# 60x45x45 Optiwhite



## Garuf (20 Mar 2010)

So she finally arrived, not without issue but the less said about that here the better.
The tank is amazing, really really good silicone work, immaculate really. 
Here's my first scape, nothing too special, just seeing what works where. I've already learnt that Mazatania is very brittle! 






Equipment wise I plan to run:
Diy led, slowly getting there, still doing research, the market moves so fast!Till that's built 2x24 luminaire.
1x ex1200 1x e1500 total turnover 2700lph or 34x volume an hour. Plenty of flow.
Pressurised co2, inline diffuser, should be in the post... 

Expect loads of pictures, all terrible, very shortly! 
In the mean time, feel free to critique and comment away, be as ruthless as you like, I would!


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## BAE (20 Mar 2010)

i really like the scape like that it would look awesome with Java moss on the branches


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## Garuf (21 Mar 2010)

I'm going to see if the pets at home near to me will let me have the massive hunk off christmas moss that's growing in their sump so yeah, It's going to be pretty moss tastic as far as scapes go! This isn't and almost certainly won't be the last scape I try, just the one I was most happy with while tinkering in excitement at receiving the tank. The rock work is definately in need of improvement and the wood is a bit too chaotic in the foreground it's getting there though, I've tried to impliment golden section and triangular composition in my minds eye rather than the look, place, hope approach I'm normally guilty of taking. 
I should soak the wood too, despite it being a heavy/dense wood it is still bouyant and Ideally I'd like to avoid scape shifting as much as possible as that spoilt my enjoyment of my early scapes knowing that it had all shifted and would never go back "right". 
The strongly vertical aspect of the tank is hard to work with, but a pleasure, I had a 45x30x30 tank and loved the dimensions of that but it's not till you move up in scale and have it physically in front of you that you realise that it's just not the same thing having the same ratios but being larger, it's a whole different approach.


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## zig (21 Mar 2010)

Looking good young man  

Wanna get a move on with that LED unit if you ever want to put other plants in there though, I normally use 5x24 T5s on my 60x45x36cm tank and sometimes use 6x24W, highlight tank mind, the 45cm width front to back requires a good few tubes for complete coverage IME.

Best of luck with it, I like the wood  you have that nice algae stage to go through for the new tank, something to look forward too


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## Garuf (21 Mar 2010)

I know, I know! Ever since ordering the wrong batch of LEDS and getting a telling off for time wasting I've been properly off put on the LED front, I always assume I've got it wrong somewhere and panic and decide against making a start. I'll get there eventually! I'd like a big heatsink, about 50x20cm then I wouldn't need a fan. 

You really think 2x24 won't be enough? Good to hear some opinion on it before starting off. I was feeling confident after seeing toms cube with 1.7wpg and thought it'd be more than enough for the start up phase and maybe even in the long run. 
Thanks, the wood is getting a shuffle about when I get home, I'm really not happy with the rockwork yet.

Urgh, the algae stage, oh how I've missed you!


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## JamesM (21 Mar 2010)

Looking good bud... what's the plant list you have in mind?

Another thing... I think the substrate is banked way too steep for this style of scape - you don't need the extra height as you should get that from planting. Iwagumi's tend to have a steep bank as they need the height to add perspective and depth.


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## Garuf (21 Mar 2010)

Hey, James. Mostly ferns, hairgrass, crypts maybe some blyxa. You know, the stereotypical nature scape. Ideally I need to go on the hunt for ideas, I feel like I've seen the same tanks for the last 3 years! I should try and break the mould but there's a lot that's already been done that almost everything falls into a pre-exsistant genre. I'm creating tacky as a genre and lumping in some of the newer scapes I've seen.  

Cheers for the tip on the substrate, there's 20l's in there, I chucked the load in and just started shuffling it about till it looked about right before adding the rockwork. 

I really like Samc's tank, his plants couldn't be any more lush. His plant choice is great too. I did have a very clear idea what I wanted but since getting all the wood and that together I'm now less sure. Greatest plans of mice and men, huh.


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## Garuf (22 Mar 2010)

A much better photo which give a better idea of the masses of depth and the 'choatic' wood and rock placement.





Tank in-situ, The fairy lights aren't my intervention, Gf's are very persuasive creatures.


