# A fool and his money...



## Dan Wiggett (22 Feb 2014)

Well, here I am. I've been doing marines the last 8 years and keeping fish for the last 15 years so it's time I had a change!

I can't keep my hands out of my tanks, constantly fiddling with some equipment or moving something about. I usually have a big re-scape every three to four months, I also change many fish/corals in the process so planted tanks will help me with my OCD. I can see me stripping the tank down every three to four months, I do have plenty of ideas I want to try too!

I bought a TMC Signature 60x45x30. I had previously owned the 60x45x45 marine version and thought it was excellent. I also love the look of shallow tanks.

*Tank* - TMC Signature 60x45x30
*Filtration *- Fluval G3
*Co2 *- JBL Proflora u402 + Additional EasyCarbo
*Fertilisation *- Tropica Premium + Specialised liquids
*Soil* - ADA Amazonia
*Hardscape* - Mini landscape rock and Redmoor rootwood
*Lighting *- TMC Grobeam 1500 x2
*Glassware* - Cal Aqua 13mm inlet and outlet
*Diffuser *- UP inline atomiser
*Heate*r - Hydor 300w inline heater

Without further ado, here's some pictures...















I'm not that great at photography at all, I have a Nikon D5200 so I have the tools but no idea how to use it. I also need some new lenses so any advice welcome of course.

As a final note, I will be extremely happy if my tank turned out half as good as some of the tanks on here, I will put up my plant list soon, I have a few ideas but noting concrete just as yet.

Dan


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## Dan Wiggett (22 Feb 2014)

Still got to tidy up the wiring on the hanging kit and the wires from the tiles. I've still got to sort out the controllers for the lights, they are a bit messed up at the moment (Didn't work out the box at all!)

I'm also filling up the tank tomorrow with tap water, then running it for a day or two then draining to plant, then re-filling with RO water.


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## Iain Sutherland (23 Feb 2014)

Nice set up dan, look forward to seeing to grow in. 
Be careful with the two tiles, they are a lot of light  and unless you've soaked the wood it will float fella.




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## arhino (23 Feb 2014)

Hi Splinun your set up looks well nice so far.
 I find it very difficult not to fiddle and move plants and wood about. Good luck in you ocd recovery.


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## Martin in Holland (23 Feb 2014)

That's a great start and a perfect corner for a tank


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## Dan Wiggett (23 Feb 2014)

Iain Sutherland said:


> Nice set up dan, look forward to seeing to grow in.
> Be careful with the two tiles, they are a lot of light  and unless you've soaked the wood it will float fella.
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


They are buddy, i'm going to run them for 6 hours a day for the first couple of weeks and at 50% then slowly ramp them up. I did soak the wood for a week or two, I have a feeling you might be right and it'll float, I did put rocks on top of the wood but we will see what happens in about an hour when I fill it up 



arhino said:


> Hi Splinun your set up looks well nice so far.
> I find it very difficult not to fiddle and move plants and wood about. Good luck in you ocd recovery.


Ah great... Lol. Well i'm sure this will take up far less time than marines do then i'm happy to spend the hours on pruning, moving plants etc



Martin in China said:


> That's a great start and a perfect corner for a tank


Thank you, I don't think there is a better tank to fit in the corner, the corner has 89cm gap... Unfortunately the TMC 90x45x30 wouldn't fit so this will have to do.


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## Ian Holdich (23 Feb 2014)

Nice hardscape, the tank fits perfectly into that alcove. 


Looking forward to this one!


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## Deano3 (23 Feb 2014)

Looks great love the hard scape, and as said works vey well there looking forward to updates matr


Thanks Dean


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## Dan Wiggett (23 Feb 2014)

Thanks for the comments guys.
This is the stocking list so far...​
Alternanthera Rosafolia Mini


 

Heteranthera Zosterifolia


 

Echinodorus Tenellus





Staurogyne Repens





Juncus Repens





Pogostemon Erectus


 

Pogostemon Helferi


 

Helanthium Bolivianum


 

Eleocharis Acicularis


 

Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'


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## Dan Wiggett (23 Feb 2014)

Think I may add Eleocharis Mini instead of the Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo', would suit the tank layout better...


