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  1. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Pearling after a water change? Why?

    yep, exactly.. this is what I mean.
  2. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Pearling after a water change? Why?

    thats a cool experiment.. and certainly proves that plants exposed to the air will pearl on re-submersion. When using tap water I used to get 'pearling' on plants that were never exposed to the air though, which is probably more what Im thinking about with my (slightly shakey probably) theory of...
  3. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Pearling after a water change? Why?

    I still recon its to do with gases coming out of solution after being pressurised in the pipes, this can take quite a while.. since doing my water changes with 100% rain water I get no hyper pearling at all. Personally I dont think its anything to do with the plants, I just think its gases...
  4. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Tropica Nursery

    amazing place that, Id love to visit. I used to work in greenhouses at that scale, awesome pieces of engineering! Until I fell through the roof of one :shock:
  5. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    How long to leave plants before introducing apple snails?

    if your apple snails are feeding on living plants then they dont have enough to eat... they eat ALOT, far more than one might think. weigh down some cucumber (take the seeds out first as they make the tank cloudy) for them and theyll leave anything alone.
  6. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    P.Helferi lacking nutrients?

    Clives right, thats 2.7wpg of T5, which (according to the June or July 07 edition of TAG) outputs about 3 times the effective light of a T8 due to its operating temperature difference. (thought Id quote the source this time clive! :wink: )
  7. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Care

    as Clive has suggested.. its wise to read the EI article as it outlines WHY we dose and how to dose. Irrespective of which route you take, its worth reading this first. There are many schools of thought, alot will depend on your tank size, how much light youre using and your available spending...
  8. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    rooting wisteria

    Hygrophilla Deformis should root like a weed.. is it rotting off at the stem? also are you dosing ferts and providing any carbon? It should root in any substrate, fertile or not.. its equally able to feed from the water column or the substrate so a fertile substrate isnt necessary. Be...
  9. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Java Fern Decay???

    Im not sure how big that filter is.. usually we'd only directly inject into an external canister as it has further for the gas to go allowing for a more complete dissolve. The problem with the internal is that it wont have much media to trap any undissolved gas. You could try though.. use a...
  10. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Java Fern Decay???

    if youre dosing normal EI then it looks to me like the only thing left is CO2 which is causing things not to grow properly.
  11. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Short roots

    dont worry, once the plants have established itll soon reach far enough down.
  12. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Planting Bulbs?

    I dont think it makes much difference at all how deep you plant.. so long as you have a half sensible substrate thats healthy.
  13. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Microsorum narrow

    If you leave them on there, theyll get pretty big pretty fast, then usually the plant detatches them and they float away. If you like you can leave them on there till they get an inch or 2, then take them off manually and wedge them between a few stones to get bigger :) you could always share...
  14. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Low Maintenance Carpetting Plant

    should be fine.. its a nice easy plant provided it has enough ferts. Also easy to farm quite a quantity from not very much so its cheap as well. Weekly trimming is fine.. you could get away with less than that.
  15. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Low Maintenance Carpetting Plant

    some of the crypts are quite nice and dont require much maintenance.. just pulling it up where you dont want it. Hemianthus C. not too bad either. Glosso is a thug though and needs a firm hand to keep it in check... itll go nuts upwards, outwards anywaywards.. also needs replanting from time...
  16. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    When will it stop sending out floaters

    hes quite correct :)
  17. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Leaf edges going black

    could also be algae rather than a deficiency.. I had that on my last tank, was a flippin nightmare.
  18. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Limnophila aromatica - The Rice Paddy Herb

    mines starting to really take off now! Should be able to thicken up my batch this weekend.. then itll be cuttings mad.
  19. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Is my Glosso doing okay? and a plant ID if I may!

    I agree with Georges cases, but he does run fairly low light when hes using it.. and he is a master! He also uses purigen which may negate some of the more negative elements held in TPN+. I think for those of us mortals in the hobby, who arent maybe as vigilant as George is on maintenance...
  20. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Is my Glosso doing okay? and a plant ID if I may!

    yes.. but when your adding co2 and high light.. youd have to add more of it than seems to remain stable. As youve often said, NH4 and all sorts of other things go into tpn+. Whenever Ive tried to swap to it Ive had enormous problems, as have a few others it seems. I stand by the fact that if...
  21. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Is my Glosso doing okay? and a plant ID if I may!

    tpn+ isnt enough on its own.. if you add more light, youll just make things worse. The plants dont have enough to eat. tpn+ is brilliant for low tech, non-co2 tanks.. but for the highish tech tank youre trying to do, it wont cut the mustard.
  22. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Soaking plants?

