# (a little) Dutch on Rocks



## Patrick Buff. (11 Jan 2015)

Hello everybody. I'am Patrick, 46 years old, Dutch and a long time reader on this great forum. Now it's me time to contribut and show mine scape. I always  thought i wasn't good enough to participate with mine scape's on forum's (has more to do with me photografic skills, i know  now). That changed when the Vivarium show 2014 came and i saw that there was a contest organized by Dennerle called '' the Dennerle Scapers Tank Contest''. The announcement for the contest was 8 weeks before the show and i had to bring everthing by myself from plants to hardscape and the rest (only the tank, light and substrat was there). I wasn't even for sure of i was to to join the competition because i was nowhere know. Luckely for me i could come after some pictures of mine preparations for the contest. Now for the rest is history because i won and could keep the tank and the rest as price.
I wish to thank everbody who voted for mine scape at the show as the best! Thank you all, because i now there are a lot of Dutch people over here on the forum!

the tank at the Vivarium show.




 

Now you ask yourself, what has that to do with a journal? I'am goining to show how i came from the start to were the tank is now.

Patrick


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## mede (11 Jan 2015)

impressive tank! Looks very healthy and the colors are amazing... I'm following your journal now and hopefully will learn a lot from it.


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## Greenfinger2 (11 Jan 2015)

Hi Patrick, 
Congratulations Love the layout and planting 
Looking forward to your journal updates


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## Jose (12 Jan 2015)

Lovely Patrick!

I was just wondering what is the standard way of keeping Dutch tanks traditionally that is. Is it like quite like EI method? 30 ppm CO2? How do you guys measure CO2? Water changes? Is there a good book with detailed info on Dutch scapes? Is there a guideline for the ammount of light? ...So many questions I know

Anyway your tank is beutiful.


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## Edvet (12 Jan 2015)

Welkom!


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## Dantrasy (12 Jan 2015)

Welcome!

Looking forward to reading the rest of your story


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## Alexander Belchenko (12 Jan 2015)

I'd like to hear about the LED light of your tank as well.


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## Patrick Buff. (14 Jan 2015)

Thanks for the reply's guy's.

@ Jose. The Dutch style for aquariums is just a style of keeping plants and fishes. There are rules to follow if you want to to participate in contest over here and there are aquarium clubs were a lot of information is shared. There are no secrets about it and I believe that there is on UKAPS also information over it. The question's you ask about the rest, is over here just as good or maybe even better then on the Dutch forum's. If you want to read about the Dutch style, look at the site NBAT (only in Dutch I believe, you have to use a translator).

@ Alexander I have not been using it jet on a aquarium . It was only for the show, together with the aquarium, at home I'am using a different lighting for it. I'am going probably trying it out on a cube.

Patrick


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## Jose (14 Jan 2015)

Thanks Patrick.


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## Patrick Buff. (14 Jan 2015)

I apologize for my English, I haven't been writing it for more then 20 years now and I really need time to figure it out again.

So back to the journal.
When the announcement was made for the contest at the Vivarium show, I already had a next scape in me head (I just finished a 15l tank) and I thought "what the heck, I'am going to give it a try" mainly because I wanted to have the experience and learn from the contest.

The contest itself, existed in scaping the tank a day before the show opened, the dennerle (the new) scaper's tank 35 Liter with light, cornerfilter was already there and the rest I had to bring in by myself. Because I had already plans for a new scape with a 45L tank this wasn't going to be a problem ( I do mainly nano tanks, which makes my wife happy, instead going for 100l+ tanks) in size.

Dennerle scapers tank 35 liter tank dimension:  40x32x28cm.

Still I had only about 7-8 weeks before the contest and I had to start from scratch.
So I setup a breeding tank of 40x25x25cm (about the same size of the tank at the contest) for the start and filled it with the plants I was going to use.
The method I used, was cutting up old plastic planttrays for gardens (measured for the distance and height) and filling them with Flora base soil.
The plants came from other tanks and propagators in which I keep me plants alive until needed.





This is one of them in the window.





The plants in it for about a week.





from a different angle to show the trays.

