# Neil's NEW 60cm Nature Aquarium v3



## oldwhitewood (29 Sep 2008)

Ok here is a step by step of my new layout. As you may know I've been running a tank using the same equipment for about a year and a half now, but I'd become a bit bored and frustrated with the old layout and wanted to try something different. There were a couple of reasons for this. mainly the tank had become very unruly and overgrown, and also I'd moved the tank from my house to my parents to my new apartment so you can imagine it was a little worse for wear in terms of design...not however in terms of condition. There is certainly something to say for the longevity of setups using aquasoil and powersand, this has been the longest planted tank I have ever maintained without it becoming completely wrecked, so it was a bit of a milestone for me. However I think I need to challenge myself a bit more, as I still don't feel 100% confident in what I'm doing and I wanted to improve my skills with maintaining something long term with a tricky trimming routine, so after much deliberation I decided to try a planted foreground again, something which I hadn't done for about two years. I also decided to use my favorite foreground plant, echinodorus tenellus which is quite contrary to what I've been reading on here, most people don't use if for foregrounds because it grows too tall but it's been something I'd wanted to try for a while now. 

The first thing I did was to setup a temp holding tank for the inhabitants, which at this stage were around 10 large shrimp and a small shoal of Neon Tetras, probably about 1 otto left in there too. I had to mature the tank and then move the plants and inhabitants in there of course, the process of which is well documented elsewhere so I won't go into the details, suffice to say they're all fine so far. Anyway with the tank drained I obtained a 9L bag of Aqua Soil Malaya, "why not Amazonia?" I hear you cry! Well my plan was to remove the sand foreground and fill in with Malaya which I already had in the tank anyway, but after a chat with my friend Luis (his tank is the one I put on the aquascapes thread) we reckoned it best to remove all the aquasoil and expose the powersand underneath, then re-create the top layer of aquasoil from scratch. This is what I did and the following pictures should show that process. NB I wont go into explaining how to use powersand special and tourmaline BC as again it's well documented elsewhere.


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## oldwhitewood (29 Sep 2008)

*STEP 1 - Substrate*






Here we have all the aquasoil removed exposing the base layer of power sand special. I didn't want to disturb this too much.





The aquasoil was added over the top like so.





I use a plastic container and sprinkle the substrate lightly over, as I don't want it to compact down too much to begin with.





Now the substrate is in place it's leveled with a sand flattener type tool (it's name escapes me at the moment). So as usual I slope up the aquasoil from back to front, this time I've left a lot more height at the back; what I observed in the last setup was the soil compacted down over time and it simply wasn't high enough.


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## oldwhitewood (29 Sep 2008)

*STEP 2 - Wood arrangement*

I'd originally planned to use redmoor wood which broke the surface of the water easily and looked quite impressive, but I decided against this because mainly I felt it was too overpowering in a two foot tank, I think it would be better suited to a 90x45x45 (hmmmmm). Instead I used some of my collection of driftwood already. I wanted something which looked like ADA old black wood, the sumartra driftwood I have seems to fit the bill quite well.





As usual the wood was dressed with moss left over from my old layout. 





The idea was to have two opposing structures if you like, rather than the more common outward branch type of thing. I'm still not sure if this looks good but I think I wanted something which looked quite unassuming and wasn't trying too hard. One of the things I have here is an old 60x30x36 tank I saved, as I removed the bracing with a razor blade (and most of the skin from my fingers) from it ages ago it isn't capable of holding water, but I keep it filled with a layer of sand and try out different wood arrangments. It's quite useful to do and I think I went through about 6 different combinations before I arrived at the above.


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## oldwhitewood (29 Sep 2008)

*STEP 3 - Planting*

Remembering to keep misting the moss with water so as not to let it dry out I planted up the foreground with echinodorus tenellus. I'm not sure about this at the moment it looks a bit messy but I'm hoping it's going to fill in. As you can see the substrate was soaked significantly to allow easy planting of the tenellus.





Next I planted cryptocoryne x willisii and parva behind the tennellus, along with a background of stems comprising of Didiplis diandra, rotala spec. green, ludwigia arcuata all tropica potted plants from The Green Machine.





Finally after I finished planting the stems I filled the tank up and set everything going, as an absent friend once said on his journal 'NOTE THE CLARITY' 





My idea with this layout is not to have something really ambitious or even original. I just want something which looks fresh and green, so I've opted for a simple layout with a few types of plants, nothing too complex.


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## oldwhitewood (29 Sep 2008)

*STEP 4 - Aftermath!*





This is how the tank looked at that stage. 





Shortly after this disaster stuck. I went out to the pub and when I got back wasted with a takeaway I noticed the level had dropped and the carpet was soaking, one of the filter taps on my eheim was leaking so I had set up an emergency internal filter and heater and order a new part. You try doing that drunk it's not fun believe me. Due to the ebay seller being an idiot it's taken over a week to arrive, so two weeks later I've finally got the external filter running tonight.

