# 125L Iwagumi. "New beginning"



## Lauris (3 Oct 2013)

Hello there!

As I said it before and I can say it again - to join this form was the best ever thing I have done.
Thank you all for a brilliant advice on my algae issues with heavy planted (chaos style )
tank. ( Guess what!? Algae issues! Help needed please! | UK Aquatic Plant Society )

.. Now it is history. All plants are gone, Rummy noses and pair of dwarfs will go in quarantine
tank from tomorrow, rest of the fishes and nearly all driftwood - gone. Wasn't an easy step
forward for me in terms of to take out everything and give it away. but this is a step closer
to my dream..

..this will be my second year in aquariums. Lots of things learned.. a lot of more ahead..

So once again - of what I have, I'm sure I will ask a lot of Q regards to DSM, Lights, Co2 and Ferts
Size: 125L
Filtration: 2 externals 440L\h each.
Light: Bulbs: 1 x 28w JBL Color 10k, 1 x 28w JBL Nature 9k
Total W on 125L = 105w
Co2 & Ferts: EI + Carbo once the water will go in, Co2 system
will be purchased before flooded
Soil : ADA Amazone + ADA powder Amazone series
Planned Plants: Cuba (what a surprise  ). Will see in the process what will go in with it.

Tomorrow my tank will be emptied from old gravel and rest of the fish.
Will try to clean it and prepare it for new soil and rocks. Once they
will go in I might ask for an advice on composition. Will keep this one updated

So far everything is just getting ready...


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## Lee Sweeting (3 Oct 2013)

Good luck louris, looking good so far


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## Lauris (4 Oct 2013)

work in progress tonite..


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## Lee Sweeting (5 Oct 2013)

I love the fact that you have taped out a golden ration grid on your tank. Looking forward to seeing the end result Lauris.


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## Lauris (5 Oct 2013)

thanks. yeah. I thought It would be less pressure on my imagination
when grip will be visualised so I can focus on working within a real
frame. once I will be +/- happy with my results I will come back for advice
and with photos  I have the composition more or less in place.. now I need to
let it settle down. I still don't like the contradictions in lines (directions),
so I will keep working on this before I'll come up with the result..


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## Lauris (5 Oct 2013)

ok.. so far..
Yesterday was a deeem busy eve for me.. Took out everything completely from my tank.
A set-up for rummy noses and pair of dwarfs was completed. 25L tank. They will need to
accept it for another 2-3 months. (my wife said I have no feelings as I took away all plants
from fishes away and removed them to nearly empty 5x smaller cheap plastic "jar" *grin* )






Removed black acrylic paint (i thought it will be more difficult but no - came off from the
background nearly in one peace with Mr.Muscle window cleaner help  ).. One filter
assigned to 25L tank, another cleaned and stored till the new set-up will be flooded..
And after a good wash in back-garden the new project started to take its shape..















As yesterday it was a looong nite with cleaning, removing, re-homing and doing things around I did what I did
and was not too happy about the results. As I'm not a big fan of compositional ratio 1:3 (fill:dead air).. so today with
fresh mind and BIG mug of coffee decided to do some digital scratches with adding things to make it look as
close as possible to the scape I want.. So this is what I came up with. Now it has the frame fill ratio 2:3..






I think I will stay with this. I might move a rocks a bit to match the directions of lines but I think more or less
this will be very near to what I would like to have. Need to find some decent bogwood to work on its shape
As I will keep this idea to settle down for a 2-3 weeks any suggestions are welcome...


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## Lauris (5 Oct 2013)

update: i guess it is the right time about to leave the 
CO2 DIY in past. It was fun, it did its job(+/-  ), but it was a 
hussle too... Just ordered this for my new baby ..


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## Lauris (6 Oct 2013)

Today visited my LFS. It was not on purpose (as usually  ), but lucky me..
One of the assistants just finished trimming of one display tank, during the discussion
I got about 3 portions of moss for price of 1 portion. I'm quite delighted I paid only 10 eur
for this.. and this was the moss I was exactly looking for to try to grow on my tree.
Got a few good advices on the DSM method it self as well as the guy does it mainly for all
his display tanks. Got in some information and suggestions on how to deal with it..

Between, I forgot the moss name.. any ideas? Can someone please help with the ID of this one?


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## Lee Sweeting (6 Oct 2013)

Spikey moss?


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## Lauris (6 Oct 2013)

Lee Sweeting said:


> Spikey moss?


 

might be. But it looks like this (taken from exactly this setup):


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## Lauris (6 Oct 2013)

as I predicted this before, after few hours of staring decided to move small things around
to make some corrections in composition..





