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Journal Ben's Plant Pharm
Setup Date
12-24-24 (Day 0)
Goal
• Just to try and get back into it.
• No scape.
• Enjoying some farming.
• Maybe to test some different substrates
Tank
• ADA 60p
Light
• Twinstar 600S version 2.0 (I believe) running 10hrs daily
• Older model. I’ve had this light for several years and it has been on every day. So, I feel the output is greatly reduced. Carnivorous plants require super high output though, and it was bright enough to grow them, so it’s hard to tell.
Substrate
• UNS Extra Fine Black 13L.
• Looks brown but double checked the bag and definitely “Extra Fine Black”
• Is light in weight, but so far plants all being held down appropriately. It has been difficult to vacuum because of the light weight.
• Very little dust on set-up.
Plants
• TC plants from LFS
• Pogostemon deccanensis, Rotala indica ‘Bonsai’, Pogostemon helferi, Hygrophilia lancea ‘Araguia’, Eriocaulon cinereum, Staurogyne repens, Rotala H’Ra
• Bought on the fly. Didn’t have a lot of time to think about layout etc. Just bought some stuff that looked cool.
• Blyxa japonica, Crypt parva: added on 1-15-25
Fertilizer
• My tap water: KH 0.5, GH: 0.5, Ca 10ppm, pH 8.5, PO4 0.25, NO3 0, NH3 0.5.
• I haven’t established a regular fertilizing routine, but at water change I dose about 3/4 tsp CaCl2, 1 tsp MgSO4, and about 3/4 tsp K2SO4. I have a Macro Mix where 10ml gives me 4.5 ppm NO3/1.2 ppm PO4/6.5 ppm K. Being the genius I am, I didn’t realize my doser doesn’t have a 10ml mark, so I put in 15ml because well… WTH. I have been adding that 3-4x/week along with trace and some extra iron. Sometimes I add a bit extra PO4, Mg, and K based on nothing more than a personal disillusion of brilliance. It seems to be working.
• Next time I mix ferts, which is coming soon, I plan on making separate mixtures with NO3 and PO4 in one and Mg and K in another.
Filter
• Oase HOB BioStyle Theromfilter
• Is a bit loud
• The filter cartridges floated at first but that improved as the floss and charcoal became more saturated with water.
• Temp on the thermofilter is pre-set and can’t be changed. Set for 79F (26C). Seems a bit high.
CO2
• Using the 1.0 pH drop method. Currently it drops 0.8, and I just let it be.
• Solenoid on a timer coming on an hour before the lights
• Bar type atomizer diffuser placed into the Oase filter
• I got the idea for the filter with CO2 in it from a George Farmer video HERE. He put in his own heater. I would do that if I were to do this again. Also I bought white which was a huge mistake. I'd buy black next time.
Livestock
• None
Notes
• I’m trying to make this brief.
• I didn’t want to be someone who said, I’m back! And then never post again like so many people, including me, who try to make a comeback. So, this tank has been going now for a month. Now if I disappear, at least I have posted a final tank pic.
• I’ve set this tank up twice previously. I didn’t know what happened at the time, but I now know that both times I had pH crashes early on, and everything in my tank died. (Only plants. There was no livestock) I vacuumed them out and got them back going, but for some reason it was difficult from there on out. So, I burned out, took a few years off, and used the light to grow carnivorous plants.
• I got excited to get back going in the winter of 2023. So, I decided I’d go to the AGA in the spring, buy some stuff, talk to friends, get ideas, and the set up a tank. Two weeks after the AGA I was in the hospital for 5 days with norovirus and E coli. I lost 25lbs in 2 weeks and missed 3 weeks of work. I’m still recovering almost a year later.
• Dec 24, 2024 I finally got it going with plants in place and filter running. I went to mix some trace, and found that all my old supplies from 2020 had caked into rocks. The macros were fine, but the micros were bricks. I proceeded to panic buy a few things, and the tank almost crashed on me before I could get them in. I saved it just in time. See the pic with the white plants with some green trying to live.
