# "Noobula" 90 x 45 x 60



## jaHko (23 Feb 2016)

New member here and a total noob to the hobby, hence the name of the scape. I have been lurking in the shadows of the forum for the past three months soaking up as much knowledge as I can (information overload) whilst slowly getting all the bits and bobs together.

I wanted to wait until I actually had a bit to post before opening a Journal to give you guys a bit to read and hopefully gain a few thread stalkers contributors – cause I need as much help as I can get! So far it’s been quite a journey and it has taught me to be patient. Very patient. Which is a good thing I guess – measure twice, cut once like my old man always used to say!

But before I dive into the first part of the walkabout – my  custom cabinet build – below are some deets on my setup:

*Setup: *High Tech
*Tank: *Dymax Crystal Clear 90 x 45 x 60
*Tank Cover:* Lid Hooks with Glass Cover (still need to get it)
*Cabinet: *Afrormosia African Hardwood 90 x 45 x 70
*Lights: *Current Satellite Plus Pro 48”
*Filter:* JBL Crystal Profi e1501 GreenLine ( 1400l/hr)
*Media:*
JBL Volcano Mineral
ADA Aquasoil Amazonia
ADA Amazonia Powder
JBL White Riversand​*CO2 System:*
2kg Brushed Aluminum Cylinder
CO2 Dual Stage Regulator and Solenoid Magnetic Valve with precision SMC Valve
Oiginal UP New Inline CO2 Atomizer Diffuser System 16/22mm
Aluminium Aquarium CO2 Bubble Counter (built in NRV)
CO 2 Drop Checker + 4kdH Solution​*Glass:* CO2Art Aquarium Lily Pipes Set Ø17 - 16/22
*Hardscape: *Rock from LFS
*Plants:* Will decide after hardscape is finalized
*Ferts:*
Seachem Flourish
Seachem Excel Flourish
Seachem Iron
Any recommendations from the forum?​*Other:* Seachem Stability
*Flora:*
Micranthemum sp. - Montecarlo
Eleocharis sp. - Minima
Anubias sp. - Nangi
Pogostemon Helferi
Ludwiga Glandulosa - Red
Hygrophila Corymbosa
Java Ferns
Rotala Macranda
Alternanthera Reineckii mini​*Fauna*
Ember Tetras (13)
Neon Tetras (12)​


So yeah there are still a few things missing which is where the forum's valuable input comes in. I have a vague idea of what I am doing when it comes to plants and fish and am not sure if I am ready to take on EI dosing. Anyway - will post about those topics later.

Okay, so on to my custom cabinet build. . . . .All the aquarium stands at my LFS are butt ugly and I sure as hell not forking out a fortune for an ADA Stand. So time to channel my inner Chinaman and build a rip-off! I have done a fair amount of woodworking in my younger days and thus know my way around things but still, this turned out to be quite a challenge. My aim was to try and build my own cabinet for cheaper than I would buy something similar in the shops.

Living in Dubai, it is rather difficult finding exotic wood but eventually I found a lumber yard that was willing to sell a small amount of wood to me. Below you can see the huge trees in the lumber yard – I have never bought wood direct form source but screw it, let’s do it . . .



 


I had a look at a couple of species they had and settled on Afrormosia, an African hardwood as it was nicely figured. Here is a rough cut piece straight form the band saw.


 


When I first collected the wood I noticed that it was still a bit wet – I knew this was risky to take on but didn’t really have much of a choice as I couldn’t find decent wood anywhere else. Below is a photo of my base I had planed at a local carpentry shop (more money!) – here it became quite apparent how wet the wood still was . . . .


 


Here are the two chaps that planed and shaped the wood for me. Unfortunately the planer couldn’t do pieces wider than 50cm and I had to cut my backside into two pieces  -  this was also the reason I changed from 120 to a 90 tank. 


 


So with the wood being wet I couldn’t jump straight into it and first had to stack the pieces to allow it to dry . . . and I thought watching paint dry was excruciating! The drying took about two weeks (more like my patience ran out after two weeks) after which I noticed some pieces starting to crack at the ends and some were slightly warped and it shrunk about 5mm across the grain of the wood.  There goes my plans for a 'flush look' . . .


