# Flintstones



## J@mes (23 May 2018)

Ok, I admit, I don’t have an aquarium. Yet. 

The plan is a 60cm planted tank. It’s still early stages and there’s plenty to consider. As mentioned in my 1st thread I’m a total beginner.

I’ve accumulated a couple of bags of different size of grain tropica soil, some water treatment called easy-life easy start, the aquascaper fertiliser, Oase biomaster filter with heater & a Twinstar 600s.

At the moment I’m figuring out what is required to treat the water & how to do water changes, being in a ground floor flat and not having a lot of storage presents some challenges. I’ve read about dechlorinating tap water using products and about leaving the water to dechlorinate by itself, which sounds ideal. I was wondering if anyone uses a water butt & rain water, got to be an option?

My first idea (which I’ve sidelined) was to use local dirt/ silt, hardscape and flora & fauna. I’ve built a good collection of medium size flint stones and suchlike. I live a stones throw from a small tributary to the Thames called The Wey. It’s a good source of inspiration and potentially materials. I am also fond of the Basingstoke Canal, having worked a few seasons PT as a lock keeper, there’s a lovely chalk stream tributary in Odiham near the castle.

All that sounds great but for a total novice I figured I’d play safe and make my 1st time simpler & do it by numbers. Next purchase will be the tank & stand, either an ADA 60p which is probably put on a kitchen wall unit at floor level or the evolution aqua 600 aquascaper & their stand.


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## dw1305 (24 May 2018)

Hi all, 





J@mes said:


> I was wondering if anyone uses a water butt & rain water, got to be an option?


I do, and have done since the 1970's without any problem. Have a look at <"If its yellow...">. 





J@mes said:


> I’ve built a good collection of medium size flint stones and suchlike. I live a stones throw from a small tributary to the Thames called The Wey.


I'd definitely use them.

cheers Darrel


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## J@mes (8 Aug 2018)

Some progress to this, got the equipment and started putting the hardscape together. Still going to use local flint.


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## Marc Davis (8 Aug 2018)

Lovely looking tank. Very jealous.


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## J@mes (8 Aug 2018)

Thanks @Marc Davis I’ve been staring at it for over a month now working out how to do it justice. It’s good to see something other than dust in there. I’m planning on filling it in September, after some time away.


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## Marc Davis (8 Aug 2018)

J@mes said:


> Thanks @Marc Davis I’ve been staring at it for over a month now working out how to do it justice. It’s good to see something other than dust in there. I’m planning on filling it in September, after some time away.


Dont worry about making it perfect. If you are new to scaping, it wont be.

I've rescaped my discus tank about 10 times in a year. Im only now happy with the set up and there are still things id like to change.

Just like anything, it takes lots of practice.


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## J@mes (5 Sep 2018)

Little bit of progress update, had to move the modem to free up a socket, got some soil & hardscape in and arranged, some sand & gravel to add then the inevitable tinkering to do. Then plant shopping


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## FJK_12 (5 Sep 2018)

Really loving the brown colours in the hardscape. I would steer away from the uniform look of those perimeter stones if it were me though -  perhaps arrange them in more of a curve than a 90 degree angle.  Looking forward to progress on this!


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## J@mes (5 Sep 2018)

FJK_12 said:


> Really loving the brown colours in the hardscape. I would steer away from the uniform look of those perimeter stones if it were me though -  perhaps arrange them in more of a curve than a 90 degree angle.  Looking forward to progress on this!



Thanks! I’m hoping the browns will set off the plants. I hear you about the unnatural look of the angle, it’ll get more organic looking with some fettling.


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## J@mes (6 Sep 2018)

More work on the tank, sand,gravel & smaller flints added. Loving the hobby. This is my sofa view:


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## tam (6 Sep 2018)

Looking good!


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## foxfish (7 Sep 2018)

Are you going to try a dry start?


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy (7 Sep 2018)

Nice! 

I wouldn't mind a closeup of the pebbles with the gravel too?

