Craynerds Rekord70 Planted Tank

[Bloo]

Looks fab Chris !

 

[lljdma06]

Looking great Craynerd. Your lotus is looking really, really nice. I happen to like tall glosso.

 

[craynerd]

Thanks all,

The tiger lotus is doing really well. It was the only plant out of the whole order from greenline that wasn`t in best of conditions. Its picked up a treat and to be honest the better leaves are higher up just out of shot.

With plants like the tiger lotus, what can you do when all the leaves reach the water surface, which i presume they do? I mean its nice to see them floating in the water at mid/top hight not actually on the surface.

Chris

 

[Themuleous]

Looking great Chirs, really like the colours you've got in there, some of the reds are really vibrant! The riccia seems to be coming along well too. The more formal EI should really help thing fill out.

Sam

PS glad to hear the hornwort is causing you problems! Its fun triming that each week hey?

 

[lljdma06]

Thanks all,

The tiger lotus is doing really well. It was the only plant out of the whole order from greenline that wasn`t in best of conditions. Its picked up a treat and to be honest the better leaves are higher up just out of shot.

With plants like the tiger lotus, what can you do when all the leaves reach the water surface, which i presume they do? I mean its nice to see them floating in the water at mid/top hight not actually on the surface.

Chris

The question is, do you want the leaves to reach the surface? You can "train" the plant to grow more compact by trimming leaves that get too tall. At least this is what has been explained to me. I'm starting this with my lotus, which is getting big. Cut the stalk with the leaf as close to the bulb as possible. New leaves constantly appear, at least on mine. If the leaves are not allowed to reach the surface in the first place, I hear they are much easier to train. Depends on what you want to do.

 

[craynerd]

No i dont want them to reach the surface. Yet i`m still confused!

So what you are saying is when a new leaf grows and reached the surface cut it off and eventually they will stop growing as tall and leggy?

 

[lljdma06]

No i dont want them to reach the surface. Yet i`m still confused!

So what you are saying is when a new leaf grows and reached the surface cut it off and eventually they will stop growing as tall and leggy?

The plan is to not even allow the leaves to reach the surface. Like cut them off when they're about an inch or so away. From what I've been told, this method works.

 

[craynerd]

Right..i think i`d be a bit worried about cutting of my precious lotus leaves!!! lol

I`ll give it a go... cheers llj

 

[jimbooo]

tanks looking great mate. regarding the lotus just tug out the tallest leaves from the base. there are 2 types of leaf produced by the lotus, water and surface leaves. the water leaves spread out when they are about 2 inches tall, the surface leaves stay curled up until just before they get to the top. there really easy to spot. if you keep pruning the tallest leaves it wont ever produce surface leaves. like all plants pruning promotes new growth so just dive in and pull a couple out. the colours of the leaves that grow next will be more vibrant as a result.

 

[Luke_e]

Fwarr that tank is sweet!
Love the plant on the bottom left, glosso?

 

[craynerd]

OK, i think `ill give it a prune next water change.

Luke..e thanks for your comment, lol, very ego boosting ! The plant in the far bottom left corner is actually a riccia carpet! and growing very nicely! The glosso is the the center of the tank.

Chris

 

[Luke_e]

Ah yea, i get them mixed up lol..






EDIT- Do you have a new pic of you're hood? I'd like to see how you've got the 3 lights on. Also, do you just need a plug with the two end 'plug' bits for the lights to fit in to add new lights?

 

[craynerd]

I dont unfortunately, i`ll try and post some tonight.

I have to admit there is a slight downfall with what i have done! Although it is very simple and much easier than gutting your original hood, it means that the intense light is at the front of the hood which draws all the plants towards the front of the tank in their growth. A lot fo the back plants end up leaning over and reaching forward.

My next job is to gut the hood and reinstall the lighting,

Chris

 

[craynerd]

Just sat down and thought about all the plants i`m growing in there, here is the list:

Riccia Fluitans (Riccia)
Glossostigma Elatinoides (Glosso)
Hemianthus Callitrictioides (HC)
Ceratophyllum demersum (Hornwort)
Hydrocotyle Leucocephala (Pennywort)
Cabombaceae (Cabomba)
Elodia Densa (Elodia)
Vesicularia dubyana (Java Moss)
Microsorum pteropus (Java Ferns)
Vallisneria americana (natans)
Vallisneria americana (gigantea) (Giant Vallis)
Vallisneria americana 'Mini twister' (Vallis - twisted)
Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis (Brasilian Micro Swords)
Cardamine Lyrata (Chinease Ivy, Bitter Cress)
Nymphaea Maculata (African Tiger Lotus)
Cryptocoryne Lucens
Barclaya Longifolia (Orchid Lily)
Amoracia Radicans (Water Cabbage)

I also have in their some Alternanthera Cardinalis, but during my research to update this list and update the journal i am worried that again i have been hit with another non-aquatic plant!! I sincerely hope not! It is the pinicle of my tank in the center left and is growing like crazy, BUT if anyone has any issues or more details on this plant, please post. I dont want to risk algea issues arising so, it`ll be out of there! I just can`t seem to find any info on the net about this plant!

Chris

 

[Luke_e]

Wow 18 plants . Do you plant each stemp individually?
Its looking great Cray, the riccia is starting to take shape, and the glosso is growing well! Which plant are you talking about on the center left?
Also, where do you get all your plants? LFS/Internet?