# Sea of Ferns - Tank Closed



## Gill (21 Nov 2017)

Evening All,
Apologies for not posting for a few months. Have not had a good run of late. And have Moved twice since February. And Have now stopped working due to my Health.
I am not letting this get me down, so As I moved into my Brand Spanking New 3bed detached house on friday afternoon. I was itching to get the tank out of Storage and get it setup.
Started setting it up on saturday Night.
So its the EA600 with Anthracite Grey Matt Stand.
Sadly there is a massive scratch along the left hand corner of the stand. Hoping to find a scratch filler in this color. Scratch must have occured when it was being transported from storage.

Tank: EA Aquascaper 600 is in the Dining Room.
Lighting: Chihiro A601 White & Chihiro A601 RGB on Chihiro Acrylic Double unit stand.
Filter: Jebao 1200LPH with Big JBL Sponge prefilter (glued onto the Inlet)
Substrate: Dennerle Yukon 5mm & River 5mm x1 box of each - Really Like how the two mixed look.
Hardscape: Dried Sea Ferns x6 ranging from 10 to 40 cm width/height, with some of the larger peices above the water. With Moss attached and shredded Marimo Moss. Also Lava Rocks covered in Moss.
Planting: Moss Only with red root floating plants.
Ferts: Aquascaper 5ml per day.
Tank seeded with EA bio pearls and 1 bottle of ATM colony.

List of plants used:
Phyllanthus Fluitans Red Rooter
Moss:
Taiwan Moss x3 Mesh Pads
Weeping moss
Christmas moss
Giant moss
Spiky moss
Peacock moss
Java moss
Creeping moss
Pelia -monoselium tenereum
Feather moss
Taiwan moss
Marimo

Fish to be Housed:
Longfin Czech Rams Hareem
Platinum Magenta Guppies x2 Males to Females x6
Pair of Honey Gouramies
x3 Twig Cats.

On Order:
Pipefish - x10 Microphis Deocata and x10 Doryichthys Martensii

Shrimp: On Order
x200 Mixed Sakura red,yellow,orange,blue,green,black, blue diamond
Shrimp:
x3 Vampires

Crabs: 
Of Course Thai Micro Crabs, by the droves, so that they are scampering amongst the ferns.

Snails:
Blue Pearl and Pink Galaxy Ramshorns and a few elephants.

Feeding: Full range of NT Labs tropical and Shrimp foods with Micro Crumb for the Filter feeders.
Also live feeds of Daphnia and Brine Shrimp and Ostracods. maybe a few gammarus

I wanted to use sea ferns for a long time, since seeing them used for Ecospheres for Opae Ula Shrimp.
And as soon as I sourced them, I knew exactly what and how I wanted to use them.
I wanted them to slowly be covered in Moss and become fronds of moss.
Also the ferns will give a massive biofilm and grazing surface for all the shrimp and snails. I have placed the biggest fern at the back and then spread them out in a fashion around the midground of the tank. with two peices at angles into the front corners of the tank.
I am so happy with how they look and cant wait for the moss to attach to them and start growing. I shredded a bad of christmas moss and let it settle into the fronds.

The Lava rocks have been covered in various moss and will see what happens as its all an experiment.

This scape is going to be a longterm scape. And will enoy watching it evolve over the next few years.

And Yes this time I am sticking to just moss as the main focus of the planting. And looking forward to how this will grow.

The main purpose of this scape is for the Pipefish, to give them so much hunting grounds to predate on the shrimp and snails. Also the fry from any of the fish within.

I have found a local source of rilli shrimp in an array colors, and waiting for them to go on sale. To add to the mix.

I will be taking pix over the next few days once the tank has cleared up and have cleaned the glass.
As moving an buying everything for the house takes time. Who knew how much you had to buy when starting from scratch.


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## PARAGUAY (21 Nov 2017)

Can’t wait to see this Gill,just wondering about the Honey gouramis. With the selection,but Rams tend to be all bluster I think


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## Gill (22 Nov 2017)

PARAGUAY said:


> Can’t wait to see this Gill,just wondering about the Honey gouramis. With the selection,but Rams tend to be all bluster I think



Thanks
Honey Gouramis are one of my all time favorite fish. And found nice big chunky pair. And could not possibly turn them down. if they were not in the LFS at the time, would prob not of got them.
Also Love Rams and they have so much character. Also just had to get them.

Also I did not want a scape where the fish are obvious. I wanted to create a scape where the fish are hidden away all over the tank. And You have to look for them, or they pop out every now and then. 
The Vampire Shrimp have been exploring all over the sea ferns already. And one has staked out its spot. And just sits there wafting food into its mouth. Which is what i wanted to see, a little glimpse of an inhabitant behaving as naturally as possible. 
So far the Rams have been exploring and also staking out spots. as Created alot of caves with the Lava Rock and Plec Clay Tunnels.


