# Red Ryuboku



## stu_ (28 Sep 2013)

Tank-Optiwhite 60x41x30
Lights-Arcadia AF128F- 2x15W T8
Filter-TetraTec EX1200
Substrate- Tropica Substrate and Unipac Fiji (coarse)
Pressurised C02
Hardscape- Redmoor
Plants- 1-2 Stau Repens, 1-2 Lilaeopsis brasiliensis,Hairgrass,Xmas moss,Crypt Amoricum,Crypt Willisii,Crypt Petchii,Myriophyllum,Hygrophila Pinnatifida,Hygrophila Araguaia,Bolbitis,Bolbitis Difformis,Microsorium minor.

Thought i'd share my new setup, it's been going a couple of days.
Daily water changes, 50% or more.5hrs lighting for the time being.
Nothing earth shattering or ground breaking, i'll be my first attempt with co2 after various low tech set ups.
The Hygro's and Crypt Willisii are still in emmersed form so the look is a little unbalanced.


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## sa80mark (29 Sep 2013)

nice, I can imagine spending hours sat in that chair looking into the tank, it will come to life brilliantly once you stock it, any ideas yet as to fish/ shrimp

Mark


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## Ady34 (30 Sep 2013)

Nice 'wood' aquascape. Looks really great in the alcove


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## Ian Holdich (30 Sep 2013)

Really like this scape stu, keep that lilliapsis in check and you'll be on a winner,


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## stu_ (1 Oct 2013)

sa80mark said:


> nice, I can imagine spending hours sat in that chair looking into the tank, it will come to life brilliantly once you stock it, any ideas yet as to fish/ shrimp
> Mark


No plans yet, going to get the whole co2,flow thing worked out first.Probably something to keep the scale.Open to suggestions.


Ady34 said:


> Nice 'wood' aquascape. Looks really great in the alcove


Cheers


Ian Holdich said:


> Really like this scape stu, keep that lilliapsis in check and you'll be on a winner,


Thanks mate.
In check, as in keep the pathway clear? That's the plan.Scissors at the ready.


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## stu_ (1 Oct 2013)

That's a first.Came home to find my very first bacterial bloom


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## kirk (1 Oct 2013)

Looks nice, I like the way you've arranged the plants looks like I imagine things to look under water in the  wild.


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## stu_ (19 Oct 2013)

Small update from last night.
Not exactly mega growth compared to some super charged tanks, but that's to be expected, lighting considered.
Good news is that just about everything is settling in well, even the Stau Repens & H.Pinnatifida which i've always failed with before.
Going to top this Hygro and replant this tomorrow, to try and keep this lower & bushier, not sure it's in the right place though.
Removed some of the older, tatty leaves from the Bolbtius,
Both stem groups at the rear, Myriophyllum & H.Araguaia are also picking up nicely.
Lighting up to 5½ hours
Couple of pics


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## tim (19 Oct 2013)

Really nice scape this stu, looks really clean and healthy  can just see some nice full bodied tetras zipping in between the wood. Lovely mate.


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## Dave Pierce (20 Oct 2013)

watching this one  this is one of those scapes you can easily picture looking amazing when grown in.


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## stu_ (20 Oct 2013)

tim said:


> Really nice scape this stu, looks really clean and healthy  can just see some nice full bodied tetras zipping in between the wood. Lovely mate.


Thanks Tim, considering Red Phantoms


Dave Pierce said:


> watching this one  this is one of those scapes you can easily picture looking amazing when grown in.


Cheers Dave, that's the hope. No pressure then....


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## stu_ (23 Oct 2013)

Note to self, more than anything.Refilled co2 FE today.
For the record, this is how much you can get in a Jewel Lido 120 cabinet.


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## Bufo Bill (23 Oct 2013)

Love this scape, and good photography too. Opti-White really pays off doesn't it? That water is crystal. Well done!

A cabinet interior shot too; you are a tease! (insert posh chocs  "ambassador, you are spoiling us" pop culture reference here).
All the best from Bill.


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## Phil Edwards (24 Oct 2013)

That hardscape is excellent.  I love wood and rocks covered in moss; it's a very peaceful look.


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## stu_ (24 Oct 2013)

Bufo Bill said:


> Love this scape, and good photography too. Opti-White really pays off doesn't it? That water is crystal. Well done!
> A cabinet interior shot too; you are a tease! (insert posh chocs "ambassador, you are spoiling us" pop culture reference here).
> All the best from Bill.


