# Ohko Ocean, now 'Peaks'



## Dantrasy

The clock is ticking on my 2ft. It's been running for almost 2 years. So soon I'll do another scape.

Weeks ago I purchased some ohko, and today I finally found an hour or so to play around with them.

I want to add more (yes, more) to the back left, but I'll have to use glue to create the shape.

Here's where it's at:


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## Crossocheilus

If you can replicate that in-tank and plant it up it could be one of the most amazing and unique bits of hardscaping/rockwork I've ever seen! There is very little room for plants but it could definitely still be good.

It must have taken hours to meticulously fit together each small piece to create such a natural look.


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## Michal550

This looks awesome. can't wait to see full setup.


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## drodgers

Wow that will look amazing !


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## GTL_UK

Stunning rocks :]


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## tim

Lovely rock work mate, just be aware those cd cases will affect your water parameters


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## Michal550




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## Dantrasy

Some of the CDs are albums by The Cure, so I'm hoping that will prevent algae.


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## Martin in Holland

If your not going to use those CD's, how are you going to keep the rocks up there...do you have any idea about that yet?


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## Dantrasy

Planning to use 40x40cm floor tiles. They worked well in my 19L nano. I'll start by braking them up into quarters. The rear stack is almost 1ft high, so I guess I'll have to brake up a lot of them.


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## Dantrasy

I'm trying to make the rocks resemble waves. 

Here's the inspiration:


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## Alexander Belchenko

That looks so incredible. Even now. Without any plants.


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## Dantrasy

Cleaned out the tank today. Later I'll go to the shop for some aquarium safe glue/silicone.


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## sonicninja

Looks fantastic!


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## sonicninja

It reminds me of something from a Marvel film, like the bits of rock are going to form some massive boulder monster!


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## Dantrasy

Thanks sonicninja!

Fingers crossed on this one


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## Dantrasy

Last pic before I start placing rocks in the tank... (no glue or wire has been used yet). I was happier with the first try in the first post, but it's bound to change again when it's finally done.


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## Wallis97

Either one looks fantastic


From Alex - Internet names may vary. Comment not fit for human consumption. Contains small parts.


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## drodgers

The second one really does look more like the picture .
looking forward to seeing it in the tank.


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## Dantrasy

Started putting the rocks in and it's *infinitely* more difficult doing it in-tank. Rocks slide on the glass and titles. I think I'm a long way off... I can spare 3-4 hours per day for the next few days, so got plenty of time. The back left is the hardest part. Still, it's a lot of fun!

I got some aquafix glue - the type you use to glue a tile under water in a swimming pool. Says it's aquarium safe. 

I won't be adding any soil until the rocks look 'good'. Here's what I have so far.


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## Dantrasy

Soil is in. 
Gave up on the curve.
Still a bit of of tweaking to do.


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## Tim Harrison

Awesome hardscape...what are your planting plans?


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## sonicninja

Really good!


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## RynoParsons

Awesome. Allot of effort and patience to get your hardscape like that. You gona have a dry start? 
Its a pain to get the soil to stay put with slopes like that


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## Dantrasy

Thank you. I'm 99% happy with it. 

The soil is staying put for now. I plan to plant hc most everywhere, after that I may add some dhg in places. 

Still playing with the top left. It'll probably change. 

I'll plant and fill next weekend (no dry start).


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## ADA

Awesome!!! Some Fissidens and Mini Pelia would look great in there too.


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## Martin in Holland

Really starting to look like that Japanese wave....great job


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## drodgers

Stunning !


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## Alexander Belchenko

I can't even imagine how long and how hard it was to create such stunning hardscape. Imo, your original idea is very skilfully done. Love the angle shot.
Do you plan to use eleocharis sp. Mini, with curled leaves? I think such sp. Will suit your picture well.


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## Dantrasy

Thanks for the comments!

I received some critical feedback from an internet friend that prompted me to make some rather severe changes to the top left. Right now, I'm in the middle of putting the curve back in. It's a 'new' curve because the original rocks are in use elsewhere. 

I came up with a name for the scape - Ohko Ocean


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## 1stgolf

Scape looks amazing mate


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## The_Iceman

That's a nice hardscape you have there!
Can't wait to see the final pictures!


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## Dantrasy

Here's some more progress


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## Stu Worrall

love it! Cant wait to see it planted   Ive got about 50Kg of dragon stone ready to go in my 120cm at the moment.  Its a very hard stone to scape  with and youve pulled off an excellent job here.


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## Antoni

Wonderful hardscape! Just not sure if you have thought about maintaining it - scrubbing the stones etc.... especially the top left stones if not properly fixed, will be pain to clean and as they are closest to the light, I presume will be the ones that will need most attention.


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## Wendal_spanswick

I've never been that keen on rock scapes but you've won me over with this one. Awesome mate. Congrats. Like everyone else I can't wait to see it planted.


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## REDSTEVEO

This is a stunner already, can't wait to see it planted up, really exciting....

Those rocks at the top of the curve on the left, are they just balanced or have you fixed them with something to keep them in place. Just a word of advice if I may, when you start filling this up watch out for soil slippage as you are doing it and be on standby to catch any rocks that move or fall, the tank is lovely and I would hate to see it get scratched or damaged. One tip before filling it up, give all the soil a really good spraying until it is soaked which should stop most of it floating to the surface and causing the rocks to slip.

Good luck with it,

Cheers,

Steve


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## X3NiTH

Great bit of stone work!


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## parotet

Excellent hardscape! Looking forward to seeing it planted... I guess it is a very challenging project, at least it would be for me... It would be a pity to hide this piece f hardscape.

Jordi


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## Tim Harrison

The curve at the wave apex makes total sense when viewed from the front, as in the last shot...it's taken the scape to a whole different level. And like Stu said dragon stone is difficult to scape with, I've avoided it for this exact reason, but I think you've blazed a trail with this one.