This is it for now.

Greetings Patrick


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## Edvet (15 Jan 2015)

Bottom 2 pics are submerged? They look very clean


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## Patrick Buff. (16 Jan 2015)

Hi Ed, yes there is water inside , the reason why it looks so clean is that you can shift the trays away and around for cleaning.

Still I needed to go into turbo mode for the contest and for that I used a trick which I learned in the past.
*carbonated mineralwater*
When you want really fast growing plants this is a easy way to do it. I'm using this method only on a start-up with no residents inside (you will kill them otherwise) and it is also keeping algae at bay because of the natrium inside mineralwater (the water becomes also  very clear because of this).
I'm using a mineralwater which is the cheapist I can buy with the largest amount of mg. to it (there are also a lot of other traces in it).
Keep in mind that this is a way in which I can also destroy everthing and thats why I do a lot of wc because of the natrium built up. I poor it in just before the lights go on.
The amounts I'm using depends on how the plants react to it and how much bio-mass there is.
When I see that there are no bubbles anymore on the glass and plants, I put some more in.





Here you can see the co2 sticking on the glass.
This is a picture in week 2 I believe (I didn't put a date with the pictures but I can see it because of the Repens trim) and after the first trim.

Patrick


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## Jose (16 Jan 2015)

Wow this is definately too much work for me.


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## Greenfinger2 (16 Jan 2015)

Hi Patrick, Amano style  Great way to grow your cut off's


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## kirk (16 Jan 2015)

Very nice Patrick, great scape. I like the scapers tank, I was looking at the light the other day. Very bright such a small unit and the colour is nice too. If I can get a bigger version I'd drop the razor. More pics please.


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## Edvet (16 Jan 2015)

Nice trick, Spa rood?


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## Patrick Buff. (16 Jan 2015)

Aldi en Lidl
goedkoper
cheaper


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## Patrick Buff. (16 Jan 2015)

@ Jose- I needed the plants to grow quick and this is a easy way to do it for me.
@Greenfinger2- Amano is the master and I'm just a apprentice next to him.
@ Kirk-Pics and rest are coming.
@Edvet-Lidl is trouwens beter, minder zout. (Lidl is better, less salt)


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## Greenfinger2 (16 Jan 2015)

Hi Patrick , I am an Apprentice as well   two years  Still learning


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## Patrick Buff. (16 Jan 2015)

@Greenfinger2- Me to, always learning.

In week 3 I bought some nice stones for it in the right size. I did measure the size so I could use the trays with plants without planting them into the substrat at the show and re-use them afterwards (the paper is the size of the tank). I made the lay-out and arrangement this way.






This time in a tank with substrat which I was going to use (caviaar sand it's called overhere).




The distance with the trays was right and I could see the streets for the plants without trays.

Next thing to do was going from the breeding tank to the 45l tank to give the plants more space, quitting with the mineral water and going over to pressurised c02 with solenoid.
I added more types of plants to it ( just incase).

3 weeks




tank: cocoon 7 -45x30x32 cm
plants:
Alternanther reineckii mini
Blyxa japonica
Hemianthus micranthemoides
Rotala rontundifolia
Rotala rontundifolia green
Rotala sp. nanjenshan
Pogostemon helferi
Staurogyne repens
Anubias nana bonsai ( different purpose)
Micranthemum monte carlo
filtration: Eden 501
lighting: easy-led 18 watt
heating: 50 watt easy-heater
fertilisation: E.I. daily both macro and micro ( I have my own regime)

I don't measure anything from my water, I just watch the plants and there behaviour.
When algae show up the first thing I do is watch my co2 and turn it up (most of the times).

Patrick


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## parotet (17 Jan 2015)

Hi Patrick

Very interesting information. So basically your aim with this carbonated water tank is to grow plants tall enough for the contest layout or bring them to their submerged form but in another tank, right?
I have never applied for a contest but it is a very wise method... Mick from Tropica mentioned in a thread that carbonated water was used in some exhibition tanks, but it's the first time I hear about this kind of temporary tank for preparing plants. I think it can be even an interesting approach for preparing plants at home or trying them before introducing them in your tank (for us the weird plant junkies )

How much time before the contest do you plant the definitive layout? Do you shape your plants in the layout tank or in the 'preparation tank'?