 

Long story short – I had to chop and changes pieces around. I had to take my internal divider and re-purpose it for one of my back panels as that had completely cracked up.  Fat mission. I did all of this on my balcony and with it taking way longer than initially thought – I started getting the evil eye from the wife.


 

I used a router (more money!) and dowels and did a mock assembly


 


Once I saw everything lined up it was time to glue. Ho. Lee. Sheet. It got messier than a stag do in vegas – white stuff coming out of every imaginable gap.  Had to work super quick to get it wiped off otherwise the finish would be ruined. (Below the doors have been temporarily put in place just to see how it will look when finished)


 


Here you can see the Frankenstein backside. Didn’t have the correct tools at the time (still trying to do it on a budget here) to perfectly flatten joining edges so it ended up with quite a big gap. This was later filled in with glue and sawdust mix. After gluing up it became apparent that the base and top had bowed slightly making everything wobbly. I bought a hand plane (more money!) and eventually flattened it out after tearing out enough wood to build a cabin with.


 


Afrormosia is very similar in appearance to Burmese Teak. Since my TV stand and Coffee Table are Burmese Teak I wanted to have the cabinet look a bit different. I decided to go with Danish Oil over Polyurethane as it was easier to apply (with a cloth). I am still regretting this. The VOC laden smell hangs in the air like the smell of a fresh dog turd on a misty morning.


 


And the freshly finished fruits of my labour. Pretty chuffed with myself at this point. I since moved it into my apartment and it is stinking the place up. Don’t know which is worse, the smell or my wife not letting me hear the end of it!


 


 

In the end it was worth it. It is extremely rewarding taking a step back to admire one’s creation, much like I expect looking at my first aquascape will be like. Lots of lessons learnt. Am already planning more carpentry projects . . . .


So the setup begins . . .I got lucky with the film for the tank backside. My mate’s wife owns a wall sticker business and gave me a freebie. Damn I love freebies. Whoop whoop! 





I moved the cabinet inside only to find the tiles it is standing on is not level. FFS. I fixed that by placing a 5mm foamed rubber pad under the base. The tank has been placed on a 15mm foamed rubber pad. Not easy to find but luckily cheap as chips!





My mate came to the rescue again when he picked up a discarded Powertank 6kg CO2 cylinder worth like $400 or something ridiculous like that. Still need to have that checked out to make sure all is ok. This freebie was a big win as I had already overspent a bit on the cabinet and other bits and bobs. Only prob here is that it’s a CGA320 thread and my CO2Art regulator is a BS341 Thread. Need to find that adapter . . .





So this is what my cabinet currently looks like under the bonnet. Still a bit messy but will have it looking proper OCD once I have everything set up. If you are wondering about all the whisky’s on the bottom left – I had to strike a deal with the wife in order to get the aquarium (married guys will understand) – her condition was that all the booze had to be removed from the top of our fridge (now I am praying this friggin cabinet doesn’t collapse under 300kg of force). Maybe I should build a liquor cabinet, mmmm……





Time for the hardscape. My LFS didn’t exactly have the stones I was looking for so everything I planned out on paper before when up in smoke. No really. I threw it in the BBQ. Should’ve seen it coming but was pretty bleak as I spent quite a few evenings planning layouts. Noob error I guess. . .
I also tried getting stones from the Wadi’s in UAE/Oman but they ended up altering the pH / GH of the water. No go. Anyway, when limits are imposed it forces creativity -  here are my choices:


 




I cut a foamed rubber pad to the size of my tank to play with some layouts. As you can see with the lines – I am trying to stick with some rules here but my largest stone – more or less pyramid shaped one – which should be my main stone is difficult to work with and to find the right placement. I like the idea of a towering setup and arranged like this, the main stone is simply too small/short. Anyway, to hell with rules. . . . The two smaller stones together makes for a taller combined structure.





