# Big Red Rootscape 160 litre



## Simon Day (27 Feb 2015)

Finally got round to recording this one (only been planted 40 days!) … so here goes (assuming I can remember how to post photos off flicr etc!)


This is my second attempt at an aquascape after a 30litre / 45cm tank started around this time last year (see planted tank gallery section for 'Aquascape Number 1 - retro journal'). Hopefully I have learned from a few mistakes along the way and picked up on some of the fantastic knowledge of those who post on this site.

After buying a 90cm optiwhite tank in September I set about slowly putting together all the bits and pieces for a root based scape….. working on the basis that that if I buy the bits one by one I won't realise just how much it has cost! Eventually came across a really great redmoor root piece at TGM that is the basis of the scape and after a month of soaking it I was ready to commence the build on the weekend before xmas.

Location for the tank is on top of wife's favourite bit of oak lounge furniture….. suitably modified with the addition of an internal sub-frame and extra legs to support the weight of the tank….. plus multiple holes in the back for wires and pipework. She was just about still speaking to me until I put a hole through the lounge wall to allow for easy water changes from the adjacent utility room!

Kit-list as follows:

Tank - 90 x 45 x 40 Optiwhite (160 litre approx)
Lighting : Arcadia OTL LED Classica Pendant (80cm long, 87w LEDs)
CO2 : 2kg FE with CO2Art 2 stage regulator & solenoid, 80mm bazooka type diffuser @ 2BPS
Filter : Tetratec EX1300 external filter with regular media
Ehiem mini surface oil filter

Substrate : ADA Amazonia (powder & regular)
Hardscape : Redmoor root + sandstone pebbles

Water parameters : very soft (KH/GH unknown) at ph7.0 to 6.8 from the tap …. <6.0 in the tank currently as my test kit does not go any lower! tank kept at 22C as currently mostly shrimp.

Day 1 to 40 to follow tomorrow when I remember how to access my flicr files!


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## Simon Day (28 Feb 2015)

*28 days before planting:*

After trawling the forums for pros & cons of dry vs wet start I decided on hardscape first + water only to give my new filter a chance to deal with the ammonia spike from the new ADA substrate. This would also give me chance to change my mind on hardscape positioning etc before planting.

Decision No1 was how to place the large red moor root. After much playing about I decided on a 'traditional' position for the root i.e.. a natural look with the root the right way around! While I like the look of most of the scapes on here that have upward facing woodwork in the real world things actually grow the other way around I think. I did think about cutting it up into smaller pieces but resisted the urge and stayed with the single piece (approx 90cm long x 30cm high x 30 cm wide )




 
used sandbags to set in the desired position … due to the size of the root I wasn't able to get the textbook 'rule of thirds' position in the tank but reasonably happy anyway



 

Needed to use tie-wraps to hold it down as despite 6 weeks soaking the root was still very buoyant



 

Finally, added soil, sand and sandstone pebbles to go for that riverbank look



 

Just add water ……. and despite addition on more pebbles just watch various bits float away…



 

Finally after installation of LED pendant



 

And from the side ….


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## Christian Walker (28 Feb 2015)

This is going to look great ! I love that bit of wood !  Why do i never seem to find bits like that , lol


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## Simon Day (28 Feb 2015)

*Day 1 : *(January 16th)

Ammonia spike been and nearly gone so hopeful that my new filter has a healthy bacteria colony on the way (I helped it along by seeding it with some filter media from the other tank)

Plants arrived via post & collection - (mostly gel tissue culture pots but some regular pots) all look generally OK but a few look a little overgrown and 'pot bound' ….next time i won't start a tank just after christmas as I think slow moving stock might be an issue this time of year.

Plant list as follows: (apologies to any latin / plant scholars out there for the inevitable spelling errors)

Anubias barteri nana
Rotala Rotundifolia
Staurogyne repens
Aponogeton bulb (can't remember variety)
Hydrocotyle tripartita
Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'
Myriophyllum tuberculatum
Pogostemon erectus
Pogostemon helferi
Rotala Bonsai
Christmas moss
Hemianthus micranthemoides
Rotala wallichii

Most added on day 1 but have added a few as the weeks have progressed



 

Planted and water added …..was not sure where to put the Pogostemon Helferi so left in the pots for now (they didn't make a good transition to submerged growth anyway so only a few offcuts finally made it into the scape)

More Day 1 shots



 

 


 

 


*Day 10:
*
Have now discovered an annoying issue with the Arcadia OTL LED unit - while it seems to give more than enough light for the plants to thrive it would appear that the controller only lets you set the light intensity OR the timer …not both! The timer is great as it ramps up intensity and controls 4x groups of LEDs independently but it ramps up to full power every time. Shame but the unit seems otherwise very good value and looks OK also. I think i may overcome this in the future by replacing the controller with another unit off the web (various seem to be available at circa #30). Have controlled intensity by reducing light time to 7 hours and raising pendant to around 30cm from surface.