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## Tim Harrison (22 Nov 2017)

Good to have you back and posting Gill. Hope you're doing okay now and enjoying your new house 
Looking forward to seeing some pics of your new tank


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## Gill (22 Nov 2017)

Thanks Tim, House is lovely, Area is So Quiet in a private Cul-De-Sac. 
Going to try and take some pix today if i get the chance. Need to sort out the electrics in the utility room, and sort out more boxes etc and get the sofas sorted.
Dont hold onto any hopes of decent pix, what i see as in focus, is not always what the camera captures.


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## Gill (22 Nov 2017)

pic of the tank, excuse the fork, fish were snacking on cucumber. 
The shredded moss needs to settle in, so looks a bit messy. 
As the Ferns create such a dense network of layers, you Hardly see any of the fish. And they are happily in between the layers of the ferns. 
Waiting on the floating plants coming this week, and there are some of the pipefish_(Martensi)_ arriving in the morning. Along with the bulk of the Blue Diamond Shrimp.


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## Gill (23 Nov 2017)

Here is a better pic, from this aftenoon. 
was just acclimating the Super Reds and the pipefish - Martensi. 


 

Cheeky rams only creep out from the back of the tank, when i turn off the main lights and switch to just thr RGB.


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## Gill (23 Nov 2017)

The Martensi acclimating, using flamingo bucket. chose this so it stands out as my acclimating and water change bucket. 


 

Dining room is still a bit of a mess, so excuse that. 
you can see the interpet light unit I used while sorting out the issue with the chihiros ballasts.


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## Gill (23 Nov 2017)

Thi s how much i have left open. this is one of the things i love about the depth of th EA tanks, gives you so much more room.


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## Edvet (24 Nov 2017)

What you call sea ferns, are they calcium skeletons?


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## dw1305 (24 Nov 2017)

Hi all, 
The skeleton are of <"Gorgonians"> ("Sea Fans"). Some have skeletons made of protein (gorgonin) a bit like collagen, but most of the others use calcium carbonate (or CaCO3 and protein). 

They aren't very sustainably harvested (big ones take a long time to grow).

cheers Darrel


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## foxfish (24 Nov 2017)

After the huge storm we had a few weeks back, the shore line on our west coat has had hundreds of Gorgonians washed up!
I occasionally see living ones while free diving but I am not sure of the origin of the ones that have been washed in?
We also have had thousands of 'Portuguese  men of war' washed up too!
My partner Sarah has brought home around 10 or so Gorgonia  but she is still finding them....


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## Edvet (24 Nov 2017)

dw1305 said:


> skeletons made of protein (gorgonin) a bit like collagen


These wont survive submerged i guess


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## markk (24 Nov 2017)

Gill said:


> The Martensi acclimating, using flamingo bucket. chose this so it stands out as my acclimating and water change bucket.
> View attachment 111410
> 
> Dining room is still a bit of a mess, so excuse that.
> ...


Hi Gill,

Have you kept pipefish before? I had some many years ago and found them particularly picky feeders. I appreciate you're trying to provide some in tank livefood etc - but I'd be worried about competition from the other fish. Those rams for example are going to hoover up any small shrimp etc fairly quickly.

And out of interest - where did you order them from?

Thanks and regards,
Mark

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## dw1305 (24 Nov 2017)

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> After the huge storm we had a few weeks back, the shore line on our west coat has had hundreds of Gorgonians washed up!
> I occasionally see living ones while free diving but I am not sure of the origin of the ones that have been washed in?
> We also have had thousands of 'Portuguese  men of war' washed up too!
> My partner Sarah has brought home around 10 or so Gorgonia  but she is still finding them....


You get them off the west coast of the UK (I've seen pictures of them from the Skomer "no take" zone). 

I assume some live in deep water (others have photosynthetic zooxanthellae), but I don't know how common they are further towards the south and west. 

The ones washed up may be the "Pink sea fan" (_<"Eunicella verrucosa">_), I know these are relatively common in Lyme Bay (so presumably on the NW French coast as well) and they are mentioned in <"this report"> as  being (mainly) in poor condition around the Channel Islands.

The "Portuguese Man o' War" may have come from a lot further south, I know it has been a year where a lot of them have made it to the UK. I've never seen a Portuguese Man o' War, but I have seen _Vellela_ ("By the Wind Sailor") in the autumn in Pembrokeshire. 

cheers Darrel


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## foxfish (24 Nov 2017)

There are so many The "Portuguese Man o' War" on the beaches that the authorities have put out notices warning beach comers, surfers, swimmers & dog walkers to be carful! Our dogs love rolling on them, luckily only a few still have their tentacles still attached!


Edvet said:


> These wont survive submerged i guess


They are like little stone trees, I don't know if excess C02 would dissolve the calcium but I would think they would last a long time?


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## dw1305 (24 Nov 2017)

Hi all,





Edvet said:


> These wont survive submerged i guess


I don't know if the protein skeleton type have embedded calcium carbonate spicules, but I assume they would decay pretty quickly. 





foxfish said:


> They are like little stone trees, I don't know if excess C02 would dissolve the calcium but I would think they would last a long time?


