# 'Back in the Saddle' 90cm - 1 year on!



## Vito (10 Feb 2013)

Hey guys, 
So I treated myself to a 90cm setup from NA through FreshWaterShrimp, I bought the Tank, Cabinet, lights and light arm from them. The tank glass quality is awesome but I am a high clarity glass virgin so please forgive my overjoy as I have only had a Juwel Rio 125 to compare it to 

So the specs are:
NA 90cm L x 50cm H x 45cm D Super clear glass
NA Cabinet finished in Pantone Grey Metallic
NA Sun FLur 4 x 36w Light
NA Light stand
NA Glass Inlet and Outlet

CO2: 2KG Fire extinguisher, ADA Beetle counter, ceramic CO2 glass diffuser
Substrate system: ADA Powersand Special M, Clear Super, Bacter 100, 2/12 bags of Amazonia and 3/4 bacg of powder type.
Seiryu Stone for hardscape

Plants: HC, HM, E.Tenellus






I am trying to attempt an Iwagumi layout, I hope its obvious but if I am really honest I didn't have a big enough rock to span 2/3 of the tanks height which is slightly dissapointing but I will have to make the trip to TGM next time or find a Seiryu retailer closer to London.



The tank positioned underneath a staircase in a hall way an unless you crouch down you wouldn't normally look at from a lower level, this next picture gives you an idea of what angle the tank is viewed.






So the plants are due to arrive from TGM tomorrow so I have about 24 hours to make final tweak or add additional rocks but I will wait and see.

I will be dosing liquid E.I and also dosing Tobi's Special N fert which I made a batch of this morning and probably easy carbo too. Anyway that all for now, thank you very much for reading through and I will post some more tomorrow after planting.

Vito


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## jack-rythm (10 Feb 2013)

wow.. that is one lovely little treat


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## pompeyfan (10 Feb 2013)

Looks good, i think your plant choice will suit very well


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## LondonDragon (10 Feb 2013)

Have you tried ADC? They sometimes stock larger pieces if you ask them! I am thinking about the very same tank! 
Those rocks will disappear pretty quickly when plants grow in!


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## nayr88 (10 Feb 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Have you tried ADC? They sometimes stock larger pieces if you ask them! I am thinking about the very same tank!
> Those rocks will disappear pretty quickly when plants grow in!



Adc have some really nice bits of rock. I'd check them out and try to pic up a few large bits to really set of the scape


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## Vito (11 Feb 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Have you tried ADC? They sometimes stock larger pieces if you ask them! I am thinking about the very same tank!
> Those rocks will disappear pretty quickly when plants grow in!


 


nayr88 said:


> Adc have some really nice bits of rock. I'd check them out and try to pic up a few large bits to really set of the scape


 
I called ADC way before I ordered my rock to ask if they stocked Seriyu and the guy told me no, he even went to check, im just going to keep on top of the trimming


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## LondonDragon (11 Feb 2013)

Vito said:


> ask if they stocked Seriyu and the guy told me no


Call back and ask for mini landscape rock! you will get a different answer!


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## jack-rythm (11 Feb 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Call back and ask for mini landscape rock! you will get a different answer!


I remember u saying this too me.. Why is 'mini land scape rock' cheaper than 'seriyu' if they are the same stone? And why have people decided to call it mini landscape rock? It seems pointless and silly!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## Ian Holdich (11 Feb 2013)

Seriyu, was the name given to it by Ada. A bit like the lava rock situation lol. It then became available to us minions and was renamed mini landscape rock. 

I'm sure there are different grades of the stuff, but essentially it's the same thing. 

The rock placement looks good, I would echo on what Paulo is saying though...it needs a bigger rock. Better to get it sorted now, than when it's filled up and planted.


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## jack-rythm (11 Feb 2013)

Yeah.. Cheers Ian. I did wonder if there maybe difference in grades as I have ordered much of the mini and it's never as nice as when people buy 'seriyu' from TGM for example. But then everything they have is mint   shame I'm in Devon  

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## Vito (11 Feb 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Call back and ask for mini landscape rock! you will get a different answer!


Believe it or not I also asked but maybe the chap wasn't familiar with it, shame but I've spent a small fortune on stone and I have loads left over too, next scape I will jump on the tube and pay them a visit.
I'm just waiting on plants to arrive from TGM  should be here some point today, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Cheers


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## Vito (11 Feb 2013)

Hey guys had to tweak it again as the main stone wasn't doing its job and I feel now its clearer that its the main stone even if its a little short  I have also moved the right supporting stone close to the main and I feel it gives a nicer balance.










Plants have just turned up, ill keep you guys posted


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## jack-rythm (11 Feb 2013)

Logs a lout better with the bigger stone. Where did u get it all from?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## Vito (11 Feb 2013)

jack-rythm said:


> Logs a lout better with the bigger stone. Where did u get it all from?
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


Thanks Jack, it's the same stone just higher position and I have added a few smaller rocks around it to give it a bigger appearance. 
Just slowly filling the tank at the moment, I forgot how annoying it was when some plants begin to float, I have my tweezers at the ready! I'll post some pics later.
Cheers


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## martinmjr62 (11 Feb 2013)

this is gonna be a nice looking set up,get the pics on soon


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## Vito (12 Feb 2013)

Hey guys, so after a very long day setting up, the tank is up and running 
I had few teething problems such as loads of plants being uprooted  I clearly didn't plant them deep enough but I am keeping tabs on it and replanting and straggler's, secondly the eheim 2026 filter I planned on using was leaking from the lid where it meets the canister, I don't know why, but luckily I had my old tetratec EX1200 as a back up, im not sure if this is sufficient filtration but I haven't got any other options for now. Any way a few pics of setting up and I will try to get some snaps tonight

Almost planted, just had to fill the back with the HM.



Plants in, just add water 




Thanks for looking.


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## LondonDragon (12 Feb 2013)

Vito said:


> im not sure if this is sufficient filtration


it will be enough filtration, it might not be enough flow however 
Looking good so far, will look great once that HC fills in! should take around 6 weeks


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## cookie3985 (12 Feb 2013)

This is a great start, it really makes me want to spend the dosh on a new set-up. It would mean buying a complete set-up, tank, CO2 and lighting the works though. Do any of you guys have a great way of saving cost on these things? I have been using LC on my scapes so far but would prefer the more reliable pressurised alternative. Do you have a rough estimate of the cost of this set-up if you dont mind me asking  Thanks


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## Vito (12 Feb 2013)

cookie3985 said:


> This is a great start, it really makes me want to spend the dosh on a new set-up. It would mean buying a complete set-up, tank, CO2 and lighting the works though. Do any of you guys have a great way of saving cost on these things? I have been using LC on my scapes so far but would prefer the more reliable pressurised alternative. Do you have a rough estimate of the cost of this set-up if you dont mind me asking  Thanks


Thanks mate. This little fella, including plants and substrate, filter, co2 equipment, basically everything set me back about £1800-£1900ish, I suppose Ill spend up to another £100 on livestock when it comes to it  I must admit the Natual Aquario line of products are fantastic and I would recommend them to anyone looking to achieve the ADA look but at a lot less money, again I cannot compare to ADA as I have never seen their tanks or cabinets or lights in person but I am impressed and the guys at FreshWaterShrimp where very helpful especially with all my annoying questions and queries 
Hope this helps.


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## Vito (13 Feb 2013)

Hey guys, I've been meaning to post some pics of the progress so here is where I am so far






a few floaters this morning but nothing more up till now so hopefully everything will stay put and start to root. I have decided to dose Special N daily along side E.I and 8ml easy carbo and I have the 2 of the 36W lights on for 5 hours with the additional 2 on for 1 hour in the middle as I want to try and avoid algae and I fear too much light will only induce it this early on in the growing stage and I have the light suspended about 30cm above the water, if anything I have mentioned doesn't sound right then please point it out as I would rather not learn the hard way 
Thanks for looking


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## Ady34 (13 Feb 2013)

Hi Vito,
your tank and equipment are looking really slick 
Is the special N fertiliser being used as your macro and your using EI for a trace mix? I'm not quite sure I understand your fert dosing regime?
Looking forward to following this one.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Vito (13 Feb 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Hi Vito,
> your tank and equipment are looking really slick
> Is the special N fertiliser being used as your macro and your using EI for a trace mix? I'm not quite sure I understand your fert dosing regime?
> Looking forward to following this one.
> ...


Hi Ady, I am using the E.I mixture recommended from APF you tube video and Chelated trace so my regime is:
Day 1- Macro 40ml + Special N 20ml
Day 2- Trace 40ml + Special N 20 ml
Day 3- Macro 40ml + Special N 20ml
Day 4- Trace 40ml + Special N 20 ml
Day 5- Macro 40ml + Special N 20ml
Day 6- Trace 40ml + Special N 20 ml
Day 7- Rest
I also add 8mm of easy carbo every day as another source of co2. I hope that clears things up buddy. Thanks for reading


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## cookie3985 (13 Feb 2013)

Are you sticking to a particular time of day you dose so the plants get what they need? Or is it just daily whenever is convenient?


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## andyh (13 Feb 2013)

Looking great!

If it was me would kill the midday peak with the lights.

Keep them low to start, once the tank is more mature and plants established more light could be introduced if desired.


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## AndyVox (13 Feb 2013)

This setup is super slick!
Look forward to seeing things progress.


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## Brian Murphy (13 Feb 2013)

Looks the biz, will keep an eye on your progress.  Similar size of tank I wish to work with soon.  I don't understand the dosing special N though, I thought EI dosing had everything you need?


