# Keetchy's rescaped, 1st Iwagumi tank (Page 7)



## Keetchy (2 Jan 2020)

So today I drained down the tank and gave it a clean ready for my return back from AG tomorrow.

Tank
48x24x18 rimmed with glass sliders made by ND Aquatics

Filtration
Fluval FX5 with smooth piping instead of ribbed, Eheim surface skimmer, Interpet gravel cleaner

Lighting
LED unit with blue and white LEDs, White and RGB LED strips outside tank for back lighting wired into a dimmer/programmer

C02
Fire extinguisher, dual regulator, JBL inline diffuser

Hardscape
Tropica Aquarium Soil, bogwood, Seiryu rock

Plants
Java Fern
Bucephalandra Red
Bucephalandra Haedes Purple Blue
Anubias
Mixture of Crypts
Monte Carlo Tropica
Eleocharis Acicularis mini Tropica
Staurogyne Rubescens
Pogostemon Erectus
Alternathera Reineckii
Rotala Green
Bolbitis Heudelotii
Hydrocotyle Leucocephala
Hygrophila Compacta
Heteranthera Zosterifolia
Rotala Orange Juice










Now I need your guys help with positioning the inlet and spray bar, or outlet spouts. So I'm going for an island design so will not have any tall plants at the sides. The tallest part of the tank will most probably be at the top in the middle of the island and that will probably be java fern or something similar. I will also have tall stem plants behind the island.

With this in mind, which setup do you guys think will be best? The first 3 will be using the stainless inlet pipe and spray bar. The 4th option will be using the standard FX5 inlet and outlet.......

Inlet is yellow, spray bar is red













With this one, I'll have one of the outlet spouts angled slightly down and facing the front and the other spout angled parallel to the water surface facing the inlet pipe


----------



## Keetchy (3 Jan 2020)

Ok so here we go. Time to put it all together how we had it at AG. A massive thanks to Dave at AG, really helpful nice dude. Spent a lot of time with us today


----------



## Keetchy (3 Jan 2020)

Well it didnt turn out exactly like we had it in the shop. But this is the 1st attempt. I might make adjustments to it or it could grow on me. I think its cause there is too much space between the pieces of wood. Which I know will be filled with plants once its filled up but it's just hard to visualise it now


----------



## Keetchy (3 Jan 2020)

Ok.....I'm finished now for the layout. Removed the piece of wood from the left and rearranged the rocks a little. I think I'm happy with this


----------



## Costa (4 Jan 2020)

Inlet and outlet on the same side (1st and 3rd pic in your first post)

Re the scape, you can easily add some more rock, shouldn't be too expensive


----------



## Keetchy (4 Jan 2020)

Costa said:


> Inlet and outlet on the same side (1st and 3rd pic in your first post)
> 
> Re the scape, you can easily add some more rock, shouldn't be too expensive


Thanks. I think I'm gonna go with the 3rd pic.

As for adding more rock, i do have more rock to add, it's not the same colour or patterns as the rock in there now. But, I have left gaps in between the rocks because I want to fill them with either carpet plant or small crypts.


----------



## Keetchy (4 Jan 2020)

Tech all in place and wired up. Just need to make up some wiring to finish off the LED backlight strips. They didn't come with long enough wires attached to them.

I have tied all the wood down to the rocks and to each other with black thread. Fingers crossed they all stay put and they dont float and ruin my layout. Lol.

Filling is in progress........


----------



## Keetchy (5 Jan 2020)

So tank is full and wood has stayed where it was...... just. I could see the slack in the thread taken up so at least the rocks are playing a part more than just aesthetics. Lol.



 



 



 

And I now have a plant list together which I will stick in the tank once AG have all of them in stock

Java Fern
Buce Red
Buce Haedes Purple Blue
Anubias
Mixture of Crypts
Monte Carlo Tropica
Eleocharis Acicularis mini Tropica
Staurogyne Rubescens
Pogostemon Erectus
Alternathera Reineckii
Rotala Green
Bolbitis Heudelotii


----------



## Keetchy (10 Jan 2020)

So a massive thanks to @zozo for helping me out with what parts are needed to buy to set up the backing LED strips. It's all wired in now and working. I just need to play around with the levels and fades to complete a full days cycle of lighting.


----------



## zozo (10 Jan 2020)

Great job! Compliments..

To play with colours and find them have a look here
https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorper.html

The displayed colour and the given RGB percentage is amazingly accurate with light as well.

Then if you want to dim it, divide the percentage down for each colour as evenly as possible.

For example honey - rgb (100%, 90%, 67%) = full power rgb (50%,45%,33%) = 50% overall fade same colour.
or rgb(12%,11%,8%) = also same colour,


----------



## Keetchy (10 Jan 2020)

zozo said:


> Great job! Compliments..
> 
> To play with colours and find them have a look here
> https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorper.html
> ...


Awesome bud. Thanks. I'll check out that link


----------



## Keetchy (14 Jan 2020)

5 hours later and it's all done 

So C02 is on at 2bps and 7 hours for now, lights on for 6 hours for now and dosing TNC ferts at 10ml per day.

Now to just wait for the plants to grow and roots to spread out so I can add some fish


----------



## PARAGUAY (15 Jan 2020)

Looks good ,great start


----------



## Keetchy (15 Jan 2020)

PARAGUAY said:


> Looks good ,great start


Thanks


----------



## Keetchy (15 Jan 2020)

So a slight change in layout thanks to the brainstorming with @Jason harris 

Trident Fern moved from the left and placed at the bottom right to cover up the big gap. Bolbitis from the top centre moved to rear centre and Buce put in its place. And another piece of Bolbitis moved from the bottom across to the left as it was covering the piece of Anubias


----------



## Keetchy (19 Jan 2020)

More tweaking done. A barrier put up to stop floating plants getting sucked to the Eheim surface cleaner and caught behind the inlet and outlet pipes. They will only be there until I remove the floating plants


----------



## Keetchy (21 Jan 2020)

Love the effect the Eheim surface skimmer leaves behind


----------



## strat100 (21 Jan 2020)

Did you reduce your Fx5 hose size to get your atomizer on there? Are you losing any flow?