*1 smashed to half giant stone
*2 lifted the stone up and moved a bit away from the side wall
*3 buried some stones 
*4 created grotto





*1 moved away stones from walls and filled with soil so I can use the space for planting

grotto





full view 





Now I'm more happy as I was. Maybe for 99.9%, so I can leave a bit for improvement  
but as you may know this 99.9% condition is no too stable


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## Lauris (8 Oct 2013)

Moss Update:
Called to shop, have been told it is not Xmas moss (kind of Phoenix moss)
If I searsh by the name Phoneix moss - it's nothing near to it..
I dunno.. by the pictures located in Google I can tell it is Xmass moss
I'll stay with it *blink*
Anyway - it starts to feel well.. Adding a bit of EI and easy carbo daily
New shoots appearing. It makes me happy! And it gives me a hope
it will feel very well in the 125L set-up (hopefully)


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## Lauris (8 Oct 2013)

Hardscape update:
So as I was not happy (whatta surprise for myself  ) with the right side composition 
in new scape, I decided to do some changes again. As I'm happy for the look of the 2/3rds
from left I cut off that part of the scape digitally and worked only with the R side of the scape. 
The issue did not pop out too much when looking on the whole picture (but for me it was 
noticeable anyway) ..the levels of rocks have been placed before made just look it flat. 
Once I found it out I could not sit still. y tank is not too big, so I cannot afford to look it flat in 
one way or other. So I moved few rocks around, removed few small pieces and this is what I 
came up with...

on picture it is easy to notice the changes in depth of the field "after"





and even from top it looks less mess...





and now I can say it did the job..





so nothing major..just small adjustments


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## Curvball (8 Oct 2013)

I like the changes. I can't help but feel if the left hand side, your grotto was flipped around, left to right it would really set off the whole 'scape. That higher point of the grotto more in the centre would work. Just my gut feeling based on your photos, might not work in reality.


Posted from the comfort of my iPhone...


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## Aquamaniac Fishtanks (9 Oct 2013)

This is starting to look good.
Like your aproach to planning, there's nothing like taking your time.
I used the tape on the glass for my mountain scape. It really helps.
In your digital preview you put the tree from one of Faao's tanks.
That three its amazing but in your tank I don't think it will look good. Your going for a pretty solid rockscape, the wood and tree just looks out of place.
Speacially because the rockscape on the left is the big focal point. By adding a tree to the smaller formation on the left the layout feels unbalanced.
Just my 2 cents.
Still in like how its going.

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## Lauris (9 Oct 2013)

Curvball said:


> ..but feel if the left hand side, your grotto was flipped around, left to right it would really set off the whole 'scape. That higher point of the grotto more in the centre would work.


 
Thank you!
My mind probably is tended to take in better the composition from top left to bottom right 
And other side of the big rock does look quite flat, so I won't be able even to create the
opposite look if I would like to



Aquamaniac Fishtanks said:


> That three its amazing but in your tank I don't think it will look good. Your going for a pretty solid rockscape, the wood and tree just looks out of place.
> Speacially because the rockscape on the left is the big focal point. By adding a tree to the smaller formation on the left the layout feels unbalanced.


 
Thank you. Ok. the tree might not fit in or it just might.. But what you suggest to do with negative space?
I would love to fill the frame up to 2/3rds with leaving 1/3rd only to the negative space. This tree might fill it
nicely.. or maybe I can try to fit in tree but more suitable for this scape? Like without bushy bush on the top
but just with different moss attached, just like a "dead" tree (as I have a hard rockscape) with branches leading
opposite direction to stones?

ok... this one is going to be a one mess.. I took out the colours and details about the scape leaving only the shape..

this is how it looks like now.. RED means direction of composition , BLUE - negative space I'm trying to avoid





at this point the direction leads "out of frame" what isn't bad at some cases

In this one (if tree added) the direction of composition stays within the frame what makes it a bit statistic at
one point but still - hitting off the subject and moving back to where it starts..








- blue subject (big rock&grotto) is the main focus point as it is big enough and closer .
- red subject (tree) is in a different level what makes a great perspective and depth of field
- (don't ask me about orange  )..

ok.. it might be just easier to threw in everything randomly and leave it as it is with creating a "natural"
look. but this time it is interesting for me to take in advice and to see with what I can come up with. lol

So the main Question is - to leave the tree in or exclude from the scape

I might agree the tree photoshoped in photo few posts above may not fit it, but I do believe
because of the bushy moss thing. If I change the plan to set the big bush of moss on branches
with getting a tree wrapped in some moss like this ..




May it would be be a better solution?


