Hello, I've started this hobby back in 1984 and it all happened when I visited the aquarium section of Woolworth. I started to do this high tech setup recently and it's challenging. My question is, I recently bought 3 stems of Blyxa and how do you have success with this plant? I use RO and I enhance it with Equilibrium and Alkaline buffer if that helps. Thanks!
Blyxa Japonica
- Thread starter kc6794
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It's a pretty hardy plant. It melts back a little initially if you use aquasoil or other rich substrates, but recovers after the first month of the substrate's life. CO2 is critical. I'd ease up on the light if you are not using CO2.
I've found it to be a pretty hardy plant. It does melt sometimes initially but it always seems to recover.
Your light is all dependant on the rest of your set up. If you have high light you'll need to supplement with Co2 and ferts or algae will soon haunt you. Read up and you'll soon find that the secret is finding the sweet spot with lighting, co2, and fertilization. If your main plant or focus is to be Blyxa then you don't necessarily need injected co2. I currently have a low to medium light tank with a crop of Blyxa that I just use liquid carbon and ferts here and there and do water changes every few weeks. Nothing scientific about this particular set up, somehow it just works.
Your light is all dependant on the rest of your set up. If you have high light you'll need to supplement with Co2 and ferts or algae will soon haunt you. Read up and you'll soon find that the secret is finding the sweet spot with lighting, co2, and fertilization. If your main plant or focus is to be Blyxa then you don't necessarily need injected co2. I currently have a low to medium light tank with a crop of Blyxa that I just use liquid carbon and ferts here and there and do water changes every few weeks. Nothing scientific about this particular set up, somehow it just works.
kc6794 said:
It's constant learning. I've yet to master all of this. The key for me has become keeping things simple. I battle algae all the time and I'm convinced it's because I make things too complicated. It really should all be based on what plants you want to keep and what look pleases you. Sometimes there's a tendency to want to over complicate things. The tank above I wanted a simple look with just a few species of plants. I knew they could grow under lower tech conditions so I worked from doing nothing to the tank and gauging health to the point where I am now which is adding excel and ferts here and there. I'm still tweaking things as I go as certain issues arise.
Long story short.. Decide what you want and keep it simple to start. The great tanks you see like Tom Barr's and many others on this site were not achieved over night. They most likely started simple and then pushed their own boundaries as they gained knowledge.
It's easy to get frustrated in the beginning and I know this first hand. I wanted the perfect carpet, the coolest scape, and the most colorful plants on day one. This cost me nothing but huge amounts of money, heartbreak, and frustration. But now I'm learning more and more about what my specific conditions can grow and what doesn't do well. It's all a process.
Good luck
Oh and the plants in the front are staurogyne repens.
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