What plants are you planning on using?


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## Nubias (7 Sep 2018)

Looking good


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## J@mes (7 Sep 2018)

Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> Nice!
> 
> I wouldn't mind a closeup of the pebbles with the gravel too?
> 
> What plants are you planning on using?



Always happy to oblige with more photos! 

Still deciding on the plants, any suggestions welcome.





















I really hope it doesn’t turn to a pile of mush when the water goes in!


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy (7 Sep 2018)

It shouldn't do... I might suggest though that you keep the peddles close to the stone then leave more bare sand near tank glass... I'll try and get a piccy from my tank tonight to show what I mean.


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## J@mes (7 Sep 2018)

foxfish said:


> Are you going to try a dry start?



That sounds a bit ambitious for a newb! I had just planned on copying all those excellent GF YouTube examples. I even have a vintage colander, but it’s white & mostly used to drain spaghetti


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## foxfish (7 Sep 2018)

Dry starts are really good fun and very effective, certainly nothing complicated.


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## J@mes (18 Sep 2018)

Planted & filled today, my kids love it!




About 5% of the tropica soil floated. I think I need more plants & I really should’ve known frogbit and a skimmer don’t mix. All said and done I’m loving the hobby.


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## tam (18 Sep 2018)

Looks great! Nice planting  I found a bit of floating tropica too (just used it for the first time) - I think it just needs to water log and it will sink back down. You can use a piece of clear airline formed into a circle to make a safe zone for floaters. If you need to, anchor it with a bit of thread to any handy bit of equipment. 

You could split the hairgrass into smaller sections and it will cover more area. You'll be surprised how fast it all grows in though!


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## J@mes (18 Sep 2018)

Thanks @tam  I might have a go at the floater airline thing, got some spare co2 line. There’s a few more plants to go in, when they arrive. 

I altered the hardscape slightly by adding a large Flint back left. I don’t know what might be residing on these rocks, could be some nasty stuff from the real world! 

Using the 3 fert dennerle dosator system as it seems a good one although there’s a bit more stuff in the tank.

Got the lights on 6 hours a day with the co2 on 3 hours prior & off an hour sooner.

The sand at the front needs sorting out, it’s mixed up with soil, should be easy enough to fix on the 1st water change.


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy (19 Sep 2018)

If you find you get substrate appearing in the sand again, try wedding moss in any gaps between the rocks it is appearing through


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## J@mes (21 Sep 2018)

Thanks for the tip Matt, any particular moss? Would chunks of the moss ball work?

Day 3

90% water change to enable planting of: Marsilea Hirsuta, Pogostemon Stellatus, Persicaria ‘Sao Paulo’ & Rotala Rotundifolia ‘Ceylon’

Dropped the light in the tank before draining, by accident, no harm done. 

I have a glass lid which has kept out a soft toy that got thrown in the general direction of the tank by a 2 year old. Would like to have it off permanently but that’s not going to happen any time soon.


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## Siege (21 Sep 2018)

Filter floss works well to plug gaps.

Also the Dennerle planta Hunter range works well to stack up in gaps. Will also give a natural look.

You could use both methods, work well combined.

Tanks looks good!  

Ps. I’ve dunked the same E light of daves twice and one of my S lights twice also. No problem. Just wiped it off, whilst crossing my fingers!

I heard of a shop worker recently dunking a £5,000 Leddy LED light in and it was dead. Bet he wasn’t popular!


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## J@mes (21 Sep 2018)

Full plant list:

Cryptocoryne (Sri Lanka)
- willisii 
- walkeri 
- wendtii ‘brown’
- Nevelli 
- Becketti 

Pogostemon stellatus (Cultivar)
Pogostemon quadrifolius (India, Thailand, Indonesia)
Rotala rotundifolia (Sri Lanka)
Ceratopteris thalictrodes (China)
Juncus repens (North America)

Anubias nana ‘Pangolino’ (Cultivar)
Bucephalandra ‘Lamandau Mini Red’ (Asia)

Eleocharis aciularis (Cosmopolitan)
Marsilea hirsuta (Australia)

Limnobium laevigatum (Central & South America)

Cladophora aegagropila (Cosmopolitan)
Taxiphyllum (Asia)

A really eclectic mix, Hopefully they all survive & thrive.


