# JB - 60P



## J-Bonham (6 Dec 2021)

Hi all! My name is John and i've been lurking here for a while now, I've learnt a ton from the site and have had heaps of inspiration from others journals so its about time I shared my own Journey.

The tank is about 18 months old now and Its had various changes to both planting and hardscape layout.

This has been a learning exercise really, I had my eyes set on a 90cm setup but wanted to try the hobby out with a smaller and substantially cheaper setup to start with and learn from. At least mistakes wouldn't be so costly and I could back out if the hobby wasn't for me after a while. Safe to say I'm still very much enjoying aquascaping!

Here is my long overdue journal entry of my ADA 60P...

Tank - ADA 60P 
Light - Twinstar 600S
Filter - Oase biomaster 350
Co2 - GLA Reg + 2 kg FE
Substrate - Ada base layer and Amazonia


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## J-Bonham (6 Dec 2021)

I'm a little foggy on the Initial Planting so please feel free to correct me if you spot something else

*Java fern
 - Microsorum Pteropus Mini Petite
 - Microsorum pteropus 'Trident'
*Various crypts
 -Wendtii
 - Walkeri
 -Willisii
*Various Buce
 - Kedagang
 -Wavey green
*Variouse Anubias 
 -Mini /  Petite
*Fissidens fontanus
*Alternanthera reineckii pink


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## Tankless (6 Dec 2021)

Looks really good 👍🏾


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## J-Bonham (6 Dec 2021)

Filling in nicely at around 8 weeks in.


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## J-Bonham (6 Dec 2021)

Scroll forward to month 3
Few new plants showing up by now

* Staurogyne reopens
*Helanthium tenellum 'Green'
*Hydrocotyle verticillata
*Nymphea lotus red
*Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis 53B


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## J-Bonham (14 Dec 2021)

Month 4

All plants are doing very well, the ferns are in dire need of a hard trim and i'm about ready to try some new background plants. 

Ferts at this time are Tropica Specialised at around 6ml a day
Light is 100% for 8 hours 
CO2 is on 2-1/2 hours before light on and off at light off


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## J-Bonham (14 Dec 2021)

53b planted all the way along the back no for an overdose of greens in the tank.

Thoroughly enjoying aquascaping by now and the tank is a dream to look after...
Maintenance is 1 or 2 weekly water changes @ roughly 1/3 as that's the size of my bucket i use. Algae at this point is pretty much non existent, little bit of GSA on the glass and clean that off with a little melamine sponge (Magic eraser). The only PITA is the hard water lines on the tank top as the water in Norfolk is pretty hard, I use some white vinegar on that same sponge to clear that up without too much trouble.


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## Wolf6 (15 Dec 2021)

Looks great! Somehow missed this up till now! The bare wood makes me think of a dead facehugger or insect on its back. Now that its grown in I dont see that anymore 😆


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## J-Bonham (15 Dec 2021)

Wolf6 said:


> Looks great! Somehow missed this up till now! The bare wood makes me think of a dead facehugger or insect on its back. Now that its grown in I dont see that anymore 😆


haha yeah you're right! Can't un see that now. The tank is so different now it feels an age since it was in the guise. Slowly working through pictures to try document this one.


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## J-Bonham (15 Dec 2021)

Updates, Roughly Nov 2020 I was a few weeks away from moving home so I needed a new cabinet as the current stand is a built in alcove unit.

I really enjoy carpentry and this stand was built using 18mm birch ply, rebated/ dado joints, finished with a clear poly varnish ( In hindsight I should have given it a few more layers as the front door is showing a little staining from water damage and that's pretty inevitable with a n aquarium!)






Time for some new plants! Trying out some Rotala H'ra in both rear corners. These were tropica in vitro plants.


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## J-Bonham (2 Jan 2022)

3 1/2 weeks and the Rotala H'ra has started filling in, no trim yet. 





By this point I've been slowly thinning out the java fern but clearly not enough as its properly taking over.





