# Piranha Tank at the London Aquarium



## ghostsword




----------



## scapegoat

Wow this tank is going to be immense! Next time i'm in London I'll be checking this out for sure is it going to be low or high tech?


----------



## Iain Sutherland

Thats awesome luis, how did you get involved with that?
On my to do list in london now


----------



## nayr88

Powerful!


----------



## ghostsword

Thanks guys.. if you in London do visit..


----------



## LondonDragon

Nice one Luis  whats it like being piranha bate?


----------



## jack-rythm

That tank is mammoth!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Alastair

jack-rythm said:


> That tank is mammoth!
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


Agreed. I'd have to do a bit if a George Farmer in that when its full and get my shorts on and go for a swim  


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ady34

Now that's a lorra plants! look forward to seeing it complete.
Piranha seem like the ideal choice for a planted tank! 
Nice work Louis.
Cheerio
Ady


----------



## ghostsword

Everybody does tetras and other fish. This is different..  

About 400 pots of plants from Aquadip.. Top quality plants.. You see the size of the bolbitis..  

I have a video of the guy that is in charge of the tank swimming inside.. Just amazing.






___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## Alastair

ghostsword said:


> Everybody does tetras and other fish. This is different..
> 
> About 400 pots of plants from Aquadip.. Top quality plants.. You see the size of the bolbitis..
> 
> I have a video of the guy that is in charge of the tank swimming inside.. Just amazing.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ___________________________
> Luis
> @ghostsword



You've gotta show us that video in that case luis  


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## sr20det

Thats brilliant Luis, gonna be special


----------



## Gill

Is this the one by London Eye, As it seriuosly needs updating. Was very Dissapointed with the whole place, was nothing special in the tanks, and Little one knew the names of most of the fish there.
About time someone took some interest in the planted tanks in the place.


----------



## ghostsword

easerthegeezer said:


> Thats awesome luis, how did you get involved with that?
> On my to do list in london now


 

Tony from Planted Tanks asked me to help out.


----------



## ghostsword

Gill said:


> Is this the one by London Eye, As it seriuosly needs updating. Was very Dissapointed with the whole place, was nothing special in the tanks, and Little one knew the names of most of the fish there.
> About time someone took some interest in the planted tanks in the place.


 
Yes, it is the one by London Eye.. 

They are now revamping the tanks, and ditching the fake plants.. I am sure that you will see more changes, I think that Planted Tanks has been invited to do more tanks, they are using Aquadip plants.

Most tanks will be planted with easy plants, such as ferns, anubias, crypts and moss, not easy to add co2 to the volume of water these guys are using.


----------



## Arana

Just awesome Luis


----------



## ghostsword

Done the video for today. My dear lord it looks awesome. 14 minutes of video, HD, 2gb. Will upload to youtube once it finished rendering. 


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## ghostsword

Need to do the video from yesterday. It has the guy swimming in it and placing the first fish, will do it tomorrow, not as fun as this one. 


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## Arana

ghostsword said:


> Done the video for today. My dear lord it looks awesome. 14 minutes of video, HD, 2gb. Will upload to youtube once it finished rendering.


 
Looking forward to that already mate


----------



## Frosties

I can say that this project has been massive. 2.5 months planning and growing some enormous bolbtis 1.5m tall. 
We have been asked to go back and scape up and supply for many more tanks. 
I am really pleased we had Luis help and assistance on this project.


----------



## Frosties

I forgot to say thanks to Luis for filming this. We have many photos to be released in due course.


----------



## Gill

That is good to hear, aquadip have some stunning plants.


----------



## ghostsword

Gill said:


> That is good to hear, aquadip have some stunning plants.




I was really impressed by their plants.. Usually I buy only Tropica but these were in really top condition. The echinodorus were impressive..


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## Gill

Yep Aquadip have come on leaps and Bounds in the last few years. I prefer to buy my live foods from them, If it is available from the sellers I know buy from them.


----------



## George Farmer

Hi Luis,

Wow! What a great project, this has the potential to be a wonderful displayl! 