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy (22 Sep 2018)

No particular moss required though I have used java moss with great success. Moss balls are not as successful for me though I've not cut them into bits as you suggest (though I know this can be done). I think in their rounds form they just popped out again or bits got around them...


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## alto (23 Sep 2018)

J@mes said:


> About 5% of the tropica soil floated.


I’ve had a few floaters but nothing like even 1%
BUT
- I use the Powder re personal preference, and as I like to rescape or adjust plants etc at intervals, there’s no worry over layering again
It’s more economic to begin with the larger sized AS, then top with the ~2cm Powder (& I did this once  )-  this is typical of ADA methodology (done with ADA Soil of course ) & makes sense for deeper slopes as aeration will be more effective with the larger, less uniform, less tightly packed particles
- I prefer to plant in damp soil so spray thoroughly
- I often set up my hardscape, spray rock etc to see how everything will look underwater under lights, so again have that downward gravity movement of water dampening soil, the plant the next day
Note that it’s very easy with 1-2-Grow plants to take a break between - just spray thoroughly, then cover loosely with paper towel (again lightly sprayed)  OR cover tank with cling film as if doing a dry start

If Tropica soil bags have been stored dry for extended period, the soil can certainly be “drier” & more likely to float, if I notice this when opening a bag, I just spray well etc, then give it a day to absorb the water

Tank looks grand and plant collection sounds a good mix 

For moss jammed between stones I’d use the moss balls - trim rarely if ever - just make sure it’s really snug as water flow + shrimp interest are surprisingly strong forces 
Amano type shrimp are Champion Soil Rollers (another reason I prefer the smaller alternates)


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## alto (23 Sep 2018)

Siege said:


> I heard of a shop worker recently dunking a £5,000 Leddy LED light in and it was dead. Bet he wasn’t popular!


I’ve heard of Lupyone LED being accidentally dumped without injury to person or light unit 
This is really what that waterproof rating is supposed to guarantee 

Of course my experience with falling into water T5 units has been rather too tingly ... both worked again though one did blow the power breaker (thankfully)


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## alto (23 Sep 2018)

J@mes said:


> ould like to have it off permanently but that’s not going to happen any time soon.


Just get one of those (mosquito) net affairs to drape over the tank & vicinity


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## J@mes (23 Sep 2018)

Maybe I was exaggerating with 5% could’ve been 1% I was tense it was a tense moment... 

Lucky escape # 2 this evening. As I was maintaining the tank I propped the glass lid up (with a fork, I know I know) turned round and bang! Fork on the floor glass lid 1” into the tank, luckily still in 1 piece, the skimmer had cushioned its fall & it stayed on the the back clips. Made me jump though! A mosquito net would be a safer option for a clutz like me 

After an evening of tinkering I feel I should post a photo. I only have a camera on my phone & a dslr is now on the shopping list.


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## J@mes (26 Sep 2018)

More newb mistakes to add to the ‘don’t do it like this’ list. 

Never thought to check the tank level with a spirit. Now it’s full (I cba with the glass lid) & the water level shows it up. I’m talking 4mm difference front to back & 2 mm side to side, when full to the brim it’s more noticeable. These days most cabinets have adjustable legs or feet but this one is like a MFI kitchen unit from the 80’s with panels to the floor, not that I can blame the cabinet!

Day 7 

11 Amano shrimp added to the tank. 50% water change, accidentally pulled the hose off the filter outlet whilst moving the filter & blind panic ensues = 15+/- litres of aquarium water on the floor before getting things under control. Note to self - don’t rely on the fixings supplied (or turn the power off 1st)! Jubilee clips now secure inlet/ outlet hoses to filter. 

