# MC Mountains - 12g long



## doylecolmdoyle (29 Jul 2016)

Hello, this is my 12g long bookshelf tank, currently in dry start format, I will hopefully flood within the next few weeks.

Fire bookshelf tank. 90cm Length x 25cm Height x 21cm Depth in 8mm low iron clear glass.
Light - Up Aqua Z LED
Hardscape - Seiryu stone
Plants - Monte Carlo, Hair Grass, Dwarf HG, Mini Pellia, and Fissidens
Substrate - Recycled the Aquasoil from the last scape.






The twigs of driftwood are just placed in at the moment, I need to stick them to longer sticks to anchor them into the soil, mite try stick some moss to them.


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## Aqua360 (29 Jul 2016)

Nice! I can  never find that type of stone where I am (Paisley/Glasgow)


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## doylecolmdoyle (29 Jul 2016)

I am all the way over in Australia, we seem to have a lot of it, not sure if its imported or what tho. Ive removed all the twigs I just felt they made the scape a bit messy, I also moved all the regular hair grass to the right behind the rocks


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## PARAGUAY (29 Jul 2016)

Some of the wood with moss on at base of rocks giving a old roots feel towards substrate?I agree nice rocks


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## Ryan Thang To (30 Jul 2016)

nice layout. rocks definitely caught my attention good job

cheers
ryan


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## doylecolmdoyle (30 Jul 2016)

Drilled the top of my stand today, made the holes about 4cm should be able to squeeze double taps through for ease of cleaning etc, edging closer to flooding, just need my pipes to turn up from Hong kong! Mite get a little more DHG to speed up the carpeting of the back left cnr... any ideas on how fast this stuff spreads?

Moved all the regular HG to the right behind the rocks, I will keep the left side low.


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## Joe Turner (30 Jul 2016)

Aqua360 said:


> Nice! I can  never find that type of stone where I am (Paisley/Glasgow)



Hey! Try Fishkeeper Scotland in Coatbridge (Maidenhead aquatics). If they don't have any in justnow, there'll be some on the way from Unipac.

Cracking bookshelf tank, look forward to seeing how the DSM goes! 

Cheers


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## Aqua360 (31 Jul 2016)

Joe Turner said:


> Hey! Try Fishkeeper Scotland in Coatbridge (Maidenhead aquatics). If they don't have any in justnow, there'll be some on the way from Unipac.
> 
> Cracking bookshelf tank, look forward to seeing how the DSM goes!
> 
> Cheers



Cheers! Tried a few times there and the one at braehead Glasgow, but I must be missing them


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## doylecolmdoyle (7 Aug 2016)

Day 70ish of DSM... waiting on my glass pipes I ordered of ebay, will flood as soon as they get here!


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## doylecolmdoyle (14 Aug 2016)

Flooded this tank today, everything is looking good, flow seems good as I have a skimmer down one end. The Up aqua inline diffuser seems to work well the tank is full of co2 / o2 bubbles, this is what it looks like as of this evening! Only issue i had was the ISTA check valve had a leak so i am just relying on the bubble counter to stop back flow... will get a decent check valve ASAP!


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## doylecolmdoyle (20 Aug 2016)

Picked up some tissue culture plants today, which are pretty rare in Western Australia, we have crazy laws around importing flora and fauna, some of the tightest if not tightest in the world so it was nice to see a wide range of tissue culture plants at one of the better aquarium stores in Perth. As I am keeping planting fairly simple in this tank I only picked up some helferi and a bit more DHG



 

Here is a iphone photo after I planted the new hair grass, tank seems to be growing in nicely and is already cycled as I used re-cycled soil and a canister filter from a pervious setup. I added about 8 native "Dawrin" algae eating shrimp, I will probably add about 15 more, the dont really breed in these conditions but seem very happy.


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## doylecolmdoyle (25 Aug 2016)

Updated FTS, really captured the tank pearling away at the end of the lighting period

MC-Mountains 3ft Bookshelf by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

Also took a video which can be seen here:


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## doylecolmdoyle (14 Sep 2016)

Took the black background away and added some LED lighting, mainly because I have been running co2 at 0.5 bps for 24/7 and the bubbles really stand out on the back background.

I need to try trim and clean this tank on the weekend, I am going to try rig up some tube to the scissors to minimise the clean up of MC trimmings.

Excuse the random anubias cutting and random plants on the inlet... just seeing if they will grow a little before adding them to my low tech tank.

