# Reefer 350 Planted



## Kajpai (18 Nov 2015)

*Hi all*.

I've been a keen Reader of this forum for the past 6 months.
It has been very usefull, and I love taking part in others progress through reading their journals.
As I am starting a new tank, I would like to share as well. I hope you like it.

About my interest
When visiting my parents in january, I found my old Aquarium books and started reading them.  I remembered how much fun it was, and I got playing with the idea of getting a small tank started again. Last time, I was 16 years old (22 years ago....)

Doing Research is a very fun part of any hobby, and I hit the Internet. I came across Pictures of Incredible planted tanks and I soon realized the Fish would no longer be my main focus. I learned there was a phenomena called Aquascaping, and a new world opened up in terms of research.

*First aquasape experience:*
A bit too quickly I ended up with a Fluval Edge 12G (Wife-approved design). This was a low-Tech approach  with inert gravel at first.
I love Technology and gadgets in general, and I soon started adding and replacing Equipment.
It became more and more a high-Tech approach. I also tore it down to restart with Aquasoil, and other ADA range Products.
Eventually I was running two external filters, TMC 1500 Ultima Grobeam LED, CO2 injection and built a DIY HoB water fall for hiding heater & aeration. (The initial Investment was beeing dwarfed )

I was very pleased With the healthy growth and Fish. (for being my first attempt).
I've had tons of fun and learned a lot through this setup.

I didn't take many Pictures of it. This Picture shows it as a bit overgrown, but from before the macandra and stellata decided to totally take over the aquarium:





In my Research,  found some posts warning me about taking the Fluval high-Tech. But I'm stubborn like that, and didn't quite know what to expect....
As the tank matured, growth shot through the roof (almost literally). Doing maintenance inside an Edge is basically a nightmare. Combine that with high-Tech and stem plants, and it eventually lost its charm.

*What now:*
Sooooo......having moaned about the Edge a bit, I really wanted to move onto a new, bigger and more maintenance friendly Project.
Meanwhile the my cool wife, had also grown to appreciate the hobby.
Now her only demand was this: If you go big, go really big!

I decided to be a bit unconvetional, and go for a reef tank with sump and overflow. I just love the idea of completely hiding away all Equipment. Not to mention the easy filter maintenance. The only thing I had to convince myself about, was being confined to a black background.

And here is the beauty, a Red Sea Reefer 350:




I scaped it this saturday, so it has now been running for 4 days.

Unfortunatly I didn't take Pictures during the hard-scape. But I will upload pictures of the finished scape and equipment in the following post.

Kaj


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## Jamie McGrath (18 Nov 2015)

Addict


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## AshRolls (18 Nov 2015)

This is the tank I would really love (though I would run it low tech). How noisy is the sump overflow?


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## Kajpai (18 Nov 2015)

And here is the finished scape:
Edit: Only finished With the plants I had on hand, I definately will add to and tweek the background planting. I will also add tons more Anubias in the foreground (bought everything they had in)

Day 1:







Day 4
The Macandra from the Edge has already grown a few cm.




Here is a few views of the filter/Equipment:









Here is the ATO resevoirs in the side cabinet:


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## Kajpai (18 Nov 2015)

AshRolls said:


> This is the tank I would really love (though I would run it low tech). How noisy is the sump overflow?



It is really really quiet. The reefer overflow can be dialed in to match Your Return pump perfectly. In fact, the only thing i can hear is vibrating noise from the Return pump itself. I intend to fix that somehow


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## Ryan12345 (19 Nov 2015)

1 word to describe how im feeling, Jealous 
That stand is amazing + the sump and auto ferts is something i could only dream of.
The piece of wood you have in-front of the intake is drawing my eyes to the intake, i would move it over to the left and add some long plants there like jungle val to hide it. But of-course this could be all part of creating your masterpiece
and i am by no means "good" at aquascaping, just giving my opinion 
Love the scape overall!
GJ man


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## Martin in Holland (19 Nov 2015)

UHM???....wow, that's an great installation and nice layout


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## banthaman.jm (19 Nov 2015)

@Martin in China has said it all.....
Jim


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## Tim Harrison (19 Nov 2015)

Wow inspirational set up...the scape ain't too shabby either
Very nicely done all round.


