Planted tank journal (10G Hex)

MrJG · 04-17-2007, 08:11 AM

Hehe... well this is the first time I've had any moss in a tank so I really didn't know what to expect. Tell you what, when it comes time to trim the peacock and taiwan moss I'll gladly send you some if you want it. Granted it might be a bit on the taiwan but I imagine when I get the other tank up with CO2 the peacock moss should grow much faster.

MrJG · 05-07-2007, 12:21 PM

Ok so its been a bit with no updates. I was just looking back through pictures and even though its only been a few months I think it would be cool at this point to show a little picture progression of the tank from December '06 until now...

One of the first pics I shared here sometime in december...

Obviously it was an 8w stock light so most plants were suffering... The fake driftwood piece in there started peeling and was stinky so enter real driftwood and upgraded lighting...2.12.07

Growing out some, upgraded to an aquaclear filter, added some ludwiga...3.3.07

Finally got my plant order in, added taiwan moss, nana petite, moss balls...3.14.07

MrJG · 05-07-2007, 12:22 PM

Time for a trim? 4.7.07

Settling in...4.15.07

And that brings us to up to yesterday...5.6.07

Everything seems to be growing fine. The remaining wisteria in the back is growing really thick and bushy so when it comes out this time its going to be a monster. Its almost time to trim back the moss a little so it can grow in better. I can send out some starter strands to a few folks when that happens. It will be the Taiwan on the tower portion...
The only issue I'm seeing at the moment is a little bit of algae growth on the very top of the "tower", Its not stingy but a very dark green and it seems to come out fairly easily but I need to find out what is causing it as opposed to just removing it. Since I started with the increased dosing in the tank I don't even have the normal dust algae on the glass anymore so could it be too much light? Should I back off on some of the Micro ferts? or back off on all ferts and OD a little excel?

Big Vine · 05-07-2007, 12:27 PM

Excellent progress! It's cool to see how the tank-scaping/plant growth has transformed even over just a few months' timespan.

EDIT: The new betta looks great in there, by the way.

BV

lauraj · 05-07-2007, 12:32 PM

That's one gorgeous planted tank! Nice job MrJG!

MrJG · 05-20-2007, 01:10 AM

Did a fairly big trim of the tank today. All of the moss got its first haircut.

So I'm going to make an offer to folks who are following the tank progress. I have the following:

1 golfball+ size portion of Peacock moss
1 golfball+ size portion of Taiwan moss
3-4 Java fern plantlets with a couple of leaves each (largest leaves maybe 3 inches)

I'll be happy to ship this to the person who first sends me a pm. The only cost will be $5 for shipping (i prefer paypal). This will make a nice start for a small or nano tank.

I'll try to post a picture of the trimmings tomorrow if I have a chance.

TheFighterFish · 05-20-2007, 02:17 AM

Woah, lookin' good.

Yeah, you needed a trim on one of those last pictures. haha.

I was wondering, how did you attach the moss so well to the driftwood?
Another one, do you know the exact name of your ludwigia. I believe I have the same variety, and nobody has ever given me an ID. So far, I think it's ludwigia ovalis.

The thing about hex tanks is that it can be view from many sides. Which is increasing the ways you can enjoy the tank. So cool, so cool...

MrJG · 05-20-2007, 12:15 PM

I forgot to thank everyone for the nice comments.

I think the plant trimmings are spoken for.

FFish: I'm fairly sure that the ludwiga on the left is 'repens'. I think its usually grown commercially emersed so when you get it the leaves are much broader, once it adjusts to submersed growth though the old leaves die off and the new ones are much smaller/tighter formations.
The ludwiga on the right I think is 'palustris' given the pictures I've seen in plant databases around the net.

I attached the moss to the driftwood with the smallest fishing line I had around. Its still there right now, I think I'm going to let it grow back out once more before trying to remove it. This was my first time tying moss to driftwood so a couple of places put me on the right track. Aquatic Moss. How to grow Aquatic Moss. Info on Java Moss, Christmas Moss, Taiwan Moss, Peacock Moss, Stringy Moss has a tutorial for moss attachment and since I didn't have any nice locations to tie off one end of the line I ended up using 'clinch' knots like you use for tying swivel snaps etc for fishing. Clinch Knot

Cheers.