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## Vito (13 Feb 2013)

cookie3985 said:


> Are you sticking to a particular time of day you dose so the plants get what they need? Or is it just daily whenever is convenient?


I dose in the morning before I leave for work which is around 7:30am and lights don't come on until 6pm so I can enjoy the view when I get home.


andyh said:


> Looking great!
> 
> If it was me would kill the midday peak with the lights.
> 
> Keep them low to start, once the tank is more mature and plants established more light could be introduced if desired.


Midday peak killed, thanks for the advice 


Murf said:


> Looks the biz, will keep an eye on your progress.  Similar size of tank I wish to work with soon.  I don't understand the dosing special N though, I thought EI dosing had everything you need?


I'm sure E.I is enough but there is very interesting sticky post in the aquarium fert dosing part of this forum that discusses the Special N fertiliser and results other members have had with it so I thought I would try it too.

So just to update, everything is going well so far, the HC is spreading runners quicker than I have ever experienced before, to be honest I am pleasantly surprised, all the plants are staying nice and green as if I just planted them today but its early days yet, fingers crossed the HM does well and I will shape it into a lovely bush. I cut a few melted leaves an anything that looked like it was dying to further prevent algae. I might perform a water change on Friday but if things continue to go well then I will just wait for the seventh day instead.
Thanks again for all you comments and advice as it really helps and I do want to succeed with this one


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## Dorian (13 Feb 2013)

Hi how many pots of HC u used ????


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## Vito (14 Feb 2013)

Dorian said:


> Hi how many pots of HC u used ????


Used 10 pots and I split them into bunches about the size of two pence piece, I left some of the rock wool attached to help hold the, in place and its proven successful so far 
Cheers


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## B7fec (14 Feb 2013)

Hey Vito, The setup from NA looks great! Nice and simple planting too...... all in all looks great and will be watching this one closely!


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## jon32 (14 Feb 2013)

The tank and glass wear look amazing. I also really like the scape. This should be a stunner when filled in.


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## Vito (19 Feb 2013)

Hey guys, so its a week in and everything is still going well, I did my first water change this morning and got the toothbrush out for the rocks 
I have upped the co2 to 3bps from last Friday as the drop check wasn't as green as I would have liked so that seems to have solved that, I was temped to extended the photo period from 5 hours to 5.5 but I am going to keep it at 5 for another week as I haven't seen any algae issues yet and I don't want to induce them. 
Well enough chit chat, here are the pics. Enjoy 















Thanks for looking.


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## LondonDragon (19 Feb 2013)

Are you running the NA light at full power? How you finding the NA kit? Considering one for myself some time soon!


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## Vito (19 Feb 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Are you running the NA light at full power? How you finding the NA kit? Considering one for myself some time soon!


 
Hey Paulo, I am only running 2 of the 4 36w PC units and will up it when the plant biomass increases. The NA gear is awesome, the light unit is so sleek and the cabinet is very good quality, my only bug is that the tank has a few minor scratches which are at the substrate level so I cannot notice them anymore and one of the pains of glass isn't milometer perfect inline and NA explanation was that the glass isn't computer laser cut so hence the imperfection and they also admit that tanks may come with scratches and cant be helped again I was a little cheesed off with this statement but I suppose its tough luck, that aside the clarity of the glass is amazing and the silicone work is really neat. All in all its a damn sight cheaper than ADA and being of Portuguese heritage myself I felt obligated to used them 
Go for it Paulo take the plunge!


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## Brian Murphy (19 Feb 2013)

Have you any fish in it yet? If not pump the Co2 up as high as you can


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## Deano3 (19 Feb 2013)

Love the tank and layout will be watching this one to see how progresses so keep us posted 

Dean


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## Ady34 (19 Feb 2013)

Vito said:


> my only bug is that the tank has a few minor scratches which are at the substrate level so I cannot notice them anymore and one of the pains of glass isn't milometer perfect inline and NA explanation was that the glass isn't computer laser cut so hence the imperfection and they also admit that tanks may come with scratches and cant be helped again I was a little cheesed off with this statement but I suppose its tough luck!


Oh dear, I don't like the sound of any of that....scratches in particular on a new tank would be a definite no go for me, that's bad in my opinion!
Sorry to hear that mate  only heard good things about these set ups to date....
Mind you, before long all these minor imperfections will become insignificant compared to the scene within the tank 
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## nayr88 (20 Feb 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Oh dear, I don't like the sound of any of that....scratches in particular on a new tank would be a definite no go for me, that's bad in my opinion!
> Sorry to hear that mate  only heard good things about these set ups to date....
> Mind you, before long all these minor imperfections will become insignificant compared to the scene within the tank
> Cheerio,
> Ady.



This is going to look the part when grown in. 

Shame about that statement from NA
I wouldn't expect a single scratch from a brand new tank. Shame


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## Ian Holdich (20 Feb 2013)

The scape is looking great vito, well done. It'll be a real winner when it's all grown in.


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## Vito (20 Feb 2013)

At the moment the light is suspended 30 cm above the tank and the HC is spreading runners and a very healthy looking shade of green, I do agree it needs more light but I feel this early on in the tanks life that too much light will induce an algae issue I might not be able to combat easily so as things continue to go well I will observe it closely and adjust the light intensity as things move forward.

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback


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## Vito (22 Feb 2013)

Hey guys, I've got a slight snail problem and I was wondering if there is anything I can get to kill them seeing as the tank is still without inhabitants. Any suggestions welcomed


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## Dorian (22 Feb 2013)

Assasin snails ???work great in my 160 l tank after 2m all snails gone only 4 assasins left


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## HarryRobinson (23 Feb 2013)

Dwarf puffers!


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## LondonDragon (23 Feb 2013)

HarryRobinson said:


> Dwarf puffers!


Then you don't have the trouble of what to do with the assassin snail population! lol


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## clone (23 Feb 2013)

Hi, as you have no fauna in the tank but the snails...........blast the CO2 and all snails will come out of the water. Then collect them and make them soup   can do that on your day off or something cause need to control the process......may have to repeat the process as tey are tough little creatures.


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## Vito (23 Feb 2013)

clone said:


> Hi, as you have no fauna in the tank but the snails...........blast the CO2 and all snails will come out of the water. Then collect them and make them soup   can do that on your day off or something cause need to control the process......may have to repeat the process as tey are tough little creatures.


Thanks for all the suggestions guys, clones suggestion was very effective and it seemed that the high co2 drove them to the surface and I just plucked them out, no sign of any today but I will have my tweezers at the ready


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## Vito (24 Feb 2013)

Hey guys, there has been more chat than pictures lately so I thought I would do another picture upload, as I am using a basic digital camera I thought I would attempt to edit them with Photoshop Lightroom to give a truer impression, I will be borrowing my brothers SLR and tripod soon for some better quality pictures 


















I have noticed that 3 of the planted HC bunches leaves have started to melt, I am not sure what the cause might be so I thought I would test some of the water parameters today and this is my results:
PH 6.5
KH 40ppm
GH 180ppm

I don't know how accurate these test kits are but maybe it might reveal why a few bits of HC might be melting, I am aerating the tank at night by lifting the outlet above the surface. Possibly my TTEX1200 filter might not be powerful enough for this tank, what do you guys think?
My other concern is the size of the bubble coming from the diffuser, I am temped to go back to my UP-Atomizer but I don't know yet as I am concerned it will restrict the filter flow even further.
I have reintroduced the two additional bulbs to come on for an hour mid photo period since yesterday as the plant mass has increased, and I haven't had any signs of algae that I cannot deal with. 
Thanks for looking


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## tim (24 Feb 2013)

nice tank vito, increased lighting will increase the plants demand for co2 and ferts so if you haven't increased these with the lights could explain the melt, a power head could help flow issues


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## Vito (24 Feb 2013)

tim said:


> nice tank vito, increased lighting will increase the plants demand for co2 and ferts so if you haven't increased these with the lights could explain the melt, a power head could help flow issues


Thanks for the advice Tim, the melting began days before the light increase, would there be too much light in there already with just the 2x 36w hence the melting..,?


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## Ady34 (24 Feb 2013)

Hi Vito, 
Looks to be filling in nicely 
I doubt that there will be too much light already, I seem to remember your unit is 12" above the water level, however now, especially with the increased lighting period, the melt could be highlighting a distribution or co2 concentration issue....you could try upping your injection rate.
I don't know much about the filter, but if you think it may be on the edge of being underpowered I'd maybe consider placing the co2 diffuser under the inlet. This way the larger bubbles which your concerned about will be 'mashed' up within the filter, and you won't have to add your inline diffuser which as you say may reduce flow further. I doubt in your minimalist, clean cut set up your going to want to add extra power heads, so it may be worth saving for an uprated filter if the issues persist...you can also sell the current one afterwards to recoup some funds 
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## LondonDragon (24 Feb 2013)

The filter will be very under powered for this tank, you could always add a powerhead but you will loose the clean look of the tank, but the HC will benefit from it


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## Vito (24 Feb 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Hi Vito,
> Looks to be filling in nicely
> I doubt that there will be too much light already, I seem to remember your unit is 12" above the water level, however now, especially with the increased lighting period, the melt could be highlighting a distribution or co2 concentration issue....you could try upping your injection rate.
> I don't know much about the filter, but if you think it may be on the edge of being underpowered I'd maybe consider placing the co2 diffuser under the inlet. This way the larger bubbles which your concerned about will be 'mashed' up within the filter, and you won't have to add your inline diffuser which as you say may reduce flow further. I doubt in your minimalist, clean cut set up your going to want to add extra power heads, so it may be worth saving for an uprated filter if the issues persist...you can also sell the current one afterwards to recoup some funds
> ...