• A month later, everything has gone well. I’ve been trying to grow aquarium plants since around 86, and I bought my first injected CO2 in 1996. This setup as been the easiest and most successful of any I’ve had. I’ve had no algae. I really don’t know the answer to why, but right now I’m leaning on, for the first time, having a better understanding of the importance of Mg in southern super soft water and an old light that is strong enough to grow plants, but not strong enough to encourage algae.
• My plants grow very slow which is another reason I suspect my lack of algae is light related. I thought they grew slow because they were transitioning from tc to submerged culture, but they are fully converted at this point and they still grow slowly.
• I’ve never grown P helferi this well. From here out I want to move the plants around and try some new things. I want a Xyris from Winston. He lives the next town over from me. I didn’t realize the Ludwigia was more of a low growing foregroung plant. I was just cherry picking stuff at my LFS that looked fun. I love the P deccanensis. I just wanted C parva. I don’t know why. I love it.
• Water tested today on 1-25-25: KH 0.5, GH 8, NO3 10-20, PO4 0.5, NH3 0, pH 6.2. 2ppm Po4 added.
Tank with just the Control Soil. The 13L of media gave me about a 2.5" deep bed.
Day 0 just after planting.
The Oase filter with CO2 going in. I'll put a notch into the side sometime. George Farmer inspired.
An example of where the lack of ferts almost killed my plants. You can see the dead areas with recoving green plant
One Week old. I was learning to use the fancy $$ camera here. Circled you can see more plants with dead parts and new growth in the middle.
The tank as it looked today on Jan 25, 2025. One month old.
12-24-24 (Day 0)
Goal
• Just to try and get back into it.
• No scape.
• Enjoying some farming.
• Maybe to test some different substrates
Tank
• ADA 60p
Light
• Twinstar 600S version 2.0 (I believe) running 10hrs daily
• Older model. I’ve had this light for several years and it has been on every day. So, I feel the output is greatly reduced. Carnivorous plants require super high output though, and it was bright enough to grow them, so it’s hard to tell.
Substrate
• UNS Extra Fine Black 13L.
• Looks brown but double checked the bag and definitely “Extra Fine Black”
• Is light in weight, but so far plants all being held down appropriately. It has been difficult to vacuum because of the light weight.
• Very little dust on set-up.
Plants
• TC plants from LFS
• Pogostemon deccanensis, Rotala indica ‘Bonsai’, Pogostemon helferi, Hygrophilia lancea ‘Araguia’, Eriocaulon cinereum, Staurogyne repens, Rotala H’Ra
• Bought on the fly. Didn’t have a lot of time to think about layout etc. Just bought some stuff that looked cool.
• Blyxa japonica, Crypt parva: added on 1-15-25
Fertilizer
• My tap water: KH 0.5, GH: 0.5, Ca 10ppm, pH 8.5, PO4 0.25, NO3 0, NH3 0.5.
• I haven’t established a regular fertilizing routine, but at water change I dose about 3/4 tsp CaCl2, 1 tsp MgSO4, and about 3/4 tsp K2SO4. I have a Macro Mix where 10ml gives me 4.5 ppm NO3/1.2 ppm PO4/6.5 ppm K. Being the genius I am, I didn’t realize my doser doesn’t have a 10ml mark, so I put in 15ml because well… WTH. I have been adding that 3-4x/week along with trace and some extra iron. Sometimes I add a bit extra PO4, Mg, and K based on nothing more than a personal disillusion of brilliance. It seems to be working.
• Next time I mix ferts, which is coming soon, I plan on making separate mixtures with NO3 and PO4 in one and Mg and K in another.
Filter
• Oase HOB BioStyle Theromfilter
• Is a bit loud
• The filter cartridges floated at first but that improved as the floss and charcoal became more saturated with water.
• Temp on the thermofilter is pre-set and can’t be changed. Set for 79F (26C). Seems a bit high.
CO2
• Using the 1.0 pH drop method. Currently it drops 0.8, and I just let it be.
• Solenoid on a timer coming on an hour before the lights
• Bar type atomizer diffuser placed into the Oase filter
• I got the idea for the filter with CO2 in it from a George Farmer video HERE. He put in his own heater. I would do that if I were to do this again. Also I bought white which was a huge mistake. I'd buy black next time.
