Vishaquatics
- #1
January 2021 News:
Happy New Years! The month of January has been a bit uneventful as far as the farm goes, but the plants have been growing along steadily. These winter months, even in a sunny area like SoCal, are among the most difficult months of the year for growing. The cold temps, coupled with low humidity and reduced sunlight hours make growing fairly difficult. Many plants continue to flower, which becomes a bit of an issue as the plant stops producing the vegetative shoots that I need for submersed cultivation.
LED Tub:
As per the past few months, the LED tub has continued to run smoothly and with large and predictable harvests. Though the LED tub is mainly out of the way of the natural elements, it is still exposed to a bit of morning sunlight. This sunlight has seemed to induce the flowering stage in my Pogostemon octopus (Pogostemon quadrifolius), as seen in the video linked below. The terminal buds of the plants are characterized by shorter, fat leaves with a flower starting to grow out the top. Over the past few years, this particular plant has tried to flower aggressively during the winter season, no matter if it is growing submersed or emersed. It is one of the only plants I've cultivated which tries to flower, even if underwater. The flowering stage occurs during the short-day cycle (winter in CA). Unfortunately, I do not sell Pogostemon that is flowering, so I've had to move most of my Pogostemon octopus to my indoor tanks which don't receive sunlight, thus allowing for normal development.
Additionally, I also did a great harvest of my Echinodorus purple aflame swords, with some of the best specimens I've grown in a long time. It's a sensitive plant that isn't too easy to grow in systems that experience a lot of change (like mine), but with consistent maintenance and aquasoil substrate, I was able to grow them out at a decent size without algae. This plant is probably the most unique and incredible aquatic plant out there; the deep purple coloration does not look real. But I can assure you that it is a very real plant
Greenhouse:
The greenhouse has been productive, though some growth has slowed down due to the reduced sunlight hours. Nevertheless, here are some cool plant pictures:
Massive mat of emersed Hydrocotyle japan
Rotala rotundifolia flowering
Shinnersia rivularis flowering
Ludwigia rubin and Bacopa monnieri
Nano Tank:
The nano tank has been allowed a while to grow out, and is finally near it's final stages of the scape that I originally envisioned. In about a month, I'm hoping it'll be at its peak.
40B Farm Tank:
I've spent the better part of this month tweaking the CO2 on the 40B. It takes a while to get it right, especially when plants are constantly going in and out of the tank. It is working much better than expected, but it still needs a few weeks to become properly established. Here are some pictures of the tank itself, and some of the awesome plants it has grown just within this short period.
Full Tank Shots:
Beautiful pot of Staurogyne repens:
Rotala rotundifolia ADA Pearling Nicely:
Thank you for reading!
Happy New Years! The month of January has been a bit uneventful as far as the farm goes, but the plants have been growing along steadily. These winter months, even in a sunny area like SoCal, are among the most difficult months of the year for growing. The cold temps, coupled with low humidity and reduced sunlight hours make growing fairly difficult. Many plants continue to flower, which becomes a bit of an issue as the plant stops producing the vegetative shoots that I need for submersed cultivation.
LED Tub:
As per the past few months, the LED tub has continued to run smoothly and with large and predictable harvests. Though the LED tub is mainly out of the way of the natural elements, it is still exposed to a bit of morning sunlight. This sunlight has seemed to induce the flowering stage in my Pogostemon octopus (Pogostemon quadrifolius), as seen in the video linked below. The terminal buds of the plants are characterized by shorter, fat leaves with a flower starting to grow out the top. Over the past few years, this particular plant has tried to flower aggressively during the winter season, no matter if it is growing submersed or emersed. It is one of the only plants I've cultivated which tries to flower, even if underwater. The flowering stage occurs during the short-day cycle (winter in CA). Unfortunately, I do not sell Pogostemon that is flowering, so I've had to move most of my Pogostemon octopus to my indoor tanks which don't receive sunlight, thus allowing for normal development.
Additionally, I also did a great harvest of my Echinodorus purple aflame swords, with some of the best specimens I've grown in a long time. It's a sensitive plant that isn't too easy to grow in systems that experience a lot of change (like mine), but with consistent maintenance and aquasoil substrate, I was able to grow them out at a decent size without algae. This plant is probably the most unique and incredible aquatic plant out there; the deep purple coloration does not look real. But I can assure you that it is a very real plant
Greenhouse:
The greenhouse has been productive, though some growth has slowed down due to the reduced sunlight hours. Nevertheless, here are some cool plant pictures:
Massive mat of emersed Hydrocotyle japan
Rotala rotundifolia flowering
Shinnersia rivularis flowering
Ludwigia rubin and Bacopa monnieri
Nano Tank:
The nano tank has been allowed a while to grow out, and is finally near it's final stages of the scape that I originally envisioned. In about a month, I'm hoping it'll be at its peak.
40B Farm Tank:
I've spent the better part of this month tweaking the CO2 on the 40B. It takes a while to get it right, especially when plants are constantly going in and out of the tank. It is working much better than expected, but it still needs a few weeks to become properly established. Here are some pictures of the tank itself, and some of the awesome plants it has grown just within this short period.
Full Tank Shots:
Beautiful pot of Staurogyne repens:
Rotala rotundifolia ADA Pearling Nicely:
Thank you for reading!