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## Deano3 (9 Oct 2013)

A lot of planning and graphs I just went with my gut when I scaped but love the graph on the glass, and I love the rock scape but think a tree will look out of place I like a bit of empty space to watch fishes swimming around if it were me I would just have the rock as looks great, well done so far hope all comes together nicely

Dean


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## Lauris (9 Oct 2013)

ok. I think this might become to someone does like/prefer or not.  I think balance wont not be dis-balanced when tree planted.
As from the point of "like" - I would like to see fishes hiding under the . I might try to plant the tree and it really will make it
worse - I will just remove it.. 
Anyway - I appreciate any opinion said  . Thanks


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## Trevor Pleco (9 Oct 2013)

Enjoyed the thorough meticulous planning and great photoshop skills !

I agree with Aquamaniac, having basically two focal points almost competing with each other on either side of the tank perhaps confuses things a bit, is there anyway you can combine both the tree and rock/cave outcrop together... ?

The Cave outcrop looks great and very natural, so you might have to consider getting your chain saw out.

As for the moss, did you see my ID post earlier today, just wondered how these mosses compared to yours ?


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## mede (9 Oct 2013)

Nice preparations! Looking forward to see the progress of this tank....

Maybe a useful tip; don't place the rocks to close to the window as this is very annoying during (plant) maintenance.

Do you already have your tree and does it fit like your sketches?


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## Lauris (9 Oct 2013)

Trevor Pleco said:


> Enjoyed the thorough meticulous planning and great photoshop skills !
> 
> I agree with Aquamaniac, having basically two focal points almost competing with each other on either side of the tank perhaps confuses things a bit, is there anyway you can combine both the tree and rock/cave outcrop together... ?
> 
> ...



Thank you! 
I do believe it might be confusing once  the tree will be in, but I will 
try my best to set it right.. I will consider your advice. Once I will 
come up with tree I will probably post some pictures with different 
positions of the tree fitted in. It might be quite hard to tell only of my 
photoshop pic as it looks more flat as it should be.I like the cave 
myself so I will defo work with tree of  it. I'll take a look on your 
thread about moss ID.
Thanks for following


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## Lauris (9 Oct 2013)

mede said:


> Nice preparations! Looking forward to see the progress of this tank....
> 
> Maybe a useful tip; don't place the rocks to close to the window as this is very annoying during (plant) maintenance.
> 
> Do you already have your tree and does it fit like your sketches?



Cheers mate!
When  rocks came in first -  2of them were sitting flat to glass 
fixed this issue in next two updates. I hope it will have enough 
space now. Anyway as I have only 125L setup I'm quite limited 
on the space *according to the sizes of rock

I'm still looking for a good examples of tree itself anf branches to form it. didn't come up with anything useful yet. I hope some new stock will arrive in couple of weeks to few of LFS shops


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## Lauris (10 Oct 2013)

advice on filtration needed..please!

at the present I have 2 filters.. both eheim 2213.. they can deliver each by the specifications
440L/h As I understand with media and stuff.. it may reduce the actual out flow by 30-50%..
So my question is.. will it be OK to stick with these bot or maybe it is worth to upgrade?

it is 125L (81x36x50cm) tank what I have


Fluval 306 1150 L per hour
v




any suggestions? anyone has it or did hear something good?
as the amazon reviews are good enough to buy it and 
zooplus.de sells it for 85 euro + 15 euro delivery.. good price I think


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## Trevor Pleco (10 Oct 2013)

Have you considered the eheim 2217, I have several of them in bigger tanks and very happy with them, also economical power wise ?


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## Lauris (10 Oct 2013)

it's a bit pricey for me. If I'm selling my 2 2213'ns I can add only few quit to get this fluval

just my concern is.. how good this one does the job..?

I like the fact it is only 15w on power consumption. 
As my 2 eheims are using 16w in total for 880l/h


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## Aquamaniac Fishtanks (10 Oct 2013)

Can say anything about the 306.but I got a 305 running for 2 years with no problems.
And I use it on a 240 liter tank.
They are expensive but that's what you pay for quality.
That said I have a eheim 2215 that beats my fluval for flow. So the 2217 suggested might not be a bad choice to look at.
Those old eheims a very reliable a efficient even today, reason why eheim keeps selling them after so long.

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## sa80mark (10 Oct 2013)

As said above eheim 2217, im using one on my tank and love it, cant fault it at all


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## sa80mark (10 Oct 2013)

Another solution which might suit you would be to buy 2 eheim 2215 replacement motors and keep you cylinders etc this way you could upgrade both filters for aroun £80,


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## Aquamaniac Fishtanks (10 Oct 2013)

sa80mark said:


> Another solution which might suit you would be to buy 2 eheim 2215 replacement motors and keep you cylinders etc this way you could upgrade both filters for aroun £80,



2215 motors working on 2213 cilinders? Does that work? I have both of them and the 2215 is much bigger. Besides it's not just about flow, how about media capacity?