I assume they would dissolve at the same rate as any other biogenic limestone, as soon as you were below pH7. Because of the large surface area to volume ratio, I'd assume they would lose structural integrity relatively quickly. 

As they are almost hard "corals", and known to be slow growing, I had assumed they were all covered by <"CITES">. I know _Corallium_ spp. are, but apparently most of the others aren't, as "soft corals".

cheers Darrel


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## jayp (24 Nov 2017)

I love Pipefish, they are so so beautiful, looks the perfect surroundings for them


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## Gill (25 Nov 2017)

markk said:


> Hi Gill,
> 
> Have you kept pipefish before? I had some many years ago and found them particularly picky feeders. I appreciate you're trying to provide some in tank livefood etc - but I'd be worried about competition from the other fish. Those rams for example are going to hoover up any small shrimp etc fairly quickly.
> 
> ...




cheers, yep kept them a few times and different types. 
Once you get them eating they are great. 
I am feeding the NT Labs micro crumb, Live daphnia, mix of frozen daphnia, cyclops and lobster eggs, Decapsulated BS eggs. And of course in the long run the shrimplets from the colon of shrimp. 
They are hard to get hold of initially, but once you build up a relationship with the sellers that can get them in. It gets a little easier. I find most of the time ebay has them. And I send messages to as many LFS in and around me to ask if they can get them in. 
I find it helps to turn off the filters when feeding, as they are more able to get to the food. Also helps that is Use long pipettes filled with frozen and live foods and squeeze out a little at a time in one location so they get used to where the food will be. 
They are behaving axactly as I had imagined. And anchor themselves to the Ferns or rest in amongst them.


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## Gill (25 Nov 2017)

So today I went black friday shopping and bagged some good deals.
And on the way home spotted there was a parking space outside the LFS that was having a Sale. So just had to go in and have a look.
Now I was not looking to buy any dither fish, And spotted some Albino Neons, which turned out to be Albino Black Neons.


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## Edvet (25 Nov 2017)

Can't see pics without a photobucket account these days


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## Gill (25 Nov 2017)

pologies did not know that, here you go.


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## Gill (26 Nov 2017)

So during the 2moves this year, this being the 3rd. Alot of my scaping supplies had been misplaced/lost.
Remembered this morning that as we had ran out of storage room, we put stuff into a friends garage.
Hey presto my Supplies were in there.
So got to thinking about the pipefish, And found these little cubes i had ordered from Ebay months ago.£2.00 each at the time, i believe the design has been improved upon. and there are triple chamber ones.
They fit together easily and do look very nice.
So filled it with Daphnia. And smaller daphnia pass thru the holes while larger adults stay within the cube.
Can aso be used for isolating fish etc.
They are 5CM Square




Oh and these are toothbrush holders from Poundstretcher £1 each.
Think they work really well as Planters


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## markk (29 Nov 2017)

Gill said:


> cheers, yep kept them a few times and different types.
> Once you get them eating they are great.
> I am feeding the NT Labs micro crumb, Live daphnia, mix of frozen daphnia, cyclops and lobster eggs, Decapsulated BS eggs. And of course in the long run the shrimplets from the colon of shrimp.
> They are hard to get hold of initially, but once you build up a relationship with the sellers that can get them in. It gets a little easier. I find most of the time ebay has them. And I send messages to as many LFS in and around me to ask if they can get them in.
> ...


Re NT labs micro crumb - never spotted that before. Do the pipefish take it? Is it sinking or 'floating' (as in more neutrally buoyant - not on the surface)?

I've been trying for a while to find something that tank raised dwarf puffers can be persuaded to try.

Regards, Mark

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## Gill (29 Nov 2017)

markk said:


> Re NT labs micro crumb - never spotted that before. Do the pipefish take it? Is it sinking or 'floating' (as in more neutrally buoyant - not on the surface)?
> 
> I've been trying for a while to find something that tank raised dwarf puffers can be persuaded to try.
> 
> ...


Hi

It's a fine powder and they are taking it. 
All the other fish take it aswell. And it settles onto all the hardscape for fish to pick at. This is why I like it so much. As all the inhabitantsbcan graze on it. Even the micro crabs 

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## Gill (15 Dec 2017)

A few things have changed. 
Added some lovely Blue Diamond Shrimp and they have ovely orange and red eyes. 
Took out a few of the ferns. Just to open out the scape more. 
Added a few Cardinal Tetra. Loving them so far. and the Colors on them Glow so much in the RGB lighting. 
Neons, look amazing, and the finnage has a blue/pearlescent tinge to it. 
Super Red BN have turned out to be Calicos, which I did not want. So in dicussion with the seller about that, as Dont like them. I mean if I wanted calico would have ordered them. 
Moss is doing great and all of it looks nice and bushy. 
Pipes have settled in well.And they have colored up nicely. Still waiting on the Banded Corals though

Added Shrimp King sticks to their diet. And everything goes nuts for it. 
Will Take some pix tonight and update.