My observations so far are BBA on some of the tenellus leaves which will need trimming and removing. There is also a significant amount of green dust algae on the front glass, both of these I believe are due to the poor filtration I've been running on it since, so hopefully it should start to mature and recover now. I'm doing 50% water changes twice a week at the moment. More on this as it develops. I've also raised my CO2 slightly to just over 1 bubble per second. 

One thing I will say is the stems are growing beautifully so far. 

I guess I better give you a rundown of the equipment I've used for this.

*Hardware* 

60x30x36 opti-white german made tank (same company which makes them for ADA)
ADA style stand (custom built by yours truly)
60cm arcadia luminaire retro fitted with two 36w interpet daylight + power compacts (chopped down from the 100cm one)
eheim ecco 2234
hydor external heater
D&D disposable CO2 kit with solenoid

*ADA Products used*

ADA lily pipe inlet & outlet, p2 & v2 
ADA diffuser (old type)
ADA CO2 grey parts set
ADA drop checker
ADA Aqua Soil Malaya
ADA Power Sand Special S
ADA Tourmaline BC

*Plants*

Echinodorus tenellus
Vwsicularia dubyana
Microsorum ptrtopus 'Narrow'
Rotala spec. "Green"
Cryptocoryne x willissi
Cryptocoryne parva
Ludwigia arcuata
Didipilid diandra

About 75% of these plants were from The Green Machine, it's nice to be able to buy every plant you want there and then in a shop I can say that much. The condition of the plants was also excellent.

Ferts will be ADA Green Brightly Step 1 and Special K for the time being. I'm not starting to dose yet though as the substrate is so rich I'm leaving it for a bit to settle down. I did this before and it seemed to work with my last setup.

Anyway I hope this has been interesting and I will keep the journal updated with everything as honestly and as openly as I can.


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## George Farmer (30 Sep 2008)

ADA Aqua-Porn!     

Nice one, Neil.  Looking good, already.  And the photography is superb too.  50mm prime lens?  

Looking forward to seeing this progress...  I give it 3-4 months to a nice maturity.

PS you're mates with Luis?  I tried to get him to submit that aquascape as a PFK Great Planted Tank...  It's ace.


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## oldwhitewood (30 Sep 2008)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> ADA Aqua-Porn!
> 
> Nice one, Neil.  Looking good, already.  And the photography is superb too.  50mm prime lens?
> 
> ...



Thanks sir.

It was a combo of my 50mm f1.8  and 28mm f2.8 both solid lenses although there is a little barrel distortion on the 28mm. 

Yeah I know Luis via MSN, I keep badgering him for more pictures, stunning work he's doing there.


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## JamesM (30 Sep 2008)

Awesome, Neil. I was looking at your work on flickr the other day. Magnificent work mate


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## Luketendo (30 Sep 2008)

Please teach me how to make an invisible jug.

This should probably grow out nicely.


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## joyous214 (30 Sep 2008)

oh nice... like like like


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## Dan Crawford (30 Sep 2008)

Thats on the button pal! stunning step by step, worthy of an aquajournal IMO.

Can't wait to see it grow in, another stunner from you by the looks of it, good luck.


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## LondonDragon (30 Sep 2008)

Nice write up, maybe one day I can get a nice tank full of ADA kit  looks awsome.
Looking foward to see how things grow in and how far you take the scape.
Keep us posted and congrats


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## Thomas McMillan (30 Sep 2008)

I love this tank, especially the wood. I love wood like that. Just think it would look to get some height at the back maybe.


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## oldwhitewood (30 Sep 2008)

JAmesM said:
			
		

> Awesome, Neil. I was looking at your work on flickr the other day. Magnificent work mate



thanks very much


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## oldwhitewood (30 Sep 2008)

Dan Crawford said:
			
		

> Thats on the button pal! stunning step by step, worthy of an aquajournal IMO.
> 
> Can't wait to see it grow in, another stunner from you by the looks of it, good luck.



Cheers Dan


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## oldwhitewood (30 Sep 2008)

LondonDragon said:
			
		

> Nice write up, maybe one day I can get a nice tank full of ADA kit  looks awsome.
> Looking foward to see how things grow in and how far you take the scape.
> Keep us posted and congrats



Thanks and will do.


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## jay (30 Sep 2008)

Now THIS is how to do a journal


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## The Green Machine (30 Sep 2008)

A beautifully executed journal Neil, we should let you do our next one here.The tanks very finely done too and reminds me of coral with the shapes of the wood. PS, glad you were happy with the plants and see ya soon.


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## oldwhitewood (30 Sep 2008)

The-Green-Machine said:
			
		

> A beautifully executed journal Neil, we should let you do our next one here.The tanks very finely done too and reminds me of coral with the shapes of the wood. PS, glad you were happy with the plants and see ya soon.



Thanks very kind you. 

I was very happy with the plants yes they're excellent, and such a refreshing change to have all the plants you want right there in the place, as well as them being the correct types! I was also very pleased with the redmoor I got but I just felt I was trying to do too much with a small tank like mine and as I say it would warrant a bigger setup. I have it for the future anyway.