3ft Bookshelf Aquarium 14-09-2016 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## alto (15 Sep 2016)

Awesome tank 

I missed this one until now 
Glad to catch up


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## Greenfinger2 (16 Sep 2016)

Hi D, Wonderful scape


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## doylecolmdoyle (18 Sep 2016)

Trimmed the MC today

_MG_5714 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Aqua360 (18 Sep 2016)

Can I ask how long your photoperiod is each day? Considering a similar sized height tank, and my previous attempts were thwarted by algae, and possibly overpowered lighting


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## doylecolmdoyle (18 Sep 2016)

Aqua360 said:


> Can I ask how long your photoperiod is each day? Considering a similar sized height tank, and my previous attempts were thwarted by algae, and possibly overpowered lighting



Lighting is currently 5hrs per day, I think the LED light would be considered a low / medium output, I also run the co2 24/7 but at a very slow 0.5bps. No real algae problems yet, but i guess its early days


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## doylecolmdoyle (20 Sep 2016)

I took a very wobbly iphone video of a shrimp swimming against the flow, they do this often, its fun to watch


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## Tim Harrison (20 Sep 2016)

Very nicely balanced scape, love the negative space and the way it flows in to the hardscaped area.


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## Andy D (20 Sep 2016)

Looks great!


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## doylecolmdoyle (2 Oct 2016)

Thanks Tim and Andy 

Had to get some new glassware, went with Cal Aqua Mini pipes, both my ebay purchased pipes broke  Slightly different flow now, not as aggressive.

3ft Bookself Aquarium by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## GHNelson (2 Oct 2016)

.....Very Nice indeed!


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## doylecolmdoyle (7 Oct 2016)

Trimmed the carpet down today.

3ft Bookshelf Aquarium / Aquascape by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (26 Oct 2016)

Almost three weeks after the last trim, algae seems to be at bay without any floaters, tho I do get a bit more brownish glass dust diatom stuff.

Have needed to increase ferts, some of the new growth MC was starting to turn yellow a little, I think from low iron, the increase seems to have helped.

_MG_5904 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (9 Nov 2016)

About time for another trim

_MG_5928 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## bobiciupe (9 Nov 2016)

Looks great! I did have problems with the diatoms in the past, i raised the lamp height to 50 cm above water surface and the diatoms vanished


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## J Art (9 Nov 2016)

Awesome. 


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## kadoxu (9 Nov 2016)

Looks really good!


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## Nuno M. (9 Nov 2016)

That carpet need's a good trim ...

Really peacefull scape there, I like it


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## imak (9 Nov 2016)

Awesome, would you mind if I copy it?  .


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## doylecolmdoyle (10 Nov 2016)

imak said:


> Awesome, would you mind if I copy it?  .



No I dont mind, its a fairly generic looking Iwagumi really, but i would recommend MC that stuff just grows and grows, very easy to maintain. Only down side to this style is it gets a bit boring, I would like to grow more plants... but Ill set up a 4th tank for that


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## doylecolmdoyle (12 Nov 2016)

Trimmed, not the best job, didn't get the front line even only noticed after i had refilled the tank and my arm hurt 

_MG_5964 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Nuno M. (12 Nov 2016)

Carpets are a real PITA  

Imagine trimming my HC carpet in 120cm tank , real back breaker, the worst is cleaning the tank after the job is done  

You should have trim it more leave like 1cm top from the substrate


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## EdwinK (12 Nov 2016)

You can apply a painters or masking tape on the front glass to get a straight line. Remove after trimming.


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## doylecolmdoyle (12 Nov 2016)

Nuno M. said:


> Carpets are a real PITA
> 
> Imagine trimming my HC carpet in 120cm tank , real back breaker, the worst is cleaning the tank after the job is done
> 
> You should have trim it more leave like 1cm top from the substrate



They are a bit of a pain, but one trim a month is to bad... tho I will trim again later this month, I am away on a holiday for all of December so will be interesting to see how my tank fair without much attention.

I will trim down much shorter in about 3 weeks.


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## doylecolmdoyle (15 Nov 2016)

Took some photos of the shrimp in this tank today, lots of berried Cherries and a few berried Zebra shrimp and some Darwin Algae Shrimp, will be interesting to see how the Zebra's go. Put 10 in the tank today.