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## Wayney (22 Mar 2010)

Looks really good garuf, is that the final scape or just a taster.
Look forward to seeing it planted mate.
Regards Wayne,


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## Garuf (22 Mar 2010)

Thanks Wayney, Haven't decided, I went away for a couple of days and expected to fully hate it when I got back but it's really grown on me. I want to try a few more things but it's up there.


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## Dan Walter (22 Mar 2010)

Looking good, Gareth.  What are your plans for the foreground?  The tank and stand look great, fits nicely in that space too.  I'm putting together a similar set up at the moment so I'm keen to see what you actually decide to do here.  Keep us updated with the progress!


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## Steve Smith (22 Mar 2010)

Looks great Garuf   The straight bit of wood on the left is bugging me a bit, but that's just me!  The wood reminds me of a knarly looking hawthorn tree.


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## Garuf (22 Mar 2010)

The big long one that goes into the corner? Yeah, me too but it's a big piece that's attached to the one infront of it. I don't have a bit chunky enough to replace it though.

Cheers, Dan. Foreground, probably Eleocharis, haven't really thought about it yet other than where there's bare glass, it'll be white sand and if I can get some, graded gravel.

 Equipment is in flux at the moment, Lighting anyway, Led's are problematic, too much contrary info out there.


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## Lisa_Perry75 (22 Mar 2010)

I feel that everything is too far forward in the tank, it throws the scale for me.


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## Garuf (22 Mar 2010)

Cheers, Lisa. the hardscape is almost touching the glass, I'll push it back closer to the mid ground and see how that affects it. 
The original reason it's so close is simply that I didn't want 1/3 or the footprint to be sand.


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## Tony Swinney (23 Mar 2010)

I'm pleased you finally got your tank Garuf - it look s great and that hardscape is pretty random too     Look forward to seeing the plants go in.

Tony


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## Dave Spencer (23 Mar 2010)

Nice looking set up, but it is The Clash poster that sets it a class apart from the others.

Dave.


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## Stu Worrall (23 Mar 2010)

glad its finally arrived garuf   The scape is looking really good and so deep with that 45x45 it looks almost square so youve got a great opportunity for getting loads of depth in there.


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## Dan Crawford (23 Mar 2010)

Great looking tank Garuf! As others have said, the hardscape looks too close to the front of the tank given that you actually have a great deal of depth on this tank, also i don't think the rocks add much to the layout, there is huge contrast between the rocks and substrate and wood, something like petrified wood might suit it better? Great work on the placement of the wood though, looks fantastic.


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## Garuf (23 Mar 2010)

Thanks for the tips Everyone. 
I liked the wood so much I tried to keep it the same but add to it and make more use of the depth. It's a lot harder than I anticipated, it's turned into a pricarious blancing act until I can zip tie it all together as the final deal. 

Dan, I see what you mean about the rocks, I did intend for them to be mostly hidden by plants an moss but the more I look the more I think you're right. Petrified would be nice but I simply don't have the money to drop the Â£50's worth I'm pretty sure I'd need. It's not a cheap stone. 

Clash fan, Dave? I wish I had a large poster of it, they're becoming my favourite band, they never played the punk card like the sex pistols but did more for the Genre than any other group except maybe the damned. Really great music, well written, well produced and punk without sounding it.


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## Garuf (23 Mar 2010)

Forgot to add the photo!


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## George Farmer (23 Mar 2010)

Congrats on a lovely looking tank, Gareth!

I love the wood.  I must try some of this out at some point!

My first thoughts are that the tallest piece of wood is too straight, at odds with the twisted nature of the remaining pieces.  There seems to be a mass of tangled pieces in the lower third of the tank that may become 'wasted' once planted?

What are you intentions with the planting, especially around the high density of wood around the left/centre?

34x turnover seems a little overkill!  What's the theory behind it?  Are you running intense lighting and nutrients?

I don't remember seeing many final 'scapes from you, so I'm really looking forward to see this one develop...


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## Garuf (26 Mar 2010)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Congrats on a lovely looking tank, Gareth!
> 
> I love the wood.  I must try some of this out at some point!


Thanks, George. It's really nice wood, the joy is the versatility of it because a single branch is much more modular than say redmoor where it's either one piece, facing which ever way suits it best, these don't seem so one sided and are much easier to construct complex assemblies with.  