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## sa80mark (10 Oct 2013)

I believe so yes I came across it on another forum in a post about modifying eheim,  when I get home ill see if the bookmark is on my laptop


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## Lauris (10 Oct 2013)

Aquamaniac Fishtanks said:


> They are expensive but that's what you pay for quality.
> That said I have a eheim 2215 that beats my fluval for flow. So the 2217 suggested might not be a bad choice to look at.


I might be chopped in pieces after buying filter for this money 


sa80mark said:


> Another solution which might suit you would be to buy 2 eheim 2215 replacement motors and keep you cylinders etc this way you could upgrade both filters for aroun £80,


this sounds interesting. so I would easily upgrade one after other
other heads with out getting my head axed by my wife 


Aquamaniac Fishtanks said:


> Can say anything about the 306.but I got a 305 running for 2 years with no problems.
> And I use it on a 240 liter tank.


so this might be a way to go (maybe), as 306 should not be bad at all


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## Lauris (10 Oct 2013)

hmm.. after looking a the canister dimensions I don't think the eheim 2213 will be able to fit with 2215 head.
as - eheim 2213 - *160mm* x 335mm and 225 - *185mm* x 370mm


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## Lauris (10 Oct 2013)

ohh..
arrived today! I'm happy as a little kid.. this means
no more waste of sugar, no more worries if I have
any yeast left in fridge, no more weekly mixture
changes and unstable Ph. NO MORE!!! whatta blessing 
I just need now to find a 2nd hand tank for CO2.





this feels very solid build. hopefully it will last and do its job


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## Aquamaniac Fishtanks (10 Oct 2013)

It looks really good. Instead of buying the tank why not rent it?
I pay 2.40 £ for rental a month for mine. 
But when my gas runs out I just call them and the next day they deliver to my door a full replacement bottle. I just have to pay the gas. Last time the guy even assembled the tank himself.

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## Trevor Pleco (10 Oct 2013)

Lauris said:


> ohh..
> 
> I just need now to find a 2nd hand tank for CO2.


 

just contact your local fire hydrant supply and service center, they are bound to have second hand one and should be able to fit the correct valve for your new reg and then supply the CO2. .


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## Lauris (10 Oct 2013)

Aquamaniac Fishtanks said:


> It looks really good. Instead of buying the tank why not rent it?
> I pay 2.40 £ for rental a month for mine.
> But when my gas runs out I just call them and the next day they deliver to my door a full replacement bottle. I just have to pay the gas. Last time the guy even assembled the tank himself.


 
it sounds handy. I dunno if I have an option like, never heard of someone here renting a tank for aquarium purposes. Might be easier for me just to grab one 



Trevor Pleco said:


> just contact your local fire hydrant supply and service center, they are bound to have second hand one and should be able to fit the correct valve for your new reg and then supply the CO2. .


 
this sounds good. I'll do a bit of research of what is available in my area. Thanks


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## Aquamaniac Fishtanks (10 Oct 2013)

Lauris said:


> it sounds handy. I dunno if I have an option like, never heard of someone here renting a tank for aquarium purposes. Might be easier for me just to grab one



Look for companies that supply co2  for pubs and bars. I rented mine from londonbeergas.
Here in the uk renting is an alternative.
Dunno if it is where you live though.
I'll be honest I did buy a bottle.My system came complete with the bottle. I still have it. Problem is I got it from germany, the system was much cheaper there. 
Everything fine untill it was time to refill. 
Everywhere they refused to do it. Due to health and safe they can't refill foreign bottles. Sounded like blahblahblahblahblahblahblahs to me.
I looked at the fire extinguishers, but renting seemed the obvious choice.
Only need a phone call and refill delivered.

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## Lauris (12 Oct 2013)

This is it.. this might be a last post fro me before my wife will come back from shoppin
I did a smart move - I gave her about the same amount money to spend what I left in
 my LFS today.. lol.. maybe I'm naive but maybe it will help when she will see this..

Ok. So decided for JBL Cristalprofi 1501. 20w on 1400L. So for now on I can
stop moaning about the water filtration in my project 





..In a fact I needed a new heater and I was excited about inline external, decided to try one..





and while I was on shopping spree I did manage to get a 2.3kg's CO2 tank for myself..





now I need to manage to fit this in 125rio original cabinet.. few adjustments to be done..
will update later on today


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## sa80mark (12 Oct 2013)

Very nice, some nice buys there


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## Aquamaniac Fishtanks (12 Oct 2013)

I agree.Nice buys. 
External filter is a good choice.
Got to get me one of those.