Diatom growth now quite high ….fortunately due to my earlier 'plant-less cycling' the ammonia levels are now zero so added 12x Amano shrimp who soon set about the diatoms and issue did not get any worse for the next couple of weeks.

Water changing 50% every 3 or 4 days or so …. my local water company are digging up the mains near me for the next few months and my tap water seems to have loads of 'extra' chloroamine added for my safety. PH of tap water now circa 6.4 as a result but adding 1.5x doses of dechlorinator at water changes just to be sure I am taking it all out. Net impact on tank PH is now 6.0 or lower as my test kit only measures to 6.0.

*Day 21:
*
Growth seems pretty good so far and although Diatoms and some dusty green algae are present I am holding my nerve and not making many changes to the lighting / fertilisation regime. Currently dosing 6ml Tropica Premium every other day with  6ml ADA Green Brighty Lights on the other days.

Amanos all seem to be thriving but still plenty of diatoms so added 4x ottos to the tank. Never had these before but they seem to have settled in very quickly and have set about stripping all the algae growth of the bare wood and anubias leaves.



 

Happy ottos …don't seem to mind CO2 concentrations either


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## Simon Day (28 Feb 2015)

*Day 40 (today):*

Have dropped back to 50% weekly water changes for last couple of weeks as algae not an issue at present …just start to a see a little on the front glass by time of water change. Leaving back and side walls alone as ottos seem to be looking after this for me. Background plants are finally coming up from behind the root (Rotala Wallichii doing well) but realised I have made a poor choice with Pogostemon erectus as it looks great but only grows to 10cm high according to the Tropica catalogue. As my root is about 20cm high it is unlikely to ever be visible! Some plants getting a little leggy so I have dropped height of LED unit to about 20cm above water surface.

Have added around 25 shrimp from my other tank over the past few weeks ….(as and when I can catch the elusive creatures) but no further fish as yet. At lead another 25 to be added + hopefully they breed on as well as my other tank.



 



 



 

 

 



 



Overall reasonably happy with left side of scape (approx 60cm) but still not happy with right hand side (30cm). Had to take out the apongenton bulb last week as it wasn't really thriving and had started to rot so I am in need of inspiration for something big to go in right hand corner? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Also, any suggestions for fish variety? I am planning to add fish in a month or so when background foliage has really taken as I want them to have a bit more cover than they would have now. I am looking for a shoal of circa 25 but must be small and not bother my various shrimp colonies. White mountain minnows are a possible but they are a little plain colour wise and I would prefer some contrast to the green foliage.


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## luckyjim (28 Feb 2015)

Really like this. How did you attach the moss to the wood? It seems to have taken very well.


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## Brian Murphy (28 Feb 2015)

That has really grown well for you, especially the moss  I think harlequin rasboras would look well in there, shoal well and would just enhance the natural look of it.  You say that the shrimp have bred for you and they are amano shrimp? Also how have you attached the light unit to the ceiling ?(what does it entail screwing into ceiling), as I am getting one next week


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## Lindy (28 Feb 2015)

Is that Mini Pelia at the top of the stumps and along the wood? Absolutely stunning!


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## Dantrasy (28 Feb 2015)

Love it!

Maybe you could repeat the anubias in another location?


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## havok (28 Feb 2015)

Looking good. Shame no local fish store any drift wood like that nearer to me!


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## Simon Day (28 Feb 2015)

luckyjim said:


> Really like this. How did you attach the moss to the wood? It seems to have taken very well.



Moss is Christmas moss that was spread out quite thinly and held in place with some moss thread i bought off the internet from an HK store. looking at the stuff it seems to just be really fine fishing line. It has really taken well and seems to stay fairly compact. The guys at TGM advised me to plant it with plenty of wood visible and that seems pretty sound advice to me. I will likely trim it back a bit this weekend as it is starting to overshadow some of the planting as it seems to spread out horizontally and support itself in the water rather than hang down.


