# Crystal River Shore



## Nuno M. (11 Feb 2014)

Hi everyone,


We are planning a new layout for the coming days, hope you all can follow…  
The name comes from our previous aquarium with the principal layout objective for this one.
We already have the hardscape in place but still waiting for the aquarium, glassware and substrate that should arrive the coming days

And here goes the Setup

*Tank:*
277L (120x50x50 10mm extra-clear glass by Vidromoldura)

*Cabinet:*
DIY - 122x51x82 (metal structure, coated with MDF)

*Lighting:*
Aquart 4x54w (by Ramirezi)
2x Dennerle Trocal Special Plant 3000k - 2x Dennerle Trocal Amazon Day 6000k

*Filtering:*
2x JBL e1501 greenline (connected with T-junctions to the hoses Total: 2800l/h)

*Heating:*
Hydor ETH External Thermal Heater 300W

*Other Equipment:* 
Co2 Kit by aquaristic.tec 2kg Bottle + 5kg FE 
Do!aqua CO2 Music Glass Ø50, Do!aqua CO2 Music Counter
gUSH oPipe 17mm, gUSH gPipe 17mm
gUSH Co2 Indicator

*Hardscape:* 
20Kg Spirit Stone, ADA Nile Sand discontinued, ADA La Plata Sand, 2x Red Moor Wood Branch

*Substrate:*
We will use the substrate ADA Aquasoil New Amazonia + ADA Power Sand Special from the old setup inside of stoking, with a new layer of ADA Aquasoil Amazonia and Amazonia Powder

*Fertilization:*
DIY - Estimative Index All-in-One Daily

*Fauna:*
10 Otocinclus Macrospilus
30+ Amano Shrimps
60 Paracheirodon Simulans

*Plants:* 
Hydrocotyle Tripartita
Hygrophila Pinnatifida
Hygrophila sp. 'Araguaia'
Ludwigia sp.
Marsileia Crenata
Marsilea Hirsuta
Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'
Riccardia Chamedryfolia
Rotala sp. 'Green'
Rotala Rotundifolia
Staurogyne sp. 'Porto Velho' 
Taxiphyllum sp. 'Spiky'

And has we know that all of you want photos, lot’s of them, here’s a little tease with the hardscape


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## jellyfish6 (11 Feb 2014)

Nuno M. said:


> And here goes the Setup Tank: 277L (120x50x50 10mm extra-clear glass by Vidromoldura) Cabinet: DIY - 122x51x82 (metal structure, coated with MDF) Lighting: Aquart 4x54w (by Ramirezi) 2x Dennerle Trocal Special Plant 3000k - 2x Dennerle Trocal Amazon Day 6000k Filtering: 2x JBL e1501 greenline (connected with T-junctions to the hoses Total: 2800l/h) Heating: Hydor ETH External Thermal Heater 300W Other Equipment: Co2 Kit by aquaristic.tec 2kg Bottle + 5kg FE Do!aqua CO2 Music Glass Ø50, Do!aqua CO2 Music Counter gUSH oPipe 17mm, gUSH gPipe 17mm gUSH Co2 Indicator Hardscape: 20Kg Spirit Stone, ADA Nile Sand discontinued, ADA La Plata Sand, 2x Red Moor Wood Branch Substrate: We will use the substrate ADA Aquasoil New Amazonia + ADA Power Sand Special from the old setup inside of stoking, with a new layer of ADA Aquasoil Amazonia and Amazonia Powder Fertilization: DIY - Estimative Index All-in-One Daily Fauna: 5 Pterophyllum Scalare sp. ''Rio Nanay'' 8 Otocinclus Macrospilus 6 Corydoras Sterbai 20+ Amano Shrimps Still planning a good shoal Plants: Still planning


 

.....and 1 Mr. Airfix


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## darren636 (11 Feb 2014)

Albino!


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## Nuno M. (12 Feb 2014)

I think that the Albino Mr. Airfix will be put aside for other proposes ...

It was just for fun, It gives a very architectural look to the stones


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## Ady34 (12 Feb 2014)

Looking and sounding good Nuno


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## James O (12 Feb 2014)

Nuno M. said:


> I think that the Albino Mr. Airfix will be put aside for other proposes ...
> 
> It was just for fun, It gives a very architectural look to the stones



Besides, a neon tetra will scare the living day lights out of him


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## Nuno M. (12 Feb 2014)

You can bet on that James


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## Nuno M. (26 Feb 2014)

Hi everyone,

The hardscape is in place along with the substrate and decorative sand hope you like it 

We also planted it along the past night , but still waiting for the water to clear to take a proper photo

Here's the final hardscape


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## TOO (26 Feb 2014)

Impressive! At the moment the rocks look a little too even, but I am sure that will be softened with the plants. I have tried hard to come up with something more substantial, but I can't. Good work. I can't help seeing an Airfix family around a campfire on the beach...sorry.