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## Graeme Edwards (1 Oct 2008)

Hi Neil,

Nice thread pal, and thanks for spending the time making it look and read very well.
You seem quite focused on this, so I have no doubt it will pay dividends.

Nice one!!!


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## oldwhitewood (2 Oct 2008)

Thanks sir. 

Yes I am focused on it. It's a learning exercise really but I'm not trying to say look at this this is how you do it etc, a lot of people on here do that much better than I can. If people enjoy looking at the pictures then great.


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## oldwhitewood (2 Oct 2008)

*Day 11 - Update*






Ok so more or less 11 days in already. I have seen green dust algae on the glass which I've removed. Some mould growing on the wood, this sort of white stuff which I just scraped off with a toothbrush. There are some traces of BBA around some of the leaves of the e tenellus, maybe this is because they are dying off for the new growth to emerge, there are certainly a lot of runners now. 

Stem plant growth is really promising as you would expect I guess, they're quick growers and not exactly hard to get going given the right level of light and nutrients.





I haven't started dosing yet, I'm not sure when to actually start as I think the maturation process has been marred slightly by the weak filtration initially. Now the external filter is running proper and has been for 4 days I would think it's still very early days.


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## Garuf (2 Oct 2008)

Very impressive! What are the plants in the back? I really like the look of them!
I can't wait to see how this grows out, every scape you've done has had something magic about it and this is no exception.


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## Tom (2 Oct 2008)

Very nice start


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## jay (2 Oct 2008)

Oooh D. Diandra, that grows very quick.
Trimmed mine a couple nights ago and I swear its grown about an inch.


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## oldwhitewood (2 Oct 2008)

jay said:
			
		

> Oooh D. Diandra, that grows very quick.
> Trimmed mine a couple nights ago and I swear its grown about an inch.



It seems to be growing ok. What are your experiences with it? Tropica state it is difficult.


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## jay (2 Oct 2008)

oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> jay said:
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I read that in Tropica but I figured with the new high lighting in my tank I'd give it a go, and it seems to be doing fine.
I tend not to take too much notice of what is written about difficult plants as it seems mostly from back when most plants were deemed hardwork... now with new techniques and technology we have to use I feel we can grow just about anything with success. I'm a total amatuer yet with a high tech tank, I'm growing glosso, diandra and hemmianthus... albeit with algae now too   

I've found d. diandra very good so far.


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## oldwhitewood (3 Oct 2008)

jay said:
			
		

> oldwhitewood said:
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Right yeah. I guess tropica assume a bit more so they are catering for people of all levels and interests. I didn't think I would have problems with a stem plant, bolbitus on the other hand I have had tremendous difficulty with in the past! 

Your tank looks very good btw :yes:


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## jay (3 Oct 2008)

oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> Right yeah. I guess tropica assume a bit more so they are catering for people of all levels and interests.



I guess so, didn't really think about it that way  



			
				oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> I didn't think I would have problems with a stem plant, bolbitus on the other hand I have had tremendous difficulty with in the past!





			
				oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> Your tank looks very good btw :yes:



Thank you good Sir.


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## oldwhitewood (7 Oct 2008)

*Day 16 - Update*





Here is a frontal shot of the tank.





Not very straight but you get the picture, here you can see the growth so far.





Again a bit wobbly but there you go.

My thoughts so far are even though I am happy with the growth of the echinodorus tenellus I think it is perhaps too tall. It  does have a rather wild look which I strive for but I can't help feeling I should have used glosso instead. I am giving serious thought to removing a lot of the tenellus and replacing with glosso but I'm not sure yet. I wanted to leave the tank as it was but I have realised I'm not experienced enough to get things right from the offset, now things have grown in a bit I can see where changes are needed, this is something I didn't anticipate before. Other guys would plant from the offset knowing how things will progress and not need to rethink things, I admit I think I've screwed up a bit here but what is this about if not learning?

I must also confess to ordering some ADA wood from TGM!!! I couldn't resist the temptation, I've no idea what it's going to look like in the flesh but I could well tear this down and start again using the wood if it's that good. It's a tricky one, I guess I've been a bit overzealous with it but good hardscape material is hard to come by. The challenge is going to be whether I want to live with this layout and see how it progresses or create something new if the wood is up to scratch.


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## keymaker (7 Oct 2008)

I really like the coherence of this a lot -- and the photography! The tank reminds me of  Massimo Faberri's cube, especially from the "not very straight" shot. Don't ask me why .

Well, he was using Hemianthus Micranthemoides there but that was a bigger tank. Here, I do not think changing the FG to Glosso would clean things up. With all these thin long-leaved plants Glosso might look out of place. Maybe HC might look more natural, but I'd leave too some of the Echinodorus for the mid-ground. Again, that's only me on a subjective note...


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## oldwhitewood (8 Oct 2008)

What about Eleocharis "parvula"??? I'm thinking along those lines now.


