# Forest Dreams - The fairy tale continues...



## alex08 (8 Dec 2015)

_As a setup ends, another one takes it's place.
Forest Dreams continues my journey through the "woods", with a more elaborate hardscape.
Hope you guys will enjoy it as much as i do.

Details about the aquarium and the equipement :

*« Aquarium »*
Aquael Econoline 60
*« Size »*
60x30x30 cm
*« Lighting »*
For now : 36w T8 - Osram 865 - 6500K - 7 hours per day
Coming soon : DIY LED 
*« Filtration »*
TetraTec EX400 (soon with lily pipes)
*« Heating »*
Aquael Comfort Zone 75w , 24°C
*« Fertilizers »*
First 2 weeks, only VIMI Accelerator, in recomended dose
After this i'll use VIMI All in One and VIMI Accelerator, both in recomended dose
*« Gravel, sand, substrate »*
10 kg JBL Manado, 3 kg quartz (0,8-2,0mm) 
*« CO2 »*
Coming soon 
*« Plants »*
Anubias barteri var. nana 'Petite', Bucephalandra Green Wavy, Bucephalandra Mini Needle Leaf, Microsorum needle leaf, Microsorum windelov, Bolbitis heudelotii,
Ceratopteris thalictroides, Limnophila sp. Guinea Needle leaf, Cryptocoryne wendtii brown, Ludwigia sp. Mini Super Red, Creeping moss, Fissidens fox moss, Pelia,
Phyllanthus fluitans
*« Fish & shrimp »*
Neocaridina davidi var. Orange, Sewellia lineolata
Hope to get my hands on some Boraras urophthalmoides.
*« Hardscape »*
Wood : Red Moore, Twinty Wood
Stones : Dragon Stone

Step-by-step pics :


Day 1, the vision :_




_Added JBL Manado and started to scape :_



_Added some mesh pieces to keep JBL Manado from reaching the quartz :_






_Put the Dragon Stones on top of the mesh :_



_Added the quartz :_



_Front view :_



_Some details :_





















_Added some small pieces of Twinty Wood, on the rocks and between them, for a more natural look :_



_More details :_







More pics to come...


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## imak (8 Dec 2015)

Looking awesome,  I wish I could do something like that.  Could you post a top view? 
Just to see the planting space.  

Tapatalking


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## rebel (9 Dec 2015)

Very nice! Love seeing these scapes done in small tanks!


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## Miady (9 Dec 2015)

Morning dear old friend... another scape?


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## alex08 (9 Dec 2015)

*imak*, it's kind of hard to get a top view because of the tanks placement, but i'll give it a try. Planting space it's kind of limited where there are lot of branches, but i do have a lot in the background to work on. 
*rebel*, thank you! 
*Adi*, my friend, this is just one of the surprises. 

Some more hardscape pics :


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## a.aurel (9 Dec 2015)

great hardscape Alex, can't wait to see more


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## alex08 (10 Dec 2015)

End of hardscaping :




1204x431



1206x806

In the second pic you can see how little space to plant i have in some areas, so, indeed, it'll be a challenge.


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## Greenfinger2 (10 Dec 2015)

Hi Alex,  Another stunner in the making


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## Alexander Belchenko (10 Dec 2015)

Great wood! Awesome.


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## alex08 (12 Dec 2015)

Thank you guys.

Here are two pics with the first plants added, Anubias barteri var. nana "petite" and Microsorum pteropus "needle leaf".
So, going underwater :


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## Greenfinger2 (12 Dec 2015)

Hi Alex, Yep your on to a winner  Reminds me of a George farmer Scape


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## Alexander Belchenko (12 Dec 2015)

At first I thought you have nutrients rich substrate, but then re-read first post and see it's manado. Did you use it for color sake or there were other reasons?


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## alex08 (13 Dec 2015)

Planted around 80%, but not all the plants you see will stay. I used some just to fill the tank for cycling.





*Alexander*, i had Manado in the previous setup, so i didn't feel like spending money on something else. I wanted to invest more in the hardscape part this time.
Besides that, i had only good results with JBL Manado. I had it in all the Tranquility projects (i'll also stick to it in the new one, coming this January) and in some of my nano projects.