Thanks Bill,pretty sure water changes every other day help with the clarity 
More of a Toberlone fan myself....


Phil Edwards said:


> That hardscape is excellent. I love wood and rocks covered in moss; it's a very peaceful look.


Glad you like it, early days though.


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## stu_ (1 Dec 2013)

Been awhile since i updated....
The _Hygro Pinna_ melted big time, so replaced with _Hygro Siamensis 53B_
The _Lilaeopsis brasiliensis_ is throwing out plenty of runners, and is probably due for a trim & the Xmas moss is attaching nicely.
Random pics.


 [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/87853640@N06/]

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/87853640@N06/11157445496/]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/87853640@N06/11157445496/http://www.flickr.com/people/87853640@N06/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/87853640@N06/11157447386/ http://www.flickr.com/people/87853640@N06/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/87853640@N06/11157473134/ http://www.flickr.com/people/87853640@N06/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/87853640@N06/11157590063/http://www.flickr.com/people/87853640@N06/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/87853640@N06/11157475854/ http://www.flickr.com/people/87853640@N06/[/url][/url]


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## darren636 (1 Dec 2013)

this is going to be a cracker


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## tim (1 Dec 2013)

Lovely stu, nice shot of the berried rilli


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## stu_ (2 Dec 2013)

darren636 said:


> this is going to be a cracker


Ta, certainly hope so !


tim said:


> Lovely stu, nice shot of the berried rilli


Cheers Tim, to be honest she's the main reason i've put the slightly distracting shrimp guard on the inlet.


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## Claire (12 Dec 2013)

Looking good there Stu! I see you also gave up on the D-D reg, piece of sh*te that they are


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## stu_ (13 Dec 2013)

Thanks Claire
TBH i never actually got around to using the D-D reg, i'd picked it up practically free, but couldn't be bothered throwing more money at it, in an effort to convert it.
The UP A-165 that's running is the 1st one i've used, but seems pretty good.


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## Claire (14 Dec 2013)

I just couldn't get it to stop leaking, so eventually sold it and got a china one with solenoid and it's perfect. I've just ordered this one for another tank, so will see what it's like. I needed one that I could adjust flow pressure on for the other tank since I was using an inline diffuser, but it's just going to be an in-tank glass diffuser this time so thought I'd try this one and see if it's any good. At least it's only coming from England and not Hong Kong or something if it's crap and I need to send it back haha.


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## stu_ (2 Jan 2014)

Probably going to kick myself for asking this.
Co2 comes on an hour before lights & goes off 3 hours before the end of the lighting period.
My drop checker's in an area of low flow, and isn't yellow.
Just changed from a ceramic diffuser to an inline atomiser.I've dropped the BPS rate, but this effect is the end result.Everything is covered in a fine mist....

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/87853640@N06/11715368394/ http://www.flickr.com/people/87853640@N06/


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## tim (2 Jan 2014)

Hey stu, plants will uptake co2 more efficiently via the atomiser mist IMO so often leads to pearling even with a lower bubble rate.


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## Ian Holdich (2 Jan 2014)

Yep, Tim is correct, this is proper pearling ; )

Nice pics.


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## stu_ (2 Jan 2014)

Cheers fellas
like i said, thought i'd kick myself for asking.
Surprised really, less than 1 BPS (JBL bubble counter), and only couple of hours with a T8 lighting, and the moss pearls 
(yes i now it needs trimming)


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## Richard Dowling (3 Jan 2014)

Stu, considering we have the same setup near enough, I'm a little miffed that you're getting more results with what appears to be a lot less CO2 lol How annoying!

Lovely Scape, I'm keeping an eye on this one 

Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk


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## Claire (3 Jan 2014)

Looking good Stu. Glad you're managing to avoid too many algae problems so far as mine was a disaster for a while before I got it back under control. It looked like something had had a sneezing fit into the tank the amount of green slime that was on everything and what wasn't slimy was black and hairy. Honest to goodness it was a nightmare haha. Would love to see a fts


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## stu_ (3 Jan 2014)

Cheers Richard, lovely will do just fine.
We have similar set-ups, to a point.The lights.
Mine is the now the limiting factor,which makes the co2 management easier for me.
Stuff grows a lot slower ,than say some of the 'Signature' scapes on here with better lighting.
The good point of this means i don't have to trim so often.