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## Ark (8 Oct 2008)

if you ever get rid of your tennelus please put me on the lsit for for some or all of it and i can pay


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## LondonDragon (8 Oct 2008)

looking great after 16 days!! makes me want to get a new tank!! congrats


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## oldwhitewood (8 Oct 2008)

LondonDragon said:
			
		

> looking great after 16 days!! makes me want to get a new tank!! congrats



Thanks, I might be changing it totally soon though


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## jay (8 Oct 2008)

I'm not too sure about that tenellus foreground either. Seems too high and not thick enough yet. Keeping it trim and adding a bit of glosso will make it happen I think.

But seeing as you've got ADA wood coming then maybe just hold out


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## vauxhallmark (8 Oct 2008)

I think the tenellus looks absolutely charming  :!: It's got a lovely light and airy feel to it, looks really natural too.

Trouble is it won't stay like that for long - it is a complete brute. 

I thought I'd found a genuinely dwarf variety in a dealers tank once (2-3 cms tall, and about 2mm thick leaves) - it was planted in the gravel in the tank (plain gravel and no fertilisers, probably an undergravel filter as well) and spreading nicely through runners. I was so chuffed, it was just what I wanted for a tiny 22" tank. 4 weeks later with a bit of light, food and CO2 it was looking like yours - although as the tank was only 10" high, you can imagine it didn't turn out to be a great foreground plant!

I wonder if it might stay a bit smaller if you did a trendy 'sand beach' at the front and planted it it in that? You could try reducing the lights and fertilisers a bit too, but you've got your stems to consider.

Or just dig the whole lawn up and replant every month ! (Not an attractive proposition!)

Can't wait to see how it comes, and what you decide to do - the tank really is looking spectacular already, congratulations.

Mark


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## jay (8 Oct 2008)

vauxhallmark said:
			
		

> You could try reducing the lights and fertilisers a bit too, but you've got your stems to consider.
> 
> 
> 
> Mark



Believe that would make it grow taller, trying to get to the light. More light should make it grow a little smaller and the runners more compact.


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## vauxhallmark (8 Oct 2008)

jay said:
			
		

> vauxhallmark said:
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Yeah, you're right Jay - when I think back to the tiny one I saw, the tank was very bright. Just no CO2 or fertilisers!

Still think it looks good


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## jay (8 Oct 2008)

Is a great plant. I remember when I had it in a low tech in sand.... Just looked like a nice patch of wild grass, growing strong.


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## oldwhitewood (12 Oct 2008)

I'm at a bit of an crossroads at the moment. Firstly while I like the appearance of the tenellus I think it is just going to get too unruly as the main foreground plant so I'm going to remove a lot of it and replace it with glosso. 

Secondly I have received my ADA old iron wood now and it looks awesome, I'm seriously thinking about replacing the wood with the old iron, but I'm not sure. It seems a shame to break this tank down so early in it's life. The problem is once livestock are in the tank it will become a whole lot more difficult to do that. So I need to make the decision either to change it now or wait 6 months and do another scape.

What do you guys think?


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## R1ch13 (12 Oct 2008)

Id love to see how the current scape matured to be honest.

But thats just me, I really like the current scape alot, its very natural look is really appealing to me.

But its all up to you mate.

What you have to do 

Richie


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## Thomas McMillan (12 Oct 2008)

I think you should keep the tennelus because it goes well with the scape and i hate glosso, but it's up to you.

RE the wood: I don't think you shouldl  change it. The wood you have now is awesome and you can always use it in six months or so in another scape, it would be such a shame to change this scape when it hasn't even started yet.

Why don't you post a pic of the iron wood and the sort of positioning etc you want (but out of the tank obviously) and then we could give you some advice?


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## oldwhitewood (12 Oct 2008)

R1ch13 said:
			
		

> Id love to see how the current scape matured to be honest.
> 
> But thats just me, I really like the current scape alot, its very natural look is really appealing to me.
> 
> ...



Thanks Richie much appreciated. I'm going to use glosso and thin out the tenellus a little, I believe you can mix foreground plants and it doesn't have to be really regimented, so this is what I'm going to try out. 



			
				Thomas McMillan said:
			
		

> I think you should keep the tennelus because it goes well with the scape and i hate glosso, but it's up to you.
> 
> RE the wood: I don't think you shouldl change it. The wood you have now is awesome and you can always use it in six months or so in another scape, it would be such a shame to change this scape when it hasn't even started yet.
> 
> Why don't you post a pic of the iron wood and the sort of positioning etc you want (but out of the tank obviously) and then we could give you some advice?



You have kind put me off using glosso now  but no I must be strong and go with my instinct, I think it is going to work the way I have planned. 

I know what you're saying it is a shame to change things when it hasn't even got going, maybe I should set a time limit on it and say I will grow it out for 6 months then change it for my new layout.


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## George Farmer (12 Oct 2008)

I say go with what you have planned, Neil...


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## jay (12 Oct 2008)

Just seen the wood...... do it.


 8)


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## YzemaN (12 Oct 2008)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> I say go with what you have planned, Neil...