Can you share some tech specs with us, please? Lighting, CO2, ferts, substrate etc?

Is the tank's filtration system standalone or linked to all of the other freshwater displays?

Great video, and thanks for sharing mate!

Cheers,
George


----------



## ghostsword

Thanks George.

The filter is shared with the other displays so ferts are root balls. 

We are dosing co2 on the tank 24/7, the aquarium staff monitors it. It is mostly for the echinodorus, and they should reach the top quickly.

Lights are 6 x 250w halogen, 30 par at substrate level, 50 par midway. Above the water, on the wood, there are anubias. 

On the wood we have moss, anubias and ferns, easy plants. 

I will let Tony share the complete plant list. A total of 400 pots were used, all Aquadip.

It is a easy tank for the staff to maintain, and they are very excited about it. 


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## Matt Warner

I can't wait to see what this tank looks like when it's finished and the fish are in!


----------



## martinmjr62

Can't wait to see the video


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ian Holdich

Nice vids luis, aren't you worried about the plants being eaten? From what I understand, piranhas eat most aquatic plants don't they?


----------



## ghostsword

No.. Piranhas eat fish and meat, they do not eat plants.. They are just too big for most tanks, this is why you never see them on planted tanks.
Until now.. 


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## ghostsword

But don't worry. The next tank maybe the croc tank..  and that is really big!


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## Ian Holdich

Are you sure luis, I have a friend that kept red bellies and they demolished £80 worth of java fern in a week. A quick google search also tells me that they eat as much aquatic vegetation as meat, some breeds will actually rather eat aquatic vegetation. I really hope you're correct and they do leave them alone.


----------



## ghostsword

They had plants there with them before.. 

Nonetheless, the video is up.


----------



## killi69

Very nice Luis.  Those bolbitis at the back are massive! Like palm leaves.  The tank is looking green already which is amazing considering its size.  Its going to look great when plants grow and fill out.


----------



## foxfish

Great vids - strange choice of music thought!
I have a planed trip to the aquarium in April, looking forward to seeing the tank & fish.


----------



## ghostsword

Thanks.. yep, the bolbitis at the back are massive.. never seen them so big.. 

The tank is planted in a way to allow for the fish to swim, and the wood is closer to glass so that the people can see the fish, and take pictures. 

There are more fish to go in, such as 100 otos, but they are still in quarantine. 

As the tank has to cater to all people, you see such items as the stone face, and the skull, the kids love it. 

The plants need to fill up, and I will visit once a week to see if they need any help, but the staff is really good and interested in plants. Things are changing.


----------



## LondonDragon

Second video looking good, as long they keep on top of it with maintenance etc...  last time I was there was disappointing the state of some of the tanks.


----------



## ghostsword

foxfish said:


> Great vids - strange choice of music thought!
> I have a planed trip to the aquarium in April, looking forward to seeing the tank & fish.


 
It is a odd music, but the only one I had without copyright.. Youtube likes to put adverts on anything that has copyright..


----------



## ghostsword

I am sure that the Sea Life center will produce some videos... I will give them a copy of all I have..


----------



## ghostsword

LondonDragon said:


> Second video looking good, as long they keep on top of it with maintenance etc...  last time I was there was disappointing the state of some of the tanks.


 
They got two people dedicated to this tank, they go inside once a week to clean the glass. I am also visiting once a week to see if they need help. 

There may be some die back, but there are some easy plants in there, so they will keep the tank going. 

The staff just needs time for it, they are really busy..


----------



## Gfish

You'd be better off putting in some lovely Silver Dollars hehee!!

But guys this is truly awesome!!! What a great project and advert for Fishkeeping and planted tanks. I think whatever fish go in there it will be an amazing display! 

If it can't be pirana then Angels and Geophagus. Top tank that would be!! 

I hope before the pirana go in that you try feeding them with plants in another tank. You have to test that first before its too late!

I'm really looking forward to the following vids and pics


----------



## ghostsword

There were piranha there before, with vallis and moss.. They were fine. 

The London Aquarium want's to have a piranha tank, that is what they want, so they get piranhas. If the piranhas destroy the plants ... well, what can we do? 