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## Deano3 (24 Feb 2014)

I agree mate that's what I am using in next scape also think would go better personally, tank will look great with all them plants in looking forward to seeing planted


Thanks Dean


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## James D (24 Feb 2014)

Looking really good even without the plants, I'd say your money's been wisely invested!


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## Dan Wiggett (24 Feb 2014)

Deano3 said:


> I agree mate that's what I am using in next scape also think would go better personally, tank will look great with all them plants in looking forward to seeing planted
> 
> 
> Thanks Dean


Will look a bit more natural and when next to the Juncus Repens and E.Tenellus should look really nice. Will be using a bit of E.Acularis to 'soften' where the hardscape meets the Mini Hairgrass. I will definitely use Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo' in a scape in the near future though for sure.



James D said:


> Looking really good even without the plants, I'd say your money's been wisely invested!


Thanks buddy, i've now finished the filling of the tank, it looks crap and brown so far. Also I am one light down still so no photos till it's fixed


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## Dan Wiggett (28 Feb 2014)

I got my lights fixed in the end, I ended up spending a few extra pennies and got an 8 way multicontroller for the lights.

I have planted around 2/3rds of the tank. I am still waiting for the Eleocharis Mini, E.Tenellus, P.Erectus and Weeping moss to arrive. They should be here next Friday. I will put up some proper pictures in the next few days, tank is still a little cloudy at the moment though after the big fill. Planning to do two weekly water changes for the first two months. I am also adding 3 'pumps' of Tropica Premium + Specialised liquids, 3BPS of Co2 and 4ml of EasyCarbo to get me started.







http://www.flickr.com/photos/112119511@N02/12843287295/
Please bare in mind the really crap photos


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## MARKCOUSINS (28 Feb 2014)

Well thought outYour planting suits the hardscape very well.So far so good it is a good scape in the making.


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## Dan Wiggett (1 Mar 2014)

Just a quick picture of the cabinet and the equipment. Bit scruffy but will tidy up wires etc when my inline atomizer finally arrives.


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## aliclarke86 (1 Mar 2014)

Looks pretty tidy to me... Mine is a tip/dumping ground 

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## MARKCOUSINS (1 Mar 2014)

I agree with Ali that is a tidy cabinet mate.The other day I found 2 barbie dolls in my cabinet!No they were not mine they were my 5 year old daughters!Cheers Mark


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## Dan Wiggett (2 Mar 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> Looks pretty tidy to me... Mine is a tip/dumping ground
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk





MARKCOUSINS said:


> I agree with Ali that is a tidy cabinet mate.The other day I found 2 barbie dolls in my cabinet!No they were not mine they were my 5 year old daughters!Cheers Mark



Oh dear, you guys cabinets must me a complete mess  Only joking of course!


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## aliclarke86 (2 Mar 2014)

OK so this ones not too bad....

this one though.....

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## Dan Wiggett (2 Mar 2014)

Haha, first picture is definitely tidier than mine however the second picture is horrific


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## MARKCOUSINS (2 Mar 2014)

I would say first one very spick and span,second one not a real dump but keep the door shut or block it off so the Mrs can't see!


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## Dan Wiggett (2 Mar 2014)

Bear in mind it's still not fully planted yet of course 

Still ten pots of Eleocharis mini, two pots of P.Erectus, two pots of E.Tenellus and two pots of Weeping moss


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## Dan Wiggett (2 Mar 2014)

Final plants that are going in so far.

Hygrophila Polysperma
Rotala Rotundifolia
Alternanthera Rosafolia Mini
Echinodorus Tenellus
Staurogyne Repens
Juncus Repens
Pogostemon Erectus
Pogostemon Helferi
Eleocharis Acicularis
Eleocharis Mini
Weeping moss


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## Dan Wiggett (4 Mar 2014)

Not really enjoying the Redmoor Rootwood too much so have just ordered some Manzanita wood which should be here Thursday/Friday.

Will look much nicer than what I currently have!


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## Phil Edwards (5 Mar 2014)

That's looking really nice.  I love the way it fits into the nook so the chair can be right in front.


