My 5' Tank update

[Vican]

Just took some pics of my 5' tank.
Started dosing Dr Mallick lushgro micros, K2SO4 and MgSO4.
Did see significant plant growth.

The vals are a little thin in the middle because I uprooted quite a few when I placed an acrylic strip at the back to prevent the vals from running all over.

There are holes in the vals, which I suspect were cause by the 5 clown loaches having a snack. So am thinking of reducing their population to 3. Good thing is that the whole tank is totally free of snails.

[budak]

is that Sumatran fern in the middle? Nice effect... i rarely see it being used anywhere..

[johnny_cold]

wow, realli nice planted tank. Wish to have 1 like tat too. Wonder is tat a red arowana or RTG?

[Allen_1971]

Nice nice... though the gap in the middle looks a bit artificial... Otherwise looks really good...

[Vican]

The middle plant seems to be hygrophila difformis, but the leaves seems to be finer than the normal ones. I've had both in a previous tank before.

That aro is a DFI chilli red. But not showing much colors yet

I'm still waiting for the vals to send some runners to the middle gap. The gap shouldn't be there..

Actually, a very simple tank with minimal plants.

Tennellus, hygrophila difformis, nanas, blyxa japonica, nuphar japonica, 2 kinds of lilys, some unknown crypto, vals...

[Irn-Bru]

for a moment, i thought you really have a 5 inch tank...

love that bushy bunch of grass looking plant in the middle... where you got those from?

[learner]

hi vican,

can ID the plant beside the fern?? thanx

[Vican]

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On 12/12/2002 10:52:05 PM


hi vican,

can ID the plant beside the fern?? thanx

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That's blyxa japonica. They're all planted in the mid ground across the tank. But somehow, those on the right side seems to be doing extremely well

[benny]

Impressive. Like the way you arrange the driftwood too.

[juggler]

Vican: What Val species are those. Seem to grow tall. How high can they go? The Corkscrew Val I am using seem to have stopped growing tall lately.

Nice tank for Aro! Would the Vals get in its way since Aro likes to swim near the surface.

[cyberjoe]

Hi Vican Nice Tank

"K2SO4 and MgSO4." what is this? Im also using Dr Mallick formula.

[Vican]

Benny,
The driftwood idea steal from Gan's tank. (Jacian, Simon, David, Yimin +++) to create a terrace effect separating the foreground from the midground. Background separated by a acrylic sheet running across the tank

Juggler,
Not too sure what vals. Just the normal Vallisneria americana. According to the Oriental catalog, can grow to 2m, so regular trimming is required. But it is a good plant to have in the aro tank to suck up the nitrate with its fast growth. Undemanding plant. Where did you get your Rubra? thought of putting those in the centre portion to make a difference.

So far, my aro is still small, so he does swim in between the vals. Quite a sight to behold. But I suppose that as he grows, I might need to remove most of them.

cyberjoe,
Dr Mallick has 2 kinds of fertilisers. Lushgro and lushgro micros.I am using micros.

The composition of LUSHGro MICROS is as follows:
Iron 170.04 g/litre
Manganese 30.61 g/litre
Boron 2940 mg/litre
Zinc 3780 mg/litre
Copper 1660 mg/litre
Molybdenum 2840 mg/litre
Cobalt traces
Vitamins traces

Because my aro tank is high in nitrate, I should not use the lushgro aqua as it does contain nitrate. To supplement the absence of potassium and magnesium, I add K2SO4 and MgSO4 to the tank.

So currently, I put 3 drops of micros daily and 1/2 teaspoon of K2SO4 and MgSO4 Only after 50% water change.

With this regiment, I did see significant growth in the plants )esp vals and nuphar japonica. The tennellus are also showing off a reddish sheen.

[vinz]

Victor,

Could be the pic, but some of the vals look yellow. Mine are short, about 1 feet and keep turning yellow. Not growing very fast either. I'm thinking of replacing them.

[Vican]

Vinz,
You're right.
I believe that the clown loaches are attacking the vals for snacks to supplement their diet. Those that are yellowing usually have some holes in the leaves that look like teeth marks.

Another reason is that at a certain period, I was doing quite a bit of replanting of the vals. This probably stressed the plants and they didn't do well for a period. Even had green spot algae growing on the leaves.
Could also be due to nutrient inbalance at a certain period when I didn't have liquid fertilisation in place.

I'm trimming those as I can see them during water change. New leaves are nice and green though

[roy]

Very nice planted tank!

Where did you get your 5' tank? I'm looking for one. Saw one in Bioplast, which seems well made with nice cabinet and thick glass. The price is expensive though.

Would appreciate any info from you.

Thanks,
Roy