# Re-scaped compressus tank



## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Charlie couldn't turn around too good in his tank anymore, so I tore it apart, after getting showered by him, as I was taking him out of the tank..








Here is my tank without plants..notice all the sludge at the bottom. Yum!








Here is the tank after moving the rocks so that they can be seen in the scape..I couldn't hardly see them the other way..and planting a bit








More plants added








started re planting the hairgrass








Hairgrass completely replanted, now I need to get rid of the extra plants! there are a lot more in a cooler next to my tank..
















More pics to come, after the plants rebound, and I get the extra plants out of there..Charlie is back in the tank. loving his new area that he can swim more freely in








critique/comments/questions welcomed


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## bmpower007 (Feb 11, 2005)

Damm dippy very awesome looking tank


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

Charlie will be happy when he gets back in there.









What lights does he have? 2 70 W metal halids or something?

Harry


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

lookin good. I'm liking the new layout. 
What plant is that behind the hairgrass on the left side of the zosterfolia?
you sent me some of that and I cant figure out what those ones are. 
the long grassy ones. Not the Japonica but they are similar blade types.


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## Morpheus (Feb 12, 2004)

Youre truly the plant god










Stunning tank


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Very nice looking replant... I hate all that sludge and stuff that builds up on the bottom and hides in the plants so you cant get it with a normal cleaning.


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## NeXuS (Aug 16, 2006)

wow nice i am sure he will be happy


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

therizman1 said:


> Very nice looking replant... I hate all that sludge and stuff that builds up on the bottom and hides in the plants so you cant get it with a normal cleaning.


I'm thinking I'm gonna get one of those battery opperated gravel vacs to deal with that myself. the Eheim Sludge cleaner. or a cheap copy of one anyway.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

> Damm dippy very awesome looking tank


Thanks!! It took me a good while to figure out what I was doing.. Glad it is mostly over! lol- 
comeon with those plant orders guys!


> Charlie will be happy when he gets back in there.
> What lights does he have? 2 70 W metal halids or something?


Ya, Charlie seems to be happy! 
But there is a 4x55w A H Supply bright kit over that tank. (220watts PC w/ reflectors)


> lookin good. I'm liking the new layout.
> What plant is that behind the hairgrass on the left side of the zosterfolia?
> you sent me some of that and I cant figure out what those ones are.
> the long grassy ones. Not the Japonica but they are similar blade types.


Thanks, glad you like it! 
The only 2 grassy plants in the tank besides the japonica is E. tenellus(tall) and E tenellus 'micro' --I'm guessing that I sent you the E tenellus or aka 'pygmy chain sword'


> Stunning tank


Thanks a whole lot Morpheus! But seriously, I am no god in the least, very, very far from it










> Very nice looking replant... I hate all that sludge and stuff that builds up on the bottom and hides in the plants so you cant get it with a normal cleaning.


Thanks therizman1!!
Well, the plants end up using it, and I'm getting more shrimp to feast on it..but it is really bad because I stirred up the gravel a good bit while I was yanking plants.lol 
Charlie must have been eating his fill of shrimp lately, there were only 2 left.. I had way more than that in there, plus they were reproducing!


> wow nice i am sure he will be happy


Thanks NeXuS, muchos apreciated!


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> > lookin good. I'm liking the new layout.
> > What plant is that behind the hairgrass on the left side of the zosterfolia?
> > you sent me some of that and I cant figure out what those ones are.
> > the long grassy ones. Not the Japonica but they are similar blade types.
> ...


ahh! ok I wasent' aware that Tenellus had two forms. That was what was confusing me. And yes you sent me some of each. I thoguht the smaller ones were just runners of the larger types. so didn't use them. I have them in the tub tank tho. so now that I know I will plant them in the big tank. the leaf types seemed a little more dense in the micro then in the tall.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

That is my one fear with putting any other shrimp that ghosts in with my piranhas because they always seem to disappear. I dont think my big rhom even means to eat them half the time, but they flock to his food so fast they just get sucked it along with everything else... plus I have caught my 10" Geryi hunting them down at night if they move and my Mac will just kill anything in his tank that moves... including plant leaves that get caught by the current. Thank god my big rhom and geryi leave plants alone though... their tanks are coming along pretty nicely... getting some Cyperus Helferi tonight and probably a few others... may some Downoi, Potomageton Gayi, Crinum Natans, and maybe some Bolbitis.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