> My first thoughts are that the tallest piece of wood is too straight, at odds with the twisted nature of the remaining pieces.  There seems to be a mass of tangled pieces in the lower third of the tank that may become 'wasted' once planted?


The straight piece is actually the bones of the scape, everything forms from it, and yes the juxtaposition is stark, but like you say I envision most of it to become "wasted". I'm thinking of it more as a planting armature. That brings me onto your next point, I envision about 70% of the lower 3rd of the scape to become the framework for planting and wasted, the lower most level dominated by moss and a feature anubias nestled underneath a protrusion of Bolbitits and narrow leave java. The "arm" or "shelf" that reaches almost horizontal through the front I imagine to be mostly hidden by bolbitits, the large straight contrasting branch will be encrusted in java fern upto the bottom of the top 3rd of the tank forming a strongly triangular focal running from there down to the bottom right corner. 



> What are you intentions with the planting, especially around the high density of wood around the left/centre?


 Pretty much entirely encased, only a hint of the form showing through, the gnarled root bulb I really want to be the only part showing, the wood above it forming the plant work which will give cohesiveness to the other elements of the scape. That said, I've been pointed in the direction of leaving that hole area bare, something I'm mulling over. 


> 34x turnover seems a little overkill!  What's the theory behind it?  Are you running intense lighting and nutrients?


Haha, that was a typo on my behalf, it should be 24x, I will be running intense lighting and EI, I'm building a LED array that I intend to replace the 2x 24w t5's I have over the tank at the moment. Ideally I need someone to Okay my Schematic then I'm sailing really. 



> I don't remember seeing many final 'scapes from you, so I'm really looking forward to see this one develop...


Thank you, alas luck and good favour has never been on my side with some aspect of my private life intruding and meaning I never get to see a vision completed, I hope this will be different! God knows I've been saving money to buy the tank for long enough!


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## Garuf (26 Mar 2010)

Just a quick pair to try and highlight how it's constructed and the depth I have to deal with.


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## B7fec (26 Mar 2010)

Looking Good mate  

The wood formation you have created deals excellently with the depth of the tank! Cant wait to see this one progress.


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## samc (26 Mar 2010)

looks great garuf  

do you have any plans of putting a big fern in the middle of the wood? i think bolbitus would look sweet in there.


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## Garuf (2 Apr 2010)

Hey Sam, yeah, Bolbititis is the only plant I know that I definitely want to use. I'm pretty much open to any suggestion as long as it's not do an iwagumi. 











Don't really like either of these but they give an idea of the scapes I've been kicking about while trying to get a clearer idea of what I want from this scape. I'm thinking I'll only really tweek the rock work from the first since I was so won over by it. I'm certain there's room for improvement, I just can't see it at the moment.


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## Graeme Edwards (2 Apr 2010)

Garuf said:
			
		

> Hey Sam, yeah, Bolbititis is the only plant I know that I definitely want to use. I'm pretty much open to any suggestion as long as it's not do an iwagumi.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think the top hardscape is very promising Gareth. Its nice to see your work up on the forum.


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## Garuf (2 Apr 2010)

Thanks, Graeme. It's nice to have a tank to scape! I'm very out of practice I feel. 

On a separate note, did you post the final frontal photos of the ukaps cube? I was certain I'd seen it but couldn't find it anywhere on the forum.


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## Steve Smith (2 Apr 2010)

Nice couple of scapes there mate.  I like the wood work of the first, and the rock work of the second  

I think the first is would work great, but I think if you could tweak the wood on the second it'd look much better   I think it's the left few pieces that trouble me


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## Garuf (2 Apr 2010)

I'm probably going to use: http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3411/dsc2588.jpg and sort out the rock work, I'm just not as happy with the wood in any of the others as I am with that one. Depends really, I might hit on the "one" haha.


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## Mark Evans (2 Apr 2010)

don't read too much into wood placement. you'll drive yourself nutty in doing so.

imagine where stems, background plants will feature, further down the road. this dictates the wood. or if wood comes first then think about stem placement.

I really, really, really think the hardscape should be further back. you've got more depth than many tanks, and your losing it. once filled, it'll look like its touching the glass.

even if hardscape is touching the rear, vallis and stems planted tight to the back pane of glass look like there in the distance.


