# Return of the nry :) 'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pics!



## nry (22 Feb 2010)

We're changing the living room carpet in ~1 month so the tank has to come out.  I've ran it for a good while now, and it hasn't done bad.  I'm just about happy with it now though I've been battling spirogyra for months now - it never gets bad, but even stripping all I can see each week results in the same amount being back a week later.

I've also had green water for ~2 weeks now!  I think I over-cleaned my filter the week before it started which likely caused an ammonia spike.  Water change and 3-day blackout in progress as I type so fingers crossed.

I don't want to keep any of the plants/hardscape from the tank, partly to try and eradicate the spirogyra, partly because I want a radical change from the mixed wood/rock scapes I've stuck to.

Still putting the ideas together, but for those that want a reminder of my setup:

Jewel 60x30x30cm/15 UK gallon aquarium
2x15w T8 tubes
FE CO2 injected into cheapy eBay Â£5 inline diffuser which works great
TetraTec EX600 with glass lily pipes
Inline heater
EI fertilisation scheme

Rasbora maculatus
Pygmy cory
Mixed shrimp which I may 'swap' for some nicer ones, maybe bumble-bee shrimp or ones that will not breed in fresh water, I have far too many of the things now, it's silly 
Will possibly add 3-4 oto's if the LFS have any in once the tank settles a bit.

I'll take a picture if the green water clears before the tank get stripped 

I'm kind of after ideas/inspiration really.  I've not been around much for a while, kids, work, course study etc. but the tank is still going strong.  I've really liked the crypts in the tank, not into carpets or high-maintenance stuff anymore so no carpets, stem plants really.  The p.helferi always does well and looks nice, and I'm looking to use rock as the only hardscape this time.  Will use a plant substrate (either Tropica or AquaBasis+) and probably a darker sand like I have now.

Suggestions welcome and I'll try to keep this thread updated as time progresses, layout suggestions or inspiration welcome!


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## nry (22 Feb 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Oh and no moss, nice as it is I hate having to pick the tiny bits of it out of the plants and it always ends up growing where you don't want it


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## Steve Smith (22 Feb 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Welcome back mate! Good to see you   

Cool, rocks eh?  Get yourself some nice graded gravels!  A really well done natural look with graded gravels is awesome in my view


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## nry (23 Feb 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Graded gravel, forgot I liked that look, cheers!


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## nry (10 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Let's just say that I had my second disaster in 4 years of this tank...I upped the CO2 slightly to try and aid clearing the green water, however a few days later I knocked the lights off to give it a black-out too but forgot to turn the CO2 down or off....which has gassed all the fish   I went to do the water change last night to find none anywhere, just one or two shrimp struggling around...

Whilst this does mean I have more time to play with a re-scape I hadn't been considering a change of stock too...


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## Steve Smith (10 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

That's a shame mate   Still, it almost gives you a clean slate to start again I guess.


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## nry (13 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

It is a clean slate though not the best way of getting one!

Stuck what to do now.  My LFS had a huge amount of galaxy rasbora's in, I'm tempted to try a biotope...


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## Steve Smith (13 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

George is blazing a trail into very aesthetically pleasing biotopes at the moment.  Have you seen them?  Not totally sure on the Galaxy habitat, chinese ponds/streams isn't it?

Sounds like a great idea.  Maybe try to breed them too?


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## nry (13 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

The biotope idea means I have a focus, though I want low maintenance at the moment as life is a tad busy.  I've got some ideas of the type of scape I like and have the time to think now.


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## Garuf (14 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Galaxys come from pretty uninspiring habitats, just think jungle and gravel/sand base. There's some pictures in a pfk and it shows a concrete ditch entriely chocked with plants and looking pretty iffy. They're Inle fish so Mimicing Georges last scape would be a good start. I'd add moss though, increased chance of breeding success even if not biotope correct.


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## nry (14 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

I'm edging away from a biotope now, have got too much inspiration from the more normal arty scapes!


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## Steve Smith (16 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*



Deciding what to do is the easy part


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## nry (17 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

On Monday I ordered:

10L of black FloraBase
6 bits of manzanita wood
5kg of Seiryu Stone

From PlantedBox (cheers guys!).