Jordi


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## Patrick Buff. (17 Jan 2015)

Hi Jordi

I do this mostly with plants in emersed form. The transformation from emersed to submersed becomes far more easier for them because of the co2 and o2 ( also with the wc) in mineralwater. The leaves of plants in a emersed state have to deal with being submerersed which is difficult for them to adapt. This gives algae a change in the tank. When there is also lots of o2 in the water, the plants will grow easier and adapt faster. This information was giving to me from a old school Dutch tank keeper and a reminder.
And yes this is a way how I sometimes prepare plants, get them grow and watch their behaviour.

Using trays, jars and pots is also something I learned from him. In Dutch style tanks this is a easy method for changing plants, a example: Nymphaea lotus needs a restperiod a couple times in its life, he took the plant out of his tank and replace this with a fresh one. In this way he always had his tank in a good condition. When he was using very different plants with their own needs, he used pots with substrat for that plant only and berried them in the sand ( very useful for stand alone plants also). This way he could change, trim and take them out more easier. I think that there are still people using this approach in their Dutch tanks.

In the temporary tank I measured the plants a couple of times in combination with trimmings to get the right height and shape. With plants in trays it is very easy to get the right lay-out, just shift them around until satisfied.

Patrick


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## Patrick Buff. (17 Jan 2015)

@ Jordi- I forget to mention that this approach with the mineralwater is not a longterm-solution, also don't overdo it, start low (don't ask me how I now this, you can figure it out by yourself ).

Next weeks were growing and trimming the plants.
I added Myriophyllum aquaticum Roraima to it.




 



 
getting the plants at the right height and to see which lay-out was the best.



 

showing the back with the trays and pots.

Patrick


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## parotet (17 Jan 2015)

Wow... Nice and healthy plants in that preparatory tank! I guess this one is not only for scaping the Dennerle, isn't it?

Jordi


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## Alexander Belchenko (17 Jan 2015)

Super! Thank you for sharing this knowledge.


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## Patrick Buff. (17 Jan 2015)

@ Jordi- Most of them were, the tank were I kept them in is only 45 cm in lenght and I had some room to play.
@ Alexander- No problem, glad you liked it. Mine thanks go to the person who taught me that (he passed away a couple of years ago).

So next thing was the competition itself. The car loaded with buckets full of plants, hardscape and materials to Vivarium Exhibition and over there, scaping time!
The Dennerle tank was already standing there to get filled and I started right away. Having nice conversations with my pale who is also a aquascaper and other participants I totally forgot to take pictures!
When you do this kind of things I have to remember to make a shortlist for the next time. To be short, I filled the tank with hardware, the trays with the plants and undergraveld them with sand. Only the Monte Carlo I cut in pieces to get streets ( they rooted well enough with the substrat that they were sinking by themself), the Repens and Blyxa I planted. The Crypt in the leftcorner together with the Fissidens came from another tank. Fitting the light and turning on the filter. DONE. See the picture in post 1.
When talking to Marko Aukens organizer of the event, a jury member for the NBAT (Dutch Style aquariums) and this year also for AGA Dutch style, he said to me that I should have a go on forums (so I'm here).
Sunday was the day when the ( public) votes were counted and the rest was told in post 1.

With the tank and equipment as price I didn't have to empty the tank before I took it with me (except from some water).
THIS WHAT HAPPENDED DURING THE 2 HOURS DRIVE BACK HOME.



Here you can see in the right corner the tray with Pogo. explaining how I did it.

No more scape and no time to get it fixed because I had to work the entire week. For me that wasn't a problem because it has done it's purpose, I even won it and I had already a next scape in my head.
BUT mine wife and friend talked me into it to rebuilding the tank that coming weekend.