_MG_6107 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

_MG_6221 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

_MG_6099 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

_MG_6073 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

_MG_6323 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

_MG_6170 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

_MG_6144 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

_MG_6118 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (21 Nov 2016)

Another angle



_MG_6356 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## alto (22 Nov 2016)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Trimmed, not the best job, didn't get the front line even


texturing looks better anyway 

(there's a way back discussion on this in the "archives" - some discussion in one of Mark Evans journals where he's trimming the HC unevenly to create shadows/depth ... don't recall if this is where most of the discussion occurs or if there's a link to another thread)


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## doylecolmdoyle (26 Nov 2016)

Took this photo of a baby Zebra shrimp (Australian Native) resting on a leaf of MC, they need lower PH levels apparently but hopefully these guys can adapt and continue to breed. 



_MG_6370 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



_MG_6381 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Manisha (27 Nov 2016)

Wow!


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## doylecolmdoyle (2 Dec 2016)

Time for a big trim and clean tomorrow then going to leave the tank in my mothers hands for a month, hopefully it survives, I have mixed up a all in one fert and she is just going to take a few scoops of water out and replace a few times a week. Decided to leave the lights and co2 as is for the month. I have been using the combined macro micro fert for a few weeks and all seems good, perhaps a bit more green dust algae / spot algae probably due to the lower Po4.




_MG_6427 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Alexander Belchenko (2 Dec 2016)

How do you make such interesting blue light effect on the bottom of the tank? Sorry if you've already answered this before. Just noticed it.


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## doylecolmdoyle (2 Dec 2016)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> How do you make such interesting blue light effect on the bottom of the tank? Sorry if you've already answered this before. Just noticed it.



Hi Alexander, the blue light is created from a RGB LED strip light placed at the bottom / rear of the tank, the blue (or what ever colour you set the RGB strip light to) shines threw the bottom glass panel and reflects of the white wall behind to create a nice back lighting effect. This is the brand of light I used as it was easy to source locally via a hardware store but you can order this style of LED strip of Ebay much cheaper - https://www.bunnings.com.au/arlec-30cm-12w-multi-colour-led-flex-strip-light-4-pack_p7071499


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## doylecolmdoyle (3 Dec 2016)

Trimmed and cleaned the tank



_MG_6437 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (7 Jan 2017)

This photo is about 40 days after the last trim and clean... I have been on holidays glad it survived pretty much on auto pilot and top ups 

_MG_7239 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (11 Jan 2017)

_MG_7248 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## limz_777 (18 Jan 2017)

had a hard time maintain the water level , evaporation seem high on 12g , always need top-up every week


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## doylecolmdoyle (18 Jan 2017)

limz_777 said:


> had a hard time maintain the water level , evaporation seem high on 12g , always need top-up every week



Yes I top up about 2 or 3 times a week


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## limz_777 (20 Jan 2017)

lol , i gave up topping up ,will restart again once when i settle mine auto gravity fed water top up , i still like this tank dimension , a nifty small but long length , really enjoy whenever i see shrimps swim from one end to the other .


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## doylecolmdoyle (21 Jan 2017)

Brought 20 Rasbora's today, I am not sure of the species they where labeled gold line Rasboras at the fish store but after googling they look a little different and there isnt much info on "gold line" perhaps they are black line?... can anyone ID these?

EDIT - found out the fish are "Boraras urophthalmoides"

Also got around to trimming the MC carpet, was a pain to remove all the frogbit, trim, clean then put it all back in... but the fish and shrimp seem to like the cover and are very active.



_MG_7382 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



_MG_7338 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## limz_777 (22 Jan 2017)

just looking back at the thread , i too had problem with check valve not working as intended , in fact i bought quite a few of those metal ones , none seem to work well  what check valve are you using ?


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## doylecolmdoyle (22 Jan 2017)

limz_777 said:


> just looking back at the thread , i too had problem with check valve not working as intended , in fact i bought quite a few of those metal ones , none seem to work well  what check valve are you using ?



I am actually not using any check valve, apparently the bubble counter has one in built but I wouldn't rely on that. I run co2 24/7 at a very slow rate about 0.5 bps so no real need for a check valve as there is always pressure going into the inline diffuser.


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## doylecolmdoyle (23 Jan 2017)

Here is a quick iphone video of the new fish, I am not sure if the flow is to strong for these little guys as they seem to only hang down either end of the tank and avoid stopping in the middle, they do zoom from end to end but dont really group up in the middle, I have order a ball / spin style lily pipe to see how they like the flow created from that style pipe


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## limz_777 (23 Jan 2017)

from what i notice from past keepers this species doesnt like to school , rather free roaming at most times , recently i saw someone use a waterproof shaver to shave his carpet , might be suitable for yours .