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## aliclarke86 (5 Mar 2014)

Personally I find that manzi is slightly over rated in the planted tank hobby. It seems time that people feel it will make the scape. I think your redmoor looks fantastic but I guess its down to personal taste 

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## Dan Wiggett (5 Mar 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> Personally I find that manzi is slightly over rated in the planted tank hobby. It seems time that people feel it will make the scape. I think your redmoor looks fantastic but I guess its down to personal taste
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


I understand what you mean buddy. Been thinking about it for ages. There's just something not quite right with the Rootwood I feel, been staring at it for ages and I think it needs to be changed.

Anyways this is the Manzanita I am getting.


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## tim (5 Mar 2014)

I too like the redmoor, manzi is lovely wood though.


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## Dan Wiggett (5 Mar 2014)

tim said:


> I too like the redmoor, manzi is lovely wood though.


Certainly is though.

My bloody OCD is kicking in, I should just 'leave it alone'


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## StevenA (5 Mar 2014)

I think we've all got a bit of OCD in this hobby  The devil's in the detail and we all love to fiddle with the detail  Setups looking great by the way.


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## aliclarke86 (6 Mar 2014)

Those pieces do look rather nice  

I'm always afraid to change thing for fear of hating it!

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## Dan Wiggett (6 Mar 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> Those pieces do look rather nice
> 
> I'm always afraid to change thing for fear of hating it!
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


I could always change it if I don't like it, knowing me i'll change it in another few weeks or so 

I already have a plan for this tank once this scape is done and finished!


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## GHNelson (9 Mar 2014)

Great name...Mr Manzanita


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## Dan Wiggett (10 Mar 2014)

Spend a good amount of the day chopping and changing the tank, drained filled up, moved around, god knows what. You guy will soon learn that I won't stop messing around till it's perfect 

The final scape is done, these photos are teasers. I have finished it and it is different to the photos, I reckon i've spent 8 hours today on it!


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## Dan Wiggett (10 Mar 2014)

Still got Eleocharis Mini, E.Tenellus, P. Erectus still left to come.... Stil!


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## Thom_Hardy (10 Mar 2014)

looks awesome! you'd be glad you didnt go for Heteranthera Zosterifolia, i have it in my low tech and i have to prune it at least once a week! it grows like a weed! cant wait to see this tank fully established!


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## Dan Wiggett (10 Mar 2014)

Thom_Hardy said:


> looks awesome! you'd be glad you didnt go for Heteranthera Zosterifolia, i have it in my low tech and i have to prune it at least once a week! it grows like a weed! cant wait to see this tank fully established!


Cheers buddy, I have H.Polysperma and I trim it every 4-5 days so far, it's crazy. It least trimming only takes a few mins. Nothing compared to doing a full tank test on my marines...


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## Thom_Hardy (10 Mar 2014)

haha i can imagine! i havent got the minerals to go salty! one day! hows the Pogostemon Erectus going? i haven't had the chance to use any yet! i'm going to be setting up a 200l in the next couple of weeks and i will be getting some!
 its going to be my first journal! so hopefuly people will be nice about it as im pretty sure i'll make some Muck ups!


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## Dan Wiggett (11 Mar 2014)

Thom_Hardy said:


> haha i can imagine! i havent got the minerals to go salty! one day! hows the Pogostemon Erectus going? i haven't had the chance to use any yet! i'm going to be setting up a 200l in the next couple of weeks and i will be getting some!
> its going to be my first journal! so hopefuly people will be nice about it as im pretty sure i'll make some Muck ups!


Haha, marines seem easy compared to planted tanks sometimes. It's certainly more hands off but everything has to be perfect which makes it more difficult. Not got any P.Erectus in yet, I have P.Helferi in there. The Erectus is pretty easy to look after... You going co2 set-up? Seems most people have issues with the Pogostemon variety when soft water is used.

You''ll be ok, seems a great community... So far


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## Thom_Hardy (11 Mar 2014)

I have very soft water which could start issues! But yes I am going down the co2 route! I have diy now with my 125litre and it does its job! I manage to keep  rotala rotifundia, Heteranthera zosterfolia, limnophila aromatica, a number of different crypts as well as about 4 or 5 more species thriving! But I have just bought a co2 fire extinguisher and have everything ready to make it into pressurised co2 kit except of the regulator! So once I get that I'll be away! And as usual with this hobby more issues will arise! 