LondonDragon said:


> The filter will be very under powered for this tank, you could always add a powerhead but you will loose the clean look of the tank, but the HC will benefit from it


Thanks for the tips guys, I do have an eheim 2028 spare but when I originally installed it the bleeding thing leaked, I think it needs a new o'ring for the lid and when I tried taking the pipes off I snapped the fixture, looks like I'm going to have to order up some spares 
Cheers


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## LondonDragon (24 Feb 2013)

Do you come to Central London much? I have a couple of Koralias you could borrow to try out?


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## Vito (24 Feb 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Do you come to Central London much? I have a couple of Koralias you could borrow to try out?


Thanks mate, I already have one but as Ady already mentioned I don't want to ruin the minimalist look so it looks like I will have to fork out around £30 for some spares.


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## Piece-of-fish (26 Feb 2013)

I believe flow is a bit overvalued in UK forums. Good results may be well achieved with much less flow than people tend to take as a necessity. Especially MR. LD haha   Look at amano tanks, he never uses anything but one filter.
With such minimal plant mass the filter must be well enough. The reason should be elsewhere. Do plants pearl?
Anyways if its minor melt I would not probably be worried to much especially if you can see new healthy growth, do you?


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## LondonDragon (26 Feb 2013)

Piece-of-fish said:


> Especially MR. LD haha


I only use the one filter in my tank nowadays  hence I have a couple of Koralias spare


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## Ady34 (26 Feb 2013)

Piece-of-fish said:


> I believe flow is a bit overvalued in UK forums. Good results may be well achieved with much less flow than people tend to take as a necessity. Especially MR. LD haha   Look at amano tanks, he never uses anything but one filter.
> With such minimal plant mass the filter must be well enough. The reason should be elsewhere. Do plants pearl?
> Anyways if its minor melt I would not probably be worried to much especially if you can see new healthy growth, do you?


i totally agree with this, amano seems to use minimal flow and c02 for that matter, but he also has decades of experience. I reckon he probably does a 100% water change every day with carbonated water  Hell, look at James Marshalls nano and pico tanks, they run without filters sometimes, therefore there is no flow at all  just extra water changes, maintenance etc, and most likely precise dosing regimes.
To minimise risk in our larger (less easily manageable) high tech tanks its always best in my opinion to cover the bases, that way distribution will be less likely the cause. I look at tanks all the time and wonder how they achieve such incredible results with seemingly inferior flow patterns and low c02......the freshwatershrimp tanks at aquatics live were stunning and a picture of health yet c02 injection seemed low, and especially in the larger tank, circulation had many obstacles. Im sure its all about experience, finding a perfect balance of lighting, co2, tank maintenance and dosing regimes.....just takes a while to learn.....in the meantime we have to do all we can to ensure success  Even now i (secretly  ) question and blame my tap water, thinking there must be an issue with it, even though i know there cant be, simply because i dont get the results i really want.....but i still have many other things to improve on and try out. I know my distribution could be improved so ill have a go at that and see if i can get better results. I may even try two 50% water changes a week too for a while. If Vito suspects a distribution issue, then most likely there is one i think, but it could be coupled with c02 diffusion also, especially given the slightly increased lighting levels currently used. For me if there's melt, there's a problem somewhere which will only get worse if not addressed. The more light we add the harder it gets to find the balance and then there is even less margin for error.....everything then needs tweaking to compensate.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## charlie (26 Feb 2013)

Great looking set up. Do you have any shots of the setup to include the light and fitting ? I would be interested to see how it all looks.
How is the melt, developing ?


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## Deano3 (26 Feb 2013)

Brilliant answer ady, melt is usually caused by lack of flow or not enough co2 to light ratio I am no expert but reading here its usually one of them at fault, were iz the melt at ? Back I set filter outlet etc ? 

Great tank by the way hope u get sorted

Dean


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## pompeyfan (26 Feb 2013)

Looks good Vito, HC can be a pain to get going, particullarly for CO2/flow reasons. Your UP inline may reduce flow, but if you try it, the visible microbubbles may reveal if the one lily pipe outlet is doing 'enough' low down over the substrate...


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## Vito (26 Feb 2013)

hey guys thank you all for the tips and advice, I did a second water change today and I have swapped the co2 diffuser for my old UP-Atomizer in a hope that I will get a better co2 distribution, I have also reduced the lighting back to the 2 x 36w only. I cleaned the filter, pipes and glassware, so with any luck the melting will go  so basically I have limited the lighting and upped the co2 in an attempt to stop the melting.
I have ordered the new parts for my Ehiem 2028 which I am confident is enough flow for the tank but until it turns up I am still using the Tetratec ex1200 and if I need to I will use my Koralia until the parts arrive. 
Cheers


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## Vito (27 Feb 2013)

charlie said:


> Great looking set up. Do you have any shots of the setup to include the light and fitting ? I would be interested to see how it all looks.
> How is the melt, developing ?


 
Hey Charlie, I didn't get a chance the other day mate, here is a full view of the tank 





The melt is still going on even though I changed from glass diffuser to the UP-Atomizer, the drop checker a much lighter green than it was with the glass diffuser and I can clearly see co2 bubble all over the tank but its early days and I wouldn't expect improvements immediately or would I?
Anyway, thanks for viewing


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## Dave Pierce (27 Feb 2013)

Hi Vito, really nice looking tank. Can see you have had a lot of growth over the first few weeks. Will be watching this


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## Vito (27 Feb 2013)

Thanks Dave, the HM and Tenellus are doing great but the HC melting is disheartening.
Quick question would aerating the tank at night be more of a hindrance than a benefit?
Cheers


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## jack-rythm (28 Feb 2013)

When u say aerating what do u mean? Air pump?? If so I don't think it makes a slight bit of difference to plant growth at all because the plants don't benefit or suffer from anything when lights are off. I think it's more to do with pushing the co2 out from the tank to make it more comfortable for your fish. But I don't really think it's a hindrance or an advantage. It's just something people do if their worried about gas levels I guess.. (which works for fish of course) Maybe someone can explain further.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## LondonDragon (28 Feb 2013)

Vito said:


> The melt is still going on even though I changed from glass diffuser to the UP-Atomizer,


I had this issue with my Iwagumi when the ferts I was using from Tobi run out (For Dan ... Spezial N - Nitrogen Fertilizer | UK Aquatic Plant Society) I would suggest mixing these ferts instead, they work great on HC.


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## Vito (28 Feb 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> I had this issue with my Iwagumi when the ferts I was using from Tobi run out (For Dan ... Spezial N - Nitrogen Fertilizer | UK Aquatic Plant Society) I would suggest mixing these ferts instead, they work great on HC.


Hi Paulo, thanks for the advice, but I am already using the special N and have done from the start  I will just have to keep an eye on the progress this week if it continues to melt then I will increase the dose as I'm currently dosing 40ml macro, 40ml trace and 20ml Special N daily, the greens are vivid which is nice, hopefully a few more days of the loads of co2 will improve the melt on the HC.


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## LondonDragon (28 Feb 2013)

Fert levels seem reasonable, only thing left is to raise the CO2 a little higher! You could try EC to supplement the carbon content.


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## Nice (28 Feb 2013)

Hello

Can you show us a front picture with all the gear?

And by the way, for the light system in particular as well, i'm curious to see.

Don't worry too much about melting, plants are just adapting. Isn't ADA the best substrate in the world? Let worth it cost and make grow the plants.

Nice aquascape.


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## charlie (28 Feb 2013)

Thanks for the shot of the full set up Vito,  looks really slick. As for the melt if i was you i would dust off the spare Koralia you have and try it out until your spare filter parts arrive. This will eliminate flow from the equation, and if successful will arrest the melt of your HC which might save you having to re plant when the new filter gets set up. I would find it easier to look at a healthy, growing tank with a few extra bits of kit, than a melting minimalist scape ( i'm not describing yours as that . . . . .yet ). 
Im sure it will all get sorted soon
Charlie


----------



## Dave Pierce (28 Feb 2013)

Am I right in saying HC normally melts when first planted in a tank? As it's often grown emersed by the growers, there is a transition stage where it adapts to growing under water and therefore melts for the first few weeks. Mine did the same but its coming back strong.


----------



## Ian Holdich (28 Feb 2013)

Here's my take on HC...yes it does melt a little when planted. However, when planted into new aqua soil, I have also ways found it melt really really badly. I'm not sure whether its the ammonia leaching from the soil.


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## Vito (28 Feb 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Fert levels seem reasonable, only thing left is to raise the CO2 a little higher! You could try EC to supplement the carbon content.


Again I am already dosing 10ml Daily  doese it matter that I dose the ferts and EC at 7:45am when the lights only come on at 6PM?


Nice said:


> Hello
> 
> Can you show us a front picture with all the gear?
> 
> ...


Cheers Nice, I will attempt get some snaps done for you tomorrow if I'm not to busy with work 



Dave Pierce said:


> Am I right in saying HC normally melts when first planted in a tank? As it's often grown emersed by the growers, there is a transition stage where it adapts to growing under water and therefore melts for the first few weeks. Mine did the same but its coming back strong.


PMA! Cheers for the confidence boost 

Well the spare parts arrived but I ordered some parts for the wrong model, DOH! Anyway, I have re-ordered the right ones now, the wait continues. 

Cheers.


----------



## Dave Pierce (28 Feb 2013)

Interesting, I have been using eco-complete. As far as I'm aware it's ammonia free? I wouldn't say my HC melting was really bad, just a slight yellowing for about a week before going back to bright green.