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## tam (15 Dec 2017)

How are the boxes of daphnia working out? Do you have a link to the listing?


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## Gill (15 Dec 2017)

tam said:


> How are the boxes of daphnia working out? Do you have a link to the listing?


Boxes are great 
Will send the link to you


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## Gill (19 Dec 2017)

A few pix
Have a bit of staghorn, but like it wafts in the current













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## Gill (19 Dec 2017)

One thing I am liking is the guppies give a great clean whenever my hand is in the tank. They will pick away at all the dry skin. Feels like being tickled. 

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## Gill (20 Dec 2017)

Micro crabs out and about. 
And darter cichlid. 

Have sold all the neons, as did not like the contrast against the cardinals. 

And if you had the choice of:
Blue rams
Electric blue rams
Gold rams 
Pink rams 
Which would you go for as all the rams i have are female, as bought them in a group hoping for dom male to emerge. But sadly all females. 
If gold hoping for a peach or pink to find its way into the batch coming after crimbo. 













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## kadoxu (21 Dec 2017)

Hi Gill,

The tank is looking good!

Don't know if you already do it, but I hope you don't mind my piece of advice. I see you're having the same problem I did with algae in the moss. Moss acts like a filter sponge, so I believe the issue with mine was mostly due to detritus accumulation in the moss (I didn't know better at the time and didn't even clean mine). You should try using a paint brush on the moss before water changes to remove waste and hopefully reduce the amount of algae on it.

Cheers!


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## Gill (21 Dec 2017)

kadoxu said:


> Hi Gill,
> 
> The tank is looking good!
> 
> ...


Thanks. 
I swish the moss before a water change. 
Though i dont like pristine tanks. I like them dirty with lots of algae for the fish shrimp etc to graze upon. Lots of algae of differing types helps new fry graze and also shrimplets. And the crabs enjoy all the algae. 
I also harvest the algae and dry it out. Then crumble it up as food for the inhabitants. 

Going clean up crew shopping this afternoon as want some Amano and more vampires. And maybe a few more  farlowellas and whiptails. 

Might get some more plants if I see any crinum crisps to add to the back or vallis. Whichever is available. 



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## Gill (21 Dec 2017)

Also anyone got any recommendations for south derby area. 
I have a MA n findern, and the prices are shockingly high.

I found an lfs that has good pricing. 
Magenta guppy males were £1 each. All rilli shrimp colours  were £2. 

Travelled to wharf. And was not impressed to be honest. Anything interesting was way over priced. 

Might take a trip to pier after the new year. 




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## Gill (26 Dec 2017)

So last night little one decided that the fish were hungry and dumped a load of chicken into the tank. Did not tell me. This was after they had had some scraps from crimbo dinner. 
So wake up this morning to tank full of dead fish etc.
Lost 2 vampires 
2 farlowellas
Both of my blue phantoms
4 crabs
6 guppy females
2 of the super red Plecs

Big water change. Gravel vac.
Will see how it goes and do another water change tonight. And another vac. 

Silly boy thought he was helping.


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## GHNelson (26 Dec 2017)

.....Oh no!...


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## Gill (27 Dec 2017)

No more losses. Have made a makeshift protein skimmer in till I can buy one. Just to help clean the water a bit more. And have been scooping out the foam. 

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## Gill (28 Dec 2017)

was going to get a chihiro doctor. for the money though decided to just add an internal with diffuser, to add more oxygen.


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## Gill (4 Jan 2018)

So the plants from Darrel arrived this afternoon.

I had also purchased some Amano shrimp and crystal red shrimp(another scape)

I have added the bleheri to this scape. And love it big and full it looks. I don't mind that it is overpowering the left side. As like how it's fronds sway in the flow. 







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## Gill (4 Feb 2018)

So there were some plant prices that I could not pass up. Aquafleur all Pots for £2. 
So that meant a rescape.
Got a few echindorous red, reopens juncus, vallis, althera red, more hydrocotyle trip.
Used one peice  of root from the old scape.
Have also added some more fish. A few glass cats, more amano shrimp, titanium rams, gold rams, Elegans Cory's,  





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## Gill (26 Feb 2018)

So loving how the Moss has all become so bushy. And trip is growing nicely in an amongst the rocks etc.  
Have had a few issues with the fish. 
Rams have had a bit of fungus and then white spot on the cardinals. So treating for that.

Have removed the big sword, and using that in one of the tubs outside.
Ordered some nice hydrocotyle to grow emersed and cover top and the sides of the tank trailing down. 

Thinking about putting in another emersed island using a large peice of lava rock. And some low growing stems maybe. And some creeping jenny. 

Decided to get the chihiros doctor in the end. So waiting on that to arrive. And will see what the benefit of it is.

The gold rams from MA have colored up nicely, and the female is showing more orangey peach color so happy about that. 