Hoping it will arrive tomorrow, so I can have some initial play with layouts


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## nry (28 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Forgot to add the piccies here 

Current scape which is likely to stay:










Don't mind admitting I blatantly nicked ideas for the hardscape and (a little) layout from another member on here 

Struggling on the planting scheme - I though I was happy with a crypt wendtii or 3 as a rear centre piece, with some crypt parva around the rocks, however I'm edging back towards some p.helferi instead of the parva, it always grew well and it settled in lovely just before I ripped my old scape down.  I had a lovely crypt wendtii brown as the centre piece in my old scape, it was stunning beyond I didn't wish to keep anything in case the spirogyra came back.

Are there any other options around for a compact, slow growing foreground plant nowadays?  I don't want a carpet at all, so HC/glosso are out.  This tank will be low maintenance in respect of the plants


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## Mark Evans (28 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

looking great!

maybe close the gap up between the 2 outer, smaller rocks? so it looks like it's connected. a little like a 'foot' almost


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## nry (28 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Plants will close the gap in my mind, alongside blending in the rear 'triangular'  rock too.


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## Mark Evans (28 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*



			
				nry said:
			
		

> Plants will close the gap in my mind, alongside blending in the rear 'triangular' rock too.



ah, all is good then


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## nry (28 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Only negative is that I have a slight dusting of white mould on the FloraBase...guess it needs planted pretty soon after laying really as it is shipped 'damp'.  Should be planting in a week or so with luck.


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## Steve Smith (28 Mar 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

You could part fill the tank with water temporarily to stop the mould maybe?  Just drain it off when you're ready to plant... Not sure how that will affect planting.


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## nry (3 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Close to buying the plants, however I'm a tad torn between a centre piece crypt wendtti green or to go for one of the finer leaved stem plants instead, maybe hemianthus micranthemâ€‹oides?

If I'm trying to make the tank look bigger than it really is, then HM may be a good choice?  I'm then stuck on the plant to use around the rocks - might stick with my original p.helferi thoughts, it got lovely and tight and bushy (ooh-err!) in my last scape and it if it'll do the same in this layout then I think it'll work well.

That is the only two plants I can settle on for now.  Unsure if it needs any more really - not up for a carpetting plant this time around even though I always look at HC carpets and think they look lovely.  Guess I've been there and done that, and got a bit bored of having to maintain it all the time.


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## Garuf (3 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

That's odd about the mould, I've had mine in my tank for ages and aside from a couple of seedlings I've had no issues with mould, it dried out pretty quickly though. I like the scape, it reminds me of Jason Balibans, hill of skull I think it was called. I can imagine it with nothing but Hc and moss.


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## nry (3 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

The lid was on mine for a week or so initially, that could be the problem 

Not touching moss, easy to look after beyond the trimmings get everywhere however careful I am, so you get moss growing where you don't want it.


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## nry (3 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Ok, I'm torn....after a bit of looking around I am now back to my original crypt plan - wendtii at the rear, with crypt petchii around the rocks/wood.  Vague vague thoughts of ignoring my preference on carpetting plants and sticking some HC back in mainly at the rear and emerging from the gaps in the rocks, leaving the foreground substrate clear...

Pfft, too much choice   I guess crypts are low maintenance so the main work would be on the HC...


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## Steve Smith (3 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Sounds good mate!  Thought about Staurogyne instead of P Helferi?


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## nry (3 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

I have yeah, but I like ph...however I'm probably going to go for the crypts idea above...and I'm tempted to try u.graminifolia again too, but not sure.  With crypts and UG only, I could probably run a lower EI dosage which seems to suit UG.


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## nry (4 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Well, mix of ideas, so the choice has been bought:

Cryptocoryne wendtii 'brown' - rear centre piece
Pogostemon Helferi - in and around rocks/wood
Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba' - carpet from rear sides and possibly from the front gaps in the rocks


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## nry (10 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Plants arrived today, should be going in this evening


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## Steve Smith (10 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Awesome!  I bet you're itching to get them planted


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## nry (10 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Yep, it'll look wierd for a while as the plants have all been grown out of water so the crypts are much smaller than they'll end up


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## nry (10 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

Never looks right in photo's but see below anyhow!