    I just trim them and bung them in! Never soaked anything in anything.
  23. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Hemianthus callitrichoides

    see your other thread. Your not adding ferts, this is the reason why nothing is growing.
  24. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Is my Glosso doing okay? and a plant ID if I may!

    absolutely.. and dont forget ferts..
  25. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Is my Glosso doing okay? and a plant ID if I may!

    this is very true :) but after that long under co2 and that little growth Id have to worry.. Glosso is a total brute, it grows like weed and is hard to control under good conditions. 14 days growth...
  26. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Is my Glosso doing okay? and a plant ID if I may!

    thats probably why the Glosso is trying to get higher, thats not alot of light over 55gallons. Glosso is quite light/co2/nutrient hungry. Are you dosing ferts in any way? Dont forget, its useless adding co2 unless your adding nutrients as well :)
  27. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Is my Glosso doing okay? and a plant ID if I may!

    are you dosing ferts? your glosso looks a little off colour. what kind of lighting do you have? leggy growth can be an indication of not enough light for a plants needs. Im afraid I dont have a clue what that other plant is! Looks nice tho!
  28. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Will glosso grow in a non co2 tank? + How to plant??

    blimey! you should resell on ebay :lol: youd make a fortune
  29. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Sterilizing new plants.

    I just remove dead/squashed/melted leaves, trim the roots a bit and bung them straight in. I quite like snails so I leave eggs on! Got a nice pair of free ramshorn snails that way!
  30. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Beginner Plants

    if you get no joy in your LFS, try Greenline
  31. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Beginner Plants

    also try Hygrophila difformis aka 'water wisteria'.. grows like a weed. :) great originator too
  32. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Fissidens

    If you do find yourself buying a non-aquatic species that has been advertised as aquatic, or NOT advertised as semi-aquatic/non-aquatic, please do contact the seller and make the point. Part of the aim of the Society is to encourage sellers to improve their coverage of the hobby, and that...
  33. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Limnophila aromatica - The Rice Paddy Herb

    thats ok clive.. I can go buy some :) ive been looking about, and greenline list that latin name as this http://www.aquaticplants.eu.com/acatalog/info_543.html have they got it wrong? edit: hms.. looks like they have got it wrong.. Tropica list it correctly.. lol well that makes live easy huh!
  34. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Limnophila aromatica - The Rice Paddy Herb

    id quite like some of that :) looks amazing
  35. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Bolbitis heudelotii

    Ive just put in some of this too, we can compare notes :) first time Ive tried it too
  36. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Online plant retailers

    I always use Greenline, although there are obviously many others. For me, Andy has always come up trumps, especially where theres a problem. Hes also extremely cheap. I think theres quite a few others on the links page of the UKaps website...
  37. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Red Tiger Lotus

    being a lotus, it will always try to find the surface.. As soon as the leaf hits the surface just cut the stem just below substrate level. Itll then just be a constant process of snipping, growing.. Itll keep up with you dont worry about that! another way to get a good variation of leaf sizes...
  38. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Red Tiger Lotus

    this plant grows nutso.. if left unkempt in unlimited space, they can reach a meter wide, with leaves as large as a dinner plate. the best way to train it, is to keep the roots under control.. restricting the roots will keep the leaves small and compact. Ive developed 2 good ways to do this...
  39. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Glossostigma elatinoides

    yep, glosso will need quite a light source.. does exceptionally well under T5 because of the higher output per watt. In situations with too low light, it will race upwards, rather than thicken up and carpet. It also needs a good substrate to get its feet into, and ALOT of CO2 and a good...
  40. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Glosso - or maybe not?

    thats spectacular Dave, amazing
  41. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Glosso - or maybe not?

    its Hemianthus micranthemoides, definatly. ive had that sent out as well on occasions. its basically a taller, lankier version of HC
  42. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Anubus on Bogwood

    Mines better than yours ;)
  43. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Growing Raccia

    to really farm it like mad, add lots and lots of NO3 and PO4.. i used to be able to grow it so fast it would double its mass every 10 days.. I had so much I sold it constantly on ebay for about 3 months. While Riccia will grow with very little ferts, for it to really take off, it needs to be a...
  44. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    A Carpeting plant which cant be pulled up by my angelfish!

    Unfortunately, if you have plant biting angels, in my experience, theres nothing they wont hit.. hence I had to get rid of mine. Might be worth giving them their own tank.
  45. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Small Plants With Small Leaves?