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## Tim Harrison

Just had another look...for what it's worth I'd take the little peak in the wave trough at the back out, I think it interferes with the scapes flow and it's not needed to create tension - there's plenty there already...but just my opinion.


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## Dantrasy

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone.



REDSTEVEO said:


> Those rocks at the top of the curve on the left, are they just balanced or have you fixed them with something to keep them in place. Just a word of advice if I may, when you start filling this up watch out for soil slippage as you are doing it and be on standby to catch any rocks that move or fall, the tank is lovely and I would hate to see it get scratched or damaged. One tip before filling it up, give all the soil a really good spraying until it is soaked which should stop most of it floating to the surface and causing the rocks to slip. Steve



Ah, you're right. Thanks. I'll be careful. All the rocks are just balanced.  



Antoni said:


> Wonderful hardscape! Just not sure if you have thought about maintaining it - scrubbing the stones etc.... especially the top left stones if not properly fixed, will be pain to clean and as they are closest to the light, I presume will be the ones that will need most attention.



To begin with I think I'll cheat. i.e. no livestock and regular draining and spaying with 50% h2o2. Turn bga red in seconds. I've soaked ohko in 50% (out of the tank), cleaned it off, then put it in a crs tank with no casualties. So down the track I might get some embers are neons. 



Troi said:


> Just had another look...for what it's worth I'd take the little peak in the wave trough at the back out, I think it interferes with the scapes flow and it's not needed to create tension - there's plenty there already...but just my opinion.



Yeah, someone on another forum said a similar thing. I think the problem is the shape is off and it's made up of too many rock fragments. I'll try to find a single rock for that spot. I want to keep it .. it's meant to be Mt Fuji. Only problem is that I've run out of biggish rocks.


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## Greenfinger2

Stunning Hard scape Congratulation one of the best i have seen in ages 
Looking forward to the planting


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## Dantrasy

Got the water in this weekend. Turns out the rocks weren't cleaned well enough.



But the water cleared after x4 50% water changes and a bio chem zorb pouch.


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## rodoselada

very nice!


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## Tim Harrison

Cool, what substrate is going in at the front?


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## Dantrasy

Thanks rodoselada!

@Troi, I'm going to use La Plata sand. I was going to use Sarawak (because I have some left over from another scape), but it's colour is too similar to the ohko. La Plata is more pale, so it should make for a better contrast. I'll drain the tank completely when I add the sand.


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## Robert H. Tavera

Like it  
Sarawak sand will look nice and more natural than la plata sand, look at some internet photos of rocks and sand in the wild, and the sand is made of the same rocks that surround it, but of course crashed.

How many kilos of rocks you have there? !!!  20?


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## tim

Lovely job with the hardscape mate, almost be a shame to add plants, will follow this with much interest.


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## zgmarkozg

looking great so far...


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## Dantrasy

Thanks Robert, Tim and zgmarkozg!

You might be right about La Plata and Sarawak, I have to compare the two.


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## Wisey

Really like the scape! After playing around with my dragon stone looking for good designs I know how hard it is to work with it and get something that looks this good!

I'm interested to know if there are any long term problems or implications of having such deep substrate in that back corner?


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## Alexander Belchenko

Very interesting layout, but the top left wave with that curve back... hmmm... I'll wait to see how it develop over time. Maybe it's too big for my taste, or too dark.


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## Dantrasy

Wisey said:


> I'm interested to know if there are any long term problems or implications of having such deep substrate in that back corner?



I hope not. This is all pretty experimental. There a large stack of floor tiles back-left, so I don't think the soil and rocks will move much. I had to unscrew and remove the inlet pipe. I have to attach a shrimp guard to it, otherwise any fish/shrimp will get sucked straight into the filter.



Alexander Belchenko said:


> Very interesting layout, but the top left wave with that curve back... hmmm... I'll wait to see how it develop over time. Maybe it's too big for my taste, or too dark.



I can fix the darkness with a light. I still haven't found the right position for the the light fixture to hang. As for the curve, it's funny, It occurred to me that it's too small.  
The wave in the painting is much bigger.

BAD NEWS: We've had some hot days lately (it was 45 degrees celsius yesterday). The hc grow box got too hot and about half has turned to mush


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## Wisey

45 degrees! You are obviously nowhere near me in Aberdeen then! Sorry to hear about the HC


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## Robert H. Tavera

The same thing happened to me several times in the past, inted of , I always get


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## Dantrasy

stuworrall said:


> love it! Cant wait to see it planted   Ive got about 50Kg of dragon stone ready to go in my 120cm at the moment.  Its a very hard stone to scape  with and youve pulled off an excellent job here.



Hi. What do you have in mind for all your dragon stone? 50kg in 3ft is heaps. I think i have about 15kg in 2ft.


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## Stu Worrall

Dantrasy said:


> Hi. What do you have in mind for all your dragon stone? 50kg in 3ft is heaps. I think i have about 15kg in 2ft.


I keep changing my mind!  Im stuck between a scree slope, angled rock in one direction with manzi wood, dragon spires pointing in different directions and a few others.  Once I get the stone and wood into the tank I'll know then 

Its a 4 foot by the way


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## REDSTEVEO

Dantrasy said:


> Thanks rodoselada!
> 
> @Troi, I'm going to use La Plata sand. I was going to use Sarawak (because I have some left over from another scape), but it's colour is too similar to the ohko. La Plata is more pale, so it should make for a better contrast. I'll drain the tank completely when I add the sand.



Hi Dantrasy,

When I set my tank up I had La Plata and Sarawak sand. You are right the Sarawak sand is a bit yellow, the La Plata is much whiter. So originally I mixed the two together which achieved the right effect, but now when I top up I just add the La Plata because it changes colour over time anyway.

Great job with the Hardscape, you have really set the bar high here and I can't wait to see this develop. Really looking forward to seeing it planted. Loads of light and Versicularis maybe?

Cheers,

Steve


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## Dantrasy

Thanks for the advice Steve. Mixing is a great idea. I have some of each sand (but a lot more of the La Plata). Did you do 50/50? 