----------



## Keetchy (21 Jan 2020)

strat100 said:


> Did you reduce your Fx5 hose size to get your atomizer on there? Are you losing any flow?



No reduction needed. The diffuser is a 19/25 diffuser so the FX5 sized hosing fits straight onto it


----------



## Keetchy (21 Jan 2020)

First bit of livestock in the tank now. 5 ammano shrimp. They got loads of biofilm in there to last them a week or so


----------



## Keetchy (23 Jan 2020)

A floating ring made up for the floating plants. To reduce the amount they get pushed around the tank and to stop them getting stuck in the corners and sucked into the surface cleaner


----------



## Keetchy (28 Jan 2020)

So 2 weeks after planting and filling up the tank, I can see some growth already on some plants I didnt expect to see this early on. The MC is doing pretty well I think and as expected, the Zosterifolia is having to be trimmed every 3 or 4 days. Lol.

*Day 2*



 



 

*Day 14*



 



 

*And then a little trim up round the back of the wood*


----------



## Jayefc1 (28 Jan 2020)

Really good job mate the tank looks really nice 

Cheers
J


----------



## Keetchy (29 Jan 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Really good job mate the tank looks really nice
> 
> Cheers
> J


Thanks J
Just gotta keep on top of the trimming now. I really wanna add some fish but the MC ain't ready for fish yet. I'll come home to a load of floating MC


----------



## Jayefc1 (29 Jan 2020)

Better of to wait mate great first scape though


----------



## Keetchy (29 Jan 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Better of to wait mate great first scape though


Thanks dude. Fingers crossed it'll only get better


----------



## Jayefc1 (29 Jan 2020)

Oh I have 100% faith it will mate and cant wait

J


----------



## robinj (30 Jan 2020)

I really like that stainless steel spraybar. Is that DIY? I recently mounted green Eheim spraybar on my SS pipes and I was thinking about either transparent pipes and now I saw your SS one. Its something.


----------



## Keetchy (30 Jan 2020)

rjugas said:


> I really like that stainless steel spraybar. Is that DIY? I recently mounted green Eheim spraybar on my SS pipes and I was thinking about either transparent pipes and now I saw your SS one. Its something.


Thanks bud. Yeah its DIY. Got the pipe from Ebay. 316 marine grade stainless steel. Then just drilled holes in it (very poorly as you can see)  Same with the inlet pipe, but at least the pre filter sponge covers the poorly drilled holes on that


----------



## Keetchy (31 Jan 2020)

So the reactor arrived today. Just waiting on a couple of reducers to arrive then I'll get it plumbed in. I have read on a really old thread on here about the C02 nipple being really brittle so I will be fitting a piece of air line to the nipple and then a non return valve onto that so will disconnect the reactor from the non return valve so I'll never have to touch the connection onto the chamber


----------



## Keetchy (3 Feb 2020)

C02 setup properly now. Solenoid is now attached to the regulator instead of being half a metre down the line inbetween the regulator and inline diffuser


----------



## Jayefc1 (4 Feb 2020)

Just a quick one mate is the 24.4 the temp of your tank? If so I'd drop it to 22 co2 dissolves better at 22 degrees 

Cheers 
J


----------



## Keetchy (5 Feb 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Just a quick one mate is the 24.4 the temp of your tank? If so I'd drop it to 22 co2 dissolves better at 22 degrees
> 
> Cheers
> J


Hey man. Weird thing is I have the temp set to 24 but for some reason the tank is always sitting hotter than that. Room temp is about 22° so I have no idea why the tank water sits above 24 

So is 22° ok for the fish to be in? Only reason I have it set to 24 is because I didnt think fish would like it colder than that


----------



## JEK (5 Feb 2020)

Mark Keetch said:


> So is 22° ok for the fish to be in? Only reason I have it set to 24 is because I didnt think fish would like it colder than that



What are your planning to keep?


----------



## Jayefc1 (5 Feb 2020)

Yeah the fish will be fine all of AG tanks and when I spoke to Dave about it as I was buying  my reg from there and he says all the diffrent fish they have had over the years none have had a issue with that temp 

Cheers
J


----------



## Keetchy (5 Feb 2020)

JEK said:


> What are your planning to keep?


A variety of tetra (rummeynoses, ember, lemon, cardinal), Harlequins, Appistagrammas, couple of angels, amano, plec, corys, ottos and maybe couple of gourmai 



Jayefc1 said:


> Yeah the fish will be fine all of AG tanks and when I spoke to Dave about it as I was buying  my reg from there and he says all the diffrent fish they have had over the years none have had a issue with that temp
> 
> Cheers
> J


Ah that's brilliant. Ok thanks for the info. I'll drop the temp then as long as the fish I listed above are ok in that temp


----------



## Keetchy (5 Feb 2020)

Alternathera not doing too good. A week ago I cut a load of melting leaves off and now a week later I cut more melting leaves off. Is this not gonna last? Is it worth me ripping it out and replacing with another red plant like Ludwigia Palustris or Limnophila Hippuridoides?


----------



## Jayefc1 (5 Feb 2020)

Wow that is a lot of diffrent fish Haha I think plecs will see your tank as a massive salad bar
I have Cory's tetra harlequins ottos in my tanks at 22 

I always Alternathera takes a while to get going I'd just keep trimming it back and give it a month or so. it probs the transition stage


----------



## Keetchy (5 Feb 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Wow that is a lot of diffrent fish Haha I think plecs will see your tank as a massive salad bar
> I have Cory's tetra harlequins ottos in my tanks at 22
> 
> I always Alternathera takes a while to get going I'd just keep trimming it back and give it a month or so. it probs the transition stage


You reckon the plecs will munch all the leaves up? I have a yellow phantom at the mo and was gonna get a bristlenose too. But if you reckon they'll munch on all the plants, I'll leave them out 

Yeah I've been told by a couple of people now to let the Alternathera settle properly before ripping it out. I'll hold fire on that then


----------



## Jayefc1 (5 Feb 2020)

I think they will mate from what I've read in the past and would they also pull up the fine rooted mc I'm not sure would probably put it out there and ask the experts just wouldnt want to see all your hard work go to waste mate 

J


----------



## Keetchy (5 Feb 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> I think they will mate from what I've read in the past and would they also pull up the fine rooted mc I'm not sure would probably put it out there and ask the experts just wouldnt want to see all your hard work go to waste mate
> 
> J



Yeah I see what your saying J. I have a yellow phantom already but that can stay in the holding tank with the 2 angels until I decide whether to put him in there or not


----------



## Keetchy (6 Feb 2020)

A little video made this evening of the MC. Only been planted 3 weeks. Impressed with how its grown in such short time


----------



## Jason harris (7 Feb 2020)

All good things mate. Bet the Amanos are loving their  5 star hotel. The alternanthera has buds at it's internodes, best wait to see how they grow. Give it time and care and you won't be disappointed. Keep up the good work dude!