Patrick


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## Patrick Buff. (20 Jan 2015)

The rebuild

I took the plants out after a week and they looked horrible. I threw away about the half of them and cleaned the rest. Put the tank on its place and washed the sand once more before putting it back in.
There weren some points which weren't good at the first set-up, this had mainly to do with the trays I had been using at the exhibition ( the right rock position). Another was, that I now wanted to create more depth to it.





thin layer of caviaar sand with some thick clay on top





placing the stones with the right stone more backwards





added more slope to it to create more depth to it than the original





started planting with more different type of plants in it





30-11-14 initial set-up with more different plants to it





right side





mid zone

I took home from the exhibition some new plants and I wanted to see how many plants I could plant to created the illusion of a larger tank.





around 10-12-14 I added loire-sand to the foreground

Patrick


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## Patrick Buff. (21 Jan 2015)

First big trim after 2 weeks





New fertilisation.

I had been given at the show by Bjorn of Festal his fertilisers to try out and what I thought about it, with the warning that plants needed to adapt to it. This would take a couple of weeks for them to get used to the different form of iron bonding in it. I must say this fertliser is really good and the grow rate was outstanding but the algae outbreak also.
I have been using it for about 3 weeks together with mine own to give the plants a form of transition to get acquainted to this product but when algae outbreak came, I switched quickly back to mine old regime of fertilisation. I want to give Festal another go but in a different set-up because I think it is a really good product so far I good see.





27-12-14

The tank bounced back pretty good from the experiment with the fertiliser but there was still alot of algae in it ( see the leftcorner in the cuba, stones and plants).
I was given by mine wife a new Eden 511 with heater in it and from my mate a co2 reactor, so no more equipment in the front.
You can see the progress by the Rotala indica which has not been trimmed from the set-up and is still not  (probably this weekend).

Patrick


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## Patrick Buff. (22 Jan 2015)

The last picture was giving me a good idea about what  I'm looking after but more trimming is needed to archive this. The scissors came out and the foreground was the first I had to deal with ( also because of the algae in it). Secondly I had to raise my light to slower the grow rate and algae coming with it. I bend some wire to archieve this ( I still need some extra cm, the light I'm using is to much for this tank).





10-1-15

I trimmed it heavely but I know it wil grow back pretty soon. Most of my trimmings I do in phases and layers so that i have more control over it ( if I make a mistake I can correct it).





frontal. I cleaned the rocks also a bit.

Now it was time to let it grow once more before the next.





16-1-15

Thank you all for the likes I have recieved so far.

Patrick


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## Patrick Buff. (23 Jan 2015)

I'm now up to date with this picture. I did another trim last week, cutting the plants in layers, and thinning some of them.



 


23-1-15

Now the tank is coming more into the shape I like it.

The algae is becoming less and the plants are looking beter and are showing better health. The R. indica needs to be trimmed this weekend ( I let it grow because I needed some stems and wanted to see the grow rate of it) and the rock's needs a good clean-up also.

So far, so good.

Patrick


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## Alexander Belchenko (23 Jan 2015)

Is it only me who can't see your picture because it moved or deleted on photobucket?


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## Patrick Buff. (23 Jan 2015)

Hi Alexander, I can see it but to be sure I wil log out and in to test it.
I did it and I see it, tell me of you can see it.
Probably it works now.

Patrick


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## Alexander Belchenko (23 Jan 2015)

Now it works. Thank you. 
Never thought that in the high speed internet era some pictures need so much time to appear on my screen. Almost like in the old days of dial-up 9600bps modems. Beep-beep. Lol.


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## Patrick Buff. (30 Jan 2015)

Beep-beep, Vroem-vroem need to speed up..

Last week trimmed the R. Indica, the Mayaca and cut away the ugly leaves of the rest.

Weekend up-date

*30-1-15*

*

 *

The rocks are difficult to keep clean, I did it last week and they are already green again.
The fish and shrimps look large in this picture, I have to work on my photographic skills.
More trimming this weekend and maintenance. 

Patrick


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## Alexander Belchenko (31 Jan 2015)

Beautiful garden. The nano format was always difficult for me, I wanted to put more plants than it can take. Kudos to your skills!
Can you take a picture from the side or from the top, just to see how you organize your layout, please?