    Glossostigma (commonly called just Glosso) is a very useful carpeting plant. Needs quite high light and good ferts/co2. Some people say itll only grow in soft water, but I grow it in hard hard water like a weed. Also, Heminanthus callitrichoides (commonly called just HC) also very useful...
  46. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Amazon swords - a few problems

    to add to what Clive's already said.. the sheer amounts of Flourish's macro mixs that are needed, make it totally prohibitive unless your a lottery winner.. your far better off with dry ferts in powder form. for instance, and I quote from the Flourish phosphorus bottle; 'to raise 20 gallons...
  47. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Vallis problem - browning from tips.

    quote from George from the Barr report this january. he was asking about its effects on Riccia but the convo went into vallis and other types. with a reply from Tom shortly afterwards.. it looks like it hadnt been tested properly in January, maybe if your in a position to test then nows a...
  48. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Vallis problem - browning from tips.

    excel can be used to kill riccia dead in its tracks, so i know its possible for excel to be a cause, intentional or unintentional, of plant demise. also, excel is used to kill some types of algae, which are plants.. so the principle is the same, i would think it depends purely on the dosage.
  49. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Vallis problem - browning from tips.

    they should be able to last for ages in a tank without anything at all, its a very resilient plant in poor growing conditions, as i said, itll even hybernate. i think it might have been on barrreport that i remember reading it has troubles with excel. id be really interested as well to find...
  50. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Vallis problem - browning from tips.

    ive jsut remembered something.... vallis doesnt like excel, i seem to remember it kills it pretty damn fast.. can someone else confirm this please?
  51. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Vallis problem - browning from tips.

    your water should be fine for vallis with those readings, even uncalibrated. sounds like its a fert deficiency then. if your not already, its worth starting to dose using the estimative index method, as this will rule out any issues with ferts almost instantly, all youll have to worry about...
  52. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Vallis problem - browning from tips.

    whats the KH of your water? vallis of all varieties needs pretty hard water. other than that, could be certain fish nipping the ends off.. vallis hates its tips missing, if it does the whole lot will brown off from the top down. rosey barbs and angel fish are pretty notorious for this. are...
  53. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    translucent hygro

    the break in ferts will definatly be the cause of the hygro problems, it grows so fast that itll show signs of problems in literally days :) at least you can identify the issue though, thats half the battle!!
  54. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Amazon sword

    hmms.. true that.. but its possible that the substrate has been exhausted. If EI is being added, then id say thats definatly the case. IMO, 'built in' substrate ferts only really last about 3-6 months.. the same as a terrestrial compost, wed feed heavily after that time on things like hanging...
  55. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Amazon sword

    Again, I suspect Nitrogen deficiency. Try putting root tabs in around the swords, they need far more feed than they can really pull in via the water column.
  56. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    translucent hygro

    I would suggest lack of nitrogen or phosphate. Read up extensively on the Estimative Index, you can choose to use that method or not, but reading it will help you understand more about whats required by the plants and help you fine tune your own methods :) Hygro is a very good barometer as to...
  57. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Java Fern fixing.

    I just use a bit of cotton thread to tie them on to wood. After a time the cotton thread biodegradable and disappears leaving the plant happy. as said already, restricting the rhizome wont help you much :) easy mistake to make though so dont worry.
  58. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Keeping HC down..

    hehe, i know what you mean.. i was incredibly reluctant to get rid of mine, but i had no choice, they ate an 8 inch lump of riccia in about 5 days, just 3 of them! Im wondering if its down to size, mine were pretty big, so maybe that was half of it. good luck with the issue though, its a pain
  59. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Keeping HC down..

    I had to send my angel fish on perminant holiday for this very reason, they do it with anything they can get their beeks around.. they seem to want alot of greenery in their diet, theyll destroy riccia, HC, glosso, hairgrass, anything really thats got a small stem.. I just gave up trying to...
  60. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    ID Required please

    I wish we had shops around here where we could just walk in and see plants like this. Damn nightmare. Im fed up with complaining to the management of my LFS that they dont support planted tanks enough, Im going to try to get pets at home into it more and maybe the other shop, which is close...
  61. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Monosolenium tenerum

    Mines settling in nicely now Ulster :) thanks again for sending me mine.. its gunna rock!
  62. Matt Holbrook-Bull

    Monosolenium tenerum

    Ulsterexile was very kind to send me some of this plant, so I thought Id copy the Tropica information sheet about it to here. Its a facinating plant, with properties very similar to Riccia, but it sinks! Which is what we've all been after. this could open up a great many new avenues on the...
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