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## Kajpai (19 Nov 2015)

Ryan12345 said:


> 1 word to describe how im feeling, Jealous
> That stand is amazing + the sump and auto ferts is something i could only dream of.
> The piece of wood you have in-front of the intake is drawing my eyes to the intake, i would move it over to the left and add some long plants there like jungle val to hide it. But of-course this could be all part of creating your masterpiece



Thanks But you wouldn't envy my bank balance  I did go overboard on this project, but I view it as an investment. Experience with the Edge showed that I might as well go all in, as opposed to the everlasting marginal upgrades, that only fills my storage.

Agree on root placement for now. I imagined the high root would help hide the intake chamber, but instead it draws you to it. I need some training when it comes to creating and positioning focal points.

There is sufficient space behind the rock in the center to get decent growth between the intake&root. I think this will counter the effect somewhat.
There is also a lot of space in the background of the right side. This is also where I ended up just putting down the last plants I had.

I will take some top-down pictures, to showcase the available space, and hopefully  get some recommendations on suitable plants 

Photos taken with my Samsung S5 is a let down in any case, and as a sub-project I will finally learn how to operate my wife's camera.
The water is now crystal clear (you could see some residue of a GH-booster in the last pictures), and I should be able give a better impression of how it looks IRL.

Kaj


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## Kajpai (19 Nov 2015)

Thanks for the positive feedback all 

Feel free to suggest changes, as it is a work in progress. I am inexperienced with creating depth&perspective in a tank of this scale.

I have had tons of inspiration from beautiful  scapes on this site (Pedro Rosa, George F, Luis Cardoso, Mark Evans, Stu Worrall and many more), 
But when it is time for your own scape, sitting there with a heap of stones & roots , its definitely not as easy as those guys make it seem!

I forgot it in the first post, but thanks for the inspiration anyways!! 

Kaj


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## ian_m (19 Nov 2015)

How are you finding (or keeping) CO2 levels with using a sump ?


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## aaron.c (19 Nov 2015)

ian_m said:


> How are you finding (or keeping) CO2 levels with using a sump ?


I would be very interested in know the asnwer to this one   I would love a Reefer

You have got it looking great


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## Kajpai (19 Nov 2015)

ian_m said:


> How are you finding (or keeping) CO2 levels with using a sump ?



I haven't run CO2 With a sump before, and only have data for a short amount of time.

This is a Reading from the PH-probe the last ~24 hours:




As you can see I get a 0.8 PH drop from CO2, even though the probe is placed in the pump Chamber (where most of the off-gassing has already occured).
I might move the probe right next to the overflow pipe, to get a more accurate reading of the tank ph level. It will also give more insight into just how much gass is lost trough the sump when comparing to current data.

I'm running with 2 bps (as far as I can tell).  The JBL bubble Counter releases quite large Bubbles, but it shouldn't be a crazy amount?


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## aaron.c (19 Nov 2015)

That's not too bad at all is it.  It would better to get the reading from the tank ideally.

2bps is what I put in my 125l tank!!


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## Kajpai (19 Nov 2015)

The reefer overflow is tuned to create minimal noise, and i think that translates into much less splashing and air Bubbles.
This in turn should translate into less off-gassing and might be an explanation.
We also have super soft tap water, with very low KH. (I raised the PH 0.6 with a KH+ solution to buffer it somewhat, prior to these numbers)

It is stille gonna be fun to see what levels are when moving the probe.


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## foxfish (19 Nov 2015)

Ian regularly mentions  his amazing low bubble count which I think is 2bps but if you can get good growth with 2bps you are on to a winner 
Cant count mine on my sump driven 200lt


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## Kajpai (19 Nov 2015)

The UP New Inline CO2 Atomizer also seems to be doing an awsome job. Ultra fine mist that isn't too displeasing to the eye.

