my 6-footer

[jluna]

hey fishfolk - here is an update photo of my main tank - angels, dwarfs, tetras, cories and royal whiptails. tiger lotus is going mental - there are 16 leaves on the surface, which i will trim back heavily this weekend.

[swampy1972]

Your plants look really healthy. Tell us a bit about your setup, like substrate, lighting, Co2 and filtration etc.
Do you have any close ups of your fish?
Good job ;)

[Mattzilla]

very nice

well done

[JamezMan]

That's a very natural looking tank. Good stuff.

[jluna]

thanks for the comments, peeps!

substrate is pea-sized black gravel, i use fertiliser tabs as the tank is swords and lotus - both predominant root feeders. no co2, lights are powerglow t8s, 10 hours a day

i'm a greenthumb on land and i think it applies to aquatic too. :)

[Ben75]

Very nice looking tank mate.
i find that if you trim the lotus leaf before it hits
the water surface you get a thicker and more impressive display
from the plant.
Love the amazon swords.
Would like to see some pics of your fish aswell.
Regards,
Ben

[Mr Wild]

Ok I know this is a dumb question but I am not a planted tank gal so please go easy. How the heck do you clean the substrate with all that in there?
Do you lightly stock so it is not too much of a problem?

[jluna]

hi ben, yes, the lotus responds well to trimming - but through summer i remove the lower leaves and let the surface leaves take over - it creates a moody, dark tank, and the hatchets love swimming among them. i've just trimmed the leaves back so the new growth will be lower and bushier. that's the winter look!

hi mr wild, au contraire, this tank is very heavily stocked. i do 30-40% water changes per week, and once each month i take that using the python and vacuuming the gravel. you just learn to work around the plants. no heavy digging, or you upset the roots, which lotus especially don't like. i do three foot of it one month, then the other side the other month. if you think about it, rains doesn't sweep out all the detritus in a river, it just tops it up, refreshing the water column. (heavy rain/floods/monsoons excepted - it's just an analogy) but my routine means the plants aren't disturbed and the fish still have clean water.

[jluna]

and here's one of my altums

[Mr Wild]

Oh ok that sounds good, but I change 30% every 2nd day and vacum every time! lol

[Pheonix]

That Angel Rocks!!!

[swampy1972]

I'm not normally a fan of angels but that one is beautiful! Nice one..

[junosama]

Great looking plants, I love the vines and the piece of drift wood really ties it all together. I like your collection of fish as well.