Creeps.....STOP!....do not trim your Tenellus!!!
u told me u just replanted it a few days back...rite?.
trim it now and what u will get is a bald tenellus with rotting roots.

First of all...most and i say most planters including me have itchy fingers...we just gotta get our hands wet .....it doesnt matter how small the matter is..it had to be remove or redone to avoid having a sore eyes.
how often have we seen or heard the story about planters who changes the position of his plants on a weekly basis?

each time u move a plant...u run the risk of damaging its roots...but if u are interested only in photos...by all means move your plants...after all planting is not your intention...even if the plant grows...u would still throw it away and buy a new species for your photo session.

Back to creeps....wait for 10 more days...your tenellus doesnt need a haircut until the last day of school hoilday....give the roots a chance to get a good hold .
when u do trim ...trim at 1 inch from base. timming it half way would achieve NOTHING.
u said u trim it half way before and its slow to grow....why?
first of all ...the question ...when we trim why do new shoots appear?
we all know plants have to perform fotositensis to survive....so when we trim them, the plants will not have enough leafs to capture light to perform fotositensis...so what happen is ...the plant will produce new shoots, then would turn into leaves to capture light...if they dont... they will die. its a matter of survival for the plants to produce new shoots.

so when u trim half way....no shoots will appear coz the plant will still have enough half cut leafs to perform fotositensis......get the picture now?

by trimming at 1 inch from base , we are forcing the plant to produce new shoot...sort like ...if u dont , u will die. remember what i said about dont worry if the Macranda had a bald stem ....rooting had taken place ...the plant must produce new shoots ...or die.thats why rooting is the most important asspect in planting ...pay some heavy attention to that!

these tenellus have been planted 3 weeks ago. they are green and broad...which is not desired. Tenellus should have narrow spears...and in reddish bronze colour....not green!


this should be the right height for trimming


should look something like this after trimming...dont worry ...if properly rooted they wont die ...but cant say the same if the roots has no hold on the substrate
Btw..notice the glosso? ..its planted far apart in single stems/runners...the young ones are appearing and soon they will cover the foreground...it take about 50 to 60 days for a carpet effect. u wont catch me planting the whole bunch in tight formation for instant result. i have learn my lesson well enough...no more short cuts!

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

Hi Ari,

I've read somewhere that liquid dosing should be done near the end of the photosynstesis period so that the nutrients can help to transport the produce resulted from the photoperiod to other parts of the plants.

Seems like there's different school of thoughts, I've used the above, works for me better than dosing in the morning.

Rgds,
Isaac

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Isaac Goh©

Moss: Singapore, Taiwan, Weeping, Spiky, Erect, Xmas.

Pellia: Coral pellia, Normal pellia, Medium pellia?, Wild mini pellia.

Wah Ari. The moment I saw the word STOP, I had to slam on my brakes with ABS, EBD and all! Just joking. Trimming was only planned for this weekend. But I did trim some leaves with some black deposits (must be left over bba). Cut near the base as you described.

I must say, you took extra effort to illustrate your methods just like an instruction manual ha ha ha. Thanks friend.

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The nose runs and the feet smell - go figure
Steven

This long time ago before ADA...ha ha...
Cynical but true, a good option is a fan.
27c. is the magic number for most plants, 25c makes it look better.

22-24 are great for A madagascars from many forums. Another very difficult plant IMO. it's growing in my 27C tank.

A time as i just started planted tanks 5years ago, I almost believe it until i discovered i didn't have enough light over the tank because my tank is a 2ft high tank. 4X30W Fl not enough. 6x30W FL just enough. i believe the problem then was i always used one pink light for the fish at the front to make the red in fish look good but this was a pretty bad bulb for the plants. took 2 years to discover this. duh.
Nowadays in forum so easy just ask. plenty of people willing to help out like Ari here.

Regards

Stan

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So many aquascapes, so little time...http://www.my-mac.net/forum/

To be fair those day LFS also hear all this sales pitch from overseas brand reps. doesn't help when most of the info in those overseas magazines there says temp is 25C.
In fact they still produce those magazines that give horribly wrong names for plants and propagate myths. i took out my marker and angrily made slashes to all the mistakes i could spot.
I think i would have thrown the mag into the garbage bin if not for the nice pictures.