----------



## Keetchy (7 Feb 2020)

Jason harris said:


> All good things mate. Bet the Amanos are loving their  5 star hotel. The alternanthera has buds at it's internodes, best wait to see how they grow. Give it time and care and you won't be disappointed. Keep up the good work dude!


Thanks dude. I think I'm gonna give the Alternathera 4 or 5 more weeks to impress me. If no progress in that time then I will swap them for something else. Only time will tell


----------



## Jayefc1 (7 Feb 2020)

Just be aware (sorry again)
Amanos will love the Alternathera 
Another salad bar lol


----------



## Keetchy (7 Feb 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Just be aware (sorry again)
> Amanos will love the Alternathera
> Another salad bar lol


Do they like all plants? Or is it just Alteranthera they have a craving for?


----------



## Jayefc1 (7 Feb 2020)

Just the Alternathera is it the mini one


----------



## Keetchy (7 Feb 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Just the Alternathera is it the mini one



No it's not the mini bud. Ok well I'll still give it a few more weeks and decide after that. Maybe need to put more parsnip in there so they pay more attention to that


----------



## Jayefc1 (7 Feb 2020)

Haha yeah they will love that


----------



## Keetchy (8 Feb 2020)

Big mistake. Just spent the last 4 hours fitting and budging a Sera 1000 reactor. Bloody thing wouldn't stop leaking. And it makes a right racket where the water hits the blades.

So I can either put my JBL inline diffuser back in, or buy a bazooka in tank diffuser. Either way I will get bubbles in the tank.

Which would you guys suggest doing?


----------



## Keetchy (8 Feb 2020)

Ok after a bit of reading I'm gonna give the reactor a go still. I haven't plumbed it in with enough slack in the pipes to tip it upside down. Next week I will re-plumb it in with excess hosing to tip it upside down to release the trapped air. Then see if the noise has quietened down.


----------



## Keetchy (12 Feb 2020)

Well I might have been up at 01:30 this morning doing it but its installed properly now. No more leaks and no more irritating water sloshing sounds. I'm really happy with this reactor now that its quiet. Lol


----------



## Andrew T (13 Feb 2020)

Mark, 
You can always try the DIY reactor route if this one gives you trouble.


----------



## Keetchy (13 Feb 2020)

Andrew T said:


> Mark,
> You can always try the DIY reactor route if this one gives you trouble.


Yeah I'm still not 100% happy with this bud. You got a link to a step by step how to make a DIY one?


----------



## Andrew T (13 Feb 2020)

Mark Keetch said:


> Yeah I'm still not 100% happy with this bud. You got a link to a step by step how to make a DIY one?


Not sure if I’m allowed to link other forums here but here is the template I used to make mine with a slight modification : https://barrreport.com/threads/dual-venturi-diy-external-co2-reactor.3413/

Check out my thread to see my reactor. For the  bottom part I used a 90 degree elbow instead to sit better in the sump. I assume it’ll be just as beneficial in a cabinet.
Mind you, the recommended flow through the reactor is around 300gph, slow enough to allow proper co2 dissolution . Your canister looks big (GPH?)and might be too much for this size reactor so depending on the flow you might want to up the reactor size and fittings to match.
Let’s say as an example if your canister puts out real life numbers around 800gph, double the size of the reactor to 2ft instead of the 1 ft or slow down flow via the canister valves.
It’s a matter of flow and also the space available in the cabinet but it’s in my opinion one of if not the best co2 infusion method .

The drip irrigation valve on the Venturi is a must to remove gas build up and you can find them at your local hardware store. 1/4” valves work perfectly with the 3/8” co2 lines.


----------



## Keetchy (13 Feb 2020)

Andrew T said:


> Not sure if I’m allowed to link other forums here but here is the template I used to make mine with a slight modification : https://barrreport.com/threads/dual-venturi-diy-external-co2-reactor.3413/
> 
> Check out my thread to see my reactor. For the  bottom part I used a 90 degree elbow instead to sit better in the sump. I assume it’ll be just as beneficial in a cabinet.
> Mind you, the recommended flow through the reactor is around 300gph, slow enough to allow proper co2 dissolution . Your canister looks big (GPH?)and might be too much for this size reactor so depending on the flow you might want to up the reactor size and fittings to match.
> ...



Awesome bud. Thanks. The canister filter has an output flow of 2300 litres per hour. So i dont know what that is in gallons


----------



## foxfish (14 Feb 2020)

You can try removing the blades from your reactor, it will be much quieter and have more flow.
The main problem is they are simply to small to be effective on anything other than small tanks.

There is a design in my signature link that might inspire you, there is a video of it working too.
However  for bigger tanks you will have more success with bigger vessels, 
There seems to be a huge hole in the market waiting to be filled with a larger reactor designed for larger tanks.


----------



## Keetchy (14 Feb 2020)

foxfish said:


> You can try removing the blades from your reactor, it will be much quieter and have more flow.
> The main problem is they are simply to small to be effective on anything other than small tanks.
> 
> There is a design in my signature link that might inspire you, there is a video of it working too.
> ...



When I was trying to bodge it with PTFE tape around thr shaft, I put too much on which then stopped the blades from moving. This eliminated the noise completely which made me realise it's the blades that are making the noise. Only problem with the blades not working as I then started to get microbubbles in the tank. I suppose eliminating the blades basically turns the reactor into an inline diffuser. Lol.

I will check out the link in your signature anyway and will also try tieing the blades together so they will still move to churn up the C02 but will not clatter against each other.

