# 60x20x20



## tim (9 Apr 2014)

Hi folks, thought I'd get a journal up for my latest scape in my shallow tank, specs 60x20x20 clearseal tank, cristalprofi 700 with gush glassware, co2 via a co2 art atomiser, boyu light unit, hardscape mini landscape rock and manzi.
Hardscape




Moss tied to manzi and some moss stones added



Added in the ehiem skim to catch all the crap from reused Colombo substrate, hour later water had cleared a little so replanted rotala and added the buces from another scape, not sure on the rest of the plants yet will update with a full list when it's finished.



Thanks for looking.


----------



## Ryan Thang To (9 Apr 2014)

what carpet plant are you going to have?


----------



## TOO (9 Apr 2014)

Nice, Tim. The manzi really adds something, such delicate texture.

Thomas


----------



## 1stgolf (9 Apr 2014)

Love that hardscape


----------



## tim (9 Apr 2014)

legytt said:


> what carpet plant are you going to have?


Thinking of replanting the Monte Carlo I took out today, may try some utricularia graminifolia on the left side or maybe a mix of a few different plants, little undecided to be honest .


TOO said:


> Nice, Tim. The manzi really adds something, such delicate texture.
> 
> Thomas





1stgolf said:


> Love that hardscape


Thanks guys.


----------



## aliclarke86 (9 Apr 2014)

Oooh gonna try ug. Have you used it before??

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## tim (9 Apr 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> Oooh gonna try ug. Have you used it before??
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


Kept it for a little while in blue jelly island scape, it did ok for a while but with no co2 faded away, hopefully with co2 in this scape it'll get going well.


----------



## Andy Thurston (10 Apr 2014)

Looking good tim! I wish I had half your scaping ability, watching this


----------



## kirk (10 Apr 2014)

.


----------



## tim (10 Apr 2014)

Big clown said:


> Looking good tim! I wish I had half your scaping ability, watching this


Shucks high praise Andy  Been tearing them down and setting them up for a couple of years now, guess a little ukaps has worked its way into my setups  Thanks mate.


----------



## kirk (10 Apr 2014)

Nice tim, good job with the manzinita, like the way the right branch reaches up to the surface then drops down.  Has a nice flow about.   I have no idea what's going on with my posts,this evening. They double......or completely disappear


----------



## tim (10 Apr 2014)

kirk said:


> Nice tim, good job with the manzinita, like the way the right branch reaches up to the surface then drops down.  Has a nice flow about.   I have no idea what's going on with my posts,this evening. They double......or completely disappear


Thanks mate, tried the scape without the wood but it just lacked height, posting from the phone makes you pull your hair out sometimes  I liked them both just in case it reappears


----------



## tim (11 Apr 2014)

Lfs didn't manage to get ug in today, so 2 pots ordered from aqua essentials and a pot of ammania sp bonsai not tried this one before and read lots of threads where it struggled, may be setting myself up for another massive fail with this scape but nothing ventured nothing gained  I reserve the right to tear this one down as quickly as it went up


----------



## aliclarke86 (11 Apr 2014)

I really hope you can get these two growing well mate, they are both lovely plants, I have every faith in you and no pressure 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## tim (11 Apr 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> I really hope you can get these two growing well mate, they are both lovely plants, I have every faith in you and no pressure
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


Lol, you just after more cheap cuttings mate


----------



## aliclarke86 (11 Apr 2014)

Wouldn't complain  but seriously, you have a challenging plant list and I wish you the best of luck! 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## tim (12 Apr 2014)

Plants arrived this morning 



Very speedy service from aqua essentials


----------



## tim (12 Apr 2014)

Hi folks, planted this up few pics to update the journal 
Ug split for planting



Turned tank lights on to drain for planting and encountered the worst case of wood fungus I've ever had



Grabbed my trusty artists paint brush, brushed as much off as possible and syphoned out, I'll carry on daily water changes until it's gone.
Ready to plant



Half a pot of amania bonsai prepped



Planted and refilled, bits of ug everywhere  so in with the ehiem skim for half hour and waterchange, job done for now.



Already noticed I may not have banked the substrate high enough where the ug is planted but I'm going to see if it fills in then possibly uproot, address that issue and replant so I don't think I'll consider shrimp for a long while yet, co2s on high (yellow dc) lights low just 1 14w tube 40cm above the surface.
That's all for now thanks for looking


----------



## aliclarke86 (12 Apr 2014)

No messing around then  looks smashing mate

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


----------



## brancaman (12 Apr 2014)

Love the woodscape, one day i'll try manzanita too .

