that LOOOOVED the high light was Pogo stellata narrow leaf. Stems were thick and each leaf was 4 - 5" long. They turned into gorgeous monsters. They were also very close to the surface and sucking up a lot of CO2.


Lud senegalensis did well. New to this tank and I really like this plant.


Limno Mini Vietnam ran out of something. Probably N. The new leaves were small.


Rotala wallichii (thanks, Tom) did not like the low fert/high light/high CO2 environment. Looked pathetic whenI got back.


Front glass had lot of GDA. Not much GSA. Tiny bit of BGA near the front substrate, possibly due to rotting leaves not obsessively netted out. Probably because the sudden increase in light intensity to 100% without enough CO2 and ferts.





Algae on front glass





Super healthy Pogo stellata - this plant loves low KH, high light, high CO2. Very competitive when conditions are to its liking.


 

Pikez

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After trim.


CO2 is really high. KH is about 2. pH drop is from 7.1 to 5.8 and there's lots of flow. All the leaves are swaying. So technically no one should be complaining about CO2.


Rotala mac (my favorite indicator plant) is growing with nice looking tips, so I assume everything is as it should be.


Limno Mini Vietnam suffered with running out of ferts while I was on vacation. Tips are still stunted. You can see a ball of it in the post above - it's right below the Pogo stellata. So I yanked it all out. Threw out most if it and replanted just the best looking stems so they are not crowded. It should be happy by next week.


Gave up on Rotala wallachii. Again. It was growing nicely but the damn SAE were yanking on it and eating it mercilessly. So I planted more Blyxa alternifolia in its place.


 

Pikez

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Found this picture from a couple of months ago - I wanted to see the difference in Pogo stellata under two conditions. Notice the skinny stems and small leaves. The plants were not thriving and would occasionally get stem melts. I had about a dozen stems. I was never certain that they were going to live.


Here, the light was lower (PAR at tips was 100-150), CO2 was high-medium. KH was about 3-4.








Here, the growth conditions are different. Light is about 250-300 PAR at leaf tips depending on how close to the surface the leaves are. CO2 is high. KH is about 2. Ferts always the same. About 5 stems are now taking up the space that a dozen stems used to a couple of months ago. I'd say the plant has quadrupled in size and weight. And there is a LOT of pink/purple at the tips. The biggest change is the light. I have slightly higher and steadier CO2 as well - pH drop of about 1.2 nowadays vs about 1.0 back a few months. The KH drop from 3.5 to 2 also should not make that much difference. It is growing almost like Limnophila aquatica (sp Gigantea), which means it reaches the surface in about a week. None of the other plants have reacted that positively to the increased light.


Now the plants are as big if not bigger than when I got cuttings from Tom. Always wondered how he could grow plants so big - have a partial answer now. :)


The Aplocheilichthys normani and dadiburjori cover this plant with eggs. The Sawbwa resplendens (weird fish!) eats them all.





And for giggles, some Blyxa alternifolia


 
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