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## Garuf (2 Apr 2010)

Hey mark, thanks for the tips. I've been thinking about the planting more now that I think I know what I'm aiming for. I could do with finding some tanks that aren't tanks I've seen a hundred times before though :/ 

I don't know, but the further back I push the hardscape the more of a foreground I'd gain and since it'd be sand I don't really want huge expanses of the stuff, I just don't think it'd be right and it's not the look I particularly want. I was thinking that the planting would be what gives me maximum depth hence sticking the woodwork in the midground/foreground thus giving me room for crypts and varying stems. 

I'll have a go to see what I can come up with, I'm just concerned I'll end up with more sand than plants.


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## Spanerman (2 Apr 2010)

I think it should be further back aswell, there seems to be alot of ''dead space'' at the rear left hand side.

The arrangement looks amazing though


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## Jase (2 Apr 2010)

If you're looking to completely pack out the back with plants then the hardscape is great where it is, otherwise you'd risk losing it is a mass of plants. Go with your gut and try it, you can always rescape


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## Celestial (2 Apr 2010)

This is going to look awesome!  Where did you get the stones and Manzanita from though? And what type of stones are they?

Thanks, Celestial.


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## Garuf (3 Apr 2010)

How do you mean "dead space", Spanner man? Someone else called it out on another forum but I'm not sure I see it, which scape do you mean in?

I like your approach, Jase, I do enjoy rescapes, guiltily always though. I do plan on packing it out but I don't know, everyone says more depth but in my head I imagined the planting to give it but now I'm not sure at all. I'll be pushing it all back and try again, I'm just worried about too much of a foreground. That said... maybe a hc foreground into sand would be nice... Hmm. 

Thank you, Celestial. The stones are a mixture of Derbyshire limestone I collected myself from a scree slope and mini Landscape Rock from AE, ( I don't think they stock them anymore? ) and the Manzanita is from PlantedBox, all the scape materials I've bought are available from PlantedBox right down to the substrate though if you want to save on postage.


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## TBRO (3 Apr 2010)

Hey Garuf, I personally think you DO need a good bit of planting space behind the wood, If you want to get that Amano "stem bush" look you need to plant the stems deeply. 

Check out this ADA tank http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/stemplants.html, the foreground is relatively small but planted with nice bright glosso, sand would have a similar effect. Looks like a clearing in a forest, you need the depth of stems to trim them so they slope in to the "clearing". 

Moss on wood or leave it bare with the bolbitis?

Looking forward to seeing your ideas come to fruition, Tom


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## TBRO (3 Apr 2010)

One other thing, will the limestone be OK with CO2? My previous experiences with coral sand in planted tanks is massively high pH and kH no matter how much CO 2 you pour in. Which is a shame cos the rocks look awesome.


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## Spanerman (3 Apr 2010)

Garuf said:
			
		

> How do you mean "dead space", Spanner man? Someone else called it out on another forum but I'm not sure I see it, which scape do you mean in?
> 
> I like your approach, Jase, I do enjoy rescapes, guiltily always though. I do plan on packing it out but I don't know, everyone says more depth but in my head I imagined the planting to give it but now I'm not sure at all. I'll be pushing it all back and try again, I'm just worried about too much of a foreground. That said... maybe a hc foreground into sand would be nice... Hmm.
> 
> Thank you, Celestial. The stones are a mixture of Derbyshire limestone I collected myself from a scree slope and mini Landscape Rock from AE, ( I don't think they stock them anymore? ) and the Manzanita is from PlantedBox, all the scape materials I've bought are available from PlantedBox right down to the substrate though if you want to save on postage.



By dead space i meant that the space behind is a little useless, personally i would prefer the hard scape further back with some room for some plants behind and then a nice carpet in the fore ground, using all the space behind for planting taler plants would dominate the scape.


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## Garuf (3 Apr 2010)

TBRO said:
			
		

> One other thing, will the limestone be OK with CO2? My previous experiences with coral sand in planted tanks is massively high pH and kH no matter how much CO 2 you pour in. Which is a shame cos the rocks look awesome.


Considering that all the Landscape stone used in everyone's tanks is limestone shale I would guess so, I'll post a picture of the AE landscape rock and the stuff I collected, it's indistinguishable. The most notable tank would be MyBoyShays iwagumi, loads of the stuff and his plants all grey wondrously.


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## George Farmer (3 Apr 2010)

Garuf said:
			
		

> The most notable tank would be MyBoyShays iwagumi, loads of the stuff and his plants all _grey wondrously_.