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## LondonDragon (28 Feb 2013)

Vito said:


> Again I am already dosing 10ml Daily doese it matter that I dose the ferts and EC at 7:45am when the lights only come on at 6PM?


Shouldn't make a difference. Just give is a week and see how things react!


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## Vito (28 Feb 2013)

Dave Pierce said:


> Interesting, I have been using eco-complete. As far as I'm aware it's ammonia free? I wouldn't say my HC melting was really bad, just a slight yellowing for about a week before going back to bright green.


Hi Dave, by EC I mean easy carbo and my leaves are green but just about 5 of my planted clumps have some transparent leaves within them, to be honest most of the HC is spreading runners and today I can clearly see an improvement on the healthy clumps, for now I will just wait and see just as Paulo has suggested


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## Vito (6 Mar 2013)

Hey guys, another week and another update, so I have introduced the clean up crew, 16 Amano shrimp and 5 otto's. I never knew amanos where this big, its a big difference from cherries  Anyway they got right to it, after 24 hours in my stones are clean as a whistle and the plants are spotless, I was a little bit concerned about how much old leaves and stuff was floating to the top but I suppose that's them getting rid of the bad stuff...? Again as I have never kept amano's I don't know if this is normal.
I have finally upgraded the filter to the eheim 2028 and I have upped the lights as I didnt feel the HC was spreading quick enough and also the HM was taking a bit of time, so I now have the additional 2 x 36W lamps come on for 3 of the 5 hour period.
Anyway I can say so far so good, here are a few pics of it tonight.











Thanks for looking.


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## Vito (12 Mar 2013)

Hello UKAPS members, 
Another week past and another update due  Good news is the melt is over, woohoo! The HC growth is good but the runners seem too straggly so I have upped the lights, all the 4 x 36W lamps on for 5 hours a day simultaneously, and next week I will extended the photo-period to 6 hours, if anyone thinks I should do it now then please speak up  
I lost one amano as it decided to jump out and by the time I got home it was too late  I am however concerned that my shrimp might be hindering the HC spreading runners as they are constantly crawling everywhere and probably uprooting but I haven't witnessed it myself, when I get home there is always a few HC leave and the 2-3 individual small HC stems floating. Would I be wise to remove them?
Anyway I borrowed my brothers SLR, I am still learning how to use it, hope you like the pics.









I don't like the next picture as the hall way gives me limited space for taking a full tank shot and the silly reflections, but I thought I would share it so you can see some growth 




This next one shows the HC, now recovered from the melt but just growing in bunches and not successfully rooting runners, hence the light increases.





Well thanks for looking, any advice or comments are welcomed.


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## Ady34 (12 Mar 2013)

Hi Vito,
this is really starting to take shape now, with the hc visably filling in.
Pleased you seem to be over the melt.....onwards and upwards now....well horizontally may be better 
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## greenink (13 Mar 2013)

A simple solution to injecting CO2 without reducing flow is just putting one of these pre-filter, injecting CO2 directly, and then using the filter as a diffuser. Obviously you need a non-return valve just before the T-piece to stop aquarium water going into your CO2 canister.




Works great for me: crystal clear water, CO2 levels high, no flow reduction and no variation in CO2 rates you get as the UP diffusers get gradually blocked up. Never had a problem with the filter either. That way you can keep injection totally stable.


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## Vito (13 Mar 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Hi Vito,
> this is really starting to take shape now, with the hc visably filling in.
> Pleased you seem to be over the melt.....onwards and upwards now....well horizontally may be better
> Cheerio,
> Ady.


Thank dude 


mikeappleby said:


> A simple solution to injecting CO2 without reducing flow is just putting one of these pre-filter, injecting CO2 directly, and then using the filter as a diffuser. Obviously you need a non-return valve just before the T-piece to stop aquarium water going into your CO2 canister.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi Mike the image didnt upload and I am unfamiliar what equipment your talking about do you have a link as I am curious


----------



## greenink (14 Mar 2013)

Aqua medic reducing t piece 16/22mm


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## Vito (24 Mar 2013)

Hi guys,

Update overdue, all is still going extremely well, I have all the lights on for 6 hours per day and still no sign of algae, however I have noticed the rocks getting a little green, nothing that a tooth brush and elbow grease wont cure. I will up the photo period by another hour on water change day. I trimmed the HM to shape it a bit and also to promote a thicker bush.
Without further a due, here are some pics.












Thanks for looking


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## Piece-of-fish (25 Mar 2013)

turning into real beauty now. cant believe noone commented since yesterday 
my only advice would be to brake the straight horisontal lines of tenellus an hm by planting some of it more forward in few areas.


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## LondonDragon (25 Mar 2013)

Tank is coming along nicely, filling in quickly too  another 4-5 weeks and you need to rescape it 
Agree with Ed as it was pointed out when I tried my gumi, straight lines are a no no 

Keep up the good work and the updates


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## Ady34 (25 Mar 2013)

Hi,
Yeah I agree with Ed, its looking really purposeful and very nice In there. There is a bit of tenellus between the two left most rocks which is spreading forwards which softens the line of plants as Ed suggests but also softens the edges of the rocks which looks much more natural. A few more well placed clusters would help the transitions but still keep the strong hardscape focus. I can't wait to see it totally carpeted which I'm sure wont be long now 
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## George Farmer (26 Mar 2013)

Nice progress. 

Hairgrass amongst the HC could also work.


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## Vito (26 Mar 2013)

Piece-of-fish said:


> turning into real beauty now. cant believe noone commented since yesterday
> my only advice would be to brake the straight horisontal lines of tenellus an hm by planting some of it more forward in few areas.


I do agree mate, to be honest I was trimming the runners that kept coming to the front but I will leave a few to break up the line 
Thanks everyone for your kind words.
I had a little dilemma this morning when cleaning the filter, whilst moving the pipes one of the hoses popped off the up atomiser and a few litres of water shot out onto the floor, my god it was scary 
Anyway thanks again for looking.


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## charlie (27 Mar 2013)

Looking good now man. Defo let some of the tennelus runners spread. I would plant some hm stems into the gaps around some of the large stones to envelop them a bit more and break the  great wall of hm up a bit.
Keep the updates coming .


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## Vito (30 Mar 2013)

Hey guys, I stayed in this Saturday for a change and thought I would take a few shots of the tank








The increased photo period and CO2 have had a positive effect on growth, HC is growing a lot fast and I am letting some of the tenellus runners run wild 
The rocks are turning green which I suspect is due to the increased lighting, any tips for removing the green stuff? and I found a small amount of spirogyra which is easily removed but apart from that all is good.

Thanks for looking.


----------



## George Farmer (30 Mar 2013)

Very nice progress. 

There's no shame in using a toothbrush to get rid of algae from rocks. Just ensure you perform a water change right afterwards.


----------



## Piece-of-fish (31 Mar 2013)

Looking good. I use small metal brushes, toothbrush is too gentle 
Toothbrush is very good for brown diatoms and cleaning silicon in corners. It might work good on rock but probably you need to clean it very often. I find in my cases it does not work on rock


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## NanoJames (31 Mar 2013)

That is filling in very nicely! Are you going to house any fauna?


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## Vito (10 Apr 2013)

Hey guys, an update is overdue, I recently visited Budapest for a short weekend break and left the tank to fend for itself, when I came back I surprised at the growth especially in the HC but I did come back to a bit of an algae outbreak which I can only diagnose as green spot algae and it made the plants look dirty, this was clearly due to the increased lighting so I have gone back to a 5 hour photo period and I trimmed everything that was covered and scrubbed the rocks with an old tooth brush, I think I am going to have to invest in an electric one to reduce the work load 
So as I said before I gave it a trim, I've shaped the HM, and trimmed the tenellus slightly shorter to add depth, I also trimmed all the HC to even it out as it as bushier in some parts than others, anyway less chat more pics 












NanoJames said:


> That is filling in very nicely! Are you going to house any fauna?


Sorry for the late response, I will be but I don't know what to go for yet, I will take a trip to my local LFS and see what they got.
Thanks for looking.


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## flygja (11 Apr 2013)

Nice going! It took me about 4 months to grow that much HC and you've done it in 2!


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## LondonDragon (11 Apr 2013)

Vito said:


> I recently visited Budapest for a short weekend break


Did you manage to fit in a visit to Greenaqua? tank will recover in no time


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## Vito (11 Apr 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> Did you manage to fit in a visit to Greenaqua? tank will recover in no time


Unfortunately not, as I was on a stag and there was only drinking and nightlife involved


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## Steve Smith (12 Apr 2013)

That's looking great Vito


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## Deano3 (12 Apr 2013)

looking great vito very impressive


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## Vito (16 Apr 2013)

Hey guys new update on the tank, things are looking much greener due to a little TLC, I still have all 4 lights on for 5 hours but I have the co2 come one 4 hours before as there is some natural light in the house which might be getting to the tank. I do get a surface film build up but and I know by raising the outflow to cause some water movement at the top will eradicate it but I am worried it will unstabilize the co2 levels, any opinions on this would be good as the white film is a little off putting. I am dosing 60ml Macro, 60ml trace and 30ml Special N alongside 10ml easycarbo, the reason for the increased ferts was because of the increased plant mass and also to take the slight bloom of algae I had whist I was away. Sadly I found another shrimp corpse 12 feet away from the tank, I doubt he crawled all that way, I suspect a draft blew him down the hallway and into the living room 
Whilst doing a W/C today I cleaned the filter and was a bit heavy handed taking one of the suction cups off the inflow pipe and snapped it clean off, luckily I didn't crack the pipe so its still works great and even without the suction cup its holds in place really well, just goes to show how fragile they are and my god cleaning the inlet is a pain.
I am yet to purchase some fish, but I will once I am paid next week, a nice shoal of 20ish of something small but not too distracting.
Anyway some new pics, not a lot of growth as the photo period has been reduced from 7 hours to 5 but at least the algae is dying off  I have added some close ups so you guy can see whats going on 









]

]





Thanks for looking


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## tim (17 Apr 2013)

Looking really good vito, na setups look superb. You can skim the surface film off with a takeaway tub or similar it should disappear eventually, really good looking scape.


