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Few more photos with the proper camera. Everything looking really healthy. Added 20 more neon tetra so it's looking better now... IMG_1423 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr IMG_1434 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr IMG_1432 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr

That's a nice idea. Agree it's all pretty much one shade! Textures look great though. Think will change quite a lot when the crypts and java ferns get big. But will try reds at some point. (Just amazed that I can get it healthy. It's only taken five years...)

Quick phone photo post trim. Happy new year!

Left the tank completely alone (apart from feeding) over Christmas. Have to say I'm really delighted with how it's gone - by far my best ever attempt. Everything is really healthy. The difference on this one to my previous tanks: - CO2 on all day and night, controlled to nearly yellow by PH...

That's a nice trick. I think I'll use the aqua medic reducing t-piece though... Screenshot 2018-12-19 at 18.53.18 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr Quick update on growth. It's going really well!! Christmas tree is in front of the tank so a bit hard to take a proper photo. So here's a phone snap...

Yes it really goes for it. I'm aiming for the messy look though.

Starting to really grow in now. Couple of shots: IMG_1356 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr Black background looks great in person, but not so much on photos IMG_1347 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr

11 days later. Getting a bit more BBA but otherwise seems pretty good. Raised the lights quite a lot (but have just lowered them.) Now doing water changes once a week and dosing once a week (just lazy). But am surprised at how well it's doing. Here's a quick shot from my phone. 20181129_195817...

Put in a new stainless steel outpipe with a surface skimmer. Got it a bit wrong, filled the filter with air and reduced the flow massively. CO2 levels went a bit haywire and so now seeing BBA appear on the edges of leaves, which is very annoying. Also had quite a bit of melt on the Anubias...

Am pleased with the difference flash makes. But having trouble with iPhoto and colour balance so these all look a bit super saturated. Used to use aperture but apple killed it... Might splash out on affinity photo.

Hoping so! To be honest was just an experiment to see which ones would grow. Seems to be everything except marsilea at the moment. Needs a lot more redmoor root too but it's just so expensive for a bit of twig.

Quick update a week later. Carpet of HC still looking healthy. Nice to see the siamese algae eaters having a potter about. IMG_1307 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr Stauro and Monte Carlo in the middle going alright. Stauro nearly ready for first trim and replant. IMG_1309 by greenink@ukaps, on...

Got two pots of Anubias Nana that were pretty good value... IMG_1201 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr Cut these into lots of pieces and wedged into the rocks. Here's how it's getting on. First shot is with the £40 off camera flash. This time bounced off the white ceiling of the shed the tank is...

Been playing around with the proper camera. Have just got a cheap off camera flash which makes a massive difference to the quality of photos - am very surprised. Here are some shots straight off the camera (details on flickr) with no edits. IMG_1189 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr IMG_1193 by...

Unscrews at the bottom. First time is a bit scary. Also helpful to shorten the hose tails to 16/22 pipe fittings if you have that one.

Can't see the video. I'd take all the media out. Works perfectly like that and you can see what's going on much better. You shouldn't see any bubbles in the tank. That's the point. There's a gif of it working in my forest journal.

The idea is that CO2 level is controlled via the PH controller. The controller turns on and off a solenoid for the CO2 supply. So if plants stop using CO2 (eg when lights go off) then PH drops and CO2 is switched off. If CO2 levels drop (eg lights go on) then PH rises and CO2 comes on. This...

First 50% water change. Built in thermostatic tap makes it super easy... CO2 was a bit high so have dialled it back a little. But no melting yet.

You're not wrong! Here are the foundations going in... foundations by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr This is really interesting. Was hoping I'd come up with the magic answer to CO2 stability. I'm keeping it on permanently, so CO2 is on even when lights are off. I know this will use a lot more CO2...

And here it is planted up. Nice to be back! IMG_1182 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr

So here are the plants dropped in the tank and the lighting - normally that's hidden behind a flip top lid. (The tank is flush with the wall.) You can see the hose with watering can rose that's permanently plumbed in to do water changes on the right. There are two roller blinds behind: one blue...