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## Curvball (26 Feb 2014)

Tagging along for the ride


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## Deano3 (26 Feb 2014)

great rocks looking forward to following this love the layout keep us updated

Dean


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## LondonDragon (26 Feb 2014)

Nicely done Nuno, impressive hardscape, looking forward to the plants


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## Nuno M. (26 Feb 2014)

Thank you for all your comments and likes...



LondonDragon said:


> Nicely done Nuno, impressive hardscape, looking forward to the plants



Hi there Paulo

It's already planted and we do like the look's of it 

Leave you the plants list used for this scape

Hydrocotyle Tripartita
Hygrophila Pinnatifida
Hygrophila sp. 'Araguaia'
Ludwigia sp.
Marsilea Hirsuta
Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'
Rotala sp. 'Green'
Rotala Rotundifolia
Riccardia Chamedryfolia
Staurogyne sp. 'Porto Velho' (still waiting on this one)
Taxiphyllum sp. 'Spiky'

Maybe later we'll upload some more photos ...


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## Nuno M. (26 Feb 2014)

As promised some fresh pictures just taken moments ago ...

The water is still a bit cloudy ...

Hope you like it


Day 1 por clairerm, no Flickr


Detail por clairerm, no Flickr


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## Ady34 (26 Feb 2014)

Looking absolutely stunning Nuno, really strong hardscape, lovely rocks and wood and a nice plant list too, really good stuff 
I see you listed an inline heater in your specs, that will make things perfect 
Will be following for sure 
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Nuno M. (27 Feb 2014)

Ady34 said:


> Looking absolutely stunning Nuno, really strong hardscape, lovely rocks and wood and a nice plant list too, really good stuff
> I see you listed an inline heater in your specs, that will make things perfect
> Will be following for sure
> Cheerio,
> Ady.



Hi again Ady,

Thank you for your words ...

I already have the external heater, but it's on my other JBL e1501 that is connected to a large plastic case were my live stock are waiting until water parameters are OK ...

I've put this one in there because I think plant's could maybe struggle at a temperature of 14-15Cº 
And most important is the bacteria colonization rate that reproduces quicker this way


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## Deano3 (27 Feb 2014)

excellent nuno as said great hardscape and the wood is great looking forward to watching this one flourish


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## Nuno M. (28 Feb 2014)

Leave you a couple of photos from today 

Hope you enjoy


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## Nuno M. (3 Mar 2014)

Some fresh pics from today

Plants are reacting real good to 40PAR at substrate level seeing very good growth rate

Hope you all like it 


GERAL - day 6 por clairerm, no Flickr


Detail - Do!aqua CO2 Music Counter por clairerm, no Flickr


DETAIL por clairerm, no Flickr


DETAIL por clairerm, no Flickr


Detail - Marsilea Hirsuta por clairerm, no Flickr


Detail - Hygrophila sp. 'Araguaia' por clairerm, no Flickr


Detail - Taxiphyllum sp. 'Spiky' por clairerm, no Flickr


Detail - Marsilea Hirsuta por clairerm, no Flickr


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## tim (3 Mar 2014)

Really nice nuno.


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## Four50 (4 Mar 2014)

Great pictures and a cracking tank, well done


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## Deano3 (4 Mar 2014)

Very nice, love that bubble counter 


Thanks Dean


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## Nuno M. (6 Mar 2014)

Tank you guys ...

It's good to have some feedback 

More updates soon.


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## Barryg (7 Mar 2014)

really well done mate , look extremely promising and best of luck with it 
cheers


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## Nuno M. (8 Mar 2014)

Hi everyone ,

I've got hold of a PAR reader and this are the readings that I performed before setting up the tank

Our light fixture is a Aquart 4x54w T5 HO with VOSSLOH-SCHWABE electronic ballasts,
single reflector, assembled by Rui Alves in Aquaeden my LFS.

The lamps are:
2x Dennerle Trocal Amazon Day 54w T5 HO 6000k
2x Dennerle Trocal Special Plant 54w T5 HO 3000k

I've taken the readings according all i read here and at The Planted Tank articles by Hoppy

The measures are the result of the distance from the sensor to the lamps, taken just under the middle of light fixture and right at the center of my tank .

There was a difference of around 5 to 10 PAR going all around to the corners, front and back of the tank.

When the measures were taken with only 2 lamps I used the ones from the sides as in this way I had higher PAR values than with the ones in the center because of my reflector is the same for all the lamps

PAR___4x54w__2x54w
35____________82cm
40____105cm___80cm
45____________77cm_____Readings with no water in the tank
50____92cm____73cm
55____________68cm
60 ____83cm___65cm


35____________98cm
40____115cm___91cm
45____________87cm_____Readings with water in the tank
50____102,5cm__83cm
55_____________79cm
60_____93,5cm__76cm​ 
According to Hoppy statements:
Low light - 15-30 micromols of PAR - CO2 is not needed, but is helpful to the plants
Medium light - 35-50 micromols of PAR - CO2 may be needed to avoid too many nuisance algae problems
High light - more than 50 micromols of PAR - pressurized CO2 is essential to avoid major algae problems

And Plantbrain ''Tom Barr'' stated:
20-25 are the lower limits for many species.
40-50 is optimal for most

With this I've started with a 6h light time with only 2 lamps at a time and with the lamps at 91cm from the sediment giving me 40 PAR ...

