Wise's Burton Dasset

[Verminator]

Well, it's been a long time since i have posted on here, and even longer since i was classed as 'active' over here on AQ. So i think its about time i did a litt update. I came here back in 2007 after advice on the planted side of aquariums. Over here in the UK it was a limited field of knowledge that wasnt often enough mentioned or talked about. I learnt alot here, and got chatting to some very helpfull people.

So, onto my latest endevour. I'll list the 'techy' bits below.

Tank: 24"x12"x15" (approx 60 UK Litres)
Lighting: x2 24W T5HO
Substrate: Inert gravel
Ferts: 15ml Potassium Phosphate, 15ml Potassium Nitrate & 10ml EasyLife Profito (all weekly after W/C)
CO2: 15ml Seachem Flourish Excel (daily)
Plants: Echinodorus sp?, Cryptocoryne Mi Oya, Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Green', Anubias Barteri var nana, Pogostemon Downoi 'Helferi', Hemianthus Callicthoides 'HC', Cryptocoryne Parva, Hydrocotyle Leucocephala, Microsorum Umbrosum
Livestock: Too many Japonica and Cherry Shrimp, 5 Yellow Honey Gourami's, 2 Red Cheek Acara, 4 Oto's,

Enough of the technical stuff, and a few pictures i think. The photo's were taken before i trimmed and moved some plants around. So tank looks trimmed and slightly different currently, but these are recent enough (last week) to warrant posting.

Full Tank Shot


HC after some neglect










P, Helferi growing on top of the wood


The Pogostemon Downoi growing on the wood was an experiment to see if it would grow, and it does. One tiny stem has grown into this fully mature plant high up top.


Overall i'm very happy with this tank. As i've said, i have changed it somkewhat since these were taken. The stem plant at the back has been binned, it drives me mad trimming every week. So now the Echi and Crypt Wendtii Green are in the rear right, with another small piece of wood with Anubias nana and Java Fern on in the rear left. The HC is gradually picking up after going through a period where conditions werent right for it, alot died off, but its recovering and fresh green growth is spreading at a rate i'm happy with.

Cheers,
James.

[rcw]

Nice tank. love your downoi so much( that's alot!), have little success in growing them previously.

What is the temperature of your tank?

[Verminator]

Ooh yes, forgot to mention that. It runs at 23-24C, which i've learnt HC seems to prefere. The benefit of living here in the UK is that i never have use for a chiller. Just simply isnt warm enough over here haha.

Downoi i've noted seems to prefere mid-high light and definately benefits from CO2 addition. Ofcourse, that is only my experience.

[ciaossu]

Hi,

nice tank dude. are you using pressurized CO2 for this tank?

[hellomyfriend]

very healthy and lush HC you have. NICE

[Thirteen]

i like your substrate alot though.. it has the wild and natural factor. your climate is certainly worth envy. Its just too warm and humid here. Chiller also use alot of electricity and utility bills are going up. When the tank is cool, unsightly condensation will form on the glass.

[Verminator]

Hi,

nice tank dude. are you using pressurized CO2 for this tank?

Thanks, i was using pressurized CO2 for a while, but was getting fluctuating levels and my 2kg Fire Exstinguisher kept running out after only a month. Had a leak that i couldnt locate, so currently dosing with just 15ml Flourish daily. You can see the tubing and the sucker inside the tank from where the diffuser was.

very healthy and lush HC you have. NICE

Its taken some battling to get it to go greener again. The tank went through about 3 months of neglect towards mid-late 2010, so i've been battling to get this back on track. Recent growth has been promising and given a nother couple of months i'll have a nice green lawn of HC once again

i like your substrate alot though.. it has the wild and natural factor. your climate is certainly worth envy. Its just too warm and humid here. Chiller also use alot of electricity and utility bills are going up. When the tank is cool, unsightly condensation will form on the glass.

The substrate i've had since i started in the hobby 6 years ago, its been used in many tanks since then. I love it, it does look quite natural yes, which is a bonus. Unfortunately it isnt ideal for planting small plants in like HC because the grain size is quite big as you can see, the plants just float off regularly! Argh! But its working currently. The only time we have use of chillers over here is for Marine tanks in the summer months, but as beautifull as marine is i'm a tropical man myself and will always be just that!

[ciaossu]

nice, one success story to keep HC alive using excel.

[hellomyfriend]

all the best and keep up the hard work

[Dean]

Stunning tank mate. I just love the space given to those fishes.

[blue33]

Good job! The wonder of cold water.

[mayton]

hi u have very nice downoi growth, I have never manage such nice & dense growth.
wat is that purplish large plant in the middle of yr tank?

[neverwalkalone]

Thanks for sharing James. I'm intrigued how you are so successful with HC on inert travel n the downoi-beautiful!
I guess the "secret" is in the cool waters n proper fert regime?

Hv you change the regime to get the HC to creep?

[Verminator]

all the best and keep up the hard work

Stunning tank mate. I just love the space given to those fishes.

Hey, thanks. I'm sure the fish are very eppreciative of the space they have to swim. They are certainly very happy in their environment, swimming out openly and also enjoying the secluded rear parts.

Good job! The wonder of cold water.

Ahhh, blue, a familiar face still here on AQ. Its not so much "cold-water", more the fact over here in the UK its naturally cooler, with summer temperatures being at a high of 32C (occasionally slightly higher), but rarely. The tank is at a pretty constant 24C, which i've found to be optimum temperature for growing HC.

hi u have very nice downoi growth, I have never manage such nice & dense growth.
wat is that purplish large plant in the middle of yr tank?

Thanks. The large purplish plant in the middle is the large Cryptocoryne Wendtii 'Mi Oya', a very impressive plant i'm sure you'll agree!

Thanks for sharing James. I'm intrigued how you are so successful with HC on inert travel n the downoi-beautiful!
I guess the "secret" is in the cool waters n proper fert regime?

Hv you change the regime to get the HC to creep?

There is no secret really. I've had mixed success with it myself, albeit this is without a doubt the most successfull i've ever been with it. The routine i've found it likes is mid-high light, 24C optimum temp, 8 hour photoperiod, 15ml Flourish Excel (daily), with EI dosing once per week after water change consisting of; 15ml Potassium Phosphate, 15ml Potassium Nitrate and 15ml EasyLife Profito. Ofcourse, this is just my regime in my tank given my parametres. If people try to follow it, use it as a guide and adjust as neccessary for your tanks.

I've never done well with HC in lower light tanks, which its supposed to grow in, maybe its jsut me, but i believe mid level lighting is required as a minimum. Also a good trim once a month or so helps promote new horizontal growth.

The tank is currently looking rather good. I've had a slight change around with the rear left and right corners. Hardscape and bulk of all plants are still the same, just for the extreme corners. Had a big cut back about a fortnight or so ago and its growing back nicely. I've cut the Downoi back somwhat and aim to keep it slightly more contained to where it is actually planted, mainly to give more room for the HC to spread, as i'm a BIG fan of HC lawns and i'm on the brink of achieving it! I'll try and some pictures up of it in the next week or so hopefully

Thanks,
James