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## Alastair (17 Apr 2013)

Really nice vito


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## viktorlantos (17 Apr 2013)

Vito said:


> Unfortunately not, as I was on a stag and there was only drinking and nightlife involved


 
Next time mate, next time! 
Hope you had a great time in our city  

Did you ever measured PO4? Maybe this is too low compare to the light you have and the rocks getting green sooner because of that too.


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## Vito (17 Apr 2013)

tim said:


> Looking really good vito, na setups look superb. You can skim the surface film off with a takeaway tub or similar it should disappear eventually, really good looking scape.


I will try this method and see how it goes, thanks for the tip 


Alastair said:


> Really nice vito


Cheers dude!


viktorlantos said:


> Next time mate, next time!
> Hope you had a great time in our city
> 
> Did you ever measured PO4? Maybe this is too low compare to the light you have and the rocks getting green sooner because of that too.


I never test if I am honest but maybe I should, any particular PO4 test kit that you recommend? Just to clarify is PO4 dosed from Macro solution, if so would it be best to increases the dosage further to keep the green at bay 

Thanks.


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## LondonDragon (17 Apr 2013)

Vito said:


> any particular PO4 that you recommend?


You can get it as a dry salt and just dose it on its own with the rest of your ferts


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## Vito (17 Apr 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> You can get it as a dry salt and just dose it on its own with the rest of your ferts


sorry mate I mean PO4 test kit, I do have PO4 in my mix and also I suppose I could just dose dry as suggested, thanks for the advice


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## LondonDragon (17 Apr 2013)

Vito said:


> sorry mate I mean PO4 test kit


You don't really need one, just increase it a little and monitor.


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## Vito (17 Apr 2013)

LondonDragon said:


> You don't really need one, just increase it a little and monitor.


Will do, I will also strengthen the mix too


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## Vito (17 Apr 2013)

More pics 














Thanks for looking.


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## hydrophyte (18 Apr 2013)

Looking good!


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## charlie (19 Apr 2013)

Hey Vito, for the surface film you can also buy a skimmer, eheim do one for about 30 pounds, ADA also do one in steel for considerabley more. i think someone has done a review of the eheim one on here, just do a search.
Tank is looking nice.

Chalire


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## Iain Sutherland (19 Apr 2013)

Ehein skimmer is great but it will swallow curious cherry shrimp. Easily resolved though by putting some stainless mesh around the top.
I fully plan on running mine on the new tank on a timer for 15mins a couple of times a day as I have an entirely untested theory that the scum contributed to my BBA problems by causing variable off gassing through the week...


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## Vito (24 Apr 2013)

Hey guys,

Just a weekly update, I hacked away and shaped the HM, the density of it is amazing, I will definitely be using it in more scapes in the future, I have stopped using easycarbo for well over a week and haven't noticed any negative effect. I have upped my fert dosage, so i'm dosing 60ml Macro and Micro and 40ml Special N. I scrubbed the rocks with a tooth brush and my arm is super toned now 
I bought 10 more shrimp as I have lost 5 of the original 16 due to jumping out and finally I have introduced 10 Blue Tetras (Knodus borki), they are very nice to look at but them seem to congregate at the top of the tank which is slightly annoying but maybe that because they are new to the tank... Any way some snaps of the progress so far.















Thanks for looking


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## xtevo (27 Apr 2013)

This is a stunning scape, love it!  My favorite iwagumi what I've seen recently!


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## Pedro Rosa (27 Apr 2013)

What a lovind hardscape and what plant health.
Congratulations for you trimming abilities also 

Pedro.


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## Vito (8 May 2013)

Hi guys, I've not had much to report so I didn't update last week but its safe to say an update is overdue 
Anyway so the tank seems to be going well, I did a second trim to the HC carpet and I hacked the HM as its was getting too tall but it has revealed the ugly undergrowth yellowish HM so in a few weeks it should hopefully be back to a healthy green  The rocks are getting covered in green algae as im too lazy to use the tooth brush as its aches my arm lol, I will make sure I scrub them at the next water change. Enjoy the pics!














Thank you for looking


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## Iain Sutherland (10 May 2013)

looking great Vito, electric tooth brush is a must have to clean rocks up...like new in no time


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## Vito (14 May 2013)

Hey guys, so the tank is now 3 months old, the green rocks where getting too unsightly so I got the old tooth brush out and scrubbed as much as I could and I noticed a few small bits of BBA beginning to appear so I performed a larger than normal water change after the scrub and I have decided to order another bottle of easycarbo as I believe since I have stopped dosing the green has been more fierce, I have also decided to have the co2 on from 6am a there is slight light spill into the corridor where the tank lies and I believe this was also contributing to the algae, I was considering covering the front of the tank during the day to avoid the light spill or possibly have the lights come on much sooner as the light spill is through the majority of the day an the light only come on at 4pm and stay on until 10pm, also another concern is that with the light spill during the day and the 6 hour photo period is it too much combined light time, if anyone could give me their opinion, hopefully I am sounding too cautious. The plants are now well on to recovery from the trim and the tops of the HM is getting nice and green again due to new grow but I doubt there is anyway to improve the bottom parts of the stems or is the browning/yellowing of the undergrowth inevitable?
Here is some pictures of the tank tonight, enjoy 














Any comments welcomed.


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## Vito (20 May 2013)

Evening people, another week another update. I just finished a water change and the greens where very vivid so I thought I would capture the moment, Enjoy 




]












Thanks for looking


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## tim (22 May 2013)

Love this scape vito, are you entering iaplc ? You should


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## Vito (23 May 2013)

tim said:


> Love this scape vito, are you entering iaplc ? You should


Hi Tim, thanks for the kind comments, I wasn't planning on entering, I don't even know how to be honest  My only issue I nailing the final shot as my camera skills are a bit newbie, I have tried with my brothers SLR but I cant get the right colours etc... anyway if I do I will have to add some more fish as its only got a clean up crew and 5 blue tetras in there right now.


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## tim (23 May 2013)

Hi mate entry info on page 1 of this thread 
The Official UKAPS IAPLC 2013 thread | Page 4 | UK Aquatic Plant Society
Go for it vito, lovely scape


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## Vito (30 May 2013)

Hey guys, another update due, everything going well apart from overdoing it on the CO2 has killed at least 4 shrimp  Oops, I have to watch the levels a bit closer. anyway some more pics, I dont like the FTS from the front but just so you get a different perspective.














Thanks for looking


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## Nutty (30 May 2013)

Hello,
Is the Hm being trimmed intentionally to cause symmetry with the white arc created by the lighting? (especially in the top pick of your last post) or is it an awesome lucky coincident?which everway i think that it gives the whole scene a really balanced feel and i could just sit and look at it for ages!

Cheers,
Nutty


----------



## Vito (30 May 2013)

Nutty said:


> Hello,
> Is the Hm being trimmed intentionally to cause symmetry with the white arc created by the lighting? (especially in the top pick of your last post) or is it an awesome lucky coincident?which everway i think that it gives the whole scene a really balanced feel and i could just sit and look at it for ages!
> 
> Cheers,
> Nutty


Hi Nutty, just luck  I don't spend enough time sitting in front of it if I'm honest but every time I walk past I look at it without fail lol


----------



## Vito (4 Jun 2013)

Hello peeps, one more week over and another update due, I took Tim's advice and entered into IAPLC, I'm not expecting much but I thought I would contribute to the UK entries 
I have definitely been overdoing the co2 as I think I have killed most the amanos in the tank  so I have decided to put up a big piece of card in front of the tank during the day to kill the light spill and reduce the need for co2 during lights out I hope this doesnt have a negative effect on the plants they are doing so well but unfortunately its cost me in the shrimp department, I am also down to 3 tetras and 1 otto, to be honest I am not interested in the fish/animals at all its the scape that does it for me but I know eventually I will want a massive shoal of something and when I do I don't want to kill em so I need to get this right.
Any way I decided to trim the HC as I noticed some slight algae build up as most of the amanos who'ed previously ate it are no longer present. I am off to Ibiza this weekend for my stag, should be exciting and I hope the tank will be ok, I have entrusted my fiance to keep an eye on it but nothing major needs doing.
Anyway, I borrowed my brothers SLR and took some snaps, to be honist I dont like the way they turned out and I seem to prefer my cheap digital camera shots.
Enjoy


----------



## flygja (5 Jun 2013)

Lovely scape. You can try adjusting the white balance setting so it doesn't appear too warm and yellow. I usually shoot my tanks at 4900 Kelvin but each tank is different due to the colour of the glass and lighting.

Also try to boost the exposure compensation, say by +1EV to get a brighter shot. But beware that it will reduce the shutter speed or reduce the depth of field depending on which mode you use. Let me know if you have anymore questions.