My tank is only 350 litres bone dry and apparently the Sera 1000 is good for tanks up to 600 litres


----------



## foxfish (14 Feb 2020)

It is about dwell time, ie the amount of time the bubbles spend in suspension in the water,  the longer the bubbles are kept moving inside the vessel the more likely the gas will completely dissolve.
There are  other methods like using pressure ie ... you can develop a single large bubble of gas and allow water pressure to absorb the gas.
Simply passing the gas down a long tube will work and a 1.2 mt hight reactor would be great!!
If your reactor was three time the size without the blades it would possibly be what lots of people have been waiting  for!


----------



## Keetchy (14 Feb 2020)

foxfish said:


> It is about dwell time, ie the amount of time the bubbles spend in suspension in the water,  the longer the bubbles are kept moving inside the vessel the more likely the gas will completely dissolve.
> There are  other methods like using pressure ie ... you can develop a single large bubble of gas and allow water pressure to absorb the gas.
> Simply passing the gas down a long tube will work and a 1.2 mt hight reactor would be great!!
> If your reactor was three time the size without the blades it would possibly be what lots of people have been waiting  for!



Ok I get ya. So I could always make a DIY tube without any blades or balls inside, but just make it a very long tube. Definitely worth the thought. Thanks bud


----------



## Keetchy (15 Feb 2020)

Ok.....I come to you guys again for some ideas. I'm now starting to think I shouldn't have replaced the rotala green with the Zosterifolia. It's just too light in  weight and gets pushed over towards the Pogo Erectus too much with the flow of water. 

So...... what would you guys stick in its place? Nothing that will overpower the Pogo Erectus but still something that will grow as tall as the Pogo Erectus. Oh and not a red plant as I have Alternathera Pink to the other side of the Pogo


----------



## Keetchy (20 Feb 2020)

DIY reactor made up. Just waiting for bio balls to arrive so I can get it plumbed in. Thanks to @Jason harris for ideas of putting it together


----------



## foxfish (20 Feb 2020)

Hi Mark, good luck with your reactor, it should work OK   but you will never really know what is going on inside that “black” vessel and the bioballs might restrict flow considerably .
It might work better without any balls but the danger with this type of reactor is a build up of gas, at least with a clear vessel you can see what is happening inside and adjust the flow accordingly.
Also it looks like you have used silicon on the inlet an outlet pipes? Do the pipes have threaded ends?
I don’t mean to be negative I just don’t want to see a disaster happening.


----------



## Keetchy (20 Feb 2020)

foxfish said:


> Hi Mark, good luck with your reactor, it should work OK   but you will never really know what is going on inside that “black” vessel and the bioballs might restrict flow considerably .
> It might work better without any balls but the danger with this type of reactor is a build up of gas, at least with a clear vessel you can see what is happening inside and adjust the flow accordingly.
> Also it looks like you have used silicon on the inlet an outlet pipes? Do the pipes have threaded ends?
> I don’t mean to be negative I just don’t want to see a disaster happening.



Hey. All comments are welcomed bud. If something is done wrongly I'd like to know so it's all good mate.

Good thing is it is easy to split the chamber apart to get inside so I can try it with the Bio balls at first and if the flow is reduced too much, I can take them out after. Are we thinking of the same bio balls cause the ones I'm buying i cant see reducing flow too much as they're hollow and have lots of cut out slots in them. Without the balls, wont the C02 fail to fully dissolve into the water?

And its resin I used to glue all the pipes in place. No threaded pipes, the inlet and outlet pipes are 20mm plastic conduit

As for the build up of gas, I can always make it a daily task to just open up that bleed valve to release any trapped air


----------



## Jason harris (20 Feb 2020)

Most like a chipshop bodge job eh keetch


----------



## Jayefc1 (21 Feb 2020)

Tanks looking good mark starting to.really take shape


----------



## Keetchy (21 Feb 2020)

Jason harris said:


> Most like a chipshop bodge job eh keetch


Gotta love it. Save the pennies where you can 



Jayefc1 said:


> Tanks looking good mark starting to.really take shape



Thanks J. Really happy with the MC, its taken off really well. Cant wait for the back section to start creeping up above the wood now to finish the look off


----------



## Keetchy (24 Feb 2020)

Well the Diatoms really arent making it easy for me to achieve a gorgeous looking tank  It loves to attach itself to the MC. Need to find out what's causing them to appear so frequently so I can put a stop to it


----------



## Jayefc1 (24 Feb 2020)

What your water change regime at the moment mate diatomes have always been my bug bear there a royal PITA


----------



## Keetchy (24 Feb 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> What your water change regime at the moment mate diatomes have always been my bug bear there a royal PITA


Indeed mate. Tank has only been running 6 weeks so in hoping it'll be a lot less irritating as the plants start growing more.

I do a weekly change of 50% - 75% and sometimes I will do 2 in a space of 7 days, depends how my shifts fall on that week. I scrub the glass and rocks first, then trim anything that needs trimming, net out any big bits of debris or off cuts of plant, then I siphon the water out.


----------



## Jayefc1 (24 Feb 2020)

Try and  get between the glass and the substrate with a credit card and try and do 2 or 3 water changes till they ease off  do you have a Turkey baster to blow any debris from the substrate in to the water column or waft your hand across the bottom.to lift stuff out are your lights up full yet


----------



## Keetchy (24 Feb 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Try and  get between the glass and the substrate with a credit card and try and do 2 or 3 water changes till they ease off  do you have a Turkey baster to blow any debris from the substrate in to the water column or waft your hand across the bottom.to lift stuff out are your lights up full yet


Got it already covered bud. Lol. I have an Eheim glass scraper that has a thin blade that can reach down inbetween the glass and the substrate. And I use a turkey blaster to blast debris out from places I cant get to with the hose.
As for my lights, they dont have an intensity setting on them so they're either on or off. So they have been on full power since day one. Started off at 5 hours then increased it to 8 over the weeks. Have been on for 8 hours a day for about 3 weeks now


----------



## Jayefc1 (24 Feb 2020)

Maybe lower the light time 8hrs 100% does sound a lot to me but I dont know how strong your light is so.maybe not


----------



## Keetchy (25 Feb 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Maybe lower the light time 8hrs 100% does sound a lot to me but I dont know how strong your light is so.maybe not


This is the light I'm using. One of these and a cheaper, less powerful one at the moment. At some point I will be running 2 of these.