> ahh! ok I wasent' aware that Tenellus had two forms. That was what was confusing me. And yes you sent me some of each.


ya that E tenellus micro gets a nice red hue on the leaves if it is in direct light! looks great



> That is my one fear with putting any other shrimp that ghosts in with my piranhas because they always seem to disappear. I dont think my big rhom even means to eat them half the time, but they flock to his food so fast they just get sucked it along with everything else... plus I have caught my 10" Geryi hunting them down at night if they move and my Mac will just kill anything in his tank that moves... including plant leaves that get caught by the current. Thank god my big rhom and geryi leave plants alone though... their tanks are coming along pretty nicely... getting some Cyperus Helferi tonight and probably a few others... may some Downoi, Potomageton Gayi, Crinum Natans, and maybe some Bolbitis.


LOL! Well I keep Cherry Shrimp in there, and they mostly eat algea, and detritus at the bottom of the tank. They reproduce like mad.. and a lot of my friends keep them in their tanks, so I can get more 
Don't forget the C helferi is harder to grow, and attracts algea it seems lol, the Pogostemon helferi can melt in 1 day if shaded too much. Bolbitis is stunning next to plants with different shaped leaves


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

What is the plant on the left hand side of the tank... sort of looks like a type of sword but I doubt it, has those three leaves sticking up.


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## traumatic (Jan 29, 2003)

Pretty cool!

You may not know it dippyeggs but I've gotten some plants from you indirectly from other people who just can handle all the plants you dish out! Very nice plants btw!


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

> What is the plant on the left hand side of the tank... sort of looks like a type of sword but I doubt it, has those three leaves sticking up.


Here it is right here..  The leaves are going straight up because I had it in a cooler with tons of plants smashing it like that for about 2 days lol.. once it recieves a good amount of light, the leaves will spread out.



> You may not know it dippyeggs but I've gotten some plants from you indirectly from other people who just can handle all the plants you dish out! Very nice plants btw!


Whoa, cool!! I'm glad they don't throw them out, and give them away! I try to send people lots of plants, because I want them to be happy, and encouraged to grow!
Plants are expensive.. and hard to get good, healthy, and certain nice looking plants at the lfs.. Im also trying to get more hard to find, or nicer looking, or just flat out cheaper plants in peoples hands


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## traumatic (Jan 29, 2003)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> Whoa, cool!! I'm glad they don't throw them out, and give them away! I try to send people lots of plants, because I want them to be happy, and encouraged to grow!
> Plants are expensive.. and hard to get good, healthy, and certain nice looking plants at the lfs.. Im also trying to get more hard to find, or nicer looking, or just flat out cheaper plants in peoples hands


I live 2 mins from Jdinh and 5 mins from rizman, we've been networking! I've had to turn Jdinh down cus he gives me too much! It's tough to keep up because I only have the one tank (20L) and it will only fit certain plants and all that so I'm try to keep some others going emersed outdoors and/or in a tub to keep them alive and kickin.

Keep it up, people look up to you and value your info and dedication.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

> I live 2 mins from Jdinh and 5 mins from rizman, we've been networking! I've had to turn Jdinh down cus he gives me too much! It's tough to keep up because I only have the one tank (20L) and it will only fit certain plants and all that so I'm try to keep some others going emersed outdoors and/or in a tub to keep them alive and kickin.
> Keep it up, people look up to you and value your info and dedication.


Thanks for the comments! 
I hope they are stuffing their tanks with the plants, tanks do much, much better when you stuff them in there..!
Growing plants outside is a great idea, I live in an apartment, so it would be crazy trying to keep them on my porch.. I make enough of a mess with my 3 tanks lol
But some plants have different needs when growing emerged. like, for instance, Cryptocorynes. They need very high humidity all the time, so growing them in open air won't work.
They need to be in an enclosure, with water at the bottom so the humidity is very high.
Other plants need their roots and some stalk in water, but can grow great from there, and some can do great just in a pot, as long as it is kept moist


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Wow Dippy... that is one pricey plant... I think I saw one of those on APC as well being sold.