I played around a bit but in the end the only thing that gave me the real feels was doing mock ups in the tank. Had a few heart stopping moments when I dinged the glass a few times – so far no scratches – touch wood (*admires cabinet . . . heavy breathing. . . .)
Still not sure which part of the stone to use for the overhang (I don’t like the flat face to face the front) and which way the overhang should point – this creates two total different feels to the layout.

Pointing towards the left side it creates a V-Shape to the middle of the aquarium as well as creating a separate little nook on the left side – a scape within a scape – Scapeception if you will. I also like this because this side will get a lot of facetime facing the kitchen, apartment entrance, bedroom entrance . . . you catch my drift . . .


 




Facing inwards. Positioned so that it complements the angle of my main formation on the right is the other option. Can make for an epic overhang but it does take away that V-shape I kinda liked. Also the little nook I had is no longer but does make for something else – maybe I can build it higher at the back. (Foam is to protect glass if there are some rockfalls!)





So I am fairly happy with the right hand side of the scape - maybe swop the two smaller stones around - your thoughts?





Here are a few other flavours I tried out - I numbered the pics for easy referral in feedback . . .

1.









2.


 




3.


 

 





Using the volcanic rock substrate just as support to try a few things - this will obviously be higher once the AS is added. The black 'river' down the middle is indicative of where my white river will be in the final scape.

Not sure what to do next. Going on a business trip today so will leave it a couple of days and give it another look when I am back, in the meanwhile please fire away with comments!


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## jaHko (23 Feb 2016)

Riiiiiiiight . . . . .I clearly need to re-size my photos to be even smaller than 1600 x 1200 - sorry about that - I will try and edit the post this weekend. Recommendations on best sizes?


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## chrism (23 Feb 2016)

1600px x 1200px should be fine I would have thought, perhaps try lower the quality / increasing the compression.  


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## chrism (23 Feb 2016)

P.S. Only skim read your first post and not all the pictures loaded as I'm in A&E at the moment (nothing serious) but it's looking good!  Following your progress with interest! 


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## Worshiper (23 Feb 2016)

Great stuff..Love it


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## woodster (23 Feb 2016)

Looking good, nice job on the cabinet.


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## Wisey (23 Feb 2016)

Awesome work on the cabinet, that's really nice and its always satisfying to have made something yourself.

For me, your right hand side is a bit upright, the pinnacles look a bit strange and not very natural, it may even help if they just leaned a tiny bit, so all the stones in the whole scape, both left and right, lean the same direction, or the left and right both lean in towards the central sand area, or each side leans away from each other. It's always good to try and work with the strata in your stone and ensure that it all matches if you want to retain a more natural look. It just feels a bit like the right hand side is upright and the left hand side is more natural and the two don't fit together. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you have to look at it every day and if you like it, just ignore me


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## Aqua360 (24 Feb 2016)

lol you have a good sense of humour, and that is an excellent cabinet build!


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## jaHko (24 Feb 2016)

Thanks for the kind words and input. Saw a bunch of members were using Tapatalk so thought I'd give it a go. [EDIT: quality of the compressed photos ain't that good - meh - but the resolution methinks is a good size, 640x480]Back from my trip and made a beeline for my setup the moment I stepped through the door with Wisey's wise words of wisdom in mind - here's the outcome

(a) First try




(b) Trying to create more of angled vibe but not succeeding




(c) Starting to C the light - still feel there is a bit of a gap at the back - needs more of a backbone




(d) That's better - me likey




(e) flipped the big rock at the back around - really dig this look - still think it needs some tweaking. Don't really like the flat embedded rock at the front. Also not sure about stubby there in the back left corner . . .










Thoughts fellas?


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## jaHko (24 Feb 2016)

I dun cursed myself. Nicked the glass twice in a space of 5min . FFS. Anyway think I am onto something here after some minor adjustments. Removed the flat rock and buried ol' stubby in the back () so that it makes a bit of a overhang too. I think this might be it. It better be it otherwise I wont have a tank left at this rate . . . 





.



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## Wisey (24 Feb 2016)

I think that is a really big improvement. Just keep tinkering with it, take a break and come back to it with fresh eyes, its amazing how what looks perfect one day but is improved on the next day. I've been tinkering for weeks with hardscape, but I do it on a board as my tank is full of life and water. I'm rescaping at the weekend, so really only have a couple of evenings to make a decision. I'll have to bite the bullet soon and just go with an idea.


