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Consistency Deficiency

My way of keeping floaters is to have wood emerging out of the tank which provides a place to tether some plants to like hydrocotyle and anubias. Eventually the plants gain a hold, push out into the flow and won't float off. Then my floating plants that can't be tethered like red root floaters end up in this area where they can "hide" from the fast flow amongst the stronger plants.

I used to think this made a lot of dead zones for co2 in my tank, but I've been moving my drop checker around the whole tank the past week and it's high everywhere.
 
swyftfeet said:
I think floaters are the crutch for us low tech / lean dosing folks.

With CO2 you would not need the safety factor of them occluding the light, taking up the excess nutrients, being the only non CO2 limited plants.

I agree they are great sentinels a la the duckweed index. However, if you're dosing EI and have CO2 the need for the duckweed index is kinda washed away, especially if you have an over powered, greeater than 5:1 (gph : tank volume) turnover canister filter.

Even the best paper airplane cant fetch your mail.
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I think the potential usage for plants with the aerial advantage goes even beyond that. Darrel always says plant/microbe filtration is "belt and braces", what about belt, braces and bootstraps (or something). The reason im still trying to work out a way to include some CO2 unlimited plants in my setup is because they have such strong potential for growth given their access to atmospheric CO2, and therefore good potential for uptake of a sudden (unwanted) release of nutrients. I think that a tank with some CO2 unlimited plants will be safer against a sudden increase in ammonia/ammonium, could be a dead fish (or many), could be a root tab addition gone wrong, could be filter had problems. Either way I think they can be a useful safety feature even in high tech tanks.

My setup is just not great for loose floating plants, and ive gotten tired of trying to work around it and want to go with something else. So an anchored plant or two would be better for me. Wont sail around and wont end up everywhere during a waterchange. Its not something thats critical for my tank to have right now, but ill see about working it in eventually.

Also when you say "take up excess nutrients", that statement doesnt really make sense if youre dosing EI. I think this term is something most of us have carried with us since the olden days :oldman: but a lot of us on this forum are dosing way in excess on purpose, its not really something we want to avoid and we certainly dont want to run low. The term could still be used for other methods, but just keep it in mind.

swyftfeet said:
crackbrained idea
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:lol: It took me a little while to figure it out but I see it now 😁 Yeeeaah thats maybe overthinking, and thats uh coming from me :lol:


And now for todays episode of "Hufsa's dropchecker"!
theme song runs
20220220_185723.jpg Screenshot_20220218-200022_Gallery.jpg
Looks like we may have inched ourselves up to 12-13 today. Im taking the photos with flash so I have a really consistent light level for a read-out.

Otos are still doing ok and not giving me any stink-eye, which is good. Noodles have started to explore their surroundings, I havent had time to take many photos but I got this quick pic of the oddball. Hope you like long and flesh colored cause theres even more of him off camera :lol: He needs a name, I am entertaining suggestions
20220220_104006.jpg

Im so excited for the new plants, some very shiny shinies, yess, preciouss..
Cant wait :happy:
 
Hi all,
Hufsa said:
I think that a tank with some CO2 unlimited plants will be safer against a sudden increase in ammonia/ammonium, could be a dead fish (or many), could be a root tab addition gone wrong, could be filter had problems. Either way I think they can be a useful safety feature even in high tech tanks.
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Yes, that is it.

The original ideal was a rooted emergent plant, something like <"Cyperus papyrus">, because of their potential to oxygenate the substrate, and filtration via a <"planted trickle filter">. I soon appreciated that neither of these was going to be desirable, or indeed possible, for most home aquarists.

That led me to a floating plant (so still with <"Diana Walstad's aerial advantage">) and originally <"Lesser Duckweed (Lemna minor)">, hence the <"Duckweed Index">, and the "duckweed" subsequently evolved into Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum).

cheers Darrel
 
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Hufsa said:
Im sitting here with a digital representation of my tank, trying to figure out in advance where im going to cram in all the new plants.
Even if I downsize a ton of my existing plants, this is going to be quite difficult...

View attachment 183177
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remove the wood, and buce, moss, ferns on the walls?
 
You know already I did take out one piece of wood earlier :lol: I think ill keep the last one, can put anubias in the shade under it and moss on top of it 😁
Maybe thats it!

LAYERS!
 
