# Omega's Nature Aquarium



## Omegatron (19 Apr 2015)

After a learningfull process with my Iwagumi scape I decided it was time for something else. This time I want to try nature style.

About 3 weeks ago I picked up a bunch of spiderwood. I emptied the tank and started the hardscape process. This process took me 2 weeks (with lots of help from Lawrence I know from Barrreport.com) but I finally got something that i liked.






For plants i went for the following:

-Microsorum pteropus Trident
- Javamos
- Hygrophila polysperma
- Bolbitis heudelotii
- Anubias nana Bonsai
- Cyperus helferi
- Helanthium tenellum (Echinodorus tenellus)
- Glossostigma elatinoides

I got the plants on April the 14th,





I took the afternoon off work because i knew i needed a lot of time binding the moss on the wood (i bough way too much moss lol). tying the moss took me good 4 hours and used paper towels keeping it wet.





We made the plant layout a couple of days before so i knew where to plant it. So the actual planting was done  pretty fast.






These pics were taken the 18th so 4 days after planting. The bolbitis is metlting but the polysperma is already growing out of the tank (already trimmed it and planted the tops) doing daily WC of 20% and 50% end of the week. adding ferts according to EI.

















I replaced my tubes with the 8000k Skywhite from Osram (T5HO), very happy with it!

Tank dimensions 120x40x35 (cm)
Filtration:
- Eheim Professional 3 2071
- Eheim Ecco Pro 2036
- Pressurized Co2
- Inline heater
- 2x T5 Osram 8000k Skywhite
- fertsilizing according to EI
- Using ADA amazonia soil, la plata sand and basalt stones woodtype: sipderwood.

Anyways, this was 3 weeks in a few words and pics, i hope you guys like it.


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## Vinkenoog1977 (19 Apr 2015)

Very, very nice mate!!!


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## Crossocheilus (19 Apr 2015)

Judging by these (old?) pics I think it needs more plants, but you say H.polysperma is growing out of the tank, so some more recent pics would be great.

I really like the seperate islands of rocks/wood, it creates great perspective. Once the plants have all grown in (and we get pics ) it should look spot on, congrats on another great scape


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## ADA (19 Apr 2015)

Looks great, I'd consider moving the far left piece of wood so it's not touching the glass as it kind of draws the eye, apart from that looks perfect.


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## Omegatron (20 Apr 2015)

Crossocheilus said:


> Judging by these (old?) pics I think it needs more plants, but you say H.polysperma is growing out of the tank, so some more recent pics would be great.


 
The Polysperma was growing above the water surface so then i trimmed the tops and replanted them, i didnt take any pictures of that. These pics are the most recent with the trimmings of the polysperma replanted.



ADA said:


> Looks great, I'd consider moving the far left piece of wood so it's not touching the glass as it kind of draws the eye, apart from that looks perfect.


 
yeah the far left piece is still a work in progress, im thinking about adding a few rocks under the wood. just a little bit. See how that will look.

Thanks for all the feedback, much appriciated!


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## Martin in Holland (20 Apr 2015)

Great scape again...
You beat me to it though....I'm going to use the same stones and wood for my next project, but I'm thinking not to use any plants that need to be in a substrate, I might change my mind though, as I so often do...
Again, awesome scape
(put on Miroshaki too?)


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## Omegatron (20 Apr 2015)

Martin in China said:


> Great scape again...
> You beat me to it though....I'm going to use the same stones and wood for my next project, but I'm thinking not to use any plants that need to be in a substrate, I might change my mind though, as I so often do...
> Again, awesome scape
> (put on Miroshaki too?)


 
Im happy with the basalt stones, they cost (almost) nothing and they are fine for this project. When the tank ages the stones will look less clean. Ill put it on Miroshaki aswell (i forgot haha).

Thanks for the compliment looking forward to your project aswell


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## Andy D (20 Apr 2015)

It looks great!

Agree about the wood on the right. Maybe you could trim it to save moving everything?


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## Omegatron (20 Apr 2015)

Andy D said:


> It looks great!
> 
> Agree about the wood on the right. Maybe you could trim it to save moving everything?


 
Luckely its just 1 branch but tbh its not that off looking. I think it will look better with some rocks added, will see. But thanks for the input!


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## Andy D (20 Apr 2015)

Omegatron said:


> Luckely its just 1 branch but tbh its not that off looking. I think it will look better with some rocks added, will see. But thanks for the input!


 
Sorry I meant left. Either way it still looks great!


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## Omegatron (21 Apr 2015)

ADA said:


> Looks great, I'd consider moving the far left piece of wood so it's not touching the glass as it kind of draws the eye, apart from that looks perfect.


 
I added some supporting rocks under the far left branch, though is not perfect yet it does look better (need better placement). Also i noticed that the sand in the middle of the tank is too high compared with the left side of the tank. Im going to fix that today. An update pic will follow when its done.


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## Greenfinger2 (21 Apr 2015)

Hi Omegatron, Wonderful Scape


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## Omegatron (26 Apr 2015)

Since i have to wait for the fish to go in, i already have a bunch of green neons (simulans). I was thinking of adding a bunch of black phantom tetras. Now im looking for a 3rd species. Do you guys have any suggestions that goes well with the above fish while keeping it balanced with the scape? 