Livestock
• None
Notes
• I’m trying to make this brief.
• I didn’t want to be someone who said, I’m back! And then never post again like so many people, including me, who try to make a comeback. So, this tank has been going now for a month. Now if I disappear, at least I have posted a final tank pic.
• I’ve set this tank up twice previously. I didn’t know what happened at the time, but I now know that both times I had pH crashes early on, and everything in my tank died. (Only plants. There was no livestock) I vacuumed them out and got them back going, but for some reason it was difficult from there on out. So, I burned out, took a few years off, and used the light to grow carnivorous plants.
• I got excited to get back going in the winter of 2023. So, I decided I’d go to the AGA in the spring, buy some stuff, talk to friends, get ideas, and the set up a tank. Two weeks after the AGA I was in the hospital for 5 days with norovirus and E coli. I lost 25lbs in 2 weeks and missed 3 weeks of work. I’m still recovering almost a year later.
• Dec 24, 2024 I finally got it going with plants in place and filter running. I went to mix some trace, and found that all my old supplies from 2020 had caked into rocks. The macros were fine, but the micros were bricks. I proceeded to panic buy a few things, and the tank almost crashed on me before I could get them in. I saved it just in time. See the pic with the white plants with some green trying to live.
• A month later, everything has gone well. I’ve been trying to grow aquarium plants since around 86, and I bought my first injected CO2 in 1996. This setup as been the easiest and most successful of any I’ve had. I’ve had no algae. I really don’t know the answer to why, but right now I’m leaning on, for the first time, having a better understanding of the importance of Mg in southern super soft water and an old light that is strong enough to grow plants, but not strong enough to encourage algae.
• My plants grow very slow which is another reason I suspect my lack of algae is light related. I thought they grew slow because they were transitioning from tc to submerged culture, but they are fully converted at this point and they still grow slowly.
• I’ve never grown P helferi this well. From here out I want to move the plants around and try some new things. I want a Xyris from Winston. He lives the next town over from me. I didn’t realize the Ludwigia was more of a low growing foregroung plant. I was just cherry picking stuff at my LFS that looked fun. I love the P deccanensis. I just wanted C parva. I don’t know why. I love it.
• Water tested today on 1-25-25: KH 0.5, GH 8, NO3 10-20, PO4 0.5, NH3 0, pH 6.2. 2ppm Po4 added.
Tank with just the Control Soil. The 13L of media gave me about a 2.5" deep bed.
Day 0 just after planting.
The Oase filter with CO2 going in. I'll put a notch into the side sometime. George Farmer inspired.
An example of where the lack of ferts almost killed my plants. You can see the dead areas with recoving green plant
One Week old. I was learning to use the fancy $$ camera here. Circled you can see more plants with dead parts and new growth in the middle.
The tank as it looked today on Jan 25, 2025. One month old.
103 Replies
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13411 views
Hey guys, needing some expert insight on my 90P build regarding the Yugang reactor. I’d like a sanity check on sizing.
System
What I measured
View attachment y2.mp4
System
- Display: 90 × 45 cm outside, 10 mm glass, so ~88 × 43 cm inside (~3,780 cm²), rimless, lidless.
- Sump: 20-gallon long (76 × 30 cm, ~2,280 cm²), 3 chambers, loose lid.
- About 220 L total water.
- Return enters below the surface; no deliberate surface agitation.
- BeanAnimal overflow, with the main draining underwater (no cascade).
- Currently cycling on tap water: KH 13, GH 12. The plan is RO remineralised to KH 3–4.
- Horizontal Yugang, 3" Sch40 PVC (ID 77.9 mm), 46 cm long.
- Outlet rotated to near the limit of what my plumbing allows, so the pocket is much smaller than half-full.
- CO₂ flow meter at about 9 mL/min. That’s slightly over what it dissolves, so it gives small occasional burps.
What I measured
- Plateau: pH 6.80 at KH 13 ~ 60 ppm (pH/KH estimate). Degassed baseline pH at 8.2.