Had the localish lfs owner out on Saturday as had a plumbing issue. And he said he would fix it for me. Which was very nice of him. 
And he was amazed at the quality of the tank and stand and the depth it gives you to work with. 
Doesn't have the clientele for such a range In his area.  Although would definitely sell them if he ever changed locale. 


Will take some pix tonight. When there is not so much glare. 

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## Gill (27 Feb 2018)

Pix










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## Angus (27 Feb 2018)

Lovely tank dude kudos to yourself , just a tip for taking pictures, if you occlude the light from your luminaire that is going towards the camera with a piece of cardboard or a cloth or something, you will get much clearer photos as the tank will only be backlit and lit inside.


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## Gill (3 Mar 2018)

Well this morning has been interesting treat for the fish. Found ants in the living room and dining room. So after catching them and watching the guppies tear into them. Have dusted with poison all round the skirting boards downstairs. 

Now it makes sense why there were ant traps in the hallway, when I moved in

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## Gill (5 Mar 2018)

A little update. 
Really liking how the firecracker female guppies have coloured up. Yellow orange red green and blue. 
Yellow males are looking great aswell.
Rams are looking great
Cardinals have white spot, and treating them for it.

So glad I chose elegans Cory as they look very nice amongst the moss. 


Do need to do a big trim as moss is very bushy. Still have an algae issue which is getting better. 




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## Gill (5 Mar 2018)

Excuse the mess, just had a pollen feed and guppies had pushed around the moss balls.
You can see how much of a trim is needed on the moss and Trip, Grows so Fast. 
Top left is Hydrocotyle Leucocephala, like how this grows emersed, and will be training it to grow all along the back surface of the tank and down the sides(externally)
Also will be adding a Red Lotus to this, will be at the top of the tank, planted into the upper most lava rock. Just want to see how differently it will grow this way.


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## Gill (5 Mar 2018)

Lol just realised you can hear the Intro to Porus/Alexander in the background.


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## Gill (6 Mar 2018)

Big trim done. Put all the cuttings in a tub outside.
Will take some pic tonight

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## Gill (6 Mar 2018)

Post trim, forgot to trim the echindorus
A bit too much of the moss, but will grow back.



















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## Gill (6 Mar 2018)

I have decided on the final fish for this scape. Going to be Pearl Gourami again, Loved them the last time this was scaped. And Since I have created a slow area with lots of cover, think they will enjoy nesting in that area. 

Also I eont be wasting any cutting from the swords etc. Tried feeding them to the shrimp, and they went nuts for them. Scrunch up the cut leaf to break it down. And then just chuck it in the shrimp tank. And they are all over them within minutes.


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## Gill (7 Mar 2018)

You know having an lfs that is as passionate about fish shrimp and plants is not good for the wallet. 
Every time I go in, o end up buying more plants and fish and shrimp.
This week he has had blue velvet, carbon, jelly, shrimp in and are stunning quality. Will send be buying a lot once they go on sale. 
And the plant geek was in heaven today. So many nice plants in from aquafleur. Had to buy some. Got a few pots of synchonium red and lobelia cardinalis wavy. 
Excited to see how it grows. 
Almost cleaned him out of the anubias coin. But left them as someone else wanted them. 

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## Gill (7 Mar 2018)

And he had short body fighters in. But all sold.

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## Gill (10 Mar 2018)

Strange how things can change so much within the space of a few hours.
Have gone from 2 tanks to 5.
Was asked to take on a Giant PK betta who was in a sorry state being housed in a 0.5L penplax critter keeper. So put together a temp bowl with lots of plants and IAL to help him recover. lots of what look like tumors starting to push the scales . And snails for it to be occupied with. Have set it next to the Shrimp Pico. So it can view all the Shrimp.

Also added the pearl gourami, just bought all he had. and within minutes of being in a heavily planted tank. their colors are popping. have been sparring and spiralling for dominance. looks like i got mainly males and 1 female.

also added a flame for my lonely honey female. and he soon found the floating corale. so started courting her quickly. she was dancing happily for him. and barred up nicely.


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## Gill (11 Mar 2018)

Flame Male, has built a big nest. And I think there are Eggs in there. As He has been covering up the underside of the bubblenest with moss and duckweed. And keeping the area clean and tidy.
So funny to watch him looking for the right piece of plant, detaching it, cleaning it and then placing in the nest.


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## Gill (13 Mar 2018)

Chihiros doctor arrived just now. So easy to install and set, just selected the size tank from the dial and away it goes. Interested to see what this brings to the tank.
_Can see this being of great excitment to my nephew and neice when they come over .



_


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## Gill (7 Apr 2018)

So something interesting that is happening with my Red Root Floaters. Not seen this before in all the years I have been keeping this type floating plant. 
It has started sending out emergent runners above the water line, like a hydrocotyle would do. And I am liking it, looks very interesting indeed.