Aim is that the crypt wendtii brown will fill in the centre and give a bit of planting height, with HC rear left/right and some creeping from the gaps in the rocks.  P.Helferi should form a kind of cushion filling in the space between the wood and stone, pulling it all together.  All this is based on how these plants grew for me in previous scapes so hopefully they'll do the same again   All makes sense in my head!














Curious on dropping a Koralia Nano in the tank to aid the CO2 mist flow, where would I put one to gain the most benefit?


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## Nick16 (10 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

depends what you are going to do with your lily pipe. if you point that towards the back right corner, and then have the koralia going from the back right, pointing towards the front left slightly, but also down a bit, so co3 does the full circle and gets pushed down towards the substrate. that way the water get circluated back towards the filter inlet.


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## nry (11 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Cheers Nick, will see how the CO2 is when I start shifting the drop checker around!


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## nry (13 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

When do you reckon it's safe to add the first livestock?

Haven't exactly gone for the heavily planted look from the beginning so don't want to cause any ammonia issues.

So far my fish etc choices are:

3 oto's
12-18 dwarf fish, local Maidenheads has a few choices
Some smaller shrimp, I like the bumble bee variety if I can find some

Would I get more than a 12-18 shoal of the main fish in safely?  Filter is a TetraTec EX600.  Maidenheads have a fair choice, ember tetra, dwarf red pencilfish and a few others I can't recall.  Slightly less LFS also have some galaxy's in which I have always liked, but at Â£4.50 a fish they're going to cost me a canny bit of money!


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## chump54 (13 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

how long has it been running? I would leave it as long as you can. It'll allow you to go silly with the CO2 levels. get the plants growing well and then drop the co2 down a while before adding the livestock.

but it's really tempting to add livestock. I know 

Chris


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## nry (13 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Been in less than a week 

Was aiming to give it a month for the plant growth to take off - CO2 is up very high, drop checker is a nice yellow colour.


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## Stu Worrall (13 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry   60x30x30 rescape ideas*

tanks looking really good nry 

Could I ask where you get the holders for the pipe which keep the 90 degree curve in place without bending the pipe?





			
				nry said:
			
		

>


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## nry (13 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Pipes I think are JBL ones from AquaEssentials, had to add the cable ties myself but they've worked well.


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (13 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*



			
				nry said:
			
		

> Pipes I think are JBL ones from AquaEssentials, had to add the cable ties myself but they've worked well.



The pipe anti kink protectors are JBL one and they can be purchased from AE - two links attached.

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/jbl-ant ... p-631.html

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/jbl-ant ... -1201.html

Regards
Paul.


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## Stu Worrall (14 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

great! cheers both


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## nry (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Green water is back...seems like it didn't get cleaned away fully with the tank strip?  Thought it was initially a bacteria bloom but today it most definitely had a green tinge.  50% water change, will try to do this every day and see if this gets rid.  Tried blackouts in the past to no avail...


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## John Starkey (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Nice to see you back.


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## nry (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Good to see you still here John


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## chump54 (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*



			
				nry said:
			
		

> Green water is back...seems like it didn't get cleaned away fully with the tank strip?  Thought it was initially a bacteria bloom but today it most definitely had a green tinge.  50% water change, will try to do this every day and see if this gets rid.  Tried blackouts in the past to no avail...


I spent ages trying to get rid of green water, water changes once a day and then tried willow branches (but I think this might well be an incompatible technique since we are adding 'loads' of ferts anyway) the only thing that worked for me was a UV unit, I think it was fish r fun it had a 200lph pump which pulled the water though it. It sorted the problem in a couple of days. I did plenty of water changes too as the uv was killing off the algae I didn't want an ammonia spike. It cost Â£20 but it meant I could see through the tank again. 

might be worth the investment as you've had GW before.

