# Starless & Bible Black



## Vinkenoog1977 (19 Jun 2014)

Well, since I have a birthday coming up, and this has been a craptastic year so far on a personal level, I decided to gift myself a(nother; #5) new tank. Initially, I was going to go for a large, shallow tank in the spirit of Tom's Bucket, but, alas, some unexpected bills (vet, garage, taxes), and other practical considerations, forced me to put that plan on hold for the coming months. 
So, a new plan was born, for a smaller, more affordable tank, for a spot in my living room that was just begging for it. It started with the idea of a 60 x 40 x 40 cm. open top tank, but things moved on, and in the end, I opted for a Juwel Lido 120, which will be arriving tomorrow.  The last couple of days, I've been working on the stand and other bits and bobs, in between visits to the lav, due to a stomach bug (lost another stone in about 4 days). Anyways.

The idea is to make this into a lush, green haven, with lots of wood and rock, and a nice mixed carpet. I'm thinking hairgrass and monte carlo for the carpet, Pogostemon Helferi around the carpet, Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green between the rocks, mixed mosses on the wood with lots of Javafern, Bolbitus Heudelotii in the back around the filter housing, and one bunch of Luwigia Perennis coming from in between the wood, to add some colour to it.
Inhabitants will be (subject to change of heart of course) (low-grade) CRS and CBS from my CRS and CBS tanks, some Red Cherries, guppies, a couple of dwarf gourami, some Hara Jerdoni, and maybe a little school of pygmae Cory's (to help keep the guppy population in check).

As a substrate, I will again be using Dennerle DeponitMix Professional with Dennerle FB1, covered with some coarse basalt gravel (5-8 mm.), and topped with either very fine basalt gravel (< 3 mm.) (if I can find some which has been rounded off a bit), or JBL Sansibar Black. I hope to be able to use the basalt, if only to keep all the black the same colour (since I will be using basalt rocks/ blocks as hardscape), so I might even opt to run the finer gravel through a cement mixer to round it off a bit.
As said, the rock for the hardscape will be basalt, and as wood, I will be using some dried out Lilac, which is now soaking, after which I will remove all the bark, boil it for a good hour, and then soak it for a couple of days more before placing it in the tank. There is no scent coming from the wood, it's been dried for a very long time, and it's a hardwood, so it should be fine, and it looks perfect!

What else? I'm still torn between either swapping the pump the Lido comes with (500 l/h) to a larger one (EccoFlow 1000), or using the 500, and adding a Koralia 600. I'm leaning towards the latter. I will have to move the filter to the other side, due to where the tank will sit, but I've done that before, so not too worried. For now, I will use the lights the Lido comes with, and adding reflectors to them. As far as CO2, it will be DIY Bio CO2 (sugar, yeast, gelatine), but it will be on a (threeway) solenoid in time.
I'm using an IKEA cabinet (yes, I know), which has been strengthened on the inside by a cabinet made from 18 mm. MDF, and it's solid as the proverbial rock.

This will be another dry start, to get the carpet going and rooted enough so the Cory's won't destroy it within seconds upon arriving. I'll aso be dry starting the mosses on the branches via the blender-and-paintbrush-method

I do have some questions though, I hope you guys can help with:

Regarding the lighting: I'm pretty sure that with the reflectors, I will have ample light to get the carpet going. The one thing I am worried about, is that it might be too much light for the Crypts, the ferns and the Bolbitus; will they thrive under higher lighting, or am I running the risk burning them?
Regarding the dry start: could/ should I also dry start the Crypts, and if so, would that prevent the usually inevitable melt after flooding?
Regarding the filter: should I swap the filterpump, or add the Koralia?

Well, thanks for reading, and any advice you might be able to give! I will be posting the first pics tomorrow after the tank is in its spot. It will be quite some time, about a month or two, before any water will be added, so be patient, cause I know I'm not!


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## Lindy (19 Jun 2014)

I always wanted one of these tanks but none have ever come up locally on ebay


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## Vinkenoog1977 (19 Jun 2014)

They were on sale for 145 Euros, so made a lot more sense financially than an open tank. Plus, with the guppies and their jumping, much safer for them, and better for my nerves.