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## Simon Day (28 Feb 2015)

Brian Murphy said:


> That has really grown well for you, especially the moss  I think harlequin rasboras would look well in there, shoal well and would just enhance the natural look of it.  You say that the shrimp have bred for you and they are amano shrimp? Also how have you attached the light unit to the ceiling ?(what does it entail screwing into ceiling), as I am getting one next week



I quite like the idea of harlequins but like most fish i am not sure if 80w+ of LED death ray will upset them! Hence I am waiting for the background foliage to thicken up a bit. Plan was for the Aponogenton to grow to about 80cm long and provide some cover …. looking for plan B now that plan has failed and bulb rotted.

Amanos haven't bred …don't think they will in fresh water but hoping that my crystal red shrimp breed in this tank as well as they have done in my small (shrimp only) scape. I suspect that the addition of a load of fish may inhibit them somewhat though!

As for the light, it came complete with a set of wires and neat chrome ceiling fittings ….the unit overall seems good value apart from the annoying issue with setting the light intensity.


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## ADA (28 Feb 2015)

Looks great, the moss growth is nice and compact too.


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## Simon Day (28 Feb 2015)

Dantrasy said:


> Love it!
> 
> Maybe you could repeat the anubias in another location?



Thanks for the positive comment ….I nearly cut the anubias rhizome into a few shorter sections when I first planted them out. May still do this with the largest one as it does look a bit odd all bunched up.


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## Simon Day (28 Feb 2015)

The Monte Carlo carpet has grown in really well and is now a dense layer about 1cm thick I guess. I have not used this plant before so would welcome any advice as to what point I should do a first trim on it? If so then how hard to cut it back?


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## Robert H. Tavera (1 Mar 2015)

Nice work, I'll follow your tank ! Any idea of  fish selection?


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## Simon Day (2 Mar 2015)

Robert H. Tavera said:


> Nice work, I'll follow your tank ! Any idea of  fish selection?


Thanks for the feedback Robert.

Not sure on fish as yet. Want something (or things) that : a) give a nice contrast to green plants, b) shoal well c) stay in top half of tank, d) don't mind 80W+ of LEDs with not much cover, and e) Won't bother/eat my crystal red shrimp!  ……… answers on a postcard please! 

Forgot to add e) don't mind relatively high surface flow rate either!

I don't want to back off the flow rate as it is fairly strong and full width of the tank from right to left via a spray bar. I am convinced that this is one of the reasons for good growth and low algae as CO2 seems to be well spread with no real dead spots at the moment (this may change as tank fills out).

I am thinking about getting a red crispus bulb or similar for back right hand corner. Hopefully this will grow fast and provide some surface cover as the current will pull it along the back of the tank. It should give some good colour contrast also I think.


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## BBogdan (2 Mar 2015)

Hi Simon , 
very nice tank! , is not crowded and I like your healthy plants free from algae. 

If it was my tank I wold consider to add a group of Hyphessobrycon amandae (Ember Tetra) , and maybe Iriatherina werneri ...both species are very peaceful and safe for shimps

Good luck!


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## Simon Day (2 Mar 2015)

BBogdan said:


> Hi Simon ,
> very nice tank! , is not crowded and I like your healthy plants free from algae.
> 
> If it was my tank I wold consider to add a group of Hyphessobrycon amandae (Ember Tetra) , and maybe Iriatherina werneri ...both species are very peaceful and safe for shimps
> ...



Thanks for the suggestion BB

I had not heard of the Threadfin rainbow fish (Iriatherina werneri) before you suggested it ….certainly something a little bit different from the usual. I will have a look for these as i don't recall seeing them in any of the LFS that I visit. I guess they will order some in I wanted them. Ember tetras look good also but have seen mixed postings on how well they stick to the top half of the tank. (the bottom is pretty busy with Ottos and shrimp at the moment and I have a few Corys waiting to be re-homed into the tank …. when I feel the plants have rooted in enough to cope with them digging about).


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## Simon Day (2 Mar 2015)

I have been thinking of how I can provide a little bit more cover for fish exposed to the strong LED lights (other than floating plants which will all get blown to the left hand end of the tank). The area of the tank with the sand path does not need much in the way of direct light so i was thinking about placing some translucent (green?) plastic onto the top of the glass covers in this area. I may cut it out into leaf like shapes to give a sort of dappled green shade effect? Has anyone tried anything similar to this with any success?