I think Ill wait on that till I get a little more sure of myself.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

therizman1 said:


> Wow Dippy... that is one pricey plant... I think I saw one of those on APC as well being sold.
> 
> I think Ill wait on that till I get a little more sure of myself.


ya, it is very rare, and at this point, it is a good price for it.

It was 100$ on APC, then went down to $80, so the $50 on APC is a very good deal! It is an easy to grow plant, as long as it doesn't get too shaded


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> Wow Dippy... that is one pricey plant... I think I saw one of those on APC as well being sold.
> 
> I think Ill wait on that till I get a little more sure of myself.


ya, it is very rare, and at this point, it is a good price for it.

It was 100$ on APC, then went down to $80, so the $50 on APC is a very good deal! It is an easy to grow plant, as long as it doesn't get too shaded
[/quote]

Oh, dont get me wrong about the price, it is very good, but I just dont have $50 for a plant right now... and if it died on me itd be a very sad sad day.

One day when I get a tank with just plants and peaceful fish I would like one though, they look very nice.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

> One day when I get a tank with just plants and peaceful fish I would like one though, they look very nice.


I have it in with Charlie, he has bitten it a few times, but only when it is cramming him into the corner lol
Plus the thing has grown like crazy for me, I got rid of at least 6 of them so far, they propogate off the rhizome.
They are surely rare, if I get rid of mine, or something, I don't think it would be easy to find at all


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

thats sweet
but it sux for me cuz i cant get any of those good plants
and i saw you say something about aqua soil do you know where i could get it (and price)
and if it would be ok to use it on a 1.5 inches of pea sized gravel (just so i can have nicer growin plants)


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> > One day when I get a tank with just plants and peaceful fish I would like one though, they look very nice.
> 
> 
> I have it in with Charlie, he has bitten it a few times, but only when it is cramming him into the corner lol
> ...


Wow, sounds like quite the little money maker... lots of steak dinner for Joe these days!

Ill have to see... I just got back from my LFS and was very sad in the the Cyperus Helferi... was only maybe 4" tall max where as the last ones they got in were close to 15" tall... not sure what I am going to do now, 4" plant wont really fit in my scape or be seen anytime soon with all the other plants I have in the tank...


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

One of your best setups yet dippy! Love the hairgrass!

Do you have anymore of the Ludwigia sp. 'Cuba' left anymore?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

therizman1 said:


> One of your best setups yet dippy! Love the hairgrass!
> 
> Do you have anymore of the Ludwigia sp. 'Cuba' left anymore?


I might have a very small stem or 2.. If so, I'll toss them in.I used it up when I rescaped the tank, but I think there were some babies still left.. They are tough plants to grow, so if you grow them out, you are doing great


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> One of your best setups yet dippy! Love the hairgrass!
> 
> Do you have anymore of the Ludwigia sp. 'Cuba' left anymore?


I might have a very small stem or 2.. If so, I'll toss them in.I used it up when I rescaped the tank, but I think there were some babies still left.. They are tough plants to grow, so if you grow them out, you are doing great
[/quote]

I'd be willing to try and break my 'south american' tank for some of those things! Although I know I will be lucky to get growth at all, I just cannot help but be inspired by the ones you used to have.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Tibs said:


> One of your best setups yet dippy! Love the hairgrass!
> 
> Do you have anymore of the Ludwigia sp. 'Cuba' left anymore?


I might have a very small stem or 2.. If so, I'll toss them in.I used it up when I rescaped the tank, but I think there were some babies still left.. They are tough plants to grow, so if you grow them out, you are doing great
[/quote]

I'd be willing to try and break my 'south american' tank for some of those things! Although I know I will be lucky to get growth at all, I just cannot help but be inspired by the ones *you used to have*.
[/quote]
I still have them..
Bro, it is a Ludwigia 'verticillate'. There are tons of these types in the Amazon..! Ludwigia inclinata, Ludwigia inclinata var verticillata 'Pantanal', Ludwigia inclinata var verticillata 'Araguia' are all found there, and the 'Cuba' is a regional plant that is probably found there as well!
The 'Pantanal', and the 'Araguia' are the hardest to grow, and it shows the quality of the water in those regions.. These plants simply look like crap if grown in harder water, and even can melt away. Especially the red beauty, 'Pantanal'
I have all of these, but I dont give them away, they are hard to grow, and hard to find! I charge like 2$-3$ a stem on top of shipping for any of these.. 
And I have a back list of about 5 people wanting them over on APC. Here are a few pics to show how closely related to each other they are, with the exception of the pantanal, which is very red, but has the exact same leaf shape.. the Araguia looks very close to the cuba, but is harder to grow for some reason--simply because they are so closely related, I think you can get away with L 'Cuba' in a South American biotope tank.. what do you think??