I plan on adding the sand to the tank today.


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## alto

Play with it (in small amounts) & see what you like ... especially once it's underwater & under your lights (which can significantly change the hue of pale sand).
My personal preference is to have one sand dominate & the other accent, rather than a 50:50 mix
The light sand will add strong contrast & brightness to the substrate (no idea how much you intend to plant over) ... if you have fish in mind for this tank, also consider which sand will best set off the fish (generally fish feel more comfortable with darker/dimmer substrates but I think with the amount of rock, you can choose whichever you prefer & fish will be fine)

It's a great rock scape!


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## Robert H. Tavera

Thats a nice idea too,  maybe sarawak with few la plata for a glowing silver effect!


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## Dantrasy

I ended up mixing 50/50 Sawawak / La Plata. 1.5 cups of each was more than enough. The new colour is a bit like Nile sand (salt + pepper) with a bit rust mixed in. 

As you can see I've had a bit of fun with 'Mt Fuji'. Also raised the the back right peak. This was all designed to resemble the painting more. Some may cringe, but I like it.

The front-left cave is where the scape really diverges from the painting, so I accentuated it by placing sand and rock fragments inside the cave.

I hoped to plant the hc today, but it's too far gone (and out ... JAMC anyone?). Some sort of funky fungi has taken over. Looks like I'll have to chuck the whole tray.

I did a 100% drain, so it's still murky after refilling...


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## REDSTEVEO

Dantrasy said:


> Thanks for the advice Steve. Mixing is a great idea. I have some of each sand (but a lot more of the La Plata). Did you do 50/50?
> 
> I plan on adding the sand to the tank today.


Sorry about the late reply, the answer is yes 50/50.

Steve


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## Wallis97

I really like this scape!


From Alex - Internet names may vary. Comment not fit for human consumption. Contains small parts.


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## navneethtk

Love the scape. Just create some variations on the right side.


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## Eboeagles

Amazing hardscape - best I've seen for a while. 

Very impressed with the way you've achieved the look of your initial inspiration picture / idea.

Inspirational!


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## Dantrasy

Thanks guys! 

Got the hc in the other day. Changed up 'Mt Fuji' and raised the soil level at the back.


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## Greenfinger2

Hi Dantrasy, Looking good


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## Rob P

Best of luck with this buddy, 12 out of 10 for the rock work. Hope this turns out just how you want it


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## Edvet

Even though i am not a huge fan of overly scaped tanks, this looks very good, i would keep it to one plant species.


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## Dantrasy

Thanks Rob P!

Hi Edvet, thanks for the advise. The one species idea is sound, but the extreme sides of the scape have me puzzled (particularly the right). I need to cover up the soil. Do I build up the soil and plant hc so it looks like a continuation of the slope of the rocks? Or do I keep the soil level where it is on the sides and plant dhg (and hope there's enough light in that right trench for it to spread). Not wanting to add soil to the sides and mess with the appearance of the rocks (yet) I decided to plant a little dhg down each side. But it could always be pulled. hc down the sides would be murder to trim.


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## TallDragon

Dantrasy, 
I noticed that you used Bio Chem Zorb. This is the first time I heard of it in this forum. Perhaps, you could share your experiences about it in the thread in 'Filtration'.
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/index.php?threads/9581/

 The way it cleaned up you water when you drowned the rocks was quite impressive. Do you plan to change packets every month or bimonthly? http://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?id=544


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## Dantrasy

TallDragon said:


> Dantrasy,
> I noticed that you used Bio Chem Zorb. This is the first time I heard of it in this forum. Perhaps, you could share your experiences about it in the thread in 'Filtration'.
> http://www.ukaps.org/forum/index.php?threads/9581/
> 
> The way it cleaned up you water when you drowned the rocks was quite impressive. Do you plan to change packets every month or bimonthly? http://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?id=544



There's not much to say really. It works just the same as SeaChem's Purigen, only unlike Purigen it can't be recharged. I only get it because it's readily available in local stores (unlike Purigen). Given the choice I'd prefer rechargeable Purigen.

I only ever use polishing media during initial setup to get the water crystal clear from day 1. The first time I clean my filter (say, in 2 months time) I'll remove the pouch and add some more matrix or something I have on hand.


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## Dantrasy

I have white card as a background atm, but I'm not really liking the darkness it's creating. I'll replace it soon with some frosted film. Plants are all in now. There's hc, mini pellia and dhg. Just have to wait now 

Here it is under 2 tubes:


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## Ady34

Gravity defying!
Very unique hardscape and a great concept.


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## Greenfinger2

Hi Dantrasy, 
I agree with Ady  I cannot wait till the plants grow in now


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## greenmac75

stunning, can't wait to see it grown in


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## Yoda-BB

Excellent rock work...LOVE it !!!!!


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## Joost

The rock work is amazing, good job! I really can't wait to see the tank when the plants are fully grown.


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## parotet

+1 for a white frosted background

Jordi


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## nayr88

Really well done, this it'll be amazing once grown in and you can allow the hc to climb over some of the smaller shards or keep on top of it, either way, it'll grow in really nice,


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## Dantrasy

The frosted background has been ordered 

Thanks nayr88!

Found new dhg growth today and the hc seems to be going well.


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## mantis147

Just stumbled on this from your signature, amazing rockscape! you have probably mentioned earlier in the thread but what type of rock is this?


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## RynoParsons

Also time for a update!


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## Dantrasy

Thanks mantis147! The rock is ohko (or dragon stone)

@RynoParsons, I'll post a new pic on the weekend. 

The frosted film I ordered arrived all creased and looking terrible. So I've re-ordered some. 

Fish are in now (neon tetras). 3 lots of 7 went in over a week (last week). Added 4 ottos too. I lowered the co2 to accommodate the fish and now there's a green tinge on some of the rocks. So since this week I've just been running with 2 tubes.