Day 8 

Gassed the shrimp. Due to having a day off prior where I had been ‘adjusting’ the needle valve. Came home from work to find all but 1 of them in death rolls. 1 emergency water change later + 3 hours of mechanical aeration it looks like a narrow escape from the proverbial jaws for all the shrimp. 

In other news there’s crypt melt, in vitro plants (from overseas) that were probably doomed from the start and a 2nd dunking of the LED light. The good news is the tank still looks good & I haven’t given up.

My tap water:




I plugged the heater back in as the temp. has dropped 2 degrees in the last 2 days, currently 20.6 deg c.


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## alto (26 Sep 2018)

I’d check in with EA in regards the un-level situations ... in a braced tank or rimmed tank, these differences would be irrelevant as long as there’s no diagonal twist 

 on the filter situation - which filter - I’ve never had hoses slip on my Eheims 
(my Fluval canister experience was leaky boat syndrome ... after every clean, they’d slowly leak for the next couple days ... & sometimes _just because_...  )

Lucky the shrimp recovered - just add some surface agitation to limit this possibility OR add in a Twinstar Nano 

Hmmmmm .... exactly how are you managing to bathe your LED light so efficiently 

Crypt melt - not unexpected, I’m surprised when they don’t melt (though some species do seem much more melt resistant) - just trim the leafs & syphon any gunky (it’s definitely _contagious_ between crypts)

Which in vitro plants? 
Unless there’s an issue during shipping (usually too hot) most in vitro travel extremely well


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## J@mes (27 Sep 2018)

alto said:


> I’d check in with EA in regards the un-level situations ... in a braced tank or rimmed tank, these differences would be irrelevant as long as there’s no diagonal twist



Good idea, I did consider if it would affect the pressure on the joins & cause a failure. It’s on a solid wood parké style floor with a concrete subfloor so 100l on the floor would likely destroy it! (Goes to check insurance) if I had levelled the cabinet using shims or similar I suppose that might also put additional strain on it. 



alto said:


> on the filter situation - which filter - I’ve never had hoses slip on my Eheims
> (my Fluval canister experience was leaky boat syndrome ... after every clean, they’d slowly leak for the next couple days ... & sometimes _just because_...  )







It’s the Oase Biomaster 600, there are some blue screw down collars to secure the pipes but they don’t really do the job, the pipes definitely aren’t coming off now!



alto said:


> Lucky the shrimp recovered - just add some surface agitation to limit this possibility OR add in a Twinstar Nano



So there’s a twinstar and a Söchting Oxydator in there already but is it worth adding an air stone, would it oxygenate the water or be counterproductive? I can keep raising the lily pipe at night I suppose.



alto said:


> Hmmmmm .... exactly how are you managing to bathe your LED light so efficiently
> 
> Crypt melt - not unexpected, I’m surprised when they don’t melt (though some species do seem much more melt resistant) - just trim the leafs & syphon any gunky (it’s definitely _contagious_ between crypts)
> 
> ...



Regards the light bath -it’s a gift I have for being clumsy! I like the light resting on the tank rather than a fixed/ suspended type because the effect changes if it moves a little the tank looks completely different.

In retrospect I wouldn’t go for the crypts, I’d have brighter green bushier plants like Myriophyllum Guyana hydrocotyle tripartita & Staurogyne Repens & if they don’t recover then that’s what I’ll do. 

They way they’re planted means 70% of them are touching. Only the Nevillii is unaffected.

The in vitro plant that arrived 1/2 dead was São Paulo & I’ve now finished the job. It was mush within a day. It came from Germany but the Ceylon pink and four leaf star plants that travelled with it were/are fine. I’m not going to bother the supplier, they’ve been amazing with numerous other things.


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## Siege (27 Sep 2018)

Hi James. Really enjoying your log. 

All events similar to my past! Yes good idea about the jubilee clips on the oase filter. I was having that same conversation last week. I’m going to do add jubilee clips to mine (tube has come off 2 times now). I think the lock/unlock twisting action of the filter outlet undoes or loosens the tubes? 