 I pulled some out in a moment of madness and ended up just ripping the lot out in the end. 





This prompted me for a change and i bought a couple new plants to have a play with. 
*Rotala H'ra was chopped right back and cuttings planted the full length of the background
*Micranthemum Micranthemoides was planted centre midground
*Soil added to foreground and Elatine Hydropiper planted full length (This proved to be a PITA with amano shrimp yanking it up pretty frequently)


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## JacksonL (3 Jan 2022)

Love all the different looks


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## J-Bonham (3 Jan 2022)

Moving on 



 Elatine Hydropiper carpet is coming on nicely. 
 Rotala H'ra is looking really healthy and filling out well, (at this point i was trying to decide what shape to give it with its first proper trim)
 I've added some Monte Carlo as an epiphyte just wedged in the rocks.
Micranthemum Micranthemoides is still in there just seems to be a real slow grower

I've also noticed new clumps of fissidens moss popping up all over the place.

CO2, ferts and maintenance have stayed the same throughout. I did add some complete substrate tabs from neo when i did the replant


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## J-Bonham (4 Jan 2022)

I missed the sand 

Rotala takeover, Macranthimum has made an appearance! and the Hydropiper has been chopped back hard to try keep it dense and low.


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## Tankless (4 Jan 2022)

How has the growth been for the monte carlo as an epiphyte?


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## Karmicnull (5 Jan 2022)

I'm with you on the sand. Works much better. Respect for your ability to take something beautiful and experiment ruthlessly with it!


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## J-Bonham (8 Jan 2022)

Tankless said:


> How has the growth been for the monte carlo as an epiphyte?


lots of melt to start, I wasn't even sure if any would make it... turns out it just took quite a while to adapt to its conditions. 



Karmicnull said:


> I'm with you on the sand. Works much better. Respect for your ability to take something beautiful and experiment ruthlessly with it!


Thanks, I keep in the front of my mind that this tank is for experimenting and learning the ropes. 

Its so interesting to see plants grow! especially from an in vitro pot as they look so different to the final specimen.


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## J-Bonham (8 Jan 2022)

Rotala takover. 








I let it go a bit far by this point and subsequently suffered with some BBA on the left hand side of the rotala... Mostly in the base of the stems, thinking where the C02 bubbles were getting directed. Nothing a through trim can't sort out.


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## J-Bonham (8 Jan 2022)

About a month later after a solid trim. 

Hydropiper has been replaced for sand again. Feeling good about that move, fun to show I can grow a carpet of sort. But I feel the scape benefits from an all sand front.

Also upgraded the inlet & outlet to some ADA items along with my all time favourite purchase to date, An ADA Vuppa 2. Note: since the beginning i have struggled with the intake / skimmer combo as getting the balance right was a royal pain and would only last a few days at best for me. As with plenty of people on here you either have it bobbing up/down or not doing anything at all. Vuppa is a dream.


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## J-Bonham (11 Jan 2022)

Shot of a wild type shrimp. This tank started out with a mixed bunch of cherry shrimp from an eBay seller. Some have retained the red/ orange but most have reverted back to a more wild brown type. I think they look great!

Photo taken with an iPhone 13.


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## Ibz10 (11 Jan 2022)

Looks so good


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## J-Bonham (14 Jan 2022)

The wood is back! 











Trying out some steel pipes from Aquavitro.
New plants in this re-scape are 

Cryptocoryne Balansae 
Ludwigia Palustris
Fissidens Miroshaki


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## J-Bonham (16 Jan 2022)

Little info on what’s in the cabinet.

Oase biomaster 350, bottom cage coarse foam, two middle trays have alphagrog in as media and the top tray is the standard orange oase fine foam. (Sometimes add a purigen bag but I can’t honestly say I’ve seen the difference it makes)

The pre filter has been drilled out to increase flow and I’m running fine (orange) pre filter sponges

Temp @ 23 degrees

CO2 is supplied by a 2.5kg extinguisher, GLA regulator and CO2 art inline diffuser. One bottle lasts roughly 8 months

Light and CO2 times are controlled by some smart plugs


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## J-Bonham (21 Jan 2022)

Ludwigia didn’t hang about!