I think you mean, "grew wonderfully". 

Frequent and appropriately large water changes are the key with any material that adversly affects water chemistry.


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## Mark Evans (3 Apr 2010)

Garuf said:
			
		

> Considering that all the Landscape stone used in everyone's tanks is limestone shale I would guess so, I'll post a picture of the AE landscape rock and the stuff I collected, it's indistinguishable.



that's  not to say, they contain the same levels of lime though.  

good luck dude


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## George Farmer (3 Apr 2010)

saintly said:
			
		

> Garuf said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very true.  Looking the same does not mean they are the same...


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## Garuf (4 Apr 2010)

I did a simple test, to see how they'd effect the water. I weighed each pebble then added 10ml of DI water for each 10gram of rock after a week I measured the ph.  
Rocks from AE the ph was 8.8 Own collected was 8.2 the starting Ph was 7.1, Therefore I can only assume that they're very similar in Ph effect and make up.


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## Garuf (4 Apr 2010)

> By dead space i meant that the space behind is a little useless, personally i would prefer the hard scape further back with some room for some plants behind and then a nice carpet in the fore ground, using all the space behind for planting taler plants would dominate the scape.


Ahhh I'm with you, the thing is since I don't plan on having a carpet of plants I have a foreground of sand which will transition into the midground and then the back ground, the rockwork and wodd being so far forward so that I have maximum space at the rear to pack out with midground and background plants that will give the most room for transition. I'm now toying with a foreground infront of the rock before the sand but I'm not sure if it won't leave too little room for what I imagine at the rear. 
Pictures to follow tomorrow.


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## Garuf (4 Apr 2010)

TBRO said:
			
		

> Hey Garuf, I personally think you DO need a good bit of planting space behind the wood, If you want to get that Amano "stem bush" look you need to plant the stems deeply.
> 
> Check out this ADA tank http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/stemplants.html, the foreground is relatively small but planted with nice bright glosso, sand would have a similar effect. Looks like a clearing in a forest, you need the depth of stems to trim them so they slope in to the "clearing".
> 
> ...



That's pretty much why I have the wood work so far foreward, small foreground, lots of mid ground plent of background, maximum transition. There will be moss, narrow leaved java and bolbitis on the wood and moss in the foreground transitioning from the sand into the wood/rockwork midground planting. I'm getting more of an idea on what I want, I just need to get a scape I'm fully happy with.


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## Garuf (4 Apr 2010)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Garuf said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I meant grew, yes, and no, I meant wonderously. I rely pretty heavily on a mixture of spellcheckers and automatic dictionaries with being pretty badly dyslexic so sometimes it says it's right when it really isn't.

Waterchanges are something that tend to help no end with almost everything, we don't realise that our tanks are more of a closed system than that of a river so it becomes more important to be dilligent with them and to do the max you are able to. Talking of water changes and Ph affect, I'm sure i'd read that Amano had noticed the ph increased steeply with his petrified wood and his large iwagumi's but I can't find the article anywhere though I was sure it was on his journal. Maybe this is the reason that a lot of his tanks have started to run "softenizers"?


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## Mark Evans (5 Apr 2010)

Garuf said:
			
		

> I'm sure i'd read that Amano had noticed the ph increased steeply with his petrified wood and his large iwagumi's but I can't find the article anywhere though I was sure it was on his journal.



tis true.

AJ:ã€€ How does a rock raise the hardness?

Amano: ã€€As you know, CO2 is injected into the water to grow aquatic plants. Calcium and elements that are contained in rocks that constitute water hardness tend to dissolve in water rich in CO2. Seiryu-Seki and petrified wood in particular often raise the hardness of the water. Some rocks tend to raise hardness more than others do. You cannot tell which ones do that until you try it.

http://www.aquajournal.net/room/index.html

i've noticed, in the past, seiryu stone raises hardness dramatically , but in other interviews with Amano, he chooses plants to suit the stone chemistry.


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## George Farmer (5 Apr 2010)

saintly said:
			
		

> ...seiryu stone raises hardness dramatically , but in other interviews with Amano, he chooses plants to suit the stone chemistry.


And fish too, perhaps more importantly...

_Sawbwa resplendens_ (Asian rummynose) is a good example.  They will only colour colour up to their full potential in hard water.