----------



## Keetchy (26 Feb 2020)

So DIY reactor all plumbed in and tested. 



Was all fine for 5 mins with no leaks and only a minimal amount of noise, not enough to annoy me. Pop to shops for 10 mins to come back to the carpet behind the tank drenched. Water leaking out of where the filter pipe goes into the reactor. So I'm giving up on reactors and plumbed back to standard setup 



Have now ordered a Bazooka in tank diffuser from AG


----------



## Keetchy (28 Feb 2020)

So Bazooka in place and distributing C02 very nicely. I now have micro bubbles visible in all areas of the tank. Just need to fine tune the amount of C02 now


----------



## Jayefc1 (28 Feb 2020)

Tanking looking nice.mate hows the diatomes doing now


----------



## Jason harris (28 Feb 2020)

Looking good Keetch.


----------



## Keetchy (28 Feb 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Tanking looking nice.mate hows the diatomes doing now


Thanks J. Cant really comment on the Diatoms yet as I been messing about with flow since the reactor was installed. Now I'm back to full flow again I'll keep an eye on it and let you know in a week or so. Will wipe all the MC down in the next couple of days and then see his quick it comes back.



Jason harris said:


> Looking good Keetch.


Cheers Harris. All this wasted time trying to get a bubble free tank with reactors, I should have just gone straight with the Bazooka, the microbubbles are no way near a big enough con to outweigh the pros of having one.


----------



## Keetchy (1 Mar 2020)

Well it was only a matter of time I guess. Diatoms I can handle but now GSA has arrived 

I have knocked an hour off the lighting and am going to add a bit more Phosphate into my Ei mix tomorrow. Not too much though cause I've read too much Phosphate will then feed BBA


----------



## Keetchy (8 Mar 2020)

Tank showing signs of health again. Yes I know there is a bit of BBA on that Buce (no way near as much as there was last week) but WC is in a couple of days and a trim of old and effected leaves will be done


----------



## Jason harris (8 Mar 2020)

Couple of days till WC. It aint like you work hard keetch! Do it tomorrow lad.


----------



## Keetchy (8 Mar 2020)

Jason harris said:


> Couple of days till WC. It aint like you work hard keetch! Do it tomorrow lad.


I'm on OT tomorrow with Ron, so will tuck out the way and hide somewhere. So might be able to do one tomorrow

Got more Nerites and amano arriving Tuesday


----------



## Keetchy (8 Mar 2020)

So starting to get the tank prepped for me being away for 6 months in America. A massive thanks to @alto for being patient with me and answering all my questions.

1st step has been reduce the lights to 6hrs. Changed the timer today so will now monitor over the next week or so


----------



## Keetchy (13 Mar 2020)

I'd say here's a quick video of how the tank is growing in.......but there's nothing short about it  But if you got 4 and half mins spare....... here it is


----------



## Jason harris (13 Mar 2020)

Very nice dude. Where's the angelinos? How's the MC recovering?


----------



## Keetchy (13 Mar 2020)

Jason harris said:


> Very nice dude. Where's the angelinos? How's the MC recovering?


Thanks man. Angels are gone. I can't keep what I want to keep with them in the tank. And the MC is surviving but still getting a battering from the plec. Bloody aggressive little fekka


----------



## Jayefc1 (13 Mar 2020)

Tanks looks crisp mate love the Cory's I've got 9 of them in my 800 but it has no substrate they just dig about in the sand lol make sure you give the ottos some supplement food it dont look like there is enough alge in there to feed them and they will lose weight quickly


----------



## Keetchy (14 Mar 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Tanks looks crisp mate love the Cory's I've got 9 of them in my 800 but it has no substrate they just dig about in the sand lol make sure you give the ottos some supplement food it dont look like there is enough alge in there to feed them and they will lose weight quickly


Thanks Jay. Them 2 Corys definitely have character. Funny watching them sometimes. As for food for the ottos, will this do? If not, what do you suggest I feed them bud? What about carrots and parsnips?


----------



## Jayefc1 (14 Mar 2020)

Yeah they like a bit of balanced veg to courgette peppers 

And they will love the alge wafer if the get chance on them with the pleco and Cory's


----------



## Keetchy (14 Mar 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Yeah they like a bit of balanced veg to courgette peppers
> 
> And they will love the alge wafer if the get chance on them with the pleco and Cory's


Thanks bud. Might be worth sticking a couple in then


----------



## Keetchy (18 Mar 2020)

So the tank is struggling a little bit. BBA keeps creeping back in, diatoms on the MC and MC is more of a lime green colour instead of a dark green.

I started noticing the algae more and more after I changed from TNC complete to Ei dosing. I think maybe I'm either adding the incorrect amount of each dry salt to the mix, or I'm dosing the incorrect amount of ferts to the tank.

So the plan is to get a twinstar 900ea (cant afford the sa) and start dosing TNC complete again or something similar 

Just wanna get back to a healthy tank again


----------



## Keetchy (22 Mar 2020)

So after chatting to @Siege and Dave from AG regarding C02 distribution in the tank, I have changed the positioning of spray bar and Eheim surface skimmer.

How tank was yesterday with spray bar on the right of the tank facing the left and the Eheim skimmer on the left facing the right with the diffuser under ther the Eheim









To how the tank is now with the red line representing the spray bar on the back facing forward and the slimmer also on the back facing forwards. Diffuser has stayed in the same spot under the Eheim skimmer





Only issue I can see is I can only see C02 microbubbles in the red shaded area. The right side of the tank has no microbubbles visible


----------



## Keetchy (22 Mar 2020)

Just had a thought, maybe place the Eheim skimmer on the side wall facing the other side so it pushes the C02 across the front of the spray bar


----------



## Sammy Islam (22 Mar 2020)

I use to have the exact same positioning in my old fluval roma 125. Spray bar on the right hand wall and a skimmer in the back left corner. The only way to get decent flow that way is a DIY spray bar where you have to play with the number of holes and size. I think i had like 9 holes at 3mm powered by a fluval 306.