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## doylecolmdoyle (23 Jan 2017)

A waterproof shaver would be pretty handy, tho I am getting quicker with the scissors  

I adjusted the outlfow valve (from filter to tank) about half a turn and almost instantly the fish started to swim back and forth in a school, you can still see some get pushed down when they swim under the outlet / lily pipe, perhaps I can adjust the flow back even more. Tho possibly it was just a coincidence


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## doylecolmdoyle (24 Jan 2017)

Fish are starting to show some colour, I need to learn how to photography moving objects!



_MG_7474 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

The Shrimp are way larger than the little Boraras and stay still so are easier to photograph!



_MG_7409 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (29 Jan 2017)

Took another 30+ photos and only one was "good" I need to read up on AI Servo cant seem to get it to work (i.e focus point moving with the fish) I also want a macro lens to capture these little guys... better save my pennies and stop buying fish stuff!



_MG_7489 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (30 Jan 2017)

Starting to get the hang of trying to photograph these little guys, still cant figure out AI Servo on my canon 7d... Wanting a macro lens badly! 



IMG_7648 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_7653 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## JackMartins (1 Feb 2017)

Amazing pictures (colors and focus)


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## doylecolmdoyle (1 Feb 2017)

JackMartins said:


> Amazing pictures (colors and focus)



Thanks! I found using a external flash really captured the colours more accurately


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## Dantrasy (1 Feb 2017)

I don't suppose you could please post a pic of yourself taking a pic. So we can see you flash and its placement.


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## doylecolmdoyle (1 Feb 2017)

Dantrasy said:


> I don't suppose you could please post a pic of yourself taking a pic. So we can see you flash and its placement.



Haha i will see if I can get my girlfriend to take a photo next time I am trying to photograph the fish. 

I am just using a camera mounted 430ex ii speedlight / flash unit, the lens is a 24mm Canon Pancake lens (tiny, cheap but pretty good), ƒ/4.0 or less and shutter of about 1/200, ISO400, min focus length is only 10cm and the lens itself is tiny (about 2cm in total length) so I can get right up to the glass and try focus on the fish, which is the hardest thing to do, out of 50 or more shots I seem to be only keeping perhaps 5. The flash unit probably sits above the glass on this tank (being only 25cm tall) so the flash in effect is just filling from above I dont think the flash hits the front glass directly. 

Here are some photos taken with a lower f stop of 2.8, which seems a bit harder to get the whole fish in focus.




IMG_7770 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_7777 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_7786 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (1 Feb 2017)

Here is a full tank shot, some patches of MC are starting to go yellow, I guess because of not enough light, the frogbit was so thick on the surface I cleared out a lot but still wanted cover for the fish, I can see a bit a pearling again so some light must be getting to the ground, I will clear more frogbit over the next few days.

I installed the ball style lily pipe, basically kills all flow... will see how it goes.



IMG_7810 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (11 Feb 2017)

The yellow patches got worse then i discovered it was all basically dead under the green growth, lesson learnt dont let MC get 10cm deep for months before trimming, hopefully it recovers from this heavy trim, cut right down to the substrate in some areas... which has also turned to mud in areas, the ada soil is over 2 years old now... this scape may be coming to a end, fingers crossed it bounces back.



IMG_7858 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Doubu (11 Feb 2017)

I also learned this lesson the hard way... Trim more often and less. I destroyed the left side of my carpet by over trimming all in one go =[


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## alto (11 Feb 2017)

I love the simplicity of this tank & fish 
- as in simply beautiful 

Excellent job with the photos - I want to search out some of these fish now, the golden orange colour is striking & more to my taste than the bright reds of B brigittae


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## limz_777 (11 Feb 2017)

2 year old aquasoil , did you add root tabs or fert the water ?


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## doylecolmdoyle (12 Feb 2017)

limz_777 said:


> 2 year old aquasoil , did you add root tabs or fert the water ?



I add ferts daily, I had also added some root tabs a few months back, will add some more root tabs, next weekend, will let the plants settle a bit after the big trim.


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## doylecolmdoyle (18 Feb 2017)

Added some H. Pinnafida behind the rocks and some Anubias nana Petite, seems like the MC carpet is starting to bounce back, bit more GSA on the rocks because I cleared away most of the frogbit, may need to increase the dose of PO4.