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## Ady34 (5 Jun 2013)

Looking good Vito.
I'm sure the tank will be fine.....maybe you in Ibiza is more risky  have a good stag do 
Cheerio
Ady


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## Parthapratim (5 Jun 2013)

beautiful looking tank


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## Vito (23 Jun 2013)

Hey guys, well an update is well over due so here goes...
Whilst away in Ibiza, the co2 ran out, causing a minor algae issue, the HM was grown almost to the top so I had to hack the life out of it. When I replaced the co2 bottle I forgot to put the time on auto and it killed almost everything so I am left with 1 otto and 1 amano  anyway, I have done a few water changes and I have reduced the lighting to two bulbs to recover from the algae and I can report everything is on the mend. I also broke the inlet pipe, damn thing snapped, so I am using the ugly eheim plastic one, if anyone could recomend a good quality glass inlet that would be great, also I will be restocking the amanos as soon as I get paid. Any way here are some pictures of the tank as it is.












Thanks for looking


----------



## Deano3 (23 Jun 2013)

sorry to hear about the gassing but easily forgot, can I ask were did you purchase the NA aquarium as heard good thing about them, and great looking aquarium love the layout

Thanks dean


----------



## Vito (24 Jun 2013)

Deano3 said:


> sorry to hear about the gassing but easily forgot, can I ask were did you purchase the NA aquarium as heard good thing about them, and great looking aquarium love the layout
> 
> Thanks dean


 
Hi Dean, thanks for the compliment, I ordered the setup through FreshwaterShrimp, they are one of the sponsors on this forum, they are very helpful and I would definitely recommend as the NA Setup it brilliant value for money.


----------



## Ian Holdich (24 Jun 2013)

Looking good Vito, very amano esq.


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## tim (24 Jun 2013)

Really love this scape vito, true nature aquarium, I can recommend the gush glassware from aquariumplantfood good quality and well priced IMO or maybe na stainless steel pipes would be a less breakable option.


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## Brian Murphy (24 Jun 2013)

Looking great ..... sorry for your losses but sure these things can happen trying to get it right .... Co2 is a 'killer' to get right


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## Vito (24 Jun 2013)

tim said:


> Really love this scape vito, true nature aquarium, I can recommend the gush glassware from aquariumplantfood good quality and well priced IMO or maybe na stainless steel pipes would be a less breakable option.


Thanks for the kind words, I totally forgot about gush product line, I'm going to go for the glass option as I love the almost invisible look even though they are fragile


----------



## Vito (27 Jun 2013)

Hey guys, another update and I am happy to report that the tank is well on its way to a full recovery, I suspect that covering the front of the tank during the day to block the light spill and minimizing the lights has had a positive effect. I will be restocking but I haven't decided on what fish, either a massive shoal of some small species or a few nice show fish as a crowd pleaser for the missus and my friends who often ask me when am I going to get some "real fish" in there 
Here are some pic's, the inlet is starting to bug me and I am going to make a final decision on a new one soon. I also thought I would take some snaps mid W/C to add a bit of variety 



















Thanks for looking


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## Brian Murphy (27 Jun 2013)

looking great


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## Nice (28 Jun 2013)

This tank is turning out to be very good.

And i feel as time goes by, it will be looking better and better.

My advice, i would go for a steel pipes selection. Your hoses are durty as normal. I ask mayself what is the point of having glass pipes, if hoses also look ugly...

my opinion

keep it up


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## Deano3 (28 Jun 2013)

looking good mate, how do you carry out water changes just syphon the water out and put hose just above the carpet ? love the tank keep updates coming, and I love huge shoals of fish and maybe one larger fish for show but cannot beat lots of little fish lol sure will look great

Dean


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## Vito (30 Jun 2013)

Deano3 said:


> looking good mate, how do you carry out water changes just syphon the water out and put hose just above the carpet ? love the tank keep updates coming, and I love huge shoals of fish and maybe one larger fish for show but cannot beat lots of little fish lol sure will look great
> 
> Dean


 
Hey Dean, I carry out water changes by siphoning out into a large bucket and then I attach a pump to the hose and it pumps water from the bucket back into the tank, the buckets are heavey but makes good exercise 

Pic update 


















Thanks for looking


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## LancsRick (30 Jun 2013)

Great tank, love the use of the "hedge" at the back, not seen that before.

Wish I had the time to invest in a high-tech tank.


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## Vito (1 Jul 2013)

LancsRick said:


> Great tank, love the use of the "hedge" at the back, not seen that before.


 

Thanks for the kind words, the "hedge" has taken a major hacking, its a bit rough at the moment, I will be re shaping it next W/C and it should look much nicer.


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## Deano3 (1 Jul 2013)

I just do one 10l bucket on my tank as small but when get bigger tank I will need a pump sounds like great idea and tank looking great no new fishes yet mate ?

Dean


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## Vito (3 Jul 2013)

Deano3 said:


> I just do one 10l bucket on my tank as small but when get bigger tank I will need a pump sounds like great idea and tank looking great no new fishes yet mate ?
> 
> Dean


No fish yet buddy, I'm about to be married and a lot of my money is going towards that. To be honest I'm only interested in the plants, I am tempted to restock but the budget it tight


----------



## faizal (3 Jul 2013)

Just finished reading your entire journal Vito,... Loved the progress of the tank. Here's wishing you all the best for the upcoming marriage. Hope you have a wonderful family life ahead.


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## Brian Murphy (3 Jul 2013)

Vito said:


> No fish yet buddy, I'm about to be married and a lot of my money is going towards that. To be honest I'm only interested in the plants, I am tempted to restock but the budget it tight


 
I know the feeling .... I keep telling the soon-to-be-mrs that I'm only interested in the plants  ...... but she is still here


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## Francis (3 Jul 2013)

Looks really super.


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## Vito (9 Jul 2013)

Hey guys, just an update, nothing major to report, I have found the growth to be a lot slower with only two bulbs running so for the next week I have decided to turn on the other two for a 3 period in between, I realize this may do more harm than good but I just want to experiment. I have trimmed the HM again as I like the low bush rather that the tall one that hides the rocks. I also gave the silicone edges a damn goof scrub with a tooth brush as dirt/algae was building up, would someone be able to tell me if scrubbing the joints too hard with a tooth brush will damage the silicone work?




Thanks for looking


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## Piece-of-fish (11 Jul 2013)

Hi Vito, the tank is looking superb. Well done. Have you changed your mind on selling the system? 
The seals should be ok with a toothbrush, just a tip for the future. I found it is way much easier to remove this crap if you do it often. If you leave it to long it gets hard and is nearly impossible or very difficult to remove. I tend to brush the corners now every time I clean the glass and do waterchange. It takes just a minute and is very effective


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## Nice (11 Jul 2013)

Hello

Can i give you an advice, you really wanna see you tank to blow away. Turn on 4 all lights 10Hours a day, supply CO2, 2 bubbles per second, and get NA or ADA ferts.

The plants will flourish and you will have a great tank. The way you got plants, they are crying for nutrients.. 

cheers


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## Vito (14 Jul 2013)

Piece-of-fish said:


> Hi Vito, the tank is looking superb. Well done. Have you changed your mind on selling the system?
> The seals should be ok with a toothbrush, just a tip for the future. I found it is way much easier to remove this crap if you do it often. If you leave it to long it gets hard and is nearly impossible or very difficult to remove. I tend to brush the corners now every time I clean the glass and do waterchange. It takes just a minute and is very effective


 
Hey man thanks for the tips, I have decided to keep the tank for the time being, cant break the habit 
lost another shrimp to a suicide jump, not sure why they are doing it and I am hesitant to use the lid as I think it would affect the look, would it be too much co2? is there a more accurate way of reading co2 rather than drop checker...?


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## tim (14 Jul 2013)

Hi vito, I found amanos to wander a lot I had all 10 walk out of my tank cherry shrimp seem to stay put even with the water close to the top of the tank, good to see you staying in the hobby


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## Vito (14 Jul 2013)

Hey guys, i've been staring at my tank for a while and it seems I have some inhabitants that I've never seen before, I can only describe them as tiny brown balls swimming within the HC carpet, at first I thought it was loose powersand being whooshed about but staring at them for a good while its cleat its some sort of parasite/bug? they are no bigger than a pin head and only swim at the bottom of the tank. Can some one shed some light and tell me if its a potential issue and what I can do to fix it. 
Thanks


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## Ian Holdich (15 Jul 2013)

Vito said:


> Hey guys, i've been staring at my tank for a while and it seems I have some inhabitants that I've never seen before, I can only describe them as tiny brown balls swimming within the HC carpet, at first I thought it was loose powersand being whooshed about but staring at them for a good while its cleat its some sort of parasite/bug? they are no bigger than a pin head and only swim at the bottom of the tank. Can some one shed some light and tell me if its a potential issue and what I can do to fix it.
> Thanks



Can you get any pics? 
Have you got any livestock in there already?


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## dw1305 (15 Jul 2013)

Hi all


Vito said:


> I can only describe them as tiny brown balls swimming within the HC carpet, at first I thought it was loose powersand being whooshed about but staring at them for a good while its cleat its some sort of parasite/bug? they are no bigger than a pin head and only swim at the bottom of the tank.


They are Ostracods or "Seed shrimp", basically a _Daphnia, _enclosed in a shell a bit like a bivalve molluscs <Microscope Image of an Ostracod>. They are entirely harmless, and some fish will eat them.

cheers Darrel


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## Vito (2 Aug 2013)

Hey guys, an update is well overdue and I thought I would share the progress. Still no additional fish due to the wedding looming but I can report the tank is very stable and everything is going well, I trim regularly to keep the plants under control and I keep on top of the maintenance which I have learned is key to having a successful scape. I have decided that 2 bulbs for 7 hours a day is sufficient for the amount of growth and also keeps the algae at bay. here are a few shot of the tank tonight, I know its getting very repetitive but I hope you enjoy the pics.