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## allan angus (19 Jun 2014)

sorry no advice............but love the sound of it looking forward to the implementation  good luck with it


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## Vinkenoog1977 (19 Jun 2014)

Thanks Allan! Not even any tips on the easiest way to get the bloody bark from the branches of woord? LOL


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## tim (19 Jun 2014)

Easiest to peel the bark off while the wood is dry I would imagine, look forward to seeing this setup.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (19 Jun 2014)

Turns out, it works best after soaking/ boiling, still, it's going to take a few hours, but will be worth it; the wood looks awesome, some great quilting, I think the correct English word is, almost looks like maple underneath the bark!


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## Vinkenoog1977 (20 Jun 2014)

Tiny update, and some pics of the tank in situ. Got the basalt gravel and ditto sand I wanted, washed and ready to go. No basalt rocks as of yet though unfortunately, will resume the hunt tomorrow, maybe Monday. Spent a good couple of hours cleaning all the bark from the Lilac branches, and I've got 99% done now. It's boiling again as we speak, still releasing quite a lot of tannins. Will let it soak for another night, then let it dry out on its own, and then I will slowly oven dry them for a couple of hours, after which I will give it one final boil, and hopefully all the tannins will be gone by then. Spent a couple of hours removing the filter box, was a nightmare to get it loose, but victory was mine! Moved it to the other side, cleaned everything off a bit, and then put it in its future place, and I'm glad I choose this one over an open tank, as it looks wonderful! Some pics.

View from the TV-room:





View from the sitting room:




In situ:


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## X3NiTH (20 Jun 2014)

Good looking tank, personally I would worry about the door getting barged, have you got a fixed stopper to prevent the door opening beyond 90 degrees? If you own the premises how about rehanging the door the other way so you get a spectacular entrance when you open the door. You have yourself a very nice living room there, hopefully the scaffolding outside wont be there for long!


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## Vinkenoog1977 (20 Jun 2014)

No, there's a stopper in place, and a moveable stopper on the other side (the door's always open) so no worries about that, or it thrashing in a draft or something like that. Rehanging wouldn't really work, you'd be looking at the back of the tank, plus, it acts as a backdrop for the tank. 
Just a couple of weeks, hopefully, and then they start at the back of the building. Well, it needs doing, but why in the sparse few weeks/ months we can enjoy some sunshine? Ow well, it is what it is, for now, I'm mostly looking at stuff indoors, not at the traffic outside. And my dog is nearly blind, so he doesn't notice the difference when he tries to look outside. 
Thanks for the compliment, am quite pleased myself, even though I wish I could stuff more plants (and tanks LOL) in there, but with about 45 plants and now 5 tanks, it's getting pretty full.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (22 Jun 2014)

Well, it took some elbow greese, but I've finally managed to get all of the bark from the branches. Right now, they are in their final boil, and they should be ready to go then. Hardly any tannins coming out anymore, and none during a regular soak, only during boiling, so I think I should be good to go. They've been soaked, boiled, soaked some more, oven dried, boiled and soaked some more, and finally boiled some more. Worth the effort though, they don't darken up too much when wet, so the combination with the black soil and rockwork, and the - mostly - dark green plants and mosses on them, should look the dogs dangly bits. Just a quick for more, hope to find some basalt rocks tomorrow, and the hardscaping can finally commence. Okay, okay, I made a start already by laying the substrate, but needs some tweaking of course.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (23 Jun 2014)

Had a little play with my wood this afternoon, ho-hum.








Will have to cut one or two of the pieces to get it to fit how I want it to. Hopefully I can get out tomorrow to find some suitable rocks!


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## Vinkenoog1977 (23 Jun 2014)

Couldn't resist tinkering with it some more. Cut one piece down a bit, and I think I've pretty much got it nailed as is right now. Will move a bit of course, since I need to add more gravel to add to the slope, and I still need to add the rocks to keep the wood in place, and have something to glue the wood on to, because this will take some time before it will sink. I used some cut-up plastic placemats as substrate supports, these will of course be covered with the sand I still have to add; not even sure I will need them with the rocks that are going in, plus, the coarser basalt split underneath seems to be a good base to do slopes on, does not really seem to want to move any which way.
Any thoughts on the layout so far guys?













I do have one more question though, hardly an urgent one, but still. After rinsing and washing the sand thoroughly, there still ar quite a few particles that want to float. They will sink after a while, but when the time comes to flood it, I don't want it messing up my hardscape and plants, so any ideas on how to deal with that, and prevent the floaters? What I was thinking, even before this issue, was to, after 6 to 9 weeks of dry start, to gradually fill the tank over the course of several days, using an airhose, and doing 20 liters per day, in two sessions. The reasoning behind this was to gradually let the dry started plants get used to being emersed, and so hopefully prevent melting, especially of the crypts. In that same period, I will reduce the photoperiod from 14 hours during dry start, to 6 hours when finally fully emersed. The added bonus would be that any floating particles would have time to saturate and settle, without too much movement in the tank, and thus blowing them all over the place.
What do you think about this plan, has this been done before, what were the results, or should I just go ahead and experiment? I see non real downsides to doing this, no risk of stale water since there will be some movement and fresh water added daily, which was the only real risk I could think off. Again, any advice or help is appreciated!