IMG_7872 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## xim (18 Feb 2017)

From the pic, the rocks look very nice with some algae.


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## doylecolmdoyle (9 Mar 2017)

How do I trim H. Pinnafida? Chop the tops and replant or trim off individual leafs?



IMG_7994 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## tim (9 Mar 2017)

Trim off the top stems it should encourage side shoots, replant the longer stems though I've found them a bit hit and miss as to wether they produce roots or not, scapes looking great mate


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## Jakes (12 Mar 2017)

What an anZing little tank, it is pretty much a quarter in dimension to my aquarium but it just looks so so good!!

Well dine mate!


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## CooKieS (12 Mar 2017)

Nice little scape, What's the tank size?

And what is the brand of your glass pipes? I'm searching glass pipes for my ada 60F

Thanks


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## doylecolmdoyle (12 Mar 2017)

CooKieS said:


> Nice little scape, What's the tank size?
> 
> And what is the brand of your glass pipes? I'm searching glass pipes for my ada 60F
> 
> Thanks



Thanks the tank is 90cm x 21cm x 25cm high... 12 gal long I am pretty sure. The glass pipes are Cal Aqua F1 and X1, really nice tiny pipes


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## doylecolmdoyle (24 Mar 2017)

Time for a trim tomorrow, MC recovered well from a heavy trimming about a month ago, no more yellow MC!



IMG_8763 
by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_8963 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_8931 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_8886 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_8867 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_8901 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_8913 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_8936 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_8937 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (4 Apr 2017)

Managed to burn a bunch of MC using h2o2, got me thinking I may remove the mc around / close to the hardscape and plant crypt parva, less trimming of a carpet is appealing



IMG_9099 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Eduard18 (5 Apr 2017)

"....less trimming of a carpet " - I second that motion  Marsilea hirsuta could be an alternative ; or even better , a mix between the two C.parva and M. hirsuta


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## doylecolmdoyle (10 Apr 2017)

Ordered some Crypt parva, to get ready I added some more soil to the right, will clear out a bit more MC on the right side when the plants rock up. Interestingly I had 3 shrimp die (stuck to the outlet pipe) hours after I added the aquasoil, must not have liked it. Also have done two rounds of the 1-2punch, using about 40ml of h2o2 the second time, just cant seem to clear the bba of the rocks, will give it one more go before I add the crypts, I hear they can be sensitive to h2o2?

Also removed the skimmer and raised the inlet pipe to really get the surface moving, have read a lack of o2 can bring on bba, will see what happens.



IMG_9123 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Daveslaney (10 Apr 2017)

I have the same prob with bba on dragon stone.I have tryed h2o2, light levels, excel all ways to get rid of it. It never seems to go away all together.Think it may be something to do with the make up of the rock that encourages it?
I find the best way to control it is to give it a good scrub with a tooth brush then spot treat it with excel.Be careful with the h2o2 MC is very sensitive to it too.
Great scape.


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## doylecolmdoyle (11 Apr 2017)

Daveslaney said:


> I have the same prob with bba on dragon stone.I have tryed h2o2, light levels, excel all ways to get rid of it. It never seems to go away all together.Think it may be something to do with the make up of the rock that encourages it?
> I find the best way to control it is to give it a good scrub with a tooth brush then spot treat it with excel.Be careful with the h2o2 MC is very sensitive to it too.
> Great scape.



Thanks, yes 1-2 punch doesnt seem to be effecting the bba on the rocks, dont really want to push the full tank dosing of h2o2 much higher, will do a bit more spot dosing, true about MC being sensitive to h2o2, I burnt to big patches (where I am going to plant parva now) posted a photo of the burnt mc a few post back, since have learnt h2o2 will sink to the bottom of the tank.


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## doylecolmdoyle (11 Apr 2017)

Planted the parva today, here are some photos, have read the parva should / may flatten out a bit once it adjusted to the tank conditions, could also all melt away  I could maybe do with another 10 portions and continue the crypt around the hardscape a bit more, I am predicting the MC will creep across and making maintaining the right side a pain again.




IMG_9129 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_9130 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_9131 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Jakes (11 Apr 2017)

Looking good!  Will be interesting to see how they settle in the scape


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## Daveslaney (11 Apr 2017)

I think the contrast between the MC and the c parva looks great.
Hopefully the small stone you have between the two will stop the MC creeping.