Not a great look for now, waiting on the Cryptocoryne Balansae to grow in.


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## J-Bonham (24 Jan 2022)

At this point changed up the ember tetras for  10 pea puffers. I was expecting my shrimp population to decline but i've not seen any change yet.


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## Karmicnull (25 Jan 2022)

Much prefer it with the wood!  Makes it more 3D.  The Balansae drifts on the surface work too.


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## J-Bonham (26 Jan 2022)

More plant changes

Crypts in the front have been heavily thinned out. They never fail to return no matter how much you pull up! 

Background has been replaced with
*Sagittaria Subulata 
*Cyperus Helferi








Amano shrimp berried


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## J-Bonham (11 Feb 2022)

By this point the 90p replacement/ upgrade has been Scaped and I’m now getting the itch to make the move. 

However, the 60p continues to look great and is a breeze to maintain! 

*Cyperus Helferi outgrew the tank and I wasn’t really enjoying the look

*Sagittaria Subulata is a great plant, needs thinning out bi-weekly, but even that’s easy as the leaves just pull out whole from the base. 

Amano shrimp continue to throw soil onto the sand foreground. I’m pretty sure they get enjoyment from it.


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## Deano3 (11 Feb 2022)

Love this journey tank looks great 😍 what percentage is your light as the hra before rescape looked lovely red


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## J-Bonham (11 Feb 2022)

Deano3 said:


> Love this journey tank looks great 😍 what percentage is your light as the hra before rescape looked lovely red


The original setup was run at 100% for 8 hours.

It’s currently at 100% for 6 hours as the new tank location is near a large window so gets a substantial amount of light from that aswell. I had it on 100% for a while but suffered a fair amount of green spot algae on the glass. 

I also timed the light to come on early in the morning to more match the daylight hours through the window, I had previously had it on later so I could enjoy the tank lit up in the evening. ( I just turn the light on now when I want to enjoy it ) 

To answer your question with the Hra… it was 6 hours @ 100% topped up by sunlight.


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## Deano3 (12 Feb 2022)

Thanks @J-Bonham Brought out the hra lovely , tank looks great now and glad enjoying it, i miss the 60p size,  a lot more manageable, larger tanks bring more possibilities but also more work 😅


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## J-Bonham (23 Feb 2022)

Still ticking along…

I will be starting a journal for the 90p soon! 







I have some really nice colouring on some of the pea puffs. Something I’ve not noticed before… Looks like something out of the movie Tron, or The Abyss.


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## alnitak (23 Feb 2022)

Very impressive tank !  Congratulations ! 
Will follow the new one with extreme interrest


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## Wolf6 (23 Feb 2022)

Looks lovely! Very strange patterns on the puffer, almost looks like that parasite that tunnels right below the skin except this is not a parasite and not horrifying 😆


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## Conort2 (23 Feb 2022)

J-Bonham said:


> I have some really nice colouring on some of the pea puffs. Something I’ve not noticed before… Looks like something out of the movie Tron, or The Abyss.


I think it’s the males that develop these patterns, looks pretty good doesn’t it.


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## J-Bonham (3 Mar 2022)

Wolf6 said:


> Looks lovely! Very strange patterns on the puffer, almost looks like that parasite that tunnels right below the skin except this is not a parasite and not horrifying 😆


 It was a wtf moment when I spotted it. They are all pretty plump and lively so can’t be doing too badly.


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## J-Bonham (3 Mar 2022)




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## Marius_R (4 Mar 2022)

Been reading the entire topic and you`ve made me jealous. 

What inlet/outlet are you using? Are they ADA or something else?