Re plants, I’d suggest getting them from the UK. Far less travel time and I assume after currency exchange charge they are cheaper, or not much in it?


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## tam (27 Sep 2018)

Don't give up on the crypts yet, once they bounce back they are easier to look after than a lot of other plants and do look good. Give it a few weeks and look back at your photos and you'll be amazed at the progress


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## J@mes (3 Oct 2018)

Day 15

A few days ago I upped the light output from 46% to 66% and removed the light screen from day to day routine. Sadly I ended up losing 5 shrimp from my co2 mistake. Their bodies and the melted crypts increased the decaying material & despite fishing most of it out bba materialised. I’ve done several water changes & scrubbed the hardscape where possible & it seems under control. I need some smaller dia. Hose to do my wc as 16mm is just to rapid to concentrate on removing all the debris.


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## tam (3 Oct 2018)

It's looking very good for two weeks in  I use airline on my smallest tank - but you might want something in between the two. You can always start small and then swap to a bigger syphon once you've finished with the vacuming.


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## Daveslaney (4 Oct 2018)

Looks really nice. You could try some 12mm pipe to syphon and use your thumb over the end near the bucket as you move the pipe to the different areas you want to clean.


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## J@mes (4 Oct 2018)

Trying out some new ambient lighting, makes a great silhouette, using the newly spare timer means it’ll be on as a kind of nightlight & when the grow light is off. 

It’s fun to watch even as a shadow, the frogbits doing a waltz round & the occasional shrimp spring across the scene. The gas off the twinstar looks like smoke. Also noticed how badly plastered my wall is, adds to the look!


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## goldscapes (4 Oct 2018)

J@mes said:


> Also noticed how badly plastered my wall is, adds to the look!



A piece of tracing paper on the back of the tank might “smooth” that plaster out and give you a nice frosted look, haven’t tried it myself yet though...


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## J@mes (4 Oct 2018)

Nice tip but I’ve just removed a background & I’m loving the seethroughness.


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## alto (5 Oct 2018)

You can also put the paper etc on the wall 
- if you want smooth out the plaster


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## J@mes (5 Oct 2018)

Good point @allto I’ve seen bloskas (?) puts black paper behind & the colour photography looks superb. Looking at the tank like this shows up everything on the back side, all the algae I missed in my weekly maintenance.


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## J@mes (9 Oct 2018)

day 21

Earlier this week I addded Tropica root tabs & a 1-2 Grow! Pot of Salvinia that’s now circling with the frogbit. 

Today 11 red bee shrimps arrived & I acclimated them using the drip method, learned something new as last time I floated the bag & spooned water in gradually. Also added some catappa bark & a Dennerle Java fern which I’ve glued to a flint. The stripy shrimp are quite a contrast to the Yamato, just a few millimetres in length & much more active whilst exploring their new environment. 

Some bits of the São Paulo which I thought was DOA has been revived by placing the best bits on soaked tissue in jam jars on the window sill & has now been transferred to a little pot immersed in the tank. There are a couple of shoots showing progress in the soil too.


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## J@mes (16 Oct 2018)

1 month

I'm having some algae issues. Not sure which type it is. It seems to like the carpeting plants & there's some stringy slime on the rocks and wood. So I've upped the co2 a little and added another java fern and am dosing liquid carbon. The black spots that were spreading across the leaves of the stem plants have gone and the rotala is growing at a good rate. There's loads of Alder along the river by me so I've put some cones in which the shrimp like. I've managed to dunk the light several times (again) & a ball got thrown in which made quite a splash, luckily it didn't do any worse. I really don't want to put the lid back on, the aquarium is so much more enjoyable without it.


