andyg

Thanks Tanker.

For some reason since the site moved my "Always log in" will not work. ( tried everything I could think of, deleted all the cookies I could find and retried but to no avail. Must be one hidden somewhere that I can't find.)

But the "quick log in" keeps my name and password.

Andy

Any chances of moving the " Quick Log In" button to the top of the page?

Andy

Milan, as I mentionned in an earlier post, your NO3 is a bit on the low side. You should aim for a 10-15ppm. Now I'm not saying that you have an NO3 deficiency but, it may be a limiting factor to the uptake of some of the other nutrients.

If you decide to up th no3 have a look at the following article.

http://www.csd.net/%7Ecgadd/aqua/art_plant_nitrate.htm

Ok, the SAE seems to be working out really well in the community tank. He is pretty chummy and doesn't seem to offend any of the other fish. However, I have noticed some odd behavior from him. Until I added in some otocinclus, he never appeared to be picking at algae. Now he goes at it quite a bit - it was almost as though the otos taught him how. His change in behavior was *that* abrupt. There is something else that is odd too... he won't touch the hair algae (which is why he is in there in the first place). He seems to like flake food quite a bit though, and will intercept flakes floating down with the group of rasboras. Is my SAE simply slow or "challenged" in some way? Is he having a fishy identity crisis? Does he have low self-esteem? He is difinitely a true SAE, I am certain of that. I am thinking that he might need a friend, but is it ok to have two in a 33g tank?

I'm confused. Or he's confused. I guess either way, I'm still confused.

/edit

Yes, I am still confused. Had to change the actual number of gallons in the tank.

It's normal behavior. They'll usually go for the easiest food source. If flakes are readily available, he'll go for that. As far as adding another to your tank, again no problems there they usually do better in pairs and seem to compete more for the algae. ( depending how many other fish you have in the tank(bioload)) They usually grow like crazy until they reach around 3" then growth slows down.

As far as hair algae, from what I observed with mine, they'll will not touch the long stringy stuff but will feast on the shorter algae (1/8-1/4")

I've read that the Florida Flagfish will eat the long stuff but they can be quite agressive towards other fish. Unfortunatly no experience with these.

For the long stuff, manual removal is usually the best option.

Hope this helps,

Andy

I also think a variety of wendtii or perhaps broad leaf undulata.

I use the Hagen ladder in both my 20 & 50. ( one in each ) They work great, bubbles usually shrink down to about 1/16" by the time they reach the top.

The drawback with them is that they have to be perfectly level to work properly.

Also the ladder has to be greased up usually with a slight film produced by either the CO2 of algae for the bubbles to flow smoothly. This usually can takes up a couple of weeks to happen. ( Before this you just get accumulating bubbles that suddenly release in one large burp )

As with Valerie, I use a couple of 2 1/2 liter jugs that I rotate every couple of weeks.

I had no problems maintainning 25-30 ppm CO2 in the 50.

Andy

Milan, here's the other info page I found.

Hope it helps.

Andy

http://users.ev1.net/~spituch/Chemicals/ch...cular%20Weights

I saw a similar tread listing K2SO4, once I find it again I'll post it here.

Andy

Milan, Garhan. I don't know if you guys have already seen this but it has some good info on the concentration of various chemicals in some of the ferts we use.

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/dosing.html

As long as you get the true SAE, you should'nt have any problems.

I've got 2 (3") in my 50 with Neons, White Clouds, Dwarf Gouramis, Otos,and Corys.

2 (4") in the 30 with Rams, Otos and Corys. 1 (1.5") in the 20 with Neons, White Clouds, Otos, Corys and a Dwarf Puffer.

Al;most forgot also a pleco in each tank.

The 2 4" were in the 20 with the DP. It was funny to see this little 3/4" fish bossing those two around.

The Minwax your're talking about is a mix of stain and acrylic varnish. Like rahim said, do a light sanding with 180-220 grit sandpaper or 00-000 steel wool. One coat of primer sealer ( BIN 1-2-3 works good for this as it will stop the stain from bleeding through) and paint away.

Looks great, plants seem to be recovering nicely.

Keep the pics coming

Andy

Anyone else having problems with the new site not remembering their login from one session to the next. Either the site is not sending out cookies or my computer is not remembering it. ( I did check the box on the login screen)

Milan, you can safely dose 3-5 ppm of K2SO4 every couple of days without overloading your tank. Target levels for K is around 20 ppm, NO3 10-20 ppm, PO4 .5-2 ppm.

I try to maintain a 10:1 ratio on NO3/PO4.

Hope this helps,

Andy

Thanks DJay & Valerie.

DJay, I picked up the moss on Aquabid from Aquaticmagic.

I'm getting Mini & Taiwan moss. The mini will be used for the lawn, the Taiwan probably for moss wall.

Well after the 50 it was the 30's turn to get revamped. I removed all the fast growers and added some saggeterias(sp) and crypth wendtii and added 4 bolivian rams.

The next step is a lawn of moss wich should be arriving in a week or so.

Love the 90. What's your tank's specs? ( Lighting, substrate, ferts, ect. )

Finaddict beat me on the lotus comment.

Andy

That looks very nice, good job :thumbs: . Both pics show nice healthy looking plants.

Thanks,

Andy

I'll second Discus's comment that it's up to you.

I use 2 coarse foam pads in the bottom basket with fiberfill sandwiched between them,

2 medium and fiberfill in the middle and bio rings and the micropad in the top basket.

Every month or so I rinse the sponge under running water ( I'm on a well so no chlorine) and replace the the fiberfill ( around $3-4 at Walmart for a large bag ).

I replaced the micropad twice in one year of use. ( Not much gets past the two bottom baskets.)

Spent most of the day rearranging plants and hardscape.

Mostly minor changes, the cave with moss was moved to the front, driftwood with java moved a bit back and to the left. Moved most of the tall "Dwarf Sags" to the back. My only dilemma was the massive Crypt on the right, which has now become another focal point. I did'nt want to move it for fear of losing it. I however removed about half a dozen babies that sprouted around it.

I rediscovered my E."Red Special" and "Ozelot" that were burried in the Sags.

Also replanted the microswords across the front, hopefully they will fill the empty spaces.

Comments, suggestions?

Before:

After:

This is a pic of the 50 taken today. After last week's pic I did a major trimming on the Bacopa and Ludwigia.

Tomorrow, my first day off since the beginning of the summer, I'll be doing the rescaping. I'll update when thing are done and the tank has settled.

Parker, it's looking good.

With your Java in the left hand corner and the windelov in the right, make sure that the rizome is not burried in the substrate as it will rot and your plants will die.

Just cover the skinny brown roots with gravel just enough to hold them in place or, better yet attach them to that great piece of drifwood.

Beautiful shots.. Makes me wish I could take macro shots with mine.

I am almost sure that aquascaping tanks properly is a talent you either have it or you don't especially planted tanks.

Quite obviously you have it Andy, lot of work in yours, beautiful tanks well done,

Tom

Thanks Tom.

Right now I'm itching to get at the 50. But I have to be patient and wait until I can devote at least a full day to it.

The plan there is to remove all the stem plants, relocate the driftwood and cave so they are not lost in the sags and vals.

Awesome tanks Andy!

Your talent for aquascaping is reason for envy. Of the three, I find the 30 gallon very striking.

Beautiful work.

Thanks,

The 30 is also my favorite at this point. It is also the only where I made a serious attempt at aquascaping.

The 50 is next on my list and will be re-scaped in the near future..

I don't think I'll do too much with the 20 as it will remain the snail cleanup tank for new plants. But who knows.LOL