I would personally have angel fish there, lots and lots of them..


----------



## ghostsword




----------



## George Farmer

Nice one, Luis. 

It's good to see the layout from a full frontal perspective... and interesting HDR processing!

I don't think it's the world's (note the apostrophe...) second largest planted tank though.

Amano's home tank is over 10,000 litres, and I think his Sumida Skytree tank is even bigger.  Then you have all of the Green Chapter huge planted tanks from Singapore.

Nevertheless, it's an impressive display and one I'm sure you're proud to be involved with! 

Thanks for sharing mate.


----------



## ghostsword

George, thanks.. I will leave that argument of the world's largest tank to the London Aquarium marketing people..  

It was an amazing experience, especially as we only saw the wood on the day of scaping.. 

This tank is 4 meters long, 3 meters wide and 1.5 meters tall, making it 18000L. That is pretty large..


----------



## George Farmer

ghostsword said:


> This tank is 4 meters long, 3 meters wide and 1.5 meters tall, making it 18000L. That is pretty large..


Ah... My sincere apologies! I heard it was 7000 litres.


----------



## ghostsword

but good catch on the apostrophe..  I will surely pass it to the London Aquarium.. English not my first language, but they have no excuse..


----------



## Arana

Awesome video mate, i can feel a UKAPS day out coming on


----------



## ghostsword

If a group want's to visit the tank, let me know, so that we can arrange a behind the scenes trip. 

There are more fish going in, and shrimp.. yep, London Aquarium want's to put shrimp into the tank. Told them that they may become snack, but they said that they had shrimps with the piranhas before and it was fine.

Also, a shoal of 100 ottos is going in.


----------



## George Farmer

ghostsword said:


> Also, a shoal of 100 ottos is going in.


Need more like a thousand mate. That just one otto per 180 litres!


----------



## ghostsword

They never had ottos.. They wanted to put plecos on it..  

It is a stepping stone... a bit at the time.. 

The staff is very interested in getting rid of all plastic plants (there are lots of displays), so I am popping in next week to talk to some of them and offer solutions. Things like ferns, moss and anubias can go a long way, and where there is a lot of light, use floating plants. 

I gave them a lot of wood, and taught them on to attach moss to wood, using either superglue, cotton wool or fishing line, so hopefully we will start to see more tanks with moss and wood. 

The staff is also very busy, but they are a good bunch, and I am sure that we will start to see some changes.


----------



## foxfish

Do you have any more info on how the C02 is being introduced?


----------



## ghostsword

foxfish said:


> Do you have any more info on how the C02 is being introduced?


 
Same way as on a normal tank, but 24/7.. at the back, between the echinodorus. 
It has a 44kg bottle at the back. 

The tank has a lot of ferns, anubias and mosses, the CO2 is there mainly for the echinodorus.

Time will say if it will work.. no melting yet.


----------



## foxfish

You mean it has a 12mm UP supplying the gas !


ghostsword said:


> Same way as on a normal tank, but 24/7.. at the back, between the echinodorus.


----------



## ghostsword

I do not know what is UP.. The gas is being pumped into the tank using a metal T junction, and two atomic diffusers.


----------



## Frosties

The 44Kg system has 50bar of pressure in it, this is reduced to 1.5bar on the regulator output. This then hits a metal splitter to two diffusers with integrated bubble counters.
Due to the volume of the tank and the location of the diffusers we could not possible determine the exact BPS count... but you can see it if you look on the video closely. We have now sent a CO2 drop checker for use in the tank.

The plant list and APPROXIMATE numbers...