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

i want some plants if you have extra.......lol
need low light, ground cover

Dennis


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

assclown said:


> i want some plants if you have extra.......lol
> need low light, ground cover
> 
> Dennis


Dennis, I might have some extra, you never know.. I have 4 orders to fill this morning, and if there is more ill pm you. I have a busy weekend, so it might have to be monday before I can send anything.. I take paypal, no cc payments.
Do you have an account?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

shark_boy said:


> thats sweet
> but it sux for me cuz i cant get any of those good plants
> and i saw you say something about aqua soil do you know where i could get it (and price)
> and if it would be ok to use it on a 1.5 inches of pea sized gravel (just so i can have nicer growin plants)


ADA aquasoil can be purchased here. It is not recommended that you use it with anything else besides the bottom layer powersand. 
It is costly. I personally don't recommend it for beginners, simply because it gives you false confidence in growing.. But there will be a day where you will need to be able to fertilize correctly with that system.
I would say learn how to grow easy plants in regular cheap substrate first, then go for the ADA Aquasoil. Then you can grow those soft water plants from blackwater streams, like Toninas, and Eriocaulons. 
It relly lowers your pH, and also, you shouldn't use a pH controller with it


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Here is the tank today.. the 2nd Lagenandra meeboldii var 'pink' on the left, in sort of the front, is on aquabid right now, so that means that *it will be gone soon*, hopefully.
So that whole left side there will be for charlie to swim freely in. Does it look like enough room for him for life?
Or do you think I will have to create even more room after he grows a bit more? He seems to hate any plant that hinders his movement in the left corner, up front.. He likes to hide behind the L 'Cuba' all the way over on the right when startled.. it is funny because you can see him peeking through the plants at ya lol


















You can clearly see the melting spots on the lagenandra that I will be keeping.. The plant does not like to be moved, but it quickly rebounds by sending out another leaf as soon as it is happy

















Are these easier to see the new scape? I know it looks a lot like the last one, but I'm working with the same rocks, wood, and plants.. lol


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

for sure. I like the depth the tank has with the rock in the middle slightly poking out from behind the japonica as well as the left. and the.. well the whole thing.


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## Round Head (Sep 26, 2005)

Very impressive plants. I really like your landscape.


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

your comp's tank has a better home than i do


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Looking very nice Dippy! I really like the hardscape.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

> for sure. I like the depth the tank has with the rock in the middle slightly poking out from behind the japonica as well as the left. and the.. well the whole thing.


Thanks man! I was hoping to bring out the hardscaping with the jutting rock idea..
I think I'm doing some minor changes here, the stem plants in the back still need to rebound.


> Very impressive plants. I really like your landscape.


Thank you Lane! Always glad to hear from you! --It took me long enough!


> your comp's tank has a better home than i do


Tell me about it!! LOL, My place is trashed from having all these plants everywhere, and buckets, and coolers.. and equipment..ugh..
And some guys from plant club are comming over tommorrow night for the viewing lol!


> Looking very nice Dippy! I really like the hardscape.


Thanks for saying that!! I'm glad that has been brought up here, because I was using all the same stuff..lol ..It looks kind of the same, but different lol


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

Wow, that tank is just stunning.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Tibs said:


> Wow, that tank is just stunning.


Thanks Tibs, always nice hearing that from ya!


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## NeXuS (Aug 16, 2006)

sounds like u better clean up before the plant club comes lol.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

oh, I'm planning on it.. The cats have been kicking their litter all over the place too, I guess in rebellion over me spending so much time with the tank over them lol
All I have to do is put things in their proper place, and I'll be mostly done


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