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## Edvet (16 Oct 2018)

Cant enlarge pics


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## J@mes (16 Oct 2018)

Edvet said:


> Cant enlarge pics



I used the forum upload but I’ll need to find a different way... sorry! I’ll stick to Tapatalk


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## J@mes (16 Oct 2018)

Is 1 month in a bit early to add some otto’s? I haven’t tested the water for anything other than TDS and the temperature (plus the drop checker)


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## Harry H (16 Oct 2018)

Tank is filling up nicely!


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## tam (16 Oct 2018)

It's normal for new wood to get slimely goo, it will go in time and not cause any issues. I think you'd be okay with Otos now if your shrimp are fine, but I would turn your CO2 down when you put them in and then gradually turn it up again so they can get used to it.


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## J@mes (16 Oct 2018)

Thanks for that @tam I got 5 acclimating now, the 6th died in transit. Shop said it could’ve been a knock whilst being netted.


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## CooKieS (17 Oct 2018)

J@mes said:


> Thanks for that @tam I got 5 acclimating now, the 6th died in transit. Shop said it could’ve been a knock whilst being netted.



Otos are awesome and Hardy fishes once acclimated, good luck!

Your water level is very high btw!

Good job on the scape


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## J@mes (18 Oct 2018)

Thanks @CooKieS 

I levelled up the tank in the middle of a 80% water change (before the Otos) and filled it to the brim to check it out.

The little fish have settled in & are cleaning the glass for me!





The shrimp love the catappa logs, excuse the poor photo.


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## J@mes (30 Oct 2018)

6 weeks

Lots going on in the last 2 weeks. I added 10 Crystal Red Bee shrimp, unfortunately one didn’t make it & was hauled out the next day. The rest settled in very quickly. 





The floating plants took over the surface & the flow was sweeping them under, they piled up in a corner. I had to throw half them out, less than 2 weeks later & they’d covered most the surface again.

There’s a SSSI near me, The Basingstoke Canal, where I collected some autumn leaves. Oak, beech and alder. All the inhabitants of the tank seem to enjoy them.

I’ve been visiting a few local shops eyeing the stock. Endler Guppies are great little fish, colourful, active and small enough for my 2’ tank. I now have 6 males. Sadly 1 fellas acrobatics (and my preference for brimming the tank) meant he met his demise on the floor one night. The others are always very active and constantly playing in the flow at the front of the tank. 





The Amano shrimp make sure to throw loads of soil over the decor sand every time I tidy it up. I upped the temperature from 22 to 24 degrees and there’s a noticeable increase in their activity. I’m considering swapping the light sand for dark and stopping playing their game. A group of 10 black Crystal Bee shrimp have joined the community. The red ones have already gotten quite fat & make the black ones look tiny.





Also added an air pump, running at night oxygenating the water, 1st night it was positioned directly under the dropchecker & it turned blue for the 1st time since installation.

My Pogostemon quadrifolius has grown in really nicely. The Water sprite however has not, it condition looks bad & as much as I don’t want to I think I’ll have to cut it back.









I’ve recently added 6 Celestial Pearl Danios which seem good tank mates for the guppies, size and colour are similar but the danios mostly prefer the low flow area, they circle the foliage, interact with each other and the guppies playfully darting about or swooping here & there.









I’ve noticed some interesting behaviour where one of the Danios sort of vibrates in front of another, usually when they’re hidden away amongst the planting.

The Guppy in the photo below was found in a row of tanks in the LFS with the Siamese fighting fish, very silly but also a real character. 





There’s a load of tiny snails that have come from somewhere & I’ve added a pair of red nerite snails.





The CO2 out the aquario diffuser makes the water cloudy with bubbles (as seen in some of these photos) which makes looking at the tank rubbish so I invested in an inline diffuser which is so much better, particularly as I view the tank from the corner where the hose and aquario were. To improve flow I reduced the filter media and added some Purigen.





My other concern is feeding the Otos, there just isn’t enough algae & they don’t explore the tank, missing out on the back which is covered in the stuff. I tried vegges in the tank without success (as far as I can tell nothing touches them) so I’m going to try making up an agar & spirulina feed which I saw on UKAPS hopefully they’ll go for that.