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## Mawgan (5 Apr 2010)

You've obviously touched on a topic of some interest here, Garuf.  Given that Seiryu and petrified wood stones raise hardness as much as they do, I am curious to know/learn to what extent Amazonia and Amazonia II (or any other similar substrate for that matter) counter that increase.     There must be some kind of measurable relationship...


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## Garuf (5 Apr 2010)

The only fish I knew I wanted was chocolate gourami so I might have to look into getting some slate. 

Yeah it's interesting but I suspect something you'd never get the full picture of, plants would be eating the carbon hardness as well as the AS. I've used AS in my old tank and found that the ph was stable at about 6.5, but I imagine after a while that could rise drastically since it's acidic and would be dissolving more of the stone. 
You can actually tell that the waters acidic becuase the surface becomes powdery and easily cleaned with a stiff brush, much like the residue you get when you add a few drops of Hydrochloric acid onto the stone. 

It's interesting you suggest Amano picks his fish according to the stones, a lot of his tanks have Harlequin rasbora' which are a blackwater fish, Cardinals which are similarly acidic loving and hatchets which again, are acidic. It'd be interesting to see what he's doing to the water to ensure they're conditions are optimal when the water could be very hard judging by the ammount of rock work, RO water perhaps? I'm sure the arresting properties of clay don't reduce the hardness loads.


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## Garuf (28 Apr 2010)

What I hope to be my final scape, hc foreground, maximum depth. Though I'm sure there's room for improvement? Critique away, they're always welcome, more brutal the better.


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## Dan Crawford (28 Apr 2010)

BOOM! Love it, fill it


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## Steve Smith (28 Apr 2010)

Dan Crawford said:
			
		

> BOOM! Love it, fill it



I concur


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## Dan Walter (28 Apr 2010)

Now THAT i like!


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## B7fec (28 Apr 2010)

Spot on mate!!


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## John Starkey (28 Apr 2010)

Go on Garuf do us all a favour FILL DAM THING   .


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## George Farmer (28 Apr 2010)

Looking good, Gareth!

The stone on the extreme left looks a little out of place, but I'm not sure what you're doing with the foreground that may bury it somewhat?

Any reason why you're not showing it off with the tank lights on?  It would probably look even better.

How are you preventing the wood from floating after filling with water?

Is this the tank you're moving soon?

Keep up the good work!


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## LondonDragon (28 Apr 2010)

Nice hardscape  looking forward to seeing this planted. Graded sand/gravels for the front right?


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## Garuf (29 Apr 2010)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Looking good, Gareth!
> 
> The stone on the extreme left looks a little out of place, but I'm not sure what you're doing with the foreground that may bury it somewhat?
> 
> ...



Yeah that stones a total bug bare for me but I don't have any that are the right shape/size so I plan on hiding it with moss and hc, I reckon I'll lose about 80% of it's visible surface. 

You're right this is the tank I'll be moving with next month. an exercise I'm not looking forward to. In regards to the wood I've tested it for floating and only the 2 largest bits float, I'll simply leave them in a spare barrel of water I have knocking about so that in theory should cure that, I'll probably zip tie some slate to the bottoms in any difficult areas. 
The reason the lights are off is pretty simple, I forgot to turn them on. 
I'll try and take a snap with them on later, I bit the bullet and ordered the plastic for my LED Lumiaire. I need to email the LED seller and make sure I've got the right drivers then I'll be all set. A nice evening project. 




			
				LondonDragon said:
			
		

> Nice hardscape  looking forward to seeing this planted. Graded sand/gravels for the front right?


Yup, that's the plan. I've got the sand, it's sitting waiting for use, it's a real stress having the sand in their while your doing loads of scapes. I need to get a few more grades of gravel, the fact the smallest bags are 10kg sort of puts me off.


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## Garuf (30 Apr 2010)

As promised, a shot with the light on. I can already tell I'm not going to have fun positioning the intakes and outlets.


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## Dan Walter (30 Apr 2010)

Hey Gareth, looking good man.  Is the wood locked down by the rocks or will you have to soak it first? 

I'm really looking forward to seeing this filled in and planted, any time soon!?


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## Garuf (30 Apr 2010)

I'm able to move into my house for the next 12 months on the 26th of May. I plan on planting it the week after. I decided it was best to slowly collate all my stuff and bide my time rather than rush to get a scape out, move the tank and ruin it all. 

