Tank Envy.

Well, yeah, but not fast enough. Ugh. My poor anacharis. I loved it's weird, seaweedy qualities. My main fronds are brown on the stems, but I have some super-green bits at the base. Ugh. Just what I need. Poor shrimp. Here I gooooooooo!

 

And what are you using for ferts?
Also is it a low-light plant?

 

Anacharis is supposed to be a low TO high-light plant. It seems overly finicky, according to the 23 posts and articles I just read. I just finished removing most of it. The last bits I have removed from the substrate and now have attached to the top of the tank by a loose loop of cotton thread, counter-weighted by a wooden clothespin which dangles on the outside of the tank.

Fertilizer. I do not use ferts for my anacharis. I rely on fish waste for that. It WAS doing well when I had a brighter light, but my fish were unhappy (and so was my power bill), so whatcha gonna do? I use root tabs for the plants with proper root systems.

My Amazon sword, pygmy sword chain, and Staurogyne repens get root tabs. My Crinum natans is growing. It looks kinda narpy with the brown algae on it, but It just keeps sprouting leaves. It is close enough to the repens that I don't need to add another root tab.

Oh, I am sure the issue I'm having with my plants is because of the light and, to a lesser degree, the brown algae.

I am learning a lot about aquascaping. I have now derived a formula for success.

1. Find a light that your fish don't hate.
2. Find plants that will work with the light.
3. Find a beer when those plants die.
4. Find a plant that just looks cool.
5. Find out that plant will grow fine, even though it's not supposed to.
6. Pull out hair.

oh! append!

7. Mystery snails will uproot your plants, just to be jerks.
8. Dwarf hairgrass, when uprooted, will shed a leaf or 8.
9. Your fish will eat the leaf, and then take 4 hours trying to poop it out.
10. Remove the hairgrass. >.>

 

That sounds about right lol.

 

Right so, because I am having so much fun with this thread, I am going to post a couple pictures I found while searching through Google Images. These guys totally make me feel inadequate in all matters of life and fish.


https://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/a...forest-all4aquarium-ru-horizontal-gallery.jpg


Oh, freakin' whatsits? Why didn't I stop torturing myself with Google Images???? "Planted tank" search, I curse the day I thought to perform you!
SUPER AWESOME P.S.

My nitrates are down to zero, again!!!! They got up to *1*, last night. What did I do? I pulled out my anacharis and trimmed off the ailing bits. I left the rest in the tank, but not anchored to the floor. I did chuck in the last blurb of TSS that I saved for emergencies. I also took my tank broom and swept some of the brown algae off of the fake driftwood. This seems to be encouraging a little bit more of the green algae to grow! I just tested my water, and I'm getting my beloved PERFECT reading, again!

IT IS AMAZING HOW A PLANT, EVEN IF IT IS NOT GROSS AND COMPLETELY ROTTING, CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT THE CHEMISTRY OF YOUR TANK IF IT IS NOT DOING WELL.

On the plus side, my Java ferns are not dying. They have done absolutely nothing, actually. This is good. I would notice some gross rotty bits by now, I think. There was a tiny bit of black on the leaves when I got them, and that has disappeared. I think I am going to end up with a very frondy Java-fern tank!

Argh, mopanI and almond leaves! Hurry up and arrive!

 

Haha very nice.
I love that last one.
Id love to have a tank like that.
But is also hate having to maintain it.
If I could hire someone to do it for me that would be perfect lol.

 

I should think that such an established tank would need minimal cleaning. I would imagine that he has a neat system where he just adds water and the surplus drains out some sort of channel. That's how I would do it, anyway. At least that's how I'd set up my dream 35' shallow river tank.. if I won the lottery.

Considering the size of his MASSIVE plants, I would assume that they would consume most, if not all of the waste from whatever fish he has in there. If this is THE Amano, the namesake of that awesome freshwater shrimp, then he knows not to overstock.

Of course, simply look at the room. Anyone who can afford a place like that can pay another person to clean the thing! Lol!

 

Also I just found the coolest tank ive ever seen, somehow with waterfalls.
Looks like a sand waterfall.