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## tam (30 Oct 2018)

It's really coming on - well done! The otos will enjoy the decomposing autumn leaves as well. Usually take a week for them to reach to the consistency they like (build up some biofilm). How long are you leaving the veggies in? Again, they prefer them after they've had a day or so to soften.


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## J@mes (30 Oct 2018)

tam said:


> It's really coming on - well done! The otos will enjoy the decomposing autumn leaves as well. Usually take a week for them to reach to the consistency they like (build up some biofilm). How long are you leaving the veggies in? Again, they prefer them after they've had a day or so to soften.



Hi Tam, thank you! You’re right, the otos are eating on the leaves & resting amongst them, they’ve been in over a week. I’ve just left the veg in overnight so I’ll try longer, thanks for the tip.


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## J@mes (6 Nov 2018)

7 weeks 

Enjoying my planted aquarium very much, 1st trim of a stem plant this week. Chopped the Pogostemon in half and replanted the cuttings. Since I binned 90% of the frogbit and salvinia it had grown across the waters  surface & top leaves had gone a lovely shade of crimson. Hopefully the Rotala will fill in and colour up. I decided to remove the Water Sprite as most of it was patchy brown, it had grown some roots but it got squeezed out by other faster growing plants.

I bought 6 more Celestial Pearl Danios (12 total) but one turned out to be a Glowlight. I decided to add 3 more to keep it company.

2 Guppies died, 1 jumped out & the 2nd got stuck in the inlet. LFS replaced them when I mentioned it whilst buying the Glowlights.


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## J@mes (11 Dec 2018)

12 weeks





Feels like the tanks been running longer. Every 2nd week I swap the glassware over & change some of the sand & gravel. I broke the drop checker whilst cleaning it, the CO2 setup is fine so I’m not in a hurry to replace it. The air stone has been turned off (so noisy!) twinstar nano is back in & I’ve positioned it near the inlet/outlet for the benefit of the filter bacteria & tank circulation. 

No idea where they came from but snails have bred prolifically & they’re the quickest snails I’ve ever seen. They get stuck in the inlet, on the floating plants & everywhere possible. They don’t appear to be devastating the flora so that’s something I suppose.

As I have mentioned before there was a random fish in with half a dozen celestial pearl danios I bought. I (my other half) thought it was a glowlight, so we got 3 but I realised it is microrasbora erythromicron. If I’d got it right 1st time I would have more of them as they’re much better tank mates than the glowlights which are aggressive fish compared to the endlers, Danios & otos 





Last week I hacked the pogostemon right back, it’s a real weed. Still suffering the BBA but it’s not rampant. Some of the little stripy shrimp are berried but even if they are successful I doubt anything will survive the fish which are relentless in their pursuit of food.


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## dw1305 (11 Dec 2018)

Hi all,





J@mes said:


> & change some of the sand & gravel


?

cheers Darrel


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## J@mes (11 Dec 2018)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,?
> 
> cheers Darrel



I siphon it all, poop, cuttings, algae sand and gravel at the same time & replace with new. The gravel & sand come in 20kg bags for £5 each from Homebase. Shout out to @Marc Davis for that tip


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## alto (11 Dec 2018)

Awesome update - I’d missed the last update so it felt like a lot has been happening  
Tank is looking grand 

For the back wall, you might try giving it a scrape to remove existing algae - which is apparently not to the Otos’ refined tastes (or they’re saving for a rainy day) - new “growth” may be more tempting 


Return the glowlights - they are too agressive for the CPDs and do stress them, also can be difficult to get enough food to the slower eating CPDs without overfeeding 

I’d go on a snail hunt, imagine them all laying 20-40 eggs and you see the tank takeover coming  they do compete with the Otos for available food


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## J@mes (7 Jan 2019)

16 weeks

The pest snails took a beating today! They were winning until now. Their eggs are on all the hardscape & I now realise they arrived on the bottom of a bit of driftwood with a fern attached. Such a nuisance! 