I agree. Just make sure you keep the scale of a mixed foreground in mind, but I trust you will


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## Thomas McMillan (12 Oct 2008)

jay said:
			
		

> Just seen the wood...... do it.
> 
> 
> 8)



Yeah, i just see it on your flickr - looks good.


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## Mark Evans (13 Oct 2008)

IME with the henge. after several trims of e tennelus, a trim seemed to make the e tennelus grow in a smaller red fashion. all though as its your foreground it would probably become major high maintenance.its a shame you cant get the smaller version thats apparently out there in the world somewhere.

great nature aquarium either way.


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## oldwhitewood (13 Oct 2008)

I'm sure when I worked with it years ago it was never this big. I'm starting to think I should have just used sand for my foreground, much easier to maintain just vac it.


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## R1ch13 (13 Oct 2008)

I like the idea of mixed foreground....

Id love to be able to find a pic of this wood everyone is going on about haha...

Then i might change my mind about everything haha

Richie


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## Thomas McMillan (13 Oct 2008)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenbrightly/2934305844/


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## PM (13 Oct 2008)

that wood gives me, em


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## aaronnorth (13 Oct 2008)

love the wood, it has a nice colour to it, much better than driftwood.


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## R1ch13 (13 Oct 2008)

Cheers for the link Thomas...

I found the pic of the wood just after i posted my last reply.

Then UKAPS wouldnt load for me until now 

The wood is really nice  I want some.

Neil, now that ive looked through your flicker galleries of your aquariums, ive totally changed my opinion about open foreground scapes..... STUNNNING!

Love your work...

Richie


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## oldwhitewood (14 Oct 2008)

aaronnorth said:
			
		

> love the wood, it has a nice colour to it, much better than driftwood.



It is fantastic wood that's for sure but it's leaching tannins like a bstard at the moment! I'm going to have to soak it for several weeks unless I want my tank to look like I've dropped a box of Twinings in it.


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## R1ch13 (14 Oct 2008)

You had anymore thoughts on re-doing the scape?

Richie


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## oldwhitewood (14 Oct 2008)

R1ch13 said:
			
		

> You had anymore thoughts on re-doing the scape?
> 
> Richie



Yep, thanks for the comments too. Basically I am going to remove a lot of the tenellus which is a bloody shame as it's grown so well in such a short space of time, I should have listened to other people on this one while I don't agree with it looking totally wrong it certainly is a little too dominant for such a small tank. So my plan is to use glosso and have the tenellus around the bogwood and in certain areas softening it.


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## Mark Evans (14 Oct 2008)

oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> So my plan is to use glosso and have the tenellus around the bogwood and in certain areas softening it.



good plan, it is a shame. i love e tennelus allot aswell.it will feature in my next scape (120cm)


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## oldwhitewood (14 Oct 2008)

saintly said:
			
		

> oldwhitewood said:
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With the size of your tank it will work really well. For smaller tanks and for the size it reaches I think it's not right.


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## oldwhitewood (16 Oct 2008)

*Day 25 - Update*






Here you can see the difference in growth since 7th October.





There isn't that drastic a change happening I guess the most interesting thing to report is that the stems need their first trim, in fact everything pretty much does. This next stage is going to be very difficult, I will have to drain the tank and remove the tenellus, then replant the glossostigma I have received. I have also got some new pots of rotala sp. "green" which I intend to use in the left corner too. So this trimming stage is where I will try to shape the rotala so it grows in the low to high formation you always see, I've never quite managed to get it to work before but I shall give it a try. Still no livestock in there yet I was hoping to add some of my shrimp this weekend, depending on how things go. I think nearly a month is a good time to mature the tank ready for it's first inhabitants.


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## Wayney (16 Oct 2008)

Looks cracking mate 8) I really like the wood on the right side, it's matured nicely in such a short time


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## Thomas McMillan (16 Oct 2008)

It looks real nice! I think it's such a shame that your taking the tennelus out, because even though it is quite overgrown it just works for me but oh well. I'm sure it'll be great. 

Still think you should keep in the current wood aswell.


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## Tom (16 Oct 2008)

You're not taking all the tenellus out are you? I would leave some at wood-level and around the edges at the front, and have the Glosso more towards the centre. But that's me   

Looking good


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## oldwhitewood (16 Oct 2008)

Cheers dudes. No I won't be removing it completely but will be trying to work the glosso so it is the dominant foreground plant and that the tenellus is softening the edges if that makes sense.


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## Fred Dulley (16 Oct 2008)

Looking good, Neil.
Your tenellus is a lot taller than mine  :?


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## PM (19 Oct 2008)

Looks good, larger pics would be luverly  

P.S. Did you change your lighting between those two pics? The colour of the light looks very different...


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## oldwhitewood (20 Oct 2008)

Yeah I used a different white balance setting on the second one, which I didn't realise at first but in retrospect it's a better colour rendition so I guess I will be using that from now on. I think it's auto +3 on my Nikon, the autowb seems to cope with the different light sources the best which I wouldn't have thought normal, I ususally use different modes when I'm outside and never use auto.