Chris


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## nry (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Did a quick search this afternoon for a UV filter, but they were all expensive, towards Â£100 - any ideas where the cheaper ones can be purchased?  I'll add them to my shop ideas


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## chump54 (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

this is like the one I used 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/9-Watt-Aquarium-U ... 51914aafad

but it's 30 odd quid now... I'm sure I wouldn't have paid that much, but who knows I was desperate. 

Chris


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## nry (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

There are others for under Â£25 - is this an external one?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UV-Sterilizer-PON ... 51918c6a7a


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## nry (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Cheaper internal one:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/500L-H-Aquarium-I ... 2a0649d97a

Do these things just need used 'once' or run all the time, or perhaps only during flare-ups?


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## chump54 (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

I just ran mine till the water was clear, job done.I think I left it in for a week, with water changes every day.

I think prolonged use is a bad idea in planted tank. some degradation of ferts I think???

that ebay one looks ok 

Chris


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## nry (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Might pick up one of the cheapy internals then, saves faffing with the filter pipework!


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## chump54 (19 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

yeah, also the flow needs to be slow through the uv to kill the algae it might be too much on your external, unless you go for the really expensive uv filters. they usually say what the max flow rate is. thats why I went with the internal.

C


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## nry (20 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Bought one of the cheap internals via eBay for Â£22.99 delivered, fingers crossed!


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## nry (24 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

UV filter is doing a good job of clearing the green water - within 2 days it has got much better.  Done a few 50% water changes too to try and help out.

A little bit of gda/diatom starting to show on the rocks and wood, upped the CO2 a little more tonight - was already giving me a nice yellow drop checker.

All the plants are settling in well - I trimmed the HC a few days back removing any upward growing shoots and replanting them.  It has now started to spread really well 

Going to give it a week and if all is going well I might add some shrimp and/or some oto's to get on top of the diatoms etc..obviously lowering the CO2 to suitable levels first!


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## chump54 (24 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

good news about the Uv... keep on top of the water changes as you are killing a lot of algae and you want to get rid of as much as poss.

Chris


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## nry (26 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Have done 3 since putting the filter in, pretty much every other day, water is looking much better


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## nry (27 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

How long should I leave the UV filter in for?  The water is crystal again, and the UV has been running for 5 days.


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## chump54 (27 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

if the water has been clear for a couple of days whip it out and see what happens you can always put it back in if it starts to cloud up again

Chris


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## gzylo (28 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Hi

is there a problem having uv and adding ferts? surely not?


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## nry (28 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Don't see why, unless it breaks them down which I doubt?


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## chump54 (28 Apr 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

i'm no scientist(wish I was though) but I believe long term use of uv can degrade some of the ferts??? but short term don't worry about it... long term use is a waste of electricity/money 

Chris


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## nry (1 May 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

UV has been off for over 2 days, so far so good.

Added 3 oto's today, getting a bit of diatom build up on the rocks so they have plenty to munch on...once they stop hiding anyhow


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## nry (24 May 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

No more green water, but having realised I was under-dosing EI by about 2/3 (wrong spoon to make my mix) I got hit by rhizoclonium which, after a filter clean and back to full EI dosing and 'normal' liquid carbonn dosing is hopefully on the clear.  I added 6 cherry shrimp last week but 3 seem to have taken a dislike to something and given up the ghost...not sure why, the other three are doing well and are nice and cherry coloured!

Piccy from today, no closeups until the algae has all gone!  The crypts started to take off a week ago and are slowly peeping above the rocks so another few months and they should be giving some better rear height!


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## George Farmer (24 May 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Very nice.  I like the shot; the tank looks so vibrant against the dark setting.


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## nry (25 May 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Not intentional but came out OK if a little out of focus 

Now I'm dosing correctly the plants have picked up a gear too which is good


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## nry (15 Aug 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

This tank is an algae magnet...initial teething problems coupled with a rather hectic few weeks of 'life' saw the tank deteriorate and I'm currently battling with a brown hairy algae which grows like the clappers.  Came back from a week away, doing a 50% change and big clean up before I went, with a friend feeding the plants and the tank was infested with the stuff.