18 x Aponogeton boivinianus,
54 x Cryptocoryne balansae,
54 x Hydrocotyle leucocephala,
36 x Echinodorus rosé,MOTHERPLANTS
36 x Bacopa caroliniana,
24 x Najas,
108 x Echinodorus xinguensis,
8 x Echinodorus horemanii,MOTHERPLANTS
36 x Nymphea lotus red - Dried out and were not used.
18 x Heteranthera zosterifolia,
4Kg Javamoss,
54 x Cryptocoryne walkerii,
54 x Cryptocoryne wendtii green,
54 x Cryptocoryne wendtii brown,
36 x Anubias nana
18 x Bolbtis Heudelottii
3 x Bolbtis Heudelottii - GRANDMOTHER PLANTS

Echinodorus xinguensis is simalar to that of Echinodorus Tenellus - it is a larger version and is slightly quicker to carpet. This plant is currently available via all Aquadip suppliers and is worth a try... but remember it is supplied at 15cm tall and can grow to about 25cm.


----------



## ghostsword

The report from one of the tank keepers:
"So 1st time snorkelling in the display after its 1st week and it still looks amazing. Not a spot of algae on the windows means it was a pleasure to clean . Pruned a couple of leaves that were looking worse for wear otherwise its doing well so far."


----------



## ghostsword

Yes, the Echinodorus xinguensis is a pretty nice plant to use as a carpet.. looks really cool..


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside

How do you clean it with the piranhas in there? Don't they nip your  toesies?


----------



## ghostsword

Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> How do you clean it with the piranhas in there? Don't they nip your toesies?


 
The staff cleans the tank ok, they say that the piranhas avoid them..  I would not risk it..


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside

ghostsword said:


> The staff cleans the tank ok, they say that the piranhas avoid them..  I would not risk it..



Ha! I'd go in with a baseball bat.

Have you seen that film piranha 3D?
Kelly brooks baps were fantastic, shame about the acting.


----------



## dagzz

amazing mate


----------



## oddn0ise

I took my daughter last weekend, and the piranha tank was amazing, hopefully the quality of more tanks will improve in line with this one. If you need assistance in the future, I'm local and would be well up for helping.


----------



## ghostsword

oddn0ise said:


> I took my daughter last weekend, and the piranha tank was amazing, hopefully the quality of more tanks will improve in line with this one. If you need assistance in the future, I'm local and would be well up for helping.


 
I am very happy that you enjoyed it..  

Took some pictures? Share them..


----------



## ghostsword




----------



## mlgt

Looks really nice. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## ghostsword

Saw the article at the PFK, London Sea Life Piranha tank gets an aquascaping makeover  | News | Practical Fishkeeping .. 

Highly inaccurate, in a variety of points, such as the brief being a Biotope, and how the plants would be fed, the use of the fish, how long it took to build, why fighting algae will be an issue. 

It is nice to see how the only Fish Keeping Magazine in the UK did not even bother to turn up to see the tank, or to at least try to get accurate information. 

The tank was never meant to be a Biotope. The large majority of South American Biotopes do not have plants. 

The plants are being fertilised with root balls. On the wood is moss, ferns and anubias.

The tank took one day to do the hardscape, one day to plant and on the third day the fish went in, not over a week as they claim. 

The fish have enough place to hide, as they were before on the tank with larger piranhas without any issue. 

If they had bothered to turn up, seen the project from day one (Tuesday) to end (Thursday) then they could have possibly presented a more balanced article, instead they choose to write the nonsense they did. 

Yes, I could post this on their page, but why bother? It would just get deleted, as it happens with many other posters.

Let's see how long it stays here.


----------



## George Farmer

Hi Luis

I have just spoken with Jeremy Gay and he is more than happy for you to post this on the PFK site where he will answer your grievances publicly.

Cheers,
George


----------



## ghostsword

Not a question of grievances.. more like just inaccurate information. For example, the Sea Life staff also wanted a biotope.. I showed them photos of what the location where the Piranhas are from really looks like.. 

They quickly changed their minds, and were happy to have a normal planted tank. This was in November, so not sure what brief PFK got to say that it was to be a biotope.. 

I will leave for Sea Life and Planted Tanks to deal with PFK, I think that they will contact them soon.


----------



## ghostsword

But it is disappointing that PFK would publish such article without at least attempted to see that it was accurate.


----------



## George Farmer

Hi Luis

PFK have quoted your post above and replied on the PFK site. 