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## jaHko (25 Feb 2016)

Right, so I have gone ahead and done the hardscape - happy with the general layout but still feel some tweaking is required. . . Too much of a gap in the middle compared to the pic above for example. Will leave it for a day or two but don't want to over think it. This scape will only be up for minimum  of 6 months or maximum 10 ( gots to move to a new place)

With that in mind I want to keep flora selection simple/minimal. Plant questions coming soon....






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## Andy D (25 Feb 2016)

Looking forward to the updates. 

The cabinet looks great!


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## jaHko (27 Feb 2016)

So I have made a few more tweaks to the hardscape and am pretty much ready to starting planting. What exactly I am not too sure. I want to go with something like Glosso, Montecarlo and hair grass and maybe something just a tad taller in the back, like Staurogyne Repens - dunno - suggestions welcome.

Anyway, I have AS Powder that I can use - the question is - do I have to? I've seen some people plant straight into AS and others go with AS Powder. What about anoxic conditions in the soil with AS powder? If I use it, how thick should the layer be? Do I have to dry start if only going with AS? Is dry start even an option because of the slopes in my tank?  

Sorry for all the Q's - when I did research this wasn't really my original plan so never really brushed up on it


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## Wisey (27 Feb 2016)

Your hardscape and plant choices seem very low level, yet you have a really tall aquarium. Have you thought how you will fill the vertical space? I ask as this has been my issue, my tank is smaller, 60x45x45, but with hindsight I would have got the 30 high instead as you really need to scape in a way that uses the tank dimensions. I think I achieved it in my rescape today, hopefully get my new journal started tomorrow. Something for you to consider though.


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## jaHko (28 Feb 2016)

Yeah, I do kinda regret going with those dimensions - like waking up the next morning after a bender and seeing who is lying next to you  . Unfortunately I am very limited for choice in Dubai when it comes to low iron rimless tanks. My second tank will now doubt be a shallow one. 

I was thinking of kinda working with the negative space (much like in photography). Choosing fish that prefers to live at different heights of the water column. I am however totally open to going with taller plants although I am afraid it will dwarf my hardscape. The thing is, I don't know what to choose. Any suggestions?


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## tim (28 Feb 2016)

You could add in some driftwood to the two rock islands giving some height and opening up a whole host of plant options, if you have driftwood available.


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## Wisey (28 Feb 2016)

Yeah, I just used a big chunk of bogwood to give height on one side of my scape. The other side is low, but gives swimming space for fish.


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## rebel (29 Feb 2016)

Love this journal!!

Your cabinet is awesome. Plant ferts on the left upper level. Human ferts on the left lower level......


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## jaHko (20 Mar 2016)

Hey guys - quick update!

Finally managed to plant my tank (19.03.2015) - have been traveling quite a bit and kept on postponing it. Anyways - it was quite the learning curve and once again I was humbled by the hobby.

Total water volume ended up (did rough measurements) came to around 165-185L.

Flora:
Micranthemum sp. - Montecarlo
Eleocharis sp. - Minima
Anubias sp. - Nangi
Pogostemon Helferi
Ludwiga Glandulosa - Red
Hygrophila Corymbosa
2 Unknown

I was like a kid in a candy shop and forgot to note the names of the other two - in the picture below its the two planted in the corners at the back (think one is a crypt?). I don't have my CO2 running yet so have dosed Excel so long. I couldn't find a CGA320-BS341 adapter so ended up buying an new cylinder (more money!) and still need to get it filled.

I used Stability and before my first water change today my Nitrites were 0.35 and Nitrates were 0.15, KH-3deg. I got a pH pen on a recent trip and my tap water and after calibrating got pH8 but (there is always a but) the JBL test kit got around pH7. This calls into question the accuracy of JBL test kit as a whole so even my Nitrate/Nitrite test might be off.