I'm planing on raising this to 8h after 21 days and to 10h after 41 days ... according to Tropica's App

I would like to have some opinions from you all, based on my values, is this a good way to go ?

Today is the eleventh day of this layout and so far so good, good growth rate and no signs of algae anywhere ...


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## Ady34 (8 Mar 2014)

Your plants will guide the way....
What I would say is keep lighting on the lower side to start. Max the c02 while there is no livestock, your plants will then have the best conditions to adapt to underwater life quickly and have the strength and structure to adapt more readily to future changes in lighting and co2.
All sounds well so far, just keep watching and adjust if necessary.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Nuno M. (8 Mar 2014)

Ady34 said:


> Your plants will guide the way....
> What I would say is keep lighting on the lower side to start. Max the c02 while there is no livestock, your plants will then have the best conditions to adapt to underwater life quickly and have the strength and structure to adapt more readily to future changes in lighting and co2.
> All sounds well so far, just keep watching and adjust if necessary.
> Cheerio,
> Ady.




Hi there Ady,

Thank you for your advice, I'll go really slow, as for livestock I have already put some as they wore  in plastic cases ...
The filters were already cycled and I've put the cleaning team to it's task, some amano shrimps, ottos, and sae ...

The pterophyllum scalare will wait a little more till the carpet is closed ... 

As I said good growth rate so far I think that with 40PAR at the sediment things are more under control, just wanted to have some feedback on this ...

I'll post some pics from today in just a few minutes


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## Nuno M. (9 Mar 2014)

Eleventh Day 


GERAL Day 11 


Caridinas Multidentadas (Amano Shrimp)


Crossocheilus Siamensis


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## Martin in Holland (9 Mar 2014)

wicked rocks...


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## aliclarke86 (9 Mar 2014)

I agree the growth is fantastic. The hydrocotle creeping down the centre most rock looks great 

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## Nuno M. (19 Mar 2014)

Day 21

Nothing new to report, good growth no algae signs ...

And the lights are now On for 8h a day


GERAL Day 21


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## Nuno M. (29 Mar 2014)

Hi everyone,

30 days after start-up and everything looking good

60 paracheirodon simulans entered this week and are schooling real nice 



Best watched in fullscreen and 1080p


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## Nuno M. (3 Apr 2014)

Day 36

10H of light time and so far so good 


GERAL - Day 36


Detail


Detail - Amano Shrimp


Detail - Otocinclus Macrospilus


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## Nuno M. (11 Apr 2014)

Hi everyone,

Came for an update on tank status 

So everything looking real good we've made changes on the light, now with 2x54w at the the start and at the end of light period and 8h full power in between with 4x54w Total 10h... 

We've also both a TwinStar Nano working since the start of the week when we programmed the light output . .. 

The stones have been maturing with a lot of GSA, result of light period of 10h only with 2x54w T5 HO, we will see if the TwinStar makes any kind of effect on them, 
also with the extra light let's see what will be happen from here on .... 

So here's a couple of pictures from the 44 day 




 



 



 



 



 



 



 

And this is all for today ...

Hope you like it


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## Mr. Teapot (11 Apr 2014)

Nuno M. said:


> Hope you like it


I absolutely do!!!

Real bobby dazzler of a tank! Reminds me a bit of Norbert Sabat's Tree. Really love it.


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## Pedro Rosa (11 Apr 2014)

Nuno, really good.
Great shots.
Stones are looking good, more mature.
Is Twistart really needed at this stage?

Pedro.


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## Nuno M. (11 Apr 2014)

Mr. Teapot said:


> I absolutely do!!!
> 
> Real bobby dazzler of a tank! Reminds me a bit of Norbert Sabat's Tree. Really love it.



Thank you for your words Mr. Teapot 




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## Nuno M. (11 Apr 2014)

Pedro Rosa said:


> Nuno, really good.
> Great shots.
> Stones are looking good, more mature.
> Is Twistart really needed at this stage?
> ...



Hi Pedro,

As you can see things are going real good ...  

Regarding the stones we prefer them a little cleaner/GSA free ...  

About the twinstar we will see what kind of benefit it will bring , not really expecting a miracle, the only algae present till today is GSA on the rocks and glass ... No signs of any other ... 

You can read on my last post that the GSA started to appear when we passed the light period to 10h a day only with 2x54w lamps...  

And now with the twinstar we are giving 8h on the middle of the light period with 4x54w, this kind of change often results on thread algae, so we will see in the coming weeks if the twinstar is up to it's task  

I've been reading and following Viktor  Lantos experience with it, he says it has broth some benefical effect even in matured tanks ... I had the chance to get hold of it ... And now we can see for our self's ...  