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## Dan Wiggett (11 Mar 2014)

Thom_Hardy said:


> I have very soft water which could start issues! But yes I am going down the co2 route! I have diy now with my 125litre and it does its job! I manage to keep  rotala rotifundia, Heteranthera zosterfolia, limnophila aromatica, a number of different crypts as well as about 4 or 5 more species thriving! But I have just bought a co2 fire extinguisher and have everything ready to make it into pressurised co2 kit except of the regulator! So once I get that I'll be away! And as usual with this hobby more issues will arise!
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk


Maybe for Pogostemon variety but you may have some luck, there are people after all who do keep them in soft water. Pressurised is so much easier and consistent, and your right, there's always more problems 

Last update till I have all my plants. They have been guaranteed to be with me by Friday at the latest


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## Thom_Hardy (11 Mar 2014)

Looks good! Looking forward to seeing it! Thinking about setting up a ada 60p for the dining room! As usual I will have to get permission from the boss! I just struggle with forking out ada prices! (True Yorkshire man at heart, short arms long pockets!) I just really like how clean they look! Although I'm not sure it will suit my house as its a grade 2 listed cottage! So its very old-y world-y! 

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## Dan Wiggett (11 Mar 2014)

Thom_Hardy said:


> Looks good! Looking forward to seeing it! Thinking about setting up a ada 60p for the dining room! As usual I will have to get permission from the boss! I just struggle with forking out ada prices! (True Yorkshire man at heart, short arms long pockets!) I just really like how clean they look! Although I'm not sure it will suit my house as its a grade 2 listed cottage! So its very old-y world-y!
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk


Cheers buddy.

Why don't you go for the TMC signature range that i'm using in this, cheaper, bigger, same quality glass and silicone. I got the tank for £110 and cabinet for £125 brand new!!!


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## Dan Wiggett (11 Mar 2014)

I could appreciate it not 'looking right' in your older house though ;D


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## Thom_Hardy (11 Mar 2014)

Its hard to find a tank that would fit in well, plus the misses is a bloody nightmare for things looking right! Haha I've just had a look at the TMC range! Looks very promising! I have a friend who makes furniture from reclaimed wood! May be home to call in some favours!!!

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## Dan Wiggett (11 Mar 2014)

Thom_Hardy said:


> Its hard to find a tank that would fit in well, plus the misses is a bloody nightmare for things looking right! Haha I've just had a look at the TMC range! Looks very promising! I have a friend who makes furniture from reclaimed wood! May be home to call in some favours!!!
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk


Could have sworn i've seen a guy on here building DIY cabinets from oak and they looked amazing, i'll see if I can find it!


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## Thom_Hardy (11 Mar 2014)

Eagerly waiting....

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## Dan Wiggett (11 Mar 2014)

Thom_Hardy said:


> Eagerly waiting....
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk


Can't seem to find the post/thread anywhere, it wasn't that old of a thread either, sure I read it yesterday O-o


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## Thom_Hardy (11 Mar 2014)

not a problem! if you do manage to stumble upon it let me know!


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## Dan Wiggett (11 Mar 2014)

Thom_Hardy said:


> not a problem! if you do manage to stumble upon it let me know!


Will do buddy, i'm sure when/if you see it you'll know 

Wheres your journal anyways?


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## Thom_Hardy (11 Mar 2014)

I don’t have one! I have kept fish for nearly 10 years but I’m reasonably new to "proper" planted tanks! [ one year]

 so didn’t feel worthy of putting a journal up on here just yet!

 but when I start setting my new tank up I think I might brave it!

just need to get a few more bits and start thinking of what to go for!

lack of imagination is my main downfall!!!


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## Dan Wiggett (11 Mar 2014)

Thom_Hardy said:


> I don’t have one! I have kept fish for nearly 10 years but I’m reasonably new to "proper" planted tanks! [ one year]
> 
> so didn’t feel worthy of putting a journal up on here just yet!
> 
> ...