Thanks for looking.


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## Vito (11 Aug 2013)

Hey guys, just to update the journal, I am currently in Portugal on a 2 week holiday and I thought I would look at the IAPLC results, im not last but at 2058, not far off  anyway its lower than I hoped I am happy to get my name on the PDF. Anyway, in my absence I have left the tank to fend for itself, I have lowered the lights to 4 hours per day and I added two weeks worth of ferts into the tank the day I departed. Hopefully this will give the plants enough food. I will take a snap of how it looks when I get back to see how well my method worked. 
Watch this space


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## DanMac (11 Aug 2013)

Your tank is up there with some of the best I have ever seen, i would love to see all 2057 which are apparently better than yours


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## Ian Holdich (11 Aug 2013)

I saw your name in there Vito, I'm really surprised you weren't ranked better with this scape...do you have the final picture?


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## Gary Nelson (11 Aug 2013)

Yes I agree, this is a great scape.... It should of been ranked much higher!... Still well done though.


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## tim (12 Aug 2013)

Shocked this didn't achieve a better placing vito it's up there in my favourite scapes of the last year.


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## Vito (13 Aug 2013)

Ian Holdich said:


> I saw your name in there Vito, I'm really surprised you weren't ranked better with this scape...do you have the final picture?


Thanks for the kind words guys, but due to my tanks position, it limits me to taking a full frontal shot and I believe that scores against my entry and also the I true quality might have not been up to scratch but next year I will work on my final shot a lot better, as for the shot I submitted, I do not have it to hand but once I'm back in the country I will post it.


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## Piece-of-fish (13 Aug 2013)

Hi Vito, the picture definitely must have been the reason. The scape is great. If the picture is not FTS then it is 100% the case. If the space is limited then consider wide angle lens. The tank will fit from less than half distance. Spend some time with photography or ask someone to help you out. If you want visit me one day I can give you some quick tips and can lend UWA for the final shot. There is just a short moment of the tanks prime and a nice picture can remind you the scape for the rest of your life 
Again well done on the scape and looking forward to your next one.


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## Vito (21 Aug 2013)

Piece-of-fish said:


> Hi Vito, the picture definitely must have been the reason. The scape is great. If the picture is not FTS then it is 100% the case. If the space is limited then consider wide angle lens. The tank will fit from less than half distance. Spend some time with photography or ask someone to help you out. If you want visit me one day I can give you some quick tips and can lend UWA for the final shot. There is just a short moment of the tanks prime and a nice picture can remind you the scape for the rest of your life
> Again well done on the scape and looking forward to your next one.


 
Thanks for the advice dude and also the offer for the equipment, I will definitely take alot more thought and consideration into the photography aspect for my next entry and I will ask my brother about wide angle lenses, as I am sure he will have one 
As for the tank, I arrived back today to see its remained as clean as a whistle much to my surprise, the only different was the reduction in the water level, good news and I have attached a pic, as you can see its in need of a trim and I will do that with the W/C tomorrow night.



7
Thanks for looking


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## Vito (23 Aug 2013)

Hey everyone,
As previously stated here is an update of the tank so far. Larger than normal W/C today to take away any rubbish accumulated over the past two weeks, and a very sharp trim up on all the plants. I have attached before and after pics and a few other shots. I have decided to keep the lights at 4 hours but lowered it by 2 inches, hopefully this will increase intensity as the HC seems to be growing up rather than sideways, also I was very surprised with the success results of dosing a weeks worth of ferts in one go so I've done that again. I am yest to buy some fish for the tank but I might go and get some cardinals or embers this weekend if i get some time.
Anyway here are some pics, if i'm honest I do prefer the wilder grown bush of HM rather thank the clean cut one in the pics but in the flesh I feel the opposite 























Thank for looking


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## Vito (5 Sep 2013)

Hey guys, well I managed to borrow a wide angle lens and I have also stocked the tank with 25 Helingi Rasbora, I had 4 of them jump out so I have decided to put the glass lid on top and to be honest I barley notice it and wish I had done it sooner as it would have saved me alot of shrimp.. After about 200+ shots this is what I have come up with, hope you like it.









Thanks for looking


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## xtevo (5 Sep 2013)

I wish I could see this beauty in a bigger resolution!  Anyway green lush, as before, one of my favorites minimal iwagumi!


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## Deano3 (5 Sep 2013)

xtevo said:


> I wish I could see this beauty in a bigger resolution!  Anyway green lush, as before, one of my favorites minimal iwagumi!


 agreed , looking great vito , I agree about glass lid I haven't got one but all shrimp I purchased last time jumped and its a bit disheartening so sure that ill help, how you get the lilly pipes through the lid you have it specially cut ?


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## Vito (6 Sep 2013)

xtevo said:


> I wish I could see this beauty in a bigger resolution!  Anyway green lush, as before, one of my favorites minimal iwagumi!


 
Thanks for the kinds words  when you say a bigger resolution what do you mean? as when I upload the photos on image shake it gets re-sized, should I not re-size when I upload them?
Here is the actuall size of the photo





Deano3 said:


> agreed , looking great vito , I agree about glass lid I haven't got one but all shrimp I purchased last time jumped and its a bit disheartening so sure that ill help, how you get the lilly pipes through the lid you have it specially cut ?


The glass lid was supplied with the tank and its sorter than the length of the tank to allow the pipes to fit. Thanks for the comments


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## Gary Nelson (6 Sep 2013)

It looks great! and a very natural look  do you have a pic showing the top of the tank with the glass lid? I'd like to see how it looks and fits.


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## Lindy (6 Sep 2013)

Deano3 said:


> how you get the lilly pipes through the lid you have it specially cut ?


 
The green machine sell ADA ones and they are not as expensive as you might think.


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## aliclarke86 (6 Sep 2013)

I really like these new shots mate. It looks fantastic! 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4


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## Vito (6 Sep 2013)

Gary Nelson said:


> It looks great! and a very natural look  do you have a pic showing the top of the tank with the glass lid? I'd like to see how it looks and fits.


 
Hi Gary here are some pics of the top, unfortunately I dont have the SLR today so picture quality isn't fantastic. 









To be honest I thought it would be more distracting to the scape but I don't notice it, I still prefer without it but needs must, I suppose.
I am still trying to gain a much sharper image on the SLR shots, any one got any advice on how to do so?


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## Gary Nelson (6 Sep 2013)

Hey Vito.... Thanks for putting those pics up, very good of you.  It does not look bad at all to be honest, I wanted to see what it looked like as I've just moved over to my first open topped tank and I've had a few shrimp and one fish take a look at my lounge floor... I even think it surprised my dog as he looked at them and walked off.  Your tank looks great by the way... I really like it - well done.


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## webworm (6 Sep 2013)

Vito, sometimes practicality has to come first. Out of interest did the lid support clips come with the tank or lid ?


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## Vito (8 Sep 2013)

webworm said:


> Vito, sometimes practicality has to come first. Out of interest did the lid support clips come with the tank or lid ?


 
Yep the clips where supplied with the lid.


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## flygja (11 Sep 2013)

Vito said:


> I am still trying to gain a much sharper image on the SLR shots, any one got any advice on how to do so?


 
More light! Lower your lighting closer to the water's surface to ensure everything is lit up well and you can set a shutter speed of at least 1/120. I see quite a bit of noise in your pictures and on some cameras (mine included), a higher ISO leads to muddier details, so set the ISO to its "default". I say default because for mine, its ISO 200. I also have an ISO 100 setting, but they use software trickery to achieve that, its not the default sensitivity for my camera's sensor.


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## Vito (26 Sep 2013)

Hey guys, so its been a few weeks since my last post, everything is still ticking along nicely I got rid of the lid as it did eventually begin to distract me from the beautiful minimalistic look of the tank and plus maintenance became more of a pain, also the condensation that collected on the lid mad it even more ugly so I have had to bite the bullet and I am down to about 10 halengi's from 25 and most of them are behind the tank where I cant get to but when I redo the tank I will probably find 30 or so fish skeletons. So I have borrowed my brothers SLR and Wide angle lens and I also lowered the light about 2 inches to give me better lighting for the shots. Just to let you know the plan is to grow the HM very tall and then harvest the cuttings and replant in between the main rocks to give a more natural transition rather than the straight-ish lines I have at the moment.
Anyway enjoy the pics, ignore the dirty pipes, they are due to be cleaned next week 


 




Thanks for looking.


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## Greenfinger2 (26 Sep 2013)

Hi Vito, One word, Exquisite


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## Vito (27 Sep 2013)

Thanks dude!


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## Alastair (27 Sep 2013)

Stunning vito. You need a chair firmly planted right infront of that tank.  Its beautiful mate

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## TOO (27 Sep 2013)

Just noticed the IAPLC rank for this; really removes my motivation for participating next year if this got ranked 2058! Unbelievable.

The only critique I can come up with is that perhaps the background stems become a little too hedge-like and the transition to the carpet somewhat abrupt. 

Otherwise, real classy.

Thomas


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## Vito (27 Sep 2013)

TOO said:


> Just noticed the IAPLC rank for this; really removes my motivation for participating next year if this got ranked 2058! Unbelievable.
> 
> The only critique I can come up with is that perhaps the background stems become a little too hedge-like and the transition to the carpet somewhat abrupt.
> 
> ...