😂 You do know you should still be able to actually see into the tank……right?! 😳

Although…..I wonder if you can get waterproof spy cameras 🤔
 
Hufsa said:
Noodles have started to explore their surroundings, I havent had time to take many photos but I got this quick pic of the oddball. Hope you like long and flesh colored cause theres even more of him off camera :lol: He needs a name, I am entertaining suggestions
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What is it?
 
I was watching a Josh Sim masterclass earlier this evening and he said 'To win IAPLC you need to do 6 things. Blah, Blah, blah, blah, blah and LAYERS! You need at least 5 layers in your tank."

Then a little later I log onto UKAPS and I see:
Hufsa said:
Maybe thats it!

LAYERS!
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When's the tank being submitted? We're all rooting for you!
 
I just had to share this, my bolbitis is pearling 😍 Its not a broken leaf, not water change bubbles, honest to god pearling. Oh my goodness I did not expect to be so excited about this!
I tried to take a photo but it didnt turn out, too far at the back. I know pearling is really basic stuff so just bear with me while I have my first CO2-related experiences :lol:

Also why is everyone laughing at this?;
Hufsa said:
Pangio doriae most likely :)
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...
Did he mean what name the loach ended up with?
 
They're here! 😍
:D:D:D

My shiny new preciouses are:
Ammannia pedicellata 'Golden'
Ludwigia sp. "Marilia"
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba'
Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata 'Pantanal'
Rotala rotundifolia 'Orange Juice'
Rotala rotundifolia 'Pink'
Tonina fluviatilis
Myriophyllum sp. "Guyana"
Hydrocotyle tripartita "Mini"
Cryptocoryne "Purpurea"
Cryptocoryne spiralis 'Red'
Microsorum pteropus 'Petit'
Riccardia sp. "graeffei"
Vesicularia sp. "Mini Christmas Moss"
Plagiomnium cf. affine
Bucephalandra sp. "Brownie Ghost" invitro
Bucephalandra sp. "Lamandau Purple"
Bucephalandra sp. "Deep Purple"
Bucephalandra sp. "Biblis"


Im so excited!


The plants I have from before are:
Bolbitis heudelotii
Microsorum pteropus 'Windeløv'
Microsorum pteropus 'Trident'
Microsorum pteropus 'Narrow'
Ammannia crassicaulis
Ludwigia palustris 'Super Red'
Hygrophila polysperma
Limnophila sessiliflora
Anubias Petite
Anubias Pangolino
Schismatoglottis prietoi
Bucephalandra 'Kedagang'
Bucephalandra sp. 'Red'
Bucephalandra 'Black Ventii'
Bucephalandra 'Brownie Blue'
Bucephalandra 'Blue Green'
Bucephalandra -Unknown-
Bucephalandra Pearl Gray
Bucephalandra Dark Achilles
Bucephalandra Silver Grey
Cryptocoryne striolata 'Tiger'
Cryptocoryne striolata 'mini'
Cryptocoryne 'Queen Vandom'
Cryotocoryne regina 'Silver Queen'
Blyxa japonica
Sagittaria subulata
Hydrocotyle tripartita
Hydrocotyle verticillata
Pogostemon helferi
Taxiphyllum sp. Peacock Moss
Vesicularia ferriei Weeping Moss
Vesicularia montagnei Christmas Moss
Lomariopsis cf. lineata (Susswassertang)
Hookeriaceae sp. (Hooker Moss / Rare Moss)
Hydropogonella gymnostoma (Queen Moss)
Plagiochilaceae sp. (Cameroon Moss)
Fontinalis sp.
Fissidens fontanus (Phoenix moss)
Fissidens unknown (maybe "Micro Q")
Fissidens unknown
Fissidens unknown
Fissidens unknown
+mystery mosses

61 species, this is a normal amount right? I think I can still fit some more in 🤔

They are acclimating in the kitchen right now, I am so ready.
My tank is a ghost town right now, all ready to be planted up with these babies. Have reduced heavily the amount of bolbitis and java ferns.

Since I killed Rotala rotundifolia and can barely keep Ludwigia Super Red alive, I figured it only made sense to go straight for the poshest plants possible! (perfect term coined by the one and only @shangman )
This time I have CO2 and can turn my light up a little bit though 😁

Lets dooo this, this is going to be fun!
 
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