Go on YouTube and search "Avatar Fish Tank" and it should be within the first few videos.

 

Okay, I'll bite. Is this it? That is one amazing setup, though I could do without the obnoxious music. The one time I actually have Youtube unmuted, lol!

Okay, that's pretty great. Check out this nearly 30-minute video on the creation of a massive aquascape!

If only I had some real money. I really want a shallow river tank. Check it out.... and then imagine combining all these great pictures and videos into this thing. ..without the sand-fall. I don't like the idea of kicking up sand in my aquarium.

Olde One's Dream Tank Setup.

**Some sort of beautiful mega-filter would power this beast. It would either be a canister or sump. Probably a sump, because I haven't studied those, yet, and HOB or canister filters seem inadequate. I would also build some sort of water-change system into the thing, so that fresh water coming in on one side would displace dirty water out the other. Hand-draining a 35' long tank would absolutely kill my spine. A python would probably work, but I want a setup so entirely low-maintenance that my fish would learn English just to congratulate me. XD

 

Yes that's it lol.
And yeah I can picture it now. That would be amazing lol.
Id love to see something like that.

 

I need to find a local deity that would see fit to bestow upon me great whopping piles of money without some sort of monkey's paw side effects.

I will now post pictures from my cell of my shrimp being weird. Keep in mind that my tank is in transition, due to my general anacharis die-off. Admins perusing this thread will find no resistance to merging these posts, lol! I simply can't upload photos from my computer! XD

Joe, King of the Ghost Shrimp! His loyal subjects love anacharis and are determined to inhabit the last bits.

Sent from my Z796C using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Lol I have so many ghost shrimp I lost count.
Theyve had sucessfull babies multiple times without me interfering.
I actually found one trapped inside the filter compartment where the media goes lol.

 

wow love the look of the avatar tank simply amazing and also that person has wayyyyy to much time on their hands lol makes my tank seem so inadequate now and I though I was doing so well in setting it up you are definitely right I now have serious tank envy people stop building such amazing tanks and upstaging us little people hahaha

 

To much time and $$ on their hands.
Maybe they wana trade places with me

 

Well, what WE need to do is create amazing tanks without spending much money.... much MORE money, I mean! If this whole wisteria experiment fails, then I will be forced to get a better light. Ugh. I just really don't want to use my incandescent hood, even WITH florescent lights.

 

Get some LED light

 

I have LEDs right now, the ones with which I replaced the incandescent hood. ..hence my low-light plant issues.

 

Ohh ok didnt realise.

 

I just bought some brazilian micro swords hope they go alright with my light I have realised tht my little lamp actually has a high uv rating lol because I'm starting to have alge hair growth on all my bits of drift wood tht my bn is going nuts over she loves it she grazes on it all day long so my little plants sould do alright bought three pots waiting on them to be delivered too my LFS tht I go too get everything and have gone too my LFS and found a moonlight and sunlight light and it will cost $100 to buy but tht is so muvh better thn I thought it would bw

 

Uv light in your tank will kill your BB.
At least any that's exposed to the light.

 

Ooh, good to know. I saw a cool water filter with a UV sterilizer in it. I couldn't imagine how it would work. Ugh. I wish I had some sort of a guarantee on a light. Like, if my plants and fish don't kick butt at the same time within a two-month time-frame, then I get my money back, loL! I guess Petsmart has a 60 day return policy.. they just don't have great lighting! XD

 

They have a few good lights but fairly expensive.
Apparently the water passes through the UV light and it kills most bacteria. Depensing on how bright the bulb is.
Most are only bright enough to kill algae.

Also demontay I think you mean lumen?
Or do you mean UV?

 

um I'm not all too sure on the diffenerce between uv an lumen :/

 

Nit sure on the definition of UV but lumens is what determines how bright the light is.

 

ahk my lights not too bright so I must be meaning uv as my algae is thriving and my fish are loving it as their all bottom feeders even the tetras are getting into it and its not thriving out of control either thnakgod

 

Brand, size, wattage?

Sent from my Z796C using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Algae sucks.
Unless you have a pleco of course lol.