London Sea Life Piranha tank gets an aquascaping makeover  | News | Practical Fishkeeping

Hopefully the matter will be resolved once Planted Tanks and Sea Life get in contact, like you say.

Cheers,
George


----------



## ghostsword

Thanks.. I will wait for Planted Tanks and Sea Life center to get in contact with PFK, as I am not sure what sort of information Planted Tanks sent them. 

I have not seen the tank since, but the Sea Life center says that one month on it is still going strong, so for me that is all that matters, not what PFK writes or says.


----------



## George Farmer

ghostsword said:


> ?... Sea Life center says that one month on it is still going strong, so for me that is all that matters, not what PFK writes or says.


Exactly mate.

Like I said in my comments on the site, I will happily eat my words if the project is a long-term success without algae issues.


----------



## ghostsword

No such large system will be completely without algae.. there are people with 20L tanks that cannot beat algae, so I very much doubt that this 18000L with a 2 Million litter filter (the size of a house) would be completely without algae, and that is not the intention of the scape. 

What we want to achieve are healthy plants, plants that grow, thrive and offer the visitors a good experience. 

Algae is everywhere, you cannot beat it. One month on, plants are alive, how many here have had to destroy their scape due to issues with much smaller tanks?  So hats off to the Sea Life Center for keeping the tank going.


----------



## George Farmer

We both know the difference between background algae and algae issues mate.


----------



## ghostsword

That was why I wrote what we want to achieve are healthy plants, plants that grow and thrive.  

If it goes full on threat algae, cyano, all plants covered, then the plants will just die. Hopefully that does not happen.  

But if it does, at least the tank will be Biotope correct, only in certain parts of South America there are plants under water, most of the times looks like a mud river.

Time will say if it works out or not..


----------



## ghostsword

Written on the PFK website, in response to the comments by the staff. 

"Will the extra recommended fish survive the piranha, and the plants survive one hungry L191 and 100 Otos?"

Would the fish survive the Piranha? Of course they will, Piranha feed on sick or dying fish, any healthy fish will have enough place to hide and swim. One month in, no issues. Not to mention that the Piranhas were there before with the fish, with less hardscape.

The L191 does not eat plants, or algae, they eat wood.

100 Otos for a tank this large is nothing to worry about.

So is the tank going to be full of algae, or will the Otos starve? I do think that the Otos will thrive in such a tank.

Regarding how are plants being fed... if only root balls existed. Ah yes, they do. 

On the wood logs there is moss, ferns and anubias.

At the back there are echinodorus, and it is there that CO2 as setup, running 24/7, at least to give them a chance to reach the top and break the water.

What it really matters is that the public is happy with the tank, the Sea Life center is happy with the scape, and the fish are healthy.

One month in, plants are still thriving, so obviously something is working.


----------



## LondonDragon

ghostsword said:


> One month in, plants are still thriving, so obviously something is working.


 do you still visit once a week? More photos?


----------



## ghostsword

Have been sick these past weeks, but plan to go soon.. Been in contact with the staff and they report no issues.


----------



## Lloyd

Looking Epic Luis!!

Two Oceans should look into somthing like this...


----------



## ghostsword

It is in the pipeline..  


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## Balik1

Apart from the piranha tank ... The London aquarium is so so so disappointing 
Really poor displays and strange combinations of tanks and there inhabitants 

Hope they sort things out


----------



## LondonDragon

Balik1 said:


> The London aquarium is so so so disappointing


My thoughts exactly for the last 3 times I have been there! Hope it changes soon


----------



## ghostsword

Two months have passed so I went to visit the tank and have a chat with the Aquarists (the guys that take care of it).

Some Cyano, and the moss on the wood is not growing. The tank needs nutrients in the water column. We need to sort that out. 

However, the planted plants are really nice, good colours, the crypts are carpeting nicely, and devoid of algae. 

It was a mission to take the video, so it is shaky, I went there early but it was packed, absolutely packed, especially around the tank, the kids love the piranhas. 

This is the video.
http://youtu.be/0_ExiQPdVyM


----------



## Tylers

Stunning tank, love the way the plants are taking off. I remember the red bellies being larger and few more of them? Did they sell the old lot? Any idea where they went as they were monsters (for red bellies)???