----------



## Keetchy (22 Mar 2020)

Sammy Islam said:


> I use to have the exact same positioning in my old fluval roma 125. Spray bar on the right hand wall and a skimmer in the back left corner. The only way to get decent flow that way is a DIY spray bar where you have to play with the number of holes and size. I think i had like 9 holes at 3mm powered by a fluval 306.


Do you think it'll work as I have it now? I will know in time. As long as the DC is green on the right hand side of the tank then happy days.
My spray bar did have 7 x 6cm holes in it when it was on the side. Now it's on the back it has 20 x 6mm holes.
Powered by an FX5


----------



## Sammy Islam (22 Mar 2020)

Should be good using an fx5. Just monitor over the next 2 weeks.


----------



## alto (22 Mar 2020)

As you’ve added a sponge to the intake inlet, test flow with/without this
I’d suggest rinsing that sponge daily if you’re going to use it 

(In a 120 x 60 x 60 I’d suggest two filters set up diagonally - you can see this in one of Mark Evan journals - I’m assuming your tank is 120 x 45 x 60 high
Eheim used to suggest opposite side placement of inlet and outlet, so you might also play with this orientation)


----------



## Keetchy (23 Mar 2020)

alto said:


> As you’ve added a sponge to the intake inlet, test flow with/without this
> I’d suggest rinsing that sponge daily if you’re going to use it
> 
> (In a 120 x 60 x 60 I’d suggest two filters set up diagonally - you can see this in one of Mark Evan journals - I’m assuming your tank is 120 x 45 x 60 high
> Eheim used to suggest opposite side placement of inlet and outlet, so you might also play with this orientation)


Yeah I know the  ideal world  will be to 1have 2 filters on this size tank, but at the minute only 1 is afforded. But I will looking into 2 Oase filters maybe in the future with glass pipework. That pre filter sponge has been on the inlet pipe for a few months now bud, and I can't take it off as the holes I drilled in the pipe are quite big so smaller fish and shrimp will get sucked up into it. At the moment I am cleaning the sponge out every WC so once, sometimes twice a week. I haven't noticed a reduction in flow as of yet. And the tank is 120x55x45


----------



## Keetchy (23 Mar 2020)

Looks like we gonna get baby Amanos. At least I think they're eggs in her belly


----------



## Jason harris (24 Mar 2020)

Looks like it mate...... Congratulations. Shame they won't become wee shrimpies.


----------



## Keetchy (7 Apr 2020)

So the new Twinstar arrives this week so I think it's time to have a bit of a shuffle around in the tank and some new plants to replace old ones.

The red is the current location and the blue is where I'm going to move it to.

Current pic






The Bolbitis at the back is kind of shading the Pogo Erectus below it so I'm gonna move all the Bolbitis from the rear centre to the front where the Trident Fern is



 

And the Trident doesn't seem to be doing too good. I'm putting it down to the rhizome being under the the wood and it getting no light so I'm gonna move the Trident to the centre of the wood at the base but will the rhizome glued to the wood so it covers that gap in the middle 





And I should have taken advice sooner about the Alternanthera pink not being such a good plant to have. So I'm gonna replace that with Rotala Orange Juice and H'ra


----------



## Siege (7 Apr 2020)

Excellent. Did you fix your heating filter?


----------



## Keetchy (7 Apr 2020)

Siege said:


> Excellent. Did you fix your heating filter?


Still warming the tank up bud. Still 2° different is room to tank temp. This is after cleaning the impella out too.
The plan is to get a Oase 600 in the next couple of months so hopefully the heat issue will be gone after that.


----------



## Keetchy (7 Apr 2020)

I'm also thinking of maybe replacing the Pogo erectus at the back too but not sure what to replace it with

Maybe some Siamensis 53B


----------



## Keetchy (8 Apr 2020)

Stage 1 complete.....stage 2 commences tomorrow. Lol


----------



## Keetchy (9 Apr 2020)

Well that was a fun 5 hours. Lol.

So Bolbitis, Trident and background plants out





New plants arrived



 

Background reds planted 



 

Then rest of the plants fitted. Anubias, Trident and Bolbitis shuffled. Twinstar 1200 in place. It's only at 50%, damn 100% is gonna light up the room. Lol



 



 



 



 



 

Cant wait for the new background plants to grow out


----------



## Deano3 (9 Apr 2020)

Very nicely and heavily planted should look great

Dean

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


----------



## Keetchy (10 Apr 2020)

Deano3 said:


> Very nicely and heavily planted should look great
> 
> Dean
> 
> Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk


Thanks Dean. Just hope the Ludwigia Palustris and the MC start getting healthier now I got a stronger light. Fingers crossed hey


----------



## alto (10 Apr 2020)

I’d suggest some mitigation of the MC 

Lift a test area, separate out healthiest portions and replant leaving only small amount of leaf above soil - I’m assuming pieces will be fairly short, if you have longer portions, you can loop both ends to middle and plant this way
 (Filipe Oliveira demonstrates @12 min in this GA video)
If growth is not being inhibited/stressed by algae, carpet should fill in fairly quickly

Add extra (powder) soil over MC to cover the worst of the diatom damaged areas - obviously this doesn’t look as good at the front as substrate height increases - this seems to help isolate the affected MC (or maybe it just looks better )

I prefer the former method but it’s obviously more labour intensive


----------



## Jayefc1 (10 Apr 2020)

I think.it looks loads better mate the light will defo help and they are so pretty well worth the money

You could just trim the mc will look shocking but all the brown diatome bits will be gone and it will quickly get new growth


----------



## Jayefc1 (10 Apr 2020)

Some times a quick.side by side just shows how far the tank has come on


----------



## Jayefc1 (10 Apr 2020)




----------



## Keetchy (10 Apr 2020)

alto said:


> Add extra (powder) soil over MC to cover the worst of the diatom damaged areas - obviously this doesn’t look as good at the front as substrate height increases - this seems to help isolate the affected MC (or maybe it just looks better )





Jayefc1 said:


> You could just trim the mc will look shocking but all the brown diatome bits will be gone and it will quickly get new growth



Could I do option 3 which is a combo of what you both suggested.

So cut down the MC all the way down to the substrate so all the diatom infected areas are gone, then sprinkle some Tropica powder substrate over the top of it all and then just wait for it to grow back. I'm presuming the roots are ok cause there is always new growth.