MrJG · 06-02-2007, 07:05 PM

^^^Haha thats what my wife said about all the moss. I did a pretty major hack job to send those trimmings out and the moss is still recovering. All is well with the tank though.
I trimmed as many stems as I could out of this tank to help as nutrient sponges in the 20G as I'm still fighting a hair algae problem there and I figured I'd give a quick update with what the tank looks like currently.
All of the White Cloud minnows are now in the 20 long and loving swimming in the powerjet flow. I removed the amanos from the hex to the 20 also to help keep algae down, so "Howard" the crowntail is all alone in the tank at the moment sans a boatload of ramshorn, pond, and trumpet snails. Its really hard to overfeed to keep the population up. :P

Full tank shot:

When I was plucking the Java Fern plantlets to send out to Memnochskat I had some extras and decided to poke a hole in the marimo ball and pull the roots through... not sure how this will work out but it looks pretty cool to me. :O

big54bob · 06-02-2007, 07:19 PM

You have any plants to give out?

04-17-2007, 08:11 AM	#71
MrJG Little Fish Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lancaster, S.C. Posts: 104	Hehe... well this is the first time I've had any moss in a tank so I really didn't know what to expect. Tell you what, when it comes time to trim the peacock and taiwan moss I'll gladly send you some if you want it. Granted it might be a bit on the taiwan but I imagine when I get the other tank up with CO2 the peacock moss should grow much faster. __________________ 2.5G nano 10G Hex 20G long

05-07-2007, 12:21 PM	#72
MrJG Little Fish Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lancaster, S.C. Posts: 104	progression Ok so its been a bit with no updates. I was just looking back through pictures and even though its only been a few months I think it would be cool at this point to show a little picture progression of the tank from December '06 until now... One of the first pics I shared here sometime in december... Obviously it was an 8w stock light so most plants were suffering... The fake driftwood piece in there started peeling and was stinky so enter real driftwood and upgraded lighting...2.12.07 Growing out some, upgraded to an aquaclear filter, added some ludwiga...3.3.07 Finally got my plant order in, added taiwan moss, nana petite, moss balls...3.14.07 __________________ 2.5G nano 10G Hex 20G long

05-07-2007, 12:22 PM	#73
MrJG Little Fish Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lancaster, S.C. Posts: 104	progression (cont.) Time for a trim? 4.7.07 Settling in...4.15.07 And that brings us to up to yesterday...5.6.07 Everything seems to be growing fine. The remaining wisteria in the back is growing really thick and bushy so when it comes out this time its going to be a monster. Its almost time to trim back the moss a little so it can grow in better. I can send out some starter strands to a few folks when that happens. It will be the Taiwan on the tower portion... The only issue I'm seeing at the moment is a little bit of algae growth on the very top of the "tower", Its not stingy but a very dark green and it seems to come out fairly easily but I need to find out what is causing it as opposed to just removing it. Since I started with the increased dosing in the tank I don't even have the normal dust algae on the glass anymore so could it be too much light? Should I back off on some of the Micro ferts? or back off on all ferts and OD a little excel? __________________ 2.5G nano 10G Hex 20G long

05-07-2007, 12:27 PM	#74
Big Vine Super Fish Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 3,895	Excellent progress! It's cool to see how the tank-scaping/plant growth has transformed even over just a few months' timespan. EDIT: The new betta looks great in there, by the way. BV __________________ "The more it eats, the more it excretes." 75 gal. - 11" tiger oscar Last edited by Big Vine; 05-07-2007 at 12:29 PM..

