# Aquascape Number 1 - Retro journal



## Simon Day (26 May 2014)

Like many of the people using this forum I seem to have caught this aquascaping bug by chance. The following dozen or so steps just about sum it up really:

Step 1. buy 'low maintenance' goldfish pet for daughter……Step 2. watch said 'low maintenance' pet die due to lack of maintenance (and ignorance of basic fish keeping rules)….Step 3. buy bigger tank and replacement fish…. Step 4. surf internet for information on how to not kill replacement fish ….. Step 5. while surfing find amazing examples of aquascapes…… Step 6. think 'I wish I could do that'…..Step 7. plant a few plants in tank ….. Step 8. watch plants fail due to lack of maintenance (and ignorance of basic plant keeping rules)….Step 9. Surf internet some more and discover Green Machine etc …. Step 10. visit Green Machine and see the real thing up close….. Step 11. Hooked …. Step 12. Decide to do it properly and commence the steady process of draining bank balance!

The above steps took place in the 9 months or so leading up to December 2013 when Step 12 commenced with purchase of a 35 litre ADA nano tank. The following notes and pictures show where I've got to in the following 5 months together with the ups and downs along the way!

I look forward to feedback from all of you who have walked this path ahead of me…………

So in line with what seems to be the convention I'll start with my current tank spec etc as of May 2014:

Tank - ADA 45P nano tank (approx 35 litres)
Filter - Tetratec EX400 external canister filter
Lighting - 2x Boyu T5 units (3x 8W bulbs each white/red mix). One on 8 hrs per day, Other 6 hrs.
Substrate - ADA Amazonia & Amazonia powder
Hardscape - grey/green greywake (from a local quarry)
CO2 - Sodastream bottle with dual stage regulator and mini-bazooker diffuser (8 hrs per day - on/off approx 1 hour before lights on/off)
Flora - HC, Riccia, Eleocharis mini, Hydrocotyle tripartita, Vesicularia ferriei 'weeping' moss
Fauna - 4x Ammano shrimp, 10x Crystal Red shrimp, No fish!
Fertilisers - Tropica Premium & Specialised liquid fertilizer (1x pump (1.2ml) per day on alternate days)
Water - very soft tap water ph 6.5. Temp 23 degrees C.
Heater - Hydor in line 200W unit

The above were reached with a fair few changes along the way …..

*Tank - *Having resisted the urge to start with a bigger tank (on the basis that there was a good chance I would end up with an expensive algae filled swamp) I initially went for a 45cm (30 litre) plain glass tank but the first symptoms of the aquascape bug caught hold and I returned it to the shop the next day and 'upgraded' to an ADA 45P optiwhite version….. I sign of things to come!

*Filter* - started with a basic 'hang on' filter but soon realised flow was really poor and stick from misses ref  constant trickling noise and motor hum proved too much. Replaced after a month with really good value Tetratec EX400 unit (circa 54 quid) that is silent and low maintenance. Had to hacksaw down the pipework a bit to make it all fit in my small tank. So far I have resisted the urge to go with glass lily pipes as I quite like the surface rippling effect the spray bar gives.

*Lighting* - I struggled to find a 45cm T5 unit so had to settle for a 30cm unit. Started with just the one Boyu 24W (3x8W) which looks OK for the money (circa 24 quid) but realised after a few weeks that my HC were looking a little yellow and needed more light. Bought a second unit and after a some hacksaw modifications to the supporting brackets managed to fit this to the tank - The far tube actually hangs over the back of the tank but has by accident created a perfect back light! Lights have a mix of 3x white tubes and 3x red.

*CO2* - Initially purchased a TMC nano set with disposable 95g cartridges + glass diffuser but soon regretted this as remembering to switch gas on and off every day quickly became a pain. Also these units seem extremely difficult to set and adjust to a constant flow rate. Looking at the way the glass diffuser works it also seemed to waste a lot of gas as bubbles seem to reach the surface before dissolving. After a month or so invested in a dual stage regulator fixed to a soda stream bottle and fitted with solenoid and timer. Complete set including high grade bubble counter and bazooka diffuser & gas cylinder was about 120 quid but money well spent as it seems to work really well. I am particularly impressed with the bazooka type diffuser as it makes really fine bubbles that all seem to be suspended or dissolved in the water. I am able to maintain desired ph levels with bubble rates circa 0.5 bps and my initial 500g gas bottle is still going strong after 4 months use. Only problem I had was an annoying 50hz buzz from the solenoid when activated … this was soon fixed after stripping down the unit and stretching the spring in the solenoid peg a little to give it more tension.

