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Hi Iain, I was wondering how you perform maintanence on the substrate ithout hoovering up the little shrimplets. I have sand in my nano that is in desprate need of a vac but everytime I look there are tons of babbies on it so I don't want to hoover them all up.

Well done, you have much more patience than I do and it has really paid off. It will look even better after a few more months.

That's a lot of ferts especially when your not sponsored and you have to pay for it ;) Do you think you could have used less or do you think you would noticed the plants suffering? Fantastic scape, I agree with Al I liked the grown in look too.

There are two things wrong with this :) A) I don't have the skills to be able to do this. B) And probably more importantly I don't have the tools. But that is a very good idea and I might consider it if the timer issue starts to annoy me too.

Ok I'll go for 2. This is why I like this forum so much :) Very helpful people who are happy to give advice.

Thanks Ollie. Loking at those Arcadia LED's now and they look pretty decent. I think I may need 3 on a 90 cm though or do you think 2 would be plenty?

Yes I have been thinking the same thing tim but I do like the look of some of the new LED's available but they all seem stupidly expensive and mostly designed for marine setups. Does anyone use any effective LED lights that are reasonably priced?

Hi All, I have ordered everything for my 90x45x45 optiwhite except the lights. I will be running a high tec setup which will have the works on it CO2 etc but cannot decide what lighting to go for. I know this is completely dependent on individual preference but I would like to hear what some...

Hi Iain where did you pick up your nano's from I can't seem to find them online? Got to convince the other half that I need another tank :banghead:

I've got a similar tank on the go at the mo Tim, with crypts and lilaeopsis mauritiana. No CO2 or dosing, it's painfully slow but I think it will be worth it in the end. Hang in there mate.

Like the look of this one. I was going to try UG in my new scape but now I'm not sure. Do you think once it is established you will be able to lower the bubble rate for livestock?

Very detailed post, top work Pedro. I'm sure Clive will have some input on this but what you have written is very useful advice. Like you have said it's all about trial and error, making minor adjustments and PATIENCE :thumbup:

Thanks Mark must have missed that one

Hi Iain, the variations of colours in the shrimp is great. Can I ask how many did you start with and what grade were they? Don't think this has been asked already :)

Hi Ian, I think emperor's are great but mine ended up on the living room floor. Not sure what made them jump but I came in from work to find them there. :(

Thats what I was worried about, I will give it a try and see how it goes. I will not have any critters in there for a while so I can ramp up the CO2 if needs be to get over that issue. Thanks

Hi Pedro, this is stunning and when it grows in even more so. I actually quite like the small patches of algae on the rocks as it gives it a very natural and aged feel. Great journal too. :thumbup:

Hi Paulo, Looking great! Our dog drinks out of the toilet all the time so given half the chance I'm sure she'd do the same :) Do you think the filter you recommended would give enough flow in a high-tech Do Aqau mini M? Cheers

Unfortunately I have managed to break my filter so I have broken it down until I move house in a few weeks. I'm then going to convince the mrs to let me upgrade to a bigger all guns blazing setup! Wishful thinking me thinks. :-)

Right here goes.... I haven't updated for a while. A few pics taken off my phone so the quality isn't great. I have put the fish back in temporarily as I have stripped out my bigger tank for the purposes of these photos. Normally this is a shrimp only tank as its only 25 litres or so full. Let...

Don't listen to her ;-)

Hi Tim have you noticed a change in flow? I cleaned out my filter a few days ago and found 5 baby cherries in my filter, still alive some how :wideyed: Don't know how long they were there but I put them back in the tank and they are doing fine. So I'm thinking I should get one of these!!! :)

I agree with you Gary, but on the contrary I do also agree with Iain. I look at what you achieved with your trigon and it actually made me think about getting one because that would suit the room it would be going in better. Due to the difficulty of scaping in one I didn't but you have shown...

It's taken off like wildfire in yours and in recent months I have become a little obsessed with moss and the affect it gives its great stuff. :) Makes a scape look mature and natural especially the way its only growing on the top side of the wood nearest the light. Good work again.

Wow brilliant news Mark. Is that a discount on all Tropica plants for UKAPS members from now on??? ;) :thumbup:

Hi, I don't know if this has been mentioned but I couldn't find it what type of moss is that please? I really like this and it actually shows what can be achieved with great planning and execution despite the dimensions and flows issues that are associated from a corner tank.

Ok now you have mentioned the behaviour I have noticed they tend to stay at the bottom but I put this down to the high light and them not being used to it yet. I will probably transfer them to my bigger tank and see how they get on there. Thanks for the advice.