I've not even been doing this for a month and have made a journal. Pull your finger out


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## Thom_Hardy (11 Mar 2014)

haha well that’s impressive! you have a better looking tank than I’ve ever had!
the planted tank I have is using a HORRIFIC old fluval roma with upgraded everything, so the glass is in very poor condition!
it’s quite embarrassing!
but I was using it to experiment and play around "find my style" so-to-speak! haha
but I agree, I do need to pull my finger out and again stop being so tight and just buy myself ANOTHER setup! 

I have a feeling, joining this forum is going to lead me into the doghouse with the "boss"


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## Lindy (12 Mar 2014)

Splinun said:


> DIY cabinets from oak and they looked amazing, i'll see if I can find it!


That sounds like Kirks journal 
*New plans, finally got me opti. 80x40x40*


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## Dan Wiggett (12 Mar 2014)

ldcgroomer said:


> That sounds like Kirks journal
> *New plans, finally got me opti. 80x40x40*


That's the one! Cheers


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## Thom_Hardy (12 Mar 2014)

I'm using tap talk and it won't let me link to it!!

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## Lindy (12 Mar 2014)

Its around page 3-5 of journals.

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## Dan Wiggett (12 Mar 2014)

Oh dear i'm changing the wood in the tank again...


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## Thom_Hardy (12 Mar 2014)

HAHAHAHAHA you're a gluten for punishment!!!! 

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## Dan Wiggett (12 Mar 2014)

Thom_Hardy said:


> HAHAHAHAHA you're a gluten for punishment!!!!
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk


Haha, putting the rootwood back in me thinks. I'm off tomorrow so i'll get this done. My plants should be here tomorrow too


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## MARKCOUSINS (12 Mar 2014)

It is definately not a boring tank journal!All go in your tank mate,well it keeps you busy thats for sure


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## Dan Wiggett (12 Mar 2014)

MARKCOUSINS said:


> It is definately not a boring tank journal!All go in your tank mate,well it keeps you busy thats for sure


Haha, i'm trying to not make it boring... I'm trying to take as many pics as possible too.

I know in a week or two it'll be time i'll change it again 

Plants growing so bloody slowly too!  I know what I want it to look like and will stop at nothing till it does!


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## MARKCOUSINS (12 Mar 2014)

Splinun said:


> Haha, i'm trying to not make it boring... I'm trying to take as many pics as possible too.
> 
> I know in a week or two it'll be time i'll change it again
> 
> Plants growing so bloody slowly too!  I know what I want it to look like and will stop at nothing till it does!


Good man your on a mission!


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## Dan Wiggett (13 Mar 2014)

Hard days work...


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## tim (13 Mar 2014)

Well I did say I liked the redmoor root  looks nice again mate, time to let it grow now


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## aliclarke86 (13 Mar 2014)

As did I 

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## Dan Wiggett (13 Mar 2014)

tim said:


> Well I did say I liked the redmoor root  looks nice again mate, time to let it grow now


Think you were right buddy  I should listen to you more often... Any more tips? Lol

Patience now.... Urghhhh.

Been waiting 4 weeks now for the Eleocharis Mini, should be here tomorrow, if not i'll be livid!


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## tim (13 Mar 2014)

My most valuable tip would be ........ Stop playing around with it and let it grow


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## Dan Wiggett (13 Mar 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> As did I
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


So you did 



tim said:


> My most valuable tip would be ........ Stop playing around with it and let it grow



I will after tomorrow's planting, I promise. Still not sure about the branch on the right but happy with the rest


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## tim (13 Mar 2014)

you need a couple more tanks to tinker with  that'll keep you busy enough to leave this one alone  all joking aside you've done a very nice job of this scape. I'm the same can't keep my hands out of the tank for too long.


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## Dan Wiggett (13 Mar 2014)

tim said:


> you need a couple more tanks to tinker with  that'll keep you busy enough to leave this one alone  all joking aside you've done a very nice job of this scape. I'm the same can't keep my hands out of the tank for too long.