*Heating* - Started with usual 25W in tank heater but changed to a 200W Hydor unit once I had gone to an external canister filter. Probably a little big for the job but ready for a bigger tank in the future.

Anyway, enough words ………




 


At this point I'm going to stop as i don't think I have mastered the art of adding pictures from my flicr account to this thread (first go at this!). If anyone can drop me ante on how to do this I will continue!!!


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## allan angus (26 May 2014)

all sounds great  but cant see your pics  .....think we all start the same way !


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## Martin in Holland (27 May 2014)

yep...no pictures


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## Simon Day (31 May 2014)

If someone out there can tell me how to download pictures from flicr into a post then my pictures will follow!


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## X3NiTH (31 May 2014)

Log in to Flickr, select the picture you want to share and click on the link button below it. You will then be presented with a box in the corner, select the HTML tab and from the scroll list select the size you want to share, you then select, copy and paste this link directly into your forum post as text, the forum formatting will do the rest, you can check its worked by pressing the preview post button. You can also tidy up the link by just selecting only the middle HTML portion of the provided link as all the other stuff tacked on is for title and author which spoils the look of a forum post in my opinion.


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## Simon Day (31 May 2014)

if at first you don't succeed …try try again


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## X3NiTH (31 May 2014)

With pictures -

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3713/14125602457_28fbad0d97_h.jpg

The highlighted section is all you need to copy/paste into your forum post.


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## Simon Day (31 May 2014)

Thanks for the tip X3NITH ….. think I am on the right track.

So back to the story…..

Day 1: Hardscape set out after about a week of playing about. Trying to create a rocky canyon inspired by a few places I know from walks in nearby Snowdonia. I work in quarries so managed to get the rocks from one of them. Material is greywake (metamorphic gritstone) so should be inert and not alter water parameters etc. Learning number 1 - rock is harder than glass so will scratch it! Started again with now scratched front glass moved to back!


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## allan angus (31 May 2014)

ohh dear be careful or you will be viewing through the side glass  but cant wait to see results


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## Simon Day (31 May 2014)

Day 7: Plants in …over ordered on the HC pots so left in bottom of tank while I think of what to do with them!



 

Day 15: Added 4x ammano shrimp when diatom algae began to appear. These things are like locusts and tank was algae free within 24 hours. HC was looking a little yellow in the corners so added a second 3x8w light unit. Swapped the hang on filter for a tetratec 400 canister … flow much improved.



 

Day 30 : Have swapped the basic co2 set for a soda stream bottle with dual stage regulator - bazooka type diffuser looks really effective and only need 0.5 bps to maintain required Co2 levels. HC picking up really well with better CO2 and more light.



 


 

Day 70 : everything coming along ….I like the way the Hydrocotyle is starting to intertwine with the Riccia



 


 


 

Day 110 : Added some Red Crystal shrimp since last photo. Despite some heavy trimming the riccia and hydroctyle mix is taking over the tank ……maybe better suited for a larger tank I think.



 


 


 

Day 140: Despite a major pruning of all the plants around 3 weeks ago the tank is full again………..time to order a new tank.

To sum up, i'm pretty happy how things have turned out so far. Next project is a 90cm tank hopefully starting sometime in the summer.


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## Dominic (31 May 2014)

Thats a brilliant first attempt mate, you also seem to have a knack for hardscaping and a real attention to detail. Nice one pal


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## allan angus (31 May 2014)

great


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## X3NiTH (31 May 2014)

I love how the canyon turned out on Day 70!


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## Martin in Holland (1 Jun 2014)

Brilliant scape...indeed major pruning is required


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## Martin in Holland (1 Jun 2014)

The smaller the tank, the more often you need to prune


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## Simon Day (1 Jun 2014)

Thanks for the positive comments on this guys ….always good to know people think you are heading in the right direction with something new.

I would agree that it looked its best around Day 70, with hardscape / plant mix OK. Its all gone a bit mad since then with the top half of the planting taking over the tank. If I get chance today I will get out the 'big scissors' and have a go at some major surgery. Picture to follow if it doesn't look too much of a mess after this! All the more reason to have a second tank……somewhere to plant the cuttings from the first tank!