...Don’t like them as they’re ugly, but really helps with the flow. Will try taking it out when plants are a bit established and see what happens. 3 * TMC Grobeam 1500 LED tiles and controller. On for 7 hours a day, largely in the night. The tank gets a bit of sun in the morning through the...

This is so great. Really nice to see how it's changed over time. Like these journals that have a bit of the frustration as well as the experiments and success. Keep going!

So. The outside garden took over. Was a bramble forest out there. And this turned into an algae sludge fest. But am back and will start a new journal v. soon. Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

This looks great. Am about to start something very similar so will be following with interest. Agree about the PH pen or a PH monitor. Though a drop checker works just as well if you're vigilant! Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Thanks all. Is just molar clay substrate reused from my previous tank, and the stone soaked in a bit of glutaraldehyde 5% solution to clean off. Nothing banking it up.

It's been a long time, and things got out of hand on my last tank. But the underwater jungle has now been cleared, the inhabitants rescued and rehoused, and the stones cleaned up. And so: here's the new hardscape. (Quick photo so nothing special.) First time with any manzanita for me, though...

#Day 133 So here it is a few days later, with some proper lighting Day 133 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr Bit disappointed the siamese algae eaters haven’t done a better job on the BBA, but otherwise looking good. Will do the first proper trim soon, and apply some Gluteraldehyde solution to the...

#Fish and shrimps Think it’s going well enough to turn down the CO2. So over the past week or so have added in the fish and shrimps. 10 cherry shrimp 10 neon tetras 30 harlequins 7 ottos 7 amano shrimp 2 siamese algae eaters (there’s a bit of BBA around the rocks) All looking pretty happy so...

First few weeks So it’s taking off, slowly but surely. First bunch of photos is going to be pretty poor quality, as couldn’t be bothered to do them properly. Promise they’ll be nicer soon... Day 15 - pretty limited growth, but starting to send out runners. Stones still pretty clean. Day 15 by...

#Initial planting It’s done! The basic idea is lilaeopsis carpet all over, hemianthus at the back to give height and fill in the golden spiral, and other planting to give a feeling of natural vegetation and mixing. Hemianthus planted in small bunches about 5cm apart. Lilleopsis in individual...

Will try and do a grid overlay shot when it's grown in to show what I mean! (And probably prove myself wrong!)

I guess it's about making sure that the grid lines act as a boundary between two areas. That can be empty space and full space, or stone and planting, or two different kinds of plants. What I've got a bit better at now is imagining how plants will grow in to a space. But that's just a result...

#Final hardscape So here’s what I went with in the end. Feel pretty pleased with this. 1 July 2014 copy by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr And for the technically minded, here’s how it hits the major rules. It’s pretty easy to imagine how I can fill the curves of the golden spirals with decent...

#Layout I’m not a natural artist. So I need a bit of help getting things nice. And for me that means taking photos and applying various ‘grids’ over the top to make sure I’ve got things properly lined up. And then leaving it a few days, coming back to it and making some adjustments. Bigger...

Should be sorted now!

Seems to work if you look on the web but not on tapatalk. Something to do with Flickr settings? Have no idea how to fix it. Is anyone having problems when looking through a browser?

#Plants So here’s the bucket that got dredged from my last tank, and left to fester in a trug in the garden for a good few months. IMG_5321 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr It’s mainly Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Hemianthus micranthemoides and Marsilea hirsuita. Tiny bit of Stuarogyne repens. One...

From this To this Journal here: The Shed Tank

Title - Shed Tank Dimensions - 140wx58hx55d Journal - http://ukaps.org/forum/threads/the-shed-tank.35077/#post-375961 Day 133 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr

#Hardscape I’ve long been a fan of fine-grain bonsai molar clay. It’s available in great big bags from bonsai places. IMG_5269 by greenink@ukaps, on Flickr Rinse it in the bag and it leaves no sediment in the tank. Pop a bit of slow-release fertiliser underneath, like osmocote, and then pour...