Perhaps I am over concerned with stressed fish than I need to be and should just put them in and see how well they cope with the bright light!!!


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## Greenfinger2 (3 Mar 2015)

Hi Simon,

Congratulations on a wonderful Aquascape


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## Simon Day (6 Mar 2015)

Thanks for the positive comment Greenfinger.

Generally I am happy with it but a few things are in need of adjustment.

Made a mistake on position of the root on day 1 as I haven't left enough room behind it and the back wall of the tank. This means the background stem plant haven't really got enough room to really fill out and are proving to be a real pain to cut and replant. I would like to move it about 3 inches forward but this would cause major upheaval that I am not prepared to risk!




 

Plant choice on background needs adjusting as the P. erectus is growing well but will unlikely grow tall enough to get much above the root!

Still, the current inhabitants of the tank seem happy enough …..



 

Otto's have done a good job on algae and seem also to have cleared the hydra that had started to sprout up on the root. They seem to co-exist with the various shrimp types really well also.


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## Fran (7 Mar 2015)

Beautiful looking tank. Well done.


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## GDM (7 Mar 2015)

Hi Simon,

How have you found the Classica Light? I have one sat in a box ready to use on my incoming 240L. Am I right in saying I could adjust my light level overall to, for instance '4' and use the internal timer to run a single 8 hr phase at that level?


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## ADA (7 Mar 2015)

Looks great, some chubby little ottos there .


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## Simon Day (7 Mar 2015)

GDM said:


> Hi Simon,
> 
> How have you found the Classica Light? I have one sat in a box ready to use on my incoming 240L. Am I right in saying I could adjust my light level overall to, for instance '4' and use the internal timer to run a single 8 hr phase at that level?




I have played about with the light controller a bit myself and concluded that you can adjust the intensity of the light OR use the timer setting ….but not both! I can't understand why the thing is programmed this way. However, this has not proved to be a problem as I think my light needs to be set at 100% anyway to get the required growth characteristics. I have the 80cm version of the unit which has 5x 10w LEDs (10000K and 8500K) which do the plant growth bit … I assume the 3x banks of low wattage RGB LEDs are effectively for illumination only?

I currently have it set for 6.5 hours at full illumination on the main 10w LEDs (plus 30 mins ramp up/down time before and after this). I have the other 3 banks of low wattage RGB units set to come on either side of the main unit with 1x row running a few hours after the main lights have shut off. I have also played about with the height of the unit above the water level. My tank is 45cm deep and I currently have it set about 16cm above the water (I have 1.5mm thick glass covers also which I assume have some negative impact on PAR in tank).

I have only seen a couple of internet reviews of the units and both of these were very negative about the timer vs intensity setting issue. However, as i don't think you need to set it at less 100% for a 45cm deep planted tank then this really isn't an issue for me. I am pleased with all the other aspects of the units i.e.. growth performance, looks, ceiling suspension and fitting kit, colour rendition, ramp up/down facility ….. all in all very good value for something about half the price of other 'pro' units. If the intensity adjustment is an issue for you it is possible to buy a 5 channel programmable timer unit off the web for about 28 quid and you can sort this as well (as long as you have basic skills to wire this via a multi pin socket)

Only thing I may have done differently would have been to buy a 90cm unit for may tank instead of the 80 cm one … the longer one has an extra 10W LED cluster and an even number of 10000K and 8500K LEDs. Maybe this would have given me a little extra intensity in the extreme corners of the tank.


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## Simon Day (7 Mar 2015)

ADA said:


> Looks great, some chubby little ottos there .



Thanks for the comment … i am a few weeks ahead of you with planting vs you emerald isles scape - I look forward to seeing it fill out.

Not has Ottos before but i think they are great little creatures and seem very happy in their new environment (and pay for their keep at the same time with algae eating duty).


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## jellyfish6 (7 Mar 2015)

Simon Day said:


> I have been thinking of how I can provide a little bit more cover for fish exposed to the strong LED lights (other than floating plants which will all get blown to the left hand end of the tank). The area of the tank with the sand path does not need much in the way of direct light so i was thinking about placing some translucent (green?) plastic onto the top of the glass covers in this area. I may cut it out into leaf like shapes to give a sort of dappled green shade effect? Has anyone tried anything similar to this with any success?
> 
> Perhaps I am over concerned with stressed fish than I need to be and should just put them in and see how well they cope with the bright light!!!



