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llj 20g; not quite finished, but it will take forever...

lljdma06

Member
Joined
28 Sep 2007
Messages
171
Location
Miami, FL
Hello,

I haven't posted here for a while. I've been busy with my university position and singing. I still have the 20g, and the scape has again morphed into something that I can be happy with, especially with the lack maintenance that it requires.

It really doesn't make any sense to make this a journal proper. It is a low-tech tank, so any changes are going to occur over a long period of time. I can probably post a picture 6 months from now and the tank will probalby look pretty much the same, maybe the crypts will cover more area. Other than letting things be, the scape is basically done. Some of the plants have been in the same position for over a year, so it is a long-term scape. The crypts are spreading by sending daughter plants and has formed a dense patch. Some stats for you.

Tank: 20g high, age 3 years.
Substrate: Laterite with a mixed top layer of gravel and sand. There is substrate mixing.
Filtration: Two aquaclear HOB filters set to maximum flow, filter media rinsed in tank water.
Lighting: Same old Coralife 2x14W T5 fixture, giving me 28W. Bulbs are changed every year, give or take.
CO2: No injection since about early 2007.
Ferts: Only rootabs for the crypts and Vallis nana.
Hardscape: Mopani wood and other wood types.
Plants: Vallisneria nana, Cryptocoryne wendtii (red, green, bronze, I don't know, all mixed in), and anubias.
Livestock: 10 Trigonostigma heteromorpha, 7 Rasbora pauciperforata, 10 Corydoras aeneus, 1 oto (will be adding more)
Maintenance: Weekly water changes 25-50%, monthly trim of Vallis to make sure it doesn't overun the crypts.

I won't lie, there is a little algae, but it doesn't overun the tank by any means. I personally don't mind, if it means I can cut down on the maintenance. I think trying to be perfect and have no algae will only lead extra work. There is no perfection, and I hate working. :D I am very lazy.

A picture for you.

IMG_2571.jpg


Thanks for looking. :)
 
Hiya Madam Jimenez, long time no speak.

Lovely tank. We certainly don`t see many three year old tanks on here.

So, how is the singing going?

Dave.
 
Hi ilj,I've always liked your tanks from tff days,low maintenace is well cool and you always have nice crypts,nice tank allround.
Regards john.
 
Really nice tank llj :) I love the vallis nana, and how it has just the right amount of entanglment to look perfectly natural, but not so much that it makes me want to get the planting forcepts out to give it a combing :lol:
 
Thanks everybody, I appreciate the comments and I'm glad you like it. It is what it is. I've never been particularly flashy and usually I'll opt for lower maintenance and lower budget in the end, though I think I may post my old Dutch-style nano, just to keep you guessing. Not with plants, though, I will always purchase quality plants. Eventually, I'd like to see if the crypts will take over the entire tank, so the main thing is to keep the nana in check. Cool that you like the vallis. That was a risk, I had never worked with it before. I don't like the standard size, but the vallis nana is much more delicate. It can get very tall! It also seems to really like my mineral-rich water.

Dave Spencer said:
Hiya Madam Jimenez, long time no speak.

Lovely tank. We certainly don`t see many three year old tanks on here.

So, how is the singing going?

Dave.

I know, Mr. Spencer, it has been a while. So they made you a moderator, did they? Poor UKAPS! Now you get to keep me in line! :lol:

Work is going very well. Starting in the Fall, I will have two university positions teaching voice, music history, and theory. Still not full-time faculty yet, but there is only one more year of budget cuts and I've proven to be quite the survivor and my students win competitions and get into major universities.

The singing is also going well. I'm not doing as many roles this season, but last year I added the roles of Suzuki, Alisa, and Enrichetta to my repertoire and performed a solo recital. I'll be moving to the more dramatic mezzo and contralto repertoire this year, so I'm starting to look at some Verdi and Wagner. I'm singing an all-German recital this October. I promise when some opera trollop pics come up, I will post them for you, David.

I will post an updated shot 6 months down the line, when something will perhaps actually change. Another benefit to low-maintenance, less hardrive space used in your computer for update shots. :lol:

llj :D
 
you're dutch scape is still one of my favourites :D

i like low tech tanks, but i dont think i would have enough patience seeing a couple of centimetre of growth every month! the crypts on my high tech will be about as slow as i want to go :rolleyes: i do like the idea of no waterchanges though, any reason you dont go this route?
 
I don't have a Walstad type tank, which typically has...

soil substrate
no or little filtration
livestock is lightly stocked
usually more lighting than I've got

It is these types of tanks that generally come with less water changes, unless I have totally missed the idea behind a Walstad tank. I read the book a long time ago. From what I understand, the CO2 in a Walstad tank comes from the soil substrate. My substrate is laterite with a sand/gravel cap, not the same and not a source of CO2. My tank is setup differently and therefore I don't maintain it like what is typically found in the El Natural/low-tech group over here. I also over stock with fish and feed live food often, so I think I'm generating enough nutrients in my water column the old-fashion way! Early in this present scape I did let the tank completely go because I had so much work. Months without water changes and it was covered in duckweek and the Vallis nana grew 3-4ft long in places. There was also more algae. The fish were okay, but my boraras were getting sucked by the filters, so I had to rehome them. Not good species for me. I do better with the larger rasboras.

The water changes have destroyed most of the algae. Only a little remains on older Vallis nana and anubia leaves, a patch on my wood, and a patch on the back glass for my oto. The new leaves are algae-free, always a good sign.
 
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