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## J-Bonham (4 Mar 2022)

Marius_R said:


> Been reading the entire topic and you`ve made me jealous.
> 
> What inlet/outlet are you using? Are they ADA or something else?


Thanks, it’s been a great tank to learn the ropes on. 

The inlet/outlet pipes are made by Aquavitro, purchased from @Scaped Nature  in Norwich. 

I highly recommend them,  nice quality and I haven’t missed cleaning glassware that’s for sure! 🤣 I have modified the outlet a little because the jet was a little too intense and I wanted a bit more surface agitation. I’ll grab some pictures to show what I’ve done.


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## J-Bonham (4 Mar 2022)




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## Karmicnull (4 Mar 2022)

J-Bonham said:


> I have modified the outlet a little because the jet was a little too intense and I wanted a bit more surface agitation. I’ll grab some pictures to show what I’ve done.


Yes please - I've got metal lilys and the surface agitation is risible.


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## J-Bonham (5 Mar 2022)

Karmicnull said:


> Yes please - I've got metal lilys and the surface agitation is risible.


@Karmicnull some pipe detail for you bud

Aquavitro steel pipes

Good:
Look great
Very nicely made
Double suction cups allow you to tilt the outlet back if you want more surface agitation (overnight perhaps)
Easy to clean and seem to stay cleaner for longer
Obviously not going to break if you’re a bit rough when cleaning them

Bad:
Slightly more intrusive within the grand scheme of things
Jet type outlet can be quite intense
Not a great deal of surface agitation when setup normally

The fix:
For me atleast this is how I got round a couple of the issue…

To increase surface agitation I removed the top portion of the outlet end (beak) and manipulated the bottom section to aid water flowing upwards more. This work was done with a dremel, needle file and some water pump pliers.  Picture below








I still had plenty of flow, the surface agitation had increased to a nice ripple however I found a bit of a dead spot in the RHS underneath the inlet. Ditritus would gather there frequently.
To solve this one I drilled a small hole in the bottom of the outlet as a bypass to aim some of the water down to that area. It’s worked a treat and has completely solved the dead spot issue, there has been no negative effect on flow / surface agitation as far as I can tell.








Another finding is that pea puffers are very strong swimmers despite their fin size. I had wondered when I bought the jet pipe if it would be too much for them to handle. They don’t seem bothered in the slightest. I’m quite impressed actually, they make it look effortless. If you watch them close the fins are moving so fast you almost can’t see them move at all, much like a humming bird.


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## Karmicnull (6 Mar 2022)

Thanks for the detail. Nice solution.
I was reading up on puffers and they are used to high flow apparently. You'd never think it from the body shape!


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## J-Bonham (11 Mar 2022)

A bit of morning shimmer


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## JacksonL (12 Mar 2022)

I love pea puffers so much!


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## J-Bonham (31 Mar 2022)

I’ve let the plants run wild. 

Sand under replacement. ( I like to syphon it out and let the shrimps clean any grime down there. Free food and they seem to love it


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## J-Bonham (16 Apr 2022)

Currently under a little maintenance...

Sag grass had fully taken over, didn't seem to matter how much i thinned it out it was coming back thicker. It Killed the flow and i've suffered some BBA on a few of the slower growers.

I am very much ready to progress onto the 90p now! Just need to pull my finger out and build the cabinet.


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## J-Bonham (30 Apr 2022)

Couple water change shots


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## shangman (30 Apr 2022)

Somehow managed to completely miss this entire beautiful journal! Love how you routinely changed it up, every iteration looks fabulous. 😍😍😍 Can't wait to see the 90P


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## LondonDragon (1 May 2022)

Stunning, beautiful scape, congrats


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## J-Bonham (18 May 2022)

L. Aromatica mini on its way from @Roland 

I’m excited to try some new plants in prep for the 90p. 

The tank is still mostly trouble free, with the largely reduced plant mass after evicting the Sagittarius I am getting some dust algae on the glass each week. Very easy to clean off though so I’m not overly bothered. 