Now more close shots of ug are highly appreciated


----------



## tim (14 Apr 2014)

Daily water change this morning around 15 ltrs a day for the first two weeks
My trusty paintbrush for wood and rock cleaning and a few of my daughters make up pads for glass cleaning 




Ug seems to be turning darker green



Only tried this plant once before in a non co2 tank and it stayed very pale so not sure if this is a good sign.
Tank refilled



Cheers for looking.


----------



## James D (14 Apr 2014)

Looking good Tim, I was wondering how your good flow will be in a long tank like that but then I realized it's only 60cm, it looks much bigger to me.


----------



## Omegatron (14 Apr 2014)

I tried UG 2 times now and both times it i couldnt get it to grow. I have been reading some comments that UG seems to do best in an establist tank. Im not sure it this is true.


----------



## tim (14 Apr 2014)

James D said:


> Looking good Tim, I was wondering how your good flow will be in a long tank like that but then I realized it's only 60cm, it looks much bigger to me.


Thanks james, speaking of flow the 700 didn't quite cut it on my last scape in this tank once plant mass increased but I have a 900 I can stick on if I have the same issues this time round.


Omegatron said:


> I tried UG 2 times now and both times it i couldnt get it to grow. I have been reading some comments that UG seems to do best in an establist tank. Im not sure it this is true.


Hi mate, there's lots of suspicions it doesn't like nutrient high substrates etc etc I'm hoping used aquasoil shouldn't be too rich for it, I'm also hoping it's all bull and the plant just needs lots of co2 which I am providing this time round, fingers crossed


----------



## tim (17 Apr 2014)

Ug seems to be settling in nicely, amania bonsai is melting like a bugger though  trimmed out the melt a couple of clumps are hanging in there, co2 is high yellow dc hour before lights on and a 1.4 ish ph drop from co2 on to lights on (liquid test don't have a ph pen) daily waterchanges will continue for a while yet.


----------



## Andy Thurston (17 Apr 2014)

1.4 drop in your hard water thats a lot of co2


----------



## tim (17 Apr 2014)

Big clown said:


> 1.4 drop in your hard water thats a lot of co2


Hell of a lot, wanted the plants to get the best start possible, ph after waterchange this morning was 8 ph at co2 on was 7.5 ish will keep checking hourly until lights on at 6 and report back.


----------



## Andy Thurston (17 Apr 2014)

I want to try amania bonsai too but was put off by other peoples problems. I wonder if it prefers softer water because its supposed to be a medium difficulty plant. Perhaps someone else can shed some light on the subject. Perhaps I should just try it


----------



## tim (17 Apr 2014)

Big clown said:


> I want to try amania bonsai too but was put off by other peoples problems. I wonder if it prefers softer water because its supposed to be a medium difficulty plant. Perhaps someone else can shed some light on the subject. Perhaps I should just try it


Go for it Andy, I planted a few stems in my low tech and they're not melting, also have one clump tucked right behind the biggest rock in here which looks lovely  Tbh I've only suffered plant melt using tissue culture plants, maybe they just have a harder time adjusting ?? 
Anyhow ph so far
3pm co2 on 7.6 ish
4pm 6.8 ish
5pm 6.4 ish 
6 pm lights on 6 ish, I say ish due to using liquid test not a ph pen colours being what they are I'd say I have at least a 1 point drop by lights on with hard water 30x flow rule, and according to my favourite par chart low light, frustrating hobby sometimes  will test ph hourly until lights off.


----------



## Andy Thurston (17 Apr 2014)

Funny you should say that tim, in the cube the only plants that melted were tissue cultured plants, monte carlo and alternanthera reineckii mini all the rest were fine


----------



## tim (17 Apr 2014)

I'm hoping the root structure may have enough left to eventually produce some new growth trimmed out melt and will keep co2 cranked high, lights low and water changes frequent on a better note the ug isn't melting or floating so fingers crossed.


----------



## Tim Harrison (17 Apr 2014)

Really looking good...nice and crisp...and the tank dimensions are extraordinary IMO, V difficult to create depth but you've somehow managed it.


----------



## tim (17 Apr 2014)

Troi said:


> Really looking good...nice and crisp...and the tank dimensions are extraordinary IMO, V difficult to create depth but you've somehow managed it.


I thank you very much kind sir  now if only the amania bonsai would realise THIS  IS A difficult tank to work With I'd be really happy  I'd say a 0.2 drop by lights out so my co2 is sh*t hot or could be tweaked some to be consistent through the photoperiod, liquid tests suck I must get me a ph pen.