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## Greenfinger2

Hi Dantrasy, 
With the frosted film, You can buy it at DIY stores  Its for bathroom windows so people cannot see in. Works out cheaper too. Just wet the glass and apply with a sponge or a window cleaning blade,


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## Rob Dahl

You are a master of dragon stone. Congratulations!


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## Justal

Love it, especially the way you've based it on an iconic image. Good work.

Al.


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## Rob Dahl

Haven't gotten to the end yet, can hardly wait to see what you came up with.


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## Rob Dahl

A minor point. I would trail out some of the darker sand into the lighter foreground at the point the little wash intersects, as if gravity affected its angle of repose.


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## Dantrasy

Quick update.

GSA is still an issue. I'm running just 2 tubes for 6hrs. And I've dosed a little P (the light blue ada stuff has P doesn't it?). My next plan of attack is to clean the filter, all the hoses are very dirty so I guess the inside of the filter is too.

Here's a quick candid pic. This is the angle I see it in the living room.


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## Rob Dahl

I have a GHA problem in my SpecV and have cut back the lighting period in hope that will solve the problem- that plus daily cleaning with a test tube brush!


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## flygja

Wow, I've totally missed this and what a cracker it is! Great hardscape and use of small Okho rocks. If I were Oliver Knott I'd put a plastic lion on the top of the "wave". LOL!


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## Wallis97

Or a small surfer


From Alex - Internet names may vary. Comment not fit for human consumption. Contains small parts.


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## Dantrasy

@Justal, thanks!
@rob, thanks! When I add new sand I'll use the Sarawak (the darker one). 
@flygja, yeah, I'm getting Lion King comparisons quite a lot.


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## Rob Dahl

Just put a black plastic bag over my SpecV (5gal) for 3 days to see if that will hit the GHA. Then cleaning algae again and, 75% R/O water change after that w/ 2x Excel dosing. Hope it doesn't harm my cherries, they've done well w/ Excel before.


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## RynoParsons

I just dose lots of seachem excel it works wonders. Can also use a syringe and squirt it on the algae


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## RynoParsons

Other thin is using a spray bottel with diluted peroxide and squirt ot on the problem areas


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## Rob Dahl

Thank you Ryno


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## RynoParsons

Just one thing the peroxide isnt really shrimo friendly. So I will use 12ml per 100L (tank volume) once a week max. Thats the 40vol peroxide. Can use less concentrated peroxide if you have shrimo and dont want to lose them. Also big 50% weekly waterchanges is recommended


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## Rob Dahl

Think I'll wait and try this if other method doesn't work. I have nice shrimp in there. Risky


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## Alexander Belchenko

Dantrasy said:


> @flygja, yeah, I'm getting Lion King comparisons quite a lot.



Maybe that's because you need to make top of actual wave with curly plants?


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## Dantrasy

I'd been using old h202 which I think had mostly turned into water (i left the cap off over night by mistake a few times)

So I grabbed some new 6% and it fizzed up really good. 

As for excel like products, I use dino spit (10% glut, while I think excel is 4%). For the past week I've does a little each morning and swished it around so it doesn't settle as a clump and kill the hc. 

in short, gsa is getting better.


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## Rob Dahl

Glad to hear that Dantrasy. I have decided to extend my blackout to four days in the SpecV, and then a cleaning with test tube brush, a big R/O water change treated w/ Replenish and a 2x dosing of Excel. Fingers crossed. BTW- baby shrimp in other tank seem to be increasing in number, but I think it's just because they're easier to see now.


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## sonicninja

Bit of a general question really, and not meant in a critical way at all (love the scape!)
With such a relative low % of plant mass in the tank and the light levels still required to grow the plants won't algae always be an issue in a scape such as this? 
Just wondering since I know I would struggle to grow the plants and keep algae at bay.....


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## Dantrasy

sonicninja said:


> Bit of a general question really, and not meant in a critical way at all (love the scape!)
> With such a relative low % of plant mass in the tank and the light levels still required to grow the plants won't algae always be an issue in a scape such as this?
> Just wondering since I know I would struggle to grow the plants and keep algae at bay.....



Yes, plant mass is low and always will be. the fixture hanging is 4x24w but I've only run 2 tubes for the past couple of weeks. For now on I intend to only ever run 2 tubes. I'm running a 2 year old aquaflora (the red hue) and a new tropic (aka midday, white hue). Looks like hc trimming will be every  2 weeks. If this doesn't work I'll have to think of a way to raise the lights. 

I've spot dosed close to 100mls of 6% h2o2 this past week (around 10mls morning and night). The mini pellia has fried, but i didn't like it anyway. Nothing else seems to have suffered. 

This weekend I'll clean the hoses and filter.


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## Dantrasy

I have a double thick frosted background now with 2 clip on spot lights at the back shooting up.

Here's the other view...


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## ADA

Can I spy eriocaulon?


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## Alexander Belchenko

Beautiful!


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## Martin in Holland

Great ......!!!


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## Dantrasy

Thanks!

Yes, there's a few erio plants in there.


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## mlongpre

Very very nice! Love the rock work.


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## Bassljne

Looks great! Amazing rock work!!


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## Voytek

Nice progress  It will look superb when plants will grow stronger on the stones.


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## Mark-jan

Update


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## Dantrasy

Well here it is as of tonight.

The glass is pretty dirty, and some of the rock are a bit green, so excuse that.

I'll be out of town for a few weeks, so fingers crossed it looks ok when I get back. My wife is going to try best (I hope )


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## BBogdan

Amazing hardscape!


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## Jarbas

Man... Wonderfull Hardscape!

How do you clean your Red Dragon Stones?


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## Dantrasy

Thanks BB and Jarbas!

To be honest I've been cleaning the rocks a bit with a toothbrush. About 1 hour per week. 

I've read the gsa has a 2-3 week life span and it's best to NOT clean it. Just let it run it's course and it will go away by itself. So that's what I'm trying now. It's been 3 days so far.


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## Dantrasy

I went away for a couple weeks and the tank suffered big time. The fish were fed too much and wc'es were too small. And I can't be sure about fertz.