There are larger pics on my flickr site.


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## PM (20 Oct 2008)

Ah, thanks 

I'll try that - we have the same camera


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## LondonDragon (20 Oct 2008)

Tank is looking great Neil, with a glosso forground it will look the business, just be prepared for a lot of work lol


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## oldwhitewood (20 Oct 2008)

LondonDragon said:
			
		

> Tank is looking great Neil, with a glosso forground it will look the business, just be prepared for a lot of work lol



We shall see, I've had it before ages ago but I can't remember how it grew. Any tips on trimming it? I've planted up most of the pots of glosso I got the other day. It went quite well although I did have some issues using the aquasoil which I will update when I post some new pictures.


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## R1ch13 (20 Oct 2008)

I cant stress how much i love this tank.

Its truely amazing looking, and its so young as well 

Man, I wish i could steal it.

Very very insperational.

Richie


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## oldwhitewood (20 Oct 2008)

R1ch13 said:
			
		

> I cant stress how much i love this tank.
> 
> Its truely amazing looking, and its so young as well
> 
> ...



Monsoir with these ferrero rocher you are really spoiling us!


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## R1ch13 (20 Oct 2008)

> Monsoir with these ferrero rocher you are really spoiling us!



 

Its well deserved.


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## oldwhitewood (9 Nov 2008)

*Update - Day 50*

Well I have added the glosso as you can see and also the fish and shrimp are back in the tank now. I have upped the collection of neons with a few more ones to fill out the shoal. I plan to add some emperor tetras too if I can find them.





Side shot 





other side shot





The problems I am having are not with algae but with maintenance, the growth of the rotala and ludwigia in particular is very voracious and I find really it needs to be trimmed back heavily every two weeks. The tenellus also is growing really tall, I am starting to think I shouldn't have added the glosso and should have instead just let the tenellus go wild, I will see how it goes and maybe try trimming it to see how it grows back again. When I used it years ago it never grew this tall, but I'm not convinced it will take well to being trimmed like grass.


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## Mark Evans (10 Nov 2008)

tank looks great my friend. e tennelus loves being trimmed. i thought the same. it keeps it shorter...trust me.just realised what i said....of course its shorter, i mean it grows back in shorter. you get the smell of zest when you trim it too.


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## George Farmer (10 Nov 2008)

Love the neons in there.  It's always great to see classic fish in this way - it really brings out their best.


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## oldwhitewood (10 Nov 2008)

saintly said:
			
		

> tank looks great my friend. e tennelus loves being trimmed. i thought the same. it keeps it shorter...trust me.just realised what i said....of course its shorter, i mean it grows back in shorter. you get the smell of zest when you trim it too.



I will try that certainly, thanks for the comment.





			
				George Farmer said:
			
		

> Love the neons in there. It's always great to see classic fish in this way - it really brings out their best.



They are a classic fish IMO and often overlooked for favour of the flashier cardinal tetra. I always go for the underdog and I like the subtle appearance of neons. I do plan to add more tetras though to give it a bit of colour and also I fancy having some blue rams in there too.


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## jay (10 Nov 2008)

Tank is crying out for a pair of dwarf cichlid's 8) 
Think a trim of the tenellus is needed, should make them have a red colouring too once they grow back.
I really like that orange hint coming through the background, ludwigia?


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## George Farmer (10 Nov 2008)

oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> George Farmer said:
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Indeed mate.  I've always liked the even more subtle _P. simulans_ (green or false neons).  I still love my black neons too.

Keep up the good work, Neil.


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## oldwhitewood (11 Nov 2008)

jay said:
			
		

> Tank is crying out for a pair of dwarf cichlid's 8)
> Think a trim of the tenellus is needed, should make them have a red colouring too once they grow back.
> I really like that orange hint coming through the background, ludwigia?



Correct, it has not captured the red-ness properly but it looks much better than that. 



			
				George Farmer said:
			
		

> oldwhitewood said:
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I am starting to get frustrated with this layout already. Buying the ADA old iron wood hasn't helped matters and I can't help feeling a sand foreground is the way to go, much easier to maintain! The trimming I am finding difficult because the growth of the stems is so agressive. I'm also considering a bigger tank. I mean I've got room in my flat for a 90cm tank to replace the 60 but in doing that I'd have to scale up on everything, all my glassware, filter, lights, diffuser etc. The cost of getting a 90x45x45 together would be pretty huge, and a lot more maintainance I guess. Look at me here complaining about maintanence on a 60cm tank and thinking I should upgrade to a 90, I need help! *shakes head*


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## luismoniz (11 Nov 2008)

Hi Neil.
Great tank, very healthy plants!

Sure if you change for a bigger tank you will need change all the equipment, but you will have more space to scape, and about maintanence, that depends almost of the plants you use, not the size of the tank.

Regards,

LuÃ­s Moniz


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## George Farmer (11 Nov 2008)

If you can afford it, go for a 90cm, Neil.   

You won't stop thinking about it until you do it.