I have done my research (lots of it) and there are plenty of places that say as long as water conditions are kept stable with regular water changes then it is fine to keep them in a tank smaller than 60cm.

Thanks for your comment, you have made me feel a touch guilty now. I do have a larger tank if needs be but they seem pretty happy in there to be honest. they are feeding well. I may look into the microrasbora route because they are tiny little fellas.

It's because I had not long had a trim and it gets in the way :-)

Another update, I've had a few issues with the HC because of a delay in getting a regulator that worked properly and I have increased the lighting. It seems to be recovering but pretty slowly. I am thinking about adding a red plant on the back right behind the blyxa (which is growing extremely...

Hi Ian me again, whats the CO2 injection rate and is the light on full power? Cheers

One word "WOW". That growth is amazing the conditions must be perfect for them. This is going to be a lot of work Ian, on one hand I do envy you because it looks great but I won't envy the work you will have to put in to keep those stems in check.

Fantastic scape, you make it look simple and the execution is brilliant. I really like the rotala at the back combined with the moss i think it gives the scape a sense of age. :thumbup:

I think we could charter a flight from the UK to Hungary to visit your shop with the amount of people who would love to visit your shop :) Well done again.

Wow that's amazing one my favourite ever scapes. Do you think the rotala at the back might be slightly too clean cut to score really highly at IAPLC?

Hi guys a quick question. My plants especially the riccia and HC are yellowing slightly, is this likely to be a lack of CO2 or nutirents? I've not used riccia before and it was a lot greener than that when it first went into the tank.

Im outskirts of London, more Surrey so you can breathe a sigh of relief. ;)

This seems like good advice. I just wrapped mine in a sheet and smashed it off the floor until I had small enough pieces. A lot more violent and out of control than your sugestion Ady :)

Hi Paulo, where abouts in London are you based? I would love to see these in the flesh :)

Hi Paulo, how are these progressing slowly I'm sure? Is there any chance I could pick up your study (with the tanks) and put it in my house? For a small donation of course ;) This definitely shows what can be done with the good old fashioned methods, no ferts and CO2. Brillaint.

I will take a trip down there this weekend, I'm not looking to get them yet I think the C02 levels would be too high for livestock. I'm still temped by CRS having seen George's shrimp tank. I think they would stand out brilliantly against the mosses but Iv'e heard the Scarlet Badis are rather...

Thanks Ian, I've not heard of that species before but just looked them up. They are a very good looking species with bright colours, kind of remind of a small version of Betta. Good suggestion, from what I've just read they are quite rare do you think they will be able to get them in at...

Hello all, I have been beavering away making a couple more changes as mentioned above. I think moving the erectus to the back left has given it much more depth, I'm looking forward to the Hemianthus Micranthemoides developing in the right corner. I am not sure about fish yet, any...

New update - I have added some riccia (thanks Dan), the eleocharis sp mini and the HC has melted slightly but is starting to grow side shoots. I'm moving the Pogostemon Erectus to the back left corner and adding some Hemianthus Micranthemoides to the back right. As yet no problems with algae...

I bought some from Hong Kong and they were useless. They completely reduced the flow from the filter to a dribble so don't get the cheapest pair available. Had to revert back to the green Eheim pipes :-(

How do I make the pictures smaller? They are massive I don't want them that big!

Hi sorry for the lack of photos I have had a really busy weekend with the family etc. As mentioned before I have planted the tank and got all the equipment running except I managed to smash the lily pipes I had so I'm stuck with the green Eheim outlets :( :(. There is a massive diffuser in the...

Right update time! I have planted the tank but there are a few gaps waiting for the eleocharis mini to come, the guys at aqua essentials weren't happy with the batch they had so are sending them out to me next week. (ps. I love the jelly stuff that the Tropica 1-2 grow plants come in :) ) I...

Or get rid of the cat! ;-)

Hi everyone. The plants are due to arrive this week and will be planting thursday so photos will go up then. I decided to get rid of the wood and there is a bit of extra rock to fill the gaps. Its actually quite a different layout. I found that I kept moving things slightly and then probably...

Thanks for the comments guys, I think you are right the wood does look a little out of place. It's not so pronounced up close but still might have to go:) it will be covered in moss so won't be as obvious. I will be getting the plants next week so will update the photos then.

Thanks for your comment. I deliberately kept that back left corner a bit lower because that is where I'm putting my stems so that will give extra height. Most of the rocks will be covered by moss too so they will be a lot less "in your face" ;-) More comments welcomed.