Hi Simon, my understanding is that green light will have a negative affect on your plant growth, so I would advise against translucent green plastic.  Green light is least effective to plants as most plants reflect green light and absorb very little. It is this reflected light that makes them appear green.


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## GDM (8 Mar 2015)

Simon Day said:


> I have played about with the light controller a bit myself and concluded that you can adjust the intensity of the light OR use the timer setting ….but not both! I can't understand why the thing is programmed this way. However, this has not proved to be a problem as I think my light needs to be set at 100% anyway to get the required growth characteristics. I have the 80cm version of the unit which has 5x 10w LEDs (10000K and 8500K) which do the plant growth bit … I assume the 3x banks of low wattage RGB LEDs are effectively for illumination only?
> 
> I currently have it set for 6.5 hours at full illumination on the main 10w LEDs (plus 30 mins ramp up/down time before and after this). I have the other 3 banks of low wattage RGB units set to come on either side of the main unit with 1x row running a few hours after the main lights have shut off. I have also played about with the height of the unit above the water level. My tank is 45cm deep and I currently have it set about 16cm above the water (I have 1.5mm thick glass covers also which I assume have some negative impact on PAR in tank).
> 
> ...




Thanks for the review Simon, I too have only ever seen the very dismissive reviews. At full chat the light is very bright but I like your idea of using the RGB's during the evening so the light level is a little more tolerable. Do you have a photograph of the setup with RGB only light levels?

Otherwise the fitting is very good value, I have planned to use 90cm over a 120cm. You mention you felt you were lacking lighting in the extremities, the photographs of the tank don't appear to show dark corners to me!

Thanks again.


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## GDM (8 Mar 2015)

Great looking tank BTW! Those Otto's are super cutey's


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## banthaman.jm (8 Mar 2015)

Hey Simon, very nice looking tank for such a short amount of time  looking forward to more posts.


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## ADA (8 Mar 2015)

Simon Day said:


> Thanks for the comment … i am a few weeks ahead of you with planting vs you emerald isles scape - I look forward to seeing it fill out.
> 
> Not has Ottos before but i think they are great little creatures and seem very happy in their new environment (and pay for their keep at the same time with algae eating duty).



Yeah me too, prob is everything is slow growing in mine bug hopefully will be ready for IAPLC.


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## Simon Day (8 Mar 2015)

GDM said:


> Thanks for the review Simon, I too have only ever seen the very dismissive reviews. At full chat the light is very bright but I like your idea of using the RGB's during the evening so the light level is a little more tolerable. Do you have a photograph of the setup with RGB only light levels?
> 
> Otherwise the fitting is very good value, I have planned to use 90cm over a 120cm. You mention you felt you were lacking lighting in the extremities, the photographs of the tank don't appear to show dark corners to me!
> 
> Thanks again.



I will try to get a photo of the tank with just RGB on ….. The red in these makes the CRS stand out really well also and and creatures seem more active that in the 'midday sun' effect of the main LEDs.


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## Simon Day (8 Mar 2015)

I did first big trim of Monte Carlo yesterday plus some re-arranging of RHS corner of the scape. Hacked off approx 4 inches of root (underwater hacksaw job!) at the back RHS also to give more room for relocated Pogo Erectus …aim is to grow a big cushion of this to balance the scape up a bit. Space where the Pogo Erectus was behind the root now taken up with newly planted Rotala ….this should grow high enough to be seen above the root and hopefully be nice and red for some contrast.


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## Simon Day (18 Mar 2015)

Day 55 - updated photos



 

 

Still no fish as yet …. looking at adding them this weekend. 

Down to 2 choices at moment …….. either 30 ember tetras or 30 mosquito rasboras. May add some galaxy rasboras to mooch around the lower reaches of the tank as well.


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## Simon Day (18 Mar 2015)

So far generally trouble free but have noticed a bit of a problem. See picture below …..



 

I have cut out a small section of sturygene repens that seems to have gone all holey! Problem was restricted to a couple of plants only that were located directly under the CO2 diffuser. Rest of the same plant around the tank looks to be OK to me. At first i was thinking if was some sort of snail/bug etc but on close examination no evidence of anything like this on the plants. Suspect it could be a nutrient related issue? Anyone got any ideas.