Hi Tom, I agree with you, the transition was a lot smoother when I had the hedge trimmed but I am growing the stems tall as I want to harvest the trimmings so I can plant more in between the rocks to Eliminate this and then I will shape it accordingly 
The IAPLC was because I couldn't submit a full tank shot as I didn't have the wide angled lens to take the right shot, I would still recommend entering especially as it's free


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## Vito (22 Oct 2013)

Hey guys, its been a wile since I've updated but I can say the tank is still going strong, being busy with work etc I didn't get round to doing a water change last week but having a day off today gave me some time to give the tank a little TLC, anyway the HM has grown to the water line in the middle and the sides are growing tall too, I did however trim it slightly to get it to thicken out. I am concerned that some parts of the carpet are not as anchored into the substrate and eventually I will have a mass uproot, I might have to come up with a contraption to weigh it down and hopefully it will take root again, if not it will only enforce a re-scape 
Another shrimp lost but I believe its due to natural causes, so now with only one amano and one otto, I am desperate need of a clean up crew, I am thinking of getting some cherry shrimp as the breed easily and will add a nice bit of colour and from what I remember are a lot cheaper than Amano's, if anyone has any shrimp for sale, please let me know.
Lastly I have noticed an unsightly white foam/bacteria build up on the top of the water, I assume its just a build up of what ever the plants put out but if anyone knows otherwise then please let me know as its a bit gunky and make the top of my glass look ugly! the W/C clears it up so its not the end of the world
Anyway here a pic of the tank tonight but unfortunatly not with my brother SLR but I will try to do a shoot for next week.




Thanks for looking!


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## aliclarke86 (23 Oct 2013)

I comdnd you for keeping this beauty going this long mate. My latest has only been going 3 weeks and I'm already planning the next 

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## aliclarke86 (23 Oct 2013)

Commend*

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## Vito (23 Oct 2013)

aliclarke86 said:


> I comdnd you for keeping this beauty going this long mate. My latest has only been going 3 weeks and I'm already planning the next
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


 
Thanks mate, to be honest as soon as I get a bit of spare cash I will be doing a rescape, probably the Island type layout as I fancy trying some different plant species especially moss!


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## TOO (23 Oct 2013)

Looks great - as usual. Such a healthy looking lawn.

Agree with Ali: I don't have the patience to keep my tanks for very long either. Impressive.

Thomas


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## Vito (26 Nov 2013)

Hey guys, things have gone slightly backwards, to be honest it was a long time coming, as I mentioned some of the HC, in areas was becoming loose from the substrate and its clearly because of the decaying undergrowth due to a dense carpet, so I have pulled the 95% of the carpet and replanted with the hope it will take however this time I will be keeping it trimmed and no more than 5-6mm thick, if all else fails a re-scape will be on the cards 
I wont post pics right now as its gross


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## James D (26 Nov 2013)

That's a shame, I really love this layout. Is it a common problem with HC carpets?


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## aliclarke86 (26 Nov 2013)

I found that when my hc got to about 4cm thick it started to go downhill. I tried planting some in a new setup but it has never really taken.

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## Samjpikey (26 Nov 2013)

I had a very similar experience with hc , I had it growing brilliantly untill it was 30mm + and
Wen it was trimmed, it wasn't the best condition below and never fully recovered whilst everything else in the tank grew well , I've since ripped it all out and replaced with eleocharis sp mini  


Sent from my mobile telecommunications device


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## Andy Thurston (26 Nov 2013)

Mine and dans  hc does it too. Hc is a weed in a high light tank. I think the top half of plant blocks the light, co2 and nutrients from the bottom. It needs trimming hard and often. When it gets to 3cm cut 2cm off. Lower light levels will help reduce the amount of trimming required.
It seems to be growing just as well under 1 t5 in 'wood and moss' as it is under 2 t5 in dans 180 , just more leggy and a lot slower
Hc isn't a hard plant to grow but its hard to keep on top of all the trimming it needs to keep it looking good


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## Samjpikey (26 Nov 2013)

I agree the maintenance of keeping a big mass of hc healthy is high profile but a beautiful plant nonetheless , I think scaping in moderation is the key  


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## Vito (19 Dec 2013)

Hey guys,

Another update and some urgent help/advice required, so the carpet as you know lifted and replanted and happy to report runners of the replanted HC are spreading, I've switched on all the lights and growth and colour is better so I am going to stick with it unless a get an algae bloom I cant handle.
Now for the advice part, I was under the impression that my tank was accumulating cloudy water towards the end of each week (close to W/C day) and thought it was just something that with time would go away, as I thought the cause might be a recent clean in the filter and debris from the aquasoil from the lifting of the carpet and everything leaching into the body of water, well anyway taking a closer look it seems there is a fine white build up on the tank glass which when researching the issue could be the cause of hard water/limescale build up and as you will see from the photographs below you will notice it seems misty, has anyone had any experience with this issue, I normally rub sliced limes or lemon around the top of the tank to remove the unsightly limescale water line mark, I am temped to do this to the rest of the glass but obviously I cannot completely empty the tank water so would it be safe and effective to rub the lime/lemon underwater?
Any help and advice would be welcomed.
Here are the pics of the tank as it is tonight, unfortunately in a bad state but on the mend!









Thanks.


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## Edvet (19 Dec 2013)

I regularly clean my tank with a paintscraper. If that scares you, you can also use an old creditcard and scrape the insides with it. If you move from up to down you can clean all the way in to the substrate, just make sure you take it away from the glass going up again.


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## Edvet (19 Dec 2013)

Like this one. I use it a few times and replace it. Works a charm, steel doesn't scratch glass (substrate particles can though!)


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## Vito (19 Dec 2013)

Thanks Edvet, I'll try to pick up a scraper today, I did use the metal one I have but it didn't help, probably because it doesn't use a razor which might be more effective


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## Vito (23 Dec 2013)

Hi guys, all is well with the tank, plants are growing very fast and I can see the tenellus taking over the foreground  the replanted HC is doing well and the moss stones are starting to grow so to be honest it's back on track but the hard water stains on the glass are really starting to bug me, I bought a similar scraper suggested by Edvet and after a good scrapping and load of lime juice it's still not eradicated, any one else have any other tips to remove it?


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## aliclarke86 (24 Dec 2013)

Perseverance is the key. Keep at it mate bit by bit it will slowly disappear. Just make it part of your water change routine.

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## LondonDragon (13 Feb 2014)

Hi Vito, hows is this one going?


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## Vito (20 Feb 2014)

LondonDragon said:


> Hi Vito, hows is this one going?


 

Hey Paulo, to be honest I was a little embarrassed on how the tank was looking so I wanted wait until it recovered but I am happy to report the tank is nearly 100% back on track and the tenellus has grown in the middle and sides and created a new look for the tank at least to my eye anyway, the HC has almost covered the foreground  To be honest a lot of patience and careful maintenance was required but I feel this tank has come back from the dead so to speak, the HM died off at the bottom much like the HC so that all needed trimming and replanting the cuttings but I can only say that this has been a very forgiving scape and if anything an inspiration to not give up when things go wrong. Anyway I havent got the SLR but here is a pic from my digital camera taken tonight 






Thanks for looking.


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## aliclarke86 (21 Feb 2014)

Wow nice save!! Love the tenellus it looks great 

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## LondonDragon (21 Feb 2014)

Looking good Vito, nice recovery and no need to feel embarrassed, otherwise I wouldn't have posted any of my tanks lolol 
How long you planning on keeping this going?


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## Greenfinger2 (21 Feb 2014)

Hi Vito, Well its looking good now I love the Tenellus too


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## Vito (23 Feb 2014)

LondonDragon said:


> Looking good Vito, nice recovery and no need to feel embarrassed, otherwise I wouldn't have posted any of my tanks lolol
> How long you planning on keeping this going?


Thanks for the kind word. Time scale.... Don't know I just enjoy the upkeep believe it or not


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## Piece-of-fish (23 Feb 2014)

Its time for a new challenge  You have taken all out of this one. 
It looks much more mature and complete. Plant groups work well together.


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## steveno (23 Feb 2014)

looks great... well done bring it back from the brink! you'll never have guess thou!


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## Deano3 (23 Feb 2014)

Looks great mate and as said great recovery and I agree think its time for a rescape and a new challenge for u mate you have turned this into a beauty well done


Thanks Dean


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## Vito (25 Feb 2014)

Thank guys, I will eventually start again but I am waiting for the carpet to fill in completely on the left and I will attempt one last full tank shot also I havent got any spare cash flow right, I am considering reusing my subsrtate but not sure yet. Anyhow I borrowed my brothers SLR and he gave me a few tips and I have come up with this 



 

Thanks for looking


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## Ady34 (25 Feb 2014)

lovely!


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## LondonDragon (26 Feb 2014)

Looking good Vito, see all you needed was a bit of encouragement


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## Vito (16 Jun 2014)

Just a quick pic update, nothing new to report other than I broke one of the EZ clip off the eheim 2028 and had to order a replacement which took 3 days to arrive so it was lights out and everything off, no adverse effects, only a tiny bit of BGA emerged from the substrate but I cleaned that up as soon as the lights and filter were back in action. 




Thanks for looking


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## aliclarke86 (16 Jun 2014)

Vitooooo nice to she you back and this still going  

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## Tim Harrison (16 Jun 2014)

Dito..awesome dude...


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## Greenfinger2 (17 Jun 2014)

Hi Vito,Still looking fab


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## tim (17 Jun 2014)

Looks great vito, shows a scape can be kept long term with good maintenance practices.


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