We will be reporting our experience with it, and if you are curious about it just keep following our thread  










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## aliclarke86 (11 Apr 2014)

I really like a small amount of gsa on rocks especially a more yellow colour rock, i think it adds character. 

This looks fab Nuno congratulations



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## Nuno M. (11 Apr 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> I really like a small amount of gsa on rocks especially a more yellow colour rock, i think it adds character.
> 
> This looks fab Nuno congratulations
> 
> ...



Hi aliclarke86,

Thank you for your input, 

We also like the looks of the matured hardscape but it's becoming to much green and the contrast between the rocks and sand is loosing some of it's initial beauty ... 

For now we won't do nothing about it to see if the TwinStar has any kind of effect on them


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## tmiravent (12 Apr 2014)

Nuno, a TwinStar?
I have to see that!
cheers


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## Nuno M. (12 Apr 2014)

tmiravent said:


> Nuno, a TwinStar?
> I have to see that!
> cheers



Hi Tiago,

Just pass by whenever you want ,

I'm at home right now if you want to see it


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## tmiravent (12 Apr 2014)

Hi, you still have the lights on?
My thanks go to bed at 21h00!


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## Nuno M. (12 Apr 2014)

Here goes off at 00h00 

So if you want still 1h to go


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## aliclarke86 (12 Apr 2014)

I still have lights on, its great in the evening 

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## Nuno M. (12 Apr 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> I still have lights on, its great in the evening
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk



Sure is


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## Omegatron (13 Apr 2014)

Beautiful scape and pictures! Keep em comming. Your scape looks familiar i have seen it before but can't remember where. 


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## tmiravent (13 Apr 2014)

Very nice pictures but to watch the tank alive is even better! 
Thank's Nuno and Claire for sharing the knowledge and the wonderful time! 
My impression of the tank (story and all the setup): 
cheers
tiago


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## Nuno M. (18 Apr 2014)

52 Days from Start-Up Update 

Everything looking good, but we think there's too much light for the rotala sp. ''green'' it stop growing up and is now curling to the sides, maybe next week we will slow thing's a bit (turn off 2 lights) to see if it grows taller 

Hope you all enjoy this week photos .


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## Vinkenoog1977 (18 Apr 2014)

Absolutely gorgeous!!!


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## Nuno M. (27 Apr 2014)

Two months have passed quite quick ...

Here's a fresh pic from today 


Geral - Day 61


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## aliclarke86 (27 Apr 2014)

H tripartita has gone wild! Love the lighting in this shot Nuno 

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## Nuno M. (27 Apr 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> H tripartita has gone wild! Love the lighting in this shot Nuno
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk



Hi aliclarke,

It's getting to were we want it to be, we've made a major trim this week on the rotalas, now let's see if they will stand to our expectation 

We hope that the sp ''green'' will fill in with a good bushy look dropping over to the sides and over the tripardida, and the rotundifolia gives us some nice pink/red tops on the back ...

Has for the light I'm starting to use Adobe LightRoom to process the ''.Raw'' files , This was a my first try on that , and I'm quite pleased with the final result .

Glad you like it too


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## Ady34 (27 Apr 2014)

Looks stunning Nuno 
Hope you get the bushy stems and splash of colour as they will offer the perfect backdrop....although it still has great balance as it is now  
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Nuno M. (27 Apr 2014)

Ady34 said:


> Looks stunning Nuno
> Hope you get the bushy stems and splash of colour as they will offer the perfect backdrop....although it still has great balance as it is now
> Cheerio,
> Ady.



Thank you Ady,

Let's see what happens on the coming 2-3 weeks, I'll keep you all updated on a weekly basis


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## Nuno M. (28 Apr 2014)

And here is a little play with a backlight 


Geral - Day 61 (Sunset)


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## Hamza (28 Apr 2014)

Love your rock arrangement here,  but I feel that wood looks a lil feeble for the entire composition.


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## tim (28 Apr 2014)

Nice sunset shot nuno, this will look superb once the stems at the back fill in, beautiful scape.


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## Nuno M. (29 Apr 2014)

Hamza said:


> Love your rock arrangement here,  but I feel that wood looks a lil feeble for the entire composition.



Hi Hamza,

Still have a lot to learn, but I'm really pleased with the result so far 



tim said:


> Nice sunset shot nuno, this will look superb once the stems at the back fill in, beautiful scape.



Thank you Tim, 

The stems are coming real strong on the back now, I'll try to update more to the end of the week ...

I hope that they gain a good color


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## Hamza (29 Apr 2014)

Nuno M. said:


> Hi Hamza,
> 
> Still have a lot to learn, but I'm really pleased with the result so far



You should be proud my friend, it a fabulous creation.

Now with stems rising behind the wood, it should be pretty perfect.


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## Deano3 (30 Apr 2014)

Stunning tank really admire this amazing scape something to aim towards


Thanks Dean


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## Nuno M. (8 May 2014)

Hamza said:


> You should be proud my friend, it a fabulous creation.
> 
> Now with stems rising behind the wood, it should be pretty perfect.



