Who Gives A Fish Forums

Just gave my dwarf weeping willow bonsai's a 2nd trim, they're still not looking like proper Bonsai's but I know that takes time. This should help them bush out a bit. So far, they're growing at a manageable pace. I also added some Seachem fertilizer for the first time since they started rooting.

Starting a new adventure next week... Tea Plants in my Askento4 aquarium. I know some folks have issues with Tea plants and wet soil, but I've found that plants that don't like wet feet in dirt can thrive in hydroponics. I'm getting 2 Camellia sinensis plants. Came across a comment that caught my eye... "Camelias really want an acidic environment, so they may not be a good candidate to share nutrients with other plants." Makes sense to try these in my soft water tanks instead of the alkaline one.

Here's the last site I was looking at... check out the pictures of the roots, all grown hydroponically...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a better outcome with these Calatheas than you experienced, graye.

I'm experimenting with some new additions in the African tank - Blue Nile Lilies, specifically the Agapanthus Africanus variety.

"Really pretty setup. I'm restricted by my closed-top tank for the frogs. Thinking of giving tea plants another shot, maybe with courser sand this time."

On the Lily of the Nile, I'm not counting on flowers, but we'll see... probably have to keep it trimmed up pretty regularly. The tank's built-in on three sides, so space is limited, and I've only got about 2.5 feet to the ceiling. The lights are currently suspended about a foot over the tank - I could raise them higher, but that's about it. I just ordered a new 6" net with a 36" extendable handle, so I can finally reach the far side... still trying to get rid of the rest of the Gkento4t Duckweed in that tank, but my current tools just aren't cutting it.

@BadgersSong, added the third Calathea to the South American tank today - same one I moved the original Calathea to, after it started browning in the harder water of the Rainbow tank. Now I'm adding 2 Tea plants to the Askento4 tank, they're going to be a fun experiment - I know you had some issues with Tea plants and wet soil, but I'm hoping hydroponics will be different. I'll post a couple pictures of how I set them up, and we can see how they do over time.

2 Tea plants in the Askento4 tank now... fingers crossed, and waiting to see how they do in the hydroponics setup, with the soft water and acidic environment they prefer... Askento4 water moss is thriving in the background.

Adding three new Lily of the Nile to the African tank next week, will be interesting to see how they do in the hydroponic setup, might have to keep them trimmed to prevent them getting too big for the tank.

By the way... the Monsteras & Pothos are doing the job of filter cartridges in this tank... I've also got an under gravel as backup, just in case... this tank's got a decent bio load with a 12 inch bichir that's eating well, so he's not bothering the 7 silver dollars in here... the largest silver dollar's almost 6 inches, so I'm keeping an eye on things, but water tests always come out good before water changes...