Here are some pics an hour or so into cleaning. Note the the front right has been cleaned.


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## Dantrasy

I cleaned it up one rock at a time. Lifted each out of the tank and scrubbed (and scrubbed). I dropped most of the rocks I cleaned in a weak (2%-5% bleach solution).

It took a long time.

There's fewer rocks now. And it looks a bit different. I filled a 2L ice cream container with rocks that weren't put back. Still need to put the sideways rock back somehow. But so far so good, it's looking nice tonight.


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## nayr88

Haven't checked in on this one in a while. Looks exactly how I thought it would look ., amazing!! 
What's next? How much longer are you planning to run with it. 


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## Sk3lly

How did all that BBA appear? Were co2 and lighting not kept on a timer? Great recovery though


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## Dantrasy

Yes, Co2 and lighting are on a timer. Still are. 

My wife was in charge while I was away. She says she did little (5-10L) wc'ed daily. While I usually do big 60-70% wc'ed weekly. 

She also says she fed the fish daily, which is too much. 

I don't know for sure what she did with liquid fertz. 

Anyway, she tried. And I love her for that.

My constant maintenance must make a difference. Thankfully it's only 2ft, so a recovery was possible.


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## Sk3lly

Dantrasy said:


> Yes, Co2 and lighting are on a timer. Still are.
> 
> My wife was in charge while I was away. She says she did little (5-10L) wc'ed daily. While I usually do big 60-70% wc'ed weekly.
> 
> She also says she fed the fish daily, which is too much.
> 
> I don't know for sure what she did with liquid fertz.
> 
> Anyway, she tried. And I love her for that.
> 
> My constant maintenance must make a difference. Thankfully it's only 2ft, so a recovery was possible.


It's amazing what a difference in results when maintenance schedule is altered.

Good on her for trying though  


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## Dantrasy

This pic has me thinking of a rescape...


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## Alexander Belchenko

Wow! Such cool pic! Great colors! Wow!

 What is this place?


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## Dantrasy

no idea where it is. A friend sent me the pic and it's been my desktop wallpaper for a while. Looks perfect for a 60cm tank!

maybe sand instead of water? blue/black sand??


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## The_Iceman

Great inspirational image Dantrasy.

I'm immediately thinking about Riccardia covered stones, and the not so typical Malaya Soil


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## Rob Dahl

I'll bet Evelyn (moss maniac) will love this picture.


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## Greenfinger2

Nature is a wonderful place to get inspiration from  Looking forward to the scape now


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## Mot

I really like your photos from the corner and above the tank.  Really gives a good look at the aquascape and tank as a whole as you see it.  Ill have to add this angle next time I pull out the camera.


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## TallDragon

Amazing pictures. What filter media do you use to keep the water so crystal clear? Do you use purigen?


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## Dantrasy

TallDragon said:


> Amazing pictures. What filter media do you use to keep the water so crystal clear? Do you use purigen?



I use Seachem Matrix and a pouch of api bio chem zorb (but the pouch was removed around the time of the last lot of pics). 

Bio chem zorb really does do what's advertised on the pack. 

Another reason the water stays nice and clean is because I use a Fluval 406 on just 120L.


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## Dantrasy

Still no changes to this tank. But I have found another pic for inspiration. I think it's from a video game.


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## Wisey

Alexander Belchenko said:


> Wow! Such cool pic! Great colors! Wow!
> 
> What is this place?



I would guess that could easily be somewhere in Scotland. It is very typical of the landscape in the Scottish Highlands, I do a lot of hill walking there although I live on the East coast of Scotland in Aberdeen. Every time I go for a walk I see great inspiration for what would be fantastic stone landscape style aquascapes.


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## e.santoso

Hi dantrasy.. Just got signed up only to reply to this thread.. Love the idea of your scape work.. I just did my scape about 1 month ago and makes me want to do a rescape.. Would love to do this kind of scape with small seiryu stones.. Btw, what is the make of the in and out flow of you pipes? They look like stainless steel or something.. 


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## Dantrasy

Thanks santoso. The pipes are stainless steel borneo wild. 

Seiryu is nice rock but it messes with water chemistry too much imo. I prefer ohko. 

Have you post pics of your tank?


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## REDSTEVEO

Dantrasy said:


> no idea where it is. A friend sent me the pic and it's been my desktop wallpaper for a while. Looks perfect for a 60cm tank!
> 
> maybe sand instead of water? blue/black sand??



Here is a link to the original picture.

*www.libertaddigital.com*
Image: 230-es-la-noche-de-cesar-viajes-islandia-rpN_7ubd0NY.jpg

http://tv.libertaddigital.com/videos/2011-01-11/es-la-noche-de-cesar-viajes-islandia-6014763.html

Page: www.libertaddigital.com/historico/2011/01/11/

You must have been gutted when you saw that algae, great recovery though.

Cheers,

Steve.


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## e.santoso

Dantrasy said:


> Thanks santoso. The pipes are stainless steel borneo wild.
> 
> Seiryu is nice rock but it messes with water chemistry too much imo. I prefer ohko.
> 
> Have you post pics of your tank?



Hmmm.. Not sure if I can get that kind of pipes her in Indonesia.. Yeah that's what I heard that seiryu can affect the water chemistry but haven't got to know what it is (I'll do some more research) just got into this hobby about only 2 years. 

Unfortunately I haven't got the guts to show my tanks yet.. Especially since I juts got it rescaped and keep on messing around with it lol..  Maybe in another 2 months when everything is grown in lol


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## Dantrasy

Most the rocks are out of the tank. The water got so stirred up I was putting my hand into blackness and fishing about to pull out the rocks. They've been cleaned. The dark coloured ones are still wet. Pepsi can in the middle to gauge size.



Quite by accident I came across a scape (Singaporean scaper i think) that I really like. Looks challenging. Not 100% sure how how to keep the walls from falling forward. I'll try leaning them against tiles, see if that works.       