Right guys here goes. I have been thinking about this for a while and have been scouting around for inspiration. I have finally decided on a design and would like your thoughts as to rock placement etc. The specs: 30 litre nano Colombo flora base black (the fine stuff) Filtration: Eheim Ecco...

Hi Dan, my tank is 60 litres but I'm splitting some of the rock and rescaping my nano. I'm pretty strict with my water changes so shouldn't be too bad do you think?

Ok when I have looked there before I don't think it was that cheap. The funny thing is I do actually need some stuff from there anyway so wil be oordering from them soon. :-)

I haven't managed to find any, could you point me in the right direction Paulo?

Hi everyone, I found a dealer on Ebay that sells various types of aquatic rock including the above and dragon stone for very reasonable prices and very fast delivery. I bought 10kg for £25.90 of landscape rock which I thought was a bargain so I thought I'd share it. Here is the link: Rock...

So your running this as well as your other scape. You have a very understanding wife. :-) Will the moss growth be much different without the CO2 injection? I always look forward to your scapes George.

Great vid Ian, that moss is looking great. Nice pearling HC carpet too, good work. It will be interesting to see how George's suggestion of adding something to it works out. :)

I did the same thing George. It looked great for the first week or so! I also bought my first when I was at university and knew nothing about keeping fish. The guy in the shop didn't tell me about adding dechlorinator to the water at water changes. Poor little fellas they didn't last long. A...

Thanks a lot for your reply I'll bare that in mind when I'm trying to convince my better half ;)

Hi, first of all fantastic scape Ian, really inspirational. :clap: Not sure if this has been asnwered already but I really like the effect and neatness of the LED lighting. Would the same brackets extend to an 80cm tank and would I need more than one to give the plants enough light?

Thanks for your response. Yes it's rated as 500l but asyou say none ever actually deliver it once they're full of media. I just wanted a bit of reassurance :-) I'm going to start a journal once I get the bits together. Thanks

As the thread title suggests I'm going to be setting up my nano again after a while. It came with a rubbish internal so was looking at externals and I already have an Eheim Pro 130 and was wondering whether that would be overkill on such a small aquarium? Any advice would be welcome I don't...

I think the volume of comments on this thread speak for themselves George, great scape. It will be very interesting to see how much the plants change after the DSM. This has tempted me to use it mind! :)

Are you sticking to a particular time of day you dose so the plants get what they need? Or is it just daily whenever is convenient?

Thats brillaint! I was cleaning my filter when inlet hose wasnt attached to the filter and was emptying my 300litre tank water all over the living room floor. Not good.

This is a great idea Jack, the progression is fantastic.

I agree with the height comments, the height you have generated in this layout is more attractive. The only downside is when you fill it you won't get that reflection. :(

I think this one, closely followed by the 'Kitchen' scape purely for the fact that it pursuaded my mrs that I could have my tank in the kitchen.:)

This is a great start, it really makes me want to spend the dosh on a new set-up. It would mean buying a complete set-up, tank, CO2 and lighting the works though. Do any of you guys have a great way of saving cost on these things? I have been using LC on my scapes so far but would prefer the...

Very nice scape Andy. I always check into your journals every now and then becuase you do a great job. Seems like things haven't changed on that score, in fact this one is probably the best IMO.

This is great, do you think there could be issues when you do eventually flood it with the plants readjusting to life under water? I have not seen this method domcumented in such detail before so was curious. I would never have the 'patience' for this I would have filled it days ago :) hence why...

This is an amazing Journal. I love the fact that your daughter gets involved. Can't wait to see it mature over the coming weeks.

I was also very interested in this thread. Its a huge project, I want to know more. :)

Thanks for your replies guys. I will contact them and find out more details.

Not sure if this is the right place for this thread but here goes.... Has anyone bought an aquarium from Poseidons Palace before? They are very cheap for bespoke optiwhite aquariums and it worked out nearly £70 pounds cheaper than the Green Machine optiwhite of the same size. I know the tried...

:wink: For some strange reason I read this post like a poem. Must be the layout. :wink: and the fact I teach in a secondary school probably.

I am enjoying seeing this tank develop. Myabe I have missed this in the journal but what species of fish and ivertabrates do you have in this huge setup? You have a huge scope for fish selection so was just wondering if I have missed it. Top work so far.

This is great journal. I love looking through journals like this one. They give me ideas for my next scapes and maybe I might start a journal of my own. Good work

Your journals are great Andy and a real inspiration. I have just about convinced my girlfriend to let me put my 60l in the kitcken like this by showing her this thread. So a thanks is in order haha.

This tank is superb just wish I had the time and resources to make a tank like that. Its by these journals that people like me get inspiration from. Nice work.