----------



## Conort2 (10 Apr 2020)

Looking good, I’d imagine once all those fast growing stems starting growing in a lot of the algae will disappear. You should also start to see some good colouration from the stems with the new light. I have the same light and it brings my stems out in all sorts of oranges, reds and pinks.

Think this is going to look quality once it’s all grown in!

cheers

Conor


----------



## Keetchy (10 Apr 2020)

Conort2 said:


> Looking good, I’d imagine once all those fast growing stems starting growing in a lot of the algae will disappear. You should also start to see some good colouration from the stems with the new light. I have the same light and it brings my stems out in all sorts of oranges, reds and pinks.
> 
> Think this is going to look quality once it’s all grown in!
> 
> ...


Fingers crossed mate. There's also the issue of holes appearing in the leaves of the Ludwigia Palustris, which I'm hoping the light will help resolve.
I can see a massive difference in red already with the new light. Even the wood has gone from a brown to a reddish browny colour. Lol


----------



## Conort2 (10 Apr 2020)

It takes some ge


Mark Keetch said:


> Fingers crossed mate. There's also the issue of holes appearing in the leaves of the Ludwigia Palustris, which I'm hoping the light will help resolve.
> I can see a massive difference in red already with the new light. Even the wood has gone from a brown to a reddish browny colour. Lol


It takes some getting used to at first, when I first got mine I thought everything looked pink. Can’t even notice it now though. 

I have ludwigia sp red mini which is a variant of palustris I believe, grows with very good form and colouration. One with with ludwigia is the bottoms do get abit ratty so once you start seeing healthy new growth just discard of the bottoms. After a while you’ll have a fair sized healthy stand of it.

cheers

Conor


----------



## Keetchy (10 Apr 2020)

Conort2 said:


> It takes some ge
> 
> It takes some getting used to at first, when I first got mine I thought everything looked pink. Can’t even notice it now though.
> 
> ...


That's good to know bud. The most difficult thing with this game I've noticed is getting the balance right. Its hard to get it right


----------



## Keetchy (10 Apr 2020)

So if I was to cut the MC right down to the substrate so there's very little leaves showing on the surface, it should still grow back right if the roots are all good?


----------



## alto (10 Apr 2020)

I suggest dividing your MC into lots - apply all three methods and see which gives you best regrowth

I’ve been happiest with the removal, separation, replant - rapid regrowth as you’ve replanted all the growing tips, minimal algae as that’s been physically removed, also physical distance between the replanted portions
MC isn’t that keen on severe trimming - if you watched Jurijs mit JS recovery of his overgrown MC Iwagumi, he was careful to gradually reduce the dense carpet 

In your case, it seems likely you will be trimming much of the actively growing MC, leaving behind rooted portions that must now develop new buds/shoots so recovery will definitely be slower 

Once you get into the swing of it, my RSR method is reasonably quick (the slowest part is figuring how to separate/trim for the best quality replant portions)

If you have a large bore vacuum/syphon tube running as you lift the MC carpet, this can be accomplished with minimal tank clouding - I do add 2-4X tank volume Prime just in case whenever I disturb considerable areas of substrate with livestock in tank (lesson learned the hardest way so I often remove livestock before attempting much rescape/replant)


----------



## Keetchy (10 Apr 2020)

alto said:


> I suggest dividing your MC into lots - apply all three methods and see which gives you best regrowth
> 
> I’ve been happiest with the removal, separation, replant - rapid regrowth as you’ve replanted all the growing tips, minimal algae as that’s been physically removed, also physical distance between the replanted portions
> MC isn’t that keen on severe trimming - if you watched Jurijs mit JS recovery of his overgrown MC Iwagumi, he was careful to gradually reduce the dense carpet
> ...


I'll PM you dude


----------



## Keetchy (16 Apr 2020)

So I borrowed @Jason harris professional test kit today. Lol. And tested a few things. Here are the results......


----------



## Keetchy (17 Apr 2020)

Ok a little update on the tank. So it looks like a lot of the issues I was having in the tank was resolved by the super duper light being installed. Although there's still a lot of Diatoms on the MC, there is a lot of new growth now over growing the old leaves so the green is coming back again. The H'ra is growing very well and so is the Arcuarta.

The C02 issues I was having with the Ludwigia Palustris is now under control. I think the plastic pipe and cheap crappy check valve were causing the issues. Think they were leaking. Have replaced with proper C02 piping and a stainless check valve and had to turn the C02 down as the DC went yellow. Goes to show how much C02 I was losing. There are now fresh red leaves shooting out the top of the Palustris


----------



## Jayefc1 (17 Apr 2020)

Glad your happy with the light mate it is a big investment for a hobby but there well worth it


----------



## Keetchy (17 Apr 2020)

Jayefc1 said:


> Glad your happy with the light mate it is a big investment for a hobby but there well worth it


Amen to that dude. It seems to be paying for itself too with improving the health of the tank


----------



## Jayefc1 (18 Apr 2020)

Mark Keetch said:


> Amen to that dude. It seems to be paying for itself too with improving the health of the tank


Well thank you we will see most people forget that patience is the biggest part of the hobby


----------



## Keetchy (22 Apr 2020)

Bit of a trim today to give the lower leaves a bit more light


----------



## hypnogogia (18 May 2020)

Really nice looking tank.  Liking the background LED as well.


----------



## Keetchy (21 May 2020)

hypnogogia said:


> Really nice looking tank.  Liking the background LED as well.


Thanks. It's taken a turn for the worst though. Doesn't look so good now


----------



## Keetchy (21 May 2020)

So as some of you know I am having algae and biofilm issues. Every 4 days the Eheim surface skimmer gets blocked up and then within a day, there is a thick cloud on the surface. Possibly down to the wood causing it.