Chop out the sides to make it suitable for the 2ft cade, and....



This looks really nice and a friend has a lot of mini pellia I can have. So I'm going to try create something similar with ohko. I'm really looking forward to this one. Never used ferns before. 

Is that needle java in the foreground?

So looks like I'll be using: ferns, mini pellia, hm, colorata (although I think I'll use willichi tips), dhg, maybe some hc, and lots of flame.

Stay tuned, mock ups start tomorrow!


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## Mot

That is one of many great scapes by Robertus and is named "Cove".  He has hardscape photos during the setup if you search for them on Aquascaping World.  They are a lot of very large rocks lined up in a V shape and then filled in with smaller rocks in front.

Hope that helps.


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## Dantrasy

Here's the first try. The top of the atlas is the height of the tank.


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## Alexander Belchenko

As usual - only wow I can say.


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## Stu Worrall

dantrasy you really know how to setup a good rockscape


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## Tim Harrison

Looks complicated...nice work. Reminds me of the Tianzi Mountains China http://hiddenexposed.com/2014/10/tianzi-mountains-china-son-of-heaven/


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## tim

Some serious depth to that layout and it's not even in the tank yet  Will be one to watch for sure.


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## Dantrasy

Filled the corner voids with tights full of soil.


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## The_Iceman

Nice "sock"-work 

Really looking forward to the final result! All I can say is: You know how to create a tremendous depth!
Really nice!

Cheers,
Chris


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## Dantrasy

Thanks Chris!

I think I made the socks too big, I'll post a pics with some rocks in the tank later on today.


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## Molroth

Dantrasy said:


> Here's the first try. The top of the atlas is the height of the tank.


Impressive work!!!


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## Mot

Dantrasy said:


> Thanks Chris!
> 
> I think I made the socks too big, I'll post a pics with some rocks in the tank later on today.




In my experience you will be better off just using soil as normal and skip the socks for this scape.  Just make sure your big rocks are supported all the way down to the bottom glass.


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## Dantrasy

As promised, here's an update. I'm not finished with the hardscape by any means. There's lots of little changes to make.


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## Alexander Belchenko

It seems like you have "lego" set of your rocks. You can make (almost) infinite number of layouts, re-using the same pieces. I like such approach.


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## amoran45

Dantrasy said:


> As promised, here's an update. I'm not finished with the hardscape by any means. There's lots of little changes to make.


Wow....the sense of depth is amazing for such a small tank. Well done! 

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## Nick_V

very very very awesome scape!

Verstuurd vanaf mijn XT1068 met Tapatalk


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## Dantrasy

Thanks for the comments!

After filling the tank was very brown...



But it's clearing up...


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## Alexander Belchenko

Oooh, misty mountains....


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## Sk3lly

Looks fantastic!! What plants are you planning? 


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## Edvet

I think i can see Mount doom in the background


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## Dantrasy

Yeah, a bit too misty. I'm be happy once it clears some more. 

Planting, at this stage, be consist of:

Flame Moss (I have a lot of it on hand). It will go back center mostly. Might need to get some ss mesh
Mini Pelia on a lot of the rocks.  
Willow Moss (I think that's what I have). Front left and right 
Dwarf Hair Grass at the base of the peaks
Willichi, hm and sp. green on top of the peaks. 

I'm thinking of filling the gaps between the peaks with mini pellia covered mesh/rocks and build up the soil behind. With the level raised plant stems on top. If I do this I'll probably ruin the 'peak' appearance (the gaps will be gone), but it's the only way to get the stems up on top. Any thoughts?


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## Sk3lly

Could you use like mini wabi kusa balls wedged behind the peaks maybe??


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## flygja

Wow! Are you securing your rocks to each other with glue? I'd hate to scrub the side glass with rocks touching it!


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## Dantrasy

No glue. It's a balancing act 

Got some planting done today. Just taking to slowly to see what I like the look of. So far I have flame (middle to back), sp green, colorata and wallichi. Once they triple in height I think it'll look good. 

A friend is going to pass me a bulk load of mini pellia. Should get that within the week. 

I have a little dhg and I'll pop that in tonight. I have a lego doco to watch.


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## Dantrasy

I visited a friend last night with an epic 4ft scape and he gave me mini pellia, narrow java, peacock moss and weeping moss. So I spent some time today doing stage two of planting (or in this case gluing ). 

I'm running 2 tubes only, 5 hrs. I think I might raise the fixture soon. 

For photos I have all 4 tubes running + x2 back lights (clip on desk lamps).


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## Alexander Belchenko

Em, too much clean. Hope it will stay so clean and later ))
Your stone work is really top-notch. Keep going!


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## viktorlantos

Beautiful work with these stones. Hopefully will have no algae on it otherwise you will brush this beauty all the week


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## ADA

Loving this, great depth and perspective.


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## ADA

What did you use to hold the rocks together?


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## Dantrasy

@Victor, thanks a lot. I'm trying to mitigate algae as much as I can. Only 2 tubes are running for 5 hrs, and I raise the lights last night about 10cm.

@ADA, there's no glue, only gravity


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## Greenfinger2

Hi Dantrasy, Your rock work is simply Awesome  Love the planting too


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## Chris Jackson

Great job, very impressive!


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## Dantrasy

Gave the sp green a trim to encourage dense growth. 

Left over moss is currently resting on the sand on ss squares, but that's only temporary. 

Top view:


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## Martin in Holland

I'm loving this...every angle looks great


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## Dantrasy

The sp. green now winds all the way to the back (on the left). if sp green looks too big at the back I'll replace it with hm. Same goes for the little bits of sp green in rock cracks.





Water line has been lowered approx 10cm to get this fts. I usually tilt the fixture back to give more light to the back of the tank, but this time I was holding a hairdryer in one hand and a remote shutter button in the other. I need three hands


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## Mot

Your best work yet.  Would love to see you photographing the tank as you have it nailed.  Maybe pick up a new trick or 2 from you!