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## X3NiTH (23 Jun 2014)

You could try the Ebb & Flow Drystart Method when you add your water, its daily legwork work but it is supposed to combat fungi growth by never letting it get a foothold which is what usually prompts dry starters to flood the tank earlier than planned when they see it growing. You start with a moist substrate and get it all planted up and then let it rest for a day, the next day you fill the tank with enough water to submerge the plants and then immediately remove it, you repeat this process daily until you decide to flood it for good at which point you change the cycle to allow the plants to remain submerged for a period of time before you empty the tank, you then extend this period daily until your happy to let the plants remain submerged. Your plan of 20L in and out through an air line would be good for this method, maybe two lines to make it slightly quicker.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (24 Jun 2014)

Cool, that sounds like a good alternative. Any articles you know of that I can read up on in regards to this method, or is this in Diana Walstads book as well? Still haven't read that, ashamed to say.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (24 Jun 2014)

Well, did another trip to some garden centers, but no luck finding basalt or black lava, so I will go with regular old lava rock; just placed a piece in the tank, and it actually looks rather good! Not really what I had intended, but hey, that's life I suppose.


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## X3NiTH (24 Jun 2014)

Vinkenoog1977 said:


> Cool, that sounds like a good alternative. Any articles you know of that I can read up on in regards to this method, or is this in Diana Walstads book as well? Still haven't read that, ashamed to say.



Don't know if its in Walstads book as I haven't read it either! You will find the method in books on hydroponics, which is essentially the art of trying to grow non aquatic plants with their roots in a heavily nutrient rich aquatic realm. Looking at it from a plants point of view, a drystart with a single flooding event is the apocalypse and you either survive or you don't, since they're aquatic plants they should survive but only if they are not overcome by environmental pathogens beforehand (mould), however periodic flooding with lengthening intensity gives them a fair bit of warning allowing them to adapt to the impending apocalypse but in an environment more conducive to keeping the bad stuff in check.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (24 Jun 2014)

I tried Google, and that did come up with all sorts regarding hydroponics, however, being Dutch, Google supposes I mean growing the Herb, so I was somewhat confused. I understand the logic now as well, makes great sense, and is sort of what I had in mind with the step-by-step method of flooding, but this sounds like a much better plan of attack, great tip, thanks for that!

Well, I did most of my hardscape today, and would love some feedback from people! I still have to add the three branches that will be pointing "up", and I still need to glue the wood to the rock to keep it from floating. Carpet plants and the Crypts are coming this Thursday morning, so I need to wrap this up sometime tomorrow.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (24 Jun 2014)

Added the thickest of the remaining three branches, felt it looked to empty in the middle. Also added the two upward branches. I think I'm nearly there!


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## Vinkenoog1977 (25 Jun 2014)

Finished the hardscape today, made some final adjustements, and I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the result! The wood's been glued to the lava rock, and everything is ready to go for the carpet plants and the moss, which will be going in tomorrow!


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## Vinkenoog1977 (28 Jun 2014)

Finally finished up planting this evening; planted nearly everything last Thursday, except for the moss, which has now been slabbed on there. And now we wait. Will dry start this one till at least September 1st. So far it all looks good, just one single Crypt on the right hand side to the back which is doing poorly; leaves are all hanging limp, except for the newest leave, which looks fine; will see how she adapts. The rest looks fine, already really like the look of the tank, the different shades of green really compliment each other well, and I can't wait to see my carpet grown in and the moss covering all the wood. 


























Hope you guys like it!


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## Alan Fluxion (3 Jul 2014)

Progress on your lawn?


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## Vinkenoog1977 (3 Jul 2014)

We're only 6 days in, but I can already see some new grass popping up, and the MC is starting to take hold as well, the Pogostemon Helferi is doing nicely as well!