...that final ‘polish’ to the water. The big one powers the heater and AM1000. The little one gets to do its own thing. Together, these give about 7 * turnover an hour flow. Powerhead - a standard Hydor Koralia evo one. I’ve tried to do tanks without these in the past, but prepared to accept it...

So here’s the final bits of building work coming together, and the tank in place. Learned a lot from my previous ‘in the wall tank’ that you need a much bigger ‘flip top lid’ than you’d expect, and that it needs to be properly weighted with cupboard supports so it stays open. So some ikea...

great idea! though feels right now like that's a pretty long way from being needed. Roll on summer...

Some things are best left unspoken. Rather you than me... Maybe stress the advantages of no water in the house, no buckets, that kind of thing first?

So: here are the drawings I gave the builders. The basic idea was to have a tank mounted flush with the wall, with a large flap that lifts up on the inside for feeding and access, and then basically an insulated ‘shed’ built onto the outside of the house that contains all the fishtank related...

So it's been a while... I’ve had a couple of journals before. Here’s the ‘transparent tank’ showing the journey from the moment I knew nothing at all, found ukaps and managed to make something half-decent. Here’s the ‘bookcase tank’, a 259 litre effort from when I’d learned a bit more. And...

I posted them direct

Or am just crap at DIY...

Getting there...

Day 80... Lights have basically been either off (ran out of CO2) or very low (sent back the TMC Aquaray tiles to be altered as the whistling when they were dimmed was driving me mad, which took about two weeks - they're now silent and perfect). But overall, the healthiest tank I've ever had.

Here's the latest. Is a very slow experience... Wonder if that's the lack of nutrients in soil, or low light (2*T5). Still, I'm in no hurry...

So much better now fixed. Running at 65% for seven hours about 5cm from surface with hour ramp up and down. Totally silent. Can now actually experiment with lighting levels without wanting to smash them with a hammer. Interesting that in two weeks with very reduced lighting basically nothing...

Hooray! Arrived very nicely packaged back today. Will put back up tonight. Plants seem to have weathered very low light for a couple of weeks.

Nothing yet. Am a bit pissed off.

Been a week, heard nothing so far. Will give them a call on Monday.

I've had best results with (a) AM1000 reactor - with custom filling as in my journal, and (b) sera diffuser - the plastic one you can't break! Would recommend either. Inline diffuser ones need too much cleaning for my taste, given hassle of getting them out.

Ignore the terrible scaping, but this is 57 days from a nearly bare tank in inert molar clay (cheaper than chips) with EI dosing and a few plant granules under the surface. Really don't think substrate makes that much difference. Much better to spend money on more plants at the outset and...

Now its about getting the stems in the right shape - there's enough plant mass following the first trim and replant

8mm not even toughened. Same as ADA (which also uses float glass apparently).

My three are wrapped up and ready to be posted (recorded and insured!) on Monday morning. Will let you know how long they take to come back...

Quick update 57 days in to rescape. Here's what it looked like on day 1: And here's where it is today: Am actually approaching a proper carpet! Having really struggled before, suddenly I have pretty passable sections of quite a few things - HC, Lileopsis, Monte Carlo, Marsilea - so...

Quick update on growth at day 19. HC and MC starting to get a grip - think they took a bit of time emersing themselves. Hairgrass not doing much!

what exactly did you do? was it easy?

This is the 'we will never move again' place I think. Let's hope I can still 'scape when I'm 85...

I did say this was going to be a slow build... At least the foundations are in!

Tom Barr says three day blackout is best way to get rid of it. Will do shortly on my bookcase journal and post success. (Have it on substrate at front glass).

Love the general direction of this. Keep it moody I say.

That's the problem!

They've said is fine to do. Just haven't done it yet.

Mine were fine with other fish and even shrimp. They did like live food though! Like mini helicopter gunships as far as snails go. Slightly tempted to post you a load of pond snails... I have enough

I've got one SAE now. A little marvel. Puts ottos to shame. BBA is close to history. Wish I'd got one a year ago!