*Roy*, thanks a lot. I'm honored even to be in the same sentence with George.


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## alex08 (15 Dec 2015)

6 days from the start, all going well :


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## Greenfinger2 (15 Dec 2015)

Hi Alex,


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## banthaman.jm (16 Dec 2015)

Great tank Alex, watching to see how this evolves 

Ps nothing wrong with Manado apart from being on the light side

Jim


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## alex08 (18 Dec 2015)

Thanks, guys! 

You are right, Jim. 

Here is day 12 :


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## alex08 (23 Dec 2015)

Day 19 :




















Added some moss here and there and made some cuts.
Hope i'll manage to change the plants on the left side, after the holidays. Have some plans to use more plants like Myriophyllum (maybe a mix of red and green).
I think it'll help more with the "forest effect" i'm after.


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## Eduard18 (27 Dec 2015)

hello ! you've got a beautiful tank ! if I may make an observation : the stone on the left looks completely different than all the others - color, texture; do you think you could replace it or hide under some moss - fissidens maybe


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## alex08 (29 Dec 2015)

Yes* Eduard*, i also got my eyes on that and will make some changes. I didn't have any Dragon stones left at the time so i used a Seiryu. 
Hard to replace, i have a lot substrate behind that, keeping it in place, so i'll have to cover it some how.


So, day 26 :













No big changes, but i do have a list of plants to add in some places (especially in the middle, on the left side of the trail) : Hydrocotyle sp. Japan, Ranunculus inundatus and Juncus repens.


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## Wombat (30 Dec 2015)

Wow, that looks awesome. My eyes just keep getting drawn along that path between the trees and into the "mist". Beautiful photography too.


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## alex08 (3 Jan 2016)

high resolution



high resolution







This is day 34.
I added some Hydrocotyle sp. Japan in the middle area. Being so easy i think i'll have to trim it very often, but i like how it looks.
Also will try to keep the Limnophila sp. Guinea needle leaf small in the back of the trail. I think it looks better that way.

For fish i think i'll stick to Hyphessobrycon amandae, because they're pretty small and don't harm the shrimps.


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## Greenfinger2 (3 Jan 2016)

Hi Alex,Another stunner of a scape mate   Hydrocotyle sp. Japan On of my favourite looking plants  And yes you will need to constantly trim it Worth it though


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## alex08 (8 Jan 2016)

Thanks, Roy! 

One of my favourite angles :


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## Greenfinger2 (8 Jan 2016)

Hi Alex, Love the angle shot


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## alex08 (9 Jan 2016)

Another set of pics from day 34 :


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## alex08 (17 Jan 2016)

Last set of pics from day 34 :























_Phyllanthus fluitans_








Don't think i'll use CO2 in this tank, everything seems to grow just fine without it. Only VIMI Accelerator, VIMI Micro and PPS-Pro, for a 2 ml per day dosage.
Lighting is up to 7 hours a day now and it'll stay like that.
No algae so far, i'm really glad.








New pics coming in a few days.


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## Tim Harrison (17 Jan 2016)

Lovely scape, very tranquil feel to it...


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## alex08 (18 Jan 2016)

The forest comes to life :





Thank you, *Troi*.


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## Greenfinger2 (18 Jan 2016)

Hi Alex, Great scape Amazing photography


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## Wisey (19 Jan 2016)

When I saw the early hardscape pictures, I didn't think this was going to turn out so well. I thought the sand looked like too much of a rigid T shape and that there was not that much planting space. This just shows what a lack of imagination I had for what it could become. This is a fantastic example for inexperienced scapers like myself to see what you can create when you design your hardscape around what the tank will become in the future, not what it looks like when you first put the hardscape together. This is a truly inspirational scape and I really like it!


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## alex08 (27 Jan 2016)

Thank you! 

Here is day 39 :


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## Boxerbrad (27 Jan 2016)

Very beautiful, I love all the little details in the scape - plenty to focus in on


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## Wisey (28 Jan 2016)

I love the leaf shape of the Ceratopteris Thalictroides. I considered it when I setup my first scape last year, but in the end put ranunculus in the foreground which had a similar pleasing leaf shape.