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## Lauris (12 Oct 2013)

Good job! Cabinet upgraded. Survived after wife seen this. lol.


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## Lauris (16 Oct 2013)

Fissidens and Riccardia mixed

I hope I did it Right and it will survive till the day I will flood this 






















erutangiS klatapaT


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## Lauris (17 Oct 2013)

ok. this is very important update 
My pressure spray bottle arrived today.
So I'm prepared for DSM. lol.






Still counting days! on 26th I'm back from holidays, plants
ordered with my LFS yesterday (Several portions of Cuba and
very few with Dwarf grass). 27th is the day I'm
going to pick them up. The same day afternoon will grab
a few beers and will start to plant in..

A bit of advice needed through..
Can I flood a bit the soil with water before I'm leaving for 
a week? So the soil can absorb the water good enough
before I'm moving Cuba in? Or it is not necessary?


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## Lauris (27 Oct 2013)

It's time about to visit my LFS ,)


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## Lauris (27 Oct 2013)

I't went in the way I felt today . No planting today unfortunately.
My order will arrive only Tuesday morning.

To ease my pain I got inline diffuser. 
I know the glass one looks fancy but I
preffer this time to be more practical and
efficient on Co2 usage. I hope it will work much
better then glass diffuser I have.





and got one pregnant Bamboo shrimp. Will make some
nice photos later on..


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## Lauris (27 Oct 2013)

ok.. so.. today I did not get the plants but there is a very nice new addition to my temporary tank
Amano Shrimp.





This is my first shrimp and I totally LOVE it! Cannot stop watching the little hard
worker. And what's more exciting for me - she's pregnant  So I hope she will deliver well and
shimplets will hide good enough to get away from my pair of neon blue dwarfs.
First thing I did - DIY home for my lovely lil shrimp. I hope she will like it and it should be a good
hiding spot also..





















..So my DSM will start on Tuesday 

About shrimp - advice needed, please..

Does it need an extra Calcium in water to be added?
Or anything else I should know?

Thanks!


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (27 Oct 2013)

You wont get any shrimplets I'm afraid 

The amano shrimp will release Zoas into salt water, which will then develop into baby shrimp. 

Without that saltwater stage, Zoas won't survive/be released.

Cheers,
N


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## Lauris (27 Oct 2013)

ohh.. a bit disapointing.. so it will be a food for my fishes. lol


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## Lauris (30 Oct 2013)

Ok. Today is the day! Excited










erutangiS klatapaT


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## Lauris (30 Oct 2013)

so far so good.
DSM is "up'n running". 

Lights:
2x28w 9k +10k K
1x34w 4k K

After 2 hrs - Humidity - 82%
Temperature - 27C

*Can I have some advice on this please?*
*Will it be OK with this light setup for 12hrs photoperiod?*
*Is the temperature OK? is not too high?*

Sorry for all these questions, just this is my 1st dry start


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## Stormy (31 Oct 2013)

i think the position of the acicularis is not ideal.
acicularis is the taller version of hairgrass:
1) Eleocharis sp mini/Japanese: 3-5cm
2) Eleocharis Parvula: 7-10cm
3) Eleocharis Acicularis: 12-18cm
4) Eleocharis Vivipara: 20cm and above

so Acicularis is more like a background plant.
your layout do not have enough height for acicularis to be planted this way. so either you relocate them to the back, or change it to some shorter version of hairgrass.


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## Lauris (31 Oct 2013)

Thanks. I was not aware of this. I will see what I can do about. 

erutangiS klatapaT


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## Lindy (31 Oct 2013)

It would be good to get more Amano shrimp as they are very social and its great to watch them interact with each other.


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## Lauris (31 Oct 2013)

I have 3 already in my temporary tank ,)

erutangiS klatapaT


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## Lindy (31 Oct 2013)

Oh great. They have lots of character.


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## Lauris (31 Oct 2013)

Stormy said:


> i think the position of the acicularis is not ideal.
> acicularis is the taller version of hairgrass:
> 1) Eleocharis sp mini/Japanese: 3-5cm
> 2) Eleocharis Parvula: 7-10cm
> ...



I think I will move it to my temporary tank background once it is so. So I can get sp mini/japanese for this one. Thanks a lot again (you live as you learn  )

erutangiS klatapaT


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## Lauris (11 Nov 2013)

A little photo update:

DAY 12.

So far "we" are doing well 
No melting or dried leaves.

Lights ON for 12 hours in total. 12PM - 12AM
2x24w bulbs from 12PM - 9PM
1x34w bulb from 7pm - 12AM
Spraying 2 x a day with RO. "pumping" out water when
too much at lover levels of the scape.
Leaving unsealed with cover open once for 1 hour (+/-)
and once for 15 min (+/-).