Thank you Hamza ,

On this week update you can see the stems coming real thick on the back  



Deano3 said:


> Stunning tank really admire this amazing scape something to aim towards
> 
> 
> Thanks Dean



Thank you for your words Dean,

We are really glad you all have the time to keep on following our project 

And here it goes 72 days from start-up

Plants are super healthy, but no pink/red color on the Rotundifolia, I'm thinking on changing the the Traces from TNC Trace (EDTA) to KramerDrak (EDTA, HEEDTA, DTPA, NTA)

KramerDrak: http://www.drak.de/en/freshwater/fertilizer/kramerdrak.html

20,980 mg/l potassium, 3,440 mg/l magnesium, 1,875 mg/l iron, 715 mg/l manganese, 92 mg/l copper, 80 mg/l zinc, 70 mg/l boron, 43 mg/l molybdenum, 25 mg/l cobalt, 6.6 mg/l lithium, 6.5 mg/l vanadium, 6.3 mg/l aluminium, 6.3 mg/l nickel, 6 mg/l selenium, 5.3 mg/l tin, EDTA, HEEDTA, DTPA, NTA, ascorbic acid, methyl paraben, benzoic acid

Anyone has expereinced with it ??

Here goes this week photos with two new additions a colony of CRS and other of RCS Sakura


Detail - CRS


Detail - RCS Sakura


Geral - Day 72


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## James D (8 May 2014)

Wow, that looks spectacular Nuno.


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## Nuno M. (9 May 2014)

Thank you James


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## tmiravent (9 May 2014)

Hi Nuno and Claire,
just one word: fantastic! 
Your plant's are super, why did you changed your fertilization?
My R. Rotundifolia always turn green when i change something in the tank, but shortly become pink (the top new leaves) again.
Cheers,
tiago


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## Nuno M. (10 May 2014)

tmiravent said:


> Hi Nuno and Claire,
> just one word: fantastic!
> Your plant's are super, why did you changed your fertilization?
> My R. Rotundifolia always turn green when i change something in the tank, but shortly become pink (the top new leaves) again.
> ...



Hi Tiago,

Good hearing from you how's everything there ??

Thank you for your words, It's getting there day by day ...

As for ferts I haven't changed yet, I will make an order the coming week or so if you want some ''Bucephalandras'' give me a call maybe we can share posting costs, I've been reading a lot and always searching ways to develop my ferts regime further ...

Once you have light and Co2 figured out , it's time to play with the ferts 

As you know I try to do my ferts mixing according to EI levels, but I also like to give for example Nitrogen from different sources , and supplementing my regime with Ca and Mg and so one ...

So this led me thinking and reading a lot more about Fe and Traces, I've subscribed for Barr's Report member area, and ''There's a whole new world out there'' 

So I think that different plant species might use more successfully different types of Fe and Traces and just maybe that Iron chelators have a role here to ...

The one that I'm using for the last years is EDTA Fe 13% - TNC Trace (Fe 8.4% (EDTA), Mn 1.82% (EDTA), Zn 1.16% (EDTA), B 1.05%, Cu 0.23% (EDTA), Mo 0.15%)

The new Trace/Iron Mix that I want to try has:
potassium,  magnesium,  iron,  manganese,  copper,  zinc,  boron,  molybdenum,  cobalt,  lithium,  vanadium,  aluminium,  nickel,  selenium,  tin, and Iron from different  chelators EDTA, HEEDTA, DTPA, NTA,

As you can see it's very complete in terms of trace elements, and has 4 different Iron chelators/sources ...

I'll keep the Fe levels the same but it will be highly supplemented with other sources and specially other traces that were out of the equation  aiming for 0.2ppm Fe daily as until now .

I hope that the red's will pop out this way ... If not it will be just other experience, and will have that for the record ...

I was hopping for some debate/opinions about this here on UKAPS


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## tim (10 May 2014)

That's growing in really nicely nuno, fantastic scape.


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## Nuno M. (10 May 2014)

tim said:


> That's growing in really nicely nuno, fantastic scape.



Thank you Tim


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## aliclarke86 (10 May 2014)

This has really started to come into its own guys, how long do you think you will maintain it? 

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## Nuno M. (10 May 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> This has really started to come into its own guys, how long do you think you will maintain it?
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk



Hi aliclarke,

It's getting there alright, no real plans on re-scaping this one soon, maybe we will maintain it for 1-2 years or so


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## aliclarke86 (10 May 2014)

That's what I wanted to hear  good stuff

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## Nuno M. (14 May 2014)

Here it goes 78 days from start-up  


Detail - Caridina Multidentada


Detail - Rotala sp. ''Green''


Detail - Water Top


Geral Day - 78


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## Alje (14 May 2014)

That's a beautiful full tank shot, very dark and moody. I likey


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## Maple (14 May 2014)

Love it! really inspiring tank  Couldn't even conceptualise it in my mind let alone grow such a beautiful tank...