I’ve reduced fertilisation to 1ml a day of APT complete. Could have possibly switched over to APT zero as the plant load is minimal and the pea puffers are messy eaters. 

I’ll continue as is until the L.Aromatica is in.


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## J-Bonham (23 May 2022)

L.Aromatica mini is in. It’s such a luminous green in person. 

Can’t wait to see how this looks once established!


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## J-Bonham (29 May 2022)




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## J-Bonham (13 Jun 2022)

Not too much has changed with this, L.Aromatic is slowly filling out the rear, crypts have made a return, these have simply grown out again from roots deep in the substrate. 

Overall maintenance is still easy at 1 50% water change a week. 
Prefilter clean on the biomaster weekly and clean the glass. 

Roughly every 7/8 weeks I’ll strip the hoses off and do a through clean. 

Minor BBA on some of the slow grower in high flow areas and some appearing on the wood now once again in a high flow area. 
I’ve not really done anything to cease this as It doesn’t bother me. Most plants in nature sure aren't perfectly grown or in immaculate condition, so I see it as a more natural approach to my scape.


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## J-Bonham (27 Jun 2022)

L.Aromatica Mini doing its thing


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## J-Bonham (7 Aug 2022)

Not much to update on this one, 
L.Aromatica Mini has had a chop right back, crypts thinned out a bit and also cut back the mini Xmas moss as it was taking over up top.

Tank residents are now 5 Ottos, 20 horned clithon snails and a small army of shrimps.


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## J-Bonham (18 Aug 2022)

Karmicnull said:


> Yes please - I've got metal lilys and the surface agitation is risible.


Snapped this during water change to show the flow flow pattern since tinkering with the metal outlet. 

Works very well for me.


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## Karmicnull (20 Aug 2022)

Nice.  I ended up going with a supplementary All Ponds Solutions Skim 1 as recommended by @Simon Cole and sourcing an outflow attachment from Ali Express after @shangman pointed me in that direction.  Your solution is far more elegant though.


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## J-Bonham (2 Oct 2022)

Lil update on this one, Aromatica Mini in the rear has been replaced with staurogyne repens and it’s doing pretty well. Still a couple of stems of Aromatic as I may use it in the 90p

Maintenance is still a breeze. 

50% w/c a week
Prefilter clean 
Light on 6hr a day 100%
2ml APT Complete ferts a day


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## J-Bonham (17 Oct 2022)

Fissidens miroshaki has been multiplying under the Anubis.


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## J-Bonham (13 Nov 2022)

Back of the tank, staurogyne repens is looking super healthy! 






Front of the tank doesn't leave me much room to clean the glass these days, Anubias and buce have taken over...




pre water change shot.




All parameters remain the same bar ferts, gone up 1ml pd due to plant mass.

50% w/c a week
Prefilter clean 
Light on 6hr a day 100%
C02 2.5 hours on before light, off at lights out.
2ml APT Complete ferts a day


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## J-Bonham (20 Nov 2022)

Plants are looking healthier than ever. No real changes so I guessing the tank has found a sweet spot and everything is balancing nicely. 

Anubius looking thick and healthy 



Buce throwing flowers out everywhere 



Miroshaki still thriving under deep cover 



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## J-Bonham (25 Nov 2022)

Some morning bubbles


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## J-Bonham (6 Dec 2022)

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## aaron.c (7 Dec 2022)

That tank and stand is stunning. I need to build a stand for my ADA 60p.

I might have to contract you to build a stand for me?


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## J-Bonham (11 Dec 2022)

aaron.c said:


> That tank and stand is stunning. I need to build a stand for my ADA 60p.
> 
> I might have to contract you to build a stand for me?


I would be up for this. Dropped you a PM


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## J-Bonham (11 Dec 2022)

Some top down shots to show plant density on this one now... 

Staurogyne Repens has reached around 10cm high now so i'm guessing this is about its limit?


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