# Evolution



## JamesM (29 Jul 2008)

Best Pic so far:






*How it all started*

Some (not very good) pics over the past 2 months or so...



































It's all Clive's fault


----------



## sanj (29 Jul 2008)

very nice progress.


----------



## ceg4048 (30 Jul 2008)

Nice one mate. :!: 

Morpheus to Neo: I can only show you the door - you must walk through...


Cheers,


----------



## JamesM (30 Jul 2008)

Troo that mate  

The last pic was taken a few hours ago after everything had a massive trim.. This is the last shuffle I'm doing on this tank I think... I want to change the horrible grey gravel to ADA Malaya or Africana and swap the oversized sand stone for mini landscape rocks. Not sure of planting yet though... There are so many styles and plants I want to try... I might just end up buying another tank tbh


----------



## TDI-line (30 Jul 2008)

Great tank James.


----------



## Themuleous (30 Jul 2008)

Good work and nice tank  keep it up.

Sam


----------



## ulster exile (30 Jul 2008)

Evolution indeed - looks really nice!  Look forward to seeing more pics of it in the future.


----------



## JamesM (30 Jul 2008)

Thanks gang, I've still loads to learn about how plants grow out, etc. and I still want to try different things. Its not easy to try a bit of everything in a 2ft tank, but at least I have an idea or two for next time. 

Advice and suggestions are always welcome too


----------



## LondonDragon (30 Jul 2008)

Looking great James  with Clives advice everyone has no excuse  great work keep it up


----------



## JamesM (22 Aug 2008)

Thanks Paulo 

Some updated pics, pretty much straight from the camera, apart from the borders. Obviously.  





























Slight moody edit.. please ignore the tv reflection 





Thanks for looking, tell me what you think


----------



## JamesM (22 Aug 2008)

If you notice too, I've added some nice wood trim around the top of the tank to hide the braces. Fits in more with the decor we have too... I'm a big fan of real wood.


----------



## Wayney (22 Aug 2008)

The tanks looking a real beauty mate* MUCHO KUDOS*  8) What plants are in the foreground :?: 
liking he shrimps too by the way  great tank keep it up.


----------



## JamesM (22 Aug 2008)

Cheers mate 

Foreground plants are hc, glosso acicularis, p. helferi, riccia and a moss ball which is the feeding ground. Its a bit of a jungle upfront in itself


----------



## FarCanal (22 Aug 2008)

That has evolved so well, really beautiful! I like the close ups of the shrimps feeding near the moss ball. Well Done!


----------



## TDI-line (22 Aug 2008)

Looks great James, those shrimp are lovely.


----------



## aaronnorth (22 Aug 2008)

nice tank, i havent seen yours before, what size is it?


----------



## planter (22 Aug 2008)

nice James, esp. like the foreground.


----------



## JamesM (22 Aug 2008)

Thanks guys 

Aaron, its 24x12x15" mate


----------



## JamesM (29 Aug 2008)

I gave the lawn a good trim today, including all other foreground plants. Took two hours to fish out all the cuttings 





Plant ID?












Some trimmed grass, etc.




Lush n' green  








I wish I'd removed the spray bars and sorted the gravel line out for this shot, but I'm not really picky about stuff like that 




I'm not sure where to go with this now, so I'll leave it grow another few weeks and see what happens...

Thanks for looking, suggestions and feedback always welcome


----------



## aaronnorth (29 Aug 2008)

looking good   

Is the plant a crypt?


----------



## LondonDragon (29 Aug 2008)

Looking great James  congrats


----------



## beeky (29 Aug 2008)

Very nice. Is that moss on the wood Fissidens?

I'm not sure on the other plant. Kind of looks familiar, but not exactly like anything I've seen really. I thought it might be an Aponogeton, but could be a crypt. What are shrimps? They don't look quite red enough for cherrys, they seem more spotty.


----------



## JamesM (29 Aug 2008)

Thanks guys 

Not sure if its a crypt or not. Clive sent it to me, so I'll send him a message next 

Yes, moss of the wood is Fissidens. And yup, they're cherry's alright - about a month old I think. The adults are more deep red.


----------



## Mark Evans (31 Aug 2008)

hi mate, some how ive never come across this thread  :? 

anyways, ive come to visit, its only fair, you cant keep coming to me all the time.

what a great scape james. quality!  and some great photos to boot. i love the moss on the wood. them shrimps are ace too. gota get me some of them.

see ya on the bf2 fields soon !


----------



## JamesM (31 Aug 2008)

Thanks Mark 

Much of the credit goes to Clive for the pics. He's pointing me in the right direction, and I'm chuffed to bits with the results 

C4 armed and ready mate!


----------



## Mark Evans (31 Aug 2008)

the fella known as ceg also has guided me in the right direction too. CLIVE, were not worthy!


----------



## LondonDragon (31 Aug 2008)

WOW James that looks stunning mate  congrats


----------



## JamesM (31 Aug 2008)

Thanks mate


----------



## Bueller (1 Sep 2008)

I love how this looks

Can anyone give me a quick ID on this plant?

Thank you.


----------



## a1Matt (1 Sep 2008)

Bueller said:
			
		

> I love how this looks
> 
> Can anyone give me a quick ID on this plant?
> 
> Thank you.