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## Nuno M. (27 May 2014)

Alje said:


> That's a beautiful full tank shot, very dark and moody. I likey



Thank you Alje, 

The photo lacks a bit of exposure as part of the lamps were off, but I liked the result and had to share it with you guys...



Maple said:


> Love it! really inspiring tank  Couldn't even conceptualise it in my mind let alone grow such a beautiful tank...



Hi Maple,

When I look at the first photos I've took on the start-up, It's incredible how it grown, everything is really healthy, and up to our expectations.

Thank you for your support and kind words 

And three months have passed, 

The last trim was made a bit late, and we are now seeing if the back plants grow until the end of the week to send a good photo for the IAPLC 2014 

So here it is with 91 days 


Geral Day - 91


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## Pedro Rosa (27 May 2014)

Nuno, very, very good 
Montecarlo seems to be great.
It's really wonderful how plants grow healphy when all is good and the aquarist is able to keep a good maintenance schedule.

Only One thing: maybe some more trim on the Hydrocotyle, don't you think?


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## Nuno M. (27 May 2014)

Pedro Rosa said:


> Nuno, very, very good
> Montecarlo seems to be great.
> It's really wonderful how plants grow healphy when all is good and the aquarist is able to keep a good maintenance schedule.
> 
> Only One thing: maybe some more trim on the Hydrocotyle, don't you think?



Hi there Pedro,

Thank you for your words ...

This layout is really giving us great joy to take care of 

The MC is an awesome plant, really easy to grow and looks stunning ...

Has for the Hydrocotyle it will have a final trim before the photo session ... The same with the mosses ...

Feel free to pass by and come see it, maybe you can give us a help on the shoot out


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## Lee Sweeting (27 May 2014)

Hi Nuno! The tank is looking great, very healthy. Did you get this idea from norbert sabat? It's looks very much like one of his scapes. Looking forward to updates.  


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## Nuno M. (27 May 2014)

Hi Lee,

Knowing means remember. 
And, therefore, all life is a process of reconstruction. 
Siza Vieira (Portuguese Architect) likes to say, "in architecture, no one invents anything it's just other way to say the same." 

Norbert Sabat's - The Tree is one of my favorite layout's, just to hear someone say that ours has some resembles it's a great compliment 

Still a long way to go, to have the sense of scale and harmony that Norbert and other top notch scapers have when mounting new layouts.
But step by step we hope to evolve and learn as much as we can ...

For now I think we've menage to do a good looking tank and the plants are super healthy, so we are on the right path, I think


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## Lee Sweeting (27 May 2014)

I wasn't criticising Nuno, the tree is one of my favourite scapes too. I think you have done a great job with your version. The plants are looking very healthy and the scape is looking clean and crisp. I very much like it 





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Nuno M. (27 May 2014)

Lee Sweeting said:


> I wasn't criticising Nuno, the tree is one of my favourite scapes too. I think you have done a great job with your version. The plants are looking very healthy and the scape is looking clean and crisp. I very much like it



I didn't took it as a critic, but the total opposite  

Thanks for following


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## Nuno M. (8 Jun 2014)

Here it goes 101 days 


Geral Day 101


Detail - Staurogyne Porto Velho


Detail - H. Pinatifida


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## Vinkenoog1977 (8 Jun 2014)

Simply spectacular!!!


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## Nuno M. (5 Jul 2014)

Hi everyone,

Since the start of past month the fert regime has been:

12ml Aquarebell Makro Spezial N
24ml Aquarebell Makro Basic Phosphat
21ml KramerDrak

Giving me a daily input of

NO3 - 3,01ppm in which 0,62 ppm comes from Urea
PO4 - 0,6ppm
K - 3,04ppm
Fe - 0,2ppm
Ca - 0,3ppm
Mg - 0,46ppm
Urea - 0,3ppm

Growth as been fantastic planths health really good, and finally the colors are popping out 

So now with 130 days from start-up, and 30 days of new ferts it's needing of a major trimming job

Geral Day 130


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## Vinkenoog1977 (5 Jul 2014)

Stunning!


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## Lee Sweeting (5 Jul 2014)

Beautiful!


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## Pedro Rosa (5 Jul 2014)

I can only tell everyone that this is even more impressive when seen in person 
Nuno, did you find any differences between the Micros you used and KramerDrak?


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## Nuno M. (5 Jul 2014)

Vinkenoog1977 said:


> Stunning!





Lee Sweeting said:


> Beautiful!



Thank you both for taking the time to follow 



Pedro Rosa said:


> I can only tell everyone that this is even more impressive when seen in person
> Nuno, did you find any differences between the Micros you used and KramerDrak?



Hi Pedro,

Not Iron again  Just Kidding 

I've been having a pleasant surprise since I've changed my ferts regime.

Well I can say that growth rate has increased greatly , the stems and ''monte carlo'' are healthier tan ever and besides using a good dosage of N, finally my rotalas rotundifolias have that pinkish tone that I was running after, with no ferts limitation.
I can definetly see more pearling .