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## naughtymoose (31 Jan 2015)

Amazing tank, and great information too!


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## Patrick Buff. (1 Feb 2015)

At your service, Alexander. Your skills are awesome to, I liked Julia's tank very much.

Thanks Naughtymoose.

Here it is, from today.



 

I took some cuba out from the leftcorner yesterday (algae in it) and do some more trimming today ( I'm loosing the algae slowly).

Patrick


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## Alexander Belchenko (1 Feb 2015)

Many thanks for top view photo. Nicely organized, and it seems the tank dimension is good for scaping: it has enough depth for plants.



Patrick Buff. said:


> Your skills are awesome to, I liked Julia's tank very much.



Oh, thanks,


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## Patrick Buff. (15 Feb 2015)

update

*12-2-15*

*

 *

I'm letting it grow now and do small trimmings from now on. The rightcorner is not becoming what I have expected of it, there for I bought Ludwigia arcuata to fill it in and planted it today.
The rest is filling in nicely and I'm waiting for the blyxa to grow, a couple of stems melted and the last two starts slowly to grow.

Still working on my photografic skills.

Patrick


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## Alexander Belchenko (15 Feb 2015)

What is red plant in right back corner? Is it althernathera reinekii (mini)? Their leaves looks somewhat big comparing to neighboring plants. Will wait to see how the tank is looking after the change you made.


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## Patrick Buff. (21 Mar 2015)

@ Alexander. It's indeed althernathera reinekii (mini) but it looks big because I didn't trim it enough to keep it small leaved.

Time for a update.

*15-3-15*






Everthing is been growing in nicely. I wanted in the right corner L. Arcuata but my local lfs sold me L. inclinata curly for it. So today I replaced the M.A. Roraima with L. palustris because the roraima was not giving my the right growing habits for what I was looking after and put some more Mayaca in the right corner. Pictures next time.

Today I also did a new hard scape for a breeding tank.









The setup will be low tech with ferns, moss, anubias and no light, it will nearby a window.

Patrick


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## Greenfinger2 (21 Mar 2015)

Hi Patrick, Sorry playing catch up  Fantastic Scapes and the health of your plant

The new Scape layout


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## Patrick Buff. (21 Mar 2015)

Hi Roy, thanks for your nice words.

 For my is it the same to you, your journals always inspire my and a lot other people I think.

Patrick


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## Patrick Buff. (12 Apr 2015)

*Update 10-4-15*

*

 
*
Nothing much to report, accept that I have to trim it. Plants are growing nice and I think, in two/three weeks to have him ready the way I like it (I sold the tank to a neighbour already but I need the final picture for myself).

Next, I planted the breeding tank a couple of weeks ago.





Growing is fine, by just indiret sunlight and low-tech (for the picture I used a lamp). Slow, but easy and this week the fish will be introduced to it.

Patrick


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## limz_777 (12 Apr 2015)

could you have grown the plants with that light on the first pic ? notice you are using another lightset

nice to see you did a lot of prep work for the competition , mostly i see some are plug and play , plants not even grown in


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## Patrick Buff. (12 Apr 2015)

@ Limz 777

I've you mean the Dennerle light, no, it is suppose to go on a 20 a 30 liter tank. I'm using it now and I think 20 liters is the max for it. The light set which I have on the tank right now, is a Easy led 18 watt (little overkill). For the competition, there are two version of it (called the same), one is at home by pictures send to Dennerle (I think you refer to that one) and the other one is at exhibitions were I competed (plug and play for 3 days, has more to do about scaping at the site). I can grow plants quick but not that quick .

Greetings Patrick


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## Patrick Buff. (21 Jun 2015)

Hi all.
I haven't been around lately because this tank is sold and the final picture was send to the AIPLC 2015. So next update will be, as the result are coming in.
But a new scape is already around the corner and I will start a journal for that one.

Last pic. 



 

Just before the last trim, clean-up, grow and final picture.

Patrick


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## Greenfinger2 (22 Jun 2015)

Hi Patrick,Good luck for AIPLC 2015 

Looking forward to seeing your new Scape


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