Tonight I'm doing a major clean up, with some plants on order (via here, cheers!) to increase the planting levels significantly.  I've only got a few oto's and a couple of cherry shrimp in the tank - the p.helferi took a battering from the algae and I think with it dieing off a bit, this triggered a small ammonia spike kicking the algae up far too many notches...

I'll give it another 6 weeks (home learning course finishes mid-October), then it's getting stripped and re-started...

Hindsight makes me wonder if I started all this a little badly with the filter - after stripping the old 'scape down, I rinsed the filter out and left it sitting closed.  Whilst it got rinsed out again before first use, it perhaps needed a better clean out, with any remaining residue causing an ammonia spike when the tank was first setup.  A low initial plant mass then didn't help.

In the past, re-scapes have nearly always been done with a mature filter in use, so ammonia spikes would be negligible.


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## nry (19 Aug 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Still can't get this aquarium picture stuff sorted but hey ho, currently looking like this:





The p.helferi took a battering from the brown algae, and I suspect in the end it was causing it when it was dieing off so it's all been stripped out.

R.green from a member here has gone in the rear centre with the c.wendtii browns moved to the rear corners a touch.  Need some more foreground planting to take up the gaps in the rocks, might go for some more p.helferi which I like or perhaps try something like staurogyne instead...we'll see.

Still running a low livestock level - 1 cherry shrimp and two oto's, might pick up another half-dozen cherries from Maindenhead at the weekend, fingers crossed they won't all die on the filter intake like that last ones!


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## nry (21 Aug 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Fish and better full tank shot, now wish some more livestock 

I have some Staurogyne sp. on its way from a member to fill in amongst the rocks, never tried it so hopefully it will work out


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## Gill (21 Aug 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Looks Great, Your Viets, should look amazing once they have settled and the purple and blue hues are more pronounced.


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## nry (24 Aug 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Okies, staurogyne in there now, nice plant, hoping it grows the way I want but liking the way things are progressing at the moment and the fish seem to be happy - always a bonus!


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## LondonDragon (25 Aug 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Looking good so far, I do like the fish choice, very complementary to the scape  congrats


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## nry (25 Aug 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Cheers 

I still find the hardscape easier than the planting, but getting better with time and practice!

Liking the fish, whether the large group helps I don't know, but they are fearless little blighters


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## nry (29 Aug 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

The higher plant mass seems to have knocked the algae on the head - it's a week tomorrow since the last 50% change and there is no algae growth at all beyond a very very very minimal touch on the front glass but nothing worth writing home about.

I almost expected a few issues after adding the fish but nothing so far.

Staurogyne is settling in well, I can see the far left/right areas being changed sometime in the future though I'm not 100% yet if I want to go back down the carpet route again.  I always love the look of a HC carpet but unsure if I want the maintenance overhead of one just yet.  If the algae stays away then I'll have another think


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## nry (3 Sep 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Certainly no algae growth anymore, a little on the wood and rocks (not sure what) but the plants, glass and substrate are 95% algae free which is superb   Water change on Monday was a breeze, first time in months I've not had to spend ages stripping algae out before the water change, I could just go straight to the siphoning 

Beginning to give some consideration to the long term planting layout but for now I'm letting it continue to settle in and let the existing plants grow a while before the first pruning.


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## nry (5 Sep 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Lifted out some melted crypt leaves tonight, strangely never seen it before when moving plants around in the same tank and stranger still that only the ones to the right melted and the left ones are fine 

Lots of new leaves there so all is well, got some BBA on the wood and rocks, upped the CO2 a little so will keep an eye on it.  Suspect I could do with improved flow but no money at the moment so hopefully the increased CO2 levels will help.


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## oliverar (6 Sep 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

I love the rock's!!! I think that with a little more fiddling around, and fine tuning, added to just letting it grow up a bit, it will look truly amazing, and it look's great now, I think that is definitely  because of your excellent choice in rock's! Good to hear about the algae. How odd about the crypt leaves! is one side of the tank near a window or something? Just a guess!