----------



## ghostsword

Hi.. Yes, they got rid of the old ones..  these are the babies.. 

I was very impressed with the crypts.. so clean and nice carpeting effect from them.. We should have carpeted the lot with crypts..


----------



## Tylers

Any idea where the old ones went? Any way I can find out? Thanks for the reply


----------



## ghostsword

8 months on.. 


London Aquarium by Ghostsword, on Flickr


----------



## ghostsword

Same plants, same fish, same wood and same rocks..  

Still holding on.


----------



## Tylers

That is looking really great. Do you know where the old batch of piranha went? As these ones were considerably smaller than the previous


----------



## foxfish

looks great from the pic.


----------



## ghostsword

They sold them on.. They were large.

The tank is thankfully still holding on.  

Some issues with the anubias and mosses, no water collumn ferts, but the rooted plants are very healthy and doing well. 




___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## Tylers

Any idea where they went? Did the anubias get algaed up due to the amount of light? That is what happened with mine


----------



## ghostsword

No, they had no nutrients. 


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## ghostsword

I visited the London Aquarium today, to drop 50kg of Dragon Stone and have a chat with the team.
The Piranha tank is almost 9 months old, and amazingly it is still holding. The choice of plants was really good, and it is a low tech.

The crypts are just amazing, I should have carpeted the lot with crypts, lesson for next large one.

The bolbitis are holding on, some new leaves, others wilted.. but holding on.

The real surprise are the anubias, they came back with a vengeance.. some flowering underwater.

The tank now has a large pleco (about 20cm long), and a shoal of ottos. The London Aquarium team will also add some ancistrus, maybe 10.

It was so cool to see some kids saying that it was spectacular.. Made my day. 

I took videos and photos. Thankfully I took two cameras, as with one of them I filmed at 30p, and it is a bit jittery.. The other is normal camcorder, so will upload when I get home.

The 30p is uploading now to youtube, just so you see what is looks like.. forgive the jitters..


----------



## ghostsword

Video here..


----------



## Tim Harrison

Mesmerising - good flow in there. I like very much that it's low-energy - just goes to show that the right plant choice can make all the difference...


----------



## MirandaB

That's a fantastic looking tank,definitely on my list of "must see" when I next go to London


----------



## foxfish

Really nice, those plants look healthy too...


----------



## LondonDragon

Tank maturing quite nicely  have to visit sometime haven't been there in about 6 years!


----------



## ghostsword

Tank Maturing very nicely indeed..  It is a massive tank. I convinced them to get a separate filter for it, so that they can dose ferts and up the co2 a bit. Currently sharing the filter with the rest of the aquarium, a 2 million Liter filter..  size of a double storey house.

Considering that many expected it to fail, it is good to see it still going after almost 9 months.


----------



## ghostsword

The tank can be classed as a low tech.. hardly any ferts, so little that the moss died out.  

What surprised me the most are the crypts.. really surprised with them.


----------



## BigTom

Luis that's looking brilliant. Must feel great knowing that so many people will be looking at your hard work.


----------



## ghostsword

I really enjoyed were the kids and the families that took the time to look at the fishes and the plants.. some were surprised that the plants are not fake.. Hopefully will get more people to realise how much better a tank can be with plants.

Also helped the guy that takes care of the London riverside display, and you will see how much better it looks, with real plants, such as hydrocotyle in the river banks. 

Slowly it will make a difference in peoples perception.. 

It is also a fitting end to my time in the UK, as I am relocating to Cape Town this monday.


----------



## George Farmer

Well done mate. It looks great!

I have to admit I didn't think would turn out so well. 

With it sharing water with all the other freshwater tanks complete with cyanobacteria etc...

I am really happy to be proved wrong!  

Thanks for sharing and all the best with your new life in SA.


----------



## ghostsword

Thanks.. Hopefully they will manage to get a bigger filter for this tank so that it is separate from the rest, they are building it at the moment, and then dose ferts, using the EI method..  