It's a bit of both, Dan. Half of the wood is weighed with rocks, the rest will need soaking. I'm not too worried about that I plan on zip tying a lot of it together to limit movement. I should add slate too, to limit movement further but it's a boring job, if I don't it's one of those things I'll probably end up regretting I suppose. I need to cut some clear plastic to create a boundary to prevent it substrate slip as much as possible.


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## TBRO (2 May 2010)

IMO wait for the wood to sink on it's own, slate can be a pain when under the substrate and the wood never sits right. On the other hand I can't wait to see this planted so I bet your dying ! All the best for the move, T


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## Garuf (2 May 2010)

Yeah, I'm dying, If the tank had arrived on time I'd have it planted right now! I can wait it out though, I have plant choices to keep me busy!

I'll just soak the wood, I'd used slate before and found it fine but I know exactly what you mean about it meaning nothing sits right. As soon as you get a bit of substrate settlement it always seems to sit high.


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## George Farmer (2 May 2010)

Looks better with the light on.... 

All the best with the move.


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## Garuf (3 May 2010)

Thanks, George. I've decided I'm going to get my spare tank set up as a grow out tank, does anyone have any input on plant choices? I know what slow growers I want, but I'm at a loss for other choices, especially in the background, I was thinking Hm? I'd want a focal plant for behind the bolbitis, I'm thinking maybe a ludwigia or something with a warm colour, nesea pediculata maybe? I'm toying with the idea of using some echinodurs in there in place of crypts but I'm concerned about sizes. 
I'd like to use one of the larger Anubias, in the area imediately right of the central large stump. I think something more structural would suit that area well. I'm thinking a lot like the below at the minute. I'm easily swayed.


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## Garuf (8 May 2010)

I'm thinking something like this at the moment, More anubias though. Totally open to plant choices. Crit away.


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## Garuf (13 May 2010)

Subtle tweaking, zip-tied everything together. Still need to choose plants.


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## Garuf (27 May 2010)

After a lot of thought and catalog and website trawling my finalised plant list looks a lot like this:
*Foreground:*
Christmas moss
H c
Acicularis parvula ( other options are E tennelus/Lieanopsis or Blyxa japonica)

*Midground:*
Hygrophilia pinnatifolia
Echinidorus parviflorus "tropica" or Cryptocorne bullosa
Staurguayne sp.
E. parvula (other options are E tennelus/Lieanopsis or Blyxa japonica)
C. helfri

*Wood:*
Anubias Barterii "coffeefolia"
Anubias Barterii var nana
Bolbititis heudellotii
Microsorum pteropus "narrow"
Chrismas moss.

*Background:*
Undulata sp "green" < anyone have any experience? rotalla green if I can it for a none stupid price.
H m
Didiplis diandra
Prospincaca palustris "cuba"
Nyphea sp.
Possibly Limnophila aquatica, depending on what people think I really like the texture but don't want it to be the focal point plant which would throw my ideal by having two focal points. 
I'm not sure there's enough room for all the species and I'm not sure the colours and texture will compliment each other so some tuning might be needed but there's is 40cm from front to back of plantable depth so I don't think I'd struggle to accommodate them. There's more than 14 species too.


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## nayr88 (27 May 2010)

Fully Bonerfied
Nice wood, i have some weeping moss that definatley deserves some Mazatania 
thats a whole loada plants, alot different from the windows paint sketch   , im sure yourll get it all in  

oh and Vot is Ze catalogue  you are using?


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## TBRO (27 May 2010)

Hey Garuf, think I'll be taking down my big tank soon so will have some xmas moss, narrow java and bolbitis going if you want? T


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## Garuf (27 May 2010)

Oh yeah that'd be amazing! If you could pm me with a time frame that'd be excellent.


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## Garuf (27 May 2010)

Cheers, Nayr88. More or less every one going! I've got the tropica distributor lists and all the aquafluer stuff and aquadip so I just went through found out about the plant and whether it suited my needs or not and ticked it off as I went.

Oh yeah I'm sure I'll get it all in, my last tank took I think it was 32 pots of plants and I could have still found room for another 10 or so more, this time I've got half as much space again so yeah I reckon I'll be able to, just, I'm going to maximum texture and impact, as per saintly's latest offering, a really inspirational scape that.

I'll probably post another ms scape, I do love ms paint.


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