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## Gill (7 Apr 2018)

Growing quite a lot 







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## Gill (14 Apr 2018)

So feeling a little human today after a 6-day migraine.
So decided to do some long overdue maintenance on this.
Got the Trickle shower filter out. And cleaned it up.

Only used 4 Trays this time_(this comes with 9)_. So that it left me with access to the trough. And Have planted this with the Hydrocotyle Types I have, And I like it.
Used the 1200LPH Internal Filter and hooked that to it _(could not find the powerhead for it)_, and gives a decent flow along the spraybar. 
Used the Jap Mat Coarse and Medium for the top tray. Bottom Tray Bio Gravel and Medium Jap Mat. 

Need to get some more stem plants for this, or might rescape it. Just not decided, depends on what inpires me over the next few days.


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## Gill (15 Apr 2018)

Also put a herb in the trough to see how they fare, starting with a rather limp Coriander from asda. hoping all the nutrients will give it a kick.


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## Petra R (20 Apr 2018)

Gill said:


> Chihiros doctor arrived just now. So easy to install and set, just selected the size tank from the dial and away it goes. Interested to see what this brings to the tank.



Gill, just came across this post - 5 weeks later, are you seeing it bring anything to the tank?


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## Gill (20 Apr 2018)

TBH Water appears clearer and algae growth has slowed down, So there is a difference. 
Had it set to Plants since install.


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## Gill (21 Apr 2018)

Rescape day today, have an idea just need to see how it will work. 

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## Gill (21 Apr 2018)

Quick pic echi flower stalk 






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## Jayefc1 (21 Apr 2018)

Complete rescape or just a move around bud


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## Gill (21 Apr 2018)

Jayefc1 said:


> Complete rescape or just a move around bud


Complete rescape today and complete planting change 

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## Jayefc1 (21 Apr 2018)

Cool can t wait to see it work


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## Gill (21 Apr 2018)

Ok So went to Deans this morning to get supplies. How I did not walk out of there without fish I do not know._ As he had in Loads of fish I wanted. Just the Hasboras Corys were hard to Leave. And he had Marbled Lizards, which I have not seen since 2001.  _
So After lots of pondering and walking away from the free 10Kg+ of Seiryu Stone(came in with a used tank). 
I decided on Lots of Crypts = 6 Pots:
_Petchi
Amicorum
Bollusa
Wendtii Green
Undulatus Kasselman
Nevelli_
And 1 Small Bag of Unipac Limpopo Black Sand. Needed this to plant into, as no banked substrate.  

1 pm back at home started to prepare the wood I wanted to use by baking it in the Oven for 40 Mins on Low. Selected a Nice Long peice that diagonally reaches corner to corner. 
Pulled out all the Plants I was going to reuse. and Separated them all out. 
The Bolbitis I seperated out into several plantlets. And Attached them to the wood once Cooled with zip ties. 
Also attached A lot of mixed moss and pelia and hydrocotyle trip, Again using zip ties.  
And then an Idea struck me. I have wanted to try having moss domes, And was not going to pay the retail price for them. So I set about hacking apart the little baskets that the crypts came in. 
Put some moss into each one and then using the clay disk, zip tied this to the pot to weigh it down. And I have moss domes for free. Managed to make 10 of them, as had some old pots aswell. 
Will see how they go in the scape. 
I do like the Limpopo Sand, and goes well with the Dennerle stones. And there was no cloudiness from it, which was good.

So once all the peices were in place, set about planting everything at around 4, which took 1 hour. As kept changing my mind mid plant about where things should go, and adding more moss etc to the wood. 
Now I did not have a scape as such in mind, it was just how it came to be placing stuff. I did want the crypts all planted around the base of the wood. And still kept the Echis, Split them up and replanted towards the back corners behind the wood, being careful not to damage the flower stalk. 
I have used a smaller root burl to hide the inlet for the External, as it was standing out too much. 
On a plus the culled shrimp seem to be doing well, And Got 5 in with the Crypts so a nice little extra. 

Will take some pix tonight once it gets dark and no glare.
_Just finished and Knackered, Ibuprofen and an Icecold Pepsi Max is in order. _


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## Gill (22 Apr 2018)

Will post pix later.
Just had to post this one Pearl Gouramies are nesting 



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## Gill (27 Apr 2018)

Added some SAE to the algae crew, hopefully they can tackle this thread algae nuisance.


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## Daneland (27 Apr 2018)

Gill said:


> Growing quite a lot




It looks so cool. If you have any spare please let me know...


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## gltjc (27 Apr 2018)

That _Phyllanthus _is amazing!


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## CooKieS (27 Apr 2018)

How many fishes do you keep in that tank? Thanks


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## Gill (27 Apr 2018)

CooKieS said:


> How many fishes do you keep in that tank? Thanks


Mmm 

8 rams 
3 pearl gourami others moved to a breeding tank
3 elegans Cory
3 pygmy Cory
5 glass cats
10 guppies 
Flame gourami pair
40 cardinals 
5 sae 
5 super red longfin plecs
Countless  ramshorns 
A few amano 
A few cherry shrimp, culls

I think that's it


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## Gill (30 Apr 2018)

Echindorus flower



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## Aqua360 (3 May 2018)

Gill said:


> Echindorus flower
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk



Emersed growth is looking great!