I wish I had this tank at home..


----------



## George Farmer

Are they still injecting CO2?


----------



## ghostsword

Yes, still pumping CO2..


----------



## LondonDragon

ghostsword said:


> What surprised me the most are the crypts.. really surprised with them.


No surprises there mate, they do well in almost any conditions I have found.


----------



## ghostsword

You have not seen the tank, or actually understood the challenges ...  no offence..   When you have a tank that is almost 2 meters away from the lights, shaded, and under 120cm of water, then tell me you not surprised the crypts are not only surviving, but growing, keeping their deep red colour and spreading.


----------



## George Farmer

I'm not surprised mate.

I've had a crypt grow in a discarded (unpowered) tank in my garage that's 99% never lit.


----------



## foxfish

Yes George, but we all know you can grow anything anywhere  perhaps you have some magic in your fingers?


----------



## ghostsword

Well what can I say? 

I am surprised that the crypts are growing.  and spreading in such unfavorable conditions.. 

... Not yet a master like most of you..  so these things surprise me. 


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


----------



## ghostsword

Right

Piranha-Tank-Aug_018 by Luis Embalo, on Flickr


----------



## ghostsword

Left

Piranha-Tank-Aug_008 by Luis Embalo, on Flickr


----------



## ghostsword

Front

Piranha-Tank-Aug_005 by Luis Embalo, on Flickr


----------



## Frosties

Thanks Luis for posting the updates. The tank does look well indeed. I occasionally speak to the team at sealife and they are still very proud if it. 
Only last week they used the photos of the building of the tank to promote their rainforest awareness week. 
The plants supplied by aquadip were of a very high standard when we started so they had a good chance of success in the tank. The team in London took on board all of our advice and continue to do so and the proof is in the current display. 

Yes some errors in plant selection was made and none of the design team knew exactly how it would turn out. But it continues with a good 90% of the plants still thriving - nearly 9 months on. Sadly the only failure in the whole project was my company. I took a risk with the whole project and it failed. The press releases were ignored and slated. The wrong information was released to some magazines and quite correctly was commented on to correct the obvious mistakes in the early plant selection. But I could not survive that level of bad pr. 

However the one thing that I can say is that I am personally proud of the team who were involved from day one, who worked solidly for the 3 days of the planting and who can sit back and say - we did that against everyone's disagreement. 
Plantedtanks was the company who responded to the challenge - it started from a £10 error in Borneo and finished with a £65,000 freebie to London aquarium. I enjoyed the 3 years that the company survived and I feel it finished on a high. 

I don't think any comments now would be able to turn back the tide. But I sincerely thank those who backed me from the start and were working alongside me at the end of the company. I also had the pleasure of meeting some of the worlds top aquascapers on the journey. 

Finally - I hope that this display will last the same length of time as the previous setup - which was 15 years. Time will tell.


----------



## ghostsword

I am happy that the tank is holding on after so long, and hope that it will last another 15 years..


----------



## ghostsword

The aquarium has done a documentary about the work they do.. a few minutes dedicated to the Piranha Tank..

The piranha tank is shown at 05:00.. and you see me at 06:44..  but you need slow down the video, as it was done with a timelapse..

This should give a sense of scale..


Large piranha tank by Luis Embalo, on Flickr

The video is here..


----------



## Kev_M

Amazing work; well done!


----------



## sanj

That is a re-scape isnt it? very nice, I remember seeing a piranha tank before which was not so inspiring.

Unfortunately thier rainbowfish aquarium is not anything to get excited about considering what the place is.


----------



## ghostsword

Yes, this was a complete rescape..

We only saw the wood and rocks that went in the day we got there, so we had to cut one log to get the shape and layout we wanted, as the tank has to be viewed from three sides.

Also the boulders were brought in from the penguin enclosure, covered with nutrients...


----------



## ghostsword

Still going strong.. over a year old scape..
[DOUBLEPOST=1396012090][/DOUBLEPOST]Some cell phone pictures..


----------



## Edvet

Still looks good! Do you know how often they feed (the plants that is).