- Overnight decay after CO₂ off: k ≈ 0.12/h (half-life ~5.7 h). That implies a CO₂ exchange rate of ~4–7 cm/h, i.e. a calm surface.
- Working the 1/17.7 rule backwards from my reactor area (~180–358 cm² depending on rotation), my effective loss area is ~1,100–2,200 cm², against ~6,060 cm² of real water surface (display + sump).
View attachment y2.mp4
25 Replies
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509 views
Supporting
I Donated 2026
Rockstar
With all the talk on Amazonia pro, I wanted to get some basic understanding of rich aquasoil.
- everyone seems to agree that the richer the aquasoil is, the more the amount of water changes you would have to do initially. Basically meaning that aquasoil leaches its contents into the water and you replace the water. Now….. doesn’t that just mean that you are throwing away what you paid for ? Even if one does a dark start, and minimize the number of water changes one still has to do a water change after the dark start and still end up wasting the nitrate/phosphate?
—— trying to ask then does that mean the only person who benefits from a super rich aquasoil is someone like an insta or YouTube person who wants a quick burst of growth with the initial leaching of nutrition. For everyone else wanting a stable long term system, a not so rich aquasoil which might help the plants a little bit in the beginning but being used more for long term stability and buffering capacity?
- do the plants actually get the boost initially from the root zone or is it more from the leaching that happens and ultimately from the WC? The later makes sense since their roots have not yet developed.
- if one has the whole substrate inside a container with water, wouldn’t water touch all aspects of the substrate regardless of it being capped or not ? How does capping a aquasoil actually help? Green aqua stated that ada recommends capping the Amazonia pro with Amazonia 2.
Curious on people’s thoughts on this.
- everyone seems to agree that the richer the aquasoil is, the more the amount of water changes you would have to do initially. Basically meaning that aquasoil leaches its contents into the water and you replace the water. Now….. doesn’t that just mean that you are throwing away what you paid for ? Even if one does a dark start, and minimize the number of water changes one still has to do a water change after the dark start and still end up wasting the nitrate/phosphate?
—— trying to ask then does that mean the only person who benefits from a super rich aquasoil is someone like an insta or YouTube person who wants a quick burst of growth with the initial leaching of nutrition. For everyone else wanting a stable long term system, a not so rich aquasoil which might help the plants a little bit in the beginning but being used more for long term stability and buffering capacity?
- do the plants actually get the boost initially from the root zone or is it more from the leaching that happens and ultimately from the WC? The later makes sense since their roots have not yet developed.
- if one has the whole substrate inside a container with water, wouldn’t water touch all aspects of the substrate regardless of it being capped or not ? How does capping a aquasoil actually help? Green aqua stated that ada recommends capping the Amazonia pro with Amazonia 2.
Curious on people’s thoughts on this.
14 Replies
·
231 views
Rockstar
I’m often out and about working in the field and stumble upon breathtaking examples of often overlooked and under appreciated slices of nature that Florida has to offer.
My neck of the woods is filled with marsh/wetlands ripe with both native and invasive wildlife of all flavors; I want to start a thread where I can document and share.
I’ll update this thread whenever I capture something noteworthy. Much of what catches my eye is aquatic flora, but I try and document anything captivating. I hope you find this as beautiful and fascinating as I do.
My neck of the woods is filled with marsh/wetlands ripe with both native and invasive wildlife of all flavors; I want to start a thread where I can document and share.
I’ll update this thread whenever I capture something noteworthy. Much of what catches my eye is aquatic flora, but I try and document anything captivating. I hope you find this as beautiful and fascinating as I do.
140 Replies
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11605 views
Staff member
I Donated 2026
Founding Member
Hello Welcome, Bruce Lau
Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @Bruce Lau!
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?
0 Replies
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19 views
Supporting
I Donated 2026
Rockstar
Article Contributor
I've really been digging pearlweed in my low tech tank, and thinking of growing a shaped pearlweed bush in my high tech experiment tank.
But I came across this listing for a white/platinum variety of pearlweed. Can't find any info on it anywhere. So I ordered 5 stems, the most expensive pearlweed stems on earth!