My choice of using KramerDrak is to have a good blend of Iron as well as a good blend of Trace Elements with several chelators.

Here it is KramerDrak composition:

20,980 mg/l potassium, 3,440 mg/l magnesium, 1,875 mg/l iron, 715 mg/l manganese, 92 mg/l copper, 80 mg/l zinc, 70 mg/l boron, 43 mg/l molybdenum, 25 mg/l cobalt, 6.6 mg/l lithium, 6.5 mg/l vanadium, 6.3 mg/l aluminium, 6.3 mg/l nickel, 6 mg/l selenium, 5.3 mg/l tin, EDTA, HEEDTA, DTPA, NTA, ascorbic acid, methyl paraben, benzoic acid

If you compare it to TNC Trace or APFUK Chelated Traces you can see that this is a richer solution, but it's not as cheap as this last two, despite being sold in dry salt form as well.

Other reason for this choice was because I'm now using Spezial N recipe from Tobi, and being Urea one of the N sources, to make it readily available for plant uptake, plants need to produce an enzyme called urease. and they can only produce urease if nickel is present.

So overall I'm very pleased with the results, and not planning on changing soon, but as you can see iron wasn't the only change so the N source used may bee playing it's roll also  

So the two together seems to me like a good bet, that I'm already seeing great results

Thank you for taking the time to follow my Journal here and in our Portuguese forums


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## tim (5 Jul 2014)

This is maturing fantasticly well nuno, much admiration for this scape so much so I have a little 12 ltr imitation scape on the go  one of my favourites on the forum at the moment, top work


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## tmiravent (5 Jul 2014)

What a team!
Every detail is treated carefully, very nice to watch this tank.
Nuno is really getting a pro, nice to have him near to learn!  (the iron discussion is beyond my understanding....) 
My impression or the is much more simulans than last time?
cheers
tiago


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## Nuno M. (5 Jul 2014)

tim said:


> This is maturing fantasticly well nuno, much admiration for this scape so much so I have a little 12 ltr imitation scape on the go  one of my favourites on the forum at the moment, top work


 
Thank you tim, 

It's an honor ta have someone making a tank with mine as reference. 



tmiravent said:


> What a team!
> Every detail is treated carefully, very nice to watch this tank.
> Nuno is really getting a pro, nice to have him near to learn!  (the iron discussion is beyond my understanding....)
> My impression or the is much more simulans than last time?
> ...



Hi there Tiago,

You are also a reference to me, love your works, and our conversations are always very enriching.

As for the P. Simulans you are right, I've went to aquaeeden and didn't resist to bring 20 more 

I hope the coming week my 50 Axelrodia Riesei school arrives from Aquarium Glaser


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## Edvet (5 Jul 2014)

Nuno M. said:


> 50 Axelrodia Riesei school arrives from Aquarium Glaser


 You can order there? Or are you close?


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## Nuno M. (5 Jul 2014)

Edvet said:


> You can order there? Or are you close?



Hi Edvet,

I'm really far away, but I had the luck of knowing the legal importer of aquarium glaser to Portugal, so i asked him to place the order and they turned up as available past week .




Enviado do meu iPhone usando o Tapatalk


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## Edvet (5 Jul 2014)

jaelous! The import realy nice stuff


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## Iain Sutherland (5 Jul 2014)

beautiful tank nuno, its clear that you must put the hours in for it. Much respect!

being relatively naive with ferts in that i havent really experimented or tried different formulations, could you not just have upped the dosage of say the TMC dry ferts and have the same results or was there a reason why you wanted more iron while keeping other trace elements at lower levels?
I also thought urea was bad for aquariums so will have to educate myself in this aspect.

Think it would look stunning back lit with orange light


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## T.Tamas (6 Jul 2014)

Lavish! Very well done artwork! 
  Although I feel a bit strange in the midst of the stones falling sp.Japan mass.


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## aliclarke86 (6 Jul 2014)

Looking better and better. 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


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## Nuno M. (7 Jul 2014)

Iain Sutherland said:


> beautiful tank nuno, its clear that you must put the hours in for it. Much respect!
> 
> being relatively naive with ferts in that i havent really experimented or tried different formulations, could you not just have upped the dosage of say the TMC dry ferts and have the same results or was there a reason why you wanted more iron while keeping other trace elements at lower levels?
> I also thought urea was bad for aquariums so will have to educate myself in this aspect.
> ...



Hi Iain the respect is mutual, loved your Asian Dreams, looking forward for your next one 

Has for ferts well I'm no chemist, but KramerDrak is a more complete Iron and Traces mix, the main objective was to give Iron from several sources as long with a good range of traces, as I said to Pedro before nickel was one of them for the reasons I described.

When I was using TNC Trace, I was already giving the plants 0,2ppm Fe daily, this is the same concentration that I'm using now with KramerDrak ... So I've not upped the doses and well everything is growing much quicker healthier, my rotala rotundifolia never showed It's pinkish tone, more a yellowing when closer to the light source, now It's with the colors I was chasing giving the tank that final splash of color ...