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## CooKieS (4 May 2018)

Gill said:


> Mmm
> 
> 8 rams
> 3 pearl gourami others moved to a breeding tank
> ...



Well, that might explain your algae problems...your tank is way overstocked.


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## nel.pogorzelska (4 May 2018)

CooKieS said:


> Well, that might explain your algae problems...your tank is way overstocked.



Just for fun I've put the stocking into aqadvisor 230%, even if aqadvisor is not accurate this is so wrong and there are sooooo many warnings about incompatibilities.
I agree in 100% - this is the reason for algae.


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## castle (9 May 2018)

What happened to the doryichthys martensii?


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## Gill (19 May 2018)

castle said:


> What happened to the doryichthys martensii?


sadly they stopped eating, found out the store had not acclimated them properly prior to sale or had them feeding. so they wasted away.


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## Gill (19 May 2018)

This is my favourite part of the tank. The salvinia has really gotten bigger and hydro trip is growing amongst it nicely.






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## Gill (20 May 2018)

Trip flower






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## castle (21 May 2018)

Gill said:


> sadly they stopped eating, found out the store had not acclimated them properly prior to sale or had them feeding. so they wasted away.



This is a shame, when you say they stopped feeding, did you ever see them feed? Not trying to string you up here, but if these fish are feeding they're normally very hardy (with good housekeeping). You had 10 too; so for 10 fish to stop feeding seems crazy to me. Could they have been intimidated by the tank mates? as they are timid and slow eaters, even slower than my badis. 

For future freshwater pipefish keepers these fish should have been in a species tank and shouldn't have bought them without seeming them eat.


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## Gill (21 May 2018)

castle said:


> This is a shame, when you say they stopped feeding, did you ever see them feed? Not trying to string you up here, but if these fish are feeding they're normally very hardy (with good housekeeping). You had 10 too; so for 10 fish to stop feeding seems crazy to me. Could they have been intimidated by the tank mates? as they are timid and slow eaters, even slower than my badis.
> 
> For future freshwater pipefish keepers these fish should have been in a species tank and shouldn't have bought them without seeming them eat.



I purchased them online, thru who i thought were a reputable company. It was only after they started to waste away and doing some digging. That I found that this company were sending them out within a day or so of receiving them from the Importer. 
So for you to make presumptions is a little well............. 
I normally buy them in person after watching them for a while in the Store. Once I know they have been eating and what they have been fed on. 
This company assured that they were feeding well etc. And at the time, after alot of searching, They were the only ones to have these in. And as they were quite far away from me here, it was cheaper to purchase via online, factoring in travel costs. 
They had started to feed and would be observes actively searching for food and stalking shrimp etc. They were not timid at all, and were very active. 
I have kept many species of freshwater pipefish in the past,a s well as the Indostomus Crocodilus/paradoxus. So am fully aware of there feeding needs etc.


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## castle (21 May 2018)

_*I*_*f* you had them feeding; the tank was filled about 10 days before their introduction so it couldn't have been established enough. If you had them feeding there is no way they would all just die. 

Did you get the Microphis deocata?


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## Gill (3 Jun 2018)

So yesterday I decided to replant the tank.
Had ordered a Budget box of plants to see how they fair in the tank. Quality on arrival was very good, and the quantity aloowed me to double up the plants. Planted the tank ok, and rearranged all the caves, pleco tubes and hides etc. Did remove most of the wood from the tank, but left enough for the plecs to munch on.
Also Decided to clean the External and the Pipework, This is where things went very wrong.
Cleaning was fine, Got 3 buckets of Fish Waste Slurry to feed the plants in the garden.  Got a few funny looks from the neighbours mixing slurry in buckets.  And sitting there with a Torch to find shrimplets was interesting in amongst the slurry. Did find a fair few though, and added them to cascade pond.
It was when I went to put it all back together, that it did not go to Plan. Decided to fit my Poppy Glass Inlet/Outlet with the Acrylic Supports - This was ok using a hose connector.
But would the filter turn back on, nope.All sealed ok, would not start the siphon to refill the Canister. The motor made a horrendous noise.  So ripped it all out.
Thankfully I always keeps spare filters, So fitted a Large Internal with spraybar. And Used the Internal from the Shower/Trickle overhead filter.

Dontknow whether to get another External, or Go for a Large HOB, as liked how versatile they are.

Is frustrating as it meant i had to change the layout of the plants and caves etc. And now it is not pleasing to me.
Going to the LFS to find some Inspiration to coax some scpaing ideas.


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## Gill (4 Jun 2018)

After a lot of procrastination.
This is what I have come upwith so far.
I have a few more  plants to add to the foreground to add more depth, And then I think I will be happy.

