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Slow grower

agol77

Member
Joined
14 Oct 2013
Messages
68
Hi all

I planted up my new Aquascaper 900 today, so thought I’d start a journal, to record its progression.

The set up didn’t get off to a great start, as I broke my CO2 regulator yesterday, when setting up the hardware. The plants were already ordered, so when they arrived this afternoon, I decided to go ahead and plant them, but after taking a few photos, turned the lights off, and will get the lighting and CO2 set up tomorrow, when the new regulator arrives.

Details

Tank - Aquascaper 900
Light - Twinstar 900S. Will start at six hour photoperiod, with light at 50% intensity.
Filtration - Eheim Pro 4+ 350T and 600
CO2 - 2kg FE (I got a couple of cheap ones from a local company), CO2 Art reg, and AQUARIO Neo diffuser.
Ferts - EI using dry salts, but I also bought some of the Aquascaper all in one stuff to try.
Substrate - 2x 9litre bags of Tropica soil, with Unipac silver sand in the front.
Decor - Rounded rocks collected from a local beach, and good old fashioned bog wood.
Plants - A lot of Crypts, ferns, Anubias, moss, and Buces. I have also glued some H. pinnatifida to some wood on the right hand side, and there’s a Nymphea lotus lily bulb planted on the far left. I’ve had mixed success with H. pinnafitida, so will see how it goes.
Fish - I already have a shoal of about 30 cardinals in another tank, so may move them in here, once it’s all cycled. Apart from that, I’ll see what crops up. I’m in no hurry to add fish. Amano shrimp and ottos will be first in though.

I am not much of an artist, so in terms of the scape, I wanted something ‘wild’ looking, is viewable from the front and left side, and that’s easy to maintain. I have been looking at a lot of peoples’ tanks online recently, and watching Aquarium Gardens and George Farmer’s YouTube channels for inspiration, which probably explains my equipment and plant choices!

I think I’m pretty happy with how it’s looking, although the Anubias on the left keeps lifting a bit, so I need to sort that out, and the sand needs tidying up tomorrow. After nearly four hours of planting earlier, I needed a sit down!

One of the things I’d like to get from this journal, is to improve my photography. The photos here were just taken quickly on my iPhone. I do have a DSLR, but haven’t used it for a few years, and would like to dust it off and learn how to use it properly.

I think that’s it, for now.

Cheers

Andrew

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Looks great, some smart kit and a nice scape.
A few handfuls of smaller pepples/ gravel around the larger ones would go a long way to look more natural and river swept. Look forward to watching this grow in.

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Thanks Iain. That’s a good shout about the small pebbles. I’ll be taking the dog for a stroll on the beach over the next couple of days, so will fill my pockets!


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Very nice. I especially like the wood. I agree that some smaller pebbles would finish it off nicely :)
 
That's a great set up have a play around with the positioning of the light. You might find the tank looks and photographs better with the light slightly nearer the front of the tank. George Farmer has some good tips on photography in a video I believe.
 
Look beautiful.

How did you break the regulator? Just asking as I'm planning to get the same one and want to avoid doing the same!
 
Look beautiful.

How did you break the regulator? Just asking as I'm planning to get the same one and want to avoid doing the same!

Thanks very much

Have a look at this thread I started about it

Broken Regulator. Help!
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...s/Broken-Regulator.-Help!.53802/&share_type=t

I wouldn’t worry about experiencing the same problem. I bought the new version of the regulator from Aquarium Gardens, and the needle valve is a completely different type than on my old broken one, and feels much more robust.

Cheers


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Thanks very much

Have a look at this thread I started about it

Broken Regulator. Help!
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=58521&share_tid=53802&url=https://www.ukaps.org/forum/index.php?threads/Broken-Regulator.-Help!.53802/&share_type=t

I wouldn’t worry about experiencing the same problem. I bought the new version of the regulator from Aquarium Gardens, and the needle valve is a completely different type than on my old broken one, and feels much more robust.

Cheers


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Thank you! Great to see how helpful CO2 Art were. I'd love to see how your tank progresses, it is really stunning.
 