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## T.Tamas (3 Jul 2014)

Vinkenoog1977 said:


> Finally finished up planting this evening; planted nearly everything last Thursday, except for the moss, which has now been slabbed on there. And now we wait. Will dry start this one till at least September 1st. So far it all looks good, just one single Crypt on the right hand side to the back which is doing poorly; leaves are all hanging limp, except for the newest leave, which looks fine; will see how she adapts. The rest looks fine, already really like the look of the tank, the different shades of green really compliment each other well, and I can't wait to see my carpet grown in and the moss covering all the wood.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Arrange the trees closer together, covered with moss, so that would be like an old pine tree.
Otherwise good vision, trouble-free sequel


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## allan angus (3 Jul 2014)

looking good is it flooded yet ?


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## Vinkenoog1977 (4 Jul 2014)

T.Tamas said:


> Arrange the trees closer together, covered with moss, so that would be like an old pine tree.
> Otherwise good vision, trouble-free sequel



I tried every which way, arranging the branches, and this was the best look I could come up with.



allan angus said:


> looking good is it flooded yet ?



Not yet, this is only day 7 of the dry start, it will remain "dry" until at least September 1st.



Alan Fluxion said:


> Progress on your lawn?



It's going good, the hairgrass is starting to spread and the Monte Carlo is starting to root and spread as well. The Pogostemon Helferi is looking good, no real growth as far as I can tell.
The Crypts are, who could have thought, starting to melt. I removed around 10 leaves today which had gone or were going yellow. Was to be expected, but still feel gutted, as always, which explains my love/ hate for Crypts.
Quite surprisingly, the Riccia is starting to attach itself to the lava rocks! Was just a gamble, wondering if it would, as I read that when grown emersed, it does attach to wood and rock, but since this was harvested from another tank, I was sceptical; glad I gambled it!
One problem I am having, is that the moss that is higher up on the wood, keeps drying out. I'm now misting 2-3 times a day, and can barely keep up; this type of wood doesn't hold moisture too well, so I'm not sure if the moss will take on the higher-up parts. Plus, the T5s are giving up quite a bit of heat, so that doesn't help either.

Some pics:


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## Alan Fluxion (4 Jul 2014)

Look at the Ricca, that's growing fast! Mine melted... jus tlike everything else is


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## Vinkenoog1977 (11 Jul 2014)

Weekly update! The carpet is growing great! You can see some definite growth from the MC, and the E. Acicularis is starting to throw out new shoots daily! Some of the leaves of the MC have gone yellowish, but I'm pretty sure that was due to me not siphoning off the standing water for a couple of days, but they are recovering nicely. The moss has already attached and grown, especially on the rock, but on some parts of the wood as well. The higher parts of the wood is still a bit of a problem area due to drying out from the lights, but we'll see how that gets on. The P. Helferi is looking great, nice, lush colour, and some growth as well. The Crypts are pretty much done melting now, I hope; lost around 50% of the leaves, but there are quite a few new ones there as well. One thing I have noticed is that the smaller/ younger the Crypts, the less they melt. Makes sense I suppose, since the younger plants have less/ no established root systems, but still, was nice to see/ notice.
Some pics.


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## allan angus (11 Jul 2014)

going well


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## Vinkenoog1977 (11 Jul 2014)

Thanks Allan, am very happy with the results so far!


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## Alan Fluxion (11 Jul 2014)

That looks neat! Very nice job, the grass having 2 different colors will look sweet


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## Vinkenoog1977 (11 Jul 2014)

Thanks Alan!


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## Gruff (13 Jul 2014)

Cool apartment.  Do you have any pictures / plans etc of the cabinet you made at all?  Looks pretty swish


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## Vinkenoog1977 (14 Jul 2014)

Will do some pics, but it's just an IKEA cabinet which I reinforced.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (19 Jul 2014)

Weekly update of the dry start... Things are looking very good! There are only a couple of more Crypt-leaves that are melting, but the loss has been made up by plenty of new ones! The mosses have really started to take off in most places, already around 2 cm. growth! The grass is spreading nicely, but the MC isn't growing as quickly as I has anticipated based on earlier dry starts. Still early days though, 6 more weeks to go, at least!
I decided to add the java ferns now, and they are adapting quite nicely! I took these from Heat in the Jungle, which will be moved and rescaped anyway, as soon as this tank is ready to take fauna. Got some plantlets from Indiscipline as well, they were starting to drag the parent leaves down, so decided to remove, and then figured: why not? And things snowballed from there, to the point that Heat in the Jungle now only has the Trident left, all the regular and Windelov are in here now, and I think they fill out the hardscape nicely!





