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## doylecolmdoyle (12 Apr 2017)

Daveslaney said:


> I think the contrast between the MC and the c parva looks great.
> Hopefully the small stone you have between the two will stop the MC creeping.



Thanks, I am hoping the parva relaxes a little and hugs the ground a bit more, I dont hold much hope in that stone stopping the MC, but If I keep on top of trimming I should be ok.


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## doylecolmdoyle (12 Apr 2017)

Got a light stand today so I could raise up the light, doubled the height to the substrate, added 1 hr extra to the light period, hoping to slow down growth and trim the MC less often. 

iPhone photo


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## doylecolmdoyle (23 Apr 2017)

Bit of a trim today, so much easier now I dont need to try trim around the rocks. 



IMG_9151 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## McCarthy (24 Apr 2017)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Bit of a trim today, so much easier now I dont need to try trim around the rocks.
> 
> 
> 
> IMG_9151 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr





Awesome thank!


Is that intake sponge mandatory? Did you get a lot of shrimp stuck to the pipe?


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## doylecolmdoyle (24 Apr 2017)

Yes after I changed the pipes to high flow I found shrimp started to get stuck to the pipe, I am sure it was sucking up shrimplets also, removed my skimmer and added the sponge on the intake and the shrimp population seems to be increasing again.


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## Tim Harrison (24 Apr 2017)

Looking good, planting shows some really nice delicate textures.


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## doylecolmdoyle (7 May 2017)

IMG_9193 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (10 May 2017)

Took a quick video on my phone.


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## Tim Harrison (10 May 2017)

Looks awesome...
Although, strangely familiar...



May the force be with you.


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## tim (10 May 2017)

Great scape, hope you plan to let the Monte Carlo and hairgrass mix a little along the front for that natural look.


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## doylecolmdoyle (4 Jun 2017)

Did some maintenance today, trimming the carpet is never fun, left it for about 6 weeks, was still pretty nice under the bushy growth not to yellow this time, removed all the frogbit, looks so much cleaner without. Thinking I could do with more crypt parva a bit melted away in the middle, perhaps will try source some more.



IMG_9504 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_9506 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_9508 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

Here is a bad photo of the 3 tanks ive got setup in my apartment, there is a 4th next to the 60p in my study, may get onto starting the dry scape for that tomorrow.


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## Alexander Belchenko (4 Jun 2017)

Side view of the tank - is really nice. I haven't realized it so narrow. Good job!


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## doylecolmdoyle (4 Jun 2017)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> Side view of the tank - is really nice. I haven't realized it so narrow. Good job!



Thanks! yes its very narrow, internally would only be 18cm, not much room to move when scaping


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## doylecolmdoyle (23 Jun 2017)

Had the camera out, not much has changed but the hydroctyle is spreading around the back / side to the front, starting to look cool now with the mix of plants down that end


IMG_9642 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9643 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9644 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Dominik_K (23 Jun 2017)

This tank is awesome. Simple, clean but awesome


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## doylecolmdoyle (24 Jun 2017)

Dominik_K said:


> This tank is awesome. Simple, clean but awesome



Thanks! almost coming up to a year old, keeping it simple is something I think you need in long (not that a year is that long) running tank


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## doylecolmdoyle (3 Jul 2017)

Really liking the look of the right hand side now, the Hydrocotyle tripartita is just starting to get out of control


IMG_9653 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9657 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## jameson_uk (7 Jul 2017)

Just wondering who you get on with water changes?    a 50% water change is going to not leave much depth for the fish, does this bother them?


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## doylecolmdoyle (8 Jul 2017)

jameson_uk said:


> Just wondering who you get on with water changes?    a 50% water change is going to not leave much depth for the fish, does this bother them?



Yah the fish and shrimp seem fine when I do a water change, there is a good few inches of water down the left side when I drain 50% of the water.


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## doylecolmdoyle (16 Jul 2017)

Added 15 Boraras maculatus (Dwarf Rasbora's) today to see if they would bring the Boraras urophthalmoides out a bit more, in the shop you could clearly see the Dwarf Rasbora's where not as shy, they do seem more adventurous and hang out in the open water area but the Boraras urophthalmoides still just hang down the right hand side in all the plants when the lights are on, perhaps because this is where I always feed them and they know they will get food while the lights are on? The Dwarf Rasbora's will often swim down to the right hand side and join all the other Boraras. They have only been in the tank for 6 hours so perhaps to early to see if any behaviors change.