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## nry (7 Sep 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

The good side is closer to the window but obscured by a door, who knows


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## oliverar (7 Sep 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Hmm how odd, o well post more pic's and keep us updated!


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## Spang (7 Sep 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Would love to see more pics of this once it has matured a bit. It looks stunning!


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## nry (13 Sep 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

Right crypts lost some more leaves, still some new ones coming through though.  Left side lost two leaves but these plants have loads of healthy ones still going strong so who knows.

Not going to touch the plants beyond pruning for a while now - staurogyne is settling in well, rotala is growing like a weed as expected, just need to be patient with the crypts now 

Oh, and I still have 3 oto's - thought one had given up the ghost months back but saw all 3 a few days ago, weird


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## nry (13 Oct 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Helferi Hills'*

No more crypt melt, all doing well.  Got a Resun pump going in once it arrives from Hong Kong (Â£9.50 delivered!) which I hope will reduce or stop the marginal algae build up which I suspect is down to poor flow.

Got some cherry shrimp to go in tonight from Themulous, and now starting to think longer term - the rotala was only ever a stop gap to get some plant bulk in the tank.  Unsure what would replace it though, debating either a taller/larger crypt or perhaps some vallis mini twister which I've always liked.

Staurogyne is doing well though they are slow growers, so for now it is staying with the hope that I can start to prune them into more suitable shapes in the long term.

Still debating a carpetting plant but we'll see how the Resun pump goes first.


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## nry (30 Nov 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' New pics 30/11/*

6 weeks since the last update, and so far so good 

Removed the rear-left rock - liking the layout much better now, and it opened up way more space for planting.

Over the past fortnight I've moved some crypts forward to make room for the r.rotundifolia at the rear-left.  I've got some vallis mini twister on its way to fill the gap in but I'll be planting it slightly more forward than the stems to see how it looks.

Staurogyne sp. is doing OK, trimmed it a little while ago and it has kept quite low and compact.  I may move it all to one area of the tank and put some p.helferi in, and that alongside the recently planted HC will probably be it for now.  Looking for something to go to the back-left. not sure what yet though.

Koralia Evo Nano 900 on the way too, the Resun's were good but were a little too noisy for a living room tank.  I had the Resun to the back-right pushing out to match the flow direction of the lily pipe.  This gave a nice flow around the tank and created a slightly strange flow pattern to the front-right which was making all plants move in the flow so I figure this is a good place to start for now and the Koralia will be going there too.  CO2 bubbles were getting everywhere which is a huge improvement over the lily pipe only.

Pictures:


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## nry (3 Dec 2010)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Koralia Nano 900 is massively quieter than the Resun, and almost exactly the same size.  I prefer the mount from the Resun strangely, but the Koralia one works just lacks as much adjustability.

Vallis is in at rear right, r.rotun moved to the left of the centre rock, but not enough Vallis to spread out as much as I hoped so until it starts to spread the rest will stay as-is for now.


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## nry (9 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Update from today, some myriophyllum mezianum coming from the free delivery TGM sale last week to replace the rotala green which is heading towards George ASAP when the MM arrives 

Koralia has had a huge impact on growth and algae, algae is really heading off from the staurogyne lower leaves now, and the substrate - growth from staurogyne is much picked up


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## Garuf (9 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Give it another week or two trim and replant and you'll be ready for iaplc.


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## George Farmer (10 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Looking good, Chris!   

What software do you upload your images with?  I can see them on my work computer, that blocks most hosting sites.


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## nry (10 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

My pictures are hosted on my own webspace which is unlikely to be blocked by web filters.

Rocks will be cleaned tonight, I've seen BBA before, and whilst growth is now slower than before the Koralia, it is very weird - growing in little tufts, slightly strange to look at!


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## nry (14 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Rocks cleaned, rotala green gone to George, waiting for the myriophyllum mezianum to start rearing its head above the rocks now:


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## Angus (16 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

looking really nice mate  i find the vallis is distracting my eyes from the main scape a bit though, but i love the rocks and the stems behind.