I'm looking to rescape soon and I'm thinking about Ceratopteris Thalictroides again. I think I have seen it sold in bunches as well as pots. It's hard to see how you planted yours, was it individual stems or a whole plant with multiple stems? Any advice for planting would be appreciated please.


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## amritc1 (29 Jan 2016)

Very nice, yeah need to how to control the ceratopteris. My one just went wild.





Need know how to trim it and replant it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## alex08 (6 Feb 2016)

Day 39 , some more pics :














Thanks, *Boxerbrad*.

*Wisey*, i did put wholeplants with multiple stems, both on the right and the left side. Seemed easier that way.

*amritc1*, don't have much to say about it, just trim it more often, especially the side shots. Keep it as compact as possible.
If it's in the foreground you should keep it as small as possible, especially in height. If it's in the background, don't let it go into other plants, keep it in one place. 
It's a very fast grower.


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## JohnC (7 Feb 2016)

Very cool. loving the shapes.

I've been musing over Ceratopteris Thalictroides for my Little Things scape as a solution of my dislike of stems in the background.


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## alex08 (14 Feb 2016)

Thank you, *John*.

I'll leave you guys with pics from day 56 and day 63.
Not much changed since last time, only a few trims here and there.
Crypts in the back are getting rather tall so i'll have to cut them and only leave the small ones. Looks better like that.
I'm also beginning to see a lot of Orange shrimplets.

_Day 56_








_Day 63_











Microsorum species and Ceratopteris Thalictroides are taking more and more space so i'll have to trim them a little too.
I must say i do love this ''bushy'' look more.

More pics to come!


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## alex08 (23 Feb 2016)

Day 69


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## LondonDragon (12 Mar 2016)

Featured on FB Gallery


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## alex08 (3 Apr 2016)

Thank you, Paulo. 

Last set of pics from day 69 and more to come :


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## Nelson (3 Apr 2016)

Beautiful tank .


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## Tim Harrison (3 Apr 2016)

There's obviously a lot of work gone in to maintaining and growing that scape, fantastic, good to see it in our FB gallery.


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## alex08 (6 Apr 2016)

Thank you. 

Here is day 72 :


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## Greenfinger2 (6 Apr 2016)

Hi Alex Wow the scape has come on since I last looked  Stunning


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## Wisey (6 Apr 2016)

This just gets better, and better, and then when you think it can't get much better, it gets better.


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## MWS (7 Apr 2016)

That really is a bit special - I want one


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## alex08 (10 Apr 2016)

Thanks guys!

Some more from day 72 :











And more pics to come.


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## rebel (10 Apr 2016)

Have you scraped off GSA from those branches? I've got the same problem but too lazy to scrape it.


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## EdwinK (10 Apr 2016)

Shrimps and Neritina Natalensis snails do it for you.


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## alex08 (23 Apr 2016)

*rebel*, i think *EdwinK* has a solid point. I must say i can also use some Pistia, for shade.
I guess GSA started to pop when i played with the lamp hight, lowering it.

I'll leave you guys with day 84 of the setup :


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## alex08 (14 May 2016)

_Day 92












_


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## Greenfinger2 (14 May 2016)

Hi Alex, Wow that looks so cool.Love the Hydrocotyle drift


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## alex08 (14 Jun 2016)

Thank you, Roy.
Here we go with the last days of this setup :

_Day 96 :_























_Day 100 :_


















































The end.

It was one of my favourite setups so far and hopefully will end up in a contest this year, will see.


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## alto (15 Jun 2016)

Fantastic photo series of the takedown


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## rebel (15 Jun 2016)

Wow great idea to show it backwards!


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## alex08 (9 Oct 2016)

Thank you guys.

I took a break from forums for a few months but now i'm back. New journals coming soon.


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## rebel (9 Oct 2016)

Welcome back!!


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## Manisha (9 Oct 2016)

Very inspiring to read through, ☺man thanks...


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