Let me know what you think![DOUBLEPOST=1405794861][/DOUBLEPOST]Sorry Gruff, completely forgot to take some pics of the inside of the cabinet (it's a mess in there now anyway), will do some next week, if I can remember it then at least.


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## allan angus (20 Jul 2014)

looking great


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## Vinkenoog1977 (20 Jul 2014)

Thanks Allan, am real happy with it, it's really starting to look as I had envisioned!


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## Michael W (20 Jul 2014)

Very interesting journal will definitely follow this to watch the progress! Great start!


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## Fern (20 Jul 2014)

I think this will turn out to be pretty good, nice start!

ps: King Crimson are one of my favourite bands


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## Greenfinger2 (20 Jul 2014)

Hi Vinkenoog, How did i miss this one  Great thread  This one is coming along nicely The plants are looking fab to Will be follow from now on


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## Vinkenoog1977 (20 Jul 2014)

Thanks Roy, will try and get some decent front and side shots coming week, and will be adding some more plants for the dry start (Rotala, Ludwigia and P. Erectus).


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## Greenfinger2 (20 Jul 2014)

Hi Vinkenoog, Cannot wait to see more photos  Rotala, lud, & P Erectus  Rotala ?? not sure about that in a dry start. aren't the stems a bit floppy ??[DOUBLEPOST=1405865314][/DOUBLEPOST]Don't worry I was thinking of another plant Rotala has sturdy stems  Silly me


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## Vinkenoog1977 (20 Jul 2014)

Doing great in two small 6 ltr. jars I'm dry starting at the moment, both the sp. "Green" and the Rotundafolia. Am not sure about the P. Erectus, but that's more because I've never seen the plant "in the flesh", but from what I gathered, they are sturdy as well. And if not, I'll just cut them down a bit until they remain upright on their own, and see how they grow from there.


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## Greenfinger2 (20 Jul 2014)

Hi Vinkenoog, What a great idea dry start in a jar  Fantastic way to get the plants going  Bit like a Wabi-Kusa Hope you don't mind  One of my Grandsons W-K in a jar  Never though of using the jars for plants to plant on though. Congrats on that idea


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## Vinkenoog1977 (20 Jul 2014)

Happened sort off by accident; came across some really cheap glass jars, had some plants left, and thought: why not? A bit W-K, yeah, I suppose you could say that.

Another nice one that!


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## Alan Fluxion (21 Jul 2014)

Woah, those plants exploded! Look at that! wished mine grew like that!

Looks very nice... jealous...


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## Vinkenoog1977 (23 Jul 2014)

Right, well, the stemplants have been added, being Ludwigia Palustris and Pogostemon Erectus. The idea at first, was to add some Rotala Rotundifolia between the PE and the LP, and some Rotala Green between the PE and the P. Helferi, but, due to space constraints, that idea had to be scrapped.
They were planted yesterday, and show no signs of stress so far. The rest of the plants are still doing great, even though the MC is still lagging behind as far as growth is concerned, and some of the leaves are turning yellowish to red, but they are not dying off. Never seen that behavious before, and we'll see what happens.

Some shots from the front and the side.













And a shot of the inside of the cabinet with the reinforcements.


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## Greenfinger2 (24 Jul 2014)

Hi Vinkenoog, Looking fantastic great growth  Nice and tidy in the Cupboard too


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## Alan Fluxion (24 Jul 2014)

I'm more amazed everytime I see your pictures Vinkenoog, those plants looks brilliant and are growing at a fast pace... I've had my aquarium  7 mths and haven't had a total growth like you have in 3 weeks


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## Vinkenoog1977 (24 Jul 2014)

Dry starting does that Alan, great way to get everything going before you flood it. Takes patience, which is something I don't really have, but seeing these results keeps me on the path!


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## Alan Fluxion (24 Jul 2014)

I did do a dry start, but id did not look remotely as good as yours, I waited 2 months or so, and ended up with not much more than I began with....  I'm going to have to try planting some plants in some other soil and see what happens, maybe it's indeed the soil that's stunting the progression and growth of my plants :\ would suck to find out at this point.

Good job though, looks very nice and clean.


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## Gruff (24 Jul 2014)

Ah a crafty Ikea conversion


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## Vinkenoog1977 (24 Jul 2014)

That's it Gruff, just some 18 mm. MDF and a tight fit. I've had 165 kilos dancing on top of it (me and a mate; after a few beers, it seemed like a good way to test it), and it went nowhere.