It's all coming together a bit. Regular water changes, Co2 stable and high, SAE, Hydor, clean filters, lights higher. And here we are:

Misting just a tiny bit once a day. Doesn't seem to dry out at all really, even at the top of slope. Is clearly that moler clay sucking up moisture...

Ages. Am going to get this as green as I can without water - sort of learning / testing for a much bigger new tank later in the year. Trying to work out whether I like the approach.

Here's a quick update Still haven't sorted out that water level.

If you add more surface agitation you get more O2 and can add more CO2. If you're dosing prime or excel then that also lowers O2 a lot. Otherwise just turn the light intensity down! Looking good though

Love this thread. And the time to try out different arrangements. My only big comment is that some of the early ones had too many parallel lines between rocks, particularly compared to other people.

This is rather pleasing. After setting up the AM1000 and putting the CO2 at a rough guess, came home to this: ...with beautifully clear water and no bubbles. Fingers crossed is a seamless transition.

Yup! Good luck with yours. Don't have a flow problem now with the hydor in there. Found the AM1000 made a gushing noise when empty as bubble of CO2 gathered at the top and water entering drove me mad. Might just make a 1m long PVC inline one for my next tank as will have lots of space behind...

Thanks perfect

That little Siamese Algae Eater is fast becoming my favourite. Such an industrious little chap. Satisfying to watch too, when you know each little bite is taking out BBA from the tank... Sorry about the advert - can't find royalty free music!

How did you make sure it doesn't leak?

actually, can't make head nor tail of this in terms of gauges and Cv. All a bit complicated. essentially I want something that will allow me to fine tune the CO2 input for a 480l tank, where a big turn of the dial results in a small change in CO2! Is this the kind of thing? Swagelok...

thanks, v helpful

BBA is retreating massively. Cleaned out filters, raised lights, cut off infected leaves, water changes every two days, improved flow with a hydor 3200 pump, and added this little fellow. Caught right in the act of eating BBA... Makes a big difference. And because I can't help but tinker...

The eheim I have does that too. Just measures output flow and keeps constant. Warns you when it drops below.

Hi do you have a needle valve that can be easily adjusted - so it's quite a big turn for a small change in CO2. Finding the one I have way too sensitive to even small turns!

Having real trouble adjusting CO2 precisely. My all-in-one solenoid, needle valve, pressure gauge from china is great and cheap but WAY too sensitive - turn the dial 2mm and you double CO2. Can anyone recommend a needle valve I could put inline that is really easy to fine tune? Fed up of...

ADA don't subscribe to the high flow idea. They do low flow, minimal stocking, lean dosing, unbelievably regular maintenance, big algae crew of amano shrimp. Only reason to not go eheim is aesthetics. This ada set up at charterhouse does look nice though... James Findley ADA Nature Aquarium...

Have put one tiny Siamese Algae Eater in my tank and BBA is much better after just 24 hours. Amazing. Why oh why did I not try this before!

Your photography is just sublime. Cannot even come close to replicating it!

Ok I'll send them back. Is so bloody irritating!

Hello I have three TMC Grobeam 1500 tiles controlled with the 8-way controller. When I dim at anything below 100% these emit a high pitch whine that drives me nuts. Not loud loud, but definitely there and noticeable. Much louder than an Eheim filter, for example. Is there something wrong...

Hmmm. Might start a thread on this!

Looking good Does no-one else get driven potty by the whine these make at less than 100%? Can't bear it so always have them on 100% - which is prob why have lots if gda!

It's non-clumping you want! There's a whole thread on the forum about car litter somewhere about a hundred pages long!

This is an amazing tank. Love the contrasts. No way I would take it down!

Here's the shot post-trim And the cover I had made by a local glazier for about £10 - using ADA clips for 12mm glass - think looks seriously clean. Plus shows how much condensation was coming off the tank!

Really interesting. I put quite a lot of prime in the tank yesterday and had a serious fish gasping issue almost straight away. CO2 was right at the edge before...