I think it is Fissidens Fontanus.

The tank is looking fantastic James. A beautiful layout with lush healthy plants.


----------



## ceg4048 (1 Sep 2008)

saintly said:
			
		

> CLIVE, we're not worthy!



George Carlin (Rufus) to Bill and Ted:  BE EXCELLENT! 8) 

(Who would have thought Keanu (Ted) would 10 years later become Neo?)

Cheers,


----------



## JamesM (1 Sep 2008)

I loved that film! Most excellent!


----------



## Bueller (4 Sep 2008)

a1Matt said:
			
		

> Bueller said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Where are people getting this from?

Any websites that stock it? 

Cant recall ever seeing it in any fish shops.


----------



## JamesM (4 Sep 2008)

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/AquaticMagic


----------



## Bueller (4 Sep 2008)

JAmesM said:
			
		

> http://stores.ebay.co.uk/AquaticMagic



Cheers for that.

They have some great stuff on there, think I might have to make a few purchases 8)


----------



## JamesM (13 Sep 2008)

This past week I've suffered with no co2 due to delivery problems with Dan's courier company (again  ), and my plants have suffered big time. The thick lawn isn't so thick any more, p. helferi is deforming a little, hygro polysperma is riddled with holes, bacopa australis is melting badly, and my young rtl, and vivipara have melted totally 

I added 7 otos and reduced the lighting hoping to prevent algae... so far so good, but I have just now noticed some bba in a dead spot under the spraybar. Another hole to be drilled tomorrow then  The otos can be moved to the big tank should it get too crowded for them, after all, its only a 71 litre tank.

Since these pics were taken (tonight in fact), I've ripped up the back left and replanted what was left of the good stems... I also added 6 ember tetras from my main tank. If my shrimp population goes down, I'll know who is to blame   The right side back doesn't seem as bad, thankfully...






















Comments always welcome


----------



## aaronnorth (13 Sep 2008)

i always love how lush the tank is


----------



## JamesM (13 Sep 2008)

Thanks mate, not so lush anymore though  Thinking of a major rescape soon, just got to get a few things together first, and find a free day


----------



## Mark Evans (13 Sep 2008)

sorry to hear the issues your having mate. hope all is better soon.


----------



## joyous214 (15 Sep 2008)

wow nice...


----------



## LondonDragon (15 Sep 2008)

Even with all the probs tank is looking good  and great photography too


----------



## JamesM (15 Sep 2008)

Many thanks guys  Clive is responsible for the improved photography! Without his advice the pics would look naf


----------



## JamesM (28 Sep 2008)




----------



## a1Matt (28 Sep 2008)

The floor is naked!


----------



## joyous214 (30 Sep 2008)

naked floor!!!


----------



## JamesM (30 Sep 2008)

I'm going to order some HC from MA later, so that should sort out the nakedness in no time... I'm also thinking of replacing the rapid growing hygrophila polysperma, with several forms of Rotala.

The bacopa australis melted during my week of no co2, so thats also gone. I've replaced it with some crypts, but now I've done it I'm not sure they work that well with the rest of the tank, so I need to look for alternatives...


----------



## JamesM (18 Oct 2008)

Its gone!  Its all gone!


----------



## JamesM (20 Oct 2008)

JAmesM said:
			
		

> Its gone!  Its all gone!


Gone downstairs that is!  





I've retained the stones, wood and rough layout, but kept it a little more simple. Please ignore the hardware, I was testing a few things out with co2 flow  I've also got what looks like Rhizoclonium growing on the fissidens, so I've removed as much as possible and up'd co2 + ferts. The old tank still exists as a shrimp and moss colony, with 15w T8 lighting, EX700 filtration, no co2 or ferts.


----------



## Mark Evans (20 Oct 2008)

much more tidy.

is fissdens the stuff on the wood? love that what ever  it is.

so the gaffer allowed you to bring the tank downstairs?


----------



## JamesM (20 Oct 2008)

Yup, she sure did 

Cheers bud, yeah, the Fissidens is the moss on the wood. I'm more happy with the gravel than anything - that grey river stuff I had before was foul... I couldn't afford AS or Eco Complete this time around, but I have an ample amount of JBL Aqua Basis underneath. And I hope I've got all that bladderwort out


----------



## Mark Evans (20 Oct 2008)

JAmesM said:
			
		

> And I hope I've got all that bladderwort out



 .


----------



## JamesM (20 Oct 2008)

Thats a wet fish moment


----------



## JamesM (4 Nov 2008)

Loads of interest here, so I thought I'd spice it up a bit 






Groovy baby 8)


----------



## Mark Evans (5 Nov 2008)

you da man!


----------



## Themuleous (5 Nov 2008)

JAmesM said:
			
		

> And I hope I've got all that bladderwort out



I hear that!! Got the bloomin' stuff in one of my tanks.  One of the main reasons I planning a complete strip down and rescape of that tank soon.

Sam


----------



## JamesM (5 Nov 2008)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> JAmesM said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ooooh, looking forward to that Sam  Yeah, its horrible stuff... grows so damn quick too  Might be breaking this tank down soon too... gonna visit a local slate quarry to see what, if anything, that can offer me


----------