Ferts etc for past few months are as follows:

Tank - approx 160l …50% water change weekly
Water - medium soft (66mg/l CaCO3 according to water board)
PH - between 6.0 and 6.2 if I let it gas out for 24 hours before testing ….<6.0 if I don't
CO2 - drop checker just green by lights on
Daily Ferts : 6ml Tropica Premium liquid fert + 5ml ADA Green Brighty special lights


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## Greenfinger2 (18 Mar 2015)

Hi Simon, Sorry I cannot help with the plant issue Others will know more about this

Your Aquascape Is wonderful


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## Edvet (19 Mar 2015)

Might be CO2/circulation issue, direct under diffusor could be the worst place, because flow gets there last before it reaches fresh CO2


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## Simon Day (20 Mar 2015)

Thanks for the suggestion Ed …problem will be trying to get a bit more circulation in this area given tank layout etc.


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## Simon Day (20 Mar 2015)

My 'fish tank' (as so described by my kids/wife/friends etc) now actually has some fish in it!

Called into the Abyss at Stockport this evening as I was passing on my way back to North Wales ….picked up 30 Ember Tetras that are now happily relocated into the scape. Really pleased with them so far … they seem to stick to top half of the tank and are schooling nicely. I backed off the light & flow this evening while they settle in to the tank….It will be interesting to see how they get on tomorrow with full light + CO2 + full bore flow.


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## alto (21 Mar 2015)

Simon Day said:


> It will be interesting to see how they get on tomorrow with full light + CO2 + full bore flow.


You may need to back off on the CO2 levels for a few days while they acclimate (biochemically) to the higher levels of CO2 ...


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## Simon Day (21 Mar 2015)

Thanks for the tip Alto ….I will back off CO2 50% for the first day to give them a chance. Especially as i am not around for much of today so don't want to come back to a tank of floating livestock!!


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## Simon Day (5 Apr 2015)

Up to day 75 (ish)

Following problems with holes in sturogyene and some green spot algae on anubias I have upped the CO2 (dropper now much lighter green rather than blue-green) and upped the fertilisers (now 10ml ADA Green Brighty special lights + 5ml Tropica Premium per day). Been doing this for about 10 days now and green spot much reduced and other plants looking much brighter green (with no sign of any more holey sturogyene).

Tank now has about 30 ember tetras, 4 Ottos, 10 neons and 7 harlequin rasboras + 14 Amanos & 100+ CRS  ……. all seem to be getting on fine although I suspect my shrimp population may now not get much bigger given the way the neons in particular seem to lurk around the lower reaches of the tank at night-time!






Not planning to add many more fish but I have been looking at Galaxy Rasboras as I think these look great …however all the info pages on these seem to suggest that they prefer slightly alkaline water so my 6.0 - 6.2 tank may not be best suited. I would be interested to hear from anybody who has managed to get Galaxy's to thrive in medium soft water at 6.0 …. I expect they can survive at this PH but I would rather not risk it if they are stressed at these levels.


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## Simon Day (12 Apr 2015)

Downside of more ferts + CO2+ flow = more maintenance…… 

Being new to this hobby in the past 12 months or so I have perhaps a bit shy when it comes to getting the pruning scissors out and having a good hack back.

Hence scape looking a bit wild this morning with the 'big red root' now barely visible.
(apologies for poor iPad picture, dirty pipework and exotic patterned splash protector for oak cabinet!)



 

A few hours later, post water change and a bit of a trim the root is visible again (for another week at least) ….



 

I am beginning to regret the amount of christmas moss that I started the scape with. Although it is generally growing pretty tight in most places the stuff seems to get everywhere and I am sure would take over the whole tank if I let it! Doesn't help that it does not float off when trimmed unlike most stem plats etc …. think I will have to rig up a little suction 'hoover' to use when trimming the moss in future.

Generally plants doing OK but anubias have never really taken to being submersed. They were a lovely deep green before submersion and when very pale within the first week of flooding the scape. Since then they have picked up a bit but still look a bit washed out and nowhere near as good as when first purchased. Green spot/dust algae seems to have receded a bit and leaves get a regular cleaning by the team of shrimp in the tank. Anyone got any ideas as to how they can be revived? Is this a sign of some sort of nutrient deficiency?


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## Katch (12 Apr 2015)

Simon Day said:


> would be interested to hear from anybody who has managed to get Galaxy's to thrive in medium soft water at 6.0 …. I expect they can survive at this PH but I would rather not risk it if they are stressed at these levels.



I've bred these successfully in the softest water imaginable and kept them with no problems.


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## Lauris (17 Apr 2015)

Loved every bit of this. Also got some answers I needed. I guess the light unit is one of the possible to-buy for me. Lovely tank. Thanks

I am planted!