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## Dantrasy

Thanks a lot Mot. Hope you did well with your iaplc entry. 

When I take a fts I have all 4 tubes running and 2 clip on lamps for back lighting. And the camera is on a tripod, and I use a remote shutter. With the amount of light I have and the distance the camera is from the tank, I have the shutter speed at 1/100, aperture at F11 and iso at 3200. Using the standard kit lens 18-55mm  with a Canon 600d.

Here's the original pic:


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## The_Iceman

Very detailed work and impressive amount of depth! 

Need more updates, more images more frequently


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## Dantrasy

Thanks Iceman!

Here's a side view pic I took a week ago when the sp green got it's first trim. It's 1ft from the base of the tank. 



I'll take a pic of the back lighting next time.


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## Dantrasy

A forum friend on the other side of the country (Australia) has built me a reactor. This is the first bit of aquarium equipment I've purchased this year, I'm real excited about it. From what I understand he has spent months perfecting the design and it works unbelievably well. It's almost 2ft tall. I should receive it in the post next week. So no more gurgling gas build up in the little sera 500 for me. 



Yes, it's ridiculously big for a 2ft tank .... but ... things are afoot! I have the green light with my wife to get _*a new tank *_ All I know at this stage is that it will probably be 4ft (at least 3ft). Maybe 120x40x35. 2x2ft Ikea stands, custom tank and the rest I'll work out later.


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## Greenfinger2

Hi Dantrasy, Wow That is a big one


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## JacksonL

Dantrasy said:


> A forum friend on the other side of the country (Australia) has built me a reactor. This is the first bit of aquarium equipment I've purchased this year, I'm real excited about it. From what I understand he has spent months perfecting the design and it works unbelievably well. It's almost 2ft tall. I should receive it in the post next week. So no more gurgling gas build up in the little sera 500 for me.
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, it's ridiculously big for a 2ft tank .... but ... things are afoot! I have the green light with my wife to get _*a new tank *_ All I know at this stage is that it will probably be 4ft (at least 3ft). Maybe 120x40x35. 2x2ft Ikea stands, custom tank and the rest I'll work out later.



Can't wait to see what you do with a bigger tank mate.


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## Mot

Very exciting news Dantrasy.  I just went from a 90cm to 120cm a few months ago and love it.  Adding that 30cm makes a lot bigger impression.


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## Crossocheilus

Great news about the new tank!

Have you got any pics or description of how the inside of the reactor works?


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## Martin in Holland

Crossocheilus said:


> Great news about the new tank!
> 
> Have you got any pics or description of how the inside of the reactor works?


I would like to see that too.


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## Dantrasy

here's some info about the reactor written by the guy who made it:

'Design thoughts focussed on making a reactor that would meet the brief of a 3000 lph pump, plus also ensuring it was future proofed should the owner wish to upsize in the future (or downsize). So, what I came up with was to make the reactor as per usual out of DWV piping for strength, 500mm high, 25mm tank fittings, netta 25mm male to 25mm female elbow to make it easy to change out the barbed directors to different sizes in the future. It also uses a 25mm threaded riser tube inside same as the first version I did to maximise flow. All future units sold will be built like this to give the owner maximum flexibility and comes supplied with injector nozzle and all clamps required for installation, plus a detailed diagram and step by step instructions on installation. New special paint that adheres to plastic has been used as well. '

and there a little later:

'Found another improvement. Stopped using the Neta fittings from Mitre 10 after a few elbows were found to be cracked when pressure tested. Now using Guycol elbows from Reece. They are much more robust. Also moved the 4mm injector spike straight onto the inlet, making the whole installation neater and taking up less space. This is fitted with a 4mm tap on the end of a short length of co2 line. To bleed, simply remove the co2 feed line (from the regulator side) from the tap and open the tap to bleed air out. This is the final production model.'


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## Dantrasy

An issue i thought might come up, has come up.

A friend (who really really knows what he's talking about) has commented on the the 'massive colour contrast' between the sp green and the mosses on the rocks.

Any thoughts? is the sp Green too bright for the rest of the scape? 

I don't want to pull the sp green out (not yet anyway). So to blend the light green sp green with the rest of the scape I've started to drape it down the sides of the peaks. I've used hm and tiny bits of hc at the back to do this also. I'll get a pic up tonight.  

Thanks for your help!

In other news, the reactor arrived today. I'll hook it up later in the week.


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## Dantrasy

Any opinions regarding my colour contrast question? (detailed above)

For now I've decided to keep the sp green, but limit the height of the dome. In fact, with the height I have in mind you may not even see a dome shape in a fts. We'll see. 

I'm also thinking of angling the wallichii more (this will require removing some sp green and replacing it with wallichii. then, perhaps the wallichii can be domed to greater effect (i have a preoccupation with domes!)

like this:


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## Mot

Looking good dantrasy.   Based on your inspiration i think the contrast is what you want.  My 2 cents is to go for it with the wallichii maybe even interweaving the two just a bit along those lines.  The gaps between you upper rocks showing the sp green from the side may be what is bothering you.  Try filling in with some more rock and moss in the gaps.


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## The_Iceman

I would say, don't remove the moss! The contrast is good, as it adds quite a good amount of looking "natural" to it!


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## viktorlantos

Mosses gives more natural look with their deep green colors. The vivid green plants sometimes mess up the overall look and push the shot to the unnatural kind of way.
Sp Green is somewhere in the middle, but looks brighter for sure.

Still this can work out nicely.

I may would do a gradient filter on top 1/3 of the tank to reduce exposure with .5-1.
This usually helps on plants which reflect the light too much and appear very bright.

Darker colors appear aging, ancient, meanwhile brighter looks young, fresh. So it is up to you what you would like to achieve with the final look.


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## Dantrasy

Thanks the advice. But how do I apply a gradient filter? In Photoshop? (I have no knowledge of Photoshop). Or is the filter attached to the camera lens? I have a canon 600d and used the 18-55mm lens.

The reactor will be fitted tomorrow.