05-07-2007, 12:32 PM	#75
lauraj Medium Fish Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 435	That's one gorgeous planted tank! Nice job MrJG! __________________ 20 Long since 3/07 - 3 Platies, 1 Neon Tetra, 5 Serpae Tetras (more aggressive then I expected) , 1 Otto Cat, 3 Schwartz Cory Cats Java Fern, Ludwigia Repens, Anubias Coffeefolia, and Wysteria Coralife compact fluorescent fixture 65 W DIY CO2 to homemade diffuser

05-20-2007, 01:10 AM	#76
MrJG Little Fish Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lancaster, S.C. Posts: 104	late night postage Did a fairly big trim of the tank today. All of the moss got its first haircut. So I'm going to make an offer to folks who are following the tank progress. I have the following: 1 golfball+ size portion of Peacock moss 1 golfball+ size portion of Taiwan moss 3-4 Java fern plantlets with a couple of leaves each (largest leaves maybe 3 inches) I'll be happy to ship this to the person who first sends me a pm. The only cost will be $5 for shipping (i prefer paypal). This will make a nice start for a small or nano tank. I'll try to post a picture of the trimmings tomorrow if I have a chance. __________________ 2.5G nano 10G Hex 20G long

05-20-2007, 02:17 AM	#77
TheFighterFish Large Fish Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: California Posts: 853	Woah, lookin' good. Yeah, you needed a trim on one of those last pictures. haha. I was wondering, how did you attach the moss so well to the driftwood? Another one, do you know the exact name of your ludwigia. I believe I have the same variety, and nobody has ever given me an ID. So far, I think it's ludwigia ovalis. The thing about hex tanks is that it can be view from many sides. Which is increasing the ways you can enjoy the tank. So cool, so cool... __________________ 10 G--4 rummynose tetra, 2 B. neon tetra, 1 betta java moss, java fern, crypt, moss ball HOB AC 30 + 2.6 WPG

05-20-2007, 12:15 PM	#78
MrJG Little Fish Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lancaster, S.C. Posts: 104	I forgot to thank everyone for the nice comments. I think the plant trimmings are spoken for. FFish: I'm fairly sure that the ludwiga on the left is 'repens'. I think its usually grown commercially emersed so when you get it the leaves are much broader, once it adjusts to submersed growth though the old leaves die off and the new ones are much smaller/tighter formations. The ludwiga on the right I think is 'palustris' given the pictures I've seen in plant databases around the net. I attached the moss to the driftwood with the smallest fishing line I had around. Its still there right now, I think I'm going to let it grow back out once more before trying to remove it. This was my first time tying moss to driftwood so a couple of places put me on the right track. Aquatic Moss. How to grow Aquatic Moss. Info on Java Moss, Christmas Moss, Taiwan Moss, Peacock Moss, Stringy Moss has a tutorial for moss attachment and since I didn't have any nice locations to tie off one end of the line I ended up using 'clinch' knots like you use for tying swivel snaps etc for fishing. Clinch Knot Cheers. __________________ 2.5G nano 10G Hex 20G long

06-02-2007, 07:05 PM	#79
MrJG Little Fish Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lancaster, S.C. Posts: 104	"you killed it!" ^^^Haha thats what my wife said about all the moss. I did a pretty major hack job to send those trimmings out and the moss is still recovering. All is well with the tank though. I trimmed as many stems as I could out of this tank to help as nutrient sponges in the 20G as I'm still fighting a hair algae problem there and I figured I'd give a quick update with what the tank looks like currently. All of the White Cloud minnows are now in the 20 long and loving swimming in the powerjet flow. I removed the amanos from the hex to the 20 also to help keep algae down, so "Howard" the crowntail is all alone in the tank at the moment sans a boatload of ramshorn, pond, and trumpet snails. Its really hard to overfeed to keep the population up. :P Full tank shot: When I was plucking the Java Fern plantlets to send out to Memnochskat I had some extras and decided to poke a hole in the marimo ball and pull the roots through... not sure how this will work out but it looks pretty cool to me. :O __________________ 2.5G nano 10G Hex 20G long

06-02-2007, 07:19 PM	#80
big54bob Super Fish Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: On my office chair playing Runescape Posts: 1,300	You have any plants to give out? __________________