In other news the crystal bee shrimp had babies. I’ve seen 2 ... there could be more. Little tiny red and white shrimp, adorable. 

I am back to using the air pump along with a twinstar. The maintenance schedule has stretched out to a full clean fortnightly. It’s a busy time of year for me.


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## J@mes (27 Jan 2019)

19 weeks 

Come a long way since day 1! The shrimp are loving it, almost as much as the snails. Even the kids love it.



Some of the creatures have names now, like umbrella the oto. My twinstar seems to have given up and just flashed a blue light without doing anything. Probably the biggest single waste of money so far in the hobby...

The latest brood of shrimp has produced some nearly all black & all white ones.


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## Harry H (27 Jan 2019)

Your tank is maturing very nicely James, looking great. 

Did you get another twinstar light?


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## J@mes (27 Jan 2019)

Harry H said:


> Your tank is maturing very nicely James, looking great.
> 
> Did you get another twinstar light?



Thank you Harry 

Another one? No it’s the same one, it’s still going even though it’s been in the water a dozen times


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## Harry H (27 Jan 2019)

J@mes said:


> it’s still going even though it’s been in the water a dozen times


You cannot complain much then! 

I am seriously considering switching to a twinstar 600 from my Kessil a160, I got the kessil with the tank, and plants are growing well, very little algae, and I dont want to fiddle with lighting, but man, the stupid fan on the Kessil is so noisy...


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## Cheltster (28 Jan 2019)

J@mes said:


> I siphon it all, poop, cuttings, algae sand and gravel at the same time & replace with new. The gravel & sand come in 20kg bags for £5 each from Homebase. Shout out to @Marc Davis for that tip



Are they the RHS alpine gravel and or Potting gravel bags?


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## J@mes (25 May 2019)

1 year anniversary since the start of the thread!  

The tank is struggling with algae lately, I’ve come to view it as more natural to have a dusting of green on the wood & stone. The Otos and other inhabitants don’t mind.

There’s been some highs and lows, I’ll spare you the details but today I was up early and the pale morning sun caught a corner of the tank for a couple of minutes, amazing.





If I manage to get some good photos after the water change I’ll add more.

Thanks to UKAPS and thanks for all the good advice from the great people who frequent this forum.


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## dw1305 (25 May 2019)

Hi all, 





J@mes said:


> I was up early and the pale morning sun caught a corner of the tank for a couple of minutes, amazing.


Brilliant, you get a great prism effect from the tank corner. I know it's simple physics, but I still find "rainbows" magical.

cheers Darrel


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## Harry H (11 Jul 2019)

Any updates on the progress James?


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## J@mes (28 Jul 2019)

Harry H said:


> Any updates on the progress James?



Hi Harry. Yes, thanks for asking. Here’s the situation;

All the flint has disappeared under a layer of algae! 

The plants I’ve enjoyed most are the frogbit and buce. The plants I’ve enjoyed least are the grass and the ceylon. 

The cleaning routine is fairly relaxed & water changes are 50% every 2 weeks. The dennerle ferts via the dosator are still in use & the CO2 is too. The twinstar Ozone device gets used occasionally but it’s got some yellow deposits between the meshes that I can’t remove.

The shrimp have bred numerous times & there’s now a blue & black one that might be from the 3rd or 4th generation. 





Just heavily trimmed the stems and changed the water. The buce is flowering again & when plucking a few leaves off the fern I realised there’s more buce inside/ under the fern in really low light & doing great there. 

Coping fine with BBA and the other forms of algae. It’s a live & let live arrangement that we’ve come to.





I need to buy some more Prime and some other equipment. My dennerle sponge is looking past best & a net would be handy.













Thanks for looking.


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## Tankless (14 Feb 2020)

Did you try the dosator with any other branded ferts?


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## J@mes (3 Nov 2021)

Hi folks, it’s been a while! This tank is still going. It’s changed over the years and I’m now of a mind to redo the whole thing. I’ll follow up with more detail before I rescape it.


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