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## nry (16 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Original plan was to have the vallis all along the back - time will tell if that comes off or not


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## nry (18 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Last nights water change proved how much difference the Koralia has made - I had no algae build up on the glass from last week at all.  Normally there's a noticeable green film which is scraped off, but nothing at all this week 

Plant growth has improved as well - the staurogyne is growing much faster, the HC is getting there but still doesn't like the far front left/right of the substrate where it grows much more slowly - I suspect this is down to poor light distribution and there's not much I can do about that really.

Keep debating the mid-ground planting which still doesn't quite work.  I agree as above, the vallis isn't quite right, I wonder if a hair grass variant along the back left/right of the tank may work well, as it won't get too high...not sure.


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## ghostsword (18 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

It looks amazing mate, really good. The carpet growth is really good.


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## nry (19 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Cheers 

Still got a little BBA (at least I assume it is BBA, it's very tufty, like mini-blyxa!) on the substrate, keep picking the affected granules out when I see them.  Staghorn has gone too, and the HC is slowly getting there, might well see if I can get something in to the IAPLC.


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## nry (24 Jan 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Stems are growing in nicely, getting the hang of this trimming malarky now I think!

The left/right midground is still not working for me, suggestions welcome.  I'd like something there, perhaps exending the HC to replace the left/right staurogyne, but then I'd like something to fill in behind to fill the space to the rear glass.  Needs to be low growing, but visible above the HC...

Overall I'd like to replace the staurogyne with p.helferi, as I feel the leaf size of the staurogyne is too big for the layout.


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## nry (22 Mar 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Pics added 30/1*

Major re-scape using existing materials.  Got completely sick of the massive build up of what I can only assume is BBA and a very dark coloured staghorn.  I could not get the stuff to stop, and I', unsure what I'm doing wrong - I do wonder if I have too many fish!

Not convinced on the far left upright stick nor the vallis and I need to debate if I want to carpet again:


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## Nelson (22 Mar 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

i really like the rock layout.have you got any smaller ones ?.
reminds me of this http://www.adana.hk/ephotoimg/Mi10.jpg

not sure on the wood though   .


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## nry (23 Mar 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

No smaller rocks and yeah, the wood is not quite right though never looks the same in pictures as I view it in reality


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## nry (6 Dec 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

Sticks and stones have gone, BBA on the substrate is almost none existent, HC is a touch wild on the right however this is where the last of the BBA has hung around so I'm letting it go a bit nuts to get good coverage - it has however been trimmed twice in recent weeks, grows like mad 

Livestock is still a load of sudanese cardinals, cherry shrimp and 10 pygmy cory which I added last week.

Who'd believe the vallis mini twister started off as about 4 plants all those months ago!


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## Nelson (6 Dec 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

Thats beautiful   .


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## foxfish (6 Dec 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

I like it - looks different than the average, quite formal with the background framing the main subject but very striking - I like it a lot.


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## Callum (6 Dec 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

Really like it, the midground planting you've done is a great substitute for wood/rocks as a focal point. 
Bug thumbs up!


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## nry (7 Dec 2011)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

Thanks all 

It kind of developed on its own, the lighting (twin T8's) results in the growth pattern of a higher central area with the edging plants growing lower/smaller as they get less light.  I took the rocks out as I got sick of cleaning the BBA off them, pretty much the only reason!  There is one left hidden under the crypts...

The front-right gets the least light and this area is taking a bit longer to grow in - I've moved a few crypts over there which are slorly taking hold - I'd actually say that this is the first layout I am really happy with, ironic given it grew without much intervention!  No idea what will happen next but that's for next year!


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (13 Aug 2012)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

What happend?


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## nry (13 Aug 2012)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

Not entirely sure 

The HC got infested with hair/thread algae, I stripped it out and should probably just have re--planted, but instead I put the rocks back in, played around a little, and never quite got it right again


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (13 Aug 2012)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

So whats happened? Is it still running?


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## nry (14 Aug 2012)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

Yep, though it is getting entirely replaced this week with a higher height tank, 70L instead of 54L.


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## nry (14 Aug 2012)

*Re: Return of the nry  'Sticks and stones' Rescape/new pic*

New journal starts here:

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=22935


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