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## PM (11 Nov 2008)

I vote you master the 60 before upgrading.

The difference in maintenance would be huge!


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## Garuf (11 Nov 2008)

Rather perversely I've read many times that maintenance is actually less in a 90cm than in a 60cm or a nano because growth rates are about the same but the tank is larger so maintenance is reduced. Water changes might be a fuss but then all you need is a water changer like londondragons.  
I vote 90cm, with loads of slow growers, it's easier to keep the image the same when it changes so slowly.


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## Mark Evans (11 Nov 2008)

i vote 120


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## Garuf (11 Nov 2008)

You know what, sod it go for a 300cm.   

I'm with saintly, go bigger.


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## oldwhitewood (11 Nov 2008)

LOLLL you guys are crazy, maybe if I was a millionaire I would do it!


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## Ray (12 Nov 2008)

oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> Buying the ADA old iron wood hasn't helped matters and I can't help feeling a sand foreground is the way to go, much easier to maintain! The trimming I am finding difficult because the growth of the stems is so agressive. I'm also considering a bigger tank. I mean I've got room in my flat for a 90cm tank to replace the 60 but in doing that I'd have to scale up on everything, all my glassware, filter, lights, diffuser etc. The cost of getting a 90x45x45 together would be pretty huge, and a lot more maintainance I guess. Look at me here complaining about maintanence on a 60cm tank and thinking I should upgrade to a 90, I need help! *shakes head*


If it makes you feel better I've got a 90cm and its been such a headache, initially at least and partly due to the increased scale swallowing time and budget, that if we lived close I'd almost swap setups with you  .  Sand foreground is the biz but mine is constantly getting algae meaning I need to keep vaccing it to turn it over, which reminds me - must post how to stop that.

I like how this is looking, you've got your moss looking exactly like Amano, I like that.  I think if you keep trimming and let the foreground fill out this will look really really good.


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## jay (12 Nov 2008)

Maintenance doesn't have to be a problem in a large tank, It's all about planting choice. Also, obviously if you are giving them conditions to grow like weeds (EI, excessive light, Co2, nutrients etc..) but in my tank, I have one side all bolbits and fern, I hardly ever touch it, yet on the other, diandra and hemmianthus micranthemoides and I'm always chopping away at it. Same tank, same growing conditions, different levels of maintenance.


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## oldwhitewood (13 Nov 2008)

Ray said:
			
		

> I like how this is looking, you've got your moss looking exactly like Amano, I like that.  I think if you keep trimming and let the foreground fill out this will look really really good.



Yeah you are right, I will have to keep trimming it and maintaining it.


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## oldwhitewood (13 Nov 2008)

luismoniz said:
			
		

> Hi Neil.
> Great tank, very healthy plants!
> 
> Sure if you change for a bigger tank you will need change all the equipment, but you will have more space to scape, and about maintanence, that depends almost of the plants you use, not the size of the tank.
> ...



Luis you need to post your tank on here if you haven't already!


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## Stu Worrall (13 Nov 2008)

oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> luismoniz said:
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Havent you seen it yet   bit of a stunner! http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3583

EDIT: unless im being a thicko and you meant luiz to post his picture in this thread


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## oldwhitewood (13 Nov 2008)

stuworrall said:
			
		

> oldwhitewood said:
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No it was me being thick I didn't realise he had done already!


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## oldwhitewood (14 Dec 2008)

*Update - Day 85*

Here are some updated pictures. I've been working away a lot recently so I haven't had to chance to maintain my tank as much as I would have liked to. I gave it a trim on Friday after my visit to TGM for the ADA Demo Day. 














There isn't really much I can do to improve things really at this stage it is a case of carrying on trying to maintain the tank. I would like to add some emperor tetras later on, I saw they had some at TGM but they seemed a little too big. At the moment when I remember I dose Green Brightly Step 1, when I finish that I intend to use Step 2 along with Brightly K. Last time I started dosing with Brightly K right away, but with this layout I'm going to use it when using Step 2.

Issues that still need to be resolved are I think the glosso is a bit leggy, I think this is because the light suspended from the ceiling is set just a little bit too far back, I didn't measure it correctly when I put it up and forgot to allow for the space behind the tank. This would give the glosso a bit more light and give me more compact growth so I might have to do that, I've trimmed it back regardless so I will see how it grows. The other thing is the driftwood moves a little especially the ones on the right hand side, so I'm going to try to secure that with elastic bands.

I added some green neons and ottocinclus on Friday too, again from TGM. I noticed this morning an otto had swum into the diffuser and got stuck head first. I haven't kept ottos for a long time and forgot about this. This is why I think ADA brought them out with the ceramic plate higher up the glass to stop this thing happening. I am going to have to watch out for that it can't be very nice for the fish!


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## Thomas McMillan (15 Dec 2008)

Looking good! I like how natural it looks and the Green Neons suit the scape perfectly.


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## Stu Worrall (15 Dec 2008)

thats looking lush!


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## George Farmer (15 Dec 2008)

Nice.

And this guy doesn't think he's one of UK's best...