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## allan angus (1 Jun 2014)

yep i throw loads away to little to trade but hart breaking to ditch lol


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## Martin in Holland (1 Jun 2014)

Simon Day said:


> All the more reason to have a second tank……somewhere to plant the cuttings from the first tank!



That's why I have an emerse grow box....also gives me a chance o see how plants look like when they are topside.


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## Simon Day (1 Jun 2014)

Did get chance to hack back the undergrowth today…….

Went from this



 


 

Down to this ……….



 

Scape now looking more like what I had intended it to look like (the canyon is back!) …… I think I still need to do some more cutting back in top right corner. I am a bit sad ref hacking back the hydrocotyle trip as I really like the clover like look of the leaves. However it probably suits a larger tank than this one and was in danger of turning it into a solid green box!


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## allan angus (1 Jun 2014)

nice


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## Simon Day (7 Jul 2014)

A month on from a major pruning and everything growing back fast….. tank is still shrimp only but they seem very camera shy!


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## dw1305 (8 Jul 2014)

Hi all, 
Lovely tank.



 

I don't usually comment on hardscape or aquascaping, but I like the way your rock strata are aligned. It is probably only me, but I find it really jarring when the rock bedding is all at different angles.

cheers Darrel


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## Martin in Holland (9 Jul 2014)

dw1305 said:


> It is probably only me, but I find it really jarring when the rock bedding is all at different angles.


Nope...it's not just you


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## Simon Day (9 Jul 2014)

Thanks for the positive comments…..it was supposed to be loosely based on a few gorges I have hiked around in the Yorkshire Dales and Snowdonia. 

In mine and many of the other scapes on this forum much of the carefully place rock work gets totally obscured by plant growth ……perhaps less time thinking about where to place the rock and more time spent deciding which plants to place around them should be my plan next time!


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## Mr. Teapot (9 Jul 2014)

Lovely looking tank. Fantastic rock work to start and you've grown it brilliantly.

Hey, your tank is the same size as mine - I reckon a 45p is great to learn the ropes with!


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## Simon Day (20 Jul 2014)

Thanks for the positive comments Mr T.

Glad I went for the 45cm tank for a first effort and resisted the urge to go for the 90cm …..a big pot of algae soup if you get it wrong! So far no algae issues with my tank and I am now playing with CO2 and light levels to try to slow down the growth (mosses are threatening to take over the scape) …..good practise ahead of planned 90cm tank for this autumn.

I am thinking about a root+rock scape for the new project….would be very happy if it came out anything like the one in your journal. I quite like the idea of having plenty of cover / hiding for fish as i think some of the minimalist scapes must leave the fish stressed when the lights are on full bore. Saying that my summer holidays are in the alps so may come back inspired to rocky scape with a plain green meadow surrounding it!


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## Simon Day (30 Aug 2014)

Back from the Alps …resisted the urge to collect a load of rocks for a mountain style scape. Scape in good shape after 2 weeks away but population of CRS decimated by hungry Ammanos ….. came home to find biggest ammano munching its way through a small CRS! I had not realised that this would be a problem but surfing the net I found plenty of other examples of this.


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## Simon Day (13 Sep 2014)

Paid a visit to the Green Machine today with the aim of 'just having a look around' as it is a good few months since I last visited. Ended out walking out with an Arcadia 15w LED light strip for the current tank and placing an order for a new 90cm tank!!!

I installed the LED unit tonight with the hope it would replace the 2x boyu 24w T5 units I currently have and make the tank look a little more minimalist. Quickly concluded that light level from this new unit seems roughly equivalent to 1x 24w unit so I now have a rather odd looking mix of both! The new unit is very narrow but does look sleek ….however the mounting leaves the unit vey close to the water surface and probably too close for my plants at the back of the scape that are now on the surface.

New 90cm tank ordered and should be with me in around 3 weeks …… countdown to the emptying of my bank balance begins….

I plan to do a journal from day 1 on this new scape in the journal section of the forum ...


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## Simon Day (27 Feb 2015)

So much for best intentions……..90cm scape started in the new year but not quite got round to putting in a journal as of yet. Plan to start this tomorrow in the journal section under the title 'big red rootscape'.


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## Mr. Teapot (28 Feb 2015)

Looking forward to seeing the results


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## Deansie (18 Aug 2017)

Fantastic tank!


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## Abhishankar Adhikary (23 Aug 2017)

Very well done.....


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## Sakura83 (30 Apr 2018)

Beautiful tank


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