saintly's "Prairie Lands"

[Mark Evans]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

lill update,

HC is doing great, runners shooting out. liliaeopsis also starting to send out runners (wipes brow)

 

[Steve Smith]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

lill update,

HC is doing great, runners shooting out.

How the hell?? Mine's been in a week and looks pretty much like it did when I started!

 

[Mark Evans]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

How the hell?? Mine's been in a week and looks pretty much like it did when I started!

i've got runners 1 inch long on some bits. it pearls like an absalut mother at night. the biggest oxygen bubbles i've seen. a bit better than my MA disaster when i nearly lost it all.

 

[Mark Evans]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

here steve....

i'm just trimming off old lili leaves as they die off

 

[LondonDragon]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

I like the look of that soil!!! My shrimp tank is giving me problem and I think its the ADA Amazonia II, I might get a bag of that to replace the ADA Soil. Is that the finner version of the Oliver Knott substrate?

 

[Mark Evans]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

yeah, thats the fine grade stuff. you can actually see the larger bits compared to the smaller ones.

it's not often i check water parameters but i did check my kh and it's gone from 8 or so from the tap to 3. PH has dropped considerably too. 8 from tap (co2 injection assisted) down to 6.5 (if i remember right)

i don't think it releases ammonia. not tested, but I'm sure it don't.

 

[LondonDragon]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

it's not often i check water parameters but i did check my kh and it's gone from 8 or so from the tap to 3. PH has dropped considerably too. 8 from tap (co2 injection assisted) down to 6.5 (if i remember right)

Thanks for sharing that info, I am now really considering to buy some of this stuff since my Crystal reds prefer a lower PH and KH. Goodbye Amazonia II, would not recommend this stuff at all, given me lots of problems, stick to ADA Aquasoil Amaziona standard and not the II version!

 

[JamesM]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

The Oli Knott NatureSoil substrate is well nice, and seems much firmer than any of the ADA Aqua Soil range and Red Sea Flora Base

 

[jay]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

I was always a bit unsure with soil lowering ph, especially as the Co2 we pump in lowers it also, and worried how doing WC with hard tap would swing the ph and be hard on the livestock.
But i've had wild checkerboard cichlids in my tank for about a week now and even they seem fine.
Wasn't aware that Oliver's soil lowered ph.

 

[Garuf]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

Mark, I'm a little confused, are you trimming the hc back already? Or just odd dead leaves from the HC?

 

[George Farmer]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

You'll get a full HC coverage in 3 weeks or so, if it's like mine. Planting stem by stem is the way forward and you can get so much coverage out of a few pots. Same with any carpeting plant, so if you're on a budget, Iwagumi is a good option.

Should look really good in a month or so when all the plants start to merge. Then the challenge of maitaining some order to reflect the minimal style of the stone will present new challenges, I imagine. Should be fun!

 

[glenn]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

hi, its been great watching the progression of your tank...and if your still stuck for a name, when i saw the hard scape lay out on its own with the 3 rocks 'rising sun' came to my mind right away. dont know if this is a goofy name but its what i think of when i see it anyhow.

 

[Mark Evans]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

I was always a bit unsure with soil lowering ph, especially as the Co2 we pump in lowers it also, and worried how doing WC with hard tap would swing the ph and be hard on the livestock.

I've never had problems with the swing with AS jay or don't appear too.

Mark, I'm a little confused, are you trimming the hc back already? Or just odd dead leaves from the HC?

i'm leaving the HC as it is, it's the tenellus and liliaeopsis i'm trimming...just old leaves that die off.

the difference in new substarte compared to the old i used in my MA scape is amazing. much quicker with new gear.

Planting stem by stem is the way forward and you can get so much coverage out of a few pots.

very true. i also planted light in the front to allow everything else to catch up. but it appears HC will cover in no time. even if the liliaeopsis comes to the front i wont be too bothered. it's the tenellus which is my concern 8) it's becoming a pain in the MA tank, especially with me leaving it a week before I can do anything. I've trained matt the manager to trim now, as i just cant keep up with the maintenance.

 

[Mark Evans]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

hi, its been great watching the progression of your tank...and if your still stuck for a name, when i saw the hard scape lay out on its own with the 3 rocks 'rising sun' came to my mind right away. dont know if this is a goofy name but its what i think of when i see it anyhow.

hi glen, your along the right lines for sure,

 

[Vito]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

Love the layout mate, its going to be awesome for sure. I am curious as to your spec, I couldn't find it when flicking through the 22+ pages of your journal

Vito

 

[Mark Evans]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

, I couldn't find it when flicking through the 22+ pages of your journal

sorry vito,here it is or alternatively click on my sig.

the spec

120 x 45 x 45 tank
depleted AS, 2 x oliver knott substrate
bacter 100
coppice green stone
pressurised co2 @ a million bubbles per second
EI full dosing from day one
2 x 54wt5 6hours per day.
1 x 2028
1 x korolia no2

and the usual saintly pic

 

[Steve Smith]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

and the usual saintly pic

Damit Mark, stop being embarassed with your quality pics The more the merrier

 

[plantbrain]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

This would have been a good tank for the Dry start method, all these species do very well.
Zero work. I have some hair grass and microsword outside that made it through the winter in a Dry tank. Growing like mad now as the temp are coming up. I have a 38 Gal, 60cm cubish DSM more a Chinese style rock scape with just HC coming up.
The HC is about 60% filled in from a single pot of HC, so now I have about 20X as much in 3 weeks. I'll fill the tank with water in about 2-3 weeks. I always get impatient and recall some old advice, "wait to trim or set it up another week after you cannot stand it".

Tank looks nice!

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Tony Swinney]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

Great stuff Mark

Can you single out one thing that you do, thats gets the growth going so strong, so quickly ? I know its a combination of everything and different for every tank, but I just wonder if there is something in particular that makes a big difference - substrate, bacter 100, oodles of CO2 ?

Keep up the "artsy-fartsy" stuff

Ta

Tony

 

[Mark Evans]

Re: saintly's 120cm iwagumi

Damit Mark, stop being embarassed with your quality pics The more the merrier

i know mate, just cant help myself sometimes. i'll save most for the site though

This would have been a good tank for the Dry start method, all these species do very well.

interesting tom. i'm not 100%familiar with the dry start method. i presume everything is emerged?.....i have a hug difference in height from the foreground to the rear. 2.5 inch- 10 inch at the back. how would you dry start that? wouldn't the back dry out completely?

I always get impatient and recall some old advice, "wait to trim or set it up another week after you cannot stand it".

typical me

Can you single out one thing that you do, thats gets the growth going so strong, so quickly ? I know its a combination of everything and different for every tank, but I just wonder if there is something in particular that makes a big difference - substrate, bacter 100, oodles of CO2 ?

i don't know mate. from following great advice from guys like the tom bar and CEG, my life has become easier. plants need co2 and ferts....so i give it to em...in a big way! substrates are vital IMO. not sure the bacter 100 does anything, i only put it in because I've got it, and at 20 odd quid i'm not wasting it

Keep up the "artsy-fartsy" stuff

will do