Greetings! New to this lovely place.

[dragoness129]

Welcome to Windlyn, Morbid! -waves-
I recognize your username. ^_^

[CheerfullyMorbid]

galled- Jobes has some really good fertilizers. Quite a few if not all are organic. You can also go with bonnie. It comes in liquid. Jobes is usually a granular. Fair warning, most organic fertilizers can have a odor to them. But it will wear off.

dragoness129- Hello! I regonize yours as well. ^_^
And yea, I just came upon this site. It's pretty awesome .

[Lemon Cheesecake]

I'm surprised your fish don't eat the snails... but snails definitely can multiply quickly.... never had a big tank like yours, mine was only a 30 gallon. My guppies were happy and multiplied rapidly. The first time I saw them eating the babies I panicked. Then I read that you are supposed to have a plant for the babies to hide out in. So I tried that and then got a birthing container. I ended up with over 100 and donating guppies to the local pet store . Now I just look at other people's fish tanks.

I like the info you are giving on plants. This week end I was weeding and transplanting some of my succulents. I like working with plants but am not all that knowledgeable, as you sound to be.

[CheerfullyMorbid]

Eeeh. When I first set up the tank I put extra gravel in it. An I actually used pea gravel, not fishtank gravel. I wanted to make sure things I buried stayed. So the snails I now have hide out an live down there. However I do have a algae eater about the size of a hotdog that likes to dig for them. He enjoys picking up the gravel an spitting it at the glass. >> I also have a fancy tail goldfish an he gets the ones that lurk near the top. But it's not really that much.
An aww thank you so much. I was planning on doing some of mine, but the weathers' been on a rollercoaster. So I don't want to upset them right now. And I didn't know anything in the beginning either. I actually went to school for digital media and graphic design. College got too expensive though. I just started learning plants by wandering around work an reading tags. Then I started reading books.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

" I just started learning plants by wandering around work an reading tags. Then I started reading books"

Wow! I am impressed! You seem to be a quick learner, its too bad you can't qualify for a grant or scholarship to finish school. A brain and dedication like yours should be encouraged and honored. You should be proud of what you have accomplished on your own!

[CheerfullyMorbid]

Aww thank you.
So much has changed with colleges, I'm afraid I would have to start at the beginning again. And I wouldn't be able to take any math courses. My brain does not handle math well. But the way I see it, experience an what you know can sometimes be better than a piece of paper. Although I might take a landscape design class sometime. I actually want to take a florist class as well. I think working in a florist shop would be fun and a different change. Sometimes you get tired of being dirty all the time. xD

[galled]

Thanks for the fertilizer recommendations. I think I may go for the liquid (not too good with smells!).

I think any design class is the most helpful. The concepts behind the why's (and how to communicate them) are perhaps the most valuable things I learned in school. You can learn the tools and develop the skills and techniques to use the tools on your own by doing. The rest, while nice to learn to be "well rounded," is filler/minor by comparison.

I have another question: Should I trim back the dead stalks/branches on my escallonia? I don't think they're going to come back. Some new sprouts are doing well.

Thanks again, Cheerful!

[CheerfullyMorbid]

I would wait till it warms up. You typically don't want to prune when its the cold season. The older branches or dead will work like a shield to protect new or still existing plant. But when it looks like your warm times are here, go ahead.