Thanks Claire
So far i have picked up a bit of hair algae whilst experimenting with new BPS rates.
Don't worry, the atomiser's only been going a couple of days, plenty time yet for problems to occur 

The moss & Myriophyllum will both be getting a proper trim this weekend, lost most of the Staurogyne (again) but will try a small patch in an area of better flow.Just trying a few things out really.
Tiny bit of Anubias nana 'Golden', added for good measure.
Seeing as you asked so nicely, couple of random pics.







http://www.flickr.com/photos/87853640@N06/11738863295/http://www.flickr.com/people/87853640@N06/


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## stu_ (16 Feb 2014)

Keep forgetting to update this, had to wade through 10 pages to find it buried away, shows how busy the forum is 


stu_ said:


> Don't worry, the atomiser's only been going a couple of days, plenty time yet for problems to occur


This turned out to be rather prophetic.
The atomiser (like so many threads on here), has turned into a right PITA.
Despite regular cleaning, the BPS has been erractic, starting at the correct level and slowing down through the day, even at 3 bar working pressure.
Result=hair algae.Not too much, but enough to ruin the xmas moss.Chopped this right back, to start again.
On the same note, got rid of moss stones in the foreground & replaced with E.Tennelus.Some from pots (which has melted badly ), and some 1-2 Grow.
Swapped the Hygrophilas around, didn't look right before.
Had a TMC lily pipe in previously, but this angled the flow straight down, and resulted in zero surface agitation.This has been changed to an Easy aqua one that's resolved that problem.
Just to cap it all, the Hydor inline heater's now playing up, tank temp=20ºC, dial=28ºC. Having read recent posts about faulty ones,i'm now a slightly worried.
Glare monster is currently glaring so,will post FTS later.
Fun hobby this.


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## stu_ (16 Feb 2014)

Blimey, that's depressing.Spot the difference, or lack of.


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## Ian Holdich (16 Feb 2014)

Are you going to enter this in the iaplc? 


Looks great Stu!


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## Claire (16 Feb 2014)

The thing that annoys me about my inline is that if you point your outlet to where you want the co2 to go, then you get no surface agitation, but if you point it for surface agitation then you waste gas. I am using just a cheap and cheerful in tank diffuser for my new 35l setup and it's great. Seems to be pretty efficient on gas too. Just had to wait an absolute millennia for it to arrive from HK. Ordered 2 coz I know fine well if I ordered 1 I would break it and have no co2 for another 6 weeks...


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## stu_ (17 Feb 2014)

Ian Holdich said:


> Are you going to enter this in the iaplc?


Actually it had crossed my mind,still got a couple of months till the final entry date, so hopefully i might get it looking how i want before then. 
Thanks for the support BTW.


Claire said:


> The thing that annoys me about my inline is that if you point your outlet to where you want the co2 to go, then you get no surface agitation, but if you point it for surface agitation then you waste gas. I am using just a cheap and cheerful in tank diffuser for my new 35l setup and it's great. Seems to be pretty efficient on gas too. Just had to wait an absolute millennia for it to arrive from HK. Ordered 2 coz I know fine well if I ordered 1 I would break it and have no co2 for another 6 weeks...


 
TBH, the original set up of diffuser under the filter inlet, worked really well, except for the lack of surface agitation.This was fine before i put the Rill's in, but i'm trying to get the population up to a decent level, hence the need for a shrimp guard.This then impeded the flow of gas up the inlet.
The new Lily + a different atomiser (thanks Lee), would seem to be a good solution.


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## stu_ (10 Jan 2015)

Unlike this journal, this tank was/is still going.
Running out of time before the IAPLC entry date, plus  a rubbish pic=  1263rd



Went on holiday in May so took the gas off, and kept it off for the rest of the year.
Actually did pretty well, virtually no maintenance through the summer as we spent most of it outside.The _Bolbtis_ went crazy...
Replanted this in December, stuck the gas back on,changed over to Tropica aquasoil.
There's a thicket of _Rotala_, back right,which has already hit the surface and so has had its 1st trim back down to substrate level.
The Frogbit & couple of random placed mini _A.Reineckii _are just temporary.
Never really tried done a carpet properly before, currently resisting the urge to trim the _Monte Carlo_ as it has really rooted properly.Advice?


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## tim (11 Jan 2015)

Looking good stu, with the Monte Carlo, you can mow it low, it bounces back well or to make sure it roots well press it down with the palm of your hand, this method worked well for me with my tree scape, I'd press it flat before waterchange and syphon off the crap that stirs up, think I only trimmed it twice in around 3 months using this method.


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## stu_ (12 Jan 2015)

Thanks for the tip Tim.


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