@Alan Fluxion: I've done a dry start in several tanks now, from expensive enriched substrate with bacterial additives (as in this one), to soil-based tanks, and what I've found is that it has nothing to do with the soil (as long as it's rich in nutrients), it's more a case of enough lighting (mine is running at 14 hours with two reflectors), combined with a high enough temperature and humidity. Especially the latter is very important; in Spring, when the temperature outside was quite low, below 20 C at least, I used a cutup soda bottle filled with water to hold my thermostat heater, set at maximum, to release some extra heat plus moisture; worked a treat.
Another thing I've found, is that it's very important to remove as much standing water as you can; the substrate needs to be moist, but there must be no water puddles sitting on the substrate, as this is as good as flooding the plants, especially carpet plants. As you can see, on the lower right hand front corner, I've actually removed some of the gravel, so I can use a syringe to remove as much water as possible, so no puddles can form on the gravel.

Hope that helps! And as far as soil, I don't think I will ever buy expensive substrate again, and will be using potting soil from now on (Pokon Zaai- & Stekgrond works brilliantly, as you can see in the Propagator thread; it's comparable to John Innes No. 1 I believe, meant or plantlets and seedlings, extra enriched, all natural).; cheap as chips, and the plants definitely seem to prefer it!


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## Alan Fluxion (24 Jul 2014)

I think I know what I did wrong then... I had a bit of water in mine... ooops... didn't think it was literally DRY... I think I'll test something with jars....


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## Vinkenoog1977 (24 Jul 2014)

Just look at the water level in this tank; it needs to be just BELOW the top of the substrate in the LOWEST part of the tank. It's the humidity that's supposed to keep everything growing, and the substrate just needs to be moist.
Jars are a great way to experiment with this, I did the same, and I think I have it nailed now. The only experiment left to do, will be the ebb and flow flooding, which means for a week, you flood the tank completely and then directly after drain it again completely. This should enable the plants enough time to adjust to the "drowning", and should help keep the stresslevels, and therefor the dreaded melt, down to a minimum.


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## Alan Fluxion (24 Jul 2014)

I just set up a jar, took out some plants, took a bit of grass and moss, and put it on the jbl substrate, I'll be leaving for 2 weeks so asked a friend to come to water jut a little... placed it on the windo sil...   We'll try and see what happens


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## Vinkenoog1977 (24 Jul 2014)

NO!!! NO watering! It needs to be misted once a day, that should be enough! And just a little bit, to get the leaves nice and moist, but, when covered with cling film and in the window sill, humidity should be nice and high! So a little misting once a day, making sure no water accumulates on the substrate, and Bob's your uncle.

These are ideal btw for misting:


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## Alan Fluxion (24 Jul 2014)

By water I meant mist  it's just a bottle of water (didn't have anything to mist with and I leave tomorrow morning after work), the cap has a tiny hole and is just enough to mist... she just has to keep it alive, when I get back I'll take care of it like you said  I might even find time to get one of those misters you showed above. Cheers!


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## Vinkenoog1977 (24 Jul 2014)

Okay, just wanted to make sure! And they're only a couple of Pounds/ Euros in the Budget Shops.


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## Greenfinger2 (25 Jul 2014)

Alan Fluxion said:


> I just set up a jar, took out some plants, took a bit of grass and moss, and put it on the jbl substrate, I'll be leaving for 2 weeks so asked a friend to come to water jut a little... placed it on the windo sil...   We'll try and see what happens


 You should take it with you


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## Vinkenoog1977 (31 Jul 2014)

Weekly update... I moved a few of the ferns; the plantlets were removed from the front edges of the branches, as was the larger one below in the center; I felt they were ruining the view and the flow. They were moved to several spots, making the coverage a bit denser in the process. I also removed the Riccia; it was not adhering to the lava rock, so I cut my losses, slapped on some of the cut-up moss, and go from there. I got my Koralia Nano 900 in the mail today, so placed that in it's designated spot. I am a bit disappointed about the flexibility of the powerhead, it does not rotate the advertised 360, so I had to stick it on the side panel, instead of the back panel as intended, but it doesn't mess the view up too bad, so no harm, no faul.
The MC has continued to melt though. Have added some I had lying around, but I fear the worst; I'm pretty much convinced it's due to too much light, it doesn't seem to like too much light. Had noticed the same behaviour before, in Indiscipline, but was told that was ridiculous, but am seeing the same thing now! Also, in Red, the MC grows best away from the brightest light, so take that for what it's worth.