Final Hardscape




Started to fill




Got quite a thick film on top when I started to fill - not sure if this is because I didn't spray the soil before hand. Filthier than your local strip joint  . . . .







Shot taken this evening just before my first WC . . .




And after . . .







Not sure about my back plant placement so comments are welcome! Note that I am not attempting win a comp - just to try and grow stuff and not kill it!


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## Wisey (21 Mar 2016)

Good to see you got it planted! I'm struggling to tell whether your Anubias is attached to the rock, or planted in the substrate?


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## tim (21 Mar 2016)

The two in the back corners look like microsorum sp, they need to be attached to wood or rock as the rhizomes will rot planted as they are, don't worry too much about plant placement for now, get them growing and you can move them around as you feel they fit the scape.


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## jaHko (22 Mar 2016)

Hey guys thanks for the feedback. The anubias and the two in the corners ( see close up pics below) are planted in the soil.

I had no idea I had to attach these to rocks ! Will get em out asap 









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## Wisey (22 Mar 2016)

Yup, those plants have the leaves growing from a rhizome. That rhizome needs to be out of the substrate or it will rot. There will also be roots coming off the rhizome, they can be in the soil, but you don't need to worry about that, they can feed from the ferts you dose in the water column and will go in to the substrate in time by themselves if they ever reach it. You can either tie those plants to wood\rock with a fine line, or use superglue gel to attach them which is my preferred method. Make sure it is the gel not the liquid. It will turn white in water, so use a small amount and be careful where you get it, but the plant should cover it in time if you are careful. Once the plant is established its roots will cling on to whatever you attach it to themselves.

You can see from these plants for sale how they should be:

http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections/plants-on-wood-rock

https://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/pl...9.html?zenid=17bc31b3d49d0cb82835bcade723f064

http://tropica.com/en/plants/aquadecor/

If you need a short term temporary fix, you can attach them with something like string or cotton until you get the right tool for the job. I attached all my Anubias to stones with string for a few weeks to keep them going before my rescape.


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## Wisey (22 Mar 2016)

This image from my rescape show Anubias and Microsorum Trident glued to the wood and river cobbles. You can see the white glue on the piece at the front right and also a bit on the bogwood at the back.


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## jaHko (24 Mar 2016)

Thanks for the great advice Wisey - I pulled the anubias and tied them with string. The other I left in but will get some cheapo volcanic rock tonight and sort all of em out!


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## spyder (24 Mar 2016)

The java ferns and anubias could also be wedged between the rocks if that is an option. They would attach themselves after a short time. That would save you having to remove rocks for tying or glueing or add additional rocks.

I love the wood you have used for the cabinet and admire your carpentry skills and perseverance with it.

I hope you get your flow nailed as deep tanks can be tricky. I'm not familiar with your choice of filter so I have no idea on its rated flow.


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## Aqua360 (24 Mar 2016)

jaHko said:


> So I have made a few more tweaks to the hardscape and am pretty much ready to starting planting. What exactly I am not too sure. I want to go with something like Glosso, Montecarlo and hair grass and maybe something just a tad taller in the back, like Staurogyne Repens - dunno - suggestions welcome.
> 
> Anyway, I have AS Powder that I can use - the question is - do I have to? I've seen some people plant straight into AS and others go with AS Powder. What about anoxic conditions in the soil with AS powder? If I use it, how thick should the layer be? Do I have to dry start if only going with AS? Is dry start even an option because of the slopes in my tank?
> 
> Sorry for all the Q's - when I did research this wasn't really my original plan so never really brushed up on it



I got an awesome plant recently called pogostemon helferi, i'd recommend checking it out


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## jaHko (27 Mar 2016)

Quick update.... I removed the anubias and microsorum and glued it to small bits of volcanic rock ( same color as ADA soil so really not that noticeable ). Actually nicer this way as they can easily be moved without throwing a spanner in the works.

I decided to vacuum all the montecarlo up as most of it melted and had hair algae on it so my foreground is empty at the moment. Had issues with my CO2 in the first week which I think contributed to their demise. I added S. Repens to one of my slopes and will be adding another midground plant to the right side soon - opposite the anubias. Hair grass seems to be doing ok but started to struggle and get hair algae on it the most two days.