*BTW here is the Complete Equipment list:*

*Tank And Cabinet - *Red Sea Reefer 350 1200x50x50 (waterline)
*Light - *2 x GHL Mitras LX 6xxx
*CO2 - *UP New Inline CO2 Atomizer and Dual Stage Regulator with Advance Swiss Solenoid and SMC Valve from CO2Art
*Substrate - *JBL Proscape Soil and Volcanic mineral + powder, ADA La Plata sand & Gravel
*Ferts - *Automatic dosing of EI Daily* 
Filtration - *Built-in Sump, Filter foam/socks for mechanical  and Eheim BioMech & Sustrate Pro for biological.  
*Sirculation Pump - *Tunze Silence 1073.050 & Tunze Silenze 150 (Permanently on to maintain filter sirculation when doing maintenance)
*Computer and dosing -* GHL Profilux 3.1T EX with Slave doser. Also Controls powerbar, ATO, heater, lights and pumps.
*Heater - *2 x Eheim Jaeger


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## aaron.c (20 Nov 2015)

Lovely stuff.  Is it wrong to say I prefer whats in the cabinet, to what's on top of it! I am a geek


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## ian_m (20 Nov 2015)

foxfish said:


> Cant count mine on my sump driven 200lt


That would be expected for sumped system, the CO2 losses can be quite large.

This is my CO2 usage of grams per day for 180litres on 8 hours a day. Drop checker is green to yellow.


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## foxfish (20 Nov 2015)

Thanks Ian, you have obviously got your set up as near perfect as it can get 
However I think it is fair to say, that the mass majority of C02 users 'world wide' cant achieve what you have and in fact probably use double or more C02 than you do.
I am a member of numerous forums & from what I can read & also gather from many years of experience, I would guesse you fall in the smallest minority of lucky folk who have managed to get everything just right.


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## MightyPumpkin (20 Nov 2015)

It's just making me green with envy. Stunning tank.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


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## ian_m (20 Nov 2015)

foxfish said:


> Thanks Ian, you have obviously got your set up as near perfect as it can get


Not at the moment, as in last couple of weeks.... 

I cleaned the spray bar a couple of weeks ago and have obviously put it back pointing at a slightly different angle and drop checker is now probably on the blue side of green. I do find spray bar positioning (pointing up/down), number of holes currently blocked, cleanliness of filter, plants blocking flow etc all affect the final CO2 level. By getting no surface ripple (pointing spray bar down), my drop checker is "really yellow" and fish are clearly having issues. Bit of a fine balancing act that takes weeks to get right and is easily messed up by one tiny change.

 Well I would check drop checker every day, but drop checker has come unstuck and is now just sitting at bottom of tank awaiting water change & tank maintenance this weekend...


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## Kajpai (24 Nov 2015)

Hi.

Coming back from the weekend I found the tank in troubble.... The level sensors for the ATO pump was not set up correctly, and the water level in the sump had dropped too low. There was almost Zero flow, fertilization and not to say the least ZERO CO2 injection...

Totally my own fault! I'm now on top of things again, and will post new pictures as soon as it looks better. A few smaller plants started melting, larger plants have pale new growth.

There might have been issues before this (the plants reacted too quickly imo), and have upped the CO2 to 3-4 bps.

I have also decided to add a stream pump to enhance flow and distribution.

I will receive it on friday hopefully 

First mistake made, its like the first scratch on a brand new car.... Hurts at first, but now I can lower my shoulders


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## REDSTEVEO (24 Nov 2015)

Hi Kajpai,

Fantastic techy looking tank here with lots of fancy looking gadgets and seems to be working great so far.  It reminds me of some of the set ups I used to see in Germany, they were always a few steps ahead with companies such as Dupla etc..

Re your comment: Now her only demand was this: If you go big, go really big! 
Dare we ask what the total cost / outlay was for everything or is that not something for the wife to find out

Please keep the pictures coming!