Also i have 3 otociniclus affinis (as a low profile 4th species) and some amano shrimp.

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Omegatron (8 Nov 2015)

Small update, after a lot of issues (algae/Co2/lights etc) thinks looking better. took a few pics with the phone after trimming.


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## Greenfinger2 (8 Nov 2015)

Hi Omegatron, That is one sexy Scape  Sorry did I say that out loud


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## Martin in Holland (9 Nov 2015)

Good to see it's back on track...It's indeed a sexy scape.


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## banthaman.jm (9 Nov 2015)

Lovely tank, great hard scape.
Jim


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## Lindy (9 Nov 2015)

Beautiful.


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## Omegatron (20 Dec 2015)

Hi,

Today is day 250 after startup. things are finally looking better. I still struggle with cyanobacteria that i keep removing manually. here are some (phone)pics.

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## Martin in Holland (21 Dec 2015)

Really looking great....keep up the good work mate.


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## JBronsveld (21 Dec 2015)

Great looking scape! 
Love the layout.


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## flygja (22 Dec 2015)

Very nice! From my experience, cyano can be prevented by having good flow of oxygen. It usually developes in places where flow is bad, so try sticking a power head aimed at the area with cyano.


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## Omegatron (22 Dec 2015)

flygja said:


> Very nice! From my experience, cyano can be prevented by having good flow of oxygen. It usually developes in places where flow is bad, so try sticking a power head aimed at the area with cyano.


 
Thanks for the tip, the cyano occured on 1 spot in the tank but lately it seems its spreading everywhere. Spots that have very good flow also have cyano problems.


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## Martin in Holland (23 Dec 2015)

Spot treat it with KNO3 worked for me in the past.


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## Chris Jackson (23 Dec 2015)

Grear scape! I've had cyano issues from time to time and upping KNO3 has worked all but once. 
On one scape I just never could get it to completely leave but it stayed manageable...


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## flygja (23 Dec 2015)

I on the other hand, have never had luck with increasing KNO3 to get rid of BGA. I even dropped KNO3 powder right on top of the BGA and it did nothing. I also tried dropping ADA bacter ball powder, as suggested by ADA, with no effect. Somehow just adding a powerhead helped.


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## Chris Jackson (23 Dec 2015)

Yes tricky stuff.. For me it starts in low flow dead zones of a tank where waste gets trapped better flow and better cleaning all help


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## Mot (23 Dec 2015)

This aquascape is really well done.  Very peaceful.


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## mikehookipa (23 Dec 2015)

This is the kind of thread that made me sign up for this forum. I'm from Toronto Canada but I know the UK boys are putting out nice scapes/photography/hardware use. 

The low height of your tank and your skill makes it look longer than it is. Your use of smaller rocks in large quantities and smaller pieces of driftwood gives very nice scale to the tank. Beautiful work done with the very thin layer of sand also.  

What challenges did you have with algae? I am not sure if you are getting sufficient water flow in the mid to ground level.

Please share with us an update whenever you are ready.

Really like your aquascape!


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## Omegatron (5 Jan 2016)

Martin in China said:


> Spot treat it with KNO3 worked for me in the past.


 
Hi, thanks for all the feedback and tips about the batteling cyano. So i spot dosed KNO3 and at first it seemed it worked but a few days later all cyano was back and in bigger numbers. So I kept dosing more KNO3 but then i probably overdosed it and killed off all my amano shrimp. So now i have cyano and no more shrimp 

I also added my powerhead again for even better surface agitation and flow overall, this doesnt seem to help either.


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## Martin in Holland (6 Jan 2016)

Sorry to hear about your amano shrimp....I always used the same amount KNO3 as I use for EI (not extra on top of EI), just dissolved in a bit of water and squirt that on the cyno, it is only a patchup for the moment, you should look for the cause......


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## alto (6 Jan 2016)

Stiphodon gobies 

Check out the linked video in this species profile


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## Omegatron (3 Mar 2016)

Hi! A few weeks from now im going to renovate my house and have litte time and room for my aquarium, also my interest was slowly comming to an end. So i have decided to quit the hobby. I found a buyer for all my stuff so this week im taking down the scape. I wanted to take some final pictures but because i have been neglecting the tank for a while now it doesnt look very well. So i wont be taking final pictures.

I want to thank all of you for all the advice given. I'll make sure to keep an eye on the forum to check the scapes ofc!

Again, thanks for everything!!


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## Chris Jackson (3 Mar 2016)

Good bye and happy renovating!


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## tim (3 Mar 2016)

Real shame, I've really enjoyed your scapes good luck for the future mate, hopefully you'll be back after a while


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## Colinlp (3 Mar 2016)

Shame it is a nice tank, something to be proud of that one


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## parotet (3 Mar 2016)

You can be proud of what you have achieved. Good luck!

Jordi


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## Martin in Holland (4 Mar 2016)

Sad to see you go...maybe you'll come back when you found some more time and passion.


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