Just a quick update on this. It’s been running now for two weeks, and there’s not much to report. Have been getting a decent amount of Crypt melt, but am just starting to see some new leaves emerging. No algae so far, which is nice, but I’m waiting for it to strike! I’ve not added any livestock yet, but have spotted a few snails in there, that must have hitchhiked in on the plants. They seem to be having a lovely time.

I was having a bit of trouble getting the CO2 dialled in, but it seems to be sorted now. I added an Eheim 350 Skim about a week ago, as was getting some surface scum, and two ugly Eheim lily pipe attachments for the filter outlets, as surface agitation was a bit extreme. I was tempted by the fancy glass ones, but they’re expensive, and I’m a clumsy oaf, so decided I’m safer with cheap plastic.

I have the Twinstar 900S set at about 60%, for eight hours a day, am adding 10ml of the Aquascaper ferts a day, plus TNC GH Booster (the water here in Cornwall is very soft), and Seachem Stability. I’ve been doing about 70% water changes every other day, and will keep that going for a while, as it seems to be doing well, and helps keep the wood tannins from getting too bad.

I have collected some smaller pebbles to add to the sand at some point, as suggested by others here, but haven’t added them yet. As there’s been so much Crypt melt, I don’t want to add lots of spots for detritus to collect during these first weeks. I’ll add them when things settle down though.

Here are a couple of photos, taken this evening, just after a water change.

Thanks for looking.

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Thanks very much. I’ve used this same colour Unipac sand in several tanks over the years, and always liked it, as it has a warm look to it, if that makes sense.

Not sure about fish, yet. I have a group of about 30 cardinals in another tank, so may go with them, unless something else catches my eye in the meantime. I did see some Bolivian Orange Lemon Tetras in my local Maidenhead Aquatics the other day, and they looked quite tempting.
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Nice tank! Those fish look good, would be an original choice. Although not sure if they look good with your dad colour.
Which inlet and outlet pipes are you using? I have the green eheim, these smoke coloured look good. Was also considering the eheim lily, but that little piece of green :arghh:

Thanks

The pipes are the original Eheim ones, that came with the filters. Not sure if they sell them separately, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t. I don’t mind them at all, but yes, the green part of the lily pipe is a bit of an eyesore! They seem to work well though, which is the main thing.


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You could consider edging the current stones with smaller ones to add to the scale. This will make the tank look larger.
 
You could consider edging the current stones with smaller ones to add to the scale. This will make the tank look larger.

Yep, that’s the eventual plan, once all of the Crypts have stopped melting


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Eight week update.

This set up is very strange, as eight weeks in, and everything is going very well, with no disasters! There’re no signs of any algae, the crypts seem to have completed their melt, with new growth emerging, and everything else is just growing slowly, but surely.

I have added some fish and shrimp over the past couple of weeks; 15 cardinals, a pair of honey gouramis, ten Amano, and ten cherry shrimp. I also added a cover glass, as the condensation in my living room every morning was getting on my nerves, and to be honest, I just prefer having a lid on my tanks (I’m old fashioned). Also added some Purigen to one of the filters yesterday, as the wood is still leaching some tannins.

I’m still doing two 50-70% WC per week, and have the Twinstar S on setting 10 out of 15 (I think). I have switched from the Aquascaper plant food to the dry EI salts from Aquarium Plant Food, as it’s a hell of a lot cheaper, and after a month, seems to be working just as well.

Oh, and I still haven’t added any smaller pebbles to the front yet, as I quite like the empty substrate, and it’s nice and easy to clean. But may do it in the future.
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I think that’s it for now. Thanks for reading.


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Looking good, bet the cardinals love all the cover. T


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As already said, really nice design, well balanced
But I'll be so much better with glass pipes instead of the black plasticky ones... ;)

Ha, I’d love to, but I just don’t trust myself with them. I bought one of the CO2 glass U bends and snapped it within five minutes! I may try one set at the front eventually, and an also thinking about changing to an in-line diffuser at some point. That’ll tidy up the front a bit


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