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## parotet (21 Apr 2015)

I hadn't seen this journal... Really beautiful!

Jordi


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## Andy D (21 Apr 2015)

Hey Simon!

It looks great!


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## RynoParsons (21 Apr 2015)

One of my fav scapes


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## Simon Day (24 Apr 2015)

Lauris, Jordi, Andy & Ryno … thanks for the positive comments.


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## Simon Day (19 Jun 2015)

Not done an update on this one for a while  …busy at work etc

As a consequence of being busy I have recently let the scape grow on a bit and have been a bit lax on the trimming. It is 5 months old now and it is interesting to see how different plants seem to grow and dominate parts of the scape and the plants around them. I had worried that the Christmas moss was taking over but it is now being overgrown by the Monte Carlo and some of the other plants.

I have so far had no algae issues, I put this down to good flow rates (still got a spray bar at one end), strict 50% water changes every week and limited fish feeding. Ferts are 7ml Tropica brown and 3ml ADA Green Brighty Special lights each day. CO2 is just enough to keep drop checker green rather than blue. Key thing I think is also to avoid changing anything ….. 'if it works then don't fix it' is a motto I tend to stick to!

Apart from being somewhat overgrown only real concern recently has been the apparent dissappearance of the bulk of my Amanos a few weeks ago. I now regularly see only 2 when I have had around 12 until about 6 week ago. One died while trekking across my lounge floor and another died at the front of the tank … it appeared to have some sort of parasitic flatworms emerging from it after death so it is possible that the others have gone the same way? Has anyone any experience of this? I don't think water parameters have anything to do with this as my CRS seem to keep multiplying by the day. I have also not sen more than 1 of my 4 Ottos in recent weeks …however tank is so overgrown they may well be hiding in the undergrowth somewhere as they are shy creatures.

A few pictures …..

 
CRS seem to be thriving ok


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## Mr. Teapot (19 Jun 2015)

Lovely.


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## Simon Day (19 Jun 2015)

Thanks Mr T…..Big trim in the morning …..scape has grown on a couple of weeks since this picture and barely any of the hardscape is now visible!


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## alto (20 Jun 2015)

Growth is fantastic   .... though I'm looking forward to the trim & re-emergence of the Big Red Root 
It's possible the Amano's are just playing "least in sight", some are very dedicated to this (slightly confusing as they'll often be out & about initially), I suspect the "worms" you saw arrived post death rather than being the cause; I'd be inclined to sell on some of the CRS to keep numbers under control. 

At least all that greenery has provided loads of respite for the fishes (from the DeathRay)


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## Dantrasy (20 Jun 2015)

Wow! What a stunner. Love the height you've achieved. You've created a shrimp paradise.


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## Greenfinger2 (20 Jun 2015)

Hi Simon, Fantastic


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## banthaman.jm (21 Jun 2015)

Looks absolutely fantastic 
Jim


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## Felix Wagner (21 Jun 2015)

Hi Simon, looks amazing 

Liebe Grüße Felix


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## Simon Day (21 Jun 2015)

Thanks Felix, Jim & Greenfinger for the positive comments.

A few iPhone pics following trim yesterday ……… probably need to hack back even harder as still looking a bit overgrown despite half a bucket of greenery removed!


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## Simon Day (21 Jun 2015)

A further development on the 'missing' amanos any the mystery worm like parasites…. watched one amano die yesterday at the front of the tank and within a few minutes a few of the small flatworms exited the body! Not pretty. Hopefully this was not the same fate suffered by the Ottos (only seen one of these in recent weeks). Losses are definitely not a water quality thing as the other fish & CRS are doing fine. Don't test water often as I think the plants and animals soon let you know if things are not right …however tested everything today ahead of water change and no issues here. Otto reduction might simply due to a lack of food as they may be out-competed by the shrimp population explosion! I don't tend to get any algae on the tank glass either so maybe not enough surfaces to keep them fed?

I would be interested to know if anyone has lost amanos in similar circumstances?


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## Felix Wagner (21 Jun 2015)

It's time for a trimm? I dont see the beautiful root^^

Liebe Grüße Felix


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## Simon Day (1 Aug 2015)

A while since I have updated on the journal……

Just come back today from a 2 week holiday ….. auto feeder and a rudimentary auto doser for ferts set up before I went as the scape has not bee left alone for more than a couple of days up to now. 