----------



## ghostsword

Weekly.., also they get root tabs, which I have left a few of them behind for maintenance. 

The fish produce enough waste to keep the plants going, so the ecosystem is working. 

I am very happy that this tank is going strong, and it is giving the public a great experience of planted tanks.. if we can do it on a 18,000L tank, they should be able to do it on a 100L tank..


----------



## Edvet

Would be fun to see a PAR number on this tank.


----------



## ghostsword

Edvet said:


> Would be fun to see a PAR number on this tank.


Why?  

It would be low.. less than 10 at substrate level surely.. it is a lot of water, and the lights are high.. main thing is that the plants grow.. proof that if you choose easy plants, you do not have to worry so much about lights.


----------



## Tim Harrison

Excellent...it's great to see it's still thriving over 1 year on...


----------



## Tim Harrison

Went to the London at the weekend and popped in to the aquarium...this is the tank now...


----------



## GHNelson

Very nice Troi.....I think those Piranha's should be put on a diet.....they look like Puffer fish
hoggie


----------



## Tim Harrison

Haha...I thought that as well...it's their diet of naughty children, at least that's what I told my son...he didn't believe me

The last photo looks like an action shot but they're all to fat to move, instead they hover...they're all a bit like Mr Creosote

Good to see the tank has stood the test of time tho'...


----------



## rebel

Wow they have stems in the mid ground!! Someone must go swimming and trim them every few weeks!!

What an epic story and evolution of this tank!

Well done!


----------



## Tim Harrison

The tank is huge so I'm guessing those stems can pretty much reach natural height and not obscure the view at all, so no need for regular trimming.
Over all it is pretty impressive...especially considering some other purpose planted tanks of similar size have had issues and not done so well.
I think credit is due to the staff of course, but it was injected and I should imagine still is, and the light intensity isn't really that high. 
It's also full of very well fed lemon tetras and a myriad of very happy guppys.


----------



## Lindy

Those are bloody ugly fish. Glad I wasn't the only one thinking how fat they are. They make my 2 chocolate gourami ladies look like super slimmers .


----------



## PARAGUAY

I have just read over this story of the tank from Ghostworld and Tony at Planted Tanks at start.All I can say is what a success looks superb on Trois photos Huge well done to the staff for the day to day also. The challenge was huge but you pulled it off


----------



## ghostsword

Thanks. I am happy the tank is still standing and living as an ecosystem.  

The plan worked. 

Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk


----------



## ghostsword

Tim Harrison said:


> The tank is huge so I'm guessing those stems can pretty much reach natural height and not obscure the view at all, so no need for regular trimming.
> Over all it is pretty impressive...especially considering some other purpose planted tanks of similar size have had issues and not done so well.
> I think credit is due to the staff of course, but it was injected and I should imagine still is, and the light intensity isn't really that high.
> It's also full of very well fed lemon tetras and a myriad of very happy guppys.


The plants will reach its natural habitat size.  And they grow. Did you see the crypt carpet? Planted on penguin guano..  covered with old gravel. 


Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk


----------



## ghostsword




----------



## foxfish

A lot happier than the average captive Piranha!


----------



## Tim Harrison

It's easily one of the best exhibits, if not the best, in the aquarium


----------



## cooling

That tank was awesome


----------



## ghostsword

Tim Harrison said:


> It's easily one of the best exhibits, if not the best, in the aquarium


Many thanks.. I hope that with the exhibit the visitors get inspired to ditch the plastic plants they have and start to try true aquatics. 

A pitty I am not based in the UK anylonger, otherwise we could do the rest of the tanks.

Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk


----------



## rebel

ghostsword said:


> Many thanks.. I hope that with the exhibit the visitors get inspired to ditch the plastic plants they have and start to try true aquatics.
> 
> A pitty I am not based in the UK anylonger, otherwise we could do the rest of the tanks.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk


Surely talk to them so that you can come for a visit for a couple of weeks....


----------



## ghostsword

Lol.. maybe another Londoner should try also.. they got lots of tanks that can be scaped. It is an awesome experience and the staff is really cool.

Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk


----------