Cheers,

Steve


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## sanj (24 Nov 2015)

Wow, love the hard scape on your big...ish tank.


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## flygja (25 Nov 2015)

Man that's cabinet pr0n  Really loving your setup. The hardware seems to have taken my eye completely off the scape I must say!


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## Kajpai (25 Nov 2015)

REDSTEVEO said:


> Fantastic techy looking tank here with lots of fancy looking gadgets and seems to be working great so far.  It reminds me of some of the set ups I used to see in Germany, they were always a few steps ahead with companies such as Dupla etc..
> 
> Re your comment: Now her only demand was this: If you go big, go really big!
> Dare we ask what the total cost / outlay was for everything or is that not something for the wife to find out





sanj said:


> Wow, love the hard scape on your big...ish tank.




Thanks 

When she said really big, (Big being cleary relative) what she probably meant is: I know you will be upgrading further if you don't  just go for tha maximum size right away. Since we have a fairly small flat with tilting wall/roof, 120 cm was the biggest I could go.
If I had the space (and stronger floor bearing) I definately would have gone for the reefer 450 which has even better proportions.

Cost has accumulated since I started getting the parts for this build in June. I have actually been completely honest with her, and she has been fine with it. 

Norway is a high cost/tax country, and a lot of equipment gets way more expensive as it crosses the border. (Our currency has been taking a hit lately as well)
But here goes with todays prices:
Tank with sump : 2000 euro
Sump rebuild and media: 250 euro
GHL Lights : 1800 euro
Light stands: 270 euro (Ordered these: http://www.reeflightmounts.com/mitras-mount.htm)
Computer (GHL Profilux mega-pack): 1000 euro
Tunze Pumps (Including new stream pump): 430 euro
CO2 Rig: 500 euro
 In addition you have soil, rock, roots, dry ferts, plants etc probably amounting to 900 euro.

For the nice total of: 7200 euro ..... Never added it up before...

I'm happy with it though, hobbys tend to be expensive (Some friends have cars and racing as a hobby) This rig will give me something to scape and enjoy for years


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## banthaman.jm (25 Nov 2015)

Kajpai said:


> For the nice total of: 7200 euro ..... Never added it up before...
> 
> I'm happy with it though, hobbys tend to be expensive





Lovely set up though


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## sanj (25 Nov 2015)

Kajpai said:


> Thanks
> 
> When she said really big, (Big being cleary relative) what she probably meant is: I know you will be upgrading further if you don't  just go for tha maximum size right away. Since we have a fairly small flat with tilting wall/roof, 120 cm was the biggest I could go.
> If I had the space (and stronger floor bearing) I definately would have gone for the reefer 450 which has even better proportions.



She is smart. That is exactly the sort of thing that I have experienced. I must have upgraded several tanks. I suppose the only other thing is multiple tank syndrome. But I suppose the wife puts a check on that.


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## sanj (25 Nov 2015)

If it was a reef set up, you really really wouldn't want to count the expense, that is why I stopped my reef interest, to concentrate on Rainbowfish. Too much money...


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## Kajpai (25 Nov 2015)

sanj said:


> If it was a reef set up, you really really wouldn't want to count the expense, that is why I stopped my reef interest, to concentrate on Rainbowfish. Too much money...



So I have been told  For that reason a friend of mine just sold his reef tank for 1/5 of what he had invested. The loss of value alone surpassed my spendings. 

I am also looking to go with rainbows. Any reccomendations?

I was thinking of Furcata and Praecox initially as they would occupy different levels of the tank.


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## sanj (26 Nov 2015)

Yes they are a good mix. 

In that tank I would stick to species that are under 4"/10cm.

Where are you based? There are many, many species and even more varieties, many have only been discovered in the last 10 years and a lot have not received scientific names yet.


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## Kajpai (26 Nov 2015)

Yes, size was also a consideration for choosing those two. I like giving fish ample space 

I live in Oslo (Norway in case you missed it). And the standard  selection of rainbows is pretty poor. 