Growth is not huge yet but with noticeable changes..

To the left (top view)





to the right (top view)





from left to right (top view)





side view from right to left. Eleocharis Acicularis - REMOVED as it is not suitable for my project





few close-ups




















overview





so far so good. I hope it will keep it's way with no issues. Fingers x-ed!


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## Ady34 (12 Nov 2013)

Looking really nice


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## Lauris (16 Nov 2013)

Tree planted 





















Moss in my beta tank getting ready very well 











So the moss will mainly cover the branches, will see.. from what I see it should look well and
feel well on the tree once tighten up. Hopefully my plan won't fail.
With re-planting some Cuba today to free the space for the tree noticed
how well the roots are doing - decided today - Tank will be flooded much sooner
Expectations set - 1st week of December


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## tim (16 Nov 2013)

I think the tree may well look good Lauris


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## Lauris (16 Nov 2013)

Thanks Tim!
There was a suggestion earlier in this journal not to plant the tree and I had some doubts If I really need it
But decided to let it be and will see once it will be planted with moss. So far I like it and in case it will fail
in this scape by some reasons - it will be easy to move to beta tank where I'm sure it will look good (just in case)


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## mede (17 Nov 2013)

Very nice.... I really like the hardscape and the tree.


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## Lauris (18 Nov 2013)

Thank you!

..and another quick one..
Today planted the moss on the tree.. I know it's
a bit ugly for now but it should go quite bushy 
in a couple of weeks







Moved to my temp.tank


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## Lauris (20 Nov 2013)

nahhhh.. I could not resist it any more!
After taken two advices (to flood in 4 weeks and to flood in 2 weeks)
I did choose the middle one (my own) to flood in 3 weeks even 








I hope everything will go well! So far 1/3rd in and no floaters yet!


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## siddaa1 (21 Nov 2013)

Love it, can we get a close up please


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## Lauris (21 Nov 2013)

Thanks 
At the moment I'm doing 100% water change. To avoid nutrient spike. So it will take few hours. I will do some better pics once the watter will settle down and the dirt gone. Possible tomorrow

erutangiS klatapaT


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## aliclarke86 (21 Nov 2013)

Looking very nice. I really hope the tree grows in nice I think it will look sweet!

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## Lauris (21 Nov 2013)

I hope so too. In few months it should be bushy and easy to form. 

Thanks.


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## Lauris (21 Nov 2013)

ok.. this is it.. 100% water change done 30min ago..
now will start the tricky part.. balance of elements 
provided to the plants..














any advice appreciated 

Lights 34w x 1, 28w x 2
Lights ON for 8.5hrs
last 1.5hour only 1 34w bulb ON
1st hour 2x34 bulbs ON
Co2 around 4-5ppm (will see tomorrow what levels it will deliver)

Ned to start with EI..


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## Martin in Holland (22 Nov 2013)

looking really good....with or without the tree both look good to me...although I prefer without, but that's my taste


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## foxfish (22 Nov 2013)

LOL that tree is a bit quirky but hey it looks great!
Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but I think it makes a fascinating conversation piece & will make people smile.


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## Lauris (22 Nov 2013)

To be honest it is true.. the tree plays a role in messing with perspective
this time it is not too successful. As now it is not in quite balance with the
scape and makes it a bit flat. but I still like the tree and I would like to get it
greener .. just give it a go and see how it goes.. in any time I can remove
it and start a new project in new tank (cube or something). I really hop it
will give a plenty spots for shrimps and fishes hiding when needed, this might
be the only practical reason to leave it it as this moss will grow very bushy

Thanks!


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## greenink (23 Nov 2013)

I like this. Really interested to see how it goes.


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## Lauris (6 Dec 2013)

Ok. It's time for another update.
This story has its ups and downs. So I went step forward, to take 2 steps back. lol
More likely I flooded it too soon and was near to spoil everything. thanks to some
wise advices and re-assuring me I managed to save it and get over the issues experienced.
I hope someone being in similar problems (if) may find this post helpful in future..

So after filling the tank and running it with fresh filter and fresh media (70% fresh) the
nitrite spike stabbed me on my back - around 5.0ppm. Amonia was 1.0 ppm as for a first days and I accepted it as normal (it would go away
in few days without affecting the pants). On 2nd day noticed plants melting in few areas. On third
day melting was taking over more and on the 4th day I decided to drain the tank to save the plants.











Once tank was drained it all did not look well at all..
Cuba turned from juicy green to yellowish in colour with areas melting





..I can tell you only one thing - it was heartbreaking to see my plants in this way.

But we do learn from mistakes. It's always recommended to learn from the mistakes done by others, but this is not my case..