Light at the moment is at 8hrs ( too much?) and CO2 at 3 bps giving me a nice lime green on the drop checker. The problem ( or at least I think it is) is that my pH goes down to about 6.8 during CO2 injection and then during the night up to about 8.2?!?
Down to doing daily 30% water changes at the moment but am thinking of doing this every other day now ....

Nitrites and nitrates levels are ok so am thinking of adding some shrimp to help with clean up in the tank.

Tank is still quite hazy.....












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## jaHko (27 Mar 2016)

One more thing, I am a bit paranoid about algae and ambient light during the day so as a precaution I am closing the curtains. Also since this is in my living room I cover the tank at night with a blanket after tank lights off but with the living room lights still on. 

Is this necessary?

Here is a photo showing ambient lighting during the day







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## Wisey (27 Mar 2016)

If you have a lot of ambient light you could try running your CO2 24 hours a day, at least until you get things stabilised. With no livestock you could also push the CO2 up to a higher level at this stage. 8 hours is quite a long photoperiod at this stage, I would drop to 5-6 hours (I'm personally still at 6 hours) and build up slowly, it's easier to add light slowly, than clean up dead plants and algae as you went too much too soon.


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## jaHko (29 Mar 2016)

I am keeping things pretty dark when the light is off just to be on the safe side. I have programmed my CO2 to come on twice during lights off period for 1 hr at spaced intervals - just to keep things topped up. Check this morning and it seems to be working just fine. Dialed down lighting period gradually to about 6.5hrs.

I have a lot of melting going on at the moment - is this normal? My Ludwiga was growing like a champ and then all of a sudden started melting in the past two days. Trying to scoop out as much as possible.... 

Nitrites are pretty much zero with nitrates about 2ppm. I added Amano shrimp to help with clean up - some hair grass and dead plant matter.

Also added Montecarlo again so will see if that works this time round. Tied them to little pieces of volcanic rock to prevent floating otherwise too much of the plant is below soil level and things start to rot.

Thanks for all the advice peeps - keep it coming!




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## Wisey (29 Mar 2016)

Most of the plants you buy have been grown emmersed, with almost unlimited access to CO2 in the air so it is not unusual for them to go through a transitional stage when they are planted underwater. You may see old emmersed leaves die back, but if things are good, you would usually start to see new immersed growth coming through. The leaves that grow under water often look different to the original emmersed growth.

I would either run the CO2 24/7, or stick with running it as you were before. Fluctuations in CO2 levels are not usually helpful, so having it coming on and off multiple times may do more harm than good. I'm no expert on the different algae, but I believe some of them thrive when CO2 levels are unstable. Your room does look quite bright, I would be tempted to run 24/7 for now, it is what I did when I could not get stability when I first set up my aquarium last year. Hopefully one of the more experienced forum members can chip in with more advice.

As for the MC, I have just ordered this myself. The advice I was given by alto on my journal was:

*I MC a lot (it's like the ground cover version of M umbrosum ) - when you plant, just go with the (almost) individual stems set quite deep in the substrate (they'll also be less likely to float), you can also stash some "clumps" amongst the rock line to help control substrate movement (shrimp & cories are good at defeating any efforts of yours to maintain soil-free-sand )
- this way you also get to compare growth *


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## Wisey (29 Mar 2016)

Looking back at your plants list, the Ludwigia and I think the Pogo. Helferi are your two plants that will require more CO2 to thrive, so if you are seeing melt on those plants, that does suggest you may not have adequate CO2 levels.

Now you have added shrimp you need to be careful with your CO2 levels. A lot of people run their CO2 with a yellow DC for a number of weeks to help the plants make the transition from unlimited CO2 to limited CO2, but you don't have that option now.


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## Wisey (29 Mar 2016)

Your DC in post 29 also looks quite dark, you are aiming for something like this:


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## jaHko (10 May 2016)

Hey peeps! I think it's about time for an update. Quite a bit has gone down since my last post. Got my CO2 levels about right - and the plants stopped melting  Luckily the tank cycled just before I left on holiday for 10 days at which point I had 3 Amanos and 6 Neon Tetras. When I came back everything was tip top which is also nice to know that I can leave my tank for that period without a WC. I also had  custom low iron glass covers made to keep the cat out (wife was freaking out that the cat might drown ) Am pretty chuffed with it . . . 