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So many aquascapes, so little time...http://www.my-mac.net/forum/

up to u to believe what u read.....but i dont ...my methods are from trials and error....and i stress mostly from Errors.
sorry to say this....but u do what ever u want with your dosage ...but Please...... Dont mention it here.

have some patience and understanding for me...im trying to give the newbies what i didnt have back in those day...first hand informations.
we can read plenty...but first hand information and method is a premium. imagine the kinda sifus we had back in the 80s...WHY SHOULD I TEACH YOU....???? WHO ARE YOU???.....YOU GOT BOW 3 TIMES TO ME OR NOT???
and imagine the kind of money i have to pay as bribe just to learn ....i mean we didnt have internets or googles back then...

i did mention this at top of this track....dont confuse the newbie....these are my methods....nobody else!!
Start your own track ...i will read them and learn from you.....
thanks for the added information...i apperciate it.
and once again i apologize to you issac...next round kopi O on me ok

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

NO extra effort la...i just trim last nite...so i tot ..ok same time can take some photo. suppose to trim last week but lazy la...

see what i mean...trim some leaves with black deposit. what benefit will it be for the plant if u trim it now or next week?...no much rite ...the thing is we gotta do something coz its not pleasing to our eyes....the itchy hand syndrome. i know this dude who would remove his entire lighting system and tank heavy tank cover, hauling himself up a ladder for his arm to reach down to 2 feet depth just to trim a single leaf that didnt look good.
i have develop a high tech method with registered trade mark to over come this itchy hands diease............COVER YOUR TANK WITH NEWSPAPER!!!....what u cant see...u wont touch!...besides if u dont see your tank for a week...u would be surprise with how much they had grown over the period.
see it 20 hours a day u wont notice any development even if the plant had grown 3 inches

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

Ha ha. You sure have some funny stories to tell. OK, I'll wait longer before trimming. Thanks.

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The nose runs and the feet smell - go figure
Steven

thanks guys for your support...Yes agreed , "the show must go on!"
"READ PROPERLY ...and dont get offened"..."but what the heck ...they could get offened all they want"..."10 years from now...they would still be at the same level
...hahahahaa...thats some nice comments from you guys.

this is me...just coz i have 20 years of planting under my belt, doesnt mean im an old man...ah pek should be around 50 to 60 years old...hey im onli 35.
yup i started planting when i was 15...and keeping fish at 10.
hey...mybirdshit...just love the P.Ramlee type sunglass u recommended..hehehe

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

ok before anything...i would like to stress...what should we call the methods that we had developed?..i was told i shouldnt use MY Method!
something to think about huh..............


ok lets down to business.
what is a good planted tank and what is not? then again whats an eye pleaser and whats a normal one?

of course to be graded your set up has to be a matured one...only then can u judge the plants ,its health and the rate of growth. for a new setup with plenty of exotic plants would be NOTHING but a nicely decorated tank...some beautifully taken photos will not put your new tank in the grading line simply coz the plants havent started growing...and its always easy to spot a FAKE.

we could lie to others ...but not ourselves., so fellow planters, lets shake off that INSTANT sucess attitude in us, before we could really master the art of planting...the one important attitude u need is patience...it take years and years of hardwork and failure, mostly failure. learn from that mistake, and never once close your eyes and ears to an idea, even if it meant coming from a newbie. if u think of yourself as a master...u will learn nothing new.
the worst part is ...get rid of the attitude of learning only from masters and rubbing shoulders with them while looking down on the newbies...for all u know that master wouldnt be teaching u the right thing...while u do not improve on your method, the same newbie u had looked down aupon has improved himself three folds.
the word is...open your mind to anything new! and u would be surprise by the kinda ideas a newbie will cook up.


right...whats the right combinations for plants in a setup? well, its all a matter of taste, some like it green ,some red, or the combination of both.
IMO the best combination is the one closest to nature....and what does that mean?
...in the wild u will not find a dozen species of plants growing side by side.
if u put too many species of plants , lets say in a 4 footer setup..it looks ugly.doesnt matter if the plants are growing beautifully ...but your setup will never be a winner.
but then as a person who is new to plants, supposing u have all the right equipments...u would like to try all the plants u could lay your hands on.
nothing sinister about that..its just the normal thing that suppose to happen.
but after years and years of planting...u begin to cut down on the species u want to keep. its NOT EASY to resist the temptation of adding new plants to your established tank..

the best natural setup is the one with few species but more of the same.
ie...maximum 5 species or from the same family and plenty of it growing in close formation.
imo its better than having 12 to 15 species growing here and there...it look odd.
the plants must blend in with one and other to produce the eye pleaser setup.
and from a distant the setup looks really natural..just like in the wild

i like to let my plants grow untrim, let it grow wild like it suppose to grow and if u are stem fanatic like me...u need a tall tank ...2 feet minimum.
here is an example of a WILD LOOK setup ...we will discuss this with your questions.











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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!