# 90 x 45 x 45 - All The Little Things - New Journal



## JohnC (13 Nov 2015)

Hi,

So things are finally at the stage of setting up my clearseal 90 edgeline tank. This thing has been sitting in the living room since march unused for anything other then a plant holding tank.  It's also taken a ridiculous amount of time to collect the equipment i wanted. But thankfully its now all read to go!

So the plan for this one is a bit busy, mainly so I can get a lot of different types of fish in. I've been limited by my choices of late by doing simple layouts or species only tanks. The second aim is to make everything small scale livestock wise. Lots of little things or All The Little Things as i'm calling it.

So micro rasbora, scarlett badis.... that kind of thing. shoals of tiny 

Kit wise will be as below.

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Specifics

Tank Size - 90x45x40 Clearseal Edgeline
Lights - 1 x Current USA Satellite + Pro Freshwater
Filter - Eheim professionel 3 1200xlt, Aqua Rebel stainless steel outtake and intake with skimmer
Substrate - TMC NutraSoil
Decor - Redmoor wood, cobbles covered in moss

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Little view from the front while i ponder wood arrangement




All needs a little clean from it's use as a holding tank




Little look at the light. Comes with a nifty remote




First of the pre set light colours




Second of the pre set colours




Third




And forth




View from the ponder seat. 

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Planting wise i'm really wanting to keep the small theme with a lot of mixed ground cover between the cobbles covered in various mosses in a central area between redmoor. A meeting place for all the little things.

This was somewhat inspired by photos I was taking of the river in Costa Rica while kayaking.



 



 

I'll make an album elsewhere for the rest of the Costa Rica trip. Was exceedingly inspiring.

The redmoor arms around central cobble planting area i'm aiming to use a lot of Fontinalis antipyretica var. gigantea, which i've been growing out for an inordinate amount of time from a tiny bit i received years ago. Now I have bucket loads and have started pruning tests in the new plant holding tank. The aim is to give the appearance of fuzzy tree foliage with anubias in the lower areas, mini java fern intermixed. I'm also pondering using a smaller version of this moss to create a increased perspective on back branches. Who knows. It's a new moss type to me. 

Just want to give it a try 

Questions and comments welcome as always in my journals. 

Always learning.

Best Regards,
John


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## Manu (13 Nov 2015)

Hi John,

Costa Rica... that must be very inspiring I'm sure!

Looking forward to seeing the tank planted 

Cheers,
Manu


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## alto (14 Nov 2015)

sounds an exciting project 

for badis type fishes, maybe add some nice twisty lengths of wood at substrate level as well, creating dims & hollows against the substrate, also between lower branches using plants ...

That is excellent twiggy wood (but does it truly sink )

Have you thought of planting bits of HC etc into the moss base? Green Pekoe Pond has some interplanted stuff that looks lovely.


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## Greenfinger2 (14 Nov 2015)

Hi John,

Great Start Love the DW pieces 

Looking forward to seeing this come together


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## Greenfinger2 (14 Nov 2015)

alto said:


> sounds an exciting project
> 
> for badis type fishes, maybe add some nice twisty lengths of wood at substrate level as well, creating dims & hollows against the substrate, also between lower branches using plants ...
> 
> ...



Hi Alto,
The Wood will sink when soaked for a few weeks


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## flexi (15 Nov 2015)

hi john just one question think of getting the same tank the clearseal edgeline is it optiwhite low iron glass and looking foreward to your tank progression great start


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## Konrad Michalski (15 Nov 2015)

So far looking good John. Have you tried to turn the wood like 90 degrees backwards so the trunks of the roots would be pointing to the bottom of the tank and maybe rotate them?


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## JohnC (15 Nov 2015)

flexi said:


> hi john just one question think of getting the same tank the clearseal edgeline is it optiwhite low iron glass and looking foreward to your tank progression great start



They say it is. I'm not 100% convinced. It has more of a green tint then my other opti but i've also been told in the past it can vary from tank to tank. In fact of the three 30cm cube opti's i have one is much more green then the others. 

Quality wise the work was good but not 100%. The first tank that came had the wrong background (the black back is standard and i wanted clear so i could change it between scapes if i wanted) there were also flaws in the silicone. The second tank is better but there are still a few bubbles visible in the silicone. But i settled for it. Still. Not quite the standard i'd expect from this premium range. I'll probably look elsewhere next time. 