And here's a pic taken the other day.


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## Martin in Holland

That thing is massive ...are you sure it only dissolves CO2?


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## parotet

Dantrasy said:


> Or is the filter attached to the camera lens?


At least the ones I used are pieces of tinted plastic to be mounted in a frame before your lens. The filter has a very smooth transition (the most common is a neutral tinted one, there are of several colors but the final effect is not very natural of course) from dark to transparent. When putting the tinted part against the sky and adjusting the transition at the horizon, it allows you to compensate areas that have a very different level of light, which are very difficult to balance in the final shot. In other words, it gives uniformity and allows you to better control all the areas of the picture. I'm pretty sure there is something than can be done with Photoshop, but these filters are quite cheap compared to other pieces of equipment and work very well for landscape photography (and probably also very tanks!)



Dantrasy said:


> The reactor will be fitted tomorrow.



Oh man, didn't notice the size until you posted this picture! Looking forward to seeing the results

Jordi


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## Alexander Belchenko

Dan, try to find moss sp.610 - it's light green moss, maybe that helps to smooth transition between very dark moss and very bright greens.


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## Dantrasy

Just been reading about Circular Polarising (CPL) filters. I'll give it a try.

I had to Google sp. 610. To me that's rose moss, and yes, by chance, I have a little of it.

As for the reactor, the size is ridiculous, I know. The guy who made it asked what filter I have and cabinet dimensions etc... So flow rate was taken into consideration. I have a Fluval 406.

Tomorrow I'll clean the filter and re-plumb everything with new hose (and remove the inline heater which is broken). I don't think I need a heater, it never gets below 18 degrees c.


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## Alexander Belchenko

I don't think sp.610 is rose moss, but I could be wrong of course.


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## parotet

Hi Dantrasy

Beware a polarizing filter is something totally different (it is for polarizing the light entering your lens: more saturation and less shiny surfaces). Here's a link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduated_neutral-density_filter

Jordi

P.S. I noticed there is a photoshop filter for this


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## Dantrasy

Thanks Jordi!


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## Dantrasy

The new reactor is in and going  well.

Here's an update. I think the erio has to go and the wallichii needs to thicken up a bit more.And the sp green mounds behind the peaks aren't even, have to think about that too.


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## The_Iceman

Fantastic!

The natural look of it is wonderful!!
What's the plant in the middle/sand-area (apart from the eleocharis)?
Cheers,
Christian


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## Dantrasy

Thanks Iceman!

There are a few plants/mosses in the sand area, but mostly glosso.


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## Dantrasy

And here's the plant list

Rotala Colorata (I’m slowly pulling all of it out and will replace it with sp. Green)
Rotala sp. Green
Rotala wallichii
Flame moss
Fissidens
Crypt parva
Crypt nevilli
Narrow java fern
Peacock moss
Willow moss
Java moss
Erio parkeri
Dwarf hair grass
Mini pellia
HC
Glosso
Monte Carlo


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## Dantrasy

I'll be going for what may be the final pic this weekend. 
Wish me luck the fish pose nicely!

In the meantime here's a funny sort of phone pic I took the other day.


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## rebel

Looking forward to this.


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## Dantrasy

No final pic I'm afraid. 

The wallichii stems got too tall and shuffling them down into the soil wasn't working too well. So I made the decision to cut them all and replant. It will be a few days before they are looking good again. 

After cutting the stems:




The right side floating about prior to replanting:


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## Dantrasy

Little update video. Should have made it longer.


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## JBronsveld

Glad I found this thread!

Awesome to see this evolve and all the planning you did before putting it in the tank.


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## Dantrasy

Thanks JB!

Now for the long wait to see how it goes in the comps.

I'll pull this tank down by Jan.


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## rebel

Dantrasy, time for you to do a avatar themed floating rock scape....


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## Dantrasy

haha I know you're joking rebel. the avatar thing doesn't really interest me. 

This is next (for the 4ft coming in Dec/Jan)


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## Aeropars

That is a stunning tank!

How do you keep your rocks so clean when you are planted up like that?


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## rebel

Dantrasy said:


> haha I know you're joking rebel. the avatar thing doesn't really interest me.


Hehe... I was half serious...  That's my next (very ambitious) project provided I get some stones.

For your 4ft, is it going to be very deep say 3 feet? 4X3X2 or something?


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## Dantrasy

The video quality in photobucket isn't the best, but you get the idea:

http://vid1038.photobucket.com/albums/a461/Dantrasy/My Movie with cas_zpszgefhaqn.mp4


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## Alexander Belchenko

Wow, cool.

It seems your flow is not super strong but stable so amandaes are very comfortable with it. At first I thought there was no flow at all, but then spotted your plants were swayed.


----------



## Dantrasy

Thanks Alex!

Since removing the in-line heater (I have no heater now) the flow needs to be restricted. There's a lever on the filter I can lift up to reduce the flow. It's on half flow, which is just enough. Any more and the plants on the other side of the tank get blown away. 

I have dead spots where there's virtually no flow. I have to (front right, for example). But the lighting is low-medium and the stems are up high. 

Still, I'm amazed how little algae there's been. 

@rebel, the new tank will be 120x40x40


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## Rob Dahl

Dantrasy said:


> The new reactor is in and going  well.
> 
> Here's an update. I think the erio has to go and the wallichii needs to thicken up a bit more.And the sp green mounds behind the peaks aren't even, have to think about that too.
> 
> View attachment 2766


Wonderful job Dantrasy. You have a way with hardscapes.


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## Dantrasy

This scape ranked #297 iaplc 2016


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## CooKieS

Awesome!


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## Alexander Belchenko

Wow. Congratz!


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## Martin in Holland

well done


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## Tim Harrison

Very well done.


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## Rob Dahl

Once again, a wonderful start Dantrasy


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## ShawnMac

Wonderful scape and beautifully photographed. Excellent work! The path is well done and adds a lot of depth to the scape. Congratulations on your ranking.


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