Still undecided on filtration going forward.









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## Gill (7 Jun 2018)

Wanted to try a new in vitro plant seller. 
These are from plantaklab in Wales. 
And have to say very impressed. Plants have been prewashed, and plants sealed with labels. And care sheets also printed with order. 
Just makes it easier for me to plant with them. Without having to stand at the sink and wash them. 

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## Gill (11 Nov 2018)

So this is ticking along nicely.
Have taken out the external filters and internal filters. And replaced with an XL Sponge, and Bio Canister Sponge.
Plant wise rescaped it.
Substrate is now a mix of black sands.
Planting is now
Twisted Val, the Huge Bolbitis, Java Moss, A few Echindorous types, Crypts.

FIsh Wise
My Rams all developed tumors and had to euthanise 99% of them, they were all from 2 batches from the LFS. So I am left with 1female gold and 1 female standard ram.
Cardinals are lovely and chunky.
Guppies, all the orignal fish have died off. And I have 1 male to 6 females. Male is showing Magenta, and Leopard with a short tail.
I added some platties - Bumblebee. And they are nice, and the offspring as showing 1/2 yellow/red.
Cories, Still have my Elegans, and Pygmy, and have added some Julli.
BN Plecs, The Super Reds are coming long nicely. 

And Finally the LFS had some Teeny Discus in, that I could try out and see if I like them. So got 2 Malborough Reds.


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## PARAGUAY (14 Nov 2018)

Sorry to hear about the Rams Gill, I had a couple a pair few years back they were quite long lived,one or two reporting issues with Rams lately wonder if its a source issue?


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## Konsa (15 Nov 2018)

Hi
Rams are my nemesis too.Love them and hate them so much.On the bright side my longest lived one came from P@h store with an year and 7 months in my high tech tank wich is an achievement for me.
Regards Konsa


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## Gill (1 Jan 2019)

A lot has changed again, you know me. Can't help but rescape and replant.

I added an APS hob, but silently loath the thing. As it has a UV built in, on which the outlet let is so loud and baffles only dampen it ever so slightly. So last night before closing. I decided to get a Hydra 50.
As the reviews are good and we have one on the fancy Goldie 300litre display. And it works very well. 
Tough to take apart with my gammy arthritis hands. So had to employ a flat head screwdriver. To prize the catches open. 

Will disconnect the hob at some point during the day.

Don't know how long this tank will be running for now. As itching to upgrade to bigger tank. And with work discount is very tempting to get the EA 1200,  the new range with matching hoods and lighting. 

Also added a fluval sky last night. And very impressed with the app controls. But sadly not the wattage 16w  value. It is less than half of what my chihiros puts out. But like that I can really customize the lighting and colours and have a lightning and clouds mode. 


I did try the chihiros commander controller II. But it only works via Bluetooth. So have to be sitting in front of it to make the settings work. Or the lights get stuck all day on the very lowest settings. So Will returning those modules. 

I have also been rescueing fish from work. So have a group of gold short body plecs.

And also will prob bring home the blind fancy goldies to put with my platinum vieltails outside in their tub.

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## Gill (26 Jan 2019)

I have so many plants crammed in here it is not funny.
Got 12 pots of plants to plant today aswell. 
I am loving the Echindorous purperea, its a lovely little thin leaved sword. 
And all my crypts are doing well and making lots of umbrella shaped clusters.
I dont hinknibhave much substrate left that does not have a plant of some sort in it. 


And have decided finally on a 900 as that has been designed specifically for discus, which i like more and more everyday. Just waiting on pricing and payday. 
So big rescpae coming. And will try and use every peice of wood i have. 
Will be mixing alot of sands. As have been experimenting with then at work. And have found a mix i like alot. Wit sime unusual choices thrown. That should not work but do to me. 

And yes fish density is high, but i always overfilter and keep up with water changes. And i hate any empty tank. Always like them full of life and plants to the max. 

Oh and i will be able to give all the juvi rams space finally in the 900, aling with the panduro.
And get the plecs breeding. As they are looking lush with huge huge finnage. And finally no more calico in them. 


Oh and the dominant  discus now likes to spit water at me. When it wants feeding. The silly thing.



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## Gill (26 Jan 2019)

Pro tip for dealing with rockwool.
Childrens forks from the £1 shop.
Perfect for teasing out the smallest peices from amongst the roots



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## Gill (29 Jul 2019)

Tank is Housing a pair of Honduran Red Points with a brood for now. Nothing special. Just some rocks and loads of Hygrophilia Corymbosa.
Will be rescaping this once the brood fry are a little bigger.

It has also been moved out into the Conservatory, and during this hotspell the water has been ok. Just been topping up evaporation. South Facing, and algae has not been that bad TBH. just wipe down the glass once a week with a JBL BlanKi. and its fine. And removed all lighting from it, as plants have been exploding with just natural lighting,


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