Moving on . . . I added some Rotala Macranda but am still having difficulty getting this and the Ludwiga Glandulosa to be nice and red despite adding iron . . . The Eleocharis sp. - Minima is also super slow going. Montecarlo is starting to carpet nicely (the ones on the right I added last week)

I currently have the following Fauna:

12 Neon Tetras
13 Ember Tetras
11 Celestial Pearl Danios
3 Ottos
4 Amano Shrimp

What is the max I can stock for a tank this size? (I want to keep it at about 50-70% of that) I got the neon tetras simply cause they are 'hardy' but now that I am a bit more comfortable and haven't killed anything I will probably flush em down the toilet  and get something else. As I am new to the hobby I still want to get different types of fish but eventually only want a single or at most two species tank. But let's see how that goes . . .

I also want to add Red Cherry Shrimp but have heard that the bigger Amanos can be a bunch douchebags to smaller shrimps - anyone have experience with this?

For now the tank is purring along nicely with 6hr45min of light that I am slowly ramping it up to 8hrs over the coming weeks. I am dosing Excel every 3 days with a 20% WC every week. Do I need to dose additional ferts or is this enough?

Without further delay . . . here are some pic updates (sorry for the quality - best I can do at the moment - will do a DSLR pics in a few weeks time)


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## Joe Turner (10 May 2016)

Looks great, sterling effort from the start! Plants look lush


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## rebel (11 May 2016)

Great result! Keep up the good work.


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## jaHko (13 May 2016)

Thanks guys! I am having a bit of a weird situation trying to keep my CO2 levels where it should be. I am almost running a steady stream of bubbles, never mind 2-4 bps.... Is this normal? Anyone else running like 10+ bps on a tank this size ?
 I am also running it 24/7 otherwise my pH bounces back above 7

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## jaHko (16 May 2016)

So my first fish pegged in spectacular fashion. One of my Celestial Pearl Danios managed to jump out of the small openings in my tank cover and by the time I found the poor fella, he was dried to a crisp.....

Does anyone else have experience of Danios jumping? To be honest, these guys are a bit too (hyper) active for my liking and I might just swop them out....


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## rebel (16 May 2016)

jaHko said:


> So my first fish pegged in spectacular fashion. One of my Celestial Pearl Danios managed to jump out of the small openings in my tank cover and by the time I found the poor fella, he was dried to a crisp.....
> 
> Does anyone else have experience of Danios jumping? To be honest, these guys are a bit too (hyper) active for my liking and I might just swop them out....
> 
> ...


Many fish can jump for various reasons. I've had nearly all types jump except cardinal tetra who seem to roam the bottom of the tank.


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## Straight Shooter (16 May 2016)

Forget pH. Turn the CO2 off 1 hour before lights off. Just wasting CO2 otherwise.


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## alto (16 May 2016)

jaHko said:


> Original UP New Inline CO2 Atomizer Diffuser System


& this


jaHko said:


> I am having a bit of a weird situation trying to keep my CO2 levels where it should be. I am almost running a steady stream of bubbles, never mind 2-4 bps.... Is this normal? Anyone else running like 10+ bps on a tank this size ?



are linked, many people using the inline diffusers have uncountable (or even steady stream) CO2 bubble rates.

Looking at your photos, you seem to have a good degree of surface agitation - which is fine, just means that CO2 will gas off more efficiently, you might adjust this during photoperiod by either raising/lowering the filter outlet or by adding in an air pump or skimmer to run intermittently through the "dark" period.

Rather than covering tank in evenings, why not adjust photoperiod to run 5pm - 11pm etc?

All fish can/will jump (take flight)
The CPD's will likely do better in a larger shoal (especially given tank size & openness)  - though if you don't much like them, rehome these guys & choose another 

Tank is looking very well 
note that chosen light is not really "high intensity" given the depth of water (tank height) so you may need to wait on redness of your plants until they reach nearer the surface.