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## GreenNeedle (15 Dec 2008)

mmmmmm.  Nice and green.  and loads of plants.  I love it  8)


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## jay (15 Dec 2008)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Nice.
> 
> And this guy doesn't think he's one of UK's best...



Definitely one of the UK's most modest then.


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## oldwhitewood (16 Dec 2008)

Thanks for the comments guys.

George has been drinking again I see


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## LondonDragon (16 Dec 2008)

oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> Thanks for the comments guys.
> George has been drinking again I see



George is right, tank looks awsome


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## oldwhitewood (9 Mar 2009)

Bit of an update, I haven't been posting or looking at aquariums in while really but I had a rather nasty mishap with my tank. About a month ago I noticed suddenly the level had dropped a couple of cms and I had rather a lot of dead shrimp in the tank which had turned pink. Straight away I thought it was either a CO2 overdose or the filter had crashed, but feeling the side of the tank I realised it was far too hot, much hotter than normal. I use one of those hydor external heaters so I checked that, the dial must have been moved when I was maintaining the tank and cleaning it a few days before, as it was on about 35C or something, the fish and shrimp were in fact being slow cooked. I manage to cool it down quickly with a big water change but the impact was I lost most of my shrimp and fish too. The plants in the tank had also been suffering and I had a bit of an algae outbreak. I removed the worst affected leaves and dead livestock but for a while I felt really gutted about the whole thing, still do infact. It's my fault I should have kept a thermometer on the tank but with it being NA style I never really bother and only really check the temp during water changes. Lesson learnt I guess but what a stupid error to make. *shakes head*

Anyway I've replanted the foreground with Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, if any of you guys have got an experience with it or tips I would love to hear them, I've never managed to grow it before. I've also removed some of the wood and added some rotala sp green to bulk up the background, we will see how it goes I guess.

Hope you guys are doing OK anyway.


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## Steve Smith (9 Mar 2009)

Sorry to hear that mate   That's exactly what happened to Garuf recently too.  Easily done.


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## Tony Swinney (9 Mar 2009)

Sorry to hear that. Since Garufs similar incident I've taped the dials on my Hydor heaters to stop this, as it seems all to easy to do - Hydor should put some sort of click-stop on the dial I guess.

TOny


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## LondonDragon (9 Mar 2009)

That sucks man  as Tony mentioned better use some tape over the dial to prevent it moving. 
Hope you get the tank back on track shortly, keep us updated


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## Superman (9 Mar 2009)

Chin up fella, we all make mistakes.
I did the total opposite with you and killed all but 3 of my harlequins.
I felt so distraught with myself but will never do what I did again!


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## Garuf (10 Mar 2009)

Oh man, my deepest sympathies I know how it goes. My tank got much hotter than yours and I'm still reeling from the damage done. Chin up mate, you'll come back stronger than I ever will.


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## oldwhitewood (10 Mar 2009)

Thanks for the responses dudes. I am going to search Garufs posts to see what happened now. I noticed last night there were about 5 shrimp left so I'm not doing too badly, I lost a lot of the bigger shrimp though which is saddening because I like to keep them first of all and secondly they do such a good job. 

Hydor really need to do something with the design it's far too easy to move that dial by mistake it seems.


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## George Farmer (10 Mar 2009)

Sorry dude.

I stick tape over my dials.

Good to hear from you though mate.  It's been a while...


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## Superman (10 Mar 2009)

I've just this second taped mine up.


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## Garuf (21 Jan 2010)

Hows the tank, Neil? Fully recovered?


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## Bobtastic (22 Jan 2010)

Really sorry to hear about this!  :?  I did something similar with my heat, but it only affected my plants. The Fish must have thought they'd gone on a lovely sun holiday. Still rallying before my purchase my next batch of plants...


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## oldwhitewood (7 Feb 2010)

Garuf said:
			
		

> Hows the tank, Neil? Fully recovered?



Hi, yeah kinda, it's been winding down for ages and ages now. I'm starting to work on a new layout and I want to get things back to normal again, I haven't been doing much in the way of aquascaping or anything for ages.

Still keeping my aquajournal subscription going at the moment, that's about it. But I really HAVE to get my tank sorted and get it back to looking good again. I feel a complete re-design coming on.


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## Garuf (7 Feb 2010)

Glad to hear it! 
I know how it is, I've not done a scape to maturity since I had my heater boil, I've got a new tank and with any luck I'll be on a massive winner. 
On a unrelated note....
Neil, is your sirname sulivan? Are you the same one who does the photographs for the RHS mag?


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## oldwhitewood (22 Feb 2010)

Garuf said:
			
		

> Glad to hear it!
> I know how it is, I've not done a scape to maturity since I had my heater boil, I've got a new tank and with any luck I'll be on a massive winner.
> On a unrelated note....
> Neil, is your sirname sulivan? Are you the same one who does the photographs for the RHS mag?



Sounds good mate.

Second point nah that's not me.


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## Stu Worrall (8 Apr 2010)

how you going with your re-design neil?


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