Anyway, just a couple of quick phone pics for now.














As you can see, everything else is still ticking along nicely; the hairgrass is spreading all over the place, the P. Helferi is starting to creep across some of the lavarock, most of the Javafern have attached already, the moss is starting to cover most of the wood, even though in some places, it has not even attached yet, but there's still plenty of time. P.Erectus and the Ludwigia are doing great, grown quite a bit, especially the P. Erectus, the Crypt-melt has stopped, and there are new leaves all over the place. Very happy all in all!


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## Vinkenoog1977 (31 Jul 2014)

FINALLY! I found the right, new name for this scape. The Crimson Projekct was always a temporary title, and I finally have the right one: Starless & Bible Black! Not sure why this excites me so much. LOL


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## Greenfinger2 (1 Aug 2014)

Hi Vinkenoog, Looking great When will you be flooding this one ? As to the name where did that come from


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## Vinkenoog1977 (1 Aug 2014)

Probably early September, depends on when all the moss has attached itself to the wood and rock.

And it's the title of an early King Crimson album.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (6 Aug 2014)

Time for some new pics... T - 25 days till flooding! 

Nearly all the moss has now attached and started growing, the javaferns are doing great, as is the P. Helferi and the E. Acicularis. The MC is still struggling, but I hope it will bounce back after flooding, since that should reduce the amount of light that reaches them (will be removing the reflectors for awhile as well after flooding, not related to the MC, just to build it up slowly; PP will go down to six hours then as well). The Crypts are looking great, and the Ludwigia and P. Erectus are showing some growth as well. Still very happy with the progress!


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## Greenfinger2 (6 Aug 2014)

Hi Vinkenoog  Stunning Dsm Before you flood.Trim back the hair grass to the substrate  It will grow back and send out lots of new runners  Thick and lush Cannot wait 25 days to go  
King Crimson  There music sounds like Pink Floyd Same era  I love Floyd which one is pink Thinking about it i put a brick in one of my works And it has not got a name Has now   Another brick in the wall ???


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## X3NiTH (6 Aug 2014)

This is looking brilliant!


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## Vinkenoog1977 (7 Aug 2014)

Thanks guys! And a good tip Roy, thanks, will cut it back once flooded!

And there is none better than King Crimson, without them, there would never have been a Pink Floyd or a Genesis (well, before they started making Disney-pop that is), best band in the world, ever.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (31 Aug 2014)

Decided to finally flood this one today,and somehow, I was a nervous wreck all day! Everything went as hoped, except for a few pieces of moss that came unstuck, and I had to move the powerhead to stop the whirlpool. I mowed the lawn, and trimmed the Ludwigia (which had reached the top of the tank!), and I had also added a few stems of Hygrophilla Pinnatifada.

Some quick phone pics.













Let me know what you guys think!


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## Greenfinger2 (1 Sep 2014)

Hi Vinkenoog, Wow Flooding day  All looking good  Hair grass could do with a trim


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## Vinkenoog1977 (1 Sep 2014)

Thanks Roy, and I already trimmed about 10 cms of the HG! Hands full of the stuff! LOL


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## tim (1 Sep 2014)

Looks great vinkenoog


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## Vinkenoog1977 (1 Sep 2014)

Thanks Tim!


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## Vinkenoog1977 (13 Sep 2014)

Right, time for an update, two weeks after flooding... To be honest, everything has been going quite well, the only negative is that I lost quite a lot of moss from the branches, due to it being blown off by the powerhead. No mind though, it will grow back, and it's more important to have good flow.
I've changed the CO2-delivery; from two small diffusor, to injection via a modified Juwel O2-Diffusor; I stuffed a cigarette filter into the CO-tube, and some fine filter foam into the attachment nozzle, and it's blowing mostly very fine bubbles throughout the tank, with the help of the powerhead of course. Also, instead of using a solenoid as planned (which would have cost me 60 Euros all in all), I'm now using a air pump at night, on a interval timer, coinciding with the powerhead (which runs from 14:00 to 23:00 non stop, and then with 15 minute intervals every 1,5 hours, starting at midnight, when the airpump is going); this creates some good surface movement, and blows quite a bit of air bubbles through the tank at night, and the fish seem to really appreciate this addition.
Yesterday, I reattached the reflectors to the lights, but will still be running a PP of 6 hours, adding 15minutes a week, till a maximum of 8 hours. 
As far as the plants are concerned, I'm mostly impressed with the H. Pinnatifada, which has gone completely mental, and is already showing some red! The Monte Carlo has recovered brilliantly, and is starting to carpet in between the hairgrass, which is spreading as well, but needs a trim next week. The P. Erectus is starting to peak out from the back, but will take some time to fill out the outer corners round the filter housing. I did expect the Ludwigia to have grown back, but it's been a slow restart after the initital trim, and at first, the new side shoots looked blood red, but they have gone back to green; I'm hoping that the added reflectors and improved CO2 will sort that out. The only thing I've added, is some Cyperus Helferi, around the powerhead, and the air diffusor below it. Ow, and some Limnobium Laevigatum has been added, hopefully the Gourami will appreciate it.
Current stock is:
5 Amano shrimp
~36 Red Cherry Shrimp
1 Ancistrus Dolichopterus
~36 Guppy (including fry)
5 Red Eye Tetra (hopefully they will take care of some of the guppy fry)
7 Ottocinclus Affinis
2 Dwarf Gourami