I do buddy, I only have space for the one though 

Thank you for the comments. looking forward to trimming and sitting back and enjoying this tank... Don't get to do that much when I kept marines


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## Dan Wiggett (14 Mar 2014)

16 pots of Eleocharis and another 2 pots of Tenellus arrive!


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## aliclarke86 (14 Mar 2014)

That's a lot of grass... 

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## Dan Wiggett (15 Mar 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> That's a lot of grass...
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk


Was thinking I could use the leftovers on my front lawn


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## Deano3 (15 Mar 2014)

you separating into very small pieces or just each pot into 8 or so cause you will be there ages if only small  lol as said that looks like a lot of grass looking forward to seeing it in there mate


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## Dan Wiggett (15 Mar 2014)

Deano3 said:


> you separating into very small pieces or just each pot into 8 or so cause you will be there ages if only small  lol as said that looks like a lot of grass looking forward to seeing it in there mate


I separated each pot into 4 equal parts and planted them which gave me 64 nice sized Eleocharis chunks to plant. The whole thing has nearly carpeted with just these 16 pots


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## Dan Wiggett (15 Mar 2014)

Tank half full -

Excuse the messy living room, who knew planting was so bloody messy!

There is a cat disguised on the first photo...


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## Luís Cardoso (15 Mar 2014)

Beatifull setup.
The carpet will close very fast...


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## Deano3 (15 Mar 2014)

stunning


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## Dan Wiggett (15 Mar 2014)

Luís Cardoso said:


> Beatifull setup.
> The carpet will close very fast...


I really hope so, I have annoying one piece of Hairgrass that won't settle, it's raised itself a few times since last night.



Deano3 said:


> stunning


Cheers 

I'm happy now... Just let it settle and wait... Doing 2BPS of Co2, 6ml of Tropica plant food and 3 1/2ml of Easy-Carbo


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## MARKCOUSINS (15 Mar 2014)

Well done it's looking good!Now can you leave it alone for a bit to settle down and grow


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## Dan Wiggett (15 Mar 2014)

MARKCOUSINS said:


> Well done it's looking good!Now can you leave it alone for a bit to settle down and grow


Thank you for the comments. After half a bottle of port I hope I can make sense.

I thank these forums for some amazing advice and guidance, reading Clives responses on other threads really helps (Before I came on here who knew algae was caused by incorrect dosing, low flow and co2 issues?) !I'm super happy with my tank, taking photos of it don't do it justice like many photos on here don't do the owners justice. 

Really looking forward to seeing it grown out, thanks everyone for your support.

</End drunken ramblings>

Night, hopefully I don't wake up with a terrible headache


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## Dan Wiggett (19 Mar 2014)

The first arrivals!


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## MARKCOUSINS (19 Mar 2014)

Oh yes i like the shrimpWhat are your water parameters looking like?Better doing a nice slow aclimatisation drip with those red crystals.


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## Dan Wiggett (20 Mar 2014)

MARKCOUSINS said:


> Oh yes i like the shrimpWhat are your water parameters looking like?Better doing a nice slow aclimatisation drip with those red crystals.


TDS of 150ish, KH of 4, PH of 6.3. 50-50 RO and tap water, 24 degrees.

Plants havn't seemed to grow at all yet, only been five days since I planted though... I'm really impatient!

The crystals are really interesting though, there's 15 of the little buggers. They seem to love being blown around by the lily pipes


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## MARKCOUSINS (20 Mar 2014)

PH is fine for your crystals as is TDS.KH is high but yours is a planted tank not a shrimp tank.If the GH is 5 or 6 then that would be great.Have to see how they get on with the co2 and ferts.Best of luck!


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## Dan Wiggett (21 Mar 2014)

MARKCOUSINS said:


> PH is fine for your crystals as is TDS.KH is high but yours is a planted tank not a shrimp tank.If the GH is 5 or 6 then that would be great.Have to see how they get on with the co2 and ferts.Best of luck!


Your right, probably not the best shrimp to put in... I'll try to look after them the best I can...

Bit of an update and you'll all be glad to know it's full of pictures! I'm getting a new lens at the end of the month so hopefully the picture quality will improve as it's very poor at the moment.


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## Dan Wiggett (31 Mar 2014)

9 days later...