Don't let me put you off. The key is the price i feel.

Best Regards,
John
p.s will reply to everyone else later tonight.


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## Ryan Thang To (15 Nov 2015)

nice pieces of wood. Looking forward to the rest of the tank

cheers
ryan


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## flexi (16 Nov 2015)

hi john thanks for reply was getting it through lfs so will see them about what you said on the silicone with the bubbles but does look cheap price then others so thank and hope it ok


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## JohnC (28 Nov 2015)

Manu said:


> Hi John,
> 
> Costa Rica... that must be very inspiring I'm sure!
> 
> ...



It really was amazing. We stayed most of the time in the rainforest. I really wish id taken an underwater camera with me. The rivers were so clear.




alto said:


> sounds an exciting project
> 
> for badis type fishes, maybe add some nice twisty lengths of wood at substrate level as well, creating dims & hollows against the substrate, also between lower branches using plants ...
> 
> ...



When I finally have the wood soaked it will sink happily. I've not settled on the final positions yet but as long as I have a central "clearing area for the pebble/moss mounds with planting between I'll be happy. There should be plenty of hiding areas for the little things to live.

I'm going to have a fair amount of stuff planted in the moss mostly slower growing stuff that won't swamp it. I'm trying to keep things medium light or below. Pekoe Pond is lovely, i have to agree.




Greenfinger2 said:


> Hi John,
> 
> Great Start Love the DW pieces
> 
> Looking forward to seeing this come together



Cheers man. Really happy this is finally coming together. it was scheduled for back in March but......stuff got delayed. 




Konrad Michalski said:


> So far looking good John. Have you tried to turn the wood like 90 degrees backwards so the trunks of the roots would be pointing to the bottom of the tank and maybe rotate them?



Yeah got lots of wood playing to do. These are not the final positions. As mentioned above I want a central clearing area where the small stuff will meet. I'll do some playing when I have a moment next week and see what people think.  I've got the pebbles sorted now too. (see below).




legytt said:


> nice pieces of wood. Looking forward to the rest of the tank
> 
> cheers
> ryan



Cheers man. So am i 




flexi said:


> hi john thanks for reply was getting it through lfs so will see them about what you said on the silicone with the bubbles but does look cheap price then others so thank and hope it ok



I got mine through the LFS too (ALWAYS SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FISH SHOP  ) but i'll say for the price it's worth a punt. Just dont be afraid to send it back if it's not 100% the quality you want or expect for the premium tag. Check it over before accepting it. You might just have to wait a little time for the next one to arrive. 

-------------------



 

Slight pile of rocks from my stream about to be cleaned in the dishwasher. 

Best Regards,
John


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## rebel (30 Nov 2015)

LMAO re washing rocks in the dish washer! Learn something everyday!!


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## JohnC (30 Nov 2015)

rebel said:


> LMAO re washing rocks in the dish washer! Learn something everyday!!



Just make sure to give em a rinse before hand. last time i did this there was sand and grit coming through for the next 6 months.


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## flexi (1 Dec 2015)

thanks john will check everthings ok at lfs before purchase thanks for reply going to get tank after xmas.


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## JohnC (6 Dec 2015)

Wood pondering....



 
1



 
2



 
3



 
4

Going to have to chop some branches to get the final fit. lots of rouge limbs stopping easy adjustment. plus im going to have a closed top.

Opinions welcome.

Cheers,
John


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## JohnC (12 Dec 2015)

Hi all,

A little update, things moving along.



 

I am going to prune out the vertical branch on the far left and possibly the other one near it as it will obstruct the lid. Sand to add in the foreground. Possibly moving the left branch inwards a touch.

Kicking myself a touch for not picking up some smaller pebbles from the stream when I got these. Will sort it later.

Best Regards,
John


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## tim (13 Dec 2015)

Looking great John, looking forward to seeing it planted up.


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## Lindy (18 Dec 2015)

The river stones look lovely. Great looking wood too.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


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## Aeropars (11 Jan 2016)

I'm off to find a river nearby.....


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## JohnC (11 Jan 2016)

Aeropars said:


> I'm off to find a river nearby.....



It's a little easier collecting in summer 

I'll post the photos from set up and current later this week. Xmas has been a touch hectic.


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## JohnC (7 Feb 2016)

Hi,

So slack on updating.

Photos.


With the sand in. Still need the smaller stones.


