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Alpine Gardens

Revenge of the Scissorman!

Came home after one week of vacation to find BBA and BGA beginning to appear. No water changes, no ferts, and no liquid carbon for a week was enough for them to start knocking. In fairness, as mentioned earlier, BGA was already there in tiny quantity before I left. The pic below is how it looks after a very heavy prune. My beautiful Rotala indica forest reduced to shrubs. But it will grow back, it is very healthy. This is the second time I prune it back like this. As you can see there is a bit of bare area on the left. Crypt parva were there, but as the only plant they never seemed to thrive, so removed them and started planting some Eleocharis mini runners to fill out. It is my first time with Eleocharis, love them, especially the parvula, but they really need to be controlled. In some places I just let them blend in with the other plants, but some areas need to be kept free. I have added a power head to help with circulation, especially in the BGA affected areas. I hope you enjoy the update:). Comments and questions welcome.

Thomas



10427425084_e5c8099c73_z_d.jpg
 
Just ordered this beauty: Gratiola viscidula. I was attracted to its spiny and tiny leaves and compact growth habit.

There is not much info out there: do any of you have experience with it - or perhaps know a good source for information?

Oh, wait, didn't I just say in someone else's journal that I ruined my last scape by adding new plants all the time? :p. Well, I will stay disciplined this time and if I do not think it fits, I will place it in a wabi kusa. I am not sure if you have access to IKEA in the UK, but if you do I highly recommend this three-piece set, which looks like it was developed for wabi kusa :): CYLINDER Vase/skål 3 stk. - IKEA. Price is equivalent of approx. 12£. Glass is clear and thin and they have a perfect size (you can see size under "produktinformation").

Thomas
 
Your Gratiola viscidula should do nicely in good, standard conditions.
Mine is at Kh 6-ish and very good light. Relatively heavily fertilized. I too have fallen in love with the "spiny" appearance of those tiny leaves. Not the fastest of growers - but not that slow either.
Share knowledge as you get it, with this one, please......
Mick.
 
Your Gratiola viscidula should do nicely in good, standard conditions.
Mine is at Kh 6-ish and very good light. Relatively heavily fertilized. I too have fallen in love with the "spiny" appearance of those tiny leaves. Not the fastest of growers - but not that slow either.
Share knowledge as you get it, with this one, please......
Mick.

Will do, Mick. Thanks for sharing this. My kh is higher than yours, I fear. Hope that won't be a negative factor. Still looking for a spot where it will fit without destroying the scape :).

The joy of tax, we get screwed more than any other country

Sorry to disappoint you: Danish VAT is 25%. Beat that (I don't mind, though, as I think we collectively benefit from high taxes).

Thomas
 
The scapes looking sweet!

I love how the people of Denmark don't mind paying taxes. Probably one of the happiest countries I have visited. Even with expensive beer, people are happy!
 
The scapes looking sweet!

I love how the people of Denmark don't mind paying taxes. Probably one of the happiest countries I have visited. Even with expensive beer, people are happy!

Well, I wouldn't say I don't mind paying taxes. But it comes down to whether you feel you actually get something in return. And I think we do, more or less. Glad you enjoyed your visits here :).

Thomas
 
My Riccia is a CO2 canary. Over the last week I noticed that its pearling had decreased. No parameters changed. I took out the atomizer, put it in a bleach solution for 30 minutes. The bubbles coming out subsequently were significantly smaller than before the clean and at lights off the Riccia was pearling so much I could hardly see the plant. I just started using the atomizer (UP) some months back and was adviced by people I consider knowledgeable to clean only maybe once or twice a year. With this recent experience I think I will start doing it at least monthly in connection with lily pipe cleaning. Perhaps this is already routine for most you, but for me it was a bit of a wake up call.

Thomas
 
Sorry about premature posting of the pic :(.

Anyway, a small update.

First, I have been trying my hand on the great photography advice I have received and also downloaded Gimp to do a bit of work on the pics. I see some improvements, but would welcome any feedback.

Second, I have added a few new plants. Marsilea is supposed to fill out between the stones on the left side. Also got Elatine "Monte Carlo" to supplement the HC in the center. Further, as noted above, I have some Gladiota viscidula to the right, although I just pruned them out of visibility. This is a wonderful plant, tiny stem with very small pointed leaves. Looks really nice among the hairgrass.

Third, I have advanced the Riccia "front" a little bit and added a few more stones. I also replaced the Nile sand with Sarawak.

Fourth, got some new Cascade glassware, i.e. spraybar. Took the plunge to a new filter, Eheim 2075 (1250 l/h) when I saw that the Cascade range had a short inlet pipe for 16/22 mm tubing. This is the first shallow tank suitable glass inlet I have seen that is usable on 16/22mm. I am very pleased with this new arrangement as it seems to provide optimum flow.

Thomas
 
In addition: The tank seems to have recovered from the small algae outbreak (see above). The BGA disappeared with some large water changes and more flow. The BBA is not gone, but is stabilized/on the retreat with Flourish Excel spot treatment.

Also added a tiny tuft of UG. Actually bought this plant for wabi kusa, but thought I'd see how it works out in the tank. It is not dead yet, but looks like its still making up its mind about conditions.

Thomas
 
Love this mate, really nice aquascape, that would do well in the iaplc. Not sure about the lonely espei though.
 
Thanks, Ian, much appreciated! I am aiming to prepare it for the IAPLC; probably needs another month or two. But the photography will likely stand in my way :(. Or I could convince my wife that I will surely win the 1 million yen and get a Canon 6D now :).

Yes, the lonely espei, last of a band of suicide jumpers! Can't make up my mind about replacements. Since I try hard to maintain a sense of scale, it needs to be a small fish. Suggestions appreciated!

Thomas
 
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