I also like to run CO2 24/7 - I just run at a lower rate outside photoperiod ... I keep fish that prefer pH 4-6 (tap runs 6 -  6.5 & now suddenly 7 - 7.5 ... thanks for the notice Waterboard   )


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## jaHko (2 Oct 2016)

So it's been quite a while since my last post. Things were coming along nicely in the tank but I unfortunately had to move to a new place so I semi broke it down ( removed all the rocks and drained it so my mate and I could carry it). Got it set up at the new pad and decided not to add the rocks again as I was planning on a new scape. Fast forward and I was unable to get hold of the rocks I was looking for to do a new mountain scape. So eventually I decided to settle on a tree stump look with mosses, crypts, anubias and java ferns - you get the idea.

Anyway here is how the tank looks at the moment. I will break it down in a week or two after the wood is finished soaking.













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## jaHko (2 Oct 2016)

And this is the current hardscape for the new one - going to make good use of my tall tank!











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## jaHko (2 Oct 2016)

And this is the other one I also liked 




What do you guys think?


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## Joe Turner (2 Oct 2016)

Cracking healthy plants, looks like the move went fine! I like the first wood scape, the angle draws the eye more naturally up to the top right. This'll look ace!


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## jaHko (10 Oct 2016)

What a hectic Saturday! Far more work and effort than I thought it would be. Uprooting plants, catching stock, scooping out gravel, sorting, drying etc. Looked like a bombshell hit my place - wife wasn't too happy about it 

Anyway got it set up, a few set backs in terms of stock loss  but looking good on day two! 

I will probably start a new Journal ( I think rescaping in the same journal is frowned upon here ) but for now here is how it is looking now ( yes there are a few extra plants that will not be in the layout after I get my new tank - it just to keep em going - I paid good money for em and aint gonna loose it! )









What do you guys think? 



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## Alexander Belchenko (10 Oct 2016)

Really cool hardscape and interesting layout overall. It looks unusual, but then I realized you have pretty tall tank! Cool.


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## jaHko (11 Oct 2016)

Thanks for the kind words. Yeah the tall tank is quite a challenge to scape with - might add another piece to back left corner, or add roots/rocks - however there's not a lot of space.

Am going for a old tree stump look - going to keep it for at least a year so lots of time to fine tune!


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## jaHko (16 Nov 2016)

Quick update. Got three different anubias but am not to sure about the bigger variety. Thoughts on plant placement and selection are welcome.

There are two varieties I  keeping in there for my new 60P tank ( don't want to buy it again) 





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## Joe Turner (16 Nov 2016)

Ahh fantastic! This looks amazing! Plant growth is lush, and the wooden structure looks epic!


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## tadabis (16 Nov 2016)

Tank looks very nice!


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## jaHko (19 Nov 2016)

Thanks chaps ! Wanted to upload some high res shots tonight but can't find my camera 

These will have to do for now....
















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## Greenfinger2 (19 Nov 2016)

Hi JaHko, Wonderful Scapes and planting


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## jaHko (4 Dec 2016)

Did some maintenance over the weekend and removed the unwanted plants from my previous tank - gave them to one of the guys at my LFS.

Also removed my nerites as they started laying eggs everywhere and practically impossible to get off my dark featured wood. Will get some Amano's in to replace em.

My plan is to now fill out the tank with more narrow leaf, crypts and hopefully if my lfs can order, a selection of buces ( aren't they just the prettiest of plants?!?)

Currently setting up a 60P and will transfer my neons to that one. I have ordered some German Blue Rams and am considering adding some Electric Blue Rams too - thinking 3 breeding pairs in total. How many can you keep in a tank? Anyone have any experience with breeding them? Tips? 

Here she is after the maintenance....






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## Greenfinger2 (4 Dec 2016)

Hi JaHko. Looking great Planting are doing really well


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## jaHko (10 Dec 2016)

Got my hands on a Buce ( Alamanda V1 Blue) ! Got some other varieties on order too.....







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