Planting


More Planting


Planted 


Another view

Then some from 5 weeks in once the rocks were off and things are growing in.







------------------------------

Still a lot to do. The light is great but is creating a little more shadow than i anticipated. It has a 120 degree lens but since it's tight to the top of the tank and my hardscape is pretty high in the centre the shadow areas are large. I'll compensate by moving stuff around a touch in the future and adding a bit more lower light stuff to those areas. 

Other things I'm planning on changing or have already.

- The jet outlet is wrong for this scape, I'll switch it to a lily soon. The plants on the far left are bending too much in the flow.
- Still not happy with the stems at the back. Some, like the hygrophilla were in as fast growers to remove once stuff grew in but I'm open to suggestions for new background plants. Background plants are always my weak point. I refused to do stem plants for years 
- Getting a bit of light BBA on the exposed wood. Not out of control but enough to mention. Considering dosing liquid carbon at double dose for a period (did we ever come to a conclusion in the "what causes BBA?" monster threads? 

Comments and suggestions always welcome.

Best Regards,
John


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## Nelson (7 Feb 2016)

Oh wow John .
That's jaw dropping good.


JohnC said:


> So micro rasbora, scarlett badis.... that kind of thing. shoals of tiny


I really want to do a scape for these sort of fish as well.One day............


JohnC said:


> The light is great but is creating a little more shadow than i anticipated. It has a 120 degree lens but since it's tight to the top of the tank and my hardscape is pretty high in the centre the shadow areas are large.


I found the same on my low tech.Put the light on my 60cm high tech in the end,and got a different one for my low tech.


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## Greenfinger2 (7 Feb 2016)

Hi John, Exquisite Scape


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## JohnC (7 Feb 2016)

Nelson said:


> Oh wow John .
> That's jaw dropping good.
> 
> I really want to do a scape for these sort of fish as well.One day............
> ...



Thanks man,

But as ever lets see how it develops. 8)

re: the light, I was designing the scape knowing the angle would cause shadows, it's just a little more pronounced then I initially thought. I'm musing over switching out for a couple of Aquabars so that the dual strips spread the light a little better, but might just adjust the planting to take advantage of the effect instead. The current light (and outlet tbh) would suit an iwagumi better me thinks. 

John


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## Greenfinger2 (9 Mar 2016)

Hi John, Any Updates


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## fandango (5 Jun 2016)

great tank. agree about the lighting. any updates


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## rebel (6 Jun 2016)

Wow amazing execution!


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## Wookii (11 Feb 2020)

JohnC said:


> Hi,
> 
> So slack on updating.
> 
> ...



Sorry to post on an old journal thread, but I really like the look of this scape, it looks really natural.

I see you're still active on this forum John, so can I ask - what are the small plants all the way along the branch that bridges over the sand area? Do you have the trim them to keep them that small, or is that their natural size?


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## Witcher (11 Feb 2020)

@Wookii  - it looks similar to Fontinalis squamosa or F. antipyretica.


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## Wookii (11 Feb 2020)

Witcher said:


> @Wookii  - it looks similar to Fontinalis squamosa or F. antipyretica.



Thanks Witcher. Looking at the images I think you could well be right. The leaves look quite large in John's images above, which is why I assuming it was some other type of non-moss plant.

I might look into that myself, it has quite a distinctly different look to the more more traditional java and Chritsmas mosses.

Edit: Could it be this sp.: https://www.aquasabi.com/Fontinalis-antipyretica-var-gigantea-Portion


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## JohnC (28 Feb 2020)

Hiya,

I am actually just back after a long hiatus posting here. not in the best way tbh, i'm about to knock high tech/energy on the head due to ongoing issues with the many scapes I run at home probably stemming from my spring water. Just not feeling the joy I got from scaping like I used too.

Time for something new.

To answer your question, it was a giant willow moss.

Yup, trimming was a must as it really didnt attach well.

Best Regards,
John


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## Ady34 (3 Mar 2020)

Ah, sorry to hear that John, I hope you can rekindle your passion. 
I must admit, I’ve never really got that sweet spot with a planted tank where things are just great. Plant growing is not that easy for me so I tend to just stick with easy plants and create a tank that works with what tools I have available. Hope you don’t give up the hobby completely and good luck with whatever the something new may be.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## JohnC (3 Mar 2020)

Thanks man, I've got a big thread on the algae sub forum chatting things over.


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