Half expected to come home to an algae swamp full of dead fish so pleasantly surprised to find no algae, live fish but a staggering amount of growth to the point where the scape has become almost a solid block of overgrown greenery with no visible hardscape!




 

 

Some of the stems have grown at least 8 inches or so since I left them and the whole surface is now covered with emerging stems!



 

On further investigation I think my massive increase in plant mass is due in part to my home made fert-doser setup. I had set something up using a small powerhead on a timer set to run for 5 minutes a day. This was planned to add a diluted fert mix to the tank that would also make up for the loss of water from the tank due to evaporation. Everything seems to have worked fine apart from the minor issue that the wonderful British summer weather has been so cold and wet for the past 2 weeks that the tank suffered very little in the way of evaporation! As a consequence of this my doser increased the water level in the tank to the point where it was over the glass covers (fortunately still a couple of mm below the top of the tank so no wet carpets to come home to!). 

I guess I have been a bit lucky here (my fish certainly have been lucky!) as this has meant the only oxygenation of the tank water has been via the plants themselves as next to no water surface has been available for gas exchange! Also, I guess my CO2 has not been able to gas-off at the surface so the tank has been running at higher effective CO2 levels for a while ….hence the super growth rates achieved in my absence.

Other negative is a huge increase in the number of planaria worms in the tank…..I think this is likely down to over-feeding via the feeder I had set up. I have some worming medicine and will likely dose the tank tomorrow after I have hacked out a few buckets of plant growth.


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## Andy D (2 Aug 2015)

Seems you have a little trimming to do!


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## Greenfinger2 (2 Aug 2015)

Hi Simon, Glad all is well Wow that's some plant growth there


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## Simon Day (3 Aug 2015)

Results of major hacking session yesterday …….. now looks a right mess but hopefully a few weeks of regrowth and it won't look quite  so sickly!

So, From this:



 

Minus this:


 

To this:


 



I also dosed the tank with some fenbendazol in a effort to kill the planaria. Based on my calculations I dosed at a rate of 0.7 ppm and injected the mix into the carpet with a big syringe in an attempt to get them with a high dose. 24 hours later results are mixed, definately less planaria are visible but it certainly has not killed them all. Perhaps I have been a bit to cautious with the dose rate and maybe carbon in my filter has extracted the chemical before it has had time to work. Fish and shrimp seem OK so perhaps I will give it a go with a higher dose at the weekend.


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## Edvet (4 Aug 2015)

Carbon will take it out, so remove that for 48 hours, when treating,  and then put a fresh batch in to remove the chemicals


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## Lindy (4 Aug 2015)

You should have held an auction for all those trimmings!


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## Greenfinger2 (4 Aug 2015)

Hi Simon, I agree with Idcgroomer. Or you could of done a few Wabi- Kusa with all though's plants   Nice trim though


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## Simon Day (4 Aug 2015)

Thanks for the comments ……ref all the cuttings…. it hurt me to put them in the compost as this is the first time I have trimmed so much plant mass from the tank in one go! I was considering using them to start a new scape with the empty 45P that is sat in my garage but decided against embarking on the delicate negotiations ref multiple tanks in the lounge !!!

Wabi-Kusa might have been less controversial though I guess!

Hopefully the yellow growth I have exposed by the big trim will green up over the next week or so.


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## flygja (12 Aug 2015)

Just stunning!


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## Simon Day (23 Aug 2015)

A couple of weeks on from my holiday and the tank has generally recovered from the effects of neglect + very heavy trim. However I recently returned from 5 days away with work to find an algae problem has hit the tank …… so far the tank has been algae free since the start so it is a bit of a shame my lax maintenance has let it creep in.

I think problem is due to low CO2 (I swapped bottles the day before my trip and didn't check the bubble counter) + no fertiliser for 4 days + relatively high nitrates relative to the much reduced plant mass in the tank following the big trim.





I have sorted CO2 and ferts to previous levels and continued with weekly 50% water changes. I have also had a go at mechanically removing it using a toothbrush but with little success so far. This weekend I have had a go with spraying dilute easycarbo on parts of the scape exposed during the water change ….. hopefully this will make an impression on it!

I would appreciate any advice on best way to tackle this type of algae.


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## GHNelson (23 Aug 2015)

Hi 
Reduce lighting and fertilizer dosing....you could try          Easy - Life...AlgExit!
I had good results with the above solution!
Cheers
hoggie


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