Also something had been nipping at the Dwarf Rasbora's fins, would have either been at the aquarium shop or supplier i guess, didnt notice until i took the macro shots. 

Raised the light up to maxium height, partly because I am sick of trimming the carpet and also to see if the lower light level makes the fish more active. 

I may start feeding the fish down the other end of the tank to see if that stops them from only hanging down the right end when lights are on, once the lights are off they do start to swim all over and hang in the open water a little more.


IMG_9798 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9796 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9792 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9700 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9696 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9802 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


IMG_9804 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (23 Jul 2017)

Took a video with my SLR, kind of tricky because my couch is in the way.


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## Daveslaney (23 Jul 2017)

Fantastic tank.


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## doylecolmdoyle (18 Aug 2017)

Trimmed the carpet last on the 4th June, let it grow for about 10 weeks before trimming which is pushing it but the under growth wasn't to yellow, hoping now the light is extended full height I can push out the trimming to about 12 - 15 weeks. Since adding the Dwarf Rasboras the Explanation Point have really came alive, the tank is now very fun to watch with about 40ish little fish buzzing around.




IMG_0078 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr



IMG_0079 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## doylecolmdoyle (9 Oct 2017)

Coming up to 2 months since i last trimmed the carpet, could probably leave it another few weeks, the tripartita continues to take over everything, wouldn't recommend this plant if you dont like trimming... I hate trimming  I will cut back the triparita from the MC next weekend If I have time.


IMG_0698 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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## Tim Harrison (9 Oct 2017)

Still stunning


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## ricky tango (9 Oct 2017)

what skimmer is used?


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## doylecolmdoyle (10 Oct 2017)

ricky tango said:


> what skimmer is used?



Hi its a Ocean Free SurfClear Skimmer, not as powerful as a ehiem skimmer but has some other nice features such as shrimp guard (tho they still get in there) and the ability to clean the sponge without removing the whole unit


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## doylecolmdoyle (24 Oct 2017)

Have decided to end this scape, the carpet started to lift and I think its time for a change. Going for a slow growing buce / anubias scape attached to driftwood / lava stone. I want to re-use the substrate, not that much will be planted in the soil, new scape will hopefully be dark and moody and low maintenance.

Thanks too all who read along with this journal.


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## Dantrasy (24 Oct 2017)

Sad to see it go.

If you want ohko or crs let me know.  I'll be rescaping my 1ft soon.


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## kadoxu (24 Oct 2017)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Have decided to end this scape, the carpet started to lift and I think its time for a change. Going for a slow growing buce / anubias scape attached to driftwood / lava stone. I want to re-use the substrate, not that much will be planted in the soil, new scape will hopefully be dark and moody and low maintenance.
> 
> Thanks too all who read along with this journal.


What are you gonna do with the plants you have in there? I'd love to get some of that Hydrocotyle...


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## Dantrasy (24 Oct 2017)

Colm and I are in Western Australia.


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## kadoxu (24 Oct 2017)

Dantrasy said:


> Colm and I are in Western Australia.


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## doylecolmdoyle (24 Oct 2017)

Dantrasy said:


> Sad to see it go.
> 
> If you want ohko or crs let me know.  I'll be rescaping my 1ft soon.



Cheers, I could perhaps try some CRS in the new scape, let me know when you rescape! 



kadoxu said:


>



Lol yes we are only about 20hrs away via a direct flight


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## kadoxu (25 Oct 2017)

You made me buy it...


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## doylecolmdoyle (26 Oct 2017)

kadoxu said:


> You made me buy it...



Goodluck! Hydrocotyle Tripartita is probably one plant i will never use again, it goes wild and I am not one to keep on top of trimming... its basically the reason my mc carpet lifted, grew the length of the tank and when i tried to removed it I also up rooted the MC.


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## kadoxu (26 Oct 2017)

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Goodluck! Hydrocotyle Tripartita is probably one plant i will never use again, it goes wild and I am not one to keep on top of trimming... its basically the reason my mc carpet lifted, grew the length of the tank and when i tried to removed it I also up rooted the MC.


I'm gonna try it on a low tech tank. Hopefully won't be such a troublemaker.


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## doylecolmdoyle (7 Nov 2017)

lets call this the final photo, hopefully get around to setting up the new scape in this tank on the weekend.


IMG_0734 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr


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