As for the urea, we have a good topic of this here at UKAPS http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/for-dan-spezial-n-nitrogen-fertilizer.14594/ , well a lot of controversial opinions, but isn't urea the main source of N on Tropica Fertilizers ?? Does not ADA use NH4 as the source of N ??

Well this got me thinking ... And I give it a try ...

I'm happy with the result so far, and if someone ask's me I say go for it ...


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## Nuno M. (7 Jul 2014)

T.Tamas said:


> Lavish! Very well done artwork!
> Although I feel a bit strange in the midst of the stones falling sp.Japan mass.





aliclarke86 said:


> Looking better and better.
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk



Thank you both for your words, and having the time to follow


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## Pedro Rosa (7 Jul 2014)

Nuno M. said:


> Does not ADA use NH4 as the source of N ??



Yes, but in substrate with a very small release to the water after 2 or 3 weeks (and that's one of the reason for the large water changes on the first weeks of the ADA "System").

But regarding your product change, and not wanting to restart any talk on iron , have seen ADA ECA? I don't even know the composition (anyone knows?) and i'm only asking to get your possible knowledge on that product, if you looked to it.

Pedro.


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## Nuno M. (7 Jul 2014)

Pedro Rosa said:


> Yes, but in substrate with a very small release to the water after 2 or 3 weeks (and that's one of the reason for the large water changes on the first weeks of the ADA "System").
> 
> But regarding your product change, and not wanting to restart any talk on iron , have seen ADA ECA? I don't even know the composition (anyone knows?) and i'm only asking to get your possible knowledge on that product, if you looked to it.
> 
> Pedro.



Sorry Pedro, but you are wrong ADA uses NH4 on their liquid fertilizer line  in Green Brighty Lights & Shade

To reach your target of 0.6 ppm PO4 you will need to add 7 mL ADA Green Brighty lights to your 50.0 L aquarium to yield
Elementppm/degree
K0.37
N0.26
NH40.13
NO30.67
P0.20
PO40.60

To reach your target of 3.2 ppm NO3 you will need to add 36 mL ADA Green Brighty shade to your 50.0 L aquarium to yield
Elementppm/degree
K2.26
N0.79
NH40.08
NO33.20
P0.57
PO41.75


As for ECA, I haven't read about it, but I think this is some king of high concentration of Iron gloconate, I also have some curiosity in the green gain which is rich in traces and has on it's formula cytokinin hormones.

But no one has made some tests on these and most certainly ADA won't tell us either


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## Nuno M. (13 Aug 2014)

Hi there fellas   

A quick update 

First some pics of the fish   


Apistograma Eremnopyge sp. Fresa


Paracheirodon Simulans 


Petruichthys sp. Rosy 

and a panorama shot  ;: wink: 


Geral Day 168


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## Ady34 (13 Aug 2014)

Looking great Nuno....even with the dirty rocks


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## Nuno M. (13 Aug 2014)

Ady34 said:


> Looking great Nuno....even with the dirty rocks



Thank you Ady,

With this much light it´s hard to keep them clean, but I've already get used to it, so it's a no bugger for me 

I give them brush from time to time


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## REDSTEVEO (13 Aug 2014)

Deano3 said:


> great rocks looking forward to following this love the layout keep us updated
> 
> Dean


Wow I love those rocks...Spirit Stone you say it is...may I ask where you got it from and how much it cost you..pm me if you don't want to say openly...

Many thanks,

Steve


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## Luís Cardoso (13 Aug 2014)

Amazing...


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## Nuno M. (14 Aug 2014)

REDSTEVEO said:


> Wow I love those rocks...Spirit Stone you say it is...may I ask where you got it from and how much it cost you..pm me if you don't want to say openly...
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Steve



Hi Steve those rock's were bought at my LFS named Aquaeden I don't recall the price but I think it was about 5-6€ the Kg



Luís Cardoso said:


> Amazing...



Thank you Luis


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## Nuno M. (18 Sep 2014)

Hi everyone,

This past weekend was photo-shooting day for AGA 2014, I've gathered with two of my hobby friends to do so.

Here are some photos of the shootout from Brancaman (António Nunes) and a short video from tmiravent (Tiago Miravent), a special thanks for the help and good time we spent.

With no more delay here are the possible photos and vids hope you all like it


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## Nuno M. (8 Nov 2014)

Hi everyone, 

AGA2014 results are out, we didn't get no placement with this layout but it was indeed very pleasant to take care off.

We are now thinking on a new one, don't really sure how long we will maintain it further.

So here is the final photo we sent to the contest, hope you all like the result.


CrystalRiver Shore AGA2014


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## tmiravent (8 Nov 2014)

love this image!


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## sanj (9 Nov 2014)

Nuno, very nice, you are a talented choppy.


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## GreenNeedle (9 Nov 2014)

Very very nice and oh my lord that wine rack.  Gimme gimme


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## Mark-jan (10 Nov 2014)

Amazing work! If you dont mind i have put this 1 as my desktop background! Love it!


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