However, One guy working at the LFS has been a long time member of a rainbow club, and he has some contacts. He showed me pictures of some fantastic rainbows. Those were very rarely for sale in Europe though.

If you have some suggestions/names of nice obtainable rainbows within my size range, I could check if he can get hold of them 

Thanks in any case!


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## REDSTEVEO (26 Nov 2015)

Kajpai said:


> For the nice total of: 7200 euro ..... Never added it up before...



Or in real money £5,058.00

Money well spent if it gives you years of pleasure and enjoyment. Well done!

Cheers,

Steve


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## REDSTEVEO (26 Nov 2015)

Kajpai said:


> I am also looking to go with rainbows. Any reccomendations?



Go for a shoal of Dwarf Neon Rainbows, they look gorgeous and don't grow too big!


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## pepedopolous (26 Nov 2015)

Amazing set up! What intensity are you running the Mitras at?

P


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## Kajpai (26 Nov 2015)

REDSTEVEO said:


> Money well spent if it gives you years of pleasure and enjoyment. Well done!



Thanks! And by the way, I love your Full Monty Journal. I laughed hard with your illustrations regarding the wife and living room expectations. I love your tank,and your new discus are awsome! (Sorry about the recent issues though)



REDSTEVEO said:


> Go for a shoal of Dwarf Neon Rainbows, they look gorgeous and don't grow too big!



Yeah, those are definatly on my shopping list. Getting impatient, just waiting for my nitrites to drop.... thats always a drag



pepedopolous said:


> Amazing set up! What intensity are you running the Mitras at



To be honest, I havent been able to stick with one setting for more than 1 day yet. To much tweekability.... One moment I think I don't have it high enough (most likely not the case), just to lower it the next day.
Most plants haven't really settled yet, and it stresses me out, making me do more changes than I should.

It's  hard to come by much good advice about Mitras for planted tanks, but if you are running them as well, I'd love some input as to what settings (color mix/intensity) you would use on a newly setup tank.

Thanks!


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## banthaman.jm (27 Nov 2015)

Kajpai said:


> To be honest, I havent been able to stick with one setting for more than 1 day yet. To much tweekability.... One moment I think I don't have it high enough (most likely not the case), just to lower it the next day.
> Most plants haven't really settled yet, and it stresses me out, making me do more changes than I should.



naughty naughty, you need to leave the lights on one setting for a bit longer then a day as it will be tricky to work out the best setting, i do understand though, new toys and the rest 
Jim


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## REDSTEVEO (27 Nov 2015)

Kajpai said:


> Thanks! And by the way, I love your Full Monty Journal. I laughed hard with your illustrations regarding the wife and living room expectations. I love your tank,and your new discus are awsome! (Sorry about the recent issues though)



Thank you Kajpai,

I am so pleased that the illustrations made you laugh! Sometimes I just don't know what comes over me!

Will be following this with interest, anyone who commits this amount of money and attention to detail really deserves the best results possible.

Cheers,

Steve


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## sanj (27 Nov 2015)

Kajpai said:


> Yes, size was also a consideration for choosing those two. I like giving fish ample space
> 
> I live in Oslo (Norway in case you missed it). And the standard  selection of rainbows is pretty poor.
> 
> ...



I just had a thought, rainbow fish do jump, not every day, but in open top you are likely to lose some at some point.

Europe has a good Rainbowfish network, but its more in the Germany-Nederlands-Belgium triangle. The UK has improved tremendously in the last few years with access to stock from the Europe based IRG.

Still, yes outside half a dozen commonly stocked varieties, obtaining other species in the average LFS is not readily available, but occasional.

IRG Belgium is a good resource: http://regenboogvissen.be/

Regards,
Sanj


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## Kajpai (2 Dec 2015)

banthaman.jm said:


> naughty naughty, you need to leave the lights on one setting for a bit longer then a day as it will be tricky to work out the best setting, i do understand though, new toys and the rest



Yes I've been naughty,  I am trying to pace myself now.

