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Lots of growth...

2K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  kitten_penang 
#1 ·
Is it just me or have these plants really taken off! These plants are in my new soil base tank that has only been set up since 10/9/10 so I think in the short time its been set up the plants are really growing fast. What do you guys think?
First the shot taken on 10/9/10:

then the picture taken a few minutes ago if you look at the Ludwig Repens beside the rock/cave decor youcan see how the new growth is now almost as tall as the rock is and the wisteria infront of the filter and the plant in the middle have now reached the surface thats at least 2-3 inches of growth on each plant and the cryptocoryne wendtii has grown at least an inch:

heres one with the flash:
 
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#3 ·
LOL no I will be sure to keep the opening clear as I think the shrimpys will like it when they are molting.
 
#5 ·
LOL Yes I do have a question for you I have a 10 gallon tank that is already set up and has fish in it if I want to switch it over is it safe to add the fish as soon as its set up? It has two Amazon Swords in it but I plan on removeing one of them and replaceing it with some other plants.
 
#8 ·
If you got the Organic Miracle Grow you don't have to have the clay. I just used the miracle grow for first layer and regular black gravel as the top layer.
 
#11 ·
Very good growth. But I do disagree about natural soil tanks being able to match high tech in growth rate. My crypts are trying to forgo the substrate in there war for the light. Some of the rhizomes are a few inches off the substrate with roots running back down. There is also one up against the glass trying to send up leaves from 2 inches below the surface of the soil:lol:. Not a lot can match EI high tech in terms of growth. It does require extra work, but not really all that much once you get the hang of it. High tech is expensive and is not worth it if you don't intend to stay in the hobby for a long time. My nicer pressurized system costed close to $200 to get running and uses about $20 of CO2 a year. The cost to run it is very small and being of good quality completely made of brass and metal, if you care for these system properly they tend to have a very long life. Also if you know the proper way to setup a pressurized system it can feed more then one tank. Though its not setup to do that right now a $4 splitter makes it able to feed up to 3 tanks. but a line to each tank costs $50 max, you can get a lot more out of the more expensive parts of the system which is the regulator, canister, and optional solenoid.

But in the end my tanks are setup to grow plants as quickly as possible, not everyone wants that. I sell the plants. I did kinda bad this year, mainly cuz I didn't actually put much up for sale online. Online made maybe half what I made in 09, which just on ebay was almost $150 raw profit using a 20 and 55 gallon tank. The fall auction for the Minnesota aquarium society is next week. At least a 1/3 of my plants go there. Clean out the tanks real good, cuz its either the auction or the garbage for excess plants in winter. But at auctions usually any profits disappear cuz thats where 90+% of my fish come from.
 
#12 ·
I wasn't trying to say that it's faster than high tech, but merely that it's faster than most "low tech", and per hour of work and dollar of money spent, it's probably the most efficient.

. But at auctions usually any profits disappear cuz thats where 90+% of my fish come from.
I have that problem too.
 
#13 ·
cool..they are booming in there =)
 
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