I move house tomorrow so perfect excuse for a rescape. Always wanted to try Iwagumi so I'm going for that style scape over the weekend. Picking up some rocks that have been taken out of a dismantled pond. I will bleach clean them along with the rocks I have already and start building my Iwagumi tank. Get rid of the wood and all algae infected leaves and see what I got left to play with. Just skimming through Google to try to get some layout ideas. Will update with pics as I put some ideas into the tank


----------



## alto (21 May 2020)

Not an Iwagumi but maybe still inspiring 

https://m.facebook.com/AquafloraNL/...uaflora-aquafloradesign-aqu/3252169704834607/

(I believe fruity0ne has an Instagram account)


----------



## alto (21 May 2020)

Mark Keetch said:


> I move house tomorrow so perfect excuse for a rescape


Fun Fun Fun


----------



## Keetchy (21 May 2020)

alto said:


> Not an Iwagumi but maybe still inspiring
> 
> https://m.facebook.com/AquafloraNL/...uaflora-aquafloradesign-aqu/3252169704834607/
> 
> (I believe fruity0ne has an Instagram account)


Wow that's a nice scape. But yeah I don't know how I'll get that look by just using rocks. Lol. I was thinking of an iwagumi tank with a path or a valley like I have seen on one guy's tank on here. But I'm not sure on how to create it successfully.


----------



## Keetchy (21 May 2020)

So got the rocks all ready to be bleached, scrubbed and dechlorinated. This is what 3 x 30kg rocks look like when they're met with a sledge hammer. Lol. Some decent shapes have come out of it and can't wait to start trying out different layouts


----------



## Keetchy (24 May 2020)

Progress so far guys. Plants chilling out in a bucket as we speak, Monte Carlo ripped up and cut into smaller pieces, rocks and wood removed and water drained.
Fish are currently in their temporary home until the big tank is scaped and filled up


----------



## Keetchy (24 May 2020)

Rocks are bleaching for a couple of days





Hardware all installed and plugged in ready for the switch on





Filter on the outside of the tank to create cupboard space and hopefully this will eliminate the annoying humming/vibrating it gives off in the cabinet


----------



## alto (24 May 2020)

Mark Keetch said:


> Rocks are bleaching for a couple of days


Use more bleach and it’s done in an hour


----------



## Keetchy (25 May 2020)

alto said:


> Use more bleach and it’s done in an hour


I think I used about 1/4 of the squeezy toilet bleach bottles in there, I might give them a scrub now as it's been 24 hours. I'm being impatient and wanna get the scaping started. Lol


----------



## Keetchy (26 May 2020)

So just waiting for the tank to settle now. Its  a bit cloudy at the minute. Hopefully by tomorrow night I'll be able to take some decent pics of it.

Now I know the layout isnt following the Iwagumi rules or any of the rules of thirds or golden ratio...... but after spending a good few hours, and receiving a massive headache from trying to get the perfect scape, I settled with this layout 

The plants are all curled over cause they've been in a bucket of water for 3 days  I'm hoping they'll straighten back out as the days go on 🤞


----------



## Keetchy (27 May 2020)

Yaaaay, the cloud has cleared and I can see the scape I created  I'm happy with it. I just need the plants to bloody grow now  Now the fun part of getting the balance right with the correct circulation 🤞


----------



## Keetchy (28 May 2020)

Oh dear......what a difference  I'm hoping I haven't made a mistake here. Lets hope the tank grows in to something nice like the previous scape 🤞


----------



## Ady34 (29 May 2020)

Hi,
the scape will change a lot when the plants grow in. It needs a bit of height but hopefully the stems will grow and create that element. It’s always good to try alternative scapes and design ideas and the elements which look harsh in this scape now will soften as the carpet grows and plants envelop the rocks.
Perhaps one thing to consider for the future is to add extra depth by sloping the substrate more heavily from front to back. This naturally creates a perspective but also allows you to raise hardscape at the rear to add height.
Will look forward to the plants filling in like your previous scape.
Cheerio,
Ady.


----------



## Jayefc1 (29 May 2020)

I agree with @Ady34 if the substrate was sloped it would have made the path look like it disappeared in to the distance giving the depth to the scape with the rocks higher either side still looks good its hard to get that balance in a bigger tank with an iwagumi


----------



## Keetchy (29 May 2020)

Ady34 said:


> Hi,
> the scape will change a lot when the plants grow in. It needs a bit of height but hopefully the stems will grow and create that element. It’s always good to try alternative scapes and design ideas and the elements which look harsh in this scape now will soften as the carpet grows and plants envelop the rocks.
> Perhaps one thing to consider for the future is to add extra depth by sloping the substrate more heavily from front to back. This naturally creates a perspective but also allows you to raise hardscape at the rear to add height.
> Will look forward to the plants filling in like your previous scape.
> ...





Jayefc1 said:


> I agree with @Ady34 if the substrate was sloped it would have made the path look like it disappeared in to the distance giving the depth to the scape with the rocks higher either side still looks good its hard to get that balance in a bigger tank with an iwagumi



Thanks guys. Making it much higher at the back is a must but I was limited to the amount of substrate I had. I just used whatever came out of the previous scape. So definitely in the future, if I do Iwagumi again, I'll buy more substrate and also bigger rocks as again, I was limited to the size rocks I had. The piece on the right hand side is the biggest piece I had to offer 😕


----------



## alto (29 May 2020)

I suggest adding a lot more MC! and a couple pots L sessiliflora (or similar fast growing stem plant) to help tank balance


----------



## Keetchy (30 May 2020)

alto said:


> I suggest adding a lot more MC! and a couple pots L sessiliflora (or similar fast growing stem plant) to help tank balance


Where would you put the Sessiliflora bud? The sections round the back and sides of the rocks are full up with other plants. Orange juice, H'ra, Acuarta, Palustris and 53B


----------



## alto (30 May 2020)

I suggested the L sessiliflora as it can be left in the pots without apparent limitation on growth, making it easy to add/remove (you can balance it  on rocks or place on the sand)

If the other stems are showing active and rapid growth, they may suffice


----------



## Keetchy (30 May 2020)

alto said:


> I suggested the L sessiliflora as it can be left in the pots without apparent limitation on growth, making it easy to add/remove (you can balance it  on rocks or place on the sand)
> 
> If the other stems are showing active and rapid growth, they may suffice


Ah yeah I get ya now. I see George and the guys done that at the big showcase showdown thing they do each year, but got cancelled this year cause of the pandemic.

I can see new growth already on the Palustris, H'ra and Acuarta. Also I think I even see fresh green on the MC too


----------