So - started the recovery process -
All lights ON for 13hrs per day
No spraying at all for 4 days, not a single drop
Once the melted parts dried OFF I pruned them carefully away
Once melting stopped started to maintain it as before the flooding
just with little changes (adding goodies to spray bottle)

In the mean time my JBL filter is cyckling in 25L tank. lol
1400L/h + eheim 2213 on 25L capacity sounds fancy enough





Today is 10 days since drained..

Looks like I managed
to save my project. The worst is behind and now it looks much better as even before
the flooding (except some few areas of what's left over from damage).
So far of what I'm doing:
Lights:
Added additional 28w tube. So now I'm lighting this box up with 3x28w+1x34w for 12 hours
Around 6 hours it does deliver the full power available, 3hours 2 x 28w with higher K rate
in the morning and 3 hours of 1x34w+1x28w lover K rate before shutting down. Looks like
plants does not mind and only benefit from the amount of light delivered.
Spraying:
2 days with RO + Chelated Trace Elements
2 days with RO + Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Phosphate, Magnesium Sulphate

Cuba carpet is getting really tight in some places what looks really well.
As in background picture you can really notice how well thick it is now.
Two smaller pictures reflect the worst effected areas (that's what is left over
from melting)




This is how it looks from top right now. Different areas of my project. The colour of Cuba
now is really juicy strong *green!* Glosso is stretching out over the stones.
I'm trying to form the runners on stones every 2-3 days and they are really stick to the rock. If it will
go well I will try to form it in a curtain over the big cave rock. This should look very nice especially
when glosso will be not floating but attached to the rock all over.




I think it will take its time to fill some spots as you can see from a top-side view there are some spots
much slower growth (don't mind the big gap to the far side (in pic.) as this is the hole for tree to go back.




And a face view..





..as more I'm looking at the scape now as more I'm having a doubts about the tree..
I dunno if I would like to see it going back in th form and way it looks itself with moss..
but what I'm thinking of is just a tree with a very few branches, much less massive as the
one I have.. with no moss, but maybe some Bonsai Anubias.. or even without anything, just
a "dead" tree to add for the scape more rough feeling of loneliness..
But then I will need to change the project name.. lol


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## TOO (6 Dec 2013)

Good thinking and nice save of a critical situation . Very useful info for others going down this path. Personally I like it better without the tree, but that is mainly a philosophical rather than an aesthetic judgement. I can see the idea of the cave (creates a bit of "mystery"), but for me it is a black hole that "eats" my attention. Otherwise I really like the balance and the lines of the layout.

Thomas


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## darren636 (6 Dec 2013)

That's a great scape. Better without the tree, loving the cave. Mystery indeed


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## Daniel (10 Dec 2013)

I'm keeping my eye on this. Great scape, you don't see too many caves. Personally I prefer it without the tree or perhaps a smaller one to give it more scale.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (12 Dec 2013)

Hey Lauris,
I think your hardscape looks very strong indeed. I'm a fan. 
I too particularly like the 'mystery' of the cave. I believe when the Glosso grows right in and is a wall if green, the cave will look even more impressive.

Well done mate, I'll be watching this to see how it grows in.
Cheers,
N


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## greenink (12 Dec 2013)

Looks great. The melting will be co2 related, so maybe turn lights right down and inject lots of co2 next time you flood!

I always like layouts with big areas of dark and shadow.


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## Lauris (15 Dec 2013)

Hi everyone!
Just a quick update.. 
I'm liking this tree more and more. In my little set-up it starts to deliver results
expected. Branches with moss starting to fill out nicely and form very thick and bushy..
It may look much better in the scape when the moss will take over 
month ago - 




today - 




treating with:
Micro and macro nutrients evry other day daily - 4ml per day
Easy carbo - 3ml daily
Light unit - table lamp 25w, 10hrs daily
Iwagumi still filling out nicely.. Cuba recovered, Glosso feels well.
The only reason I'm not flooding it yet - I'm waiting till the Glosso
will cover more of the stones. I do believe, once tank will be flooded 
with my filtration delivered Glosso won't have a chance to attach to the rock


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## Vito (15 Dec 2013)

Great scape, love the carpet and the tree idea is nice too.