[DOUBLEPOST=1396306311][/DOUBLEPOST]Should be getting my new lens at the end of the week so should have some better quality pics soon


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## Dan Wiggett (6 Apr 2014)

Nearly a week later and I have my new lens. Still don't understand my DSLR or lenses in manual to a degree but the shots seem to be looking better anyways. Just a simple re-crop, no sharpening, or PS tricks...


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## Dan Wiggett (23 Apr 2014)

I have a day off tomorrow so i'll be taking some good pictures of the progress so far.


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## GregP (24 Apr 2014)

Hi Dan.

Great thread and very interesting for me when considering a similar set up. I think you are potentially worse than me when it comes to tinkering with the scape  but we will see when I get mine!

Looking forward to watching this one develop. Good to see people moving from the dark side of marine over to planted 

Quick question. Did you not think one gro beam would have been enough? Seems there are different thoughts on the ideal lighting for this tank. Also what do you think of the G3? What makes it worth all that extra compared to other filters?

Looks great already. All the best with it


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## Dan Wiggett (24 Apr 2014)

GregP said:


> Hi Dan.
> 
> Great thread and very interesting for me when considering a similar set up. I think you are potentially worse than me when it comes to tinkering with the scape  but we will see when I get mine!
> 
> ...


I'm pretty terrible when it come to tinkering but I guess that compulsive disorder comes from the salty side  I'm sure you'll tinker when you've got it all sorted. So much easier being shallow and not getting your arms wet.

One Grobeam would be enough, Ian Holdich just just runs one and his tanks are always superb, I like the flexibility that the two give me, I also run them off a 8 way controller so I can run them exactly how I want. Lighting on planted tanks are nowhere near as important as they are on marine tanks, and no way would I ever put TMC tiles on my marine tank but they are a 'high end light' on a tropical planted tank. G3 filters are great, not a cheap one mind but a filter change takes 15 seconds, you get readouts on conductivity, flow and temperature. It saves me invaluable time and it's certainly worth every penny.

Dan


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## Dan Wiggett (2 May 2014)

Lastest two pictures...

I shall be doing the final pictures middle of June to then break it down in middle of July for the next project


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## aliclarke86 (2 May 2014)

That's fast mate, my pockets are not deep enough for that kinda turn over. Looks great though mate!!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


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## Martin in Holland (3 May 2014)

My pockets are deep, but empty all the time..
Great tank Dann


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## Alastair (3 May 2014)

Just a quickie. 
What's wrong with tmc lighting on a marine tank? I've seen some amazing tanks with tmcs on.

Tanks looking great by the way. Very very nice. I'd be proud of that in my living room. 
And if I do say so, definitely deserves a mention on the ukaps Facebook page 

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk 2


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## Alastair (3 May 2014)

What are your rescape plans in July


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## Dan Wiggett (3 May 2014)

aliclarke86 said:


> That's fast mate, my pockets are not deep enough for that kinda turn over. Looks great though mate!!


Cheers  Mine aren't either realy but I get bored too often so need to try something new, I reckon 3-4 tank changes per year 



Martin in China said:


> My pockets are deep, but empty all the time..
> Great tank Dann


Thanks Martin 



Alastair said:


> Just a quickie.
> What's wrong with tmc lighting on a marine tank? I've seen some amazing tanks with tmcs on.
> 
> Tanks looking great by the way. Very very nice. I'd be proud of that in my living room.
> And if I do say so, definitely deserves a mention on the ukaps Facebook page


Colour rendition, price, controllability, power, almost any marine spec lighting is better! However the V2 luminaire on the other hand is a great product 

Don't think my tank is good enough to go on there yet, still need to grow the stem plants more and keep on top and properly trim the mosses then maybe 



Alastair said:


> What are your rescape plans in July


Either to incorporate one of my many bonsai trees in with the scape or to use black lava rock, and use natural looking plants. Still not sure yet...


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## Dan Wiggett (3 May 2014)

Alastair, do you control the facebook webpage?


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## tim (4 May 2014)

Really nice scape dan, looking forward to your next.


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## Deano3 (4 May 2014)

agree wit tim


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