After the ATO incident the tank has stabilized, no more melt, and the diatoms are already cleared of. I have also added a stream pump for better circulation. 

Plan going forward:
- gradually increasing the light
- gradually increase ferts (micro/iron in partiticular), since new leaves are full size, but to my eyes very pale when looking from above (will post picture to get some input on it)


Closing the three week mark I have also added fish. The JBL Soil doesn't leak nearly as much amonia as the ADA stuff, ammonia hit zero a while ago and nitrite is dropping fast. Currently 0.2 ppm, and adding  a bit of Prime for safety.

First to go in was my tetras and Amanos from my nano tank (Finally decommissioned the Fluval Edge). 
Everything went fine and I have now also added 20 Dwarf Neon Rainbow fish and 12 otos.
I really love those rainbows, peaceful and really active. They seem to thrive so far  I just hope I don't loose too many jumpers.
I'll wait a while before introducing Furcata Rainbows, not to put too much bioload on the system. 
Visually its already quite well stocked, so I hope I'm not overdoing it with another species.

I'm struggling to upload a picture from work, so I will post a new picture when I get back home 



sanj said:


> I just had a thought, rainbow fish do jump, not every day, but in open top you are likely to lose some at some point.
> 
> Europe has a good Rainbowfish network, but its more in the Germany-Nederlands-Belgium triangle. The UK has improved tremendously in the last few years with access to stock from the Europe based IRG.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the input! A lot of lovely fish listed there. I'll go with my initial plan for now, and try to get hold of more exotic (expensive) fish later on. I plan to let this scape run for a longer period of time and mature. I can take my time finding some gems


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## aaron.c (2 Dec 2015)

Looking forward to seeing the picture!


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## Kajpai (7 Dec 2015)

Hi again.

Been really busy and been away for a long weekend.

Coming home I find the fish has settled in nicely, and good growth is finally showing  (Macandra has been growing like weed since day 1)

Got some GSA on the lower parts of the glass, and some on exposed anubias and rock. I'll dial back the light slightly again, although in my experience, that algea will disappear once my plantmass gathers momentum.

I have been taking pictures along the way, but I'm so frustrated with the quality, that I havn't got myself exited about posting them.....

I will however post the best shot I was able to get of with the light/co2 bubbles i had this morning:



 

As you can see next to the macandra, the stellata is also stretching, Hippuroides in front of those has dense growth.
In the foreground the Lilaeopsis brasiliensis looks scruffy still, but i see signs of new shoots along the glass (tricky plant as far as I can tell)
Pintifirina and tripartia are doing really well.
Also added tons of wendtii from my Nano (started of as 1 very small plant). Uprooting that plant, was what started the end of that tank. The enormous root structure messed up everything. I might not keep it in here for that reason.

Very much a work in progress when it comes to plant and moss placement (especially the foreground)
Any tips on alternative plants and placements are appreiciated. 

I'll clean of the algea, do a big WC, and cut back on stems tomorrow.

How do you get a decent picture of a tank? Do I need to black out the entire room in the evening and blast the tank with light? Also what setting would you use on the camera?


Kaj


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## Alexander Belchenko (7 Dec 2015)

About photo: make sure there is no light coming into lenses, I usually cover the top of the tank with some black thing. That really helps to get better contrast on photo. At least cover above the lens with your own hand to make sure there is no light from your light units, and lens in shade, tripod is also must have.


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## Kajpai (7 Dec 2015)

Alexander Belchenko said:


> About photo: make sure there is no light coming into lenses, I usually cover the top of the tank with some black thing. That really helps to get better contrast on photo. At least cover above the lens with your own hand to make sure there is no light from your light units, and lens in shade, tripod is also must have.



Thanks for the tips. I will definitely get a tripod ( added to my Christmas wishlist ). Covering the lights will be tricky, but I will think of something. Build something out of dark painted cardboard I can fold away and have ready for photos probably.


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## Wolf6 (3 Nov 2020)

so how did this tank fare after these pictures?


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