Think it'll actually survive/be platinum or light colored?
We really need some lighter colored plants in this hobby. Myrio 'Golden' is one I've successfully used, but it grows too crazy and the trimmings drove me nuts so I ditched it. What other white/platinum plants are there?
15 Replies
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925 views
Hi guys,
I'm planning to do a switch, but I would like to know if it makes sense before buying anything.
My actual tank is a 110x50x60h, this is my first bigger tank and it's the tank where I started to truly love this hobby.
This tanks gave me joy, anxiety and satisfaction.
I bought it for relatively cheap (around 130€), but know I was thinking to buy a standard 120p.
I plan to reuse my old tropica aquasoil (I'll remove the First 1-2cm and topping It with apt feast).
What do you think? It's a waste of time/money or you'll think that is a change that make sense?
I always felt strange about this tanks proportion.
I plan to do it with 3 buckets (fish, plants and soil). The water is fully ro.
Any suggestions for doing it? Is worth it? Or it's just late and I'm overthinking?
I'm planning to do a switch, but I would like to know if it makes sense before buying anything.
My actual tank is a 110x50x60h, this is my first bigger tank and it's the tank where I started to truly love this hobby.
This tanks gave me joy, anxiety and satisfaction.
I bought it for relatively cheap (around 130€), but know I was thinking to buy a standard 120p.
I plan to reuse my old tropica aquasoil (I'll remove the First 1-2cm and topping It with apt feast).
What do you think? It's a waste of time/money or you'll think that is a change that make sense?
I always felt strange about this tanks proportion.
I plan to do it with 3 buckets (fish, plants and soil). The water is fully ro.
Any suggestions for doing it? Is worth it? Or it's just late and I'm overthinking?
2 Replies
·
62 views
Staff member
I Donated 2026
Founding Member
This is the future home for the announcements when someone obtains an achievement badge. Let the games begin!
2055 Replies
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77428 views
Supporting
I'm looking for recommendations for neocaridina retailers. I'd like to order them at the end of October, and have them shipped to Asheville NC.
Any recommendations?
Any recommendations?
25 Replies
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1211 views
Journal Farmer D. Singh's journal
Ive reorganized the order of my tanks so I can better keep track of them ie. Tank 2 moss tank is now tank 3. This helps in any confusion I had when tracking tanks they are in a sort of order now. Rather than taking time editing my old journal id rather create a new thread. Pics will be current (for the most part) as they are posted. I am not aquascaping. I am just farming.
87 Replies
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5442 views
Supporting
I Donated 2026
Rockstar
Journal Kwyet’s 60G Hillstream Tank
Sometime in Nov 2024, I bought a 60G Aqueon tank at the 50% off sale. I already had a 75 gallon stand and tank, but I wanted a shorter tank so I could look in over the top. The 75 gallon was relegated to the garage in case I want it again, and I painted the stand black. I also put black vinyl on the back.
My goal was to make a hillstream environment, based on the long-running tank of Rachel O’Leary. I had looked at other options like the river manifolds, but I liked Rachel’s better. I set it up with an fx6 filter, a horizontal spray bar on the left side, and 2nd modified spray bar situated vertically behind a corner Matten filter on the back right side. Glass strips were attached with silicone to hold it. I cut the Matten filter horizontally a few inches from the tank floor so the top part could be easily removed for cleaning. I also cut a small vertical groove from the inside so it wouldn’t constrict the holes so much on the curve.
This was how it looked on Dec 20, 2024:
My goal was to make a hillstream environment, based on the long-running tank of Rachel O’Leary. I had looked at other options like the river manifolds, but I liked Rachel’s better. I set it up with an fx6 filter, a horizontal spray bar on the left side, and 2nd modified spray bar situated vertically behind a corner Matten filter on the back right side. Glass strips were attached with silicone to hold it. I cut the Matten filter horizontally a few inches from the tank floor so the top part could be easily removed for cleaning. I also cut a small vertical groove from the inside so it wouldn’t constrict the holes so much on the curve.
This was how it looked on Dec 20, 2024:
50 Replies
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6080 views