A couple of pics, will be getting a tripod this week, and hopefully a half-decent DSLR shortly.








Colouring of the H. Pinnatifada:


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## X3NiTH (13 Sep 2014)

That's looking really nice and lush.


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## Greenfinger2 (14 Sep 2014)

Hi Vinkenoog, Looking Fab The plants are growing nicely and look healthy too


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## Vinkenoog1977 (23 Oct 2014)

Right, high time for a well over due update.

To be honest, things have been ticking along nicely, without any real issues. I did change a few things around just a bit. I moved the powerhead around a little bit to improve flow, and to reduce the stress on the mosses, which were directly in the line of fire. I also added an air pump, to lessen the stress on the fishes, and get rid of the CO2 during lights off (CO2 is Bio DIY, and runs 24/7). I also changed the CO2-delivery a bit, and stuffed a cigarette filter in the nozzle of the IO2-diffusor, which gives me tiny, tiny bubbles, which go all around the tank, before they finally rise to the surface. This worked so well, that about an hour or two after I made this adjustment, I already saw the results in the behaviour of my fishes (they did not like the obviously better CO2-diffusion, so I had to dial it down a bit).
As far as plants go, I added some Cyperus Helferi in the corner to mask the airstone and the powerhead just a bit. Everything is growing pretty great; the Ludwigia is filling in nicely, and is going nice and red. The Hygrophila is going mad, spreading all throughout the wood, and is starting to show some good colours. The Cryptocoryne seem, to have lost their minds, and are growing like mad, and looking wonderful! I did a major trim on the carpet last weekend, as it had gotton about 8 cms thick/ high. The only plant that is not doing as well as I would like, is the Pogostemon Erectus; I chopped it off quite agressively last weekend, and am hoping this will spur on some decent growth.

And now, some (finally decent) pics. It just shows how much technology has progressed; all previous shots were with my 2002 Sony Cybershot, these were made with my friend's Samsung Galaxy SIII. Incredible.


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## Greenfinger2 (23 Oct 2014)

Hi Vinkenoog,
Looking Fab The plants look lush and healthy.Congratulations


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## Vinkenoog1977 (23 Oct 2014)

Thanks Roy!


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## allan angus (23 Oct 2014)

great results very lush


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## josepinto (23 Oct 2014)

looking really great.


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## GreenNeedle (23 Oct 2014)

Looking very lush.  I likey


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## Easystreet (23 Oct 2014)

Looks really good. I like the cigarette filter trick. nice idea.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (23 Oct 2014)

Thanks for all the kind words guys!


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## dw1305 (23 Oct 2014)

Hi all,
Looks really good now, the contrast between the leaf shapes of _Cyperus helferi, Hygrophila pinnafitida_ etc. is very effective.





Vinkenoog1977 said:


> And it's the title of an early King Crimson album.


 I knew the quote, but I wasn't a big prog. rock fan so it wasn't  via King Crimson.

It has just occurred to me that it is actually from the start of Dylan Thomas "Under Milkwood"





> _......It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black, the cobble streets silent and the hunched, courters'-and-rabbits' wood limping invisible down to the sloe black, slow, black, crow black, fishing boat bobbing sea.........._


cheers Darrel


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## Vinkenoog1977 (23 Oct 2014)

dw1305 said:


> I knew the quote, but I wasn't a big prog. rock fan so it wasn't  via King Crimson.
> 
> It has just occurred to me that it is actually from the start of Dylan Thomas "Under Milkwood"cheers Darrel



That's where they got their inspiration from!


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