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## Lauris (29 Dec 2013)

ok. that's me again having no patience to wait more..
after flooding/draining the tank twice decided to fill
it and leave it over nite.
EI Ferts dosing as per book.. started the cycle with 20ml of Macro
Easy Carbo added 10ml yesterday on the go. as it was after the lights
were turned OFF - no dosing today. For the 1st day of flooding 
Nitrates comes up with good results (see in tracker)
This time I:
* did increase CO2 injection(God knows for how much bps or 
minute but the test shows up quite high levels, so I hope this will 
get right with extra CO2)
* filter matured well in my little 25L setup. As you can see as per
chart (so far so good)
* I know it was not the case, but I used RO to top it up. So GH is
really down. KH back to the levels where it was when tank was flooded 1st





..ohh.. and another thing, yess.. I did it.. tree will stay out of this scape.
I was so obsessed with this idea I didn't want to take it out.. with time the
clouds in my mind cleared.. just needed to settle down 




ok. I'll keep this one updated with tests..


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## Lauris (29 Dec 2013)

Thanks!
so the first day passed without much of stress.
In morning noticed Cuba leaves lightly curling. This fixed itself
once the CO2 did pick up with more gas injected. Tests shows really
nice results and this means once I'll manage to reduce the Co2 levels
to lime green in drop checker I will re-home my live stock in.
My timer on Co2 is set to work 5.5 hours during the Lights on and it
does switch the Co2 3 hours constant before the lights ON. also it is ON
every other hour form 8AM ( 1hour ON, 1 OFF) and 2 hours over the night. 
With this I'm trying to secure the plants since the levels of Co2 of 300ppm
and more were cut-off to them. I might be wasting some amounts of the co2 but
I'm better wasting then draining it again..




So the test sheet comes up with nice results in all the parameters. 
I really hope this time it will work out..


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## Lauris (3 Jan 2014)

Houdy!
Finally! My first photo update..
So live stock is in since Tuesday. 
All looks well. Plants suffered a bit
melting but I took it as normal because 
of the CO2 amounts were cut down when 
flooded. Now HC is delivering new growth
and other plants are trying to adapt.
Dosing EI over the recommendations of
supplier, Co2 down to 30ppm and lights 
ON for 5.5hrs a day.. Keeping level of
over 100ppm of Co2 24hrs for 3 days brought
my 2kg's Co2 tank near to zero. lol
Ok, forgot the name of this lil beast. took the last one from 
My LFS.. don't ask why, I just named it - Henry. lol








I have those about 15 in my tank. Lovely snails and great addition to my scape





Also I have 6 Amano. Cleaning beasts. Cleaned all my rocks in few days. 
Little one - about 1cm




And bigger one - about 3-4cm




And one of my Yellow Shrimps




ok, there it is.. 




I hope it will go all well. Ordered wave scissors, expecting first cut in 2-3 weeks..
Will add more rummys with time (20-30), as I see it is not enough with my 40


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## Deano3 (3 Jan 2014)

great growth and love the scape glad the tree been removed and I am the same you get something in my head and no matter what anyone says its hard to change but when you do your normally glad you did lol  love the scape and great rock work, love the fish choice like the snails also

Dean


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## Phlash (3 Jan 2014)

That is beautiful. Nothing more to say. 

Sent from my SGP311 using Tapatalk


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## greenink (4 Jan 2014)

Great scape. Lovely photography too. Really like the high contrast and shadows.


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## Lauris (4 Jan 2014)

Deano3 said:


> great growth and love the scape glad the tree been removed and I am the same you get something in my head and no matter what anyone says its hard to change but when you do your normally glad you did lol  love the scape and great rock work, love the fish choice like the snails also
> 
> Dean


thanks Dean. yep, no tree this time.. my mid just needed to settle down to leave the tree outside the picture. I just was to obsessed with the tree idea 
Good push up from different ppl on different forums helped me a lot to sit down and think about it. And I'm glad I did it.

erutangiS klatapaT


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## aliclarke86 (4 Jan 2014)

Mate this really looks fantastic. I'm glad you thought twice about the tree now it would have thrown the whole thing out of balance. 

Keep it up!!

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


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## TOO (4 Jan 2014)

This is turning out really well. I would seriously advice against adding more fish. This would unbalance the scape.

Thomas


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## aliclarke86 (4 Jan 2014)

I agree I think with just those rummy's it looks fantastic if you crowd it you will lose the sense of scale

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


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## Alexander Belchenko (3 Nov 2014)

For some unknown reason I can't see your nice pictures 
Any idea why? Maybe you can ressurect at least some of them? Maybe flickr them?


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## Lauris (3 Nov 2014)

sorry, my photo upload service provider changed TOU and now no photos displays from there over the forums. I'll sort something..


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## Lauris (3 Nov 2014)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> For some unknown reason I can't see your nice pictures
> Any idea why? Maybe you can ressurect at least some of them? Maybe flickr them?




you can scroll down the album here: https://www.facebook.com/lauris.kar...582193261795037.147412.100000131061915&type=3

it was my Juwel125 tank (second tank I ever had). in the bottom there are few pics with Iwagumi setup (failed on me) lol


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