 

Haha its literally just ur normal lamp light u purchase from ur local supermarket ☺️

 

Update as to my reDONKulous plant and light struggle.

Saturday is tank-cleaning day. To make up to my snails for removing the decaying anacharis, I bought them a ceramic hidey-hole.... which they don't really care about.

Zoidberg, however, decided to give it a go.

When Zoidberg noticed I was taking his picture, he mooned me.

Today, I got the last bundle of wisteria at the LFS. I also got this weird nerite snail, who is now very slowwwwwlyyyyy chasing my Amano shrimp around. My tetras hid in abject horror as I planted my FRUSTRATINGLY FLOATY new wisteria stalks.

They all have roots, which is great. One I trimmed so I could plant it at a shorter height. I want to take advantage of all those awesome roots!

I finally got the wisteria planted, after a frightening barrage of curse words.

The current arrangement is just to keep everything alive. I have a chunk of mopanI wood comin' in from Amazon, this week. Once it gets here, I will completely rearrange everything. I would also like to get some Java moss, but I'll wait until I see the piece.

So, I got all the pieces, except the new REAL driftwood. That awesome piece in there, already, is a fantastic fake. The filter intake is behind it. The filter output is between the top of the fake driftwood and the left side of the tank. The airstone is on the far right. The ceramic cave can be removed, if need be.

Any of y'all got ideas for the layout? TANK ENVYYYYY!

 

Hah that fish actually does look a bit like Zoidberg. I think it's the eyes.

 

and the Barbels! XD If you've ever seen an albino cory munching on a sinking pellet..... lol! I'd post a picture, but Zoidberg wiggles too fast when he's excited to get a clear one.

Oh, and meet Ladybug, my brand new nerite snail, who apparently LOVES brown algae diatoms!!!! Look at the bit he just ate off of my Crinum natans!!!!

TANK ENVY!

Go, nerite, go!!

 

My worst nightmare has happened my tank had busted a seal

 

HOLY CRUDBALLS! That happened to me like two weeks after getting my 20 gallon long. And lordy lordy, 3:37 AM was your post? At least the pet store was open when mine split. I hope you have a backup and buckets! My best wishes be with you, good sir!

 

I had my fish in a washing basket and rushed them too my friends aquarium and it was as u said two weeks after I got my tank to haha instead if grtting it fixed I'm gonna sell a few things and buy a brand new 3or 4 foot aquarium putting as much money aside as I can as we soeak

 

Wait wait.. two weeks? Take it back to the store! @o@

 

I didnt buy it from a store I bought it off the internet on a site called gumtree its very similar but you sometimes don't know what your buying I bought the tank and was gaurenteed it was good but the bloke I bought it off forgot too mention tht the tank was 20 yrs old and hadn't had a reseal in its life

 

Its always fun upgrading tanks.

 

Okay. Here it is. BRAND NEW MOPANI. Here are some multiple views....

Roit, you aquascapers! What to dooooooooooo?

My current idea is to either hide the cave behind the existing fake driftwood or remove it, entirely. The pygmy sword chain and Staurogyne repens might be candidates for removal as well, depending on what the wisteria does. I am trying low-light plants instead of spending a billion dollars on a new light. I suppose I could use my old hood, but danged if it isn't 20 watts of electricity-wasting fury. I am REALLY digging the whole glass top + light thing. Don't make me go back to a hood. T-T

Uhhh.. anyway, then I'd move the Amazon sword up a bit and put the driftwood behind it? Orrrrr I could put the driftwood in front of it to sort of mask where the plants are actually rooted.

I am toying with the idea of getting a little bit of black gravel to accent my substrate, though I DOOOOO love the natural colouring of my pebbles.

 

your one piece of mopanI looks crazy close to mine o.o did you steal it when I wasn't looking?

 

OnTheFry LOL! Nope! I did, however, purchase it blind from Amazon.com. I just can't decide which side I like the best. I do rather enjoy it standing on one end, but I think options 1 or 3 might be the best. I really like the large, swooping contours. ALTHOUGH, the back has so many strangle blebs that it is just a joy to look at. Ugh! Maybe I need to get a disco-ball spinner and just hang it in the aquarium.