Re: 70G High Tech Dutch Aquarium - Pic Update Sept 9
Since the big hacking and rescaping I haven't had much to do with this tank other than re-planting the stems that have unrooted and floated to the surface. I did another trim the other day. Even the slow growers are starting to grow at pretty good rates now. I have noticed that 1 of the Red Rubin leaves has some holes in it. Potassium deficiency in dosing maybe? I've been using Fertilator on APC forum to calculate ferts and have kept the N and K dosing to the lower end of the range. I've been slowly increasing the K dosing with the new dry ferts but don't think I'm quite there yet.
The blyxa japonica has been taking off since being put directly under the light, towards the front of the tank. It's getting pretty red as well. The crypt balansae on the right side are well over 18" now. I can't see any runners of small balansae yet though. Anyone have any experience with balansae reproducing in there tanks they can share?
Right now I am thinking I am going to trade the rotalla wallichi in the front right for the didiplis diandra in the 10G tank. It just doesn't fit with this tank. I'm going to let it grow to the surface before I decide but right now it is overwhelmed in this tank....I think anyways.
It seems like the green algae on the front glass pane has been expanding its presence of late. Any thoughts on working this algae out of the mix? I'm thinking it is low water flow to the front of the tank that is causing this. I haven't been keeping up on cleaning the filter intake screens to make sure the flow in the tank is optimum. Am I on the right track here, or just hoping?
I would have to say, as a nylon carpet fibre spinning process engineer by profession, I love the troubleshooting process of algae in an aquarium. About 15 variables maximum (if you include the obscure stuff), and usually only dealing with 1-2 variables at a time. In my job I deal with hundreds of process variables and hundreds of human interactions and get paid to optimize them all. Working in aquariums is a simple and rewarding as testing gets. I really appreciated some of the commentary by Tom Barr on the recent
The Planted Aquarium Podcast on testing in tanks and using your current situation as your control. Spot on comments and some great synopsis of the danger of trusting the forums. The forums are some of the best sources of information on the net, actually, the best, but as Tom stated, you will always have someone who replies to your post saying it won't work. His ultimate point is perfect; if you have a theory, just test it and see what happens. See the results and then refine/rethink your hypothesis and move on to the next test. These aquariums we run are complex systems but there are limited variables that influence the outcomes we are looking for. Test the variables, note the results and learn. That is how to approach the hobby and your own setups. Eventually you will get things dialed in precisely....and then you will change it all.