----------



## Tim Harrison (17 Apr 2014)

By now you can call yourself an experienced aquascaper...use you're gut instinct...it's always best


----------



## tim (17 Apr 2014)

Troi said:


> By now you can call yourself an experienced aquascaper...use you're gut instinct...it's always best


Gut instinct always says MORE co2


----------



## tim (27 Apr 2014)

Quick update, the co2 issues continued, so I figured I'd up the flow with a cristalprofi 900, primed the filter and an aquasoil dust storm ensued, plants uprooted, dust coating the plants, sand foreground it was everywhere, a week of large water changes and it wouldn't budge so I've stripped the tank down, cleaned everything, sand plants aquasoil hardscape the lot, not really willing to invest more energy or finances in this scape at the moment and needing more plant mass I've decided to replant the best bits of the plants and keep it emmersed for a month or two, when I should have more time to devote to making it work, I'll update at some point before reflooding.


----------



## parotet (27 Apr 2014)

Sorry to read this Tim... Your setup was very nice. I saw once, when was setting up a tank, how everything inside the tank ended as a muddy cloud. You just want to cry...

Jordi


----------



## Iain Sutherland (27 Apr 2014)

this was another lovely little scape tim, i have the same tank in my garden doing the wild thing.  Shame it all went a little wrong would have been great to see it grown in,  dust storm was also the start of my UG failure in the 60, just couldnt get it clean again and it faded away quite quickly (along with a real lack of WC's and care)
hey ho onwards and upwards fella, looking forward to seeing the next one.


----------



## Tim Harrison (13 May 2014)

What a nightmare...I empathize; I'm struggling with something similar myself...Hope you manage to get it back on track when you have more time.


----------



## tim (13 May 2014)

Mr Manzanita said:


> hey tim, is that manzanita from me?
> 
> Ben


Hey Ben it's a lovely branch I got sent in a couple of boxes I had from Tom Barr, so no mate it's not.


Troi said:


> What a nightmare...I empathize; I'm struggling with something similar myself...Hope you manage to get it back on track when you have more time.


it was a bit of a bugger tbh troi, I considered refilling a couple of days ago to find my jbl reg has developed a massive leak from the pressure relief valve so it's still dry at the moment moss is thriving ug has dissolved away completely the rest of the plants are growing slowly, I will get round to reflooding this one hopefully but an impending move may delay this further, will update when it's flooded.


----------



## tim (17 May 2014)

Finally got round to reflooding this today, ug completely melted away it's been replaced with some micranthemum umbrosum I've also added some ludwigia arcuata in places, the rest of the plants seemed to cope with being kept emersed for a while, also had to go back to an in tank diffuser, I found my jbl reg developed a issue with working pressure above 2bar, gas would purge from the pressure release valve. Pics to follow later.


----------



## Greenfinger2 (17 May 2014)

Hi Tim , Sorry to hear the news It was looking fab  Looking forward to seeing your update now


----------



## tim (18 May 2014)

Thanks Roy  couple of pics from the iPhone
Tank spent a few weeks like this




Anchor moss did best being kept this way out grew all the other plants



Rotala started to grow about two weeks ago



Flooded very happy no dust from the aquasoil  lesson learnt in future it'll be fresh soil or I'll wash and dry it between uses.
Wonky fts



Will wait a week or two now make sure all is dialled in with co2 lights etc then I'm looking to add some red rilli shrimp.
Cheers for looking.


----------



## tim (26 May 2014)

Couple of weeks have passed little melt here and there nothing drastic, first trim of the moss and rotala today
IPhone pic cropped and brightened through snapseed.



Hopefully one day I'll be able to use a grown ups camera


----------



## michael woods (26 May 2014)

Awesome looking scape!


----------



## tim (5 Jun 2014)

This is running ok slow but no major issues I'm reluctant to increase light intensity so I guess I'll have to exercise some patience. Couple of fish pics just for practice  Photography is a struggle to say the least.






Straight from the camera unedited, opinions tips welcome 
Fts everything had a good trim today tops replanted to increase plant mass.



Cheers for looking.


----------



## Tim Harrison (5 Jun 2014)

Nicely executed...could be an enormous tank...that is until you check out the scale compared to the drop checker


----------



## tim (5 Jun 2014)

Troi said:


> Nicely executed...could be an enormous tank...that is until you check out the scale compared to the drop checker


Thanks troi  I'm starting to think I need an enormous tank, could be fun to own a 6x2x1 ft shallow  Don't tell my wife


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside (8 Jun 2014)

Nice photos mate. Looking nice and fresh. 
Are you planning on a rescape anytime soon? I still need to send you some Manzanita.


----------



## tim (9 Jun 2014)

Nathaniel Whiteside said:


> Nice photos mate. Looking nice and fresh.
> Are you planning on a rescape anytime soon? I still need to send you some Manzanita.


Cheers nath, I'd forgotten about the manzi tbh, maybe rescaping my 90cm in a couple of months after we move


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside (21 Jun 2014)

tim said:


> Cheers nath, I'd forgotten about the manzi tbh, maybe rescaping my